David has been appointed to serve as the district election officer for Guam and the CNMI, and in that capacity is responsible for overseeing the districts’ handling of complaints of election fraud and voting rights abuses in consultation with Justice Department headquarters.
On Oct. 8, the U.S. Department of Justice established a department-wide Ballot Access and Voting Integrity Initiative.
The goals of this initiative are to increase the department’s ability to deter voter intimidation, suppression, discrimination and election fraud and to prosecute these offenses whenever and wherever they occur — to make voting easier and cheating harder.
Both goals are equally important. It is imperative that in pursuing voter integrity, ballot access is not in any way diminished or harmed.
The department’s long-standing Election Day Program furthers the goals of the Initiative.
The program also is intended to ensure public confidence in the integrity of the election process by providing local points of contact within the department where the public can report possible election fraud and voting rights violations while the polls are open on election day.
The franchise is the cornerstone of American democracy.
The first CNMI delegate will be elected for office in the 111th U.S. Congress today.
In order to respond to complaints of election fraud or voting rights abuses on that date, and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, Rapadas said David will be on duty in the District of Guam while the polls are open.
David can be reached by the public at 671-472-7332 ext. 120.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation will also have a special agent available in the Saipan field office to receive allegations of election fraud, intimidation, suppression and other election abuses. The FBI can be reached by the public at 322-6934.
Complaints about ballot access problems or discrimination can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section in Washington at 1-800-253-3931 or 202-307-2767. Where voter intimidation or suppression tactics target voters on the basis of race, color, religion, or national origin, contact the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section at 202-514-3204.
DFS honors employees of the month
(DFS Saipan Ltd.) — DFS Saipan Ltd. recently recognized Derek Duenas and Junping Woodruff as September employees of the month.
Duenas, the winner for the Support category, was recommended by his manager Mariano Fajardo.
Duenas was hired in April, 2008. He has a unique style when working with others. He is very observant, and pays particular attention as to how co-workers handle various situations.
While being observant, he still is very much involved in helping whenever someone needs some assistance, and freely offers his opinion on how to better the operations.
He supports the company’s special events both while on and off duty and demonstrates team work.
By his demeanor it is obvious he enjoys the camaraderies of other employees.
As a loss prevention agent, he does not compromise his job duties, by ensuring that employees are abiding by policies and procedures, while addressing any violations of the company regulations.
Woodruff, the winner for the Sales category, was nominated by her manager Emy Camacho.
Woodruff has been with DFS since July, 2003.
She received a Global Recognition Award for being the most productive in her own department for sales and in the region for an increase in sales for 2007.
In the beauty department, she has been the most consistently productive sales person for individual sales every month year to date.
For each quarter in 2008, she has been a consistent recipient of the Luxury Award.
She has received personal appreciation comments and has received numerous statements of gratitude from top management for excellent customer service.
Woodruff can cover for the entire operations for her department, and she does it voluntarily without being told what to do.
Both employees received a framed employee of the month certificate, a $100 cash award, and VIP parking for one month.
They are now eligible candidates for 2008 DFS Employee of the Year Award in their categories.
Marriage Encounter Weekend on Nov. 14-16
(Worldwide Marriage Encounter) — Help turn a good marriage into a great marriage through a Worldwide Marriage Encounter Weekend.
The CNMI’s next Marriage Encounter Weekend will be held on Nov. 14-16 at the Saipan Grand Hotel. If you are interested in joining, contact the Fall 2008 Registration Couple, John & Vicky Mafnas, at 285-8454 or e-mail vbmafnas @ yahoo.com. There are only a few slots open.
All encountered couples and priests are invited to share their gifts, talents and time in the planning and hosting of this powerful weekend.
The next planning meeting will be held on Thursday, Nov. 6, at 7 p.m. at the residence of Charles & Cathy Cepeda in Fina Sisu. Bring a potluck dish and join in the planning fun.
MHS events for November
(MHS) — Marianas High School has scheduled the following events this month:
Nov. 4 — No classes (Citizenship Day)
• Nov. 10 — 1st quarter final exams
Nov. 11 — No classes (Veterans Day)
• Nov. 13 — 1st quarter ends
• Nov. 19 — 1) Open house/report card distribution: 4-6 p.m.; pick up report cards from homeroom teacher (students will be released at 1 pm
2) MHS community council (PTA meeting): Agenda: Election of SY 2008-2009 officers 5 p.m. in the cafeteria
3) Parent Literacy Night — “Academic Literacy helps us become better informed citizens,” 5:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. at cafeteria.
• Nov. 26-28 — No classes (Thanksgiving break)
For questions and concerns contact 237-3206.
Animals up for adoption
(PAWS) — Animals that are up for adoption through PAWS:
Apollo:
Apollo is a great family dog that is up for adoption to a good responsible home. He has been fostered as an inside dog by a family with two children for almost three months, and according to the family, he has proven to be a great family pet that gets along well with other animals.
Apollo is a male boonie dog, thought to be about two years in age. He has been vaccinated, de-wormed, and treated for mange.
If you are interested in meeting Apollo, please contact Maria at 256-0340.
Four Puppies:
Four beautiful and healthy puppies are up for adoption to good homes. These pups are about 7-8 weeks old, have been de-wormed and treated for fleas. There are three black pups and one white pup, all with loving personalities.
If you are interested in adopting one of these pups, please contact Sonny at 989-9059.
Watson:
PAWS president Katie Busenkell is fostering what she is calls “The Best Cat.”
Watson, 10-month-old tabby cat, was found starving to death by Busenkell’s dog, Holmes, about two months ago at Kilili Beach. Through lots of love, food, and numerous visits to the veterinarian, Watson has fully recovered and blossomed into quite a character.
Watson has been de-wormed and vaccinated. He is a very social animal, constantly looking for attention and talking. He gets along well with dogs and cats.
If you are interested in adopting Watson, please contact Katie at 256-0243. If you are interested in adopting one of the above animals, or have questions about responsible pet ownership, please contact PAWS at 285-PAWS or visit the Web site at www.paws-saipan.org or our blog at www.paws-saipan.blog spot.com.
Yap to host professional development for library staff
(PREL) — Nineteen residents of the U.S.-affiliated Pacific have been selected to attend the 2008 Leaders for Pacific Libraries professional development in Yap, Federated States of Micronesia.
The LPL professional development, funded by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services and directed by Pacific Resources for Education and Learning, will take place on Nov. 20–22 in Yap, as part of the 2008 Pacific Islands Association of Libraries, Archives, and Museums Conference.
The intensive professional development for the LPL cohort will include a three-day post-conference workshop on “The Art of Thinking Big: How to Go From an Idea to a Competitive Grant.”
The training will be conducted by Elaina Norlin, manager of New Initiatives and Outreach, OCLC Eastern, and Mathew Bellhouse-King, research assistant, PREL.
Stephanie Gerding, co-author of Grants for Libraries, will provide virtual training materials for the workshop.
All LPL awardees will attend the PIALA conference from Nov. 17 to 19.
By providing targeted professional development in specific areas of library management to this group, all of whom are pre-professional staff working in libraries, archives, and museums in their home jurisdictions, the LPL training seeks to improve library services across the region.
The 2008 LPL attendees include: Perise Toilolo from American Samoa; Kieko Kanemoto from Chuuk; Patricia Aguon-Cruz and Erlinda Naputi from the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands; Lourdes Nededog from Guam; Michael Williams from Kosrae; Mike Chipen, Jennifer Hainrick, Atarino Helieisar, Dosihner Jose, and Karleen Manuel from Pohnpei; Pearl Anien and Sistina Elbon from the Republic of the Marshall Islands; Mary Arius, Sandy Fernandez, Sunshine Garcia, and Imengel Mad from the Republic of Palau; and Erica Ruwepin and Helen Salap from Yap.
RED CROSS SUPPORTER. PTI supported the annual Red Cross Club 200 Fundraising Dinner by donating close to $4,000 in cash and high end wireless products. Shown in the picture is Ed Manglona, PTI marketing coordinator, and Viola Sablan, CNMI Red Cross board member. Contributed photo
THANK YOU JOETEN. Oleai Elementary School wants to extend tits appreciation to Joeten Development Inc., doing business as Price Costco for its recent education tax credit donation of $1,000 to OES. In the photo are Price Costco representative James Sablan, vice principal Jack Sablan, principal Glenn Muna, and the kindergarten class with teacher Anthony Taylor along with 4th grade student Jamal Sablan. Contributed photo
CLEANUP BRIGADE. Volunteers were still bringing in large bags of marine debris as this group photo was taken. Volunteers participated in the DEQ cleanup brigade at Tank Beach on Saturday, Nov 1. Contributed photo
FOR A CLEANER COMMUNITY. Hopwood Junior High School’s My Wave Club members pose for a group photo. Other volunteers from Filcowa, Laolao Golf Resort, United Construction Corp., Sanki, and other community organizations removed more than 1,000 lbs. from the Tank Beach in Kagman. Contributed photo
Model search for Saipan
ALL those interested in being models are invited to be at the Marianasliving.com office on Tuesday, Nov. 4, between 5 to 7 p.m.
Be prepared to have a photograph taken and provide information. More information will be available on the purpose of the images.
The office is located at the ACE Building in Chalan Laulu. The office is the only one without a sign next to the Vet. The building is between PTI and Payless Shoes.
The office number is 234-BLUE.
Saipan Community School honor roll
“A” Honor Roll 3.50-3.99
6th grade
Alina Yoon
Jee Hyun Lee
Lydin Johnson
7th grade
Eron Constante
Kanani Lee
Ericka Garcia
8th grade
Jimin Ryu
“B” Honor Roll 3.00-3.49
6th grade
Han Mil Oh
Phillip Yoon
Pedro Tenorio
Steven Choi
Jehn Joyner
Seiya Eda
Yong Da Huang
7th grade
Valentine Paik
Enoch Jr Lim
Isa Tudela
Magdiel Corpuz
8th grade
Bryan Cho
Justin Ppn
Yeo Jin Lee
Francisco Camacho
Jonelie Torres
Hee Jin Cho
James Ko
Christian Tudela
Continental Connection achieves outstanding performance
HAGÅTÑA (Continental) — Continental Connection, operated by Cape Air, has announced outstanding performance for third quarter of 2008.
“Cape Air completed the third quarter with the eight consecutive months of recording a 100 percent segment completion factor,” said Continental Micronesia Guam and Micronesia director for sales and marketing David Kendell.
Achieving a 100 percent completion factor means that every flight was completed and without a single cancellation.
“Cape Air continues to operate at a high reliability factor and makes every effort to exceed customer expectations. The airline continues to serve the Marianas with an excellent product and quality service by offering on-time and reliable scheduled service well above industry averages, a comfortable flight using a pressurized cabin, and multiple flight schedules for intra-Marianas travel, which includes Guam, Saipan, and Rota,” said Kendell.
Continental recognized for Petsafe Program
HAGÅTÑA (Continental) — Continental Airlines executive vice president for operations Mark Moran presented Continental Micronesia co-workers with a plaque from the Independent Pet and Animal Transport Association in a ceremony at the airline’s cargo warehouse in Tamuning on Thursday.
The airline’s PetSafe program was honored earlier this month at the IPATA conference in Newark.
IPATA, a group of 275 members from 58 countries, implemented a new “Award for Excellence” and chose Continental and its PetSafe program as its first honoree. Each Continental hub is being presented with a plaque in honor of this recognition.
Last year, Guam shipped and received a total of 1,301 animals in our PetSafe program.
Year-to-date, 1,031 animals, including four live endangered Micronesian kingfishers repatriated back to Guam, were handled through the airline’s Guam operations.
“This award is an honor for our airline and a testament to the trust our customers place in us for handling their pets,” said Moran.
Proudly celebrating 40 years of service, Continental Micronesia last week successfully transported two sihek (Guam Micronesian kingfisher, Halcyon cinnamomina cinnamomina) back to Guam.
The endemic birds arrived safely from Philadelphia to Guam on Wednesday, Oct. 22, on Continental’s s PetSafe program.
Last month, the airline safely repatriated two sihek to Guam, and the two female birds were released from quarantine at the Guam Division of Aquatic and Wildlife facility on Oct. 10.
“As the region’s hometown carrier and pioneer in the development of air service for the western Pacific, we know our successes have been a result of our relationships with the communities we serve. Continental Micronesia proudly celebrates 40 years of bridging families, cultures, commerce, as well as Guam’s pets and endangered birds, across the world,” Moran said.
