PHILIPSBURG:---  The Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure, hereby announces a partial half lane road closure for the upcoming works on A TH. Illidge Road, Lower Princess Quarter, directly across from the Sol Gas Station and a section of Arch Road. This is part of the Department of Infrastructure’s Asphalt Road Resurfacing Project 2023-2024 aimed at enhancing our community’s road infrastructure and ensuring safer and smoother travel for all vehicular traffic.

From Tuesday, May 13^th to May 15, 2025, there will be a half lane road closure on A TH. Illidge Road. For a small segment on Arch Road, traffic will be rerouted through Guadeloupe Road. These measures are necessary to facilitate critical repairs and improvements to the road surfaces, starting with milling of the road section.

The closures will take effect each evening at 8 p.m. with the roads being reopened again the following morning at 5 a.m.

The Ministry and the Department of Infrastructure Management thank the public for their continued patience and cooperation as this essential work is carried out. Motorists are urged to drive with caution, respect road signs, and plan ahead using the designated detour routes.

Key Information Recap:

Reason for Closure: Asphalt Resurfacing Road Works

Date and Time: Tuesday May 13^th – May 15^th, 2025, from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. daily.

Location: Half closure on Illidge Road; detour through Guadeloupe Road for Arch Road.

Type of Road Closure: Half Road Closure

For further information, please e-mail the Department of Infrastructure at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call us at 542-4292 ext 2387.

WILLEMSTAD:--- After last year's great success, the Caribbean Cinepoetry Contest is returning with a new open call for film poems - this time also for children. Last year, three cinepoems were selected from no fewer than thirty entries from all six Dutch Caribbean islands.

Film poems are short films in which poetry and cinema come together. A cinepoem is a film based on a poem, or a film that follows the form, aesthetics and rhythm of poetry. With the competition, Wintertuin Curaçao wants to promote multidisciplinary collaborations and offer a platform to artists from various Caribbean islands.

The three winners of the first edition were selected for the Dutch Poetry Film Festival. One of the selected films, Mangel, was also shown at the Curaçao International Film Festival 2025.

For this edition, Wintertuin Curaçao invites poets and filmmakers from Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Saba and Sint Eustatius to create short, poetic films. The selected duos will receive a production budget of 1500 dollars, and will receive professional guidance from award-winning filmmakers and spoken word artists German Gruber jr. and Juan-Carlos Goilo.

The theme for 2025 is Brio – a Papiamentu word that means both ‘brilliance’ and ‘courage’. This year, cinepoems can be about courage, creativity, radiant stories or radical imagination. “Create a film poem that celebrates creativity, serves as a means for activism and tells a story that inspires, confronts and connects,” says Joeri Oltheten of Wintertuin Curaçao. The organization will select two to three cinepoems for children that will premiere during the Wintertuin Curaçao Kids Festival on September 13, 2025 at Het Curaçaosch Museum. Two to three film poems will also be selected in the adult category, which will be shown at the Wintertuin Curaçao Festival on September 20, 2025 at Landhuis Vredenberg.

The deadline for submitting a concept is May 31, 2025. Participants can formulate their idea in a maximum of 50 words. In addition, add a short biography of both the filmmaker and the poet, together with a short motivation. Clearly state whether it concerns the children's or adult category. Send everything to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

PHILIPSBURG:--- Various citizens and heritage supporters came out on Saturday, May 10, from 7 a.m. until midday to help with the second clean-up of the FOGA Salt Factory, which was built in 1862. The ruins of the old salt factory are a protected heritage site and fall under the protection of the Government of Sint Maarten, namely the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport (ECYS).

The historical monument was rendered inaccessible due to overgrown trees, old vehicles, and pollution, which kept it from remaining visible to the public. Due to the difficulty posed by several abandoned cars and large debris, a third cleanup will be hosted in June 2025, with a pending date. The initiative was led by Paul Ellinger, an environmental advocate, in collaboration with Ralph Cantave, an author, community advocate, and pastor. A heavily shared Facebook post by concerned citizens recently shed light on the unsightly nature of the monument.

Ellinger, a nature and landscape photographer, frequently visited the site and was disturbed by the lack of upkeep. He also had to step in to warn of squatters at the site. Ellinger emphasized the need for greater care and appreciation for this pivotal piece of St. Maarten's history. He added that it has significant potential to contribute to the island’s tourism product. Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, Melissa Gumbs, along with Minister of VROMI Patrice Gumbs Jr., pledged their support to preserve and maintain the site. Both Ministers visited the cleanup on Saturday and coordinated with their ministries to support the initiative.

Dozens of volunteers, including students and seniors, came to assist. The initiative brought together generations of residents who share a love and concern for the island’s heritage. Many people expressed a lack of awareness of the salt factory or not being taught about its role in exploiting salt. They also mentioned being unaware of its existence until the clean-up was announced.

Cantave stressed the need for education about our tangible heritage, which serves as a reminder of the legacy our ancestors left in overcoming the tragic and cruel period of slavery. He affirmed his support of public awareness campaigns and tours to increase local knowledge of the ruins and their role in our history.

Most of the debris besides grass and the pruned mangroves was styrofoam, plastic, glass bottles, and household goods, similar to the first clean-up in 2023. Ellinger and Cantave would like to thank the public for their participation, donations, and contributions of tools and refreshments to make the clean-up a success. They’d also like to thank Trash Willy Enterprise and Nahiem & Kenzo General Services for their trucking services in safely dumping the garbage and debris.

PHILIPSBURG (DCOMM);---  The Collective Prevention Services (CPS), a department in the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labor (Ministry VSA), would like to acknowledge the nurses of the department on International Nurses Day 2025, Monday, May 12.

Nurses play a key role in all health-related institutions and are the backbone of the health system.

Nurses work hard, and have determination, diligence, and willingness to contribute to the community, and therefore improving the way of life is commendable.

These are some of the traits that lay the groundwork for their success and to keep the flame alive for those who choose this path to walk in their footsteps.

Their responsibility is towards the welfare, safety, and recovery of patients.

CPS would like to say thank you to its nurses and nurses overall North and South on Sint Maarten/Saint-Martin for all that they do in safeguarding our communities.

According to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the region of the Americas has approximately 7.4 million nursing professionals, representing 63 percent of the health workforce.

Eighty-seven per cent of nurses are women. The number of nursing graduates has declined dramatically in the Region, from 81 to 24 per 10,000 population between 2018 and 2023.

The global nursing workforce has grown from 27.9 million in 2018 to 29.8 million in 2023.    

IND was created to honor and pay tribute to all nurses. Monday, May 12 marks the birthday of Florence Nightingale, the date that the nursing profession was born. “To do what nobody else will do, in a way that nobody else can do, in spite of all we go through; that is to be a nurse.” – Rawsi Williams

The International Council of Nurses (ICN) theme for IND-2025 is, “Our Nurses. Our Future. Caring for nurses strengthens economies.”

The ICN is a federation that represents the interests of the nursing profession of millions of nurses worldwide.