NEWS BRIEFS

Weekend attack

Mr. Ernest Strange, 63 years old, was airlifted to Guam Sunday morning after he was attacked by two unidentified men near his residence in Chalan Piao.

He needed to undergo an artery repair in his left knee, while sustaining deep wounds, swelling and internal bleeding.

Based on preliminary police reports, he and his wife Thelma Strange, 41 years old, were heading home early Sunday morning when they noticed a vehicle tailing them.

At the parking lot of Joeten Chalan Piao (the second floor of the said establishment is rented by the couple), the victim reportedly confronted the two men riding in the other vehicle.

The suspects then attempted to stab him using a screw driver. While his wife ran out for help, both men attacked her, tore her dress and tried to stab her with a knife.

Somebody from the victim’s car rushed to the highway to flag down other vehicles for help.

Both suspects fled from the scene using the victims’ car and the other vehicle, carting away with $4,000 cash and a laptop computer.

The victims’ car was later found abandoned in Dandan. (Sheila D. Amor)

Public phone at ferry dock pushed

Rep. Jose A. Hocog has asked Micronesian Telecommunication Corporation to install public phones at the Saipan dock for passengers taking the ferry to and from Tinian.

“This is a necessity not only for the convenience of passengers both arriving and departing but for emergency purpose as well,” the Tinian representative said in a letter to MTC General Manager David Rogers.

A public phone has already been installed at the Tinian Terminal after Hocog made the request earlier.

Friends of the Arts to raise funds

After a hugely successful musical fund-raiser for the Friends of the Arts and the future Friends of the Museum on the museum grounds, the Friends of the Arts is now inviting the interested people of Saipan to join the organization and help provide additional quality musical and theatrical activities for the Community.

A no-host general membership meeting and drive will be held from 6 to 9 PM at the poolside of the Hyatt Regency Hotel on May 20. The cost of a no-host buffet dinner will be $20 for members and $25 for non-members.

The agenda for the meeting will be the signing up of new members, election of officers for 1999 and a discussion of upcoming musical and theatrical projects.

Those people who attended the Museum fund-raiser will remember the very exciting pool of talented musicians who performed that evening, including Deborah Fisher, violinist. She will be providing the entertainment for the meeting. All interested residents of Saipan are cordially invited.