Community Briefs – August 29, 2018

BECQ cleanup set

The Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality Cleanup Brigade will be deviating from its first Saturday of the month in order to coincide with the 2018 International Coastal Cleanup scheduled for Sept. 15, 2018.

If you would like to volunteer, access the forms from: https://goo.gl/forms/3pPLJbmgthgcTfUQ2. Select a site, register and you will be contacted.

For more information about volunteering, contact Mallory Muna or Colleen Flores at the BECQ office at 664-8500/1. (BECQ)

Public invited to join community choir

All members and friends of The Friends of the Arts are invited to join the Saipan Community Choir. No audition required. Adults and students are welcome. A FOA holiday concert is scheduled for December and other events will occur before and after.

The Choir started on Aug. 23 and will practice every Thursday from 6:30pm to 8:30pm at the Saipan Southern High School Band Room.  If you couldn’t make the start date, no problem. Just come and join in.

The choir will be directed by Katie Hoyt, FOA board secretary, who received her BA in Music from Dixie State University where she studied voice, sang in and accompanied the choirs, and was a rehearsal pianist for the school’s performance of The Gondoliers by Gilbert and Sullivan. Hoyt was also the musical director for the recent FOA production of Into the Woods. (PR)

Chamber backs Education Summit

The Saipan Chamber of Commerce said it is pleased to support the 2018 Education Summit. Representatives of the Northern Marianas College, the CNMI Public School System, the Northern Marianas Trades Institute, the Department of Labor, Department of Commerce, the Saipan Chamber of Commerce, the CNMI Scholarship Office, and other agencies are collaborating to organize the 2018 Education Summit that will be held Sept. 6-8, at the Saipan World Resort. (PR)
 
Free mental health first-aid training

The Council on Developmental Disabilities and Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, in collaboration with the Systems of Care Program, are offering the Mental Health First Aid Training for Employers on Sept. 6, from 7:30am to 4:30pm at the Pacific Islands Club.

Employers are encouraged to take part in this training. According to mentalhealthfirstaid.org, “mental health first aid teaches you how to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders in your community.”

Training will start promptly at 7:30am.

Participants must be present for the entire duration of the training, which is eight hours, ending at 4:30pm.

Seating is limited, so register as soon as possible.

If you are interested in attending this training as you believe it will benefit your department, agency, organization, business, or company, contact Arlene Kay Miyagata, director, Office of Vocational Rehabilitation at (670) 322-6537/8; TTY: (670) 322-6449; fax: (670) 322-6548; or email ayamagata@ovrgov.net/nmidir@ovrgov.net. (PR)

Reminder to all CNMI employers

All employers in the Commonwealth are being reminded of the deadline to report a list of your current employees to the Office of the Attorney General.

The Office of the Attorney General gave notice yesterday about the establishment of the state directory of new hires and the 90-day deadline for the Child Support Enforcement Office is fast approaching. That deadline is Sept. 12, 2018.

As a reminder, all employers must report within 20 days to the Office of the Attorney General, Child Support Enforcement Office, whenever an employer hires or re-hires an employee, regardless of whether or not said employee has a child support case.

In addition, employers are required to report monthly, no later than the 10th day of each month, when an employee resigns, terminates, or no longer works for an employer.

For more information on what needs to be reported and methods of reporting, visit our website at www.cnmioag.org or call 237-7500. (OAG)

Free health outreach

The Good Hands Ministry will be holding a free health checkup on Sept. 2, 2018, Sunday, from 2pm to 6pm, at the Garapan Basketball Court. There will be blood sugar check, body massage, facial cleansing, free haircut, free reading eyeglass (first 50 people), and free giveaways (bag of toiletries for the first 100 people). There will be snacks and refreshments. (PR)