Island Snapshots – January 2023
- THIRD AUCTION- The third auctions to raise money to satisfy the outstanding court judgments against Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC is set to close this Friday, Jan. 6, 2023, focusing on the sale of casino chips and roulette wheels, and more. The auction, to take place as a closed bid, will include almost the entire chip inventory of the casino. File photo shows IPI’s Imperial Palace-Saipan in Garapan in a drone file footage taken by BJ Eddy. Check out his YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/bhMPCVsaEzM. (BJ EDDY)
- SCS WINNER- The winner of the Samsung Galaxy A7 10.4” tablet is the MMB Maturana House of Prayer, with a representative posing with Saipan Computer Services staff Mary Grace Delos Santos during the 10th Customer Appreciation Raffle Promotion held on New Year’s Eve last Saturday at the SCS store on Beach Road. (DONNA LIWAG RIVERA)
- WELCOMING 2023-A grand fireworks display was set off at the Papago home of Jose “Joe” and Marcia Ayuyu during the McDonald’s Guam and Saipan owners’ New Year’s party last Jan. 1. The New Year’s party, which doubled as a Thanksgiving event for a successful 2022, had friends, family, and business partners in attendance. (MARK RABAGO)
- LAST NIGHT OF CHRISTMAS IN THE MARIANAS-Saipan residents take pictures at the Marianas Visitors Authority’s illumination display at Garapan Fishing Base on Saipan as part of the Christmas in the Marianas celebration this year. The event will conclude with a final night of live entertainment, food and drinks tomorrow, Jan. 7, from 5pm to 9pm. However, in celebration of Lunar New Year on Jan. 22, 2023, the light sculptures will remain on display until then. (MVA)
- BEWARE!-Everybody should exercise caution as thousands of Indo-Pacific man-o-war hydrozoans have been driven onto the western shores of Saipan by the steady high winds. Here some are seen on Wing Beach. Avoid wearing flip-flops, sandals, or going barefoot on the beaches for a few more days as the nematocysts (stinging cells) are still active even though the animals are on land and dying. (MARK FARMER)
- BEWARE!-Everybody should exercise caution as thousands of Indo-Pacific man-o-war hydrozoans have been driven onto the western shores of Saipan by the steady high winds. Here some are seen on Wing Beach. Avoid wearing flip-flops, sandals, or going barefoot on the beaches for a few more days as the nematocysts (stinging cells) are still active even though the animals are on land and dying. (MARK FARMER)
- THREE KINGS CONCERT-To wrap up the end of the holiday season, Mount Carmel School’s Concert Band held a “Three Kings Concert” this past Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. The performance included a special collaboration with the MCS Wind Ensemble, MCS Middle School Music Class Choir, MCS Choir, and special guests the Tumon Bay Youth Orchestra. For more information about Mount Carmel School’s band program, contact patricia.gleason@mcsknights.com. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
- CHRISTMAS VILLAGE CONTEST WINNERS-Winners of the Mini Christmas Village Contest are awarded on Jan. 7, 2023, at 18th Annual Christmas in the Marianas festival at the Garapan Fishing Base on Saipan. From left, first-place winner Lucy Deleon Guerrero, second-place winner Gina Nabetinan, third-place winner Sharma Iginoef Laniyo, and Marianas Visitors Authority community projects specialist Jack Aranda. (MVA)
- OFF THEY GO!-Volunteers check to make sure the cages full of boonie dogs are secure before their flight to Guam on Monday morning as part of the effort to reduce strays in the CNMI by adopting them out to families in the United States. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
- Thirty-nine boonie dogs were flown via the Micronesian Air Cargo Services from Saipan to Guam, then off to adoptive families in the United States via Lisa Schoppa-Meador Animal Travel Agent, on Monday in an effort to reduce the stray animal population in the CNMI. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/QUINN BREADY)
- SPAY/NEUTER CLINIC-Saipan Mayor’s Office Dog Control Program staff assist volunteer Emily Hurtt, right, during their last day of the spay/neuter clinic on Friday at the SMO Dog Shelter in As Perdido, in which they sterilized 68 animals. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
- Alison Hadley, executive director of Guam Animals In Need, or GAIN, is seen teaching Saipan Mayor’s Office Dog Control Program staff about evaluating the health and behavior of shelter dogs during the spay/neuter clinic on Friday at the SMO Dog Shelter in As Perdido, in which they sterilized 68 animals. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
- Saipan Mayor’s Office Dog Control Program staff, join clinic volunteer Kiana Propst, left, and Emily Hurtt, second right, during their last day of the spay/neuter clinic on Friday at the SMO Dog Shelter in As Perdido, in which they sterilized 68 animals. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
- Volunteer vet Dr. Brenda Smith from Guam Animals in Need prepares someone’s pet cat for surgery, while Saipan Mayor’s Office Dog Shelter staff Derek Deleon Guerrero assists on the first day of the spay/neuter clinic at the SMO Dog Shelter in As Perdido last Tuesday. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
- Lauren Cabrera, center, along with Alison Hadley, and Simion Nepayo, check on a dog during the first day of the spay/neuter clinic last week at the Saipan Mayor’s Office Dog Shelter in As Perdido. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
- The waiting area for pets are seen here while Rep. Edwin K. Propst (D-Saipan), kneeling, in black, picks up his dog that was neutered on the first day of the spay/neuter clinic at the SMO Dog Shelter in As Perdido on Tuesday. (LEIGH GASES)
- Calvin Borja, left, administers a shot, while Simion Nepayo, top right, and Derek Deleon Guerrero, assist during the first day of the spay/neuter clinic at the Saipan Mayor’s Office Dog Shelter in As Perdido. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
- Iyani Muña won at the elementary level of the schoolwide Saipan Community School Spelling Bee last Jan. 20 and was able to move on to the next round, against the SCS junior high students. (SCS)
- SPELLING CHAMPS Celine JeongBin Park, an 8th grade student at Saipan Community School, was named the schoolwide Spelling Bee winner during the competition last Jan. 20. Park will be travelling to Guam in March to compete in the next level for the Regional Scripps Spelling Bee. (SCS)