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FRIDAY, December 25, 2009
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CMI board of regents Chairperson Maria K. Fowler announced Wednesday the appointment of Dr. Kenneth
NTA workers pulled the multi-million dollar communications cable in over the reef from the ship Tyco Durable on Saturday.
Photo: Giff Johnson.
Woodbury (pictured) as the new President of the college, replacing retiring President Wilson Hess. “Wilson has been a great success at CMI and we knew that replacing him would be a difficult challenge,” says Fowler. “But we are delighted to find in Kenneth Woodbury an outstanding individual to take the College forward into its next phase. ” The selection of Woodbury is the culmination of a six-month CMI search for a new president that involved “short-listing” four candidates — including Woodbury — who were brought to Majuro for interviews with CMI administrators, faculty and students. (Continued below)
This Week's
Inside Stories
Patient
trailers stuck
on Ebye dock
The attempt to set up a TB isolation facility on Ebeye has proved difficult. Trailers from Kwajalein finally made it to Ebeye earlier this week — more than two weeks after a decision was made to get them — but are now stuck at the dock for lack of working equipment and coordination to get them to the designated site.Kwajalein Senator Tony deBrum, who has been pushing Majuro officials to move quickly on TB control efforts for Ebeye, raised concern to the Journal Tuesday about the lack of coordination among RMI ministries and the local government.
Batiri Bataua passes away
The Journal’s long-time Kiribati news correspondent Batiri Bataua died earlier this month after a short illness. For many years, he was the government Radio Kiribati news editor. In recent years, he worked for the Kiribati Protestant Church editing its regular newspaper. He also chaired Kiribati’s National AIDS Task Force.
Alvin Jacklick announces Jan. session of the Nitijela
Speaker Alvin Jacklick announced this week that the Nitijela will convene next year on Monday January 4 at its usual time of 10am. The public is also invited to attend the opening. “Let’s look ahead to working together to solve our problems,” the Speaker advised the senators in his announcement.
Lousy weather didn't prevent cable work
It rained, it poured and it rained some more. That was Saturday. But nothing could prevent the Tyco Durable ship from installing the new fiber communications cable that will soon link Majuro to the rest of the world. Using two small boats, four scuba divers, and a team of land-based technicians working with a National Telecommunications Authority and Pacific International Inc. crew, the cable was methodically hauled from the vessel across the oceanside reef and onto land about 100 meters from NTA’s facilities in Delap.
3-days-a-week for water hours
So much rain is falling that Majuro Water and Sewer Company has moved to three-day-a-week water hours, a happy development for the holiday season.
Board chooses new CMI president
(Continued from above) Hess has departed after four years at the helm of CMI during which he engineered — with plenty of help — the restoration of full US accreditation for the college. Hess is to continue as a consultant with the college. Dr. Woodbury was President of Harrisburg Area Community College in Pennsylvania for nine years, establishing three branch campuses, doubling its enrollment and establishing its endowment foundation. He has also been the president of the Valencia Community College Foundation in Orlando, Florida raising the endowment from $4 million to over $34 million. He is currently the Community Development Specialist for the Piscataquis County Economic Development Council in Eastern Maine securing nearly $6 million in grants since 2007 for towns and school districts to improve their infrastructure through downtown revitalization and planning grants, CMI said in a release. “I am honored to have been asked to serve the College of the Marshall Islands,” says Woodbury. “I plan to work closely with everyone at CMI and with the larger community of the Marshall Islands. Together I believe we can accomplish great things.”
Christmas TB caution
By SUZANNE CHUTARO
Health officials on Thursday warned the Marshall Islands about the potential for easy spread of TB at big public gatherings — a wake-up call for the country with Christmas and huge gatherings at local churches on the agenda this week and next. The escalating TB problems here are further complicated by the Ministry of Health’s inability to keep TB patients in isolation — known TB patients currently under treatment and supposed to be in isolation roam at will. And now efforts to control the spread of TB and successfully treat people are being further complicated by patients getting both TB and HIV. Three residents on Majuro infected with HIV have also contracted tuberculosis (TB), reported Public Health Dr. Kennar Briand. Speaking on the development of multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB) in the Marshall Islands during last Thursday’s government meeting of department and ministerial heads at the International Conference Center, Briand said that the three HIV-TB cases have been indentified, confirmed and will cost the government hundreds of thousands of dollars to treat. The session was broadcast live on V7AB. In many developing nations, there is a strong link between HIV and TB, since a weakened immune system — from HIV — makes a person more susceptible to catching TB. Drug-resistant TB — at least 10 cases have been confirmed in RMI — increases the health threat and cost to the Marshall Islands. “MDR-TB is beyond regular TB,” said Briand. “It’s resistant to the strong drugs that can cure (regular) TB. ” According to Assistant Health Secretary Russell Edwards, it will cost the RMI $174,000 to treat one MDR-TB patient. Both Briand and Edwards suspect that the number of MDR-TB cases may actually be more that what has been officially reported. For each identified MDR-TB case, Briand says the hospital needs to screen everyone the MDR-TB patient has come in contact with over the past three months to protect the contacts and prevent further spread. For the Majuro MDR-TB cases, the Ministry is trying to locate and screen 120 persons who came in contact. Meanwhile in Ebeye they’re trying to locate and screen about 360 persons. “Large (public) gatherings need to be seriously thought about, ” warned Edwards. Using Thursday’s conference to bring his point home, Briand said if one person at the ICC had TB and simply coughed inside the room, “most likely another eight of you in here will catch TB,” he said. “TB anywhere is TB everywhere.”
The Ministry of Justice hosted a large graduation ceremony Tuesday at the ICC for the Police Academy recruits, who completed the three-month program. Minister of Justice Brenson Wase and Mayor Titus Langrine spoke to the group, while Commissioner George Lanwi and Sea Patrol Chief Major Thomas Heine handed out diplomas. Photo: Douglas Henry.

Journal 12/24/1970

Journal 12/24/1981
P1 An agreement has been reached between the Mid-Corridor people and the United States Safeguard System Command on Kwajalein. The agreement was signed Friday after changes were made, increasing the annual payment level from a proposed $300,000 to $420,000. A major change from the original draft was inclusion of a “five-year review” clause.
P1 Birash Joash is the official winner of Magistrate for DUD. He received 333 of 604 cast. Tibrikrik Samuel had 152, Hemos Jack had 84 and Jud Jomule had 35.
P1 During the past two weeks, about half of Enenelip and Lokojbar islands, located six miles from the DUD area, have been stripped and cleared of all trees and bushes, the first part of phase one of the airport construction work.
P1 The Task Force on Education this afternoon presented its final report, entitled Education for Self-Reliance, to President Amata Kabua who appointed the body in October 1979. The 22-page report urges adoption of “education for self-reliance” as the guiding principle and makes recommendations as to what should be taught and how it should be delivered. The recommendations range from the general attitudes — eg, “The aspiration to be productive, to be willing to contribute one’s share to the common good” — to the specific, eg, “Written performance evaluations should be completed for each
employee on a semi-annual basis.”
P1 Chances are good that Japan will provide a grant for construction of a bridge and channel on the south side of Majuro Atoll, according to Charles Domnick who heads the GovMar team talking with a Japanese feasibility study team that arrived last week. Senator-elect Domnick is handling the talks in the absence of Foreign Secretary Tony deBrum who is attending Kwajalein talks in Hawaii.
P12 Some of the backers of the recently opened Marshall Islands First Commercial Bank are working on a feasibility study for a floating casino, according to Clarence S.B. Tan, president of the bank. Tan declined to give any details at this time except to say it would be anchored somewhere in the lagoon.
P14 GovMar’s purchase of the HS748 aircraft was finally closed December 14 on Guam by Carl Ingram, deputy attorney general, at a savings of almost half a million dollars — $10.2 million versus the estimated $10.7 million due to favorable exchange rates between British pounds and US dollars.
P3 Plans to develop Carlson Island in Kwajalein Atoll, a move to relieve the overpopulation on Ebeye, were made public recently by Ebeye Distad Rep. Walter Ownby. The plan calls for low-cost housing — enough for 150 to 200 people — and the development of a poultry and pig-raising farm. Ebeye’s population is 4,500.
P5 More guns for the police here in Majuro was the request made by the Marshalls District Sheriff to the budget hearings of the Nitijela just held. When asked just exactly why more guns were thought necessary by Nitijela member Laurence Edwards, the policeman replied immediate, “Because they go with the uniform.” Unfortunately for the police, the Nitijela was not overly impressed.
P6 Micronitor, Majuro’s worst newspaper, will be coming out on different size paper with its next issue. Rumor has it that there will also be a drastic increase in the price in the face of the realization that the Nitijela sales tax hit our operating fluid (beer) costs. Seems the 2¢ tax turned out to be 5¢ when local businessmen discovered it was profitable not to deal in pennies.

Journal 12/18/1992
P1 The Marshall Islands has its first woman Cabinet member, following President Amata Kabua’s appointment of
Jaluit Senator Evelyn Konou on Friday. Senator Konou has been picked to replace Minister of Health Henchy Balos, who asked to step down recently. Konou has represented Jaluit since 1979, when the Nitijela was established under the new constitution.
P3 The Environmental Protection Authority’s role in development is to give a “yes, maybe” and consider the merits of projects, rather than outright rejecting business plans, said Jiba Kabua, speaking to the Journal in his capacity as chairman of the Marshalls EPA.
P3 The dirt deal for Kwajalein’s causeway has been cancelled by Unocal, the American oil company that had earlier planned to ship petroleum-contaminated soil to the Marshalls. The company announced late last week that it had reevaluated the project and decided to send the soil to Seattle instead of Kwajalein because landfill material was not going to be used as the company had originally been told. “We were advised they would not be paving the top of the causeway,” said Unocal spokesman Barry Lane of the Kwajalein Atoll Development Authority causeway plan. “We don’t feel that is an appropriate use for the soil.”
P12 “Female visitors should be aware that the only local women wearing shorts above the knee are prostitutes, so conservative dress is in order.” From the Marshall Islands chapter of Micronesia Handbook, by David Stanley. This comment stimulated us to look around Majuro at what girls, young and older women are wearing these days. The remarkable thing is how quickly the accepted dress code has changed. Stanley was right — a few years ago. Now a pair of shorts on a female is about as common as an empty Budweiser can next to the road. It wasn’t so long ago that pants, let alone shorts, were considered quite risqué. Those who dared to wear designer jeans of the variety that looked so tight as to be sewed on invariably drew grunts of disgust and comment from older women, long covert looks from men of most any age, and feelings of admiration from their peers tinged with the discomfort that accompanies the knowledge that they’d be embarrassed to follow suit.