There are not enough words for me to use to describe what Roger Snow has meant to me and my family. There are not enough ways for me to express gratitude to the man who literally saved my life. I say this without any reservation or hesitation. Roger Snow saved my life.
To Mary, Gordon, Hanneke, Dickie, Jelmer, Paul, Steven, Junior and the rest of the family I extend deepest condolences on behalf of my family. I am truly sorry that I am away at this time but please know that Roger meant the world to me and I will miss him dearly. It was not easy the last few years watching illness deprive us of the Roger we knew. He can now rest on.
I met Roger in January of 1995 when I was at a crossroad in my life, totally unsure what to do with my future. I was jobless, spiraling into depression and a feeling of complete failure was drowning me. By God’s will an opportunity opened in the night layout department at the then infant Daily Herald. Not expecting much, I viewed it as another temporary job that I would soon leave. As history would attest, however, I didn’t leave soon at all. In fact, I’m still there in some shape or form, 22 years later.
I stuck around because Roger Snow, this impressive, compassionate, witty, unselfish human being made it his business to make me understand and appreciate that my life had worth. He didn’t care what my background was, he only cared that I remain constructively active by involving myself in all aspects of newspaper operations, and with his assistance and influence become a solid citizen and contributor in my community.
He afforded me the opportunity serve as layout artist, graphic artist, night editor and journalist at The Daily Herald. He founded Teen Times, not me, I only had the privilege to guide and develop what he called “Herald’s contribution to the youth of St. Maarten.” From Teen Times to serving on more than 10 community and cultural organizations, to starting my own PR company and all the accolades in between … it all started with Roger Snow. Had he not saved me and given me a chance, none of that would have been possible and God knows where I would have been today.
He was a giant of a man in stature and character. But make no mistake, he was not always a gentle giant and with good reason. There were times he dished out some tough love. Some very tough love. He never sugarcoated anything for me as I was typically extremely stubborn and headstrong. He would often yell “Mike! You are wrong! Get over yourself!” and then proceed to give me the verbal dressing down that I deserved.
One of our “discussions” became so heated in our little office on Front Street, I started to cry. A grown man, I broke down in front of another grown man like a baby. I wasn’t crying because I was hurt or insulted or upset. Tears ran because I wanted so much to impress that man. I hated letting him down. In typical Roger style, he never let you stay down, he found a way to lift you back up.
You know a person has influenced your life positively when you can remember almost everything he has ever told you. Roger’s words have stuck with me throughout my life and I still live by them. He often shared those words while taking a puff on his pipe on our office porch in Philipsburg when electricity went and we didn’t have a generator, or when we were waiting on film to develop, or when we took a break from laying out the paper together which we often did side-by-side. Even in those dark days after Hurricane Luis when we finished work at 7:00 in the morning and he had to drive all of us home.
He cared about my family and my activities. He cared about my general knowledge and saw to it that I was educated in the ways of journalism, human nature, politics, life. He was steadfast in his belief that the newspaper plays a vital role in the community and never allowed me to forget for whom and why we produce The Daily Herald.
Many people have asked me over the years why I’ve stayed loyal or maintained a strong link with The Daily Herald. My answer has never changed: because Roger Snow saved my life. I remained loyal to him, to a friend and mentor.
I will miss my friend and mentor dearly.
Mike Granger
Dear Editor,
On the occasion of the passing of Mr. Roger Snow, please accept my most sincere regrets and condolences; you and to all of those who work at The Daily Herald. As I wrote in my little book a while back, “Saint Martin ─the entire island─ owes an ocean of gratitude to Mary Hellmund and to Roger Snow. This by reason of the singular role this industrious and enlightened couple played in journalism on the island for roughly one quarter of a century.” That was writing-speaking as if that role was in that past alone, but we (you and I, and a lot of others) know that it is in our present, and shall be with us in our future ─ forever!
Gérard M. Hunt
Dear Editor,
Firstly, my deepest condolences to the family of the lady that tragically lost her life last week attempting to “surf the jet blast.” It is hoped that their loss will serve as a reminder to all who have ventured and to those who undoubtedly will venture to participate in this dangerous “sport,” that this can be deadly! Standing on the actual beach sand west of the road according to me will give you the same “rush” and if you get “blown,” you will fall on sand. In a worst case scenario, you may get blown into the Caribbean Sea. So all you Jet Blast Surfers that cannot swim, wear a water life jacket before attempting the jet blast thrill.
I am not a lawyer (obviously) and certainly not an “ambulance chaser,” but for the life of me I cannot understand how anybody else except the adult that engages in the “sport” is responsible for such an accident, taking into consideration all the signs and precautions put in place by the SXM Airport PJIA. Laws should be anchored in our legal framework, but must also be based on common sense, you would think.
Lawyer Kock argues for the removal of concrete blocks that divide the road at the location. This divider was placed on that road back in 2000 when on my request the then Executive Council, of which I was a member at that time, approved a workable and simple plan to prevent selfish airplane/sunset gazers to park on that road, reducing the only access in and out of the busy Beacon Hill community down to a one lane stretch, causing massive traffic jams and creating serious hazards to landing aircraft, as well as for the inhabitants of Beacon Hill in case of a medical emergency, fire or other calamity.
The divider worked and traffic on that piece of road has since then flowed reasonably well, except for when the occasional taxi driver “trolls” the stretch for passengers they hope need to “go back to their cruise ships.” So a divider there is a must. Now, of course I can agree with maybe replacing the concrete divider with say, plastic tubes fitted on rubber bases that cause a division between the two sides of the road, but are flexible to move when something or someone slams into them.
However, knowing how things often work on our beloved island, I guarantee you that such plastic dividing posts will be broken off in less than six months (not all at once), but just like the short white ones on the side of the Route National from the Cole Bay border to St. James, they will disappear, causing the pre-2000 traffic jams in and out of Beacon Hill to resume with greater vigour!
My suggestion for the problem: Let’s consider re-routing all the traffic in and out of Beacon Hill along the south fence of the airport, up past Mary’s Boon Hotel and onto the Airport Road; then extending the east west airport fences (both sides of the airport property) all the way to the beach edge west of the present road leading to the Alegria front gate. Allowing for foot traffic on the entire beach, the Jet Blast Surfers will still be able to hold on to the fence, but this fence will now be on the western side of the present road, and those “blown” will end up on sand or in the sea (hopefully with a life jacket on).
Alternatively, before we consider any other tunnel (with all due respect to our Prime Minister’s plan), let’s find the funds to build the most simple viaduct (á la Montserrat new airport access road) and channel regular vehicular traffic underground, plane/sunset gazers onto the beach on foot and fence off the present Beacon Hill Road with a locked gate on either side (North and South), so emergency vehicles can still get in and out of Beacon Hill if need be.
One thing for sure, the spectacular SXM Airport landings are greatly contributing to our Tourism product and that show should go on, albeit that we have a collective responsibility as Government and Private Sector to do all we can to protect us from us.
Michael J. Ferrier
Dear Editor,
An alternative suggestion for the associated problems with the jet blast and the entrance to Beacon Hill, is to build the previously discussed boardwalk. Properly designed, it could eliminate or substantially reduce the on again off again tidal wave of sand that virtually closes off the only entrance to Beacon Hill; provide the Jet Blasters with a safe distance to enjoy their experience, with the only danger being blown into the ocean; create a safe walkway for pedestrians versus their current balancing act on the low concrete curb or roadway; allow benches for enjoying the sunset and plane arrivals; and still provide a beach which could be protected from erosion with the addition of a floating breakwater.
This is not an original idea, as I believe Mr. Rudy Engel and others have brought it up to various Ministers over the years, but with the most recent tragic and avoidable accident that occurred recently time is of the essence to come up with a viable solution to a problem that won't go away on its own.
Bill Olliver
(Curaçao Chronicle)
I am a dissident, but the outcome of the elections of last year has proven that there are thousands of dissidents with me, mainly among the voters of the PS party, which I do not belong to. Whiteman, the then Prime Minister of Curaçao, pitched a fastball by way of an election stunt. But it backfired! More than half his voters have turned their backs on him, as became apparent from the outcome of the election.
In his perpetual wisdom, Whiteman has decided - for us, about us, on behalf of us, but without us - that the salvation of the economy of Curaçao lies in an MOU with China, in which he has offered China on a silver platter the control and exploitation of our two most important natural resources, our two deep-sea ports.
Under the pretext of the infamous tunnel vision, i.e. the modernization of Isla refinery, which China is prepared to finance, Whiteman, without any advance broad-based public debate, signed an MOU in which he offered the entire direction of our future economic development platter to a foreign entity in a most rash and thoughtless manner. Not only will China get control over our two deep-sea ports, no, our entire energy chain will also be taken over by China.
China is prepared to invest US $10 billion (or so they say) in our economy, and in the view of most of our “ruling politicians,” we should be very grateful for this. The fact that Curoil, CPA and Aqualectra will be pushed out of the market and will lose their right of existence, is something they conveniently fail to mention.
Where modernization of the refinery alone is concerned, China is prepared to invest 3 to 5 billion USD. The fact that after modernization, 90% of the brand-new refinery will be computer operated, with a required staff of no more than 400, is also something they conveniently fail to mention. Perhaps our politicians can explain to me where lies the rationality of an investment of US $ 3 billion that will unavoidably result in such a loss of jobs, while all political parties so strongly advocate creation of employment.
With the offer to modernize Isla, China has thrown out small-fish bait to catch a really big fish, because the unwavering demand of this investment is that the oil terminal at Bullenbaai is inextricably included in the deal of Isla refinery. However, inextricably connected with the oil terminal and also inextricably connected with Isla are the huge water parcels bordering on the oil terminal and Isla. As such, with the oil terminal and Isla, China also gets control and exploitation of our two deep-sea ports.
What our politicians also conveniently fail to mention is that there is a fully-worked-out plan ready for large scale industrial development of the back country adjacent to the oil terminal at Bullenbaai, where a variety of industrial establishments will be provided with a variety of investors (locally and internationally), which could create tens of thousands of jobs with a risk-spread because of such intended diversification, since Curaçao will then not be dependent on one big foreign investor.
What our politicians also conveniently fail to mention is that this large-scale development of the back country at Bullenbaai will be doomed if Curaçao does not maintain control and operation of the deep-sea port at Bullenbaai itself, because without the deep-sea port to facilitate the development, the latter will be like a still-born child.
One spicy detail, which has also been conveniently left unmentioned by our politicians, is the fact that the large-scale development plan was explained to the Council of Ministers in a Power Point presentation on May 7th of last year, and at which occasion all the ministers had nodded in approval, full of praise for the large-scale development plan under our own control. Nevertheless, the Council of Ministers has deemed it useful, necessary and desirable (please see the National Resolution signed by them) by way of an election stunt during last year’s election campaign, to pull this MOU with the Chinese out of his hat.
And beware she who dares to have a different opinion and propagate this opinion.
Well, the undersigned has had the audacity to disclose her opinion as referred to hereinabove to the public, and therefore she “does no longer fit on the team”. Well, so be it! I am a dissident and I shall remain a dissident. However, the outcome of the elections has proven that with me, there are many thousands of fellow dissidents. What does he mean by the “will of the people”?
Marguérite Nahar (LL.M.)
Kaya Alonso de Ojeda 57
Saliña Harbour View
Tel.: 461-8020/667-1430
