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Community Briefs

NOTICE TO MILITARY FAMILIES IN AMERICAN SAMOA

 

A special meeting for military personnel or their family representative will be held Saturday at 10 a.m., on September 27, at the Tradewinds Hotel in the Naumati Room.

 

Research is being conducted on the history of American Samoans in the U.S. military from the Fita Fita era through the present day. The findings of this research will be published in a special chapter in the new, updated version of the Centennial Book to be published in 2016.

 

This research is being conducted by Rob Shaffer, author of the Centennial Book published in 2000, and Cheryl Hunter, the editor of the Centennial Book, according to a media release from Shaffer.

 

Families with a member, now deceased, who served in the Fita Fita Guard, as well as any members who served in the Korean or Viet Nam wars, are asked to bring documentation of the family member, including the name and rank, years served, military unit, special decorations, and a photo of the military member in uniform, either individually or with his/her unit.

 

Members of the military presently serving or retired or a family representative are also asked to attend, including those who served in the Panama military action, the Persian Gulf War in 1991, and the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

 

Members in the American Samoa Army reserve, past or present, are also asked to attend.

 

DMWR HONORS MAYORS AND VILLAGES IN CBFMP

 

Sa’ilele village won a special award for being the best managed village Marine Protected Area (MPA)— based on data—while Fagamalo took honors for being the first no-take MPA, as well as longest closed MPA.  These awards were given last Friday, Sept. 19, during the closing of the Dept. of Marine and Wildlife Resources’ (DMWR) annual Community Based Fisheries Management Program (CBFMP) workshop.

 

(MPAs are known locally as ‘fa’asao’).

 

This is the first time special awards and recognition were presented during the yearly CBFMP workshops. Other awards included one for Poloa for being the first village MPA, while Outstanding Community Leader awards for being the most active in enforcing its MPA/MPA champions were awarded to Alofau mayor (pulenu’u) Sakaio Misifoe and Matu’u/Faganeanea pulenu’u Laumea Ale.

 

Also during the ceremony, 15 MPA officers were deputized by DMWR Director Dr. Ruth Matagi-Tofiga.

 

The workshop was conducted by project leader Afa Uikirifi and his staff members: Tepora Lavata’i, Fale Tuilagai, and Iosua Tuaumu, all under the supervision of Dr. Domingo Ochavillo, the DMWR chief of fisheries.

 

The workshop kicked off Tuesday, Sept. 16 with opening remarks by Dr. Matagi-Tofiga who informed the pulenu’u that during the recent US Coral Reef Task Force meeting she attended, the Community Based Fisheries Management Program was highlighted as one of the major accomplishments.

 

“American Samoa in its villages, __land is communally owned and the idea of a community managed fisheries program is quite welcomed,” Matagi-Tofiga said. “This program has been quite successful, and when the village decides to open its MPA, the harvest in plentiful and shared amongst the village, even extended to other villages.”

 

 Amanave mayor Aveao Fonoti echoed the same sentiments and referred to the seasonal run of the agae in Amanave, an annual phenomenon that is part of village history.

 

The four-day workshop included presentations by DMWR’s Enforcement Division, Education and Outreach, the Coral Program, the Fish Aggregation Program, and the Crown of Thorns (COTs) monitoring.

 

During the workshop, mayors raised the issue of having boats available to monitor the protected areas. Matagi-Tofiga informed them that DMWR’s enforcement division can respond to trouble calls but there is no funding at this time to purchase a boat.

 

In addition, those operating such vessels would need to undergo training, she said,adding hat other options are being explored, including the use of cameras.

 

Matagi-Tofiga is inviting all other villages to join the CBFMP. “We have a spiritual connection to the sea….It is our heritage, our livelihood. Health, security and sustainable resource management is our goal, enabling the bountiful harvest that our marine environment can offer to us and future generations,” she said.

 

The DMWR Director extended her gratitude to DMWR partners, namely Dept. of Commerce, the AS Environmental Protection Agency, the American Samoa Power Authority, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), for their presentations.

 

HIGH COURT GETS MUCH NEEDED FACELIFT

 

Workers from the Maintenance and Operations (M&O) Division of the Dept. of Public Works are busy installing new wooden rails for both the bottom and top floors of the High Court building in Fagatogo.

 

In addition, the DPW crew will also be laying new flooring for the outside deck.

 

M&O supervisor Sopa Una told Samoa News yesterday that the project is going on its third month and the delay was due to materials not arriving on time.

 

He said some of the wood being used has to be specially ordered from off island.

 

Una said the work and all the final touches, including a paint job, should be completed before the end of the year.

 

NATIONAL PASSENGER CARRIER STRIKE FORCE DATA

 

National Passenger Carrier Strike Force went into effect Aug. 25 - Sept. 8 and this year, the numbers were not that different compared to last year.

 

In his proclamation, Governor Lolo Moliga said that during the Strike Force, law enforcement officers, motor carrier inspectors, and public safety officials throughout the territory and the United States “will join forces to increase awareness of transportation safety rules and regulations.”

 

In American Samoa, the Strike Force initiative was carried out through collaboration between the Dept. of Public Safety’s Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP), law enforcement officers, and the Office of Highway Safety (OHS) “to strengthen our territory’s transportation safety efforts.”

 

This year, according to information from OHS, a total of 25 cases involving property damage were recorded. This is up 5 from the 20 cases last year during the same time period.

 

Village by village, Tafuna ranked highest on the stat sheet, accounting for ten of the property damage cases during both 2013 and 2014. Last year, 52 vehicles were involved in crashes during Strike Force but the number decreased to 49 this year.

 

Three pedestrian-related accidents were recorded last year— one each from Auto, Leone, and Vaitogi—but no cases were recorded for this year.

 

As for drivers, last year’s Strike Force netted 50 drivers involved in accidents - 36 males, 7 females, and 7 unknown. This year, 48 drivers were involved in accidents - 22 males, 14 females, and 12 unknown.

 

In addition to various informative and educational activities that were held during Strike Force, MCSAP officers also conducted inspections of all school buses and privately owned buses to ensure “they meet the safety standards as required by both federal and local laws.”

 

Samoa News has yet to receive the official statistics for those inspections.

 

ELECTION OFFICE RECEIVES MORE THAN ENOUGH APPLICANTS

 

The target number was 350 and the Election Office, along with the Dept. of Human Resources (DHR) received more than enough applications from interested locals wanting to work as poll watchers and officials during the upcoming November elections.

 

Last Friday, Sept. 19 was the application deadline and according to Election Office representative Mrs. Bernie Tilei, final selections will be made and announced in two weeks.

 

She said village mayors will be on standby, as they usually are during the election process, to ensure that everything runs smoothly at the polling stations. 

 

She said they will not be hiring 350 people, although they used that number so they could screen for extra people.

 

Final selections will be made after all applicants go through a screening process to determine if there are any non-voters and people with questionable immigration documents.

 

Those who are selected must be a registered voter with a valid voter ID card.

 

In the meantime, the Election Office is still accepting local absentee votes and the closing date is Monday, November 3, 2014 at 4 p.m.

 

Voters traveling off island but returning to the territory BEFORE November 4, 2014 are NOT eligible to vote by local absentee ballot.