Thursday, July 31, 2008

The local Legislature issues a resolution!

Sixteenth Tinian & Aguiguan Legislative Delegation
Second Senatorial District
P.O. Box 500129
Saipan, MP 96950

Senator Joseph M. Mendiola, Chairman Senator Henry H. San Nicolas, Vice Chairman
Representative Edwin P. Aldan, Floor Leader Senator Jude U. Hofschneider, Legislative Secretary
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
July 14, 2008

Mrs. Terri Clawson
c/o Tinian Health Center Office of the Mayor
P. O. Box 59 Tinian, MP 96952

Dear Mrs. Clawson:

I have the honor to transmit a certified copy of Tinian and Aguiguan Legislative Delegation's Resolution No. 16-03, entitled, “To recognize the contributions made by Mrs. Terri Clawson and to commend her generosity and unselfishness to the community of Tinian,” adopted by the Tinian and Aguiguan Legislative Delegation, Sixteenth Northern Marianas Commonwealth Legislature during its First Day, Second Special Session on July 9, 2008.

Sincerely,

ALICIA DLG. LEON GUERRERO
Delegation Clerk

Enclosure:

TINIAN & AGUIGUAN LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION
Sixteenth Northern Marianas Commonwealth Legislature

SECOND SPECIAL SESSION, 2008
Tinian & Aguiguan Legislative Delegation Resolution No.16-03
Introduced by Representative Edwin P. Aldan, Senators Jude U. Hofschneider, Joseph M. Mendiola, and Henry H. San Nicolas
_____________________________________________________________________________________
A TINIAN & AGUIGUAN LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION RESOLUTION

To recognize the contributions made by Mrs. Terri Clawson and to commend her generosity and unselfishness to the community of Tinian.

WHEREAS, Mrs. Terri Clawson was born on October 13, 1954, in Steubenville, Ohio and is happily married to Mr. Kevan Clawson; and

WHEREAS, through their union, Mr. Kevan and Mrs. Terri Clawson are blessed with five wonderful children; and

WHEREAS, Mrs. Terri Clawson holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Microbiology from
Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah and recently earned her Masters Degree as a Physician Assistant from Quinnipiac University, Hamden, Connecticut in August, 2007; and

WHEREAS, throughout her career, Mrs. Terri Clawson has worked in various medical care related positions including as a Medical Assistant for several doctors, a Medical transcriptionist, a teacher teaching Medical Assisting at Utah Technical College, and as a consultant to doctors and medical offices for office efficiency; and

WHEREAS, currently, Mrs. Terri Clawson is employed by the Tinian Health Center as Physician's Assistant where her expertise and dedication are well appreciated by the residents of Tinian; and

WHEREAS, because of her dedication and unselfishness, Mrs. Terri Clawson has also given her spare time and money for the betterment of the Tinian Health Center; and

WHEREAS, donations given by Mrs. Terri Clawson include the acquisition of a 14,850 Piccolo Xpress state-of-the-art blood chemistry analyzer, renovation of the Patient Holding Room 1 amounting to $3,000.00, and the payment of labor costs for the repainting of interior of the Tinian Health Center; and

WHEREAS, Mrs. Terri Clawson also provides assistance during her spare time to the Tinian community; and

WHEREAS, the Tinian Legislative Delegation finds it fitting to recognize the contributions made by Mrs. Terri Clawson and commends her generosity and unselfishness to the community of Tinian; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Tinian and Aguiguan Legislative Delegation of the Sixteenth Northern Marianas Commonwealth Legislature, that the Delegation hereby recognizes the contributions made by Mrs. Terri Clawson and commends her generosity and unselfishness to the community of Tinian; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chairman of the Tinian and Aguiguan Legislative Delegation shall certify, and the Delegation Legislative Secretary shall attest to the adoption of this resolution and thereafter the Delegation Clerk shall transmit certified copies to Mrs. Terri Clawson; to the Honorable Jose P. San Nicolas, Mayor of Tinian and Aguiguan; and to the Honorable Benigno R. Fitial, Governor of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Adopted by the Tinian and Aguiguan Legislative Delegation during its First Day,
Second Special Session 2008 held on 9th day of July, 2008, on the island of Saipan,
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

CERTIFIED BY: ATTESTED TO BY:

Senator Joseph M. Mendiola Senator Jude U. Hofschneider
Chairman Legislative Secretary

Mormon Youth revised

I forgot to put down the names of the Mormon youth from Saipan that invaded Tinian:

Nathan Benson, Limson Souelian, Jessica Liu, Bill-gae Puruvseren, Tikla Brown, Carrie Espinoza, Elizabeth Liu, Jenny Villegas, Richard Que, Jari Voultilainen, Chantea Voultilainen.

Book convention and stuff...and more stuff

Here is the banner that will be in our booth at the LDS book convention in Utah. I will be traveling to Utah the first week in August for this convention.

Here is a sample of the post cards we are making to sell on Tinian and Saipan, created from pictures taken by my daughter Liz when she visited Tinian in January.


The workers installing the brickwork along the median on Broadway are amazing! Look at the small pieces they are cutting to fill-in the gaps!


One of the sad things about Tinian is the number of homes that have been abandoned. Either they were destroyed in one of the Typhoons that frequently hit the island, or were never finished by the owner due to lack of funds.
The jungle seems to quickly take-over these abandoned buildings

Which brings up a concern I always have living here: what happens to those living in metal-sided homes, and homes with metal roofs, when the Typhoons hit? It would be like riding out a tornado in a trailer! Most new homes are all made of solid concrete to be able to withstand the extreme weather.





We will all need one of these when the next 'big one' hits the island! There have already been two big typhoons that formed just west of us and hit the mainland northwest of the islands (China and Japan).


this is one of my favorite homes on the island. I love the color and style, and it even has a little 'guest' bungalow in the back!


You can see why I like to walk around Tinian! The pictures never to them justice...






People are always finding creative ways to show off their flowers

Another large cactus on a tropical island... it is the twilight zone...

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

News and more news...

The missing scooter has been found! It was found somewhere up in Marpo Heights, in good condition, and even with gas still in the tank! The police have it now, but will give it back to us once they are through 'processing' it.

The clinic is in turmoil as the resident doctor has decided not to renew his contract. Both Terri (a Physician Assistant) and Arly Long (a Nurse Practitioner) can only work while under the supervision of a medical doctor. It is now up to the 'powers that be' to find a solution to the problem (otherwise the island will be without medical care). This could be giving them permission to treat patients by using a doctor on Saipan--it is very common to use doctors via phone when in remote areas--or by providing a new doctor. Since it is very hard to make a new doctor suddenly appear (even Saipan is having difficulty keeping doctors), I am sure they will have to work out some type of remote supervision. In any case, there are a lot of people running around trying to keep the clinic up and running.

Here is a copy of the article that appeared in today's paper:

Saipan Tribune
Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Tinian loses full-time doctor
By Kristi Eaton

With the recent resignation of Dr. Ronaldo Toledo, Tinian Health Center will only have a medical doctor on weekends until a replacement is hired full time.

Toledo resigned unexpectedly last week, leaving the facility without a full-time doctor, said Alexander Gorman, Department of Public Health legal counsel.

The facility is only required to have a medical doctor 30 percent of the time. A nurse practitioner and physician's assistant are working full time at the Center.

“At this point, [the Center] is meeting legal requirements,” Gorman said.

The Center is trying to fill the position immediately, he said.

Gorman said the lack of a full-time doctor would not change patient care.

“Any major problems are shipped [to Saipan],” he added.

Gorman said doctors from Saipan would continue to go to Tinian Friday through Sunday until a replacement is found.

H. Christine Brown, a family practice doctor from Saipan, traveled to Tinian over the weekend to provide care.

Gorman said he is unsure if Brown, who was a doctor at Island Medical Center at one time, will return this weekend or if another doctor will travel to the island.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Gardens of Tinian

One of the pleasures of walking around the village on Tinian is to view the variety of gardens that the locals have created around their homes. Many of the plants are completely new to me and make walking a true wonderland:


Many people surround their property with tree stumps that are used to plant flowers in--kind of a 'flower fence'
There are still a number of empty lots around the village, just waiting for someone to build a new home on.



Just another 'lawn mower' working hard at keeping the grass mowed!

Here is another new palm tree I had never seen before.

Roshi's was a popular clothing store when we arrived about a year ago. Just one more sign of the times in the CNMI...





Laundry is an expensive chore on the island, now that the electricity costs have doubled or tripled, so many have gone back to 'air drying' clothes... takes me back to my childhood when I used to help my mother take clothes off the line in the back of our little white house in Utah.


I discovered a wonderful little park tucked away at the end of a dead-end road. Like many projects on the islands, the upkeep is often too expensive to continue..



Many buildings continue to sit uncompleted-- waiting for better times perhaps...

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Looking for a lost scooter?!


Over the weekend someone borrowed one of our scooters... It can't be stolen, because on an island this small, there is nowhere to hide... so it was simply borrowed! After all, the key was left in the bike, an obvious sign that it was a 'community' scooter!

We are hoping that whoever borrowed it will bring it back when they are done!

Mormon Youth invade Tinian!

Terri and I had the pleasure of having a large group of young men and women from the Mormon church on Saipan come to the island of Tinian for a few days. There were eleven in total (seven girls and four boys) that descended on the island on Friday afternoon. Most came by ferry, but two (the married couple that was chaperoning the group) came by plane.

Terri and I helped them get settled in the Fleming Hotel, and ended up having dinner at the Fleming Restaurant as a group.

The next morning they came over to the LoriLynne where we have our little studio apartment to eat breakfast. We used our kitchen and the 'communal' kitchen to cook pancakes, eggs, bacon, etc.


After breakfast, we were scheduled to go on a hike. However, the weather was rather wet, so we decided to ride part way up Marpo hill, and then walk the rest of the way up to the Shinto shrine located there. We traveled up the hill stuffed in a car, and using all four of our scooters! As soon as we arrived where we would begin our short walk, it started to rain. Everyone but me had come prepared-- they were going swimming afterwards, so they had shorts or swim suits on! I just got wet...

Here is the group in front of the Shinto Shrine.



After reaching our goal, the group heads back down the mountain to go swimming at Taga beach.


They stuffed so many people in their car, they were coming out the sides!

They even had to double-up on our scooters! After the hike, old man that I am, I went back to shower and rest while the rest of the group went swimming, and whatever other things young people do these days...


Sunday morning they came back to our little apartment for breakfast, and to hold Sacrament meeting together.


They had asked Terri and I to give a short talk after the sacrament service, which we were happy to do. Terri talked about how she and I ended up coming to Tinian-- a result of the providence of God, blessings that came, in our opinion, as a result of our faith and faithfulness over the years.

There is an important principle that Joseph Smith taught, as revealed to him in the Doctrine and Covenants: every blessing we recieve is a result of a specific commandment we obey. This is how it reads:

There is a law irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundation of the world, upon which all blessings are predictated--and when we obtain any blessings from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated (D&C 130:20-21)

Terri has always wanted to expand her medical knowledge, and to work in a small clinic, in a secluded area, where she could get to know the people she was serving. Just as Abraham and Sarah were never too old to have children (God found a way), Terri was not too old to have her dream come true (God found a way). Even though many colleges turned Terri down due to her age (yes, this really happened), but doors were opened, and she received her Masters Degree as a Physician Assistant.

We then had to choose where in the world we would travel so Terri could work (I could go anywhere, as I would be writing). More inspiration came, and the rest is history: we are living out our dream on Tinian island.

The principle we shared with these young men and women is very simple: if you keep the commandments of God, and do your best to faithfully serve Him, God will bless you. Sometimes those blessings may be delayed longer than you might like them to be (in Terri's case, they were delayed thirty years), but they will come--and the waiting just makes the blessings all the more precious.

Anyway, it was a great weekend. Besides, having a house full of people singing hymns, instead of just the three of us (Terri, me and Ramon), was a wonderful experience. We hope they will return again. The only dissappointing thing was that the group was supposed to be larger--a group from Guam was going to join us also, but for some reason they could not come. Perhaps next time!