The Champions of Saipan,Youth AthletesA look into their lives

Art festival to ignite in Saipan Flame Tree Festival

Kagman CommunityHealth CenterCelebrating a healthy year of service

Flame colored blossoms flare at the Okinawa Memorial in Marpi, Saipan. The Flame Tree, or Relonx Regia, is the state tree of the NMI. (Photo by Bill Bezzant)

Beach Road Magazine, April 2014. Entire contents copyrighted 2014 by Glimpses of Saipan, Inc. Beach Road Magazine is published monthly by Glimpses of Saipan, Inc. P.O. Box 502080, Saipan, MP 96950 • 2/F Transpac Business Center Gualo Rai, Saipan • Tel: (670) 235-7645 • Fax: (670) 234-1801 • E-mail: saipan@glimpsesofguam.com. All rights reserved. No material may be printed in part or in whole without written permission from the publisher.

PUBLISHER Maureen N. Maratita

ASSISTANT EDITOR Joy White

CREATIVE/PRODUCTION MANAGER Taliea Strohmeyer

PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR Rosanna Dacanay

SENIOR DESIGNER Vikki Fong

DESIGN & PRODUCTION Ella Beheshti

SALES MANAGER Annie San Nicolas

ACCOUNT MANAGER Minda Castro

MANAGING DIRECTOR Marcos W. Fong

Glimpses Publications includeGuam Business Magazine, Marianas Business Journal,

Beach Road Magazine and R&R Pacific

Cover FeatureArt festival to ignite in Saipan

Angel in Paradise

Health & FitnessSpring Has Sprung!

Saipan celebrates library month

The Champions of Saipan,Youth Athletes

Pianist brings music to the Pacific

Kagman Community Health CenterCelebrating a healthy year of service

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About the Cover:Shown in photo is our beautiful cover model Maria Angelica Malasarte. Her hair and make-up is provided by Eydie Uy of Makeover Beauty Salon, owned by Shirley Kim. Special thanks to Lucy Camacho; Lei courtesy of Marylynn Yamada-Sablan.

Photo is by Bill Bezzantbill.bezzant@saipan.com

April 2014

We’re Online!www.brmsaipan.com

beachroadmagazine

By Joy White • Contributed photos

Art festival to ignitein Saipan

For three days, artists will get their time in the limelight at the 33rd Flame Tree Arts Festival in Susupe, Saipan. Saipan

artists, as well as artists from all of Micronesia and neighboring regions are represented at the event. The festival also brings every art medium in one place. Performing, traditional, visual, modern and contemporary artists all congregate in one place to display and sell their products. “It’s like a huge party for all the artists,” says Parker Y. Yobei, festival coordinator. The event will take place at Civic Center Park from April 25 to 26.

Named after the Flame Tree, which starts blooming in April, the festival started in 1987 by the staff of the Commonwealth Council for Arts and Culture. “There’s no recorded history or planning in black and white that we have now but this event has grown tremendously over the years,” says Yobei. Since its inception, the festival is dedicated to appreciating the works of local artist. The festival also features work from visiting artists. All arts go through a strict application process to

ensure all art is original. “In other words, general merchandise is prohibited,” Yobei says.

“We’ve been uniting different cultures, artists through this event and this year we welcome the performing group (Jazz) from Michigan state and the a traditional performing group from South California as well as Guam, Palau, Rota, Tinian, and other Micronesian Islands,” says Yobei.

The festival is organized by the Commonwealth Council for Arts and Council, a division of The Department of Community and Cultural Affairs Office. Yobei says the community can expect a “powerful program” line up. The lineup was arranged by Gordon Marciano who has been the chairman for the entertainment for the past several years. 

One of the biggest events of the year, the event is well attended by the Saipan community and other tourists visiting the island. Held outdoors, the event highlights not only the talent of Saipan’s artists, but the beauty of the Flame Tree in bloom.

4 APRIL 2014

ON THE ROADCOVER FEATURE

Angel in ParadiseMaria Angelica Malasarte,

better known as Angel, has her heart set on entering the education field. She is currently a senior at Saipan Southern High School in Koblerville and is planning to attend the University of Guam in the fall semester to major in education. You may recognize her as the 2012 Miss Liberation Royal Princess and the United Filipino Organization (CNMI), Inc.’s winner of 2012 Miss Pusong Pinoy Pageant. Angel also uses her beauty to help the world around her. When crowned Miss Pusong Pinoy, Angel donated a percentage of her winnings to earthquake victims in the Visayas and Northern Mindanao, in the Philippines. In addition, She was a finalist and in the Top 5 of The “Trash and Fashion” recycling competition coordinated by the CNMI Bureau of Environmental & Coastal Quality. She is the daughter of Marilou and Romeo Malasarte, and is claims the role of big sister to her three younger siblings, Roma Amor, 10, Nicole, 12 and John Romeo, 14.

Age: 17Birthday: Nov. 30, 1996Zodiac Sign: Scorpio Height: 5’6”

5APRIL 2014

APRIL 20146

HEALTH & FITNESS

It’s now spring time, the time of growth, renewal, and a fresh start.

Speaking of fresh… let’s talk about the fresh fruits and vegetables and more importantly why you need to eat more fresh fruits and veggies. Let’s talk about “fresh” fruit and veggies and how eating them will help you look and feel better.

Spring Has Sprung!By Carmen Rojas

HEALTH & FITNESS

7APRIL 2014

HEALTH & FITNESSHEALTH & FITNESS

First, the “fresh” part. The longer a fruit or vegetable stays attached to the plant the more vitamins and minerals it absorbs and the better it tastes. This is up to a point of course, because food can go bad still on the plant. Before that piece of fruit got into your cart, it sat on a shelf, and before that in a warehouse. If it was not grown locally it would have to be transported. Prior to that, it had to be picked. Depending on the fruit or vegetable, the journey from farm to store may take weeks. Here is a rule of thumb I tell people: the farther away your food is from you the less healthy it is. If it’s grown closer to you then the transport time is less, and that delicious pepper or apple has actually absorbed more nutrients and will likely taste better than the one that is plucked super early so that it “ripens” on the trip over. The farther you are from the place where your food is grown the less nutrient dense your food will be. To guarantee nutrition, it is recommended that you buy in season fruit and veggies as local as possible.

Fruits and veggies have three major things working for them – fiber, vitamins and minerals. This is the trouble with juice. We squeeze out all the sweet parts and leave behind almost all of the fiber and a significant amount of the vitamins and minerals. Some companies have tried to add more nutritious parts, but it changed the flavor of the juice. So, even more sugar was added to make it taste good.

Spring time is a great time to try new fruits and veggies. To make it simple, the vitamins and minerals in fruits and veggies help your body work right. Take a chance on a fruit or vegetable and it’s a chance that will pay you back in more ways than you can imagine.

Saipan celebrateslibrary month

Library Month is dedicated for school libraries all through-out the month, while one week is designated as National Library Week for public libraries.   During National Library Week and throughout the month, the Joeten-Kiyu Public Library hosts special events and activities that highlight the special role that libraries play and positively shape the lives of in the island com-munities in being more literate and informed citizens.  “Librar-ies are an oasis to discover the world beyond our small island shores, travel the world through imagination through the wealth of physical and virtual resources, and broaden your interests and horizons through technology and digital literacy,” Gonzales says.

Activities for the month include open houses, book sales, celebrity readers, computer classes to demonstrate the wealth of available online educational resources as reference for scholarly research or to assist people with learning new information, and educational tours to raise community awareness on the vital role public libraries play in educating and informing our people. In addition, amnesty will be given to patrons who owe library penalties and fines and allow them to return books and materials without being assessed additional fines.

The library, along with Rota Public Library and Tinian Public Library offers various educational services, including about 100,000 collections of titles, multimedia, and access to electronic database and scholarly reference resources through online sources; arts and crafts; movie shows; traditional cultural classes and lessons; music instrument lessons; after school homework service; and so much more.

The Joeten-Kiyu Public Library is always looking to improve its services to the community. “We believe that information transcends the traditional brick and mortar space of conventional libraries.   The unprecedented evolution of technology challenges us to be continually transformative in such a way that we are locally informed, yet globally marketable and competitive,” Gonzales says.

Meet the CNMI State Library staff:

John Oliver Gonzales, M.A., – JKPL Executive Director oversees daily operations of the State Library under the CNMI Library Council. 

Jennifer Rospel – administrative officer

Erlinda C. Naputi – Children’s Associate Librarian, supervises the library outreach staff and all proposed projects. She handles the services at COHL and coordinates the Bookmobile program.

Keeping community service alive are young library volunteers from Saipan Southern High School. From left: Nathaniel Montano, Natalia Javier and Christine Rota. Photo taken on April 5, 2014 at the Joeten Kiyu Public Library/CNMI State Library in Susupe.

This April, the Joeten-Kiyu Public Library is celebrating Library month. The theme for this year is “Lives change at your library.” Libraries are an important foundation of a healthy and informed community, says John

Gonzales, executive director of the Joeten-Kiyu Public Library. “The fact that we are located remotely in the Pacific epitomizes the pronounced positive impact and benefit that having public libraries in Rota, Tinian, and Saipan, is a realistic way we can connect to the rest of the world,” says Gonzales.

8 APRIL 2014

ON THE ROADCOMMUNITY FEATURE

by Joy White

Rosalyn A. Ajoste, MLS – technical services librarian, who will provide professional librarianship guidance. 

Omar T. Manacop – ITC coordinator

Xerxes W. Mangarero – library outreach assistant

Leoralyn B. Sablan – library outreach assistant

Ray Deleon Guerrero, Jr. – supervises the CIRC front desk. Handles general circulation of library materials and catalogues and processes new and donated titles.

Celina Camacho Foreman – handles library outreach services with weekly read, exhibits and library promotions at many community partner events and public functions, JKPL liaison to Motheread/Fatheread Program

Kanso Sablan – ITC assistant

Marvieluz J. Sye – library assistant at Tinian Public Library

Arlinda Pinaula – library assistant at Antonio C. Atalig Memorial Public Library in Rota.  

CNMI State Library StaffShown in photo are some of the staff from the CNMI State Library, or the Joeten Kiyu Public Library. From left: John Oliver Gonzales, executive director, Rey DeLeon Guerrero, Xerxes Mangarero, Rosalyn Ajoste, Beth Demapan and Edita Naputi. Photo taken during the CNMI Public School ‘s Parent Summit on Jan. 31.

COMMUNITY FEATURE

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Sponsored by:

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*Event times and dates may change without notice.

For showtimes:234-9000 or visit

www.regmovies.comProudly serves refreshing beverages.

FIND US IN THE DIGITAL WORLD AND STAY IN TOUCH!www.facebook.com/BEACHROADMAGAZINE VISIT US ONLINE: WWW.BRMSAIPAN.COM

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MOVIES • Walk of Shame

• The Other Womanpremiere at

Regal Cinemas

MOVIES • Transcendence

• A Haunted House 2• Bears

• Heaven is for Realpremiere at

Regal Cinemas

MOVIES Rio 2 premiere atRegal Cinemas

MOVIES • Captain America: The

Winter Soldier• Dom Hemingway• Island of Lemurs:

Madagascar premiere at Regal Cinemas

Turtle tagging with Department of

Fish and Wildlife’s Turtle Team

11 a.m.Location Fishing Base

Showing of documentaryDrawing the Line at the American

Memorial Park Visitor’s Center

April Fool’s Day

9th Annual Saipan Marathon

Time: 50 K/marathon – 4:30 a.m. Half-marathon – 5:34 a.m.

10 K – 6 a.m. Location: American Memorial

Park, Micro BeachCut off time for 50K/Marathan at

halfway point is 9 a.m.

Tour of winners of storm drain painting contest Kinpachi Rest.

Turtle tagging withDepartment of Fish and Wild-life’s Turtle Team Fishing BaseCNMI Small Business Dev’t Center business workshop

“Customer Service for Small Business” 2nd Flr., Family Bldg.,

Garapan (Free of Charge)

The new formula for “Coca-Cola” (referred

to as “new Coke”)was introduced on

this day in 1985.

Robert W. Woodruff was

elected president of The Coca-Cola

Company this day in 1923.

33rd Annual Flame

Coastal Resources Management beach

and pavilion clean up9 a.m. to noon

Sugar Dock

Easter

Egg Hunt with ‘Camp Hyatt’ Kids ClubTime:  First egg hunt at

11:30 a.m., the second egg hunt starts at 12:30 p.m. and

the third at 1:30 pm.Location: Hyatt Regency Saipan

Asa Candler, an early“Coca-Cola” leaser,

acquired 100%ownership of

The Coca-Cola Companyon April 22, 1981.

Environmental ExpoContact Avra Heller at

avrahellerdeq@gmail.comfor more information

Environmental ExpoContact Avra Heller at

avrahellerdeq@gmail.comfor more information

Recycled Boat RaceLocation: Kilili Beach

Categories for ages 18 & under, & over 18. Cash prizes. Contact Cal Westergard at calwestergard@

deq.gov.mp for details

Hafa Adai 5KLocation: Pacific Islands Club Saipan

Price: $10

Environmental ExpoContact Avra Heller at

avrahellerdeq@gmail.comfor more information

33rd Annual Flame

33rd Annual Flame

11APRIL 2014

13APRIL 2014

ENVIRONMENT

The Champions of saipan,Youth Athletes

BAsKETBALL

Jess Santos, 17, has been playing basketball for nine years. “I first got involved in my sport in the 5th grade. I played

for the school basketball team,” Santos says. Santos loves the competitive and team aspects of the sport, and has a lot of fun playing. He idolizes basketball players like Dwayne Wade, Kyrie Irving, and Kobe Bryant. His passion for the sports keeps him inspired to continue playing. Santos snagged the MVP Award at the Champions of the 2014 Saipan Settsu Friendship Basketball Tournament.

VoLLEYBALL

Sabrina Pangelinan, 17, has been playing volleyball for seven years. She found her way to volleyball through a school

league in her elementary schools. .”I love the fundamentals of volleyball, the many relationships I’ve built with my coaches and teammates, and just the feeling I get when I play, whether it’s during a game, practice, or for fun,” Pangelinan says. She looked to the Newport High School Varsity Volleyball Team for inspiration. “They were the reason why I started to love playing volleyball because they made it look so fun and competitive at the same time. I looked up to them and they motivated me to keep playing and improve more so I can become a better indoor volleyball player,” she says. She also has parents who provide support, and her coaches, who encourage her to strengthen her skills. Pangelinan helped her team win the 2013-2014 MISO Girls Volleyball Championships.

Juggling school and practice, youth athletes excel in their sports and community. They set goals for themselves to achieve greatness and better themselves, all the while having fun, too. Each athlete has a

different story of how he or she was introduced to sports, and each has different obstacles and aspirations. In the end, however, it is all about the love for the game.

14 APRIL 2014

SPORTS FEATURE

GoLF

Bohyun Kim, 17, has been playing golf for three years. She was encouraged by her parents, who took her to

a golf coach to learn. She practiced her skills for a year and a half. Just starting out in the field, Kim plays for the Saipan Southern High School golf team and celebrates all her improvements as achievements. She gathers her inspiration from seeing her own progress and her father’s support. For Kim, golf is all about, “the feeling you get when you hit the sweet spot,” she says.

sWIMMING

Kento Akimaru, 13, has been active in swimming for nine years, since a friend of his joined the team and he accompanied him to

practice. “I love being in the water. I enjoy water sports and water activities,” Akimaru says. He enjoys setting goals and seeing himself improve. Although he is a young man, he has made a splash in the swim world. At eight years old, Akimaru broke the 50 m butterfly record for the NMI. At nine years old, he joined a team to participate in Tagaman and Extera. In the International meet of 2014 March 21-23 he won second place over all for his age category, and for the 36thocean swim in the 2.5km he won a first place over all for his age category.

ON THE ROADSPORTS FEATURE

Every year he participates in the Guam A Champs. This summer he will be competing in the KeoNakama swim meet in Honolulu, HI as well as representing the CNMI in the Micronesian Games in Pohnpei. His sports idol is Japanese swimmer Matsuda Tekeshi, who swims butterfly.

Victoria Chentsova, 16, has been involved with swimming for 8 years. She first got involved in the sport of

swimming after traveling several other sports. Swimming was the activity she was the most drawn to. “It is very rewarding. It feels really good to work hard and put a lot of effort in and see everything pay off,” says Chentsova. The experience has cultivated a bond between the team, who she views as her own siblings. Her sports idols are Missy Franklin, Katie Ledecky, and Federica Pellegrini. She enjoys the feeling of giving all in the discipline and effort required by the sport. This summer Chentsova will be competing in the KeoNakama swim meet in Honolulu, HI as well as representing the CNMI in the Micronesian Games in Pohnpei.  Her past awards include placing second in her division in SSC’s “Annual Ocean Swim in 2014, and first in 2013; the first female finisher overall in the Coco’s Crossing on Guam; and first female finisher of her age group in the Coco’s Crossing on Guam in 2012, to name a few.

16 APRIL 2014

ON THE ROADSPORTS FEATURE

World renowned classical pianist Roman Victor Rudnytsky has played in dozens of country around the world.

“I go to various countries each year, and I go to many “out-of-the-way” places which seldom have anyone come and play a classical recital,” Rudnytsky says. “One theory of mine, which gets proven correct again and again, is that almost any given place will have some people who will enjoy classical concerts.” The pianist visited the Northern Marianas Islands to play recitals at the high schools in Saipan, Rota, and Tinian throughout the end of March and early April. He participated in the Tumon Bay Music Festival on Guam, and performed Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue in the final concert as a soloist with the International Tumon Bay Wind Ensemble. In May he will be playing in Mexico, and later in the year, he will play in Mexico, Britain, and Alaska.

Pianist brings music to the PacificBy Joy White

“I want to bring to my audiences some positive feeling through the music I play. I want the works I interpret and play to elevate, enrich, entertain, and educate my audiences. It is something which just is within me and is second nature to me. I am inspired to play also because music is an international language and does unite people, no matter where they are from.”

18 APRIL 2014

ENTERTAINMENT FEATURE

The musician has been to Saipan seven times in the past 25 years. He has played at local high schools. “I have found the audiences very receptive and warm,” Rudnytsky says of his experience in the islands. He also has an interest in history and has visited many historical sites from World War II on Saipan and Tinian. He has also performed in Palau, Pohnpei, Kwajalein, Roi-Namur, and Majuro. “I have always found Saipan a lovely island—very attractive and very pleasant to be in, and I tell this to people elsewhere,” he says.

“I want to bring to my audiences some positive feeling through the music I play. I want the works I interpret and play to elevate, enrich, entertain, and educate my audiences. It is something which just is within me and is second nature to me. I am inspired to play also because music is an international language and does unite people, no matter where they are from,” Rudnytsky says.

Rudnytsky was born in New York in 1942 and grew up in Toms River, New Jersey. He currently lives in Youngstown, Ohio. He began playing the piano at the age of four and played his first recital at seven. “People sometimes ask me when I decided to play the piano. I always say: ‘the piano

chose me’” says Rudnytsky. When he was a small child he would listen to his father give piano lessons, and would poke at the piano keys to make sounds. “This told my parents that something was pulling me to the piano,” he says. After his affinity for the piano was discovered, his father gave him lessons. Rudnytsky also received instruction from other piano teacher sin Philadelphia. Later, he attended Juilliard School in New York, graduating with a Master’s in piano performance.

The pianist comes from a family of professional musicians. His father was a pianist, composer, and conductor, and his mother was an opera singer. His younger brother is a cellist, and also received a degree from Juilliard.

His concert performances are arranged through various sponsoring organizations, including U.S. Embassies and Consulates. “I am like a “cultural ambassador” when I perform recitals and conduct master classes through them for local piano students and teachers. I have done this in over 35 countries through them,” he says. The musician also does recitals on cruise ships. One cruise line he has been associated with is the P&O Cruises, the main UK division. He has performed on over 50 cruises with P&O Cruises.

“In 2014 so far, I played at the end of February in the Holy Land—Jerusalem and Bethlehem—plus conducted master classes in Nablus in the West Bank and at a private music school in a Palestinian refugee camp through the US Consulate in Jerusalem,” the pianist said. He organizes his own tours around the world and is his own manager.

Believing in oneself, working hard on self improvement, and being concerned in one’s own progress, is Rudnytsky’s advice to young musicians. He also recommends excellent initial training and a reliable method of memorizing. Young performers should also enter competitions to and be flexible and be open to working with other musicians. The performing scene is very competitive and the audience base is very small, he warns. Young performers should do their best to persevere.

Rudnytsky was also a professor of piano and music for 44 years. He retired from Youngstown State University in Ohio three years ago after 39 years. His wife, Suzanne is a singer and teaches part-time at the Dana School of Music of Youngstown State, She is now a “new playwright” and her “theatrical song cycle” play, Sarah’s Song, will have its world premiere performance on June 7th by the Seven Stories Theatre Company of Fairmont, West Virginia. There is a possibility it may be done on Saipan next year. He has one daughter, one son, and five grandchildren.

When he is not playing piano, he likes to watch movies, the news and paranormal-investigation TV programs; to read; and to go to the casinos now and again. He also cultivates his interest in history through membership in two Titanic historical societies. He has several small but real artifacts of and from the Titanic and from the Lusitania as well.

19APRIL 2014

ENTERTAINMENT FEATURE

BRM Photo Booth, March 2928th Annual American Red Cross Walkathon

21APRIL 2014

ON THE ROAD

BRM Photo Booth, March 2928th Annual American Red Cross Walkathon

22 APRIL 2014

ON THE ROAD

BRM Photo Booth, March 2928th Annual American Red Cross Walkathon

23APRIL 2014

ON THE ROAD

The Kagman Community Health Center is celebrating its one year anniversary in April. The grand opening of the center

was on April 5, 2013, and since then the clinic has made an impact in the community. “The center has been successful in providing quality health care to its patients and community,” says Vince Castro, executive director. The health center offers comprehensive primary care services, which include prenatal, pediatric, adolescent, adult, geriatric services as well as immunizations. All types of insurance is accepted, and a sliding fee discount program is in place for those without insurance.

The response from residents has been positive. “The community is happy to have a community health center at the location. One of the major barriers to receiving quality health care was transportation and the location addressed this issue for many,” Castro says. The clinic was opened last year after a needs assessment was conducted within the community. “it was found that it is a medically underserved area. Placing a community health center in the location was a possible solution,” Castro says. The health center is funded through Section 330 of the Public Health Service Act. The Kagman Community Health Center, Inc., a non-profit corporation, and the Commonwealth Health Center are co-applicants of the grant and work together to run the community health center.

The former juvenile detention center in Kagman II, Lemmai way was renovated for the use of the clinic. Total facility space is approximately 3,000 square feet, including the administrative offices. It has four exam rooms, a laboratory, and other support areas. A total of 13 employees run the clinic.

Kagman Community Health Center celebrates a healthy year of serviceBy Joy White

24 APRIL 2014

ON THE ROADNON-PROFIT FEATURE