The Caribbean Hurricane Page

Updates from the Islands

- - St.Maarten/St.Martin - -

• From: Gert van Dijken <gert AT vandijken.com>
• Date: Wed, 16 Feb 2000 16:02:13 -0500 (EST)

Posted on the 'Pleas for Help' Bulletin Board ( http://gobeach.com/help/ )


Name: info AT mahoresort-casino.com
Date: 02-16-00 10:26

RESPONSE TO ARTY e-mail ArtyT AT aol.com 
INTERNET DATE: Jan 25th, 2000 
RESPONSE DATE: Feb 10th, 2000 


We would like to thank Arty for reminding everybody that our island, in
spite of Hurricane Lennys destruction, is still a paradise and also for
pointing out how quickly its recovering and prospering. 
As far as Maho Beach Resort & Casino and Great Bay Beach Hotel are
concerned, as Arty rightfully says, lets look at the factsmost of which
seem to be unknown to him: 

Maho Beach Resort & Casino suffered major damage from Hurricane Lenny in
November 1999. When we say major damage, we mean that 70% of the roofs of
the three buildings broke and opened up allowing rain and sea water in all
the buildings down to the ground floor. This naturally caused the whole
structure to get soaked and corroded by the salt. Therefore, just to
mention the most evident repairs needed: 8 elevators and 2 escalators have
to be replaced, 60% of the air conditioning system; most of the 600 rooms
got water infiltration to different extents, which means replacing
furniture, painting walls, repairing bathrooms; the emergency stairs need
to be replaced; big pieces of external wall came off; and so on. We did
believe, and still do, that a fast and approximate patching up just for
the sake of a prompt reopening was not going to be the best solution
anybody: the guests primarily, the island and tourism in general and
ourselves. On the contrary, we do believe that this is the time to proceed
to a well needed refurbishing and full upgrading of our leading property.
We are talking here about a 600 room 4-star hotel, a casino, a shopping
center counting 65 shops and 15 bars and restaurants. The magnitude of the
work required explains, we hope with no more words needed, why we had to
schedule our reopening for fall of 2000. 
As of January 29th, 2000, Great Bay Beach Hotel & Golden Casino partially
reopened and are receiving guests again. In spite of the damage caused to
the property by the last hurricane, we all worked hard to out the resort
back in shape as fast as possible. 
Although we are going to be closed for a number of months, we did not lay
off any of our employees, whereas other Caribbean properties did. For
instance Neviss Four Seasons Resort, another property that suffered great
damage from Hurricane Lenny, laid off 420 of its 723 employees until
reopening, probably sometime in the fall. (Daily Herald, Feb. 9th, 2000). 
The business interruption insurance clause, apart from being a sensible
business decision for any company, is a usual clause contemplated in all
business insurance policies. Due to the amount of work needed to repair,
refurbish and upgrade the Maho Beach Resort & Casino, and the investment
needed to remarket the property, we trust that it is easily understandable
how this source of income is absolutely necessary to our Company in this
particular moment. 
Even though St. Maarten is a small country, we still have laws protecting
the right to private property. We would like to ask Arty if anywhere in
the United States of America, the Federal or Local Government is free to
turn over a private property from its rightful and legitimate owner
anytime they disagree with the Management policy and strategies. If not,
would it ever happen to suggest, for instance, Floridas Government to do
such a thing to any company or developer? 

Unfortunately, its not by taking a shopping stroll in Front Street that it
is possible to assess or appreciate the damage caused by a major
hurricane. We do agree with Arty that there is also a very charming French
Side to this island that is worth visiting because after all, we do have
two governments and this is one island to be thoroughly enjoyed. 
Our island guests opinions are very valuable to us, therefore, we would
love to have Arty as our guest as soon as the Maho Beach Hotel & Casino
reopens, to have his opinion about our renewed and upgraded property. If
anyone else has any questions, concerns or opinions please reply to e-mail
info AT mahoresort-casino.com. 


Saro Spadaro 
Managing Director 
Maho Beach Resort & Casino 
St. Maarten 

• From: ArtyT AT aol.com
• Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2000 15:05:37 EST

Gert
We just returned from paradise! let's look at the fact. It is a fact that 
there was a hurricane; but, the island is prospering. The mountain grass is 
green again and by Spring there will be flowers alive. there is virtually NO 
evidence on Front or Back Street that Lenny was there. The unfortunate thing, 
is that people don't realize there is a French side to the island that is 
charming and that recovered quicker than the Dutch side! In an interview with 
the local THE DAILY HERALD (1-14-2000), hotel owner, Rosario Spadaro painted 
a grim picture. He said his Maho Beach Resort and Great Bay Hotel would be 
lucky to open by November in time for the 2001 tourist season. what he fails 
to say is that he has business interruption insurance and he is making more 
money by staying closed than open. shame on you Mr. Spadaro! what 
Commissioners Heyliger and Ferrier and the Dutch Parliament should say to any 
property owner is "put a shovel in the ground within 60 days or we will turn 
the property over to a developer who will!!"

On the French side there is construction not reconstruction. anyone thinking 
of visiting SXM should! you will thoroughly enjoy it!

Arty

• From: Gert van Dijken <gert AT vandijken.com>
• Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2000 01:22:00 -0500 (EST)

News from Mary's Boon!  As you probably know Mary's Boon is located 
right on Simpson Bay Beach and was probably one of the hardest hit 
properties on the Island.  Great to bring you the good news:

>From: "Mark and Karla Cleveland" <marysboon AT megatropic.com>
>Subject: Mary's Boon Post Hurricane Good News Update
>Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2000 10:44:43 -0500
>
>Dear Friends and Guests,
>
>With just over a 6 weeks since Hurricane Lenny hit  St.Maarten we are 
>happy to report lots of good news.  We have made remarkable headway on 
>repairing the damaged rooms and have started to rebuild the Three out of 
>Eight buildings that we lost.  We now have 7 rooms that are ready and in 
>tip top shape and even have all the luxuries of life.  Yes....hot and cold 
>water, telephone, A/C and even the Cable TV is back on!   We are happy to 
>report that the rooms we have open have been mostly fully occupied and 
>bookings for February, March and the Spring and Summer continue to be very 
>strong.   It won't be long before "The Boon" has it's charm back that we 
>all love.
>
>Within the next 2 weeks we will have 8 more rooms ready in tip top shape 
>all freshly painted up with new and stronger roofs.  Most of the rooms 
>even have new Four Poster Cherry wood furniture just like before the 
>storm. The main building with our office, Honor Bar and Restaurant will be 
>finished in 2 months and 2 weeks. We are building it back in the same 
>style only bigger and better. In the meantime we have set up large party 
>tents by the beach and pool that we are serving meals in.  After 2 weeks 
>the construction that remains will be isolated in one area so not to 
>interfere to much with the other rooms.  We are also adding 4 extra rooms 
>so we will have a total of 24 rooms when finished.  The beach is wider 
>than ever with lots of white, white sand the garden is coming back very 
>green and the flowers and palms have started to pop out again.  Everything 
>that was lost or damaged will be finished 110% on or before the 1st of 
>July 2000 which will be 30 years to the day that Mary's Boon first 
>opened.  Lots of people have asked us what can they do to help of which we 
>do sincerely appreciate.  The one simple thing that we need are books for 
>the library.  Unfortunately all of the books were lost in the storm.  So 
>upon your return to Mary's Boon we ask if you have any extra books that 
>you can spare to please bring them down, and please put you name and date 
>in them so we and others can remember your gift years from now.
>
>The Island is looking better everyday and for the most part is back to 
>normal.  The hills are green again and the most of the Beaches are in 
>great shape with lots of sand.  The French side for example did not get 
>much damage at all and is fully operational.  If you are planning on 
>coming to Mary's Boon and have not firmed up your reservation please do so 
>as soon as possible so that we can confirm your favorite room as soon as 
>possible.  Remember we do work on a first come first serve 
>basis.  We  hope that everyone had a very Happy New Year and we hope to 
>see you all again in the very near future at the New Mary's Boon!
>Sincerely,
>Mark and Karla Cleveland
>Mary's Boon Beach Plantation - St.Maarten, Dutch West Indies

• From: Robert Mosenkis <rmosenkis AT citechtest.com>
• Date: Thu, 30 Dec 1999 10:50:24 -0500

We just returned from a week on Orient Bay (L'Hoste Hotel, 
www.hostehotel.com, a great place to stay).  All we can do is echo earlier 
reports that US press coverage of the effects of Hurricane Lenny are 
horribly overstated.  We did not visit the areas on the western side of the 
island that are still closed (Maho Bay area, La Samanna, etc.).  For the 
rest of the island, though, you'd never know that there was a serious 
hurricane on St. Martin!  Phillipsburg, Marigot, and Grand Case are just as 
they were last year.  Orient Beach is as beautiful as ever.  Hotels are 
complaining about cancelled reservations, but you wouldn't know it if you 
try to get into Mario's Bistro without a reservation way in advance.  Our 
one disappointment was dinner at L'Alabama, which was always our favorite. 
 Karin is as charming as ever, but our meal was just ordinary, with small 
portions.  We tried a new restaurant, Sol e Luna, in Mt. Vernon (just a 
minute or so off the main island road), and it was wonderful.

The bottom line is:  Go to St. Martin!  If your hotel (mostly on the Dutch 
side) is closed, rebook on the French side--you'll surely find rooms 
available.

Naida & Bob

• From: Jasubar AT aol.com
• Date: Wed, 29 Dec 1999 11:21:16 EST

Hi Gert,

I received the following in an e-mail direct from Mark and Karla at Mary's 
Boon. It is great news, reflects how quickly the island has recovered and how 
much misinformation was spread about damage on SXM. In some ways, the power 
of the Internet is a mixed blessing! Anyway, here's the message:

YES, YES, YES.....Mary's Boon IS open for guest and very busy!!!  Here are 
the facts.  Like many hotels, Mary's Boon was hit hard by hurricane Lenny 
however it WAS NOT destroyed as rumored  We did lose 3 out of our 8 buildings 
and 6 out of our 20 rooms.  We did have some roof damage which is now being 
replaced,  those rooms will be up and running within 2 weeks.  Our main 
building with our office, restaurant and honor bar was lost but we are 
rebuilding a bigger, nicer and stronger building which will be ready within 3 
months. We will begin to serve dinner again sometime next week around our 
pool area.  We are also rebuilding some new rooms in addtion to the ones that 
were lost and everything will be 110% for our re-grand opening on July 1, 
2000 which will be 30 years to the day that Mary's Boon first opened.  We 
also are adding a new  and hopefully state of the art seawall and will 
replace all the tall palms trees that were lost on the beach.  We are excited 
about the end result which will be a overall nice property. Life is like a 
box of chocolates,,,,,but thats ok.  Thanks to the over 200 people that 
Emailed us after the storm inquiring about us and The Boon.  The sun is 
shining, the beach is still great and everybody is happy and healthy.


Mark and Karla Cleveland
Mary's Boon Beach Plantation

• From: "Rick Boxford" <rick.boxford AT nwa.com>
• Date: Wed, 22 Dec 1999 06:50:35 -0600

I just want to echo the posting by Tilda.  We also just returned from a week
on the island and had a wonderful time.  Tilda's account of the conditions
there is quite accurate.  Additionally, Enzo's postings on the bulletin
board are also 100% accurate.   I won't repeat what has already been said
other than to say if anyone has plans to visit The Friendly Island, I would
advise that they follow through with them.  I don't believe you will be
disappointed in the least.....we weren't!

Ciao

Rick

• From: Tildak AT aol.com
• Date: Sun, 12 Dec 1999 12:56:58 EST

We returned from a wonderful week on Sint Maarten just last night and wanted 
to share our experiences with everyone.

As others have said before, the only thing hurting the island are rumors.  We 
were
pleasantly surprised to find that everything on the island is much the same 
as it was before.  And everyone's attitude is so positive that nothing could 
have ruined our stay; even the few days of rain we experienced last week. 

Yes, the vegetation suffered all over the island, but in the short time we 
were there, we could see improvement.  Brown was turning to green, and the 
landscape in general was coming back so quickly, it was amazing.

Yes, some of the potholes in the roads that existed before the hurricanes are 
now bigger and there are many new holes.  So what!  It will take time but 
everyone is working hard to make the roads even better than before.  

Yes, some of the hotels received some damage.  If your resort tells you they 
can accommodate you, then, in all likelihood, they can.  If they say they 
can't, believe them and look for alternatives.  There is no need to cancel a 
vacation.  Many resorts on the island, on the Dutch side as well as the 
French side, had very little damage. Just be sure to ask the pertinent 
questions.  For example, if your resort is multilevel with elevators, make 
sure that the elevators are working if you feel you cannot use the stairs. If 
a hot shower is important, make sure they have hot water available.  If you 
can't live without your favorite television program, inquire as to whether 
television and cable connection is up and running.  Please don't expect 
everything to be perfect and please be understanding.  Be an informed 
traveler but don't turn your back on what could be a wonderful vacation.

We found many advantages to being on the island that one usually doesn't 
experience at this time of year.  The beaches and shops were less crowded and 
you didn't need advance reservations for dinner.  Of course, the opposite is 
true for the businesses on the island.  It will be more difficult for 
merchants and restaurants to stay in business because there are less people 
on the island.  So, if you plan on going to SXM soon, take advantage of the 
lull but be sure to frequent your usual places and perhaps even find some new 
ones.

If anyone is interested in our specific favorites, shops and restaurants, or 
if you have specific questions, we can be reached at tildak AT aol.com.

For now, be assured that your long-awaited vacation is not ruined and the 
island will soon be better than ever.  Go and ENJOY!

Tilda




 

• From: Anne-marie
• Date: Sat, 11 Dec 1999 10:26:45 -0800

>Date: Sat, 11 Dec 1999 00:50:38 -0500
>From: Donald Potwora <dpotwora AT concentric.net>
>Subject: sunset beach bar
>X-SpamBouncer: 1.01 (11/27/99)
>X-SBClass: OK
>
>Sunset beach bar is open and fully operational...attached is a pic of
>Naomi tending bar and not missing a beat....Don (from CT but currently
>in SXM)

• From: Jasubar AT aol.com
• Date: Thu, 9 Dec 1999 20:04:30 EST

Just returned Saturday (12/4) from 10 wonderful days in St. Martin.

First of all, the island is NOT devastated. For sure, she has suffered some 
scars, but in the time we were there, we were truly amazed how quickly 
clean-up was proceeding. A lot was learned from Luis in '95 about what is 
needed to recover from a hurricane and what is needed to make the island 
hurricane-proof for the future. What will wound SXM more deeply than Lenny is 
the incredible amount of rumors, misinformation and lies posted on the 
internet and being spread within the travel business itself.

True, the trees did lose their leaves in the storm. But new growth has 
started already. It looks like springtime in St. Martin! Unlike here in the 
midwest, the trees don't have to wait till April or May to sprout new leaves. 
By the time we left Saturday, the hillsides were getting green again.

All stores on Front St. in Phillipsburg are open for business and ready to 
bargain. A few of the restaurants were, as of Friday, still closed, but will 
be reopening shortly. In Marigot, it's business as usual. You would never 
know there had been a hurricane. And in Grand Case, the only restaurants I 
saw closed were The Fish Pot and La Marine. Everything else is open and 
operating normally, even the lolos.

Yes, many of the larger hotels are closed temporarily. Many of these will be 
open by the middle of December if not sooner, but a few will have 2-3 months 
of work before reopening. CALL YOUR HOTEL BEFORE YOU GO! We would not have 
gone on with this trip ourselves without first getting reassurance from our 
hotel that all was in working order. That just makes common sense.

Unless your travel agent is an expert in SXM, they probably don't have access 
to much better information than you do yourself. I know of a couple of agents 
who specialize in the island...if you want their contact info, please e-mail 
me. Even ran into one of them while we were down there. He was checking out 
things first hand.

The French side, in general, came through the storm very well. All on Orient 
Beach is back to normal, except for the Blue Bay Mt. Vernon Hotel, which did 
suffer some roof damage. Club O, St. Tropez, L'Hoste, Palm Court, La 
Plantation are welcoming guests as usual. Esmeralda and Green Cay Village are 
open on a somewhat scaled-back basis for now, but should be at 100% by 
mid-month. All the beach bars...BooBoo Jam, Coco's, Waikiki, Bikini Beach 
Bar, Kakao, Kontiki, LaPlaya, Bongo Byron's, Pedro's, Papagayo's...they're 
all open and we patronized as many as humanly possible. As much as I know 
that the businesses on Orient are anxious to get the cruise ship trade back, 
it was so peaceful on the beach without the "gawkers" that a part of me 
wishes they would just stay away. However, the cruise lines have announced 
they are returning to the island this week.

Ultimately, we do not regret this trip in the least. I was very anxious about 
it for the week between when Lenny hit and when we left for our vacation on 
Thanksgiving Day. But if you love this island and you are willing to be 
flexible about where you stay, you can still travel to St. Martin NOW and 
have a wonderful time, as we did.

Please feel free to e-mail me if you have any specific questions.
Jamie
also known as Jasubar AT aol.com

• From: Tamarind Hotel <tamarind AT sintmaarten.net>
• Date: Wed, 8 Dec 1999 18:16:50 -0400 (AST)

Why dont you check out:

http://www.lenny.city-map.com

Made on the island of Sint Maarten by people who were here before,
during and after Lenny


Kind regards, Jelle Hamstra

• From: "Robert Gluck" <tendalrealestate AT megatropic.com>
• Date: Wed, 8 Dec 1999 07:21:52 -0400

• From: "Elisa Cohen" <bikinibeach AT wanadoo.fr>
• Date: Wed, 8 Dec 1999 08:07:22 -0500

• From: "Pat Nelson" <cameo-homes AT mindspring.com>
• Date: Mon, 6 Dec 1999 00:36:34 -0500

• From: "Roddy Heyliger" <heylrody AT sintmaarten.net>
• Date: Sat, 4 Dec 1999 19:29:16 -0500

For General News, Hospitality Sector developments etc., check out
www.sxmnews.com

The site was prematurely put into operation after the passing of Hurricane
Lenny.  The objective is to let visitors and potential visitors to the
"Friendly Island" know what has been taking place since the passing of
Lenny.

The island has made a tremendous effort to bounce back within the shortest
period of time.  

Some of the links are not operational as yet, but will be within short.

Roddy Heyliger
Communications Consultant - Caribbean Information Provider
Email: medprocomm AT email.com
sabagis AT hotmail.com

St. Maarten News: www.sxmnews.com
Visit St. Maarten/Saba Web Sites: www.mrstm.com, www.mssaba.com
For Caribbean Vacancies visit: www.caribbeanjobfair.com

• From: "calmoscafe" <calmoscafe AT wanadoo.fr>
• Date: Fri, 3 Dec 1999 18:27:11 -0400

• From: Gert van Dijken <gert AT vandijken.com>
• Date: Thu, 2 Dec 1999 19:10:39 -0500 (EST)

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 02 Dec 1999 18:52:41 -0500
From: Evan Schwartz <info AT thesummitresort.com>
Subject: Summit Resort

Hurricane Lenny status report
Monday, November 29, 1999

Many of the rooms at the Summit Resort Hotel are in good condition, and
there is water, electricity and telephone service. Other rooms with
water
damage are being repaired. The tennis court fence is being replaced, and
the few
lifted boards on the pool deck are being reattached. The vegetation at
the
Summit — and all over the island — sustained quite a bit of damage.

To allow for a faster clean-up of the Summit, and to give time for the
clean-up of neighboring properties and for the vegetation to come back,
full re-opening of the Summit has been delayed until December 18. Guests
will be accommodated from today through December 17, but they should be
aware that parts of the island and the Summit will not yet be as
attractive as usual, and that clean-up operations may not yet be
completed.

• From: "Robert V. Swan" <dsmtso1 AT juno.com>
• Date: Tue, 30 Nov 1999 21:40:34 -0500

The Divi St. Maarten Time Share Owners Assoc.(DSMTSO) has been in contact
with Divi
Resorts,and has received the latest status report on Little Bay.We will
be mailing out a 
special edition of the Little Bay Buoy (our newsletter) next week to our
membership. Any
Little Bay owner who is not a member ,but would like to receive a
copy,email your name
and mailing adress to:dsmtso1 AT juno.com
___________________________________________________________________
Get the Internet just the way you want it.
Free software, free e-mail, and free Internet access for a month!
Try Juno Web: http://dl.www.juno.com/dynoget/tagj.

• From: Gert van Dijken <gert AT vandijken.com>
• Date: Sun, 28 Nov 1999 15:09:57 -0500 (EST)

>Reply-To: "Margot" <clubo AT cluborient.com>
>From: "Margot" <clubo AT cluborient.com>
>Date: Sat, 27 Nov 1999 21:26:25 -0400
>Organization: Club Orient Resort
>
>The following is a standard letter sent out as a response to all messages 
>sent to us between November 17 to November 27.  All telephone, fax, and 
>internet communications were down for 10 days and are still partially down 
>and so we have put together this message to answer most of the 400+ 
>messages we received today.  Personalized and detailed responses will 
>follow shortly where needed.  As of next week please check out our 
>web-site at <http://www.cluborient.com>www.cluborient.com for more 
>information and photos of the resort and for making automated room 
>reservations.
>
>28-11-1999
>
>Dear all,
>
>Thankyou for your interest in what has been happening in Saint Martin and 
>in particular of course Club Orient.
>
>Hurricane Lenny battered the South Western shores of our friendly island 
>for two long days November 17-18 and left much of the Dutch side under two 
>feet of water.  There is quite a lot a damage on the Dutch side and much 
>of the vegetation was destroyed island wide.
>
>Club Orient and most of Orient Beach, however, are happy to report that no 
>major damage was done on their side and that most businesses on the French 
>side were spared.  Club Orient suffered only minor cosmetic damage and 
>some flooding due to torrential rain.  All 136 rooms, Papagayo Restaurant, 
>and Orientique are intact and ready for the season.  The only 
>non-functional part of the resort are the tennis courts (sorry!).  The 
>beach looks great and the sun has been everpresent since Lenny faded out 
>over the Atlantic Ocean last week.
>
>On the 22nd the airport reopened and most flights have resumed scheduled 
>flights as normal.  Most roads and public services are open again.  Grand 
>Case and the rest of Orient Beach are also gradually getting back to 
>normal again.
>
>Reservations that were made prior to our communication outage are being 
>honoured as normal unless otherwise notified.  For non-confirmed December 
>/ January reservations please reply immediatly as we are filling up 
>rapidly.  Also, please make your reservations as soon as possible for 
>January through May.
>
>Yours naturally,
>
> From the staff and friends at Club Orient, Saint Martin

• From: Gert van Dijken <gert AT vandijken.com>
• Date: Sun, 28 Nov 1999 15:08:54 -0500 (EST)

>From: "La Vista Resort" <anlavi AT megatropic.com>
>Subject: Fw: Hurricane lenny In St. Maarten at La Vista Resort
>Date: Fri, 26 Nov 1999 17:37:08 -0400
>
>To all La Vista guests, owners and friends,
>
>First of all a thank you for all your messages, prayers and concerns. We 
>are all okay, except two of our staff who lost their homes. The rest of us 
>had lots of water.
>As you all heard on the news, we sustained a direct hit by Hurricane 
>"Lenny ", which was a category 4 hurricane ( winds up to 140 MPH ) who 
>stayed here for 2 days wreaking havoc, and actually died here.
>As we were just recovering from hurricane Jose and its torrential 
>rainfalls, Hurricane lenny certainly did not help.
>La Vista sustained quite a bit of damage ( also our phone system is 
>erratic, very difficult to call out , but easier to call in ), and to fix 
>everything properly up to the standards La Vista is known for, and you are 
>used to, we need to close for approximately two months.
>The island itself also had quite a bit of damage, although not as bad as 
>Hurricane Luis, this due to better construction, and also the quick 
>recovery action which is underway. However Lenny came at a worse time, 
>right before high season.
>Most parts of the island do not have power or water yet, and lots of 
>bigger resorts also had damage, and will be closed for some time. ( 
>Philipsburg is still under water in certain areas )
>The island will recover, and as the queen was here after the hurricane, we 
>are hoping for some substantial financial assistance for the island, and 
>within a certain period of time, most powerlines and cable tv will be 
>under ground, making St. Maarten better prepared for any more hurricanes. 
>In other words, St. Maarten will be back, and better than ever !!
>For any more info, check out the following website :
>www2.gobeach.com, then go to local reports - SXM.
>They have posted some pictures that will give you a better understanding 
>of what is going on here !
>For those of you scheduled to come during these coming two months, we will 
>contact you, if you have not contacted us already. It is difficult with 
>the phone system being erratic..
>We are all thankful no one here got hurt. Please bear with us, as we do 
>not have all the answers yet, but are getting organized.
>Again, thank you for your concern and prayers, it kept us safe, and it is 
>nice to know we were thought of.
>
>Your la Vista crew,
>
>Andrea, Martina, Debbie, Minerva