[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 23]
[House]
[Page 31429]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1530

                          HONORING RUTH TIGHE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from the Northern Mariana Islands (Mr. Sablan) is recognized 
for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SABLAN. Mr. Speaker, here is a worthy New Year's resolution. 
``Try to remember to praise people at the time of their praiseworthy 
performance, instead of years afterwards, or, as is often the case, 
after they've died. We should let people know that we appreciate them, 
that their efforts are noticed, while it still makes a difference to 
them.'' These wise words are from the pen of Ruth L. Tighe, citizen, 
librarian, environmentalist, community activist, and newspaper 
columnist in the Northern Mariana Islands.
  I would like to take Ruth's advice and not wait for the new year by 
telling Congress about Ruth Tighe herself. She is a person whose 
efforts have been noticed and noteworthy for more than three decades in 
the Marianas. She has made a difference, and I want her to know how 
much she is appreciated.
  Even before arriving in the Mariana Islands, Ruth was living a 
remarkable story. Born in Germany in 1931, Ruth emigrated to the United 
States with her family in 1934. She grew up in upstate New York, became 
a naturalized citizen and worked her way through school, eventually 
earning a master's in library science from Columbia University while 
raising five children as a single mother.
  It was as a professional librarian that Ruth came to our islands. She 
was there to help the people of Guam, the Northern Marianas and the 
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands prepare for the first-ever White 
House Conference on Libraries and Information Science held in 1979. 
Ruth fell in love with the Pacific and soon returned, working for the 
Marianas Department of Education. She has trained school librarians and 
raised public awareness about the importance of reading and enriching 
the quality of our lives.
  Ruth eventually turned from managing the written words of others to 
writing her own. She became a reporter and editor of one of the 
Marianas newspapers. She also established her signature column, ``On My 
Mind.'' Over the course of her many years of commenting on island 
issues, Ruth has always strived to be fair, objective, informative and 
entertaining. Judging by the popularity of her column, today a much-
read and respected blog among people from many diverse backgrounds and 
walks of life, I believe she has succeeded.
  Never afraid of challenges, at the age of 50, Ruth took up scuba 
diving and has since accumulated a record of over 400 dives. Enamored 
with the rich coral reefs and colorful marine life Ruth encountered 
under water, Ruth became a fierce defender of all the natural 
environment. She has advocated for the protection of coral reefs and 
native forests, stricter clean-water regulations, the cleanup of PCB 
contamination in the village of Tanapag, protection of the historic 
Sugar Dock Beach, and the creation of the national marine monument in 
the Northern Mariana Islands. Ruth has drawn others to the cause, 
helping form several community-based environmental groups, including 
the CNMI Organization For Conservation Outreach, Beautify CNMI, the 
Friends of the Monument, and the Mariana Islands Nature Alliance.
  Here is another familiar view of Ruth. Approaching the microphone at 
a public hearing and introducing herself, Ruth Tighe, citizen. Through 
her writing and through her own active participation, Ruth has been an 
advocate for good governance and a model of informed citizenry. Always, 
Ruth offers constructive solutions that seek to benefit the islands and 
all the people, rather than her own personal or professional gain. 
Among many causes, Ruth has campaigned for the advancement of women's 
groups, a transparent and accountable government, and a more 
humanitarian approach to immigration and labor reform.
  Ruth's weekly column and other writings have also helped foster and 
strengthen our sense of community. Often this takes the form of praise 
to people and organizations in the Marianas for jobs well done, 
including resourceful teachers, local newspapers for insightful 
reports, businesses that provided excellent customer service, community 
volunteers, and numerous individuals who wrote articulate columns or 
letters of their own.
  I feel glad to be able to turn the light back on Ruth herself for the 
praiseworthy person that she is. Today Ruth is valiantly battling 
cancer of the lung, successfully, it would appear.
  But I want to take her advice and say loud and clear, and on behalf 
of the people of the Northern Mariana Islands, thank you, Ruth Tighe, 
for all you have done, and, we pray, will continue to do for years to 
come to make the Northern Mariana Islands a wonderful place to be.

                          ____________________