Dear Source:
Coming soon, a new library that St. Thomas residents can be proud of. Without any fanfare on Wednesday, the PFA put the final financial plank into the plans for a new library in Tutu. This 9 million dollars will morph the 'little shack on the hill' financed with an approximately 3 million dollar EDC tax credit into a complete structure built and equipped to serve the needs of St. Thomas for years to come.
Kudos go out to many people who have fought the good fight for an improved St. Thomas library over the past twenty years. This last charge was masterminded by DPNR Executive Asst. Director, Claudette Lewis who has always had big dreams for the site in Tutu and the patience to see it through. Senators Liston Davis, Shawn Michael Malone and Louis Hill also deserve credit for keeping the issue on the front burner in the past year. Nadine Marchena and Frank Schulterbrandt made the EDC portion available after many years of squabbles and false starts. Jason Budsan of the Friends of the St. Thomas Public Libraries has been an admirable and persistent advocate over the past five years. When the 'Edith deJongh Woods' library finally opens, hopefully in another 18 months, all of us will be the grateful beneficiaries. People who have a good library cannot be isolated and enslaved even on a small island. Literacy is our most important skill.
Carol Lotz Felix
St. Thomas
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