Sept. 18, 2002 – In word, song and prayer, St. John residents and a host of people from St. Thomas remembered former Gov. Alexander A. Farrelly at a memorial service Wednesday evening at the Battery. He died on Sept. 10 at his home in Virginia.
"We in these islands are better because Alexander A. Farrelly passed this way," Gov. Charles W. Turnbull said to the more than 50 mourners who packed the Battery's upstairs reception room.
Sen. Almando "Rocky" Liburd, Sen. Lorraine Berry and Sen. Vargrave Richards, as well as former Sen. Cleone Creque, were among the attendees. Others included St. John Administrator Julien Harley and a handful of St. John government staff and retirees, as well as a smattering of community members. Police, wearing their dress whites, ringed the room and kept watch on the sidewalk below.
Farrelly's wife, Joan, who sat before the service with Farrelly's lieutenant governor, Derek Hodge, greeted visitors with handshakes and hugs.
A large portrait of the former governor graced the wall near her side. Draped in black bunting with a large purple center, the photo depicted Farrelly the statesman. Floral arrangements perfumed the air.
The Rev. Neil Scantlebury, of St. John's Our Lady of Mount Carmel, officiated. He was assisted by deacon Austin Medina and the Rev. Carlyle Sampson of St. John's Nazareth Lutheran Church.
Moravian Church lay pastor William Lomax, who served as St. John administrator under Farrelly, gave the first reading.
"But the souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them," Lomax said, reading from the Book of Wisdom.
Turnbull also spoke about the place Farrelly will occupy in history.
"Thirteen years ago today, as Hugo was ripping through St. Croix, Gov. Farrelly led us through the awful storm," Turnbull said.
He noted that Farrelly faced Hurricane Hugo without benefit of previous hurricane experience.
Turnbull said Farrelly left a legacy of hurricane preparedness that continues to be fine-tuned today.
The governor urged those at the memorial service to celebrate Farrelly's life. "He made our territory and world better," Turnbull said.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at Government House on St. Croix. His body will lie in state from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The funeral begins at 9:30 a.m. Friday at St. Peter and Paul Cathedral on St. Thomas with interment at Western Cemetery No. 1.

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Sept. 18, 2002 – St. Croix businessmen and avid anglers, Robin Parsley and Rocky Romano, whose Rock-N-Robin won Second Best Boat in the 30th Annual USVI Open/Atlantic Blue Marlin Tournament, have donated their $10,000 winnings to local organizations.
The winnings will be divided equally among five organizations: the Virgin Islands Police Department, SAL – Solution Alternative Liberation, the St. Croix Community Foundation, Women's Coalition of St. Croix, and the University of the Virgin Islands.
Deborah Hamilton, UVI's director of annual giving, applauded Parsley and Romano's generosity.
"Through their philanthropic investment in the University of the Virgin Islands and its students, Mr. Parsley, Mr. Romano and their colleagues, families and friends are setting a leadership example for other businesses and individuals to follow," Hamilton said.
"They are making a personal and economic commitment to their new home here in the USVI. We welcome them and are deeply grateful for their generosity."
St. Croix Associate Chancellor Juanita Woods accepted the check on behalf of the university Monday night at a ceremony at the Tamarind Reef Hotel. The donation will go into the UVI Annual Fund for use in special projects on the St. Croix campus.
Parsley and Romano moved to St. Croix about a year ago from Texas. They brought their 60-foot Hatteras, Rock-N-Robin, to the islands in December 2001 and have competed in local tournaments with St. Croix's Golden Hook Fishing Club.
On the last day of the USVI Open/Atlantic Blue Marlin, also known as the "Boy Scout Tournament," Rock-N-Robin captain Jason Pruns said: "We've fished in tournaments in the Gulf before, but the marlin bite here is pretty spectacular." Parsley and Romano released eight blue marlin to win Second Best Boat.
In October, Rock-N-Robin will compete in the Golden Hook Fishing Club's premier angling event, the Golden Hook Challenge. If their luck holds, the anglers plan to make another donation to different local organizations by year's end.

Sept. 18, 2002 – Da Da Wine Down aficionados are in for a double treat this month — there will be two Friday night art and wine-tasting events at Cafe Amici, this week and next.
"Natural art" works of St. Thomas coconut sculptor Felix will be on display this Friday, and paintings by four artists featured at the Camille Pissarro Gallery will be on exhibit on Sept. 27.
At both events, West Indies Corp. will be presenting a seminar and tasting of Buena Vista wines.
Da Da Wine Down is from 5 to 8 p.m. Usually held on the last Friday of the month, it's an end-of-the-work-week social occasion for unwinding and enjoying local art and internationally acclaimed wines. It's open to the public and admission is free, although there's a $10 fee for participating in the wine seminar and tasting, which is ongoing throughout the evening as long as supplies last.
Here's some background on the exhibiting artists:
Felix ("just one name, thank you") has long worked with eclectic materials in imaginative creations, but this is the first time he is displaying his "natural art" sculptures, made primarily from coconuts and other products of the coconut palm, on St. Thomas. He says his birds, fish, butterflies and dragonflies in natural settings represent evolution from what he has been doing all his life — "picking things up to see what I could make." He feels that the talent of the artist is working with what you have to create something even more delightful to the mind's eye.
In his native Trinidad, Felix specialized in creating leathercraft items, award plaques and wearing apparel. He also has fabricated steelpans and has been coming to St. Thomas to design and create Carnival costumes since 1995. His designs won the Junior King and Queen of the Band competition this year. He is becoming a familiar figure in classrooms as he seeks to share the joys of native crafts and the value of the artisan's work with young people.
The Camille Pissarro Gallery, located in downtown Charlotte Amalie, will be presenting works by Cody Wombold, Janine Wesselmann, Alexis St. John and Dingo at the Sept. 27 Wine Down.
Wombold, born in Las Vegas, has been pursuing an artistic calling since childhood. An island resident for six years, he has been working in pencil, charcoal, pastel and acrylic, but recently expanded his palette to include oil. His art expresses a unique perspective of the world.
Wesselmann lived on St. Thomas for 15 years in the 1970s and '80s. A modern-day Impressionist, she has been painting in oil since the age of 6. Her muse has sent her to some unique settings — revolutions in developing countries, ambassadorial parties in European capitals, remote islands and African jungles. Across four continents and two decades, she has captured on canvas a world of bazaars, carnivals, French cafe life, intimate soirees and island living.
Alexis St. John, a Philadelphia native, did field work as an archaeologist before turning to a career in art. She encourages people to appreciate original art by not relying on mass-produced originals and sees her own work as being in a state of perpetual growth.
Dingo, self-taught, is one of St. Thomas's few sidewalk artists. Starting his artistic career in Hawaii in the early 1960s with pop art posters, he has traveled the world exploring different mediums and artistic styles. "Yes, you can paint your way around the planet," he says.
This Friday and Sept. 27, the featured artists will be on hand to discuss their work. There will be complimentary hors d'oeuvres, a cash bar and door prizes that include dining certificates, wine and artwork.
Cafe Amici is located in Riise's Alley in downtown Charlotte Amalie. For more information, call 776-5670.

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Sept. 18, 2002 – TV 2 and WTJX, Channel 12, will pool together to broadcast the state funeral of former Virgin Islands Gov. Alexander A. Farrelly, who died last week at his home in Virginia.
At 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 19, WTJX, Channel 12, will air the St. Croix memorial service recorded earlier that day by the Government Access Channel.
On Friday, WTJX and TV 2 will simulcast live the Mass at the Sts. Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Cathedral in Charlotte Amalie starting at 9 a.m. and continuing until noon. WTJX will present a repeat broadcast from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday.
WTJX reminds viewers on the south side of St. Croix that Channel 12 programming can be seen via translator station W05AW by hooking up a small outdoor antenna, or in some cases, a pair of rabbit ears to their TV sets.
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Sept. 18, 2002 – Airlines using V.I. airports can heave a sigh of relief — although it may be a short one. The Port Authority board voted Wednesday to defer increasing landing and passenger fees, temporarily.
The 35 percent increase in fees was to commence Oct. 1, the start of VIPA's fiscal year. The board voted to hold off the increase at least until its October meeting. Members asked VIPA staff to present further information about alternative financing possibilities to make up a projected $5.3 million deficit in the Port Authority's aviation division in FY 2003.
When Gordon Finch, VIPA executive director, met with airline officials Tuesday, he explained VIPA's position in increasing the fees. The airlines weren't buying what Finch had to say. (See "Raise fees and lose flights, airlines tell VIPA".)
The board spent Wednesday morning exploring other means by which VIPA could make up the deficit, in light of warnings the airlines sounded Tuesday about cutting back service to the territory. American Airlines said it would eliminate St. Croix mainland service "within 60 days" of a fee increase. American Eagle said it would cut its flights and staffs by half.
Finch presented a petition he said he had received Wednesday morning from Julia Carter, general manager of American Eagle on St. Croix. He said it contained 600 signatures of St. Croix residents asking VIPA not to raise the fees.
Carter said the petition was a "community effort." She said workers at Henry E. Rohlsen Airport started just last weekend to gather the signatures, which she said total 800 now. "We just went into the neighborhoods and got people to sign," she said. She stressed she was speaking as "an individual," and not in her position with American Eagle. "It's a community effort," she said again.
Finch and Bob Arthur, director of Landrum & Brown, the Port Authority's bond rate consultants, both expressed concerns about VIPA's standing in the bond market, should its aviation division show a deficit. Finch said a deficit would definitely hurt VIPA when it goes to the bond market for financing for its proposed Crown Bay project.
Asked by board members how VIPA's budget could be further cut, Finch said the only way would be to cut personnel. Actually, VIPA has had to hire more staff to comply with new airport security measures.
Finch later said forestalling capital projects could be a possibility, although one he didn't appear to endorse. "We could do that to shore up the aviation division for FY 2003, but it would be a one-time fix," he said. And the same deficit might have to be faced next year.
Arthur said although the territory's air traffic is down only 9.2 percent for FY 2002 compared with the national average of 14 percent, that still represents a drop of 76,936 passengers, which equals $1.5 million in revenue "we didn't receive."
In advising the board of its options, Arthur laid out a different scenario than he had presented Tuesday. Based on the airlines' warnings of fewer flights, "the equation has changed," he said.
So, he said, the board should consider that if it hikes fees, that may result in fewer flights, passengers and revenue for the authority, "less money for all."
Board member and Attorney General Iver Stridiron, who earlier was voted board vice chair, questioned Arthur about VIPA's arrangement with the signatory airlines. "If VIPA in unable to meet its debt, won't the signatories have to pay?" he asked.
Arthur said, "Then we both lose; there is no easy answer."
The signatory airlines signed an agreement with VIPA in 1989 to back up the Port Authority, should it suffer losses, to ensure that the V.I. airports can repay a $35 million bond debt. Arthur had said Tuesday that VIPA is $13 million in default on that debt and stands to lose its ability to issue bonds unless it raises the airport fees.
Stridiron seconded a motion by Leslie Milliner to defer the fee decision for further study but amended it to specify that the study be done by VIPA staff and presented at the October board meeting with recommendations on how the fees could be reduced.
Finch reminded the board that delaying the fee increases would throw VIPA's FY 2003 budget "out of whack."
Although Stridiron voted to defer action on the increases, he expressed several concerns. He said he was "troubled" by certain behavior of the airlines in the territory, adding, "I wish I could say that I thought the airlines shared the pain of the V.I."
At a time when the territory needs visitors, he pointed out, the airlines "decide to eliminate the senior citizen program." He had mentioned that on Tuesday to the airline representatives, who declined to comment.
Stridiron also said he is tired of publicity about St. Croix, which is thought of as the territory's "Achilles heel." The airlines "have us over a barrel with threats to pull out, and St. Croix always gets it in the neck," he said.
He suggested that the airlines instead be true partners and try customer stimulus programs for the territory. "They've lowered fares all over the states, but not here," he said. The distance from New York to California is vastly greater than to the territory, he said, but it costs more to fly from New York to St. Thomas than to California. "We should insist that they work with us and become true partners and share our work and our pain," he said.
Board members Kent E. Bernier, Leslie A. Milliner, Robert O 'Connor Jr., Dean Plaskett, Pamela Richards, board chair, and Stridiron attended the meeting. Wayne Callwood was absent.

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Sept. 18, 2002 – Airlines using V.I. airports can heave a sigh of relief — although it may be a short one. The Port Authority board voted Wednesday to defer increasing landing and passenger fees, temporarily.
The 35 percent increase in fees was to commence Oct. 1, the start of VIPA's fiscal year. The board voted to hold off the increase at least until its October meeting. Members asked VIPA staff to present further information about alternative financing possibilities to make up a projected $5.3 million deficit in the Port Authority's aviation division in FY 2003.
When Gordon Finch, VIPA executive director, met with airline officials on Tuesday, he explained VIPA's position in increasing the fees. The airlines weren't buying what Finch had to say. (See "Raise fees and lose flights, airlines tell VIPA".)
The board spent Wednesday morning exploring other means by which VIPA could make up the deficit, in light of warnings the airlines sounded on Tuesday about cutting back service to the territory. American Airlines said it would eliminate St. Croix mainland service "within 60 days" of a fee increase. And American Eagle said it would cut its flights and staffs by half.
Finch presented a petition he said he had received on Wednesday morning from Julia Carter, general manager of American Eagle on St. Croix. He said it contained 600 signatures of St. Croix residents asking VIPA not to raise the fees.
Speaking on Wednesday afternoon, Carter said the petition was a "community effort." She said workers at Henry E. Rohlsen Airport started just last weekend to gather the signatures, which she said total 800 now. "We just went into the neighborhoods and got people to sign," she said. She stressed she was speaking as "an individual," and not in her position with American Eagle. "It's a community effort," she said again.
Finch and Bob Arthur, director of Landrum & Brown, the Port Authority's bond rate consultants, both expressed concerns about VIPA's standing in the bond market, should its aviation division show a deficit. Finch said a deficit would definitely hurt VIPA when it goes to the bond market for financing for its proposed Crown Bay project.
Asked by board members how VIPA's budget could be further cut, Finch said the only way would be to cut personnel. Actually, VIPA has had to hire more staff to comply with new airport security measures.
Finch later said forestalling capital projects could be a possibility, although one he didn't appear to endorse. "We could do that to shore up the aviation division for FY 2003, but it would be a one-time fix," he said. And the same deficit might have to be faced next year.
Arthur said although the territory's air traffic is down only 9.2 percent for FY 2002, as compared with the national average of 14 percent, that still represents a drop of 76,936 passengers, which equals $1.5 million in revenue "we didn't receive."
In advising the board of its options, Arthur laid out a different scenario than he had presented on Tuesday. Based on the airlines' warnings of fewer flights, "the equation has changed," he said.
So, he said, the board should consider that if it institutes the fee hikes, the move may result in fewer flights, passengers and revenue for the authority, "less money for all."
Board member and Attorney General Iver Stridiron, who earlier was voted board vice chair, questioned Arthur about VIPA's arrangement with the signatory airlines. "If VIPA in unable to meet its debt, won't the signatories have to pay?" he asked.
Arthur said, "Then we both lose; there is no easy answer."
The signatory airlines signed an agreement with VIPA in 1989 to back up the Port Authority, should it suffer losses, so as to ensure that the V.I. airports will be able to repay a $35 million bond debt. Arthur had said on Tuesday that VIPA is $13 million in default on that debt and stands to lose its ability to issue bonds unless it raises the airport fees.
Stridiron seconded a motion by Leslie Milliner to defer the fee decision for further study but amended it to specify that the study be done by VIPA staff and presented at the October board meeting with recommendations on how the fees could be reduced.
Finch reminded the board that delaying the fee increases would throw VIPA's FY 2003 budget "out of whack."
Although Stridiron voted to defer action on the increases, he expressed several concerns. He said he was "troubled" by certain behavior of the airlines in the territory, adding, "I wish I could say that I thought the airlines shared the pain of the V.I."
At a time when the territory needs visitors, he pointed out, the airlines "decide to eliminate the senior citizen program." He had mentioned that on Tuesday to the airline representatives, who declined to comment.
Stridiron also said he is tired of publicity about St. Croix, which is thought of as the territory's "Achilles heel." The airlines "have us over a barrel with threats to pull out, and St. Croix always gets it in the neck," he said.
He suggested that the airlines instead be true partners and try customer stimulus programs for the territory. "They've lowered fares all over the states, but not here," he said. The distance from New York to California is vastly greater than to the territory, he said, but it costs more to fly from New York to St. Thomas than to California. "We should insist that they work with us and become true partners and share our work and our pain," he said.
Board members Kent E. Bernier, Leslie A. Milliner, Robert O 'Connor Jr., Dean Plaskett, Pamela Richards, board chair, and Stridiron attended the meeting. Wayne Callwood was absent.

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Sept. 18, 2002 – The St. Croix Marine Corps Association will hold the 7th Annual "Toys For Tots" Golf Tournament at the Carambola Golf Course on Sunday, Oct. 6. The format will be a 4-person team with a shotgun start. Tee time is 8:30 a.m.
The tournament is the main fund-raising event for the local Marines' "Toys for Tots" campaign, a U.S. Marine Corps tradition now in its 55th year. The local Marines fund the purchase of Christmas presents for such V.I. charities as The Women's Coalition, CASA, Bethlehem House, the St. Croix Shrine Club, Angel Tree and others. For more details about these groups, see the article in Source Organizations section.
This year's "Toys for Tots" tournament will have four hole-in-one prizes, one for each par-3 hole on the course. Prizes will also be awarded for men's and women's longest drives and for the shot closest to the hole. Plaques will be awarded to the members of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place teams and to the top all-Marine team.
A buffet lunch, tournament shirt and goodie bag are included.
Call Carambola Golf Course Pro Shop at 778-5638 to register.
Publisher's note : Like the St. Croix Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.

Sept. 18, 2002 – Sometimes, as the saying goes, it takes a village. Other times, it just takes a few angry women. Founded by former VI senator, Stephanie Scott-Williams, Women for Positive Change is much more than a village; it's a mission.
The nonprofit organization was formed two years ago, according to Scott-Williams, out of a sense of frustration. The group made waves in 2000 by taking one day and "keeping their money."
The effort made an impact on local retailers and showed women their power within the community. "It was low-budget, but it worked," she said.
The group doesn't hold meetings; they gather. "I don't want to attend another damn meeting unless it's going to accomplish something, and I don't want to ask another woman to either."
The next gathering will be held on Saturday, Sept. 21, at Gladys' Café in the Royal Dane Mall on St. Thomas. Scott-Williams said all women are welcome to attend. "By the mere fact that you're a woman, you're a member," she said.
At Saturday's gathering, Women for Positive Change will discuss strategies for the upcoming elections. Women in the territory have tremendous voting power, a power they underutilize, Scott-Williams said.
Women have 57 percent of the territory's vote, according to Scott-Williams. "It's a very new concept for women in the community," she said.
Despite the fact that women act as heads of households in the territory, Scott-Williams said women are not aggressively pursuing a political agenda.
Women for Positive Change is part of an effort to change that.
"It's basically an empowerment organization," she said. "We make up the workforce, we make up the majority voters, but we're abused. We're like the stepchildren."
The gathering Saturday will focus on the elections and the development of a strategy for women voters. "Whoever's going to be elected must have the women's vote," Scott-Williams said. "They cannot win without the women's vote."
Scott-Williams said a movement is in the works to offer up a write-in vote to force the government to acknowledge the needs of women in the territory.
"We've decided that we're going to use the recall process because that's the law," she said. The write-in candidate is not expected to win, Scott-Williams said, but she wants to send a message to the government: "It's time that you paid attention to us."
Women need to know they have "a voice and a choice," she said.
Interested women are invited to join Women for Positive Change at Gladys' Restaurant on Sept. 21 at 3 p.m.

Sept. 18, 2002 – Sometimes, as the saying goes, it takes a village. Other times, it just takes a few angry women. Founded by a former V.I. senator, Stephanie Scott-Williams, Women for Positive Change is much more than a village; it's a mission.
The nonprofit organization was formed two years ago, according to Scott-Williams, out of a sense of frustration. The group made waves in 2000 by taking one day and "keeping their money."
The effort made an impact on local retailers and showed women their power within the community. "It was low-budget, but it worked," she said.
The group members don't hold meetings; they gather. "I don't want to attend another damn meeting unless it's going to accomplish something, and I don't want to ask another woman to, either," Scott-Williams said.
The next gathering will be at 3 p.m. on Saturday at Gladys' Café in Royal Dane Mall. Scott-Williams said all women are welcome to attend. "By the mere fact that you're a woman, you're a member," she said.
At the gathering, Women for Positive Change will discuss strategies for the upcoming elections. Women in the territory have tremendous voting power, a power they under-utilize, Scott-Williams said.
Women have 57 percent of the territory's vote, according to Scott-Williams. Yet, voter power is "a very new concept for women in the community," she said.
Despite the fact that women act as heads of households in the territory, Scott-Williams said, women are not aggressively pursuing a political agenda. Women for Positive Change is part of an effort to change that.
"It's basically an empowerment organization," she said. "We make up the work force, we make up the majority voters, but we're abused. We're like the stepchildren."
The gathering Saturday will focus on the development of a strategy for women voters. "Whoever's going to be elected must have the women's vote," Scott-Williams said. "They cannot win without the women's vote."
She said a movement is in the works to offer up a write-in vote to force the government to acknowledge the needs of women in the territory. "We've decided that we're going to use the recall process because that's the law," she said.
The write-in candidate is not expected to win, Scott-Williams said, but the effort will send a message to the government: "It's time that you paid attention to us."
Women need to know they have "a voice and a choice," she said.

Publisher's note : Like the St. Thomas Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.

Sept. 18, 2002 – The St. Croix Marine Corps Association will hold the 7th Annual "Toys For Tots" Golf Tournament at the Carambola Golf Course on Sunday, Oct. 6. The format will be a 4-person team with a shotgun start. Tee time is 8:30 a.m.
The tournament is the main fund-raising event for the local Marines' "Toys for Tots" campaign. "Toys For Tots" is a U.S. Marine Corps tradition now in its 55th year of distributing more than 7 million toys nationwide each Christmas season.
The local Marines fund the purchase of Christmas presents for such V.I. charities as The Women's Coalition, CASA, Bethlehem House, the St. Croix Shrine Club, Angel Tree and others. For more details about these groups, see the article in Source Organizations section.
St. Croix Shrine Club president Dr. Philip Petachenko played Santa Claus at the Christmas party two years ago, when 120 children received gifts through the Marines' "Toys for Tots" program. He looks forward, he said, "to lots more hugs this year."
This year's "Toys for Tots" tournament will have four hole-in-one prizes, one for each par-3 hole on the course. Prizes will also be awarded for men's and women's longest drives and for the shot closest to the hole. Plaques will be awarded to the members of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place teams and to the top all-Marine team.
A buffet lunch, tournament shirt and goodie bag are included.
Call Carambola Golf Course Pro Shop at 778-5638 to register.
Publisher's note : Like the St. Croix Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.