July 8, 2002 – While some adults go to great lengths to steer young people toward the right direction in life, two St. Thomas police officers and some local dive instructors have also gone to great depths.
A dozen youngsters from the Bovoni Housing Community and surrounding residential areas recently returned from Key Largo, Florida, where they took part in a youth summit on scuba diving. They went in the company of two Housing Authority police officers, participants in the federally sponsored Weed and Seed program — Officers Louis Magras and Adrien Huggins.
The officers said the Virgin Islands made quite a splash at the National Black Scuba Divers Association Youth Summit — by accounting for nearly half of the participants and by arriving as fully trained and certified divers. There were 15 other young people there, from Florida and Tennessee.
"They went to be recognized for their accomplishments," said Magras, who proudly pointed to the fact that 10 of his crew, ages 10 to 17, were master scuba divers when they left St. Thomas. One was certified as an open-water diver and one had received certification as a rescue diver.
Magras said the idea for the Weed and Seed Bovoni Scuba Dive Team came from Huggins, his partner, who has been diving since 1989. The original thrust of the program was to introduce the kids to a new experience and show them how their dive skills could lead to careers in the marine industry. Instruction took place at the St. Thomas Diving Club.
Much of their expertise was gained with the help of dive club instructor Bill Letts, who along with other club instructors opened the training facilities to the Weed and Seed group. "Over the last two years we have certified 16 local youths, primarily from Bovoni," Letts said. "Ten of these have achieved the level of Junior Master Scuba Diver as well as Master Scuba Diver, the only difference being age."
Magras said he was also inspired to take the plunge, and trained and received certification along with the youngsters. "It's because of this program that I learned to start diving," he said.
Becoming a certified diver is far from easy, Lett said, and some Weed and Seed youngsters as well as some dive club volunteer instructors, decided to drop out. But, to their credit, he said, many decided to stick it out. "Many students had to retake swim tests and exams, study questions and continue to retake until they could demonstrate they were able to handle the challenge, or drop out of the program."
"Diving is a disciplined sport," Letts noted. "Without following the rules, it can be dangerous." He said those who succeeded in the training "are responsible for their own achievements."
He said the biggest lesson for one student in the medical training course was learning to speak up. "I instructed her on how to approach a victim. As you approach, you are to say, 'I am medically trained; I can help.' I told her it would not be effective if she whispered the statement. She had to instill confidence in the victim that she really could help. So, she must say in a loud and forceful manner 'I am trained …'
"Well, it was like a door opening. She came on loud and strong, and for the rest of her classes she would speak up and be heard — whether I liked it or not!"
It took a different kind of effort to get the divers to the youth summit, one led by student divers and their parents, who held raffles and other fund-raisers. Their efforts were supplemented by funds from the Housing Authority and Weed and Seed.
There's been a ripple effect, too. As word of the dive team's adventure had spread, Magras said, more kids are showing up and signing up to learn to dive. "Before, they were a little scared to try something new," he said. "It's not a problem now."
And now some of the Bovoni divers are helping others — even their elders — to take on new frontiers beneath the surface of the sea. "One of the smallest and lightest young girls became known as 'Fish' — anything underwater became natural to her," Letts said. "She eventually helped her mother overcome her fears of night diving, but it took some effort."
Huggins summed up the challenge of recruiting, training and keeping his students committed to the dive program in three words: "It wasn't easy."
It was the same comment he used to summarize the scuba diving summit. One of the kids missed the plane to Florida. Heavy rains while they were there lowered visibility and cut back on the number of dives the youngsters got to make, and much of the activity was kept indoors. But as things turned out, that gave the Virgin Islanders yet another chance to shine.
They had taken along a set of steelpans, and they played to the delight of the organizers, Huggins said, and also performed a quadrille dance. In short, "They represented the Virgin Islands," he said, in the process getting to recognize the value of the contributions they had to offer and how much those contributions were appreciated by the outside world.
And, he said, the dive conditions in the Florida Keys helped the youngsters to appreciate their surroundings back home, especially the quality of the water they get to dive in year-round.
Despite the trials of getting his program off the ground, Huggins said, he would do it over again — and he hopes that he'll get the opportunity to do just that. "If I had a chance to get everyone in the Virgin Islands to become a certified diver, I'd do it," he said.

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July 8, 2002 – The Law Enforcement Planning Commission is scheduled to receive a $1.04 million grant from the U.S. Justice Department for use in programs to create greater accountability within the juvenile-justice system, Delegate Donna M. Christensen announced on Monday.
The source of the funding, the Juvenile Accountability Block Grant Program, provides states and local governments with money to develop such initiatives, Christensen said in a release. Specifics of how the money will be spent locally could not be determined Monday. Eddy Charles, LEPC director, could not be reached for comment, and the delegate's public information officer, Monique Clendinen, said she did not have any details.
In the release, Christensen also said that local law-enforcement agencies have until 5 p.m. on July 17 to apply for Local Law Enforcement Block Grants from the U.S. Justice Department.
Agencies seeking such grant funds must file their applications electronically. To access the online address, click here. If you need assistance, call the Justice Department's Grants Management System Help Desk, toll-free, at (888) 549-9901, selecting Option 3.
For more information, call the State and Local Assistance Division of the Bureau of Justice Assistance at (202) 514-6638.

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July 8, 2002 – The Law Enforcement Planning Commission is scheduled to receive a $1.04 million grant from the U.S. Justice Department for use in programs to create greater accountability within the juvenile-justice system, Delegate Donna M. Christensen announced on Monday.
The source of the funding, the Juvenile Accountability Block Grant Program, provides states and local governments with money to develop such initiatives, Christensen said in a release. Specifics of how the money will be spent locally could not be determined Monday. Eddy Charles, LEPC director, could not be reached for comment, and the delegate's public information officer, Monique Clendinen, said she did not have any details.
In the release, Christensen also said that local law-enforcement agencies have until 5 p.m. on July 17 to apply for Local Law Enforcement Block Grants from the U.S. Justice Department.
Agencies seeking such grant funds must file their applications electronically. To access the online address, click here. If you need assistance, call the Justice Department's Grants Management System Help Desk, toll-free, at (888) 549-9901, selecting Option 3.
For more information, call the State and Local Assistance Division of the Bureau of Justice Assistance at (202) 514-6638.

Publisher's note : Like the St. John 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.

July 8, 2002 – The Law Enforcement Planning Commission is scheduled to receive a $1.04 million grant from the U.S. Justice Department for use in programs to create greater accountability within the juvenile-justice system, Delegate Donna M. Christensen announced on Monday.
The source of the funding, the Juvenile Accountability Block Grant Program, provides states and local governments with money to develop such initiatives, Christensen said in a release. Specifics of how the money will be spent locally could not be determined Monday. Eddy Charles, LEPC director, could not be reached for comment, and the delegate's public information officer, Monique Clendinen, said she did not have any details.
In the release, Christensen also said that local law-enforcement agencies have until 5 p.m. on July 17 to apply for Local Law Enforcement Block Grants from the U.S. Justice Department.
Agencies seeking such grant funds must file their applications electronically. To access the online address, click here. If you need assistance, call the Justice Department's Grants Management System Help Desk, toll-free, at (888) 549-9901, selecting Option 3.
For more information, call the State and Local Assistance Division of the Bureau of Justice Assistance at (202) 514-6638.

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July 8, 2002 – A young Chicago stock trader who did not know how to swim drowned off Honeymoon Beach, one of Caneel Bay Resort's seven beaches, police and National Park Service rangers said Monday.
Sherman Galbreath, 26, who with a female companion was a guest at the resort, was in the water with her on Emancipation Day learning one of the first steps in swimming, called "the dead man's float," V.I. National Park Chief Ranger Steve Clark said.
According to Clark, "This young lady was floating on her back, and the guy said, 'Hey, how do you do that?' — and he was a big guy. She stuck her arms out so she was supporting him, and she started to walk out" farther into the water. "She stepped off a 15-foot ledge."
The pair plunged into the deeper water. The woman surfaced and looked around for her companion. Clark said another vacationer at the beach saw what had happened and went to the rescue. He recovered Galbreath from the bottom of the bay but could not revive him with artificial resuscitation, the ranger said. Emergency medical technicians were called to the scene, but they, too were unsuccessful in reviving Galbreath.
"In a matter of seconds, it was over," Clark said.
Galbreath's body was taken to the morgue at Roy L. Schneider Hospital on St. Thomas. An autopsy determined that drowning was the cause of death, Clark said.
Word of Galbreath's drowning came as a shock to relatives on the U.S. mainland. "We are at a loss why Sherman would jump into unknown water when he could not swim," his uncle, Ken West, said.
Clark said the topography of the sea floor is constantly changing. "Just because a beach is 4 feet deep today" doesn't mean it will stay that way, he said, adding, "It could be 10 feet deep tomorrow because of beach dynamics."
Galbreath was an associate trader with Lehman Brothers in Chicago. He joined the company as a trainee after attending the University of Chicago, where he played on the school's football team.

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July 8, 2002 – A large commercial vehicle reportedly struck a telephone line near Four Winds Plaza in Tutu early Monday afternoon causing interruption to phone service in the area.
A release from Innovative Telephone said the vehicle also struck and damaged a suspended traffic signal.
Innovative spokesperson Tom Dunn said "every resource and effort will be made to restorw telephone service by 11 p.m. Monday.

In order to accommodate the public, the Elections Board has arranged special hours and locations for registering to vote.
A special session will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 3, at Christian "Shan" Vegetable Market in Christiansted.

In order to accommodate the public, the Elections Board has arranged special hours and locations for registering to vote.
A special session will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, July 27, at the Frederiksted Post Office.

In order to accommodate the public, the Elections Board has arranged special hours and locations for registering to vote.
A special session will be held Saturday, July 13, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Gallows Bay Hardware.

In order to accommodate the public, the Elections Board has arranged special hours and locations for registering to vote.
There will be a session from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, July 14, at Tutu Park Mall, conducted in conjunction with Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.