March 4, 2002 – There's a struggle in the public housing communities of the Virgin Islands over family values. At Oswald Harris Court, it's a struggle being waged by an unlikely army — one building manager, a grandfather with three fidgety grandchildren, a dozen working moms and dads with some more kids in tow, and a handful of feisty old ladies.
These are the people who straggle in on a workday evening to the regular meeting at the Ruth Dazle Community Center. According to community services specialist Joycelyn Turnbull, meetings are held once a month; after the hiatus for the Christmas holidays, they have begun again.
To a visiting reporter who has sat in near-empty courtrooms and at public hearings largely minus the public, the 25 people filling the seats at the center seem like a lot, but to Gloria Haynes, the Resident Council president, they're a drop in the bucket. There are 300 families living at Harris Court, she says, and getting them to turn out to the monthly meetings is about as easy as getting parents to show up for the PTA meetings at Bertha C. Boschulte Middle School, where she works as a librarian.
But Haynes says it's important for the people living in public housing to know how the system works for and against them, so she and others "are trying to educate them," she says.
Organizers also are trying to rally the working-class families at Harris Court to mobilize against the elements that threaten their close-knit community. There's apathy, the inertia that leads some so stay behind their front doors on the couch and in front of the television screen. There's hostility among neighbors. One tenant told of her struggle to keep the yard clean, with the neighbors flinging bags of garbage from the windows upstairs.
Then there are the more menacing elements. Building manager Wenceslas Smith warns parents to keep a close eye on their children at the playground, "because we're an open community, we're not fenced in."
Even as the meeting gets under way, Smith says there are children peering through the door. Small children who don't live at Harris Court but wander in unsupervised after dark, bringing foul language and talk of guns and gangs. Older children, she says, may be the ones responsible for the lights being knocked out in one building. "It's unsafe," she says.
One senior at the meeting asks if Smith has heard of residents complaining to the housing police about children climbing onto the roof at other buildings.
Smith is one of two housing managers at Harris Court. Through a myriad of duties, she works to foster a quality lifestyle for her residents. Although her demeanor is measured and calm, sometimes she has to show her tougher side. There's a warning for those who store old appliances and auto parts in the hallways outside their apartments. They don't belong there, the manager says, and if those items are still in the hall when she makes her walk-through inspection, they won't be for long.
Likewise for those who throw trash and are otherwise sloppy. Anyone found with neatness violations is sent to a mandatory housekeeping training class. Failure to attend and correct the conditions can result in eviction.
And after the stick comes the carrot. Smith reminds the seniors that transportation will be arranged for them to attend the Housing Authority Senior Citizens Ball in May, and she adds, "You have enough notice: The color is shades of purple."
Parents with children in school are urged to send them to the community afterschool program to get help with their homework. But lately, children have been coming home saying they don't have any homework. That's because they want to go out and play, one mother says; when she goes through their knapsacks, the homework is "right there."
In addition to the afterschool program, the young people at Harris Court can use the on-site computer lab, register for a summer jobs program, and play in the Housing Authority's youth steel orchestra. Most of the programs are federally funded. "The whole idea is to keep the kids busy," Turnbull says.
Some programs are more popular than others, according to Smith. The seniors programs draw the greatest participation, along with the steelband. Soon, she says, older youth who have dropped out of school will have a chance to sign up for GED classes.
And for further reinforcement, the community service specialist brings speakers to the meetings to stimulate discussion. Residents are eager to join in on the latest one, which is centered on family life.
Some talk about the dynamics within their families. Others speak of the housing community as their extended family. Or at least they wish it were, they say, but the values they were raised on are hard to find and harder to share. Instead, they say, there is so much mistrust and uncertainty.
"In these days you have to be careful," one resident says.
AUDIT REVEALS SAME PROBLEMS, DIFFERENT YEARS
March 3, 2002 – The problem of lost and unaccounted-for police weapons hasn't changed much since 1994. Neither has suspicion surrounding the Narcotics Strike Force or the lackadaisical handling of grants by the Law Enforcement Planning Commission.
Police Department missing property
A recent federal audit of Police Department administrative functions, conducted by the Interior Department, found that 68 weapons were not accounted for, and that four of the missing guns were recovered after being used in the commission of crimes.
A 1994 audit, conducted by V.I. Office of Inspector General, determined that 34 firearms were missing, with six of the weapons later identified as having been used in crimes.
In his response to the federal audit manager, Arnold VanBeverhoudt, Gov. Charles W. Turnbull said the territory's system for collecting and disposing of evidence was complex and would take "additional time and resources" to sort out.
Along with weapons, the federal auditors determined that uniforms, police badges, handcuffs and evidence also were missing.
On St. Croix, firearms and ammunition were found stored on open shelves. On St. Thomas, inventories of crime evidence were neither complete nor accurate. And there was little uniformity in the operation of the St. Croix and St. Thomas property rooms.
The St. Thomas property room had been located in an abandoned building, formerly the main police station, while property storage rooms were being prepared at the recently refurbished Alexander Farrelly Criminal Justice Complex. Police moved from the dilapidated Zone A Command facilities on Norre Gade into the renovated space at the Farrelly complex last June.
To test the accountability for crime evidence, auditors sampled 92 items, 37 on St. Croix and 55 on St. Thomas. All of the St. Croix items were accounted for. On St. Thomas, 19 items, including 14 firearms, were not found.
The Police Department also lost $54,500 in federal grant money because 200 bulletproof vests that were ordered with the grant were the wrong size and were therefore unusable. The vendor accepted the return of 96 vests, but the remaining 104 had to be given to other law-enforcement agencies. The audit did not say if there were 104 officers without vests as a result of what the auditors called "poor planning."
Strike Force strikes out
The audit, conducted by the U.S. Department of the Interior Office of the Inspector General, criticized the Narcotics Strike Force, which has been under the purview of the Police Department since November 1999, for the "questionable" use of $206,854 out of $572,000 in funds slated for confidential and undercover operations.
Included in the "used for questionable purposes" column was $149,790 spent by former Strike Force officials and the former director of the agency to rent residential property on all three islands, purportedly for undercover operations.
The property on St. John was rented for seven months from a relative of a police officer to the tune of $10,000 and was used as a "vacation home" for agency officials, the report said.
On St. Thomas, two residences were leased for a year, each at a cost of $2,000 per month.
Another questioned expenditure was of $27,209 for telephone services, cellular phones, beepers and Internet services for top agency officials.
And $22,690 was paid to a Strike Force official and two associates for undocumented "expense money."
According to the report, "During the period of Dec. 22, 1999, to March 17, 2000, the Strike Force official received $5,100 in cash and $5,800 in checks. The account's checkbook listed the cash payments as 'expense money,' with no other explanation." However, the report goes on to say, "The former Strike Force official was not trained to perform undercover work, and there were no documented reports to justify the payment of these funds."
Between April and July 2000, another $11,790 was paid to two people, "one being a relative, for undercover work." These people did not follow established procedures and were not trained for undercover work, nor were they government employees, the report stated.
"However, they received government funds … and were allowed to operate government vehicles during and after office hours. We found no documentation as to what services they might have provided to the Strike Force," the audit said.
Further, the report said, no action was ever taken to recover $22,000 for Strike Force vehicle totaled in an accident with a drunken off-duty police officer. The vehicle was never replaced and was being "cannibalized for parts."
Bad loans and unaccounted-for budget adjustments resulted in almost $36,000 in other questionable uses or losses of Strike Force funds.
Two years prior to being placed under the Police Department umbrella, the Strike Force came under fire by then-Police Commissioner Ramon Davila, who said some of the Strike Force agents were not trustworthy.
And in 1997, José Garcia, at the time the acting St. Thomas- St. John police chief, told the Legislature that two St. Thomas Strike Force agents had criminal backgrounds and four agents — three on St. Croix and one on St. Thomas — were being investigated by the FBI.
Then-Attorney General Julio Brady and Davila proposed that the agency be dismantled. It wasn't.
Law Enforcement Planning Commission's role
On a less-dramatic, but no-less-painful note, the report said grants to the Law Enforcement Planning Commission in the amount of $2.3 million were "not used effectively."
Sixteen grants for years 1995 to 1998 were closed out with $949,019 not having been used for their intended law-enforcement purposes.
A letter dated May 24, 2000, from the U.S. Department of Justice cited more unused grant balances totaling almost $1.4 million for fiscal years 1992 to 1996.
The audit said, "Considering that non-profit organizations and other potential subgrantees needed funds to effectively carry out programs related to law enforcement, the commission should have made greater efforts to use all available grant funds."
Part of the problem might have been that all the terms of supervisory board members had expired by 1997. The advisory board, responsible for "programs under the Federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act," among other things, has not met in more than eight years — since Dec. 9, 1993.
The LEPC grant administrator requested more than a year ago that Turnbull appoint new members to the board. Police Commissioner Franz Christian has done so again, according to his response to the audit's recommendations.
In a January 2001 letter to then-drug policy advisor Wayne Chinnery, an acting assistant attorney general expressed concerns about late submissions and the absence in some cases of grant reports. Chinnery was fired by the governor, without explanation, a few months later.
Other glaring problems at LEPC include lack of grant oversight, loss of potential interest income on grant money, and lack of career employees.
Although the V.I. Code states that "all employees of the Law Enforcement Planning Commission except the administrator should be career employees," only three of 10 were classified employees at the time of the audit, auditors found.
Further, the non-classified employees were allowed to set their own salaries, "which were paid from federal funds," the audit said.
Christian concurred with the 18 recommendations made by the auditors but gave no dates for completing corrective action. Therefore, only one recommendation was considered resolved and implemented, which was the control of firearms.
Christian said, "Measures will be immediately implemented to account for all weapons that have been procured by the department for use by authorized departmental personnel."
Police Department missing property
A recent federal audit of Police Department administrative functions, conducted by the Interior Department, found that 68 weapons were not accounted for, and that four of the missing guns were recovered after being used in the commission of crimes.
A 1994 audit, conducted by V.I. Office of Inspector General, determined that 34 firearms were missing, with six of the weapons later identified as having been used in crimes.
In his response to the federal audit manager, Arnold VanBeverhoudt, Gov. Charles W. Turnbull said the territory's system for collecting and disposing of evidence was complex and would take "additional time and resources" to sort out.
Along with weapons, the federal auditors determined that uniforms, police badges, handcuffs and evidence also were missing.
On St. Croix, firearms and ammunition were found stored on open shelves. On St. Thomas, inventories of crime evidence were neither complete nor accurate. And there was little uniformity in the operation of the St. Croix and St. Thomas property rooms.
The St. Thomas property room had been located in an abandoned building, formerly the main police station, while property storage rooms were being prepared at the recently refurbished Alexander Farrelly Criminal Justice Complex. Police moved from the dilapidated Zone A Command facilities on Norre Gade into the renovated space at the Farrelly complex last June.
To test the accountability for crime evidence, auditors sampled 92 items, 37 on St. Croix and 55 on St. Thomas. All of the St. Croix items were accounted for. On St. Thomas, 19 items, including 14 firearms, were not found.
The Police Department also lost $54,500 in federal grant money because 200 bulletproof vests that were ordered with the grant were the wrong size and were therefore unusable. The vendor accepted the return of 96 vests, but the remaining 104 had to be given to other law-enforcement agencies. The audit did not say if there were 104 officers without vests as a result of what the auditors called "poor planning."
Strike Force strikes out
The audit, conducted by the U.S. Department of the Interior Office of the Inspector General, criticized the Narcotics Strike Force, which has been under the purview of the Police Department since November 1999, for the "questionable" use of $206,854 out of $572,000 in funds slated for confidential and undercover operations.
Included in the "used for questionable purposes" column was $149,790 spent by former Strike Force officials and the former director of the agency to rent residential property on all three islands, purportedly for undercover operations.
The property on St. John was rented for seven months from a relative of a police officer to the tune of $10,000 and was used as a "vacation home" for agency officials, the report said.
On St. Thomas, two residences were leased for a year, each at a cost of $2,000 per month.
Another questioned expenditure was of $27,209 for telephone services, cellular phones, beepers and Internet services for top agency officials.
And $22,690 was paid to a Strike Force official and two associates for undocumented "expense money."
According to the report, "During the period of Dec. 22, 1999, to March 17, 2000, the Strike Force official received $5,100 in cash and $5,800 in checks. The account's checkbook listed the cash payments as 'expense money,' with no other explanation." However, the report goes on to say, "The former Strike Force official was not trained to perform undercover work, and there were no documented reports to justify the payment of these funds."
Between April and July 2000, another $11,790 was paid to two people, "one being a relative, for undercover work." These people did not follow established procedures and were not trained for undercover work, nor were they government employees, the report stated.
"However, they received government funds … and were allowed to operate government vehicles during and after office hours. We found no documentation as to what services they might have provided to the Strike Force," the audit said.
Further, the report said, no action was ever taken to recover $22,000 for Strike Force vehicle totaled in an accident with a drunken off-duty police officer. The vehicle was never replaced and was being "cannibalized for parts."
Bad loans and unaccounted-for budget adjustments resulted in almost $36,000 in other questionable uses or losses of Strike Force funds.
Two years prior to being placed under the Police Department umbrella, the Strike Force came under fire by then-Police Commissioner Ramon Davila, who said some of the Strike Force agents were not trustworthy.
And in 1997, José Garcia, at the time the acting St. Thomas- St. John police chief, told the Legislature that two St. Thomas Strike Force agents had criminal backgrounds and four agents — three on St. Croix and one on St. Thomas — were being investigated by the FBI.
Then-Attorney General Julio Brady and Davila proposed that the agency be dismantled. It wasn't.
Law Enforcement Planning Commission's role
On a less-dramatic, but no-less-painful note, the report said grants to the Law Enforcement Planning Commission in the amount of $2.3 million were "not used effectively."
Sixteen grants for years 1995 to 1998 were closed out with $949,019 not having been used for their intended law-enforcement purposes.
A letter dated May 24, 2000, from the U.S. Department of Justice cited more unused grant balances totaling almost $1.4 million for fiscal years 1992 to 1996.
The audit said, "Considering that non-profit organizations and other potential subgrantees needed funds to effectively carry out programs related to law enforcement, the commission should have made greater efforts to use all available grant funds."
Part of the problem might have been that all the terms of supervisory board members had expired by 1997. The advisory board, responsible for "programs under the Federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act," among other things, has not met in more than eight years — since Dec. 9, 1993.
The LEPC grant administrator requested more than a year ago that Turnbull appoint new members to the board. Police Commissioner Franz Christian has done so again, according to his response to the audit's recommendations.
In a January 2001 letter to then-drug policy advisor Wayne Chinnery, an acting assistant attorney general expressed concerns about late submissions and the absence in some cases of grant reports. Chinnery was fired by the governor, without explanation, a few months later.
Other glaring problems at LEPC include lack of grant oversight, loss of potential interest income on grant money, and lack of career employees.
Although the V.I. Code states that "all employees of the Law Enforcement Planning Commission except the administrator should be career employees," only three of 10 were classified employees at the time of the audit, auditors found.
Further, the non-classified employees were allowed to set their own salaries, "which were paid from federal funds," the audit said.
Christian concurred with the 18 recommendations made by the auditors but gave no dates for completing corrective action. Therefore, only one recommendation was considered resolved and implemented, which was the control of firearms.
Christian said, "Measures will be immediately implemented to account for all weapons that have been procured by the department for use by authorized departmental personnel."
YES, PUMPKIN FRITTERS CAN BE GOOD FOR YOU!
March 3, 2002 – This week's recipe offers a way to lighten up a Virgin Islands favorite — pumpkin fritters — in honor of March being National Nutrition Month.
Eating is one of life's greatest pleasures, yet maintaining good health is definitely something to be treasured. This year, the Nutrition Month theme is "Start today for a healthy tomorrow." This means that people of all ages benefit from making healthful eating, physical activity and lifestyle choices. Trying new foods and new ways of preparing old favorites can jump-start your plans for health.
The calabaza, or West Indian pumpkin, is round in shape and can range in size from as large as a watermelon to as small as a cantaloupe. Its skin varies from green to pale tan, while its flesh is a brilliant orange. Calabaza is most often found in cut pieces at local supermarkets or roadside stands. When buying these pieces, choose those that look fresh, moist and tightly grained with no signs of soft or wet spots.
Nutritionally, the calabaza excels. One cup cooked and mashed provides an excellent source of vitamin A and fair amounts of potassium, vitamin C and dietary fiber, all for only 35 calories.
Tastewise, it is the sweet flavor of the calabaza that makes it excellent for making fritters. Notice that the recipe below calls for skim milk and cooking by skillet in a nonstick coating pan. These changes make fritters virtually fat-free, much different from the traditional variety.
Lightened-up Pumpkin Fritters
1 1/2 cups mashed West Indian pumpkin*
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 cups milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
Non-stick coating spray
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
In a mixing bowl, combine pumpkin, 1/4 cup sugar, salt, vanilla, baking powder, milk and flour; stir until ingredients are just combined. Do not use an electric mixer, and do not over-mix. Spray a nonstick skillet with coating. Drop batter by tablespoonfuls onto hot skillet. Cook 1 to 2 minutes on each side, then remove to a serving platter. Stir together 2 tablespoons sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture over cooked fritters.
Makes 6 servings. Per serving: 140 calories, 0.3 gms fat (2 percent fat calories), 1 mg cholesterol, 128 mg sodium.
* To make mashed pumpkin from fresh: Remove seeds and stringy fibers from center cavity of a cut piece of pumpkin. Slice the piece into quarters. Place quarters in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 25 to 30 minutes until pumpkin flesh is fork tender. Drain water. Scoop out pumpkin flesh from outer shell. Mash flesh with a fork. One quarter of a medium-sized pumpkin yields approximately 1 1/2 cups of mashed pumpkin.
Eating is one of life's greatest pleasures, yet maintaining good health is definitely something to be treasured. This year, the Nutrition Month theme is "Start today for a healthy tomorrow." This means that people of all ages benefit from making healthful eating, physical activity and lifestyle choices. Trying new foods and new ways of preparing old favorites can jump-start your plans for health.
The calabaza, or West Indian pumpkin, is round in shape and can range in size from as large as a watermelon to as small as a cantaloupe. Its skin varies from green to pale tan, while its flesh is a brilliant orange. Calabaza is most often found in cut pieces at local supermarkets or roadside stands. When buying these pieces, choose those that look fresh, moist and tightly grained with no signs of soft or wet spots.
Nutritionally, the calabaza excels. One cup cooked and mashed provides an excellent source of vitamin A and fair amounts of potassium, vitamin C and dietary fiber, all for only 35 calories.
Tastewise, it is the sweet flavor of the calabaza that makes it excellent for making fritters. Notice that the recipe below calls for skim milk and cooking by skillet in a nonstick coating pan. These changes make fritters virtually fat-free, much different from the traditional variety.
Lightened-up Pumpkin Fritters
1 1/2 cups mashed West Indian pumpkin*
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 cups milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
Non-stick coating spray
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
In a mixing bowl, combine pumpkin, 1/4 cup sugar, salt, vanilla, baking powder, milk and flour; stir until ingredients are just combined. Do not use an electric mixer, and do not over-mix. Spray a nonstick skillet with coating. Drop batter by tablespoonfuls onto hot skillet. Cook 1 to 2 minutes on each side, then remove to a serving platter. Stir together 2 tablespoons sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture over cooked fritters.
Makes 6 servings. Per serving: 140 calories, 0.3 gms fat (2 percent fat calories), 1 mg cholesterol, 128 mg sodium.
* To make mashed pumpkin from fresh: Remove seeds and stringy fibers from center cavity of a cut piece of pumpkin. Slice the piece into quarters. Place quarters in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 25 to 30 minutes until pumpkin flesh is fork tender. Drain water. Scoop out pumpkin flesh from outer shell. Mash flesh with a fork. One quarter of a medium-sized pumpkin yields approximately 1 1/2 cups of mashed pumpkin.
DELEGATE HONORED FOR SUPPORT OF BAHA'IS
March 3, 2002 – Delegate Donna Christian Christensen has received a special thank-you from the Baha'is of the Virgin Islands.
Christensen was presented with a commemorative book by Alan Smith, a member of the St. Thomas-St. John faith community, on Friday during a break in proceedings at a National Medical Association conference at Marriott's Frenchman's Reef Beach Resort.
Smith said it was the group's way of acknowledging the delegate's efforts on behalf of persecuted Bahai's in Iran.
"The delegate has been very supportive of the Baha'i community on the floor of Congress," Smith said. "In appreciation of that support, we wanted to present her with a book describing the new terraces at the Baha'i Faith Center in Haifa, Israel."
Last May, 16 members of the Virgin Islands Baha'i community traveled to Haifa to join their fellow devotees from around the world at the dedication of the terraces. The center was built near the burial site of the central figure of the faith and its leading prophet, Bahá'u'lláh.
According to the official Baha'i website, the religion has some 5 million adherents in 188 nations and territories today. The faith's philosophy centers on the oneness of humankind and the elimination of prejudice through sprituality.
But Baha'is have faced intolerance in some of countries, notably Iran, the land formerly known as Persia, where Bahá'u'lláh was born. As recently as 1996, four devotees were sentenced to death in Iran, charged with betraying Islam, the state religion. Three more were killed in 1997 and 1998. A few months later, the Iranian government ordered the Baha'i educational center there closed.
"At one time, Alan met me," Christensen said as she accepted the token of gratitude from the local faith community. "There was religious persecution of the Baha'is in Iran about three years ago, and I went on the floor [of Congress] and I spoke about it."
In 1998, following the arrest of three Baha'is by Iranian officials, the Clinton White House issued a statement condemning the actions of the Iranian government.
Christensen was presented with a commemorative book by Alan Smith, a member of the St. Thomas-St. John faith community, on Friday during a break in proceedings at a National Medical Association conference at Marriott's Frenchman's Reef Beach Resort.
Smith said it was the group's way of acknowledging the delegate's efforts on behalf of persecuted Bahai's in Iran.
"The delegate has been very supportive of the Baha'i community on the floor of Congress," Smith said. "In appreciation of that support, we wanted to present her with a book describing the new terraces at the Baha'i Faith Center in Haifa, Israel."
Last May, 16 members of the Virgin Islands Baha'i community traveled to Haifa to join their fellow devotees from around the world at the dedication of the terraces. The center was built near the burial site of the central figure of the faith and its leading prophet, Bahá'u'lláh.
According to the official Baha'i website, the religion has some 5 million adherents in 188 nations and territories today. The faith's philosophy centers on the oneness of humankind and the elimination of prejudice through sprituality.
But Baha'is have faced intolerance in some of countries, notably Iran, the land formerly known as Persia, where Bahá'u'lláh was born. As recently as 1996, four devotees were sentenced to death in Iran, charged with betraying Islam, the state religion. Three more were killed in 1997 and 1998. A few months later, the Iranian government ordered the Baha'i educational center there closed.
"At one time, Alan met me," Christensen said as she accepted the token of gratitude from the local faith community. "There was religious persecution of the Baha'is in Iran about three years ago, and I went on the floor [of Congress] and I spoke about it."
In 1998, following the arrest of three Baha'is by Iranian officials, the Clinton White House issued a statement condemning the actions of the Iranian government.
YES, PUMPKIN FRITTERS CAN BE GOOD FOR YOU!
March 3, 2002 – This week's recipe offers a way to lighten up a Virgin Islands favorite — pumpkin fritters — in honor of March being National Nutrition Month.
Eating is one of life's greatest pleasures, yet maintaining good health is definitely something to be treasured. This year, the Nutrition Month theme is "Start today for a healthy tomorrow." This means that people of all ages benefit from making healthful eating, physical activity and lifestyle choices. Trying new foods and new ways of preparing old favorites can jump-start your plans for health.
The calabaza, or West Indian pumpkin, is round in shape and can range in size from as large as a watermelon to as small as a cantaloupe. Its skin varies from green to pale tan, while its flesh is a brilliant orange. Calabaza is most often found in cut pieces at local supermarkets or roadside stands. When buying these pieces, choose those that look fresh, moist and tightly grained with no signs of soft or wet spots.
Nutritionally, the calabaza excels. One cup cooked and mashed provides an excellent source of vitamin A and fair amounts of potassium, vitamin C and dietary fiber, all for only 35 calories.
Tastewise, it is the sweet flavor of the calabaza that makes it excellent for making fritters. Notice that the recipe below calls for skim milk and cooking by skillet in a nonstick coating pan. These changes make fritters virtually fat-free, much different from the traditional variety.
Lightened-up Pumpkin Fritters
1 1/2 cups mashed West Indian pumpkin*
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 cups milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
Non-stick coating spray
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
In a mixing bowl, combine pumpkin, 1/4 cup sugar, salt, vanilla, baking powder, milk and flour; stir until ingredients are just combined. Do not use an electric mixer, and do not over-mix. Spray a nonstick skillet with coating. Drop batter by tablespoonfuls onto hot skillet. Cook 1 to 2 minutes on each side, then remove to a serving platter. Stir together 2 tablespoons sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture over cooked fritters.
Makes 6 servings. Per serving: 140 calories, 0.3 gms fat (2 percent fat calories), 1 mg cholesterol, 128 mg sodium.
* To make mashed pumpkin from fresh: Remove seeds and stringy fibers from center cavity of a cut piece of pumpkin. Slice the piece into quarters. Place quarters in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 25 to 30 minutes until pumpkin flesh is fork tender. Drain water. Scoop out pumpkin flesh from outer shell. Mash flesh with a fork. One quarter of a medium-sized pumpkin yields approximately 1 1/2 cups of mashed pumpkin.
Eating is one of life's greatest pleasures, yet maintaining good health is definitely something to be treasured. This year, the Nutrition Month theme is "Start today for a healthy tomorrow." This means that people of all ages benefit from making healthful eating, physical activity and lifestyle choices. Trying new foods and new ways of preparing old favorites can jump-start your plans for health.
The calabaza, or West Indian pumpkin, is round in shape and can range in size from as large as a watermelon to as small as a cantaloupe. Its skin varies from green to pale tan, while its flesh is a brilliant orange. Calabaza is most often found in cut pieces at local supermarkets or roadside stands. When buying these pieces, choose those that look fresh, moist and tightly grained with no signs of soft or wet spots.
Nutritionally, the calabaza excels. One cup cooked and mashed provides an excellent source of vitamin A and fair amounts of potassium, vitamin C and dietary fiber, all for only 35 calories.
Tastewise, it is the sweet flavor of the calabaza that makes it excellent for making fritters. Notice that the recipe below calls for skim milk and cooking by skillet in a nonstick coating pan. These changes make fritters virtually fat-free, much different from the traditional variety.
Lightened-up Pumpkin Fritters
1 1/2 cups mashed West Indian pumpkin*
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 cups milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
Non-stick coating spray
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
In a mixing bowl, combine pumpkin, 1/4 cup sugar, salt, vanilla, baking powder, milk and flour; stir until ingredients are just combined. Do not use an electric mixer, and do not over-mix. Spray a nonstick skillet with coating. Drop batter by tablespoonfuls onto hot skillet. Cook 1 to 2 minutes on each side, then remove to a serving platter. Stir together 2 tablespoons sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture over cooked fritters.
Makes 6 servings. Per serving: 140 calories, 0.3 gms fat (2 percent fat calories), 1 mg cholesterol, 128 mg sodium.
* To make mashed pumpkin from fresh: Remove seeds and stringy fibers from center cavity of a cut piece of pumpkin. Slice the piece into quarters. Place quarters in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 25 to 30 minutes until pumpkin flesh is fork tender. Drain water. Scoop out pumpkin flesh from outer shell. Mash flesh with a fork. One quarter of a medium-sized pumpkin yields approximately 1 1/2 cups of mashed pumpkin.
ST. THOMAS JOGGER JAM IS SET
March 3, 2002 – Women's Jogger Jam time has arrived, and this year Therese Hodge of the St. Thomas Association of Roadrunners (STAR) wants to see 300 women doing the two-mile race on the afternoon of Sunday, March 17.
St. John runners, keep up your momentum from the 8 Tuff Miles, and come on over. Grandmas, walk the walk. Moms, bring the infants out in strollers. Serious athletes, beat your personal best from an earlier year.
Three hundred would be a record number of walkers, joggers and runners; young, old and in between, for the annual St. Thomas race.
It's a chance for women to be "waited on" by the menfolk, as fellows who usually compete in races turn out in large numbers to hold traffic, give bullhorn instructions, blow the starting whistle promptly at 5 p.m., man the water stops, and tear off number tags at the finish line. The fellows will pass out water, fruits, random prizes, recovery advice, T-shirts and awards at the end. The first 200 registered finishes will get a T-shirt, according to a release from STAR.
Early registration fee is $3 for youth 18 and under, $4 for STAR members, $5 adults; raceday it'll cost you $10. Register by March 16 during business hours at Fruit Bowl in Wheatley Center, Comfort Zone at Port of Sale Mall, Players in Havensight Mall, and Going Seanile downtown in Royal Dane Mall.
The Fruit Bowl will donate $5 to the Victim Advocates, Inc. for every registered finisher.
Parental consent on the registration form is required for participants younger than 18 years old. And participants must wear their assigned race number on the front of their clothing.
The race starts and finishes in the Wheatley Shopping Center, winding around roads behind the hospital. Awards will be given to the top finisher overall, and to 1st, 2nd and 3rd places in seven categories: age 12 and under, ages 13 to 18, ages 19 to 29, ages 30 to 39, ages 40-49, ages 50-59, and age 60 and over.
St. John runners, keep up your momentum from the 8 Tuff Miles, and come on over. Grandmas, walk the walk. Moms, bring the infants out in strollers. Serious athletes, beat your personal best from an earlier year.
Three hundred would be a record number of walkers, joggers and runners; young, old and in between, for the annual St. Thomas race.
It's a chance for women to be "waited on" by the menfolk, as fellows who usually compete in races turn out in large numbers to hold traffic, give bullhorn instructions, blow the starting whistle promptly at 5 p.m., man the water stops, and tear off number tags at the finish line. The fellows will pass out water, fruits, random prizes, recovery advice, T-shirts and awards at the end. The first 200 registered finishes will get a T-shirt, according to a release from STAR.
Early registration fee is $3 for youth 18 and under, $4 for STAR members, $5 adults; raceday it'll cost you $10. Register by March 16 during business hours at Fruit Bowl in Wheatley Center, Comfort Zone at Port of Sale Mall, Players in Havensight Mall, and Going Seanile downtown in Royal Dane Mall.
The Fruit Bowl will donate $5 to the Victim Advocates, Inc. for every registered finisher.
Parental consent on the registration form is required for participants younger than 18 years old. And participants must wear their assigned race number on the front of their clothing.
The race starts and finishes in the Wheatley Shopping Center, winding around roads behind the hospital. Awards will be given to the top finisher overall, and to 1st, 2nd and 3rd places in seven categories: age 12 and under, ages 13 to 18, ages 19 to 29, ages 30 to 39, ages 40-49, ages 50-59, and age 60 and over.
AUDIT REVEALS SAME PROBLEMS, DIFFERENT YEARS
March 3, 2002 – The problem of lost and unaccounted-for police weapons hasn't changed much since 1994. Neither has suspicion surrounding the Narcotics Strike Force or the lackadaisical handling of grants by the Law Enforcement Planning Commission.
Police Department missing property
A recent federal audit of Police Department administrative functions, conducted by the Interior Department, found that 68 weapons were not accounted for, and that four of the missing guns were recovered after being used in the commission of crimes.
A 1994 audit, conducted by V.I. Office of Inspector General, determined that 34 firearms were missing, with six of the weapons later identified as having been used in crimes.
In his response to the federal audit manager, Arnold VanBeverhoudt, Gov. Charles W. Turnbull said the territory's system for collecting and disposing of evidence was complex and would take "additional time and resources" to sort out.
Along with weapons, the federal auditors determined that uniforms, police badges, handcuffs and evidence also were missing.
On St. Croix, firearms and ammunition were found stored on open shelves. On St. Thomas, inventories of crime evidence were neither complete nor accurate. And there was little uniformity in the operation of the St. Croix and St. Thomas property rooms.
The St. Thomas property room had been located in an abandoned building, formerly the main police station, while property storage rooms were being prepared at the recently refurbished Alexander Farrelly Criminal Justice Complex. Police moved from the dilapidated Zone A Command facilities on Norre Gade into the renovated space at the Farrelly complex last June.
To test the accountability for crime evidence, auditors sampled 92 items, 37 on St. Croix and 55 on St. Thomas. All of the St. Croix items were accounted for. On St. Thomas, 19 items, including 14 firearms, were not found.
The Police Department also lost $54,500 in federal grant money because 200 bulletproof vests that were ordered with the grant were the wrong size and were therefore unusable. The vendor accepted the return of 96 vests, but the remaining 104 had to be given to other law-enforcement agencies. The audit did not say if there were 104 officers without vests as a result of what the auditors called "poor planning."
Strike Force strikes out
The audit, conducted by the U.S. Department of the Interior Office of the Inspector General, criticized the Narcotics Strike Force, which has been under the purview of the Police Department since November 1999, for the "questionable" use of $206,854 out of $572,000 in funds slated for confidential and undercover operations.
Included in the "used for questionable purposes" column was $149,790 spent by former Strike Force officials and the former director of the agency to rent residential property on all three islands, purportedly for undercover operations.
The property on St. John was rented for seven months from a relative of a police officer to the tune of $10,000 and was used as a "vacation home" for agency officials, the report said.
On St. Thomas, two residences were leased for a year, each at a cost of $2,000 per month.
Another questioned expenditure was of $27,209 for telephone services, cellular phones, beepers and Internet services for top agency officials.
And $22,690 was paid to a Strike Force official and two associates for undocumented "expense money."
According to the report, "During the period of Dec. 22, 1999, to March 17, 2000, the Strike Force official received $5,100 in cash and $5,800 in checks. The account's checkbook listed the cash payments as 'expense money,' with no other explanation." However, the report goes on to say, "The former Strike Force official was not trained to perform undercover work, and there were no documented reports to justify the payment of these funds."
Between April and July 2000, another $11,790 was paid to two people, "one being a relative, for undercover work." These people did not follow established procedures and were not trained for undercover work, nor were they government employees, the report stated.
"However, they received government funds … and were allowed to operate government vehicles during and after office hours. We found no documentation as to what services they might have provided to the Strike Force," the audit said.
Further, the report said, no action was ever taken to recover $22,000 for Strike Force vehicle totaled in an accident with a drunken off-duty police officer. The vehicle was never replaced and was being "cannibalized for parts."
Bad loans and unaccounted-for budget adjustments resulted in almost $36,000 in other questionable uses or losses of Strike Force funds.
Two years prior to being placed under the Police Department umbrella, the Strike Force came under fire by then-Police Commissioner Ramon Davila, who said some of the Strike Force agents were not trustworthy.
And in 1997, José Garcia, at the time the acting St. Thomas- St. John police chief, told the Legislature that two St. Thomas Strike Force agents had criminal backgrounds and four agents — three on St. Croix and one on St. Thomas — were being investigated by the FBI.
Then-Attorney General Julio Brady and Davila proposed that the agency be dismantled. It wasn't.
Law Enforcement Planning Commission's role
On a less-dramatic, but no-less-painful note, the report said grants to the Law Enforcement Planning Commission in the amount of $2.3 million were "not used effectively."
Sixteen grants for years 1995 to 1998 were closed out with $949,019 not having been used for their intended law-enforcement purposes.
A letter dated May 24, 2000, from the U.S. Department of Justice cited more unused grant balances totaling almost $1.4 million for fiscal years 1992 to 1996.
The audit said, "Considering that non-profit organizations and other potential subgrantees needed funds to effectively carry out programs related to law enforcement, the commission should have made greater efforts to use all available grant funds."
Part of the problem might have been that all the terms of supervisory board members had expired by 1997. The advisory board, responsible for "programs under the Federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act," among other things, has not met in more than eight years — since Dec. 9, 1993.
The LEPC grant administrator requested more than a year ago that Turnbull appoint new members to the board. Police Commissioner Franz Christian has done so again, according to his response to the audit's recommendations.
In a January 2001 letter to then-drug policy advisor Wayne Chinnery, an acting assistant attorney general expressed concerns about late submissions and the absence in some cases of grant reports. Chinnery was fired by the governor, without explanation, a few months later.
Other glaring problems at LEPC include lack of grant oversight, loss of potential interest income on grant money, and lack of career employees.
Although the V.I. Code states that "all employees of the Law Enforcement Planning Commission except the administrator should be career employees," only three of 10 were classified employees at the time of the audit, auditors found.
Further, the non-classified employees were allowed to set their own salaries, "which were paid from federal funds," the audit said.
Christian concurred with the 18 recommendations made by the auditors but gave no dates for completing corrective action. Therefore, only one recommendation was considered resolved and implemented, which was the control of firearms.
Christian said, "Measures will be immediately implemented to account for all weapons that have been procured by the department for use by authorized departmental personnel."
Police Department missing property
A recent federal audit of Police Department administrative functions, conducted by the Interior Department, found that 68 weapons were not accounted for, and that four of the missing guns were recovered after being used in the commission of crimes.
A 1994 audit, conducted by V.I. Office of Inspector General, determined that 34 firearms were missing, with six of the weapons later identified as having been used in crimes.
In his response to the federal audit manager, Arnold VanBeverhoudt, Gov. Charles W. Turnbull said the territory's system for collecting and disposing of evidence was complex and would take "additional time and resources" to sort out.
Along with weapons, the federal auditors determined that uniforms, police badges, handcuffs and evidence also were missing.
On St. Croix, firearms and ammunition were found stored on open shelves. On St. Thomas, inventories of crime evidence were neither complete nor accurate. And there was little uniformity in the operation of the St. Croix and St. Thomas property rooms.
The St. Thomas property room had been located in an abandoned building, formerly the main police station, while property storage rooms were being prepared at the recently refurbished Alexander Farrelly Criminal Justice Complex. Police moved from the dilapidated Zone A Command facilities on Norre Gade into the renovated space at the Farrelly complex last June.
To test the accountability for crime evidence, auditors sampled 92 items, 37 on St. Croix and 55 on St. Thomas. All of the St. Croix items were accounted for. On St. Thomas, 19 items, including 14 firearms, were not found.
The Police Department also lost $54,500 in federal grant money because 200 bulletproof vests that were ordered with the grant were the wrong size and were therefore unusable. The vendor accepted the return of 96 vests, but the remaining 104 had to be given to other law-enforcement agencies. The audit did not say if there were 104 officers without vests as a result of what the auditors called "poor planning."
Strike Force strikes out
The audit, conducted by the U.S. Department of the Interior Office of the Inspector General, criticized the Narcotics Strike Force, which has been under the purview of the Police Department since November 1999, for the "questionable" use of $206,854 out of $572,000 in funds slated for confidential and undercover operations.
Included in the "used for questionable purposes" column was $149,790 spent by former Strike Force officials and the former director of the agency to rent residential property on all three islands, purportedly for undercover operations.
The property on St. John was rented for seven months from a relative of a police officer to the tune of $10,000 and was used as a "vacation home" for agency officials, the report said.
On St. Thomas, two residences were leased for a year, each at a cost of $2,000 per month.
Another questioned expenditure was of $27,209 for telephone services, cellular phones, beepers and Internet services for top agency officials.
And $22,690 was paid to a Strike Force official and two associates for undocumented "expense money."
According to the report, "During the period of Dec. 22, 1999, to March 17, 2000, the Strike Force official received $5,100 in cash and $5,800 in checks. The account's checkbook listed the cash payments as 'expense money,' with no other explanation." However, the report goes on to say, "The former Strike Force official was not trained to perform undercover work, and there were no documented reports to justify the payment of these funds."
Between April and July 2000, another $11,790 was paid to two people, "one being a relative, for undercover work." These people did not follow established procedures and were not trained for undercover work, nor were they government employees, the report stated.
"However, they received government funds … and were allowed to operate government vehicles during and after office hours. We found no documentation as to what services they might have provided to the Strike Force," the audit said.
Further, the report said, no action was ever taken to recover $22,000 for Strike Force vehicle totaled in an accident with a drunken off-duty police officer. The vehicle was never replaced and was being "cannibalized for parts."
Bad loans and unaccounted-for budget adjustments resulted in almost $36,000 in other questionable uses or losses of Strike Force funds.
Two years prior to being placed under the Police Department umbrella, the Strike Force came under fire by then-Police Commissioner Ramon Davila, who said some of the Strike Force agents were not trustworthy.
And in 1997, José Garcia, at the time the acting St. Thomas- St. John police chief, told the Legislature that two St. Thomas Strike Force agents had criminal backgrounds and four agents — three on St. Croix and one on St. Thomas — were being investigated by the FBI.
Then-Attorney General Julio Brady and Davila proposed that the agency be dismantled. It wasn't.
Law Enforcement Planning Commission's role
On a less-dramatic, but no-less-painful note, the report said grants to the Law Enforcement Planning Commission in the amount of $2.3 million were "not used effectively."
Sixteen grants for years 1995 to 1998 were closed out with $949,019 not having been used for their intended law-enforcement purposes.
A letter dated May 24, 2000, from the U.S. Department of Justice cited more unused grant balances totaling almost $1.4 million for fiscal years 1992 to 1996.
The audit said, "Considering that non-profit organizations and other potential subgrantees needed funds to effectively carry out programs related to law enforcement, the commission should have made greater efforts to use all available grant funds."
Part of the problem might have been that all the terms of supervisory board members had expired by 1997. The advisory board, responsible for "programs under the Federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act," among other things, has not met in more than eight years — since Dec. 9, 1993.
The LEPC grant administrator requested more than a year ago that Turnbull appoint new members to the board. Police Commissioner Franz Christian has done so again, according to his response to the audit's recommendations.
In a January 2001 letter to then-drug policy advisor Wayne Chinnery, an acting assistant attorney general expressed concerns about late submissions and the absence in some cases of grant reports. Chinnery was fired by the governor, without explanation, a few months later.
Other glaring problems at LEPC include lack of grant oversight, loss of potential interest income on grant money, and lack of career employees.
Although the V.I. Code states that "all employees of the Law Enforcement Planning Commission except the administrator should be career employees," only three of 10 were classified employees at the time of the audit, auditors found.
Further, the non-classified employees were allowed to set their own salaries, "which were paid from federal funds," the audit said.
Christian concurred with the 18 recommendations made by the auditors but gave no dates for completing corrective action. Therefore, only one recommendation was considered resolved and implemented, which was the control of firearms.
Christian said, "Measures will be immediately implemented to account for all weapons that have been procured by the department for use by authorized departmental personnel."
AUDIT REVEALS SAME PROBLEMS, DIFFERENT YEARS
March 3, 2002 – The problem of lost and unaccounted-for police weapons hasn't changed much since 1994. Neither has suspicion surrounding the Narcotics Strike Force or the lackadaisical handling of grants by the Law Enforcement Planning Commission.
Police Department missing property
A recent federal audit of Police Department administrative functions, conducted by the Interior Department, found that 68 weapons were not accounted for, and that four of the missing guns were recovered after being used in the commission of crimes.
A 1994 audit, conducted by V.I. Office of Inspector General, determined that 34 firearms were missing, with six of the weapons later identified as having been used in crimes.
In his response to the federal audit manager, Arnold VanBeverhoudt, Gov. Charles W. Turnbull said the territory's system for collecting and disposing of evidence was complex and would take "additional time and resources" to sort out.
Along with weapons, the federal auditors determined that uniforms, police badges, handcuffs and evidence also were missing.
On St. Croix, firearms and ammunition were found stored on open shelves. On St. Thomas, inventories of crime evidence were neither complete nor accurate. And there was little uniformity in the operation of the St. Croix and St. Thomas property rooms.
The St. Thomas property room had been located in an abandoned building, formerly the main police station, while property storage rooms were being prepared at the recently refurbished Alexander Farrelly Criminal Justice Complex. Police moved from the dilapidated Zone A Command facilities on Norre Gade into the renovated space at the Farrelly complex last June.
To test the accountability for crime evidence, auditors sampled 92 items, 37 on St. Croix and 55 on St. Thomas. All of the St. Croix items were accounted for. On St. Thomas, 19 items, including 14 firearms, were not found.
The Police Department also lost $54,500 in federal grant money because 200 bulletproof vests that were ordered with the grant were the wrong size and were therefore unusable. The vendor accepted the return of 96 vests, but the remaining 104 had to be given to other law-enforcement agencies. The audit did not say if there were 104 officers without vests as a result of what the auditors called "poor planning."
Strike Force strikes out
The audit, conducted by the U.S. Department of the Interior Office of the Inspector General, criticized the Narcotics Strike Force, which has been under the purview of the Police Department since November 1999, for the "questionable" use of $206,854 out of $572,000 in funds slated for confidential and undercover operations.
Included in the "used for questionable purposes" column was $149,790 spent by former Strike Force officials and the former director of the agency to rent residential property on all three islands, purportedly for undercover operations.
The property on St. John was rented for seven months from a relative of a police officer to the tune of $10,000 and was used as a "vacation home" for agency officials, the report said.
On St. Thomas, two residences were leased for a year, each at a cost of $2,000 per month.
Another questioned expenditure was of $27,209 for telephone services, cellular phones, beepers and Internet services for top agency officials.
And $22,690 was paid to a Strike Force official and two associates for undocumented "expense money."
According to the report, "During the period of Dec. 22, 1999, to March 17, 2000, the Strike Force official received $5,100 in cash and $5,800 in checks. The account's checkbook listed the cash payments as 'expense money,' with no other explanation." However, the report goes on to say, "The former Strike Force official was not trained to perform undercover work, and there were no documented reports to justify the payment of these funds."
Between April and July 2000, another $11,790 was paid to two people, "one being a relative, for undercover work." These people did not follow established procedures and were not trained for undercover work, nor were they government employees, the report stated.
"However, they received government funds … and were allowed to operate government vehicles during and after office hours. We found no documentation as to what services they might have provided to the Strike Force," the audit said.
Further, the report said, no action was ever taken to recover $22,000 for Strike Force vehicle totaled in an accident with a drunken off-duty police officer. The vehicle was never replaced and was being "cannibalized for parts."
Bad loans and unaccounted-for budget adjustments resulted in almost $36,000 in other questionable uses or losses of Strike Force funds.
Two years prior to being placed under the Police Department umbrella, the Strike Force came under fire by then-Police Commissioner Ramon Davila, who said some of the Strike Force agents were not trustworthy.
And in 1997, José Garcia, at the time the acting St. Thomas- St. John police chief, told the Legislature that two St. Thomas Strike Force agents had criminal backgrounds and four agents — three on St. Croix and one on St. Thomas — were being investigated by the FBI.
Then-Attorney General Julio Brady and Davila proposed that the agency be dismantled. It wasn't.
Law Enforcement Planning Commission's role
On a less-dramatic, but no-less-painful note, the report said grants to the Law Enforcement Planning Commission in the amount of $2.3 million were "not used effectively."
Sixteen grants for years 1995 to 1998 were closed out with $949,019 not having been used for their intended law-enforcement purposes.
A letter dated May 24, 2000, from the U.S. Department of Justice cited more unused grant balances totaling almost $1.4 million for fiscal years 1992 to 1996.
The audit said, "Considering that non-profit organizations and other potential subgrantees needed funds to effectively carry out programs related to law enforcement, the commission should have made greater efforts to use all available grant funds."
Part of the problem might have been that all the terms of supervisory board members had expired by 1997. The advisory board, responsible for "programs under the Federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act," among other things, has not met in more than eight years — since Dec. 9, 1993.
The LEPC grant administrator requested more than a year ago that Turnbull appoint new members to the board. Police Commissioner Franz Christian has done so again, according to his response to the audit's recommendations.
In a January 2001 letter to then-drug policy advisor Wayne Chinnery, an acting assistant attorney general expressed concerns about late submissions and the absence in some cases of grant reports. Chinnery was fired by the governor, without explanation, a few months later.
Other glaring problems at LEPC include lack of grant oversight, loss of potential interest income on grant money, and lack of career employees.
Although the V.I. Code states that "all employees of the Law Enforcement Planning Commission except the administrator should be career employees," only three of 10 were classified employees at the time of the audit, auditors found.
Further, the non-classified employees were allowed to set their own salaries, "which were paid from federal funds," the audit said.
Christian concurred with the 18 recommendations made by the auditors but gave no dates for completing corrective action. Therefore, only one recommendation was considered resolved and implemented, which was the control of firearms.
Christian said, "Measures will be immediately implemented to account for all weapons that have been procured by the department for use by authorized departmental personnel."
Police Department missing property
A recent federal audit of Police Department administrative functions, conducted by the Interior Department, found that 68 weapons were not accounted for, and that four of the missing guns were recovered after being used in the commission of crimes.
A 1994 audit, conducted by V.I. Office of Inspector General, determined that 34 firearms were missing, with six of the weapons later identified as having been used in crimes.
In his response to the federal audit manager, Arnold VanBeverhoudt, Gov. Charles W. Turnbull said the territory's system for collecting and disposing of evidence was complex and would take "additional time and resources" to sort out.
Along with weapons, the federal auditors determined that uniforms, police badges, handcuffs and evidence also were missing.
On St. Croix, firearms and ammunition were found stored on open shelves. On St. Thomas, inventories of crime evidence were neither complete nor accurate. And there was little uniformity in the operation of the St. Croix and St. Thomas property rooms.
The St. Thomas property room had been located in an abandoned building, formerly the main police station, while property storage rooms were being prepared at the recently refurbished Alexander Farrelly Criminal Justice Complex. Police moved from the dilapidated Zone A Command facilities on Norre Gade into the renovated space at the Farrelly complex last June.
To test the accountability for crime evidence, auditors sampled 92 items, 37 on St. Croix and 55 on St. Thomas. All of the St. Croix items were accounted for. On St. Thomas, 19 items, including 14 firearms, were not found.
The Police Department also lost $54,500 in federal grant money because 200 bulletproof vests that were ordered with the grant were the wrong size and were therefore unusable. The vendor accepted the return of 96 vests, but the remaining 104 had to be given to other law-enforcement agencies. The audit did not say if there were 104 officers without vests as a result of what the auditors called "poor planning."
Strike Force strikes out
The audit, conducted by the U.S. Department of the Interior Office of the Inspector General, criticized the Narcotics Strike Force, which has been under the purview of the Police Department since November 1999, for the "questionable" use of $206,854 out of $572,000 in funds slated for confidential and undercover operations.
Included in the "used for questionable purposes" column was $149,790 spent by former Strike Force officials and the former director of the agency to rent residential property on all three islands, purportedly for undercover operations.
The property on St. John was rented for seven months from a relative of a police officer to the tune of $10,000 and was used as a "vacation home" for agency officials, the report said.
On St. Thomas, two residences were leased for a year, each at a cost of $2,000 per month.
Another questioned expenditure was of $27,209 for telephone services, cellular phones, beepers and Internet services for top agency officials.
And $22,690 was paid to a Strike Force official and two associates for undocumented "expense money."
According to the report, "During the period of Dec. 22, 1999, to March 17, 2000, the Strike Force official received $5,100 in cash and $5,800 in checks. The account's checkbook listed the cash payments as 'expense money,' with no other explanation." However, the report goes on to say, "The former Strike Force official was not trained to perform undercover work, and there were no documented reports to justify the payment of these funds."
Between April and July 2000, another $11,790 was paid to two people, "one being a relative, for undercover work." These people did not follow established procedures and were not trained for undercover work, nor were they government employees, the report stated.
"However, they received government funds … and were allowed to operate government vehicles during and after office hours. We found no documentation as to what services they might have provided to the Strike Force," the audit said.
Further, the report said, no action was ever taken to recover $22,000 for Strike Force vehicle totaled in an accident with a drunken off-duty police officer. The vehicle was never replaced and was being "cannibalized for parts."
Bad loans and unaccounted-for budget adjustments resulted in almost $36,000 in other questionable uses or losses of Strike Force funds.
Two years prior to being placed under the Police Department umbrella, the Strike Force came under fire by then-Police Commissioner Ramon Davila, who said some of the Strike Force agents were not trustworthy.
And in 1997, José Garcia, at the time the acting St. Thomas- St. John police chief, told the Legislature that two St. Thomas Strike Force agents had criminal backgrounds and four agents — three on St. Croix and one on St. Thomas — were being investigated by the FBI.
Then-Attorney General Julio Brady and Davila proposed that the agency be dismantled. It wasn't.
Law Enforcement Planning Commission's role
On a less-dramatic, but no-less-painful note, the report said grants to the Law Enforcement Planning Commission in the amount of $2.3 million were "not used effectively."
Sixteen grants for years 1995 to 1998 were closed out with $949,019 not having been used for their intended law-enforcement purposes.
A letter dated May 24, 2000, from the U.S. Department of Justice cited more unused grant balances totaling almost $1.4 million for fiscal years 1992 to 1996.
The audit said, "Considering that non-profit organizations and other potential subgrantees needed funds to effectively carry out programs related to law enforcement, the commission should have made greater efforts to use all available grant funds."
Part of the problem might have been that all the terms of supervisory board members had expired by 1997. The advisory board, responsible for "programs under the Federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act," among other things, has not met in more than eight years — since Dec. 9, 1993.
The LEPC grant administrator requested more than a year ago that Turnbull appoint new members to the board. Police Commissioner Franz Christian has done so again, according to his response to the audit's recommendations.
In a January 2001 letter to then-drug policy advisor Wayne Chinnery, an acting assistant attorney general expressed concerns about late submissions and the absence in some cases of grant reports. Chinnery was fired by the governor, without explanation, a few months later.
Other glaring problems at LEPC include lack of grant oversight, loss of potential interest income on grant money, and lack of career employees.
Although the V.I. Code states that "all employees of the Law Enforcement Planning Commission except the administrator should be career employees," only three of 10 were classified employees at the time of the audit, auditors found.
Further, the non-classified employees were allowed to set their own salaries, "which were paid from federal funds," the audit said.
Christian concurred with the 18 recommendations made by the auditors but gave no dates for completing corrective action. Therefore, only one recommendation was considered resolved and implemented, which was the control of firearms.
Christian said, "Measures will be immediately implemented to account for all weapons that have been procured by the department for use by authorized departmental personnel."
V.I. INVENTIVENESS NOTED AT MEDICAL CONFERENCE
March 3, 2002 – Physicians and other health-care professionals from the U.S. mainland joined their counterparts on St. Thomas Friday and Saturday to discuss current issues affecting the health of the nation's African-American community.
The occasion was the National Medical Association's Clinical Practices and Management Update conference at Marriott's Frenchman's Reef Beach Resort.
Participants discussed ways to get their diabetic patients to be more cooperative in their eating and self-testing habits, and the latest emergency treatment for heart attacks. Presenters focused on the facts about Alzheimer's Disease among African-Americans, with the latest research showing a higher incidence of this brain-wasting disease at a younger age in this population. Also high on the agenda was the continuing spread of AIDS and HIV in the United States and in the Caribbean.
Doctors attending the conference received credits from the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education.
Among the presenters were Virgin Islanders: Dr. Cora Christian and Beverly Blackwell, director of the Health Department's immunization program. Blackwell told attendees of a host of goals and challenges yet to be met in protecting people in the territory from infectious diseases. Shortages of pneumonia and flu vaccines, she said, are leaving portions of the population unprotected.
To address those problems, Christian said, she and her colleagues have devised some creative approaches to problem solving. For example, on St. Croix recently, she said, flu vaccine was flown in as part of V.I. National Guard exercise, then turned over to immunization care givers for distribution at a health fair in the Frederiksted area. As a result, Christian said, one third of the island's Medicaid recipients were given flu shots. The doctor called it a good use of "defense dollars."
The NMA, a predominantly African-American professional association, has been around in the United States since the 1860s, its president, Dr. Lucille Perez, said. It got its start when doctors of African descent were barred from joining the American Medical Association. In order to practice medicine, "you had to belong to a medical society," Perez said. "So, we formed our own." Today the organization represents 25,000 doctors nationwide.
Sponsors of this year's clinical practices conference included Christensen's office and the Tourism Department Perez said participation by Christensen, who is a physician, was especially welcome because the delegate chairs the Congressional Black Caucus Health Brain Trust. Christensen is the only female physician in the House of Representatives, and she can wield a lot of clout in national health policies affecting African-Americans, Perez said, adding, "We're very proud of Donna."
The occasion was the National Medical Association's Clinical Practices and Management Update conference at Marriott's Frenchman's Reef Beach Resort.
Participants discussed ways to get their diabetic patients to be more cooperative in their eating and self-testing habits, and the latest emergency treatment for heart attacks. Presenters focused on the facts about Alzheimer's Disease among African-Americans, with the latest research showing a higher incidence of this brain-wasting disease at a younger age in this population. Also high on the agenda was the continuing spread of AIDS and HIV in the United States and in the Caribbean.
Doctors attending the conference received credits from the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education.
Among the presenters were Virgin Islanders: Dr. Cora Christian and Beverly Blackwell, director of the Health Department's immunization program. Blackwell told attendees of a host of goals and challenges yet to be met in protecting people in the territory from infectious diseases. Shortages of pneumonia and flu vaccines, she said, are leaving portions of the population unprotected.
To address those problems, Christian said, she and her colleagues have devised some creative approaches to problem solving. For example, on St. Croix recently, she said, flu vaccine was flown in as part of V.I. National Guard exercise, then turned over to immunization care givers for distribution at a health fair in the Frederiksted area. As a result, Christian said, one third of the island's Medicaid recipients were given flu shots. The doctor called it a good use of "defense dollars."
The NMA, a predominantly African-American professional association, has been around in the United States since the 1860s, its president, Dr. Lucille Perez, said. It got its start when doctors of African descent were barred from joining the American Medical Association. In order to practice medicine, "you had to belong to a medical society," Perez said. "So, we formed our own." Today the organization represents 25,000 doctors nationwide.
Sponsors of this year's clinical practices conference included Christensen's office and the Tourism Department Perez said participation by Christensen, who is a physician, was especially welcome because the delegate chairs the Congressional Black Caucus Health Brain Trust. Christensen is the only female physician in the House of Representatives, and she can wield a lot of clout in national health policies affecting African-Americans, Perez said, adding, "We're very proud of Donna."
SAY CHEESE, AND THEY ALL SMILE — BETWEEN BITES
March 3, 2002 – Bertha C. Boschulte Middle School teacher Nancy Halderman reached out for a slice of creamy white milk cheese. "Ummm, this is good," she said. Next to her, Realtor April Newland scanned the selection of goat's milk cheeses arrayed on the deli counter. "I'll try that one next," she said, pointing.
The women were among the many enthusiasts taking in the weekly complimentary Tuesday evening wine and cheese tasting at the Gourmet Gallery shop in Havensight Mall.
A month ago, the food shop began hosting the tastings, which begin at 6 p.m., as a way to educate customers about less-familiar foods. "Cheese is something people are curious about, something they have an open mind about," event planner Bill Hyde said. "Customers have enjoyed tasting and learning about the different kinds of cheeses, types within a family, texture and quality differences."
Tastings have focused on cheddar and Swiss variations and, most recently, goat's milk varieties. Hyde arranges the displays with Roland Jarvis and Triston Baker, students from Charlotte Amalie and Ivanna Eudora Kean High Schools, respectively. The youths, who work part-time at the store, both are keen on careers in the culinary industry. They set out the cheeses an hour ahead of the event to allow them to warm to room temperature so the flavors can better be appreciated.
The 20-plus goat's milk cheeses were an exotic assortment. There were cut wheels of pale yellow hard cheese, tiny towers of creamy white cheese studded with raisins, circular varieties covered in green herbs and wrapped in chestnut leaves, and triangles and rectangles encased in dark ash and gray mold.
"The 'brain' is best," Newland decided, after tasting a cheese whose outside was covered with rivulets of gray mold that resembled a brain.
Domestic cheeses such as Cypress Grove Chevre were easy to pronounce, but imported European varieties such as the "brain" — actually called Coeur du Berry — didn't roll as easily off the tongue.
Since the tastings are held right at the deli case, "If someone is interested in something other than what we're tasting, I can get it and offer it to him or her," Hyde says.
To go with the goat cheese, there were Rosemont Australian red and white wines.
Cheeses and wines aren't purposely paired, and part of the adventure lies in finding out what complements what. For example, tasters pronounced one particular goat cheese somewhat ordinary by itself, and said the same for a certain wine, but the two together made for a "wow" of a whole new taste experience.
Accompanying the cheeses and wines on this particular Tuesday were spicy chicken wings and a hot cheesy pasta and veggie dip prepared by chef Scott Southworth. Sure enough, a conversation was soon going about cooking with goat's milk cheeses in addition to just enjoying them on crackers or with bread.
Hyde said, "Some people feel timid to ask about products they're unsure of, but in a tasting like this, everyone can sample. And, sampling is the conversation starter. We don't give a lecture. It's informal. We let people taste, and their questions guide what we say about the products."
Halderman said the whole experience was "great," adding, I would never have thought to ask about these cheeses or have known the differences between them if I hadn't come in tonight."
Hyde says the weekly tastings will continue indefinitely. "We have over 150 varieties of specialty cheeses, and there are hundreds in the world, so we won't lack for themes," he said.
The women were among the many enthusiasts taking in the weekly complimentary Tuesday evening wine and cheese tasting at the Gourmet Gallery shop in Havensight Mall.
A month ago, the food shop began hosting the tastings, which begin at 6 p.m., as a way to educate customers about less-familiar foods. "Cheese is something people are curious about, something they have an open mind about," event planner Bill Hyde said. "Customers have enjoyed tasting and learning about the different kinds of cheeses, types within a family, texture and quality differences."
Tastings have focused on cheddar and Swiss variations and, most recently, goat's milk varieties. Hyde arranges the displays with Roland Jarvis and Triston Baker, students from Charlotte Amalie and Ivanna Eudora Kean High Schools, respectively. The youths, who work part-time at the store, both are keen on careers in the culinary industry. They set out the cheeses an hour ahead of the event to allow them to warm to room temperature so the flavors can better be appreciated.
The 20-plus goat's milk cheeses were an exotic assortment. There were cut wheels of pale yellow hard cheese, tiny towers of creamy white cheese studded with raisins, circular varieties covered in green herbs and wrapped in chestnut leaves, and triangles and rectangles encased in dark ash and gray mold.
"The 'brain' is best," Newland decided, after tasting a cheese whose outside was covered with rivulets of gray mold that resembled a brain.
Domestic cheeses such as Cypress Grove Chevre were easy to pronounce, but imported European varieties such as the "brain" — actually called Coeur du Berry — didn't roll as easily off the tongue.
Since the tastings are held right at the deli case, "If someone is interested in something other than what we're tasting, I can get it and offer it to him or her," Hyde says.
To go with the goat cheese, there were Rosemont Australian red and white wines.
Cheeses and wines aren't purposely paired, and part of the adventure lies in finding out what complements what. For example, tasters pronounced one particular goat cheese somewhat ordinary by itself, and said the same for a certain wine, but the two together made for a "wow" of a whole new taste experience.
Accompanying the cheeses and wines on this particular Tuesday were spicy chicken wings and a hot cheesy pasta and veggie dip prepared by chef Scott Southworth. Sure enough, a conversation was soon going about cooking with goat's milk cheeses in addition to just enjoying them on crackers or with bread.
Hyde said, "Some people feel timid to ask about products they're unsure of, but in a tasting like this, everyone can sample. And, sampling is the conversation starter. We don't give a lecture. It's informal. We let people taste, and their questions guide what we say about the products."
Halderman said the whole experience was "great," adding, I would never have thought to ask about these cheeses or have known the differences between them if I hadn't come in tonight."
Hyde says the weekly tastings will continue indefinitely. "We have over 150 varieties of specialty cheeses, and there are hundreds in the world, so we won't lack for themes," he said.
