FOUR SMALL WAVES ROLLING ACROSS ATLANTIC

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One of four tropical waves heading toward the Caribbean on Sunday could develop into a tropical depression, according to a local meteorologist.
Knight Quality Stations meteorologist Alan Archer said Sunday that the wave, about 2,000 miles east of the Virgin Islands and containing a low-pressure center, “could slowly strengthen, but it would have to retain its present characteristics as it continues moving west at 10 to 15 miles an hour. It would not be before Wednesday or Thursday that it would move into waters which would promote development."
Archer said the wave probably has not developed any significant thunderstorm activity because it remains over relatively cool waters. On Sunday, it was located at 14 north latitude, 31 west longitude.
Three other lesser waves are located along 42 west, 65 west and 78 west.
"The wave at 65 west brought a few scattered showers to portions of the U.S. and British Virgin Islands early Sunday morning," Archer said, noting that Vieques and Culebra also received some showers. The other two waves are ill-defined and are moving off to the west at 10-15 miles per hour.
With high pressure in control of the local weather regime, partly cloudy skies are expected across the region through Tuesday with daily high temperatures in the upper 80s and overnight lows in the upper 70s. "Through mid-week we run about a 30 percent chance of showers at any time from the east," Archer said.
The marine forecast calls for easterly winds at 15 knots with seas averaging 4 to 6 feet Sunday.
Archer's forecast can be heard at 774-4786. Clicking on the rainbow at the top of the Source menu will also provide a full forecast from Weather Underground.

TROPICAL WAVE SHOWS POTENTIAL FOR DEVELOPMENT

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One of four tropical waves heading toward the Caribbean on Sunday could develop into a tropical depression, according to a local meteorologist.
Knight Quality Stations meteorologist Alan Archer said Sunday that the wave, about 2,000 miles east of the Virgin Islands and containing a low-pressure center, “could slowly strengthen, but it would have to retain its present characteristics as it continues moving west at 10 to 15 miles an hour. It would not be before Wednesday or Thursday that it would move into waters which would promote development."
Archer said the wave probably has not developed any significant thunderstorm activity because it remains over relatively cool waters. On Sunday, it was located at 14 north latitude, 31 west longitude.
Three other lesser waves are located along 42 west, 65 west and 78 west.
"The wave at 65 west brought a few scattered showers to portions of the U.S. and British Virgin Islands early Sunday morning," Archer said, noting that Vieques and Culebra also received some showers. The other two waves are ill-defined and are moving off to the west at 10-15 miles per hour.
With high pressure in control of the local weather regime, partly cloudy skies are expected across the region through Tuesday with daily high temperatures in the upper 80s and overnight lows in the upper 70s. "Through mid-week we run about a 30 percent chance of showers at any time from the east," Archer said.
The marine forecast calls for easterly winds at 15 knots with seas averaging 4 to 6 feet Sunday.
Archer's forecast can be heard at 774-4786. Clicking on the rainbow at the top of the Source menu will also provide a full forecast from Weather Underground.

UNUSUAL GROUP OF ILLEGALS PICKED UP IN SMITH BAY

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Twenty undocumented Chinese nationals were picked up Saturday morning in Smith Bay after apparently coming ashore at nearby Lindqvist beach.
While it is not unusual to find groups of illegal Chinese nationals dropped off at secluded St. Thomas beaches and bays, police spokesperson Sgt. Annette Raimer said this group was odd because it included eight women and the entire group was wearing what looked like "designer clothing."
Raimer also said the latest arrivals looked like college students. Their average age was 21.
The group was escorted to the Muriel C. Newton Zone C Police Command in Tutu and held in the Four Winds Plaza courtyard until U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service officials arrived and took them to Sub Base for processing, according to a release from the V.I. Police Department.
The release pointed out that people can report illegal activity by calling the police confidential hotline at 777-8711.

MAN FOUND SHOT IN SAVAN DIES OF WOUNDS

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A man identified by police as Rafael Callwood died at about 4 a.m. Friday at the Roy L. Schneider Hospital of gunshot wounds received Thursday.
Callwood had been found lying face down next to a parked vehicle near the Jane E. Tuitt Elementary School in Savan around 9:30 p.m. Thursday. He had been shot in the left and right shoulders and in the back. The bullet that went into his back lodged near his stomach, according to a Police Department statement late Friday afternoon.
At the hospital, the victim was reported in guarded condition in the intensive care unit Friday afternoon after being revived at the scene. According to police, he told investigators that he never saw his assailant.
Conflicting reports Saturday morning–one saying Callwood was alive, another saying he had died early Friday morning–led police information officer Sgt. Annette Raimer to explain that the Police Department had not been notified of the man's death.
"They should have someone assigned to notify the department," she said. "When I left my office at 5 p.m. (Friday), they said he was in ICU."
Callwood, a St. Thomas native, lived in the Nordsidevej area. His death is the seventh homicide on St. Thomas and the 11th in the territory this year.
As of July 18, 1999, there had been seven homicides on St. Thomas and 13 in the territory. The numbers jumped to nine on St. Thomas and 15 territorywide by the end of July 1999.
Police asked that anyone with information about the Callwood shooting call the confidential hotline at 777-8711. Raimer stressed that all calls are confidential. Other numbers to call to give the police information are 774-2211, 774-4050 and 911.
Editor's note: Conflicting information led the Source to report Callwood died on Saturday morning. He actually died early Friday morning.

NEUTRINOS COULD ATTRACT SCIENTISTS TO ST. CROIX

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Among all the wonders below the waves, a deep-water basin off St. Croix may hold an exception stash of the greatest of them all. And researchers at a couple of the nation's top scientific laboratories might be interested in setting up shop here to study the tiny but mighty interesting particles.
According to University of the Virgin Islands professor Roy Watlington, a geological basin at the bottom of the ocean just off of St. Croix is a repository for the sub-atomic particles from outer space.
They're called neutrinos – a name familiar to kids who watched Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoons a few years back. Those "Neutrinos" (with a capital N) were three playful, squeaky-voiced aliens from Dimension X who joined the turtles in fending off the forces of evil.
The real neutrinos "are small, uncharged particles that go ripping through the atmosphere and go ripping through the ocean," Watlington said.
These are among the fundamental particles that make up the universe, and since they are not charged electically, they do not encounter the resistance of electrons, for example. Some researchers theorize that they change their identities as they travel through time and space.
The subject of neutrinos came up in a discussion of the latest expedition of the Anegada Climatic Tracers Study, a three-and-a-half year exploration of the intermingling of waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. UVI students, faculty and staff have been involved from the start in the study, which is designed to identify characteristics of the sea at varying depths.
The latest expedition got under way in late June on board the research vessel Seward Johnson, which is working its way up from Barbados to the Virgin Islands. Watlington will be the principal researcher for the third and final phase of the trip, a two-day sampling of the waters in the Virgin Islands basin.
He said it will take weeks for researchers to analyze the measurements taken during the trip and to check for any surprising details within the data sample. But at this phase of the study, he said, scientists who are not directly involved in the study are expressing interest in some of the information being collected.
Researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory at the University of California and the Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island, N.Y., both of which are operated for the U.S. Department of Energy, have reportedly designed a Neutrino Burst Experiment study. Watlington says the St. Croix basin is considered an ideal site in which to carry it out.
One of the characteristics of the deep water basin, he explained, is its natural ability to shelter and preserve the things that land in it.
"By putting a detector at the bottom of the Virgin Islands basin – that's at a depth of some 2.8 miles – they're able to measure the neutrinos' signal indirectly without the interference of all the other signals if they measured it without the filter of all that water," he said.
The designers of the experiment have reportedly indicated a willingness to set up a land-based research station on St. Croix which Watlington said could bring economic as well as academic benefits to the big island.
In addition, he said, scientists from Sweden and Denmark have expressed interest in the mysteries of the St. Croix basin. In fact, an increasing number of international scientists are joining the ranks of deep-ocean explorers headed this way, he said, and that could result in a wealth of educational opportunities for UVI and its students.
For an easy-to-understand introduction to neutrinos, visit this web site: /www.ps.uci.edu/~superk/neutrino.html.

NEUTRINOS COULD ATTRACT SCIENTISTS TO ST. CROIX

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Among all the wonders below the waves, a deep-water basin off the island of St. Croix may hold an exception stash of the greatest of them all. And researchers at a couple of the nation's top scientific laboratories might be interested in setting up shop here to study the tiny but mighty interesting particles.
According to University of the Virgin Islands professor Roy Watlington, a geological basin at the bottom of the ocean just off of St. Croix is a repository for the sub-atomic particles from outer space.
They're called neutrinos – a name familiar to kids who watched Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoons a few years back. Those "Neutrinos" (with a capital N) were three playful, squeaky-voiced aliens from Dimension X who joined the turtles in fending off the forces of evil.
The real neutrinos "are small, uncharged particles that go ripping through the atmosphere and go ripping through the ocean," Watlington said.
These are among the fundamental particles that make up the universe, and since they are not charged electically, they do not encounter the resistance of electrons, for example. Some researchers theorize that they change their identities as they travel through time and space.
The subject of neutrinos came up in a discussion of the latest expedition of the Anegada Climatic Tracers Study, a three-and-a-half year exploration of the intermingling of waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. UVI students, faculty and staff have been involved from the start in the study, which is designed to identify characteristics of the sea at varying depths.
The latest expedition got under way in late June on board the research vessel Seward Johnson, which is working its way up from Barbados to the Virgin Islands. Watlington will be the principal researcher for the third and final phase of the trip, a two-day sampling of the waters in the Virgin Islands basin.
He said it will take weeks for researchers to analyze the measurements taken during the trip and to check for any surprising details within the data sample. But at this phase of the study, he said, scientists who are not directly involved in the study are expressing interest in some of the information being collected.
Researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory at the University of California and the Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island, N.Y., both of which are operated for the U.S. Department of Energy, have reportedly designed a Neutrino Burst Experiment study. Watlington says the St. Croix basin is considered an ideal site in which to carry it out.
One of the characteristics of the deep water basin, he explained, is its natural ability to shelter and preserve the things that land in it.
"By putting a detector at the bottom of the Virgin Islands basin – that's at a depth of some 2.8 miles – they're able to measure the neutrinos' signal indirectly without the interference of all the other signals if they measured it without the filter of all that water," he said.
The designers of the experiment have reportedly indicated a willingness to set up a land-based research station on St. Croix which Watlington said could bring economic as well as academic benefits to the big island.
In addition, he said, scientists from Sweden and Denmark have expressed interest in the mysteries of the St. Croix basin. In fact, an increasing number of international scientists are joining the ranks of deep-ocean explorers headed this way, he said, and that could result in a wealth of educational opportunities for UVI and its students.
For an easy-to-understand introduction to neutrinos, visit this web site: /www.ps.uci.edu/~superk/neutrino.html.

NEUTRINOS COULD ATTRACT SCIENTISTS TO ST. CROIX

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Among all the wonders below the waves, a deep-water basin off the island of St. Croix may hold an exception stash of the greatest of them all. And researchers at a couple of the nation's top scientific laboratories might be interested in setting up shop here to study the tiny but mighty interesting particles.
According to University of the Virgin Islands professor Roy Watlington, a geological basin at the bottom of the ocean just off of St. Croix is a repository for the sub-atomic particles from outer space.
They're called neutrinos – a name familiar to kids who watched Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoons a few years back. Those "Neutrinos" (with a capital N) were three playful, squeaky-voiced aliens from Dimension X who joined the turtles in fending off the forces of evil.
The real neutrinos "are small, uncharged particles that go ripping through the atmosphere and go ripping through the ocean," Watlington said.
These are among the fundamental particles that make up the universe, and since they are not charged electically, they do not encounter the resistance of electrons, for example. Some researchers theorize that they change their identities as they travel through time and space.
The subject of neutrinos came up in a discussion of the latest expedition of the Anegada Climatic Tracers Study, a three-and-a-half year exploration of the intermingling of waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. UVI students, faculty and staff have been involved from the start in the study, which is designed to identify characteristics of the sea at varying depths.
The latest expedition got under way in late June on board the research vessel Seward Johnson, which is working its way up from Barbados to the Virgin Islands. Watlington will be the principal researcher for the third and final phase of the trip, a two-day sampling of the waters in the Virgin Islands basin.
He said it will take weeks for researchers to analyze the measurements taken during the trip and to check for any surprising details within the data sample. But at this phase of the study, he said, scientists who are not directly involved in the study are expressing interest in some of the information being collected.
Researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory at the University of California and the Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island, N.Y., both of which are operated for the U.S. Department of Energy, have reportedly designed a Neutrino Burst Experiment study. Watlington says the St. Croix basin is considered an ideal site in which to carry it out.
One of the characteristics of the deep water basin, he explained, is its natural ability to shelter and preserve the things that land in it.
"By putting a detector at the bottom of the Virgin Islands basin – that's at a depth of some 2.8 miles – they're able to measure the neutrinos' signal indirectly without the interference of all the other signals if they measured it without the filter of all that water," he said.
The designers of the experiment have reportedly indicated a willingness to set up a land-based research station on St. Croix which Watlington said could bring economic as well as academic benefits to the big island.
In addition, he said, scientists from Sweden and Denmark have expressed interest in the mysteries of the St. Croix basin. In fact, an increasing number of international scientists are joining the ranks of deep-ocean explorers headed this way, he said, and that could result in a wealth of educational opportunities for UVI and its students.
For an easy-to-understand introduction to neutrinos, visit this web site: /www.ps.uci.edu/~superk/neutrino.html.

LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE GRAND TOURING

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Last in a series
So what did I as a worldly wise traveler but relatively new grandparent learn after a month and a half riding the rails, soaring the skies and seeing the sights of a great city with my grandchildren, first my 5-year-old and then the one who's 9? Allow me to summarize in a bakers' dozen teaching points for others:
1. Don't hesitate. Jump right in. Do it. There will never be a better time than now to plan and take such trips together, as you certainly aren't getting any younger. Furthermore, now that I know what fun it is, I want to keep on doing it, although I know the time will come all too soon when I simply will not be able to keep up physically with the young ones.
2. It really is affordable. I have been told, and I will raise my hand to witness, that hindsight all too often reveals that raising one's own children was not nearly the fun it could have been. There was school for us adults and beginning a couple of careers before settling down to one. Finances were always in the way as we were paying off debts here and there, building a house and trying to save up for the kids' college education. With grandchildren, money for retirees should be much less of a problem – because you have more of it now and/or because you have learned how to live with what you've got.
3. It really is worth while. Away from all the background of their parents, siblings and friends, they must talk to you. And, just as important, you now have no excuse not to listen to them. Such privileged communication lets you learn where they really are coming from. I am here to tell you that I was not prepared to learn just how savvy my two kids actually are. Furthermore, I am delighted to learn how absolutely nice they are.
4. It really is easy. You don't have to plan a major trip like going to Europe or even spending a week or two with Elderhostel. (See part 1 in this series.) A simple week or two with relatives or friends is just as good. The important thing is for you and the youngsters to get away on your own for a while and have some time where you are No. 1 for them and they are No. 1 for you. I learned almost as much about 5-year-old Max in his first visit to his cousins' home as I did about 9-year-old Stephen in far-away London.
5. Go with the flow as much as possible. When you are out to enjoy a vacation and get to know your grandchildren, it is not the time to take on changing any of their bad habits. Whether it is picking their nose in public or refusing to drink milk, the offending behavior is a topic to be left for another time. On the other hand, it's not the time for them to pick up new bad habits, either. I for one believe in drawing lines very early on – but this is relatively simple, as children are always testing adults to see if they really mean what they say.
My 5-year-old decided to emulate his older cousin's picky eating habits. I took him away from the table without letting him indulge his new fantasy and told him starvation was his choice, because I knew I was reinforcing the dictums of his father and mother. But I did not attempt to force my 9-year-old to eat whatever was put before him, because I knew the policy would fall by the way the minute he returned home. The bottom line is you are there to enjoy your relationship, and there is no percentage in picking a fight – especially a fight you will ultimately lose.
6. Collect artifacts. When you get back home, present your grands with tickets, programs and other memorabilila from the various places you visited together so they will have something to help recall the visit. Encourage those old enough to express their observations and thoughts in writing to keep a daily journal during the trip so they can put together an album with their notes accompanied by your artifacts when they get home.
7. Take pictures which include your grand and you. That way, they can show their friends and relatives proof positive they really were there with you. This one I learned the hard way. On the trip to London, my 9-year-old took 54 pictures of everything except us. The ticket agent at the airport in Charleston took the only picture I have of the two of us – when we got our boarding passes. Sure wish I had a couple more.
8. Accept the fact that kids snack. And snack, and snack. Be prepared to fuel them on demand. They burn all that energy and must replace it. Carry water, cookies, dried fruit, whatever turns them on that has some minimal nutritional value. (Re-read No. 5. Now is not the time to make them eat your trail mix.)
9. Involve the kids in both the pre-planning and the day-to-day decision-making on site. After all, it is their vacation, right? Depending on their ages, they will at least be able to discuss where and how you are planning to go. While they may not appear to understand what you are talking about, their minds are mulling it all over, and they can ask some really good questions later on. The important thing is to give them time to marshal whatever resources they do have and to study the situation at their pace. And with a computer, the older ones can research the subject matter as well as you – if not better.
10. Prepare, prepare, prepare. Teach those who don't already know it when and how to call 9-1-1 and ask for assistance. Teach them how to call home, including using the country code if you are going overseas. We all think we are indestructible, but we also know fate can step in at any time. Both of you need to carry good identification. The grand must understand who is a reasonable authority in the area you are visiting (policeman, bobby, etc.) and have the confidence to seek out such a person and express his or her needs. Also, very important: Teach them to stay by you at all times, and then as a part of the deal be willing to go off with them when there's somewhere they want to explore.
11. When practical, accompany them to the toilet and have them accompany you. In other words, don't send them into a public restroom on their own or leave them waiting outside alone while you attend to nature's call. This is a potential trouble spot in any community, and they need to understand, in terms that they can understand, why they must be careful. If they are too old to share the stall or of the opposite gender, wait outside and watch the restroom door. If they appear to be taking too long and there is no traffic, open the door and call to them to be sure they are all right. In today's world, precaution is not the same thing as paranoia.
12. Be sensitive to the youngsters' needs. They have a different clock, constitution and outlook on life from yours. Remember that you are there to have a good time with them. They know how to play, as they have spent their entire lifetime honing this skill. You have forgotten how and are trying to recapture the hang of it. Let them lead you. If you feel they are becoming too demanding, call a "time out" to recuperate. Tell them you need to rest for a while and have them plan the next event while you catch your breath. It is amazing how understanding kids can be of their elders' infirmities. Perhaps it is because they are also well acquainted with exhaustion – it is the way they usually end their day.
13. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!

SENATE TO CALL ON FARRINGTON NEXT WEEK

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Claudette Farrington, the former Bureau of Internal Revenue director, will have to appear before the Senate Finance Committee after all to answer questions relating to Bureau of Internal Revenue operations during her tenure.
The committee is expected to resume its inquiry Wednesday into operations of the bureau with Farrington's testimony headlining the agenda.
The committee has spent two days so far reviewing operations and changes that have been implemented since July 5 when Gov. Charles W. Turnbull removed Farrington from the directorship, replacing her with Louis Willis. Farrington was transferred to the budget office as a special assistant to Director Ira Mills at her same $65,000-a-year salary.
Willis and 20 other supervisors spoke this week of ongoing problems with computer operations despite testimony that more than $700,000 was spent in the last year overhauling computer systems.
"Much of the work is still being done by hand, about 67 percent," said one employee, leading committee Chairwoman Lorraine Berry to remark, "We'll just have to bring in the former director. We need the answer and we need to protect our integrity too."
Much of the focus Friday was on the Bureau's doling out hundreds of thousands of dollars to an off-island consulting company, Independent Consulting Services, ICS, to make the BIR systems Y2K compliant. At the end of the day, it was unclear whether the firm had made any headway. The company had agreed to correct tax data in income taxes, gross receipts and wage information systems. The contract, signed by Farrington, included ICS inputting 2.5 million lines of data into the system.
Computer Operations Director Granville Smith testified that the system is not working and has never been fully operational.
Adding graphic testimony to Smith's statement, Sen. Adelbert M. Bryan produced several photographs of the IRB offices blown up on the Senate's slide projector. The photos showed offices with computers lying dormant and stacks of papers awaiting processing.
One room held several boxes of unopened IBM computer monitors. Another showed a large desk totally obliterated by boxes of papers. Bryan asked Willis, "Isn't this your office? How do you work in there?"
Willis said it was a project he had been trying to sort out.
The contract between ICS and the bureau was reviewed for legal sufficiency by the Justice Department rather than by two associate counsels at the BIR. St. Thomas BIR attorney Tamara Parsons-Smalls testified that her only involvement was in typing the contract. Her St. Croix counterpart, Gizette Canegata, told senators she had no involvement in the contract with ICS.
Willis cited the need for additional training on the computer system for bureau employees. "The only person who can provide that training is the woman who created the software for the bureau. I have tracked her down in California and will make arrangements for her to come to the territory to train the staff," he said.
The discussions on the BIR operations and its problems will resume Wednesday at 10 a.m. in the Early B. Ottley Legislative Chambers.

GOVERNOR HAS ASKED FOR MORE FEDERAL FUNDS

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In a radio address Friday, Gov. Charles W. Turnbull said he has sought assistance from U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater to complete major drainage projects, fund upgrades to the wastewater treatment plants and purchase vehicles for the disabled and elderly.
He also said he has received assurances that some additional federal money will be made available for general use by the Public Works Department to complete other projects now under way.
The governor's remarks also included comments on recent protests by law enforcement officers over wages, the fiscal year 2001 budget, and the crisis in education.
Turnbull said he and his financial advisers are putting the finishing touches on the budget package, which should be sent to the Senate "soon." The executive budget was due on May 30.
"We have attempted to structure a spending package that will continue vital services and programs but I have instructed department and agency heads to plan on reducing payroll costs by an additional 5 percent," the governor said.
He also said much emphasis is being placed on education where a mass exodus of teachers is anticipated when schools reopen next month.
"We must do what we have to in order to ensure that there are sufficient teachers in the classrooms when school reopens in August," Turnbull said, adding that education remains his No. 1 priority. "We are continuing talks with the teachers unions in an attempt to reach consensus on a raise for teachers."
In addressing the protests by law enforcement officials' unions, Turnbull said, "We are not deaf or insensitive to their needs but it is clear that we do not have all the necessary funds to address all of the problems of these agencies at the same time."
The governor recapped his recent veto of legislation that would have provided some funds to rehire laid off Vitran workers through the end of the fiscal year. He said the money appropriated by the Senate for that purpose was insufficient. He warned senators to avoid election year pressure to override his veto. Noting that the Vitran system is $12 million overspent, the governor said, "We cannot continue to operate public transportation in this manner. To attempt an override is unwise and irresponsible."
He also reviewed his recent participation in the National Governor's Association conference in State College, Pa.
A release from Government House dubbed the radio talk a "Weekly radio address by Gov. Charles W. Turnbull."