CARIBBEAN COLOUR SHOW IS UP FOR 2 MORE DAYS

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There are two more days to take in the 12th annual Caribbean Colour art exhibition, which showcases works by 52 local professional artists and 31 students. Since it just opened on Friday evening, that may catch you by surprise if you're accustomed to the St. Thomas-St. John Arts Council's practice in years past of having the show hang for a month.
But this year the Arts Council board opted to go with a five-day show, for several reasons.
For one thing, the vast majority of visitors traditionally view the artwork at the opening reception, which is also when most of the sales take place. (About 250 people turned out for Friday's reception to peruse the 108 entries in the Port of Sale Mall gallery and enjoy the cool jazz of the Gbogbodada quartet and conversation under the stars in the courtyard outside. Eight of them walked away as new art owners.)
For another, if a show hangs for a month, somebody has to "sit" it all that time, which entails a lot of volunteering by a lot of people who don't have a lot of leisure time. And for yet another, it has become all but impossible to find a venue on St. Thomas or St. John that can accommodate a show the size Caribbean Colour has grown to be for that long a period of time — without charging rent.
This Colour exhibit, located in the complex of blue buildings behind Wendy's in Havensight, isn't the largest in terms of participating professional artists — which topped 85 a couple of years ago — but it's one of the most diverse, and well worth a leisurely look by anyone interested in or curious about the visual arts. The viewer will encounter works in an impressive range of mediums: acrylic, clay, colored pencil, etchings, gouache, mahogany, markers, monotypes, oil, oil crayon and graphite, paper collage, pastel, pen and ink, plywood, stained glass, watercolor and "mixed media" incorporating everything from seeds, beads and leaves to barbed wire.
The effects artists have achieved working within their mediums are intriguing, also. There are acrylics that look like watercolors, watercolors that look like acrylics, a pastel that looks like an oil, and an oil that looks like a pastel.
One does not envy the judges the job of selecting winners in the various categories. One does not necessarily agree with those judges' aggregate choices, either, but that in no way diminishes the legitimacy of their decisions. For the record, here's who and what they chose:
Among the 52 adult artists' entries:
Oil paintings: 1st — Deborah St. Clair ("Maho Bay"). 2nd — Kathy Carlson ("Tropical Prints"). 3rd — Susan Edwards ("Ferry Comin'").
Water media: 1st — Janet Cook-Rutnik ("Secret Place," acrylic). 2nd — Liz Ford ("Lady With Hat," watercolor). 3rd — Silvia Kahn ("Romantic Danzantes," gouache).
Three-dimensional: 1st — Gail Van de Bogurt ("Weaving and Spinning," painting on clay mounted on wood). 2nd — Lynn Berry ("Sailing," reconstructed clay sculpture). 3rd — Afreekan Southwell ("Surf Caribbean," mahogany sculpture).
Everything Else: 1st — Kimberly Boulon ("Weaving Broom from Teyer Palm," pastel). 2nd– Mace McDowell ("Up, On a Beach," pen and ink). 3rd — Bente Hirsch ("Flower Seller," mixed media).
That makes it a clean sweep for St. John, by the way. St. Clair, Cook-Rutnik, Ford, Van de Bogurt, Boulon and Hirsch are from the little island. All of the other winners are from St. Thomas (although there are also works on exhibit by artists from St. Croix and Virgin Gorda).
Among the 31 students' entries:
1st — William Caban Jr. ("Sunflower," mixed media). 2nd (tie) Chasda Clendinen ("Sea Fan Wall," watercolor) and Adrienne Miller ("Solitude," pastel). 3rd (tie) Jared Etsinger ("Fade," watercolor with crayon resist) and Nat Ford ("Green Vase," clay sculpture).
What's eye-catching in this show depends on your orientation.
Among the camera-like representational works, St. Croix painter Betsy Campen's three small watercolor florals stand out, as does Amy Thurmond's oil of emerald foliage, "Paradise Found."
For human interest, Kimberly Boulon's pastel "First Kiss" is a charmer, with a wondrous expression on the boy's face and only your imagination to tell you what's on the girl's, as she's in profile and wearing a big, floppy straw hat. Kathy Carlson's winning oil, "Tropical Prints," is also a stunner. This character study of a beautiful woman with bolts of cloth balanced atop her head won the People's Choice Award on opening night, too.
In terms of subject matter, Erik Pedersen's assemblage, "Unearned Suffering," a juxtaposing of a church bulletin's scriptural parable about a master and his servants with images of field slaves, is thought provoking. So, in a quite different way, is Jan Dunn's oil, "Before Government Hill Became a Parking Lot." It's a view from Hospital Gade looking up Kongens Gade with the road still dirt and the structures painted in pastel hues.
Robin Clair-Pitts retains her claim from years past to having the only purely abstract painting in the show, an acrylic that has the additional enigma of being untitled. Aimee Trayser's mixed media collage, "Heaven Earth and Sky," is an inviting complexity of aqua and bronze tones. Moe Kunsch's acrylic "Jumbie Shouting — I Want to Go Back to the Living" is abstract, too, but with enough imagery for the viewer to draw conclusions.
Most of the two-dimensional works are anywhere from slightly to mostly impressionistic. Kat Sowa's oil "Seize the Day II," depicting sunrise across a chain of islands, combines delicacy and grandeur in a blaze of pinks, golds and pale greens. Brooks Brown's oil "Sunlight on St. John" does a very different take on a similar theme, in suffused deep dark green and blue tones and broad strokes.
Deborah St. Clair's winning oil, "Maho Bay," is stronger on yellows than your average beach scene, with sand and the shade of a seagrape tree given prominence. Janet Cook-Rutnik's almost disconcertingly diffuse imagery in her acrylic "Secret Place" all but reaches out and draws the viewer into its depths.
And all of this is without even getting into the students' art, which won raves from most everyone who saw the show opening night. Many of the young artists are already at a level of sophistication far beyond their years. William Caban's sepia pastel "Face of Bob Marley" and his mixed media winning entry, a still life, are outstanding, as are Diana Zalucky's acrylic, "Renaissance Woman," and Jared Etsinger's modernist watercolor/resist landscape, "Fade."
There are many other works and many other artists represented in this show. They are all worth a look, and the joy of Caribbean Colour is that you can look at all of them at once. To repeat from the beginning, there are two more days to view the show. Hours are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday and Tuesday. Student groups are welcome.

ANNUAL CARIBBEAN COLOUR SHOW UP 2 MORE DAYS

0

There are two more days to take in the 12th annual Caribbean Colour art exhibition, which showcases works by 52 local professional artists and 31 students. Since it just opened on Friday evening, that may catch you by surprise if you're accustomed to the St. Thomas-St. John Arts Council's practice in years past of having the show hang for a month.
But this year the Arts Council board opted to go with a five-day show, for several reasons.
For one thing, the vast majority of visitors traditionally view the artwork at the opening reception, which is also when most of the sales take place. (About 250 people turned out for Friday's reception to peruse the 108 entries in the Port of Sale Mall gallery and enjoy the cool jazz of the Gbogbodada quartet and conversation under the stars in the courtyard outside. Eight of them walked away as new art owners.)
For another, if a show hangs for a month, somebody has to "sit" it all that time, which entails a lot of volunteering by a lot of people who don't have a lot of leisure time. And for yet another, it has become all but impossible to find a venue on St. Thomas or St. John that can accommodate a show the size Caribbean Colour has grown to be for that long a period of time — without charging rent.
This Colour exhibit, located in the complex of blue buildings behind Wendy's in Havensight, isn't the largest in terms of participating professional artists — which topped 85 a couple of years ago — but it's one of the most diverse, and well worth a leisurely look by anyone interested in or curious about the visual arts. The viewer will encounter works in an impressive range of mediums: acrylic, clay, colored pencil, etchings, gouache, mahogany, markers, monotypes, oil, oil crayon and graphite, paper collage, pastel, pen and ink, plywood, stained glass, watercolor and "mixed media" incorporating everything from seeds, beads and leaves to barbed wire.
The effects artists have achieved working within their mediums are intriguing, also. There are acrylics that look like watercolors, watercolors that look like acrylics, a pastel that looks like an oil, and an oil that looks like a pastel.
One does not envy the judges the job of selecting winners in the various categories. One does not necessarily agree with those judges' aggregate choices, either, but that in no way diminishes the legitimacy of their decisions. For the record, here's who and what they chose:
Among the 52 adult artists' entries:
Oil paintings: 1st — Deborah St. Clair ("Maho Bay"). 2nd — Kathy Carlson ("Tropical Prints"). 3rd — Susan Edwards ("Ferry Comin'").
Water media: 1st — Janet Cook-Rutnik ("Secret Place," acrylic). 2nd — Liz Ford ("Lady With Hat," watercolor). 3rd — Silvia Kahn ("Romantic Danzantes," gouache).
Three-dimensional: 1st — Gail Van de Bogurt ("Weaving and Spinning," painting on clay mounted on wood). 2nd — Lynn Berry ("Sailing," reconstructed clay sculpture). 3rd — Afreekan Southwell ("Surf Caribbean," mahogany sculpture).
Everything Else: 1st — Kimberly Boulon ("Weaving Broom from Teyer Palm," pastel). 2nd– Mace McDowell ("Up, On a Beach," pen and ink). 3rd — Bente Hirsch ("Flower Seller," mixed media).
That makes it a clean sweep for St. John, by the way. St. Clair, Cook-Rutnik, Ford, Van de Bogurt, Boulon and Hirsch are from the little island. All of the other winners are from St. Thomas (although there are also works on exhibit by artists from St. Croix and Virgin Gorda).
Among the 31 students' entries:
1st — William Caban Jr. ("Sunflower," mixed media). 2nd (tie) Chasda Clendinen ("Sea Fan Wall," watercolor) and Adrienne Miller ("Solitude," pastel). 3rd (tie) Jared Etsinger ("Fade," watercolor with crayon resist) and Nat Ford ("Green Vase," clay sculpture).
What's eye-catching in this show depends on your orientation.
Among the camera-like representational works, St. Croix painter Betsy Campen's three small watercolor florals stand out, as does Amy Thurmond's oil of emerald foliage, "Paradise Found."
For human interest, Kimberly Boulon's pastel "First Kiss" is a charmer, with a wondrous expression on the boy's face and only your imagination to tell you what's on the girl's, as she's in profile and wearing a big, floppy straw hat. Kathy Carlson's winning oil, "Tropical Prints," is also a stunner. This character study of a beautiful woman with bolts of cloth balanced atop her head won the People's Choice Award on opening night, too.
In terms of subject matter, Erik Pedersen's assemblage, "Unearned Suffering," a juxtaposing of a church bulletin's scriptural parable about a master and his servants with images of field slaves, is thought provoking. So, in a quite different way, is Jan Dunn's oil, "Before Government Hill Became a Parking Lot." It's a view from Hospital Gade looking up Kongens Gade with the road still dirt and the structures painted in pastel hues.
Robin Clair-Pitts retains her claim from years past to having the only purely abstract painting in the show, an acrylic that has the additional enigma of being untitled. Aimee Trayser's mixed media collage, "Heaven Earth and Sky," is an inviting complexity of aqua and bronze tones. Moe Kunsch's acrylic "Jumbie Shouting — I Want to Go Back to the Living" is abstract, too, but with enough imagery for the viewer to draw conclusions.
Most of the two-dimensional works are anywhere from slightly to mostly impressionistic. Kat Sowa's oil "Seize the Day II," depicting sunrise across a chain of islands, combines delicacy and grandeur in a blaze of pinks, golds and pale greens. Brooks Brown's oil "Sunlight on St. John" does a very different take on a similar theme, in suffused deep dark green and blue tones and broad strokes.
Deborah St. Clair's winning oil, "Maho Bay," is stronger on yellows than your average beach scene, with sand and the shade of a seagrape tree given prominence. Janet Cook-Rutnik's almost disconcertingly diffuse imagery in her acrylic "Secret Place" all but reaches out and draws the viewer into its depths.
And all of this is without even getting into the students' art, which won raves from most everyone who saw the show opening night. Many of the young artists are already at a level of sophistication far beyond their years. William Caban's sepia pastel "Face of Bob Marley" and his mixed media winning entry, a still life, are outstanding, as are Diana Zalucky's acrylic, "Renaissance Woman," and Jared Etsinger's modernist watercolor/resist landscape, "Fade."
There are many other works and many other artists represented in this show. They are all worth a look, and the joy of Caribbean Colour is that you can look at all of them at once. To repeat from the beginning, there are two more days to view the show. Hours are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday and Tuesday. Student groups are welcome.

MARTIN P.R. UPDATE

0

St. John Saturday Focuses on World Earth Day
The community of St. John invites vacationers to join in its celebration of
World Earth Day 2000.
The festival will be held in conjunction with other environmental organizations around the globe on April 22, the last St. John Saturday of the season.
Amidst the local artisans and craftspeople displaying their earth-friendly items will be composting demonstrations, paint recycling, solar energy demonstrations and plastic recycling.
Visitors can participate in environmental games and activities, eat solar
baked cookies, ride in an electric car, go on a nature walk with the Virgin
Islands National Park Service, and much more. Native foods will also be
available to sample. For additional information, call (340) 776-6179 or
(877) 776-6179.
CNN's "Newsstand" To Feature St. Croix and Triathlon Winner
CNN's "Newsstand" will include a piece on Karen Smyers, four-time winner of the St. Croix Triathlon. Footage of St. Croix will be shown. Tune in to CNN on Thursday, April 13, at 10 p.m.
For more information about the St. Croix International Triathlon and the St. Croix Sprint Triathlon, held this year on May 7, call Project St. Croix at (340) 773-4470, or visit the Web site at www.stcroixtriathlon.com.
The Ritz-Carlton Named Best Value in Travel & Leisure
Travel & Leisure recently named The Ritz-Carlton, St. Thomas the "Best Value" for hotels and resorts in the Caribbean. The magazine polled its readership as part of its World's Best survey (March 2000) to find out which hotels, regardless of price, provide the best value for their rates. For reservations or more details about The Ritz-Carlton, St. Thomas, call (340)
775-3333 or (800) 241-3333.
St. John Ecotourism Resort Awarded Green Globe Commendation
Maho Bay Camps, the world-famous ecotourism resort, was recently awarded a Green Globe Commendation Award for outstanding environmental performance. Maho Bay Camps was one of only 17 resorts worldwide that received this prestigious award.
The resort exposes visitors to sustainable, balanced approaches to ecosystem management. Green Globe is a global, environmental management and certification company dedicated to working with the world's travel and tourism industry, the communities, companies and consumers to promote sustainability in tourism through sound environmental management practices. More details about Maho Bay Camps are available by calling (340)776-6240 or (800) 392-9004.
St. Croix Hotel Offers New Family-Oriented Activities
The Buccaneer resort on St. Croix is offering new activities for children and new family accommodations for the summer season. Guests 17 and under can participate in golf and tennis clinics; kayak, snorkel and sunfish outings; and have access to a basketball court, beach volleyball, beachside ping pong and a video game room.
Children will also receive free accommodations when staying in the same room with their parents and a full breakfast daily. Available only during the summer, families may choose to stay in two oceanfront rooms, each with private bath and patio, connecting to form a two-bedroom suite for a family of six. The second oceanfront room is offered at a 50 percent discount for a total cost of $428 per night for the two-bedroom suite. Vacationers can also choose to stay in the Family Oceanview Cottages, each with a patio, master bedroom with a king-sized bed and window-seat bed, and a second room with two twin beds. The cottage sleeps five people and costs $285 per night. Rates are effective April 24 through December 19, 2000. For more details call The Buccaneer resort at (340) 773-2100 or visit the resort's Web site at www.thebuccaner.com.
St. Croix Hosts Caribbean Urban Forestry Conference
The fifth annual Caribbean Urban Forestry Conference will be held at the Divi Carina Bay Resort and Casino on St. Croix, May 22-25.
The Cooperative Extension Service of the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) will host the conference in partnership with the UVI/Agricultural Experiment Station, Virgin Islands Department of Agriculture, USDA-Forest Service/International Institute of Tropical Forestry, University of Puerto Rico and the St. Croix Environmental Association. This year's conference theme is "Reflections of the Past, Visions of the Future." Arborists, researchers and other professionals will have the opportunity to interact and share information relative to developments in urban forestry. More details are available by calling (340) 692-4071, e-mailing cgeorge@uvi.edu or visiting the conference Web site at www.rps.uvi.edu/CES/urbanforest.html.

Hunt for Easter Eggs at Coral World
St. Thomas' Coral World, Marine Park & Underwater Observatory will hold its annual Easter Egg Hunt on April 23, at 1 p.m. Children three to 12 years of age are invited to join the hunt around the park for brightly colored eggs filled with sweets.
During the hunt, "Some Bunny's Mama" will make a special appearance to entertain and help participants discover secret hiding places. Easter bags will be provided for the goodies, but visitors are welcome to bring their own baskets. Other activities include having pictures taken with exotic birds, and of course, visiting all of the marine exhibits and taking part in the many scheduled talks and fish feedings. For more information, call (340) 775-1555, ext. 247. For a virtual tour of Coral World click here.
Cape Air Offers Special Carnival Fares and Expanded Flight Schedule
Cape Air is getting into the spirit of the United States Virgin Islands Carnival with special fares and an expanded flight schedule.
The special roundtrip Carnival fares to St. Thomas are $99 from St. Croix, $88 from Tortola, British Virgin Islands and $134 from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Cape Air is also providing hourly service from San Juan to St. Croix and St. Thomas. For additional information or reservations, call (800) 352-0714 or (800) 635-8787. Visit the Cape Air Web site at www.flycapeair.com.

MARTIN P.R. UPDATE

0

St. John Saturday Focuses on World Earth Day
The community of St. John invites vacationers to join in its celebration of
World Earth Day 2000.
The festival will be held in conjunction with other environmental organizations around the globe on April 22, the last St. John Saturday of the season.
Amidst the local artisans and craftspeople displaying their earth-friendly items will be composting demonstrations, paint recycling, solar energy demonstrations and plastic recycling.
Visitors can participate in environmental games and activities, eat solar
baked cookies, ride in an electric car, go on a nature walk with the Virgin
Islands National Park Service, and much more. Native foods will also be
available to sample. For additional information, call (340) 776-6179 or
(877) 776-6179.
CNN's "Newsstand" To Feature St. Croix and Triathlon Winner
CNN's "Newsstand" will include a piece on Karen Smyers, four-time winner of the St. Croix Triathlon. Footage of St. Croix will be shown. Tune in to CNN on Thursday, April 13, at 10 p.m.
For more information about the St. Croix International Triathlon and the St. Croix Sprint Triathlon, held this year on May 7, call Project St. Croix at (340) 773-4470, or visit the Web site at www.stcroixtriathlon.com.
The Ritz-Carlton Named Best Value in Travel & Leisure
Travel & Leisure recently named The Ritz-Carlton, St. Thomas the "Best Value" for hotels and resorts in the Caribbean. The magazine polled its readership as part of its World's Best survey (March 2000) to find out which hotels, regardless of price, provide the best value for their rates. For reservations or more details about The Ritz-Carlton, St. Thomas, call (340)
775-3333 or (800) 241-3333.
St. John Ecotourism Resort Awarded Green Globe Commendation
Maho Bay Camps, the world-famous ecotourism resort, was recently awarded a Green Globe Commendation Award for outstanding environmental performance. Maho Bay Camps was one of only 17 resorts worldwide that received this prestigious award.
The resort exposes visitors to sustainable, balanced approaches to ecosystem management. Green Globe is a global, environmental management and certification company dedicated to working with the world's travel and tourism industry, the communities, companies and consumers to promote sustainability in tourism through sound environmental management practices. More details about Maho Bay Camps are available by calling (340)776-6240 or (800) 392-9004.
St. Croix Hotel Offers New Family-Oriented Activities
The Buccaneer resort on St. Croix is offering new activities for children and new family accommodations for the summer season. Guests 17 and under can participate in golf and tennis clinics; kayak, snorkel and sunfish outings; and have access to a basketball court, beach volleyball, beachside ping pong and a video game room.
Children will also receive free accommodations when staying in the same room with their parents and a full breakfast daily. Available only during the summer, families may choose to stay in two oceanfront rooms, each with private bath and patio, connecting to form a two-bedroom suite for a family of six. The second oceanfront room is offered at a 50 percent discount for a total cost of $428 per night for the two-bedroom suite. Vacationers can also choose to stay in the Family Oceanview Cottages, each with a patio, master bedroom with a king-sized bed and window-seat bed, and a second room with two twin beds. The cottage sleeps five people and costs $285 per night. Rates are effective April 24 through December 19, 2000. For more details call The Buccaneer resort at (340) 773-2100 or visit the resort's Web site at www.thebuccaner.com.
St. Croix Hosts Caribbean Urban Forestry Conference
The fifth annual Caribbean Urban Forestry Conference will be held at the Divi Carina Bay Resort and Casino on St. Croix, May 22-25.
The Cooperative Extension Service of the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) will host the conference in partnership with the UVI/Agricultural Experiment Station, Virgin Islands Department of Agriculture, USDA-Forest Service/International Institute of Tropical Forestry, University of Puerto Rico and the St. Croix Environmental Association. This year's conference theme is "Reflections of the Past, Visions of the Future." Arborists, researchers and other professionals will have the opportunity to interact and share information relative to developments in urban forestry. More details are available by calling (340) 692-4071, e-mailing cgeorge@uvi.edu or visiting the conference Web site at html./www.rps.uvi.edu/CES/urbanforest.html.

Hunt for Easter Eggs at Coral World
St. Thomas' Coral World, Marine Park & Underwater Observatory will hold its annual Easter Egg Hunt on April 23, at 1 p.m. Children three to 12 years of age are invited to join the hunt around the park for brightly colored eggs filled with sweets.
During the hunt, "Some Bunny's Mama" will make a special appearance to entertain and help participants discover secret hiding places. Easter bags will be provided for the goodies, but visitors are welcome to bring their own baskets. Other activities include having pictures taken with exotic birds, and of course, visiting all of the marine exhibits and taking part in the many scheduled talks and fish feedings. For more information, call (340) 775-1555, ext. 247. For a virtual tour of Coral World click here.
Cape Air Offers Special Carnival Fares and Expanded Flight Schedule
Cape Air is getting into the spirit of the United States Virgin Islands Carnival with special fares and an expanded flight schedule.
The special roundtrip Carnival fares to St. Thomas are $99 from St. Croix, $88 from Tortola, British Virgin Islands and $134 from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Cape Air is also providing hourly service from San Juan to St. Croix and St. Thomas. For additional information or reservations, call (800) 352-0714 or (800) 635-8787. Visit the Cape Air Web site at www.flycapeair.com.

STILL BUOYANT CORKY'S BACK AT CORAL WORLD

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The unsinkable Corky the hawksbill turtle found in St. John waters is back at Coral World, and the way it looks right now, that's where he's going to stay.
Corky, who's about two and a half years old, just returned to the marine park after nine months in Florida, mostly spent undergoing testing and diagnosis at the Turtle Hospital in Marathon in the Florida Keys and at the University of Florida's Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital.
The sea turtle's problem is that he is overly buoyant. He literally can't dive and stay submerged — which means he can't forage in the wild for his natural prey, which includes sponges and small crustaceans. (This story refers to Corky as "he" although Coral World curator Donna Nemeth notes, "We don't know if Corky is male or female. It's too soon to tell.")
Corky first arrived at Coral World in November 1998, and he was in pretty bad shape. A National Park Service employee on St. John had found him off Little Hawksnest Beach near Caneel Bay "covered with algae, very skinny, just floating there," Nemeth recalls. The employee took the turtle to Rafe Boulon at the V.I. National Park Biosphere Reserve Center, and Boulon in turn took him to Coral World. But after seven months of care, marine park personnel couldn't figure out why Corky was a floater, so they decided last June to send him to experts in Florida for further analysis.
There, under the care of some of the best turtle specialists in the nation, Corky underwent blood tests, X-rays, magnetic resonance imaging and neurological testing. He was diagnosed as having a disease of the central nervous system, which could account for his awkward swimming and inability to dive, Nemeth says. "Yet, none of the tests showed a lung injury or air in the body cavity that could explain why the turtle is so buoyant." Fortunately for Coral World, the experts donated their services. "It was an opportunity for them," Nemeth notes. "Because hawksbill turtles are an endangered species, you study them when they're available." All the marine park had to do was foot the bill for Corky's airfare up and back.
He traveled in air cargo class, going up in a dog carrier "with big foam pillows moistened to keep him cool," Nemeth says. He would have been back a month or two earlier, she says, but the limited air cargo space for animals was fully booked well in advance.
After he rebounded from the trauma of air travel, Corky was introduced to his new home – – the Coral World Turtle Pool, which is otherwise inhabited by six green sea turtles rescued from St. Croix's Buck Island after they failed to emerge from their nest as hatchlings. They are about the same age as the hawksbill, but Corky, at 8 to 9 pounds, weighs about one-fourth what the greens do, Nemeth says, and at about a foot in length, he appears to be one-third their size. Adult hawksbills grow to about 150 pounds, while the greens will reach around 350 pounds, she says. "But we're not going to worry about that," she says. "It will be many years until we get to that point."
When she first put Corky into the pool, "All of the green turtles came right up to him and put their snouts on him like they were smelling him," Nemeth says. "Since then, they haven't bothered him at all." The hawksbill "eats very well. He's very healthy, he tries to swim, but he's not as active as the green turtles," she says.
Because he cannot feed himself, Corky will stay at Coral World indefinitely, Nemeth says. He's used to people feeding him — a diet of shrimp, squid, small fishes and vitamins that is the same thing the green turtles eat (they also get a daily dose of Romaine lettuce, which Corky does not).
Nemeth notes that Corky is not the first unsinkable turtle to come to Coral World. "Actually, it's quite a common experience," she says. "We've had several others brought to us in the same condition that didn't survive. We've also had hatchlings come to us who seemed to be in the same condition, but after a short time it seemed to correct itself."
Depending on the cause of the buoyancy, several treatments have proven successful in other cases, Nemeth says "A hole in the lungs might allow air into the body cavity, and we would treat that with antibiotics. A wound could heal over and trap air inside." But the Florida scientists found no identifiable cause for Corky's problem.
"I don't think we'll be able to release him into the wild," she says. "We're committed to caring for him as long as necessary. We're going to talk to some people at aquariums in Florida who have had experience raising hawksbills in captivity."
One highly untechnical procedure that has worked for some over-buoyant turtles, she says, is simply "to epoxy lead weights to the bottom of their shell."
Meantime, Corky is there in the Turtle Pool and, Nemeth says, "We hope our visitors enjoy the rare opportunity to compare hawksbill and green sea turtles up close."

STILL BUOYANT CORKY'S BACK AT CORAL WORLD

0

The unsinkable Corky the hawksbill turtle is back at Coral World, and the way it looks right now, that's where he's going to stay.
Corky, who's about two and a half years old, just returned to the marine park after nine months in Florida, mostly spent undergoing testing and diagnosis at the Turtle Hospital in Marathon in the Florida Keys and at the University of Florida's Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital.
The sea turtle's problem is that he is overly buoyant. He literally can't dive and stay submerged — which means he can't forage in the wild for his natural prey, which includes sponges and small crustaceans. (This story refers to Corky as "he" although Coral World curator Donna Nemeth notes, "We don't know if Corky is male or female. It's too soon to tell.")
Corky first arrived at Coral World in November 1998, and he was in pretty bad shape. A National Park Service employee on St. John had found him off Little Hawksnest Beach near Caneel Bay "covered with algae, very skinny, just floating there," Nemeth recalls. The employee took the turtle to Rafe Boulon at the V.I. National Park Biosphere Reserve Center, and Boulon in turn took him to Coral World. But after seven months of care, marine park personnel couldn't figure out why Corky was a floater, so they decided last June to send him to experts in Florida for further analysis.
There, under the care of some of the best turtle specialists in the nation, Corky underwent blood tests, X-rays, magnetic resonance imaging and neurological testing. He was diagnosed as having a disease of the central nervous system, which could account for his awkward swimming and inability to dive, Nemeth says. "Yet, none of the tests showed a lung injury or air in the body cavity that could explain why the turtle is so buoyant." Fortunately for Coral World, the experts donated their services. "It was an opportunity for them," Nemeth notes. "Because hawksbill turtles are an endangered species, you study them when they're available." All the marine park had to do was foot the bill for Corky's airfare up and back.
He traveled in air cargo class, going up in a dog carrier "with big foam pillows moistened to keep him cool," Nemeth says. He would have been back a month or two earlier, she says, but the limited air cargo space for animals was fully booked well in advance.
After he rebounded from the trauma of air travel, Corky was introduced to his new home – – the Coral World Turtle Pool, which is otherwise inhabited by six green sea turtles rescued from St. Croix's Buck Island after they failed to emerge from their nest as hatchlings. They are about the same age as the hawksbill, but Corky, at 8 to 9 pounds, weighs about one-fourth what the greens do, Nemeth says, and at about a foot in length, he appears to be one-third their size. Adult hawksbills grow to about 150 pounds, while the greens will reach around 350 pounds, she says. "But we're not going to worry about that," she says. "It will be many years until we get to that point."
When she first put Corky into the pool, "All of the green turtles came right up to him and put their snouts on him like they were smelling him," Nemeth says. "Since then, they haven't bothered him at all." The hawksbill "eats very well. He's very healthy, he tries to swim, but he's not as active as the green turtles," she says.
Because he cannot feed himself, Corky will stay at Coral World indefinitely, Nemeth says. He's used to people feeding him — a diet of shrimp, squid, small fishes and vitamins that is the same thing the green turtles eat (they also get a daily dose of Romaine lettuce, which Corky does not).
Nemeth notes that Corky is not the first unsinkable turtle to come to Coral World. "Actually, it's quite a common experience," she says. "We've had several others brought to us in the same condition that didn't survive. We've also had hatchlings come to us who seemed to be in the same condition, but after a short time it seemed to correct itself."
Depending on the cause of the buoyancy, several treatments have proven successful in other cases, Nemeth says "A hole in the lungs might allow air into the body cavity, and we would treat that with antibiotics. A wound could heal over and trap air inside." But the Florida scientists found no identifiable cause for Corky's problem.
"I don't think we'll be able to release him into the wild," she says. "We're committed to caring for him as long as necessary. We're going to talk to some people at aquariums in Florida who have had experience raising hawksbills in captivity."
One highly untechnical procedure that has worked for some over-buoyant turtles, she says, is simply "to epoxy lead weights to the bottom of their shell."
Meantime, Corky is there in the Turtle Pool and, Nemeth says, "We hope our visitors enjoy the rare opportunity to compare hawksbill and green sea turtles up close."

WILDFIRE SCORCHES HUNDREDS OF ACRES

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Hundreds more acres of St. Croix were scorched over the weekend as high winds pushed wildfire through the parched hills of the island’s West End.
While Saturday’s blazes threatened structures and charred the rolling hills in the Mount Victory, Rose Hill and Mount Stewart areas above the rain forest, no homes were damaged, Fire Services director Pedro Encarnacion said Sunday evening. At least 250 acres caught fire in the Frederiksted district between Friday and Sunday, he said.
"It could be much more," Encarnacion said, adding that fire crews were still in the hills Sunday night extinguishing hot spots. "Several houses were in danger. We made sure we covered them before moving to the outlying areas. So far, we thank the Lord and the firefighters. It’s been some rough days for them."
He said he is "very content with their performance, even with limited resources."
On Friday, fires scorched approximately 100 acres in Estate Mountain and Hogensborg. Most of the acreage that burned on Saturday was grazing land in the sparsely populated hills. Encarnacion said the cause of the blazes is undetermined and they they could have been started accidentally, set on purpose or even ignited spontaneously, perhaps by a bottle reflecting the sun’s rays onto dry grass.
Strong, gusty winds blowing from the east didn’t make battling the fast-moving flames any easier, Encarnacion said. "Sometimes there is so much acreage burning you don’t know where it started," he said. "The winds made it more difficult for us. At times we didn’t have the opportunity to place a truck downwind of the fire."
Rose Hill resident Fritz Lawaetz said the sheer number of fires started in his area makes him believe the blazes are the work of an arsonist. "There’s no way all those could have started by themselves," he said.
On Saturday afternoon, John Tranberg was keeping an eye on the creeping line of flame on top of Mount Victory, occasionally swatting out a hot spot with a branch of tan tan. He said that when he was young, before the advent of bulldozers, land owners regularly burned their property to control the bush. Unlike the weekend’s spate of fires, though, he said, the traditional controlled burning was just that –- controlled.
Fire Services officials recommend that residents in the vicinity of the fires trim bush back from around their homes to lessen the risk of wildfire damaging their property.

HURD: V.I.'S DRUG PROBLEM IS TRANSSHIPMENT

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The Virgin Islands does not have a big domestic drug problem, according to U.S. Attorney James Hurd. What it does have is a big transshipment problem, he says, and the amount of illegal drugs passing through the area is going up.
Hurd, addressing the annual meeting of the League of Women Voters Saturday on St. Thomas, said it used to take a lot of skill to transport drugs. However, he said, with the advent of a little hand-held devise called a GPS — for "global positioning system" — drug traffickers can "drop" their cargo from the air within a few feet of a pre-targeted area. He also said a new type of "stealth" boat, named after the aircraft that cannot be detected by radar, is making it even more difficult for authorities to catch seaborne traffickers.
"You can never throw enough money at interdiction," Hurd said. But he believes that no matter how much is thrown, it won't solve the problem. The only solution to drug dealing is education and prevention, he said.
Hurd also discussed public corruption and violence in the community at the meeting.

TRANSSHIPMENT OF DRUGS A BIG PROBLEM IN V.I.

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The Virgin Islands does not have a big domestic drug problem, according to U.S. Attorney James Hurd. What it does have is a big transshipment problem, he says, and the amount of illegal drugs passing through the area is going up.
Hurd, addressing the annual meeting of the League of Women Voters, said it used to take a lot of skill to transport drugs. However, he said, with the advent of a little hand-held devise called a GPS — for "global positioning system" — drug traffickers can "drop" their cargo within a few feet of a pre-targeted area. Hurd also said a new type of "stealth" boat, named after the stealth aircraft that cannot be detected by radar, is making it even more difficult for authorities to catch seaborne traffickers.
"You can never throw enough money at interdiction," Hurd said. But he believes that no matter how much is thrown, it won't solve the problem. The only solution to drug dealing is education and prevention, he said.
Hurd also discussed public corruption and violence in the community.

Editor's note: See earlier story, "Hurd: Public Corruption Still the Priority."

FRIENDS GATHER TO REMEMBER CARTER HAGUE

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A wealth of friends and former colleagues gathered Saturday afternoon at Hook, Line and Sinker in Frenchtown to bid goodbye to Carter Hague, for 30 years a unique voice in Virgin Islands journalism, radio and other less-restrictive venues.
Sounds of laughter rang out intermittently in the sunny outside gathering as friends gave tributes, spiced with lively anecdotes, about Hague, whose wit was widely known. Friends, as requested, brought "good stories and warm memories."
Tributes from San Francisco, Florida and Washington, D.C., were read by Brooks Brown and Courtney Gabrielson, who hosted the afternoon. The familiar voice of Nicky Russell provided a fitting local backdrop.
Former UVI journalism professor Frank Jordan expressed his respect for Hague's "rapier wit" and journalistic skill, to say nothing of his "ad-libs" on air. Two former colleagues, radio personality Rick Ricardo and journalist John Thompson, sent warm remembrances.
Derryle Berger, in a message to her "best friend of 30 years," said "everything was always more fun and interesting" when Hague was around. This sentiment was amply backed up by a number of people, including the staff of Alexander's Cafe where Hague was a regular for many years.
Linda Pinson, Hague's longtime companion, asked Pat Adams to read some words about Hague's life in his native Texas and on St. Thomas, where, Adams said, his "humor and dignity" will always be remembered.
The sometimes funny, sometimes poignant, remembrances included a mix of old St. Thomas, including Henry Wheatley, Marge Kalik, Pat and Alton Adams, Eric Matthews, Dianne Brinker, Jim and Gayle Armour and Sharon Bryan and her daughter, Holly.
Hague was best known in the community as news director and commentator for years at WVWI Radio. He earlier was a reporter and editor at The Daily News and a publicist for the former V.I. Commerce Department.