Sept. 17, 2001 – A V.I. inmate incarcerated in the Wallens Ridge prison in Virginia has sued Attorney General Iver Stridiron and the V.I. government, saying the harsh conditions at the supermaximum-security institution violate his civil rights.
Roy Sylvester Parrott, who is serving a life-sentence on a 1978 conviction of first-degree murder, filed the suit in District Court last week. He was transferred to Wallens Ridge in August after being housed in the federal penitentiary in Terre Haute, Ind., according to court papers.
Parrott's complaint states that he is being held in a cell by himself and is allowed out for recreation just one hour a day, five days a week. Each time he leaves his cell, he must undergo a strip search that involves guards' checking his bodily orifices for hidden objects, he states.
He is led from his cell on a leash, in shackles, with three or four guards accompanying him, he states, and in his cell, a bright light shines 24 hours a day, causing harm to his eyes. He also claims that he is not allowed to make telephone calls and does not have access to Virgin Islands legal materials.
Parrott claims that he was sent to Wallens Ridge because he was falsely classified as a high-security risk in the Indiana federal penitentiary, where he was attacked and cut up by another inmate with a homemade shank.
Stridiron said Friday that he was not surprised by the lawsuit — and that he is expecting more such suits as a result of the decision to house local convicts in a prison known nationwide for its tough conditions.
"We anticipate we're going to get a lot of this," he said, adding that inmates frequently file lawsuits over their treatment. "None of them want to be there. It's intended to be a tough prison, but it's a constitutionally run prison."
Justice Department officials decided last year to send the highest-risk prisoners to Virginia, rather than to hold them at the Golden Grove prison on St. Croix. That decision came as local inmates being housed in federal prisons on the mainland were being returned to Golden Grove.
Fifteen V.I. inmates are being held at Wallens Ridge, which mostly holds people convicted of murder, Stridiron said. All of the V.I. prisoners are currently segregated from the general population and are being held under conditions similar to those Parrott cited.
An assistant attorney general will receive specialized training in prison law in anticipation of more suits being filed by inmates, Stridiron said. Nevertheless, he is confident that inmates' civil rights are not being violated at the prison, he said.
Stridiron noted that if prisoners at Wallens Ridge show that they can abide by rules and not cause problems, they can be transferred to Golden Grove. Meanwhile, inmates who are causing trouble at Golden Grove could get sent to Virginia, he said. Prison officials are currently considering sending one inmate at Golden Grove to Virginia because of bad behavior, he said.
Earlier this year, Connecticut officials decided to pull their inmates out of the Wallens Ridge prison after hearing reports of the harsh conditions, according to Eric Balaban, the staff counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union's National Prison Project.
The ACLU had filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Connecticut prisoners housed at Wallens Ridge, citing rules that allowed individual officers to order inmates be tied down in five-point restraints for up to 72 hours, Balaban said. He also noted the frequent use by Wallens Ridge guards of electric stun devices.
Balaban said he sent letters to the V.I. Bureau of Corrections director, Horace Magras, urging the V.I. government not to send its inmates to Wallens Ridge. He said the ACLU would not hesitate to file lawsuits on behalf of the prisoners if it receives credible reports of civil rights violations.
Stridiron said Friday he stands by his decision to send some inmates to the Virginia prison. He said it will be a strong incentive for prisoners at Golden Grove to abide by the rules.
ROTARY OFFICIAL EMPHASIZES PEACE, SERVICE
Sept. 17, 2001 – Addressing the combined Rotary Clubs of St. Thomas and St. John, Rotary International's Northern Caribbean District governor, Richard Grant, emphasized the organization's priorities and shared his goals for the district.
Grant prefaced his luncheon remarks Thursday at Marriott's Frenchman's Reef Beach Resort by telling his fellow Rotarians that there were no disaster relief notices posted on the Rotary International website from members in the terrorist attack areas — New York and Washington, D.C.
He noted that blood collection efforts to aid the injured in New York and Washington were under way on the mainland while air transportation remained unavailable locally. He said that current world affairs "only emphasize the need for renewed energy in our quest to promote world peace and understanding. It's absolutely essential that we don't forget that."
Grant, a St. Croix resident, noted that this year's Rotary International theme is "Mankind is our business." It follows, he said, that "Service is our product." And, he said, "it always has been since our first Rotary project in Chicago in 1905."
He called upon his audience to make two commitments to Rotary International this year: First, to "extend compassion and practical aid to those whose lives are afflicted by poverty, disease, ignorance and natural disasters." Second, to enlist new Rotarians by "reaching out to qualified business and professional leaders who have been given the opportunity to help their fellow citizens."
According to Grant, Rotary's "Global Quest" is for each club to induct one new member every month and for every club to increase its membership by at least ten percent this year. He called Rotary membership a "privilege and a responsibility" and said that it comes with an "obligation to share Rotary with someone new."
Grant enumerated the Rotary International Global Quest membership drive incentives. Each of the top 100 clubs worldwide will receive a Global Quest globe made with "precious stones." On the district level, there will be "a special gift" for each Rotarian who brings in three new members this year as well as "Global Quest" awards for the individual club and individual Rotarian who bring in the most new members.
Additionally, Grant said, his "commitment" to the membership drive is to award one raffle ticket toward two round-trip flights to the 2002 Rotary International convention in Barcelona, Spain, for each new member that any District 7020 Rotarian (excluding himself) enlists The drawing is to be held at next year's Rotary district conference.
"Finally," Grant said, "we need to enhance our public image." He cited recent survey findings that only 10 percent of respondents knew "who we are and what we do." Very few people, he said, knew that Rotarians do charitable work in the community, including blood drives and health fairs.
District 7020 comprises 57 Rotary clubs with 2,000 members in the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, the Bahamas (except for Grand Bahama), Turks and Caicos Islands, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, St. Maarten/St. Martin, St. Barths and Haiti.
Grant prefaced his luncheon remarks Thursday at Marriott's Frenchman's Reef Beach Resort by telling his fellow Rotarians that there were no disaster relief notices posted on the Rotary International website from members in the terrorist attack areas — New York and Washington, D.C.
He noted that blood collection efforts to aid the injured in New York and Washington were under way on the mainland while air transportation remained unavailable locally. He said that current world affairs "only emphasize the need for renewed energy in our quest to promote world peace and understanding. It's absolutely essential that we don't forget that."
Grant, a St. Croix resident, noted that this year's Rotary International theme is "Mankind is our business." It follows, he said, that "Service is our product." And, he said, "it always has been since our first Rotary project in Chicago in 1905."
He called upon his audience to make two commitments to Rotary International this year: First, to "extend compassion and practical aid to those whose lives are afflicted by poverty, disease, ignorance and natural disasters." Second, to enlist new Rotarians by "reaching out to qualified business and professional leaders who have been given the opportunity to help their fellow citizens."
According to Grant, Rotary's "Global Quest" is for each club to induct one new member every month and for every club to increase its membership by at least ten percent this year. He called Rotary membership a "privilege and a responsibility" and said that it comes with an "obligation to share Rotary with someone new."
Grant enumerated the Rotary International Global Quest membership drive incentives. Each of the top 100 clubs worldwide will receive a Global Quest globe made with "precious stones." On the district level, there will be "a special gift" for each Rotarian who brings in three new members this year as well as "Global Quest" awards for the individual club and individual Rotarian who bring in the most new members.
Additionally, Grant said, his "commitment" to the membership drive is to award one raffle ticket toward two round-trip flights to the 2002 Rotary International convention in Barcelona, Spain, for each new member that any District 7020 Rotarian (excluding himself) enlists The drawing is to be held at next year's Rotary district conference.
"Finally," Grant said, "we need to enhance our public image." He cited recent survey findings that only 10 percent of respondents knew "who we are and what we do." Very few people, he said, knew that Rotarians do charitable work in the community, including blood drives and health fairs.
District 7020 comprises 57 Rotary clubs with 2,000 members in the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, the Bahamas (except for Grand Bahama), Turks and Caicos Islands, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, St. Maarten/St. Martin, St. Barths and Haiti.
BREAKWATER COMING DOWN
Sept. 17, 2001 – Work crews on Monday began taking down a breakwater on the Peterborg side of Magens Bay that the AT&T long-distance phone company built last year to protect cables coming out of the water.
Through much of the day, a barge was anchored at the site about halfway between Magens Bay Beach and the outer tip of Estate Peterborg. Late Monday, a tugboat pulled the barge out of the bay.
Dexter Freeman, the manager at AT&T’s Peterborg station, said the breakwater had been built to protect lines that come ashore in the area. AT&T officials have said they believed they had the right to build the structure under existing permits they had for the area, but the Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Planning and Natural Resources later ruled against the company and ordered the structure to be removed, Freeman explained.
DPNR also fined AT&T $100,000 for building the 100-foot long structure.
Not having the breakwater there will not endanger long-distance phone service to St. Thomas, he said. But it will mean that AT&T will have to replace equipment in the area more often because the seas will damage it more quickly than if the breakwater were still there to protect it, Freeman added.
Removing the structure should take about a week, he said, adding that the natural rocks that were in the area will remain. The goal is to put the area back to its condition before the breakwater was build, Freeman said.
Officials with the Army Corps of Engineers and DPNR have approved the plans for removal and will conduct inspections of the work, according to Annette Morales, spokeswoman for DPNR.
She added that the permits state the work could take up to about a month, and that there could be a delay because the subcontractor, Wayne’s Trucking Services, was waiting for a crane operator to arrive from the mainland, where he has been delayed since the terrorist attacks last week caused limited air service.
One resident of the area said he was glad to see the breakwater was being removed, but that he still had some concerns.
"My concern is that they dispose of the stuff properly and don’t cause any more damage," said Brian Postle, who owns a home in Peterborg just above the breakwater. He said the structure had altered the natural flow of sand in the area, and that because of it, the beach below his house has largely washed away.
He said he hopes the beach will come back, and that the taking down of the breakwater does not cause any more damage to the area.
Freeman apologized for any loud noise the work would create and said crews would only be working on it during normal business hours. He said the cost of removing the breakwater would be at least $250,000, not including some surveys and planning for the work.
Through much of the day, a barge was anchored at the site about halfway between Magens Bay Beach and the outer tip of Estate Peterborg. Late Monday, a tugboat pulled the barge out of the bay.
Dexter Freeman, the manager at AT&T’s Peterborg station, said the breakwater had been built to protect lines that come ashore in the area. AT&T officials have said they believed they had the right to build the structure under existing permits they had for the area, but the Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Planning and Natural Resources later ruled against the company and ordered the structure to be removed, Freeman explained.
DPNR also fined AT&T $100,000 for building the 100-foot long structure.
Not having the breakwater there will not endanger long-distance phone service to St. Thomas, he said. But it will mean that AT&T will have to replace equipment in the area more often because the seas will damage it more quickly than if the breakwater were still there to protect it, Freeman added.
Removing the structure should take about a week, he said, adding that the natural rocks that were in the area will remain. The goal is to put the area back to its condition before the breakwater was build, Freeman said.
Officials with the Army Corps of Engineers and DPNR have approved the plans for removal and will conduct inspections of the work, according to Annette Morales, spokeswoman for DPNR.
She added that the permits state the work could take up to about a month, and that there could be a delay because the subcontractor, Wayne’s Trucking Services, was waiting for a crane operator to arrive from the mainland, where he has been delayed since the terrorist attacks last week caused limited air service.
One resident of the area said he was glad to see the breakwater was being removed, but that he still had some concerns.
"My concern is that they dispose of the stuff properly and don’t cause any more damage," said Brian Postle, who owns a home in Peterborg just above the breakwater. He said the structure had altered the natural flow of sand in the area, and that because of it, the beach below his house has largely washed away.
He said he hopes the beach will come back, and that the taking down of the breakwater does not cause any more damage to the area.
Freeman apologized for any loud noise the work would create and said crews would only be working on it during normal business hours. He said the cost of removing the breakwater would be at least $250,000, not including some surveys and planning for the work.
AUTHORITIES MUM ON TWO DETAINED AT WICO DOCK
Sept. 17, 2001 – Federal agency officials were close-mouthed Monday about two people detained for questioning Sunday on St. Thomas after security guards saw them taking pictures in a restricted area at the West Indian Co. dock in Havensight.
The WICO guards called U.S. Coast Guard officials around 11:30 a.m. Sunday after stopping the two people, according to Coast Guard Lt. John Reinert. Investigators from the FBI and the Immigration and Naturalization Service responded to the scene, Reinert said Monday.
INS authorities took the lead in the investigation when they found evidence that the two people were not U.S. nationals, Reinert said. He declined to provide the two individuals' names or nationalities.
The WICO dock — like the Hovensa oil refinery and other facitlities in the territory — has been operating under heightened security since the terrorist attacks last week on the U.S. mainland, government officials have said.
Ivan Ortiz, the INS spokesman in San Juan, said he could neither confirm nor deny whether an investigation into the incident at the WICO dock was under way. It was not known whether the two people who were detained remained in custody Monday.
The INS is assisting the FBI in the search for people linked to the terrorist attacks. Ortiz said he could not comment on the ongoing nationwide investigation.
The WICO guards called U.S. Coast Guard officials around 11:30 a.m. Sunday after stopping the two people, according to Coast Guard Lt. John Reinert. Investigators from the FBI and the Immigration and Naturalization Service responded to the scene, Reinert said Monday.
INS authorities took the lead in the investigation when they found evidence that the two people were not U.S. nationals, Reinert said. He declined to provide the two individuals' names or nationalities.
The WICO dock — like the Hovensa oil refinery and other facitlities in the territory — has been operating under heightened security since the terrorist attacks last week on the U.S. mainland, government officials have said.
Ivan Ortiz, the INS spokesman in San Juan, said he could neither confirm nor deny whether an investigation into the incident at the WICO dock was under way. It was not known whether the two people who were detained remained in custody Monday.
The INS is assisting the FBI in the search for people linked to the terrorist attacks. Ortiz said he could not comment on the ongoing nationwide investigation.
MAN ARRESTED FOR BOMB THREAT AT HOVENSA
Sept. 17, 2001 — Federal law enforcement agents on Monday arrested a St. Croix man for calling in a false bomb threat to the Hovensa refinery a day after terrorists killed thousands of people on the mainland.
U.S. Attorney David Atkinson said FBI agents arrested Norman Rampersad Jr., age unknown, for allegedly making a threatening phone call on Sept. 12 to Bechtel Corp., a subcontractor at the giant Hovensa refinery. The call forced the refinery to shut down while a search was made for an explosive device, Atkinson said.
Atkinson didn’t say how FBI agents determined that Rampersad made the call.
Rampersad was arrested for, among other things, maliciously conveying false information to damage and destroy real and personal property and to injure others by means of fire or explosion. He faces a maximum of up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Rampersad was also charged with transmission of threatening communication in interstate commerce to injure another person, which carries a maximum of five years in prison and a fine up to $250,000.
Rampersad has an advice-of-rights hearing at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in U.S. District Court.
Atkinson noted that a number of public and private schools on St. Croix and government offices on St. Thomas have received bomb threats in recent days.
On St. Croix early Monday, a threat of a bomb at Central High School sent students and staff out to the football field while a search was conducted. While students waited outside, a rainstorm passed over and soaked the student body. That, said Terrence Joseph, St. Croix superintendent, forced school administrators to send students home for the day.
Darrel Richards, Central High assistant principal, said that the missed day will have to be made up at the end of the year.
Also receiving threats were the Country Day School on St. Croix and the Human Services Department on St. Thomas.
U.S. Attorney David Atkinson said FBI agents arrested Norman Rampersad Jr., age unknown, for allegedly making a threatening phone call on Sept. 12 to Bechtel Corp., a subcontractor at the giant Hovensa refinery. The call forced the refinery to shut down while a search was made for an explosive device, Atkinson said.
Atkinson didn’t say how FBI agents determined that Rampersad made the call.
Rampersad was arrested for, among other things, maliciously conveying false information to damage and destroy real and personal property and to injure others by means of fire or explosion. He faces a maximum of up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Rampersad was also charged with transmission of threatening communication in interstate commerce to injure another person, which carries a maximum of five years in prison and a fine up to $250,000.
Rampersad has an advice-of-rights hearing at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in U.S. District Court.
Atkinson noted that a number of public and private schools on St. Croix and government offices on St. Thomas have received bomb threats in recent days.
On St. Croix early Monday, a threat of a bomb at Central High School sent students and staff out to the football field while a search was conducted. While students waited outside, a rainstorm passed over and soaked the student body. That, said Terrence Joseph, St. Croix superintendent, forced school administrators to send students home for the day.
Darrel Richards, Central High assistant principal, said that the missed day will have to be made up at the end of the year.
Also receiving threats were the Country Day School on St. Croix and the Human Services Department on St. Thomas.
MARIO DE CHABERT DIES ON ST. CROIX
Sept. 17, 2001 — Businessman, attorney, entrepreneur, political player, prospective casino developer: By all accounts, the death of Mario De Chabert early Monday morning after a protracted illness will leave a huge void on St. Croix.
De Chabert died on St. Croix after a long battle with failing kidneys. He was 63.
De Chabert and his family opened the Sunny Isle Shopping Center on St. Croix in 1970. At that point, the shopping center was the first of its kind in the Eastern Caribbean.
The Hovensa refinery, formerly the Hess Oil Virgin Islands Corp. refinery, is built on land sold to Leon Hess by the De Chabert family in the 1960s. The refinery, the largest employer in the territory, created a well-paid workforce on the island, which helped the nearby shopping center prosper.
That prosperity, noted Gov. Charles Turnbull, has allowed the De Chabert family to support various community groups over the years.
"[Mario De Chabert] will be sorely missed for his willingness to help countless non-profit organizations meet their fund-raising goals and social objectives," Turnbull said. "Mario De Chabert believed strongly in St. Croix’s economic potential and worked tirelessly to build financial opportunities designed to improve the quality of the lives of all Virgin Islanders."
De Chabert had been in the process of applying for a casino gaming license to develop a 193-room casino-resort on family property adjacent to the shopping center. Eileen Petersen, chairwoman of the V.I. Casino Control Commission and longtime friend of De Chabert, suggested the application might yet go forward.
Noting De Chabert was one of the strongest proponents of developing casino gaming on St. Croix, she said, "I am convinced that his ideas and actions will be put into operation by those who he left behind."
Condolences were pouring in to the De Chabert family on Monday.
"Mario and his family have been very generous to St. Croix and the entire Virgin Islands," Delegate to Congress Donna Christian Christensen said, "giving of their time, talent and treasure whenever it was needed."
Former St. Croix senator Carol Burke said De Chabert, the former state chairman for the V.I. Democratic Party, was an inspiration.
"Mario lived a big life. He had a big heart," Burke said. "Mario’s commitment to St. Croix went beyond measure.
"The Virgin Islands and St. Croix has lost a great man."
De Chabert died on St. Croix after a long battle with failing kidneys. He was 63.
De Chabert and his family opened the Sunny Isle Shopping Center on St. Croix in 1970. At that point, the shopping center was the first of its kind in the Eastern Caribbean.
The Hovensa refinery, formerly the Hess Oil Virgin Islands Corp. refinery, is built on land sold to Leon Hess by the De Chabert family in the 1960s. The refinery, the largest employer in the territory, created a well-paid workforce on the island, which helped the nearby shopping center prosper.
That prosperity, noted Gov. Charles Turnbull, has allowed the De Chabert family to support various community groups over the years.
"[Mario De Chabert] will be sorely missed for his willingness to help countless non-profit organizations meet their fund-raising goals and social objectives," Turnbull said. "Mario De Chabert believed strongly in St. Croix’s economic potential and worked tirelessly to build financial opportunities designed to improve the quality of the lives of all Virgin Islanders."
De Chabert had been in the process of applying for a casino gaming license to develop a 193-room casino-resort on family property adjacent to the shopping center. Eileen Petersen, chairwoman of the V.I. Casino Control Commission and longtime friend of De Chabert, suggested the application might yet go forward.
Noting De Chabert was one of the strongest proponents of developing casino gaming on St. Croix, she said, "I am convinced that his ideas and actions will be put into operation by those who he left behind."
Condolences were pouring in to the De Chabert family on Monday.
"Mario and his family have been very generous to St. Croix and the entire Virgin Islands," Delegate to Congress Donna Christian Christensen said, "giving of their time, talent and treasure whenever it was needed."
Former St. Croix senator Carol Burke said De Chabert, the former state chairman for the V.I. Democratic Party, was an inspiration.
"Mario lived a big life. He had a big heart," Burke said. "Mario’s commitment to St. Croix went beyond measure.
"The Virgin Islands and St. Croix has lost a great man."
WEDNESDAY HEARING POSTPONED
Sept. 17, 2001 — The Senate Labor and Veterans Affairs committee hearing scheduled for Wednesday at the Earle B. Ottley Legislative Hall on St. Thomas has been postponed until 6 p.m. Oct. 11., committee chairwoman Norma Pickard-Samuel's office announced Monday.
The meeting, which was to take testimony on legislation to transfer the former Virgin Isles Hotel to Veterans Resource and Development Inc., is postponed because several inviteees from the mainland were unable to get travel accommodations to the territory by Wednesday's date.
See the Senate Calendar under Local Government for a complete list of those invited to testify.
The meeting, which was to take testimony on legislation to transfer the former Virgin Isles Hotel to Veterans Resource and Development Inc., is postponed because several inviteees from the mainland were unable to get travel accommodations to the territory by Wednesday's date.
See the Senate Calendar under Local Government for a complete list of those invited to testify.
ANTI-LITER AND BEAUTIFICAL COMMISSION BOARD
The Board of the Anti-Liter and Beautification Commission, St. Thomas/St. John District, will meet at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 20, in the Commission's Conference Room located on the first floor of the East End Boat Park Building, 6200 Frydenhoj.
ANTI-LITER AND BEAUTIFICATION COMMISSION BOARD
The Board of the Anti-Liter and Beautification Commission of the St. Thomas/St.John District, will meet at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 20, in the Commission's conference Room located on the first floor of the East End Boat Park Building, 6200 Frydenhoj.
V.I. RED CROSS WORKERS SENT TO NYC
Sept. 14, 2001 – Five Virgin Island American Red Cross volunteers were selected to go to New York Saturday to assist in disaster relief efforts.
"It's a little frightening," said Priscilla Hintz, who has been a Red Cross volunteer since Hurricane Marilyn. "We've been looking at the TV, like everyone else," Hintz said, "and we've heard people speak about Ground Zero, but we won't know until we get there what it will be like." Ground Zero is the name that's been given to the World Trade Center Towers site.
Hintz continued, "I really want to go –it's heartwarming to help people in need and touch people's lives."
Judith M. George, a retired school teacher, said Hurricane Marilyn inspired her to volunteer, "The Red Cross helped us then, "she said, "and we can help now."
Also traveling is Mae Wheatley, a Department of Justice victim liaison officer, Carla Challenger of the Legislature office on St. John, and Merla Kimbal, a nurse with the Department of Health.
The volunteers have their work cut out for them just getting there. Unable to get on a direct flight out of St. Thomas, they will travel to San Juan Saturday where they will overnight. Sunday they fly to Philadelphia, after which they will be driven to New York.
In New York all except Kimbal will work out of the Red Cross Center New York regional office. Hintz said there will be thousands of volunteers already there providing crisis counseling, shelter, meals and emergency support for victims. It will be the Virgin Island group's task to assign these duties.
Hintz is a public relations officer for both the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce and St. Thomas Dairies. "They both were happy to let me take the time off," she said. "All of us received encouragement from our bosses." She said they expected to be gone two to three weeks. "The Red Cross doesn't like to keep any volunteer on a disaster assignment like that any longer than three weeks," Hintz said.
"It's a little frightening," said Priscilla Hintz, who has been a Red Cross volunteer since Hurricane Marilyn. "We've been looking at the TV, like everyone else," Hintz said, "and we've heard people speak about Ground Zero, but we won't know until we get there what it will be like." Ground Zero is the name that's been given to the World Trade Center Towers site.
Hintz continued, "I really want to go –it's heartwarming to help people in need and touch people's lives."
Judith M. George, a retired school teacher, said Hurricane Marilyn inspired her to volunteer, "The Red Cross helped us then, "she said, "and we can help now."
Also traveling is Mae Wheatley, a Department of Justice victim liaison officer, Carla Challenger of the Legislature office on St. John, and Merla Kimbal, a nurse with the Department of Health.
The volunteers have their work cut out for them just getting there. Unable to get on a direct flight out of St. Thomas, they will travel to San Juan Saturday where they will overnight. Sunday they fly to Philadelphia, after which they will be driven to New York.
In New York all except Kimbal will work out of the Red Cross Center New York regional office. Hintz said there will be thousands of volunteers already there providing crisis counseling, shelter, meals and emergency support for victims. It will be the Virgin Island group's task to assign these duties.
Hintz is a public relations officer for both the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce and St. Thomas Dairies. "They both were happy to let me take the time off," she said. "All of us received encouragement from our bosses." She said they expected to be gone two to three weeks. "The Red Cross doesn't like to keep any volunteer on a disaster assignment like that any longer than three weeks," Hintz said.
