May 2, 2001 – An elected attorney general is out, a video lottery is out, and Public Services Commission rate investigations are in.
These were among the decisions Gov. Charles W. Turnbull announced at a hastily assembled afternoon press conference on Wednesday, the deadline for him to act on 16 bills passed by the Legislature on April 9 and 10.
The governor said he approved the controversial PSC rate investigation bill because it didn't mandate a specific investigation of Innovative Telephone, formerly Vitelco. "This is for all utilities, across the board," he said. The Senate approved the bill, doggedly pursued by Sen. Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg through the 23rd and 24th Legislatures, after he removed Vitelco from the bill's language and substituted investigation of "regulated public utilities."
Turnbull said the video lottery bill was "precipitous and runs afoul of the … Casino Control Act of 1995 regulatory scheme." He added, "The public outcry that I have received from individuals, the business community and current and potential investors indicates further study is required." Sen. Emmett Hansen II, who sponsored the bill, had called the governor on Tuesday asking him to veto it, according to a report in The Avis.
Hansen's measure was attached as an amendment to a bill earmarking increases in tax collections by the Internal Revenue Bureau for government employees' salaries. "This might have warranted closer examination, but it was attached to the video lottery, so I had to veto it," Turnbull said of the proposal.
The governor said he didn't approve making the attorney general an elective office because "it would be another political office that would cause conflict." None of the other territories has an elected attorney general, he said, although most states do. "I don't want to do anything willy-nilly," he said. "It's not wise at this time."
Turnbull approved the Legislature's action repealing the recently enacted increase in the hotel room tax to 10 percent from 8 percent. The measure had come under heavy fire from hoteliers who said they had already sold rooms at the old rates for this season.
In other matters, Turnbull approved:
– An 8 percent tax on time-share units in the V.I., with proceeds to go into the Tourism Revolving Fund.
– Establishment of the U.S.V.I. Military Museum and Veterans Memorial Complex on St. Croix.
– A fee requirement exemption for developments under the Affordable Housing Program; but he line-item vetoed amendments giving $150,000 to the St. Croix Swimming Association and $250,000 to the St. Thomas Swimming Association, saying there are not sufficient funds.
– Free emergency medical services to veterans.
– A $500,000 appropriation to the Justice Department for land for a new cemetery on St. Thomas.
– Appropriations of $500,000 to the Education Department for school repairs and of $150,000 to the V.I. Olympic Committee.
– Three St. Croix rezonings.
The governor said he vetoed outright or line-item vetoed several measures because there was no money for them. One was a $1.5 million appropriation to the Legislature budget, passed as an amendment to a bill allowing Fish and Wildlife Division enforcement officers to issue citations, a bill Turnbull said he would have approved but for the amendment.
Another was a measure providing for tuition to be waived at the University of the Virgin Islands for V.I. National Guard members. "It's unfair to UVI and to the government, when the funds aren't there," he said.
He also vetoed a tax-collection incentive program for IRB officers, saying the attorney general had determined that it was in violation of federal law.
Turnbull concurred with the following legislative resolutions:
– To express the Legislature's opposition to the federal government's expansion of Buck Island National Monument and establishment of the Coral Reef National Monument.
– To revise income qualifications for the V.I. Head Start program.
– To confer the V.I. Medal of Honor posthumously on Earle B. Ottley.
– To commend Virgin Islanders United Inc.
YOUNG ARTISTS POSITIVELY EXPRESS THEMSELVES
May 2, 2001 – If you'd like to see how St. Thomas youngsters from kindergarten through sixth grade express themselves, artistically speaking, stop by Kirwan Elementary School on Thursday or Friday to view "Art Show 2001."
It's an exhibition of more than a hundred works of art created by Kirwan students this school year, all displayed on the cafetorium stage.
The exhibition, which opened Wednesday, was organized by Kirwan art teacher Julie Armbruster. She said she selected the pieces on display with an eye to creating a show that is representative of the artwork done by more 400 students at the school, located in the Bournefield area near Cyril E. King Airport. "It's not a competition," she said. "We're trying to create a collective form of positive expression."
The works on exhibit are diverse both in cultural inspiration and in the choice of materials used by the students to express themselves, and they reflect learning experiences the children have had this year. For example, Native American volunteer instructor Verda Campbell of the Navaho Tribe taught students to paint with colored sand in the tradition of her Black Streak Forest Clan. African themes are evident throughout the show, including pencil drawings of Tropical Masqueraders Carnival clowns. The local Danish heritage inspired Christmas ornaments made with painted macaroni shell wreaths.
Kirwan's assistant principal, ReGina Vanterpool, expressed her enthusiasm about the pupils' artistic accomplishments in her comments at the program opening the exhibition Wednesday. She praised Armbruster's enthusiasm, too, in putting together Art Show 2001. As visitors wandered about taking in the show afterwards, a number of the student artists were on hand to answer questions about their individual pieces and to point out their personal favorites.
Funding to mount the exhibition was provided in part by the V.I. Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. The artwork will be open to public viewing Thursday and Friday between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m.
It's an exhibition of more than a hundred works of art created by Kirwan students this school year, all displayed on the cafetorium stage.
The exhibition, which opened Wednesday, was organized by Kirwan art teacher Julie Armbruster. She said she selected the pieces on display with an eye to creating a show that is representative of the artwork done by more 400 students at the school, located in the Bournefield area near Cyril E. King Airport. "It's not a competition," she said. "We're trying to create a collective form of positive expression."
The works on exhibit are diverse both in cultural inspiration and in the choice of materials used by the students to express themselves, and they reflect learning experiences the children have had this year. For example, Native American volunteer instructor Verda Campbell of the Navaho Tribe taught students to paint with colored sand in the tradition of her Black Streak Forest Clan. African themes are evident throughout the show, including pencil drawings of Tropical Masqueraders Carnival clowns. The local Danish heritage inspired Christmas ornaments made with painted macaroni shell wreaths.
Kirwan's assistant principal, ReGina Vanterpool, expressed her enthusiasm about the pupils' artistic accomplishments in her comments at the program opening the exhibition Wednesday. She praised Armbruster's enthusiasm, too, in putting together Art Show 2001. As visitors wandered about taking in the show afterwards, a number of the student artists were on hand to answer questions about their individual pieces and to point out their personal favorites.
Funding to mount the exhibition was provided in part by the V.I. Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. The artwork will be open to public viewing Thursday and Friday between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m.
TURNBULL APPROVES UTILITY RATE INVESTIGATIONS
May 2, 2001 – An elected attorney general is out, a video lottery is out, and Public Services Commission rate investigations are in.
These were among the decisions Gov. Charles W. Turnbull announced at a hastily assembled afternoon press conference on Wednesday, the deadline for him to act on 16 bills passed by the Legislature on April 9 and 10.
The governor said he approved the controversial PSC rate investigation bill because it didn't mandate a specific investigation of Innovative Telephone, formerly Vitelco. "This is for all utilities, across the board," he said. The Senate approved the bill, doggedly pursued by Sen. Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg through the 23rd and 24th Legislatures, after he removed Vitelco from the bill's language and substituted investigation of "regulated public utilities."
Turnbull said the video lottery bill was "precipitous and runs afoul of the … Casino Control Act of 1995 regulatory scheme." He added, "The public outcry that I have received from individuals, the business community and current and potential investors indicates further study is required." Sen. Emmett Hansen II, who sponsored the bill, had called the governor on Tuesday asking him to it, according to a report in The Avis.
Hansen's measure was attached as an amendment to a bill earmarking increases in tax collections by the Internal Revenue Bureau for government employees' salaries. "This might have warranted closer examination, but it was attached to the video lottery, so I had to veto it," Turnbull said of the proposal.
The governor said he didn't approve making the attorney general an elective office, because "it would be another political office that would cause conflict." None of the other territories has an elected attorney general, he said, although most states do. "I don't want to do anything willy-nilly," he said. "It's not wise at this time."
Turnbull approved the Legislature's action repealing the recently enacted increase in the hotel room tax to 10 percent from 8 percent. The measure had come under heavy fire from hoteliers who said they had already sold rooms at the old rates for this season.
In other matters, Turnbull approved:
– An 8 percent tax on time-share units in the V.I., with proceeds to go into the Tourism Revolving Fund.
– Establishment of the U.S.V.I. Military Museum and Veterans Memorial Complex on St. Croix.
– A fee requirement exemption for developments under the Affordable Housing Program; but he line-item vetoed amendments giving $150,000 to the St. Croix Swimming Association and $250,000 to the St. Thomas Swimming Association, saying there are not sufficient funds.
– Free emergency medical services to veterans.
– A $500,000 appropriation to the Justice Department for land for a new cemetery on St. Thomas.
– Appropriations of $500,000 to the Education Department for school repairs and of $150,000 to the V.I. Olympic Committee.
– Three St. Croix rezonings.
The governor said he vetoed outright or line-item vetoed several measures because there was no money for them. One was a $1.5 million appropriation to the Legislature budget, passed as an amendment to a bill allowing Fish and Wildlife Division enforcement officers to issue citations, a bill Turnbull said he would have approved, but for the amendment.
Another was a measure providing for tuition to be waived at the University of the Virgin Islands for V.I. National Guard members. "It's unfair to UVI and to the government, when the funds aren't there," he said.
He also vetoed a tax-collection incentive program for IRB officers, saying the attorney general had determined that it was in violation of federal law.
Turnbull concurred with the following legislative resolutions:
– To express the Legislature's opposition to the federal government's expansion of Buck Island National Monument and establishment of the Coral Reef National Monument.
– To revise income qualifications for the V.I. Head Start program.
– To confer the V.I. Medal of Honor posthumously on Earle B. Ottley.
– To commend Virgin Islanders United Inc.
These were among the decisions Gov. Charles W. Turnbull announced at a hastily assembled afternoon press conference on Wednesday, the deadline for him to act on 16 bills passed by the Legislature on April 9 and 10.
The governor said he approved the controversial PSC rate investigation bill because it didn't mandate a specific investigation of Innovative Telephone, formerly Vitelco. "This is for all utilities, across the board," he said. The Senate approved the bill, doggedly pursued by Sen. Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg through the 23rd and 24th Legislatures, after he removed Vitelco from the bill's language and substituted investigation of "regulated public utilities."
Turnbull said the video lottery bill was "precipitous and runs afoul of the … Casino Control Act of 1995 regulatory scheme." He added, "The public outcry that I have received from individuals, the business community and current and potential investors indicates further study is required." Sen. Emmett Hansen II, who sponsored the bill, had called the governor on Tuesday asking him to it, according to a report in The Avis.
Hansen's measure was attached as an amendment to a bill earmarking increases in tax collections by the Internal Revenue Bureau for government employees' salaries. "This might have warranted closer examination, but it was attached to the video lottery, so I had to veto it," Turnbull said of the proposal.
The governor said he didn't approve making the attorney general an elective office, because "it would be another political office that would cause conflict." None of the other territories has an elected attorney general, he said, although most states do. "I don't want to do anything willy-nilly," he said. "It's not wise at this time."
Turnbull approved the Legislature's action repealing the recently enacted increase in the hotel room tax to 10 percent from 8 percent. The measure had come under heavy fire from hoteliers who said they had already sold rooms at the old rates for this season.
In other matters, Turnbull approved:
– An 8 percent tax on time-share units in the V.I., with proceeds to go into the Tourism Revolving Fund.
– Establishment of the U.S.V.I. Military Museum and Veterans Memorial Complex on St. Croix.
– A fee requirement exemption for developments under the Affordable Housing Program; but he line-item vetoed amendments giving $150,000 to the St. Croix Swimming Association and $250,000 to the St. Thomas Swimming Association, saying there are not sufficient funds.
– Free emergency medical services to veterans.
– A $500,000 appropriation to the Justice Department for land for a new cemetery on St. Thomas.
– Appropriations of $500,000 to the Education Department for school repairs and of $150,000 to the V.I. Olympic Committee.
– Three St. Croix rezonings.
The governor said he vetoed outright or line-item vetoed several measures because there was no money for them. One was a $1.5 million appropriation to the Legislature budget, passed as an amendment to a bill allowing Fish and Wildlife Division enforcement officers to issue citations, a bill Turnbull said he would have approved, but for the amendment.
Another was a measure providing for tuition to be waived at the University of the Virgin Islands for V.I. National Guard members. "It's unfair to UVI and to the government, when the funds aren't there," he said.
He also vetoed a tax-collection incentive program for IRB officers, saying the attorney general had determined that it was in violation of federal law.
Turnbull concurred with the following legislative resolutions:
– To express the Legislature's opposition to the federal government's expansion of Buck Island National Monument and establishment of the Coral Reef National Monument.
– To revise income qualifications for the V.I. Head Start program.
– To confer the V.I. Medal of Honor posthumously on Earle B. Ottley.
– To commend Virgin Islanders United Inc.
AUDIT FAULTS PAYMENTS FOR ACCRUED LEAVE
May 2, 2001 – V.I. Inspector General Steven van Beverhoudt has concluded that the government overpaid five retired judges by $485,801 and seven former legislative employees by $242,502, by giving them lump-sum payments for accrued leave to which they were not entitled.
In an audit released Tuesday, van Beverhoudt says that a $414,209 lump-sum amount for retired Territorial Court Presiding Judge Verne Hodge was overstated by $376,770. Hodge has actually been paid $165,684 of the amount and contends he is entitled to the rest.
Controversy over Hodge's lump-sum pay at retirement in November 1999 sparked the request for the audit. In January 2000, then-Sen. Anne Golden asked the inspector general to look at Hodge's case specifically and at the government's annual leave and sick leave policy in general.
Van Beverhoudt relies on his own readings of the law as well as opinions rendered by attorney Paul L. Gimenez, chief counsel to Gov. Charles W. Turnbull, and attorneys Sandra Adams, assistant legal counsel, and Constance Krieger, chief counsel for the Legislature.
In the audit report, the inspector general disagrees with Attorney General Iver Stridiron, who concluded Hodge was entitled to the full $414,209. And he warns that Stridiron's opinion "opens the door" to government employees who retired without receiving lump-sum benefits to file claims for payment.
In a scathing response to a draft of the audit findings provided to Hodge, his attorney, Maria Tankenson Hodge, accuses van Beverhoudt of overstepping his authority and threatens administrative or legal action if he does not change his findings. This response is included in van Beverhoudt's final report.
Van Beverhoudt states that while Hodge and five other former judges had a pension plan different from any others (by virtue of a law passed Dec. 12, 1976, and repealed Jan. 28, 1977), their annual and sick leave payments were the same as other government employees.
Under the strictest interpretation, that means all sick leave is forfeited if not used during employment, and that an employee leaving the government may receive a payout equal to his or her salary for no more than 60 days' accrued annual leave; anything over that may go toward augmenting the time of service to qualify for retirement benefits.
The Territorial Court judges affected were those seated at the time of the short-lived law: Eileen Petersen, Antoine Joseph, Henry Feuerzeig, Raymond Finch, Irwin Silverlight and Hodge.
All but Joseph received overpayments, according to the inspector general. Besides Hodge's, the individual excess amounts cited in the audit report are $22,358, $44,134, $155,959 and $135,105. The report does not match the amounts with the judges who received them.
Hodge's combined lump sum is nearly three times as high as the next largest. That is in part due to his longer years of government service — not only on the bench but also in the legislative and executive branches. Another factor is that he left his sick leave and annual leave to accumulate. From 1973 to 1999, he used no sick days and only 277 hours (less than three weeks) of annual leave. Last year, in an interview, Hodge said he took days off as compensatory time for overtime he put in.
All of the other judges cited left the bench before Hodge.
"It can be argued that the retired chief judge should be treated equally when compared to the other judges who did receive lump-sum payments," the audit states. "However, our review of the lump-sum records maintained by the Department of Finance showed that only four of the other five retired judges were paid lump-sum amounts for the forfeited (unused) annual leave and sick leave. In addition, based on correspondence relating to the payments for these judges, the retired chief judge was a driving force behind this interpretation of the lump-sum issue, and stood to benefit from its application. Because the former commissioners of Finance did not question the chief judge's interpretation does not make it correct."
Van Beverhoudt stops short of recommending that Finance withhold payment from Hodge, indicating that that is not his role to play. However, he states that it would be "most unfortunate" if the government were to pay the full amount.
Given the split legal opinions on the issue, van Beverhoudt says, a court should decide. Hodge might take the issue to court if Finance Commissioner Bernice Turnbull (who first raised a red flag about the issue) does not pay the rest of the lump sum, or if Stridiron changes his opinion. The matter also could end up in court if any citizen wants to try to prevent the government from paying the money.
Stridiron wrote that Hodge is entitled to the full lump-sum payment because the special retirement law governing the six judges replaced only part of the provisions governing government employees in general — the amount of annuity. And, he said, "there is a strong equitable argument" for Hodge's entitlement since other judges received payments. "To treat Judge Hodge differently would be unfair, especially in light of his exemplary service to the people of the Virgin Islands," the attorney general said. "Judge Hodge has relied on receiving such payments in plans for repayment of debt to the government and in planning his retirement."
In her response to the audit on behalf of the judge, attorney Tankenson Hodge also spoke of his dedication, saying, "Judge Hodge worked no less than 12 hours per day and eight hours on weekends." He built up 40,000 hours in compensatory time which was valued at more than $2 million, she said.
She contends that it is illegal for van Beverhoudt to refuse to accept Stridiron's opinion, arguing that "Various provisions of law dealing with the duties of the attorney eneral, the oath and duty of the inspector general, and the unlawful exercise of office have been violated." She does not delineate the provisions. But, she says, "unless corrected in the final draft, such violations must be challenged administratively or judicially."
Concerning his findings of lump-sum overpayments to at least seven legislative employees, van Beverhoudt said the problem stems from the Legislature's practice of paying employees leaving that branch of government for all the annual leave they didn't use. Instead, he said, such employees are entitled to compensation for no more than 60 hours of accumulated leave.
The report says the seven employees received overpayments ranging from $12,725 to $66,679.
The audit report also compares existing retirement plans in the three branches and in the federal government, and finds them similar. Van Beverhoudt does not suggest a change in the local system; in face, he suggests a change might violate existing bargaining agreements and be an infringement on the employees' vested rights.
In an audit released Tuesday, van Beverhoudt says that a $414,209 lump-sum amount for retired Territorial Court Presiding Judge Verne Hodge was overstated by $376,770. Hodge has actually been paid $165,684 of the amount and contends he is entitled to the rest.
Controversy over Hodge's lump-sum pay at retirement in November 1999 sparked the request for the audit. In January 2000, then-Sen. Anne Golden asked the inspector general to look at Hodge's case specifically and at the government's annual leave and sick leave policy in general.
Van Beverhoudt relies on his own readings of the law as well as opinions rendered by attorney Paul L. Gimenez, chief counsel to Gov. Charles W. Turnbull, and attorneys Sandra Adams, assistant legal counsel, and Constance Krieger, chief counsel for the Legislature.
In the audit report, the inspector general disagrees with Attorney General Iver Stridiron, who concluded Hodge was entitled to the full $414,209. And he warns that Stridiron's opinion "opens the door" to government employees who retired without receiving lump-sum benefits to file claims for payment.
In a scathing response to a draft of the audit findings provided to Hodge, his attorney, Maria Tankenson Hodge, accuses van Beverhoudt of overstepping his authority and threatens administrative or legal action if he does not change his findings. This response is included in van Beverhoudt's final report.
Van Beverhoudt states that while Hodge and five other former judges had a pension plan different from any others (by virtue of a law passed Dec. 12, 1976, and repealed Jan. 28, 1977), their annual and sick leave payments were the same as other government employees.
Under the strictest interpretation, that means all sick leave is forfeited if not used during employment, and that an employee leaving the government may receive a payout equal to his or her salary for no more than 60 days' accrued annual leave; anything over that may go toward augmenting the time of service to qualify for retirement benefits.
The Territorial Court judges affected were those seated at the time of the short-lived law: Eileen Petersen, Antoine Joseph, Henry Feuerzeig, Raymond Finch, Irwin Silverlight and Hodge.
All but Joseph received overpayments, according to the inspector general. Besides Hodge's, the individual excess amounts cited in the audit report are $22,358, $44,134, $155,959 and $135,105. The report does not match the amounts with the judges who received them.
Hodge's combined lump sum is nearly three times as high as the next largest. That is in part due to his longer years of government service — not only on the bench but also in the legislative and executive branches. Another factor is that he left his sick leave and annual leave to accumulate. From 1973 to 1999, he used no sick days and only 277 hours (less than three weeks) of annual leave. Last year, in an interview, Hodge said he took days off as compensatory time for overtime he put in.
All of the other judges cited left the bench before Hodge.
"It can be argued that the retired chief judge should be treated equally when compared to the other judges who did receive lump-sum payments," the audit states. "However, our review of the lump-sum records maintained by the Department of Finance showed that only four of the other five retired judges were paid lump-sum amounts for the forfeited (unused) annual leave and sick leave. In addition, based on correspondence relating to the payments for these judges, the retired chief judge was a driving force behind this interpretation of the lump-sum issue, and stood to benefit from its application. Because the former commissioners of Finance did not question the chief judge's interpretation does not make it correct."
Van Beverhoudt stops short of recommending that Finance withhold payment from Hodge, indicating that that is not his role to play. However, he states that it would be "most unfortunate" if the government were to pay the full amount.
Given the split legal opinions on the issue, van Beverhoudt says, a court should decide. Hodge might take the issue to court if Finance Commissioner Bernice Turnbull (who first raised a red flag about the issue) does not pay the rest of the lump sum, or if Stridiron changes his opinion. The matter also could end up in court if any citizen wants to try to prevent the government from paying the money.
Stridiron wrote that Hodge is entitled to the full lump-sum payment because the special retirement law governing the six judges replaced only part of the provisions governing government employees in general — the amount of annuity. And, he said, "there is a strong equitable argument" for Hodge's entitlement since other judges received payments. "To treat Judge Hodge differently would be unfair, especially in light of his exemplary service to the people of the Virgin Islands," the attorney general said. "Judge Hodge has relied on receiving such payments in plans for repayment of debt to the government and in planning his retirement."
In her response to the audit on behalf of the judge, attorney Tankenson Hodge also spoke of his dedication, saying, "Judge Hodge worked no less than 12 hours per day and eight hours on weekends." He built up 40,000 hours in compensatory time which was valued at more than $2 million, she said.
She contends that it is illegal for van Beverhoudt to refuse to accept Stridiron's opinion, arguing that "Various provisions of law dealing with the duties of the attorney eneral, the oath and duty of the inspector general, and the unlawful exercise of office have been violated." She does not delineate the provisions. But, she says, "unless corrected in the final draft, such violations must be challenged administratively or judicially."
Concerning his findings of lump-sum overpayments to at least seven legislative employees, van Beverhoudt said the problem stems from the Legislature's practice of paying employees leaving that branch of government for all the annual leave they didn't use. Instead, he said, such employees are entitled to compensation for no more than 60 hours of accumulated leave.
The report says the seven employees received overpayments ranging from $12,725 to $66,679.
The audit report also compares existing retirement plans in the three branches and in the federal government, and finds them similar. Van Beverhoudt does not suggest a change in the local system; in face, he suggests a change might violate existing bargaining agreements and be an infringement on the employees' vested rights.
'GATEWAY COMMUNITY' PLANNING PANEL NAMED
May 2, 2001 — St. John has officially gotten the go-ahead to begin planning for the improvement of downtown Cruz Bay as what the National Park Service calls a "Gateway Community" — a town which is host to large numbers of visitors passing through en route to visit a nearby park.
On Wednesday, V.I. National Park Supt. John King and St. John Administrator Julien Harley announced the establishment of a nine-member Gateway Planning Council that will lead community-based efforts to cope with issues related to Cruz Bay's strategic location.
As a joint National Park Service and community initiative, such councils have been established in small population centers near park sites across the country to address such concerns as rapid growth and infrastructure demands stemming from their proximity to a national park.
Last year, as a requisite for the establishment of such a council, a series of information-sharing meetings for representatives of community organizations and the general public took place on St. John. National Park Service personnel outlined the requirements for a council to be established and to receive support in the form of expertise and, possibly, federal funding.
St. John's Gateway Planning Council has these mandates:
– To identify two or three "small but highly visible" short-term beautification or improvement projects to be undertaken.
– To decide on a single "defining community planning issue" to be the focus of long-term planning.
– To develop a "vision and action plan."
– To provide for broad-based, ongoing input from the community, including youth.
– To seek funding for planning efforts from private donors, foundations, the V.I. government, the National Park Service Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program, and other sources.
– To undertake tasks jointly assigned by the park superintendent and the island administrator.
The council members are King and Harley (or their designated representatives); representatives of the Port Authority (Darlin Brin), Public Works (Ira Wade), St. John Community Foundation/Gateway Committee (Mary Blazine and Raphael Wesselhoft), Good for St. John Committee (Ed Bermingham) and St. John Rotary (Myron Allick); and at-large representative Chris Angel. The council is being chaired by Harley and staffed jointly by the V.I. National Park Superintendent's Office and the St. John Administrator's Office.
A memorandum of intent sets forth the council's purpose as being to advise and assist the St. John administrator and the V.I. National Park superintendent "in planning for the improvement of the Cruz Bay area as a gateway community to the Virgin Islands National Park." While planning will focus initially on the downtown area, it states, "additional areas could be considered based upon consensus of the council."
The council's key functions are planning, sharing information and coordinating activities by community groups. The panel "will be involved in anything and everything affecting the future and improvement of downtown Cruz Bay — beautification projects, transportation planning, infrastructure improvements, commercial development, public services and visitor services and facilities," Harley said in a release.
The council held its first meeting on April 19. According to the release, Gov. Charles W. Turnbull was present and expressed his support for its work, stating that it could serve as a model for local advisory groups to lead community-based planning and beautification efforts on St. Thomas and St. Croix.
King noted in the release that the council is not intended to replace or undercut the efforts of existing community civic groups. "To the contrary," he said, "the council will build upon the energy and efforts of these groups and, by having representatives from each group as members, be able to coordinate their independent efforts and create a stronger political force for responding to increasing growth pressures in Cruz Bay."
On Wednesday, V.I. National Park Supt. John King and St. John Administrator Julien Harley announced the establishment of a nine-member Gateway Planning Council that will lead community-based efforts to cope with issues related to Cruz Bay's strategic location.
As a joint National Park Service and community initiative, such councils have been established in small population centers near park sites across the country to address such concerns as rapid growth and infrastructure demands stemming from their proximity to a national park.
Last year, as a requisite for the establishment of such a council, a series of information-sharing meetings for representatives of community organizations and the general public took place on St. John. National Park Service personnel outlined the requirements for a council to be established and to receive support in the form of expertise and, possibly, federal funding.
St. John's Gateway Planning Council has these mandates:
– To identify two or three "small but highly visible" short-term beautification or improvement projects to be undertaken.
– To decide on a single "defining community planning issue" to be the focus of long-term planning.
– To develop a "vision and action plan."
– To provide for broad-based, ongoing input from the community, including youth.
– To seek funding for planning efforts from private donors, foundations, the V.I. government, the National Park Service Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program, and other sources.
– To undertake tasks jointly assigned by the park superintendent and the island administrator.
The council members are King and Harley (or their designated representatives); representatives of the Port Authority (Darlin Brin), Public Works (Ira Wade), St. John Community Foundation/Gateway Committee (Mary Blazine and Raphael Wesselhoft), Good for St. John Committee (Ed Bermingham) and St. John Rotary (Myron Allick); and at-large representative Chris Angel. The council is being chaired by Harley and staffed jointly by the V.I. National Park Superintendent's Office and the St. John Administrator's Office.
A memorandum of intent sets forth the council's purpose as being to advise and assist the St. John administrator and the V.I. National Park superintendent "in planning for the improvement of the Cruz Bay area as a gateway community to the Virgin Islands National Park." While planning will focus initially on the downtown area, it states, "additional areas could be considered based upon consensus of the council."
The council's key functions are planning, sharing information and coordinating activities by community groups. The panel "will be involved in anything and everything affecting the future and improvement of downtown Cruz Bay — beautification projects, transportation planning, infrastructure improvements, commercial development, public services and visitor services and facilities," Harley said in a release.
The council held its first meeting on April 19. According to the release, Gov. Charles W. Turnbull was present and expressed his support for its work, stating that it could serve as a model for local advisory groups to lead community-based planning and beautification efforts on St. Thomas and St. Croix.
King noted in the release that the council is not intended to replace or undercut the efforts of existing community civic groups. "To the contrary," he said, "the council will build upon the energy and efforts of these groups and, by having representatives from each group as members, be able to coordinate their independent efforts and create a stronger political force for responding to increasing growth pressures in Cruz Bay."
DONOVAN TAPPED TO HEAD NEW RITZ-CARLTON
May 2, 2001 – After executive assignments in Ritz-Carlton hotels from San Francisco to Atlanta, from Boston to Houston, Carter Donovan thought she had found a true home when she moved to St. Thomas two years ago as general manager of the property here. And she had.
However, that will soon change.
Donovan has been transferred to grander, if not greener, pastures in Sarasota, Fla., where she will become the general manager of an 18-story, $130 million Ritz-Carlton scheduled to open in November.
While she sees the move as a smart one professionally, "emotionally it's been the most difficult thing I've ever had to do in my career," she says. Telling her staff of 360 a few days ago that she would be leaving was "painful — it made me cry. These people are very special. They're the greatest family in the world."
She recalls, "I was so taken with how open everybody was, when I first got here. They taught me how to be a general manager. If I was right, they'd tell me — and if I was wrong, they'd let me know."
The Ritz-Carlton St. Thomas assignment was her first as a hotel general manager. Taking it on, "I was very nervous, terrified," Donovan says. "My boss in the states told me he thought I would be perfect for the job, but I'd never been a GM before, and I didn't know how well I would do."
Many who have interacted with her would say she has done well. She is very community minded, for one thing. "For some people, coming to an island is not necessarily an easy thing," she says, "but I have fallen in love with the culture, with the way of life."
The Ritz-Carlton policy is for its hotels to be a part of the community. "I had a challenge when I arrived," Donovan recalls, "because the previous hotel, the Grand Palazzo, had had problems, and there was a stigma from those days. The community wasn't involved in that hotel."
Preparing to open on the island, the Ritz-Carlton ran advertisements seeking "ladies and gentlemen to serve ladies and gentlemen." That is an approach Donovan has consciously upheld throughout her tenure. "It's about respect for the people you serve, and for yourself," she says.
'Public trust' as a tourism issue
Candid in assessing what she sees as the strong and weak aspects of the Virgin Island tourism product today, she suggests, "Let's do pluses first."
"The strongest point is the magnificent surroundings — the views, the proximity of other islands, the water." Others: "the friendly, loving people. And St. Thomas is a little like San Francisco, very cosmopolitan in restaurants, shopping and the cultural diversity."
As for the minuses, "The weakest part of tourism is not having a tourism authority with public- and private-sector members. The lack of trust from the public sector for the private sector handicaps us." The government, she says, "shouldn't be afraid of the private sector."
"We need a visionary" in charge of overseeing tourism, she continues, "someone who thinks tourism with every fibre of their body."
She adds, "I understand what Pam Richards (the governor's fourth nominee for Tourism commissioner, who has been confirmed by the Senate but has not yet taken the oath of office) wants to do, but I don't think she has put out a vision. We have a pot of gold sitting here."
Donovan came to her career as an upper-echelon hotel executive the old-fashioned way: by working her way up from an entry-level job. After graduating from San Francisco State College with a business major in the early 70s, she couldn't decide what to do. She wound up working as a waitress at Atlanta's Peachtree Plaza hotel — and discovered that she loved it. "I really fed off the people I was serving," she remembers. "I was delighted when I realized I could make people smile."
That talent was apparently noticed, as her boss promoted her to concierge. "I didn't know what concierge meant — I had to look it up in the dictionary," she recalls with a laugh.
In her 17 years with the Ritz-Carlton organization, the green-eyed blonde has done just about everything in the way of people-contact jobs: front-desk clerking, housekeeping, catering, stewarding, carrying luggage, even parking cars. And that's to her advantage as the person in charge, she says: "You have to understand the jobs people do so you are able to motivate them, inspire in them self pride in their job."
What's up in Sarasota — and still to come
The property Donovan will soon manage makes the St. Thomas resort look like, well, a small-island set-up. Scheduled to open Nov. 16, the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota occupies a prominent site on the Florida west coast city's waterfront. At 261 feet, it is the tallest among the city's relatively few tall buildings. Projected initially to cost $75 million, it's now expected to come in at $55 million more.
In a departure for the luxury hotel chain, it will consist of a five-star hotel with extensive conference facilities, including a 12,000-square-foot ballroom on the bottom half and luxury condominiums on the top nine floors. The larger two of the four penthouse condos were valued at $4.3 million — each — when they were marketed in November of 1999.
The hotel portion will house 269 rooms and suites, including a 2,000-square-foot Presidential Suite. Fifty condo units were planned, but there will be 48 because two buyers each bought two so as to create larger layouts. All of the units were spoken for the same week they went on the market last year.
Next door, The Tower Residences at the Ritz-Carlton is to go up in the next two years. That 17-story complex will house 80 condo units, valued for the moment at $850,000 to $4.5 million. Meantime, across Sarasota Bay on Lido Key, the Ritz-Carlton is developing a beach club with 76 condos in a 10-story structure and beach amenities for guests and residents from all three properties. A golf course is planned, and there's talk of a water taxi to avoid the frequent traffic tie-ups on the drawbridge across the bay.
A 'new landmark' where an old one stood
The downtown hotel that Donovan will manage, now about 75 percent complete, has had the boosterism-minded city fathers and mothers agog for several years — and historic preservationists, too, albeit for different reasons. The hotel has been touted as the city's "new landmark" — an ironic reference to those still mourning the old landmarks torn down to make way for its construction, the John Ringling Towers hotel and a residence next door.
Debate raged in 1997 and 1998 between camps wanting to tear the old hotel down to make way for progress and wanting to restore it as a historic treasure.
Dating from 1926 ("historic" by Florida standards) and originally called Hotel El Verona, the structure, even abandoned and boarded up, was regarded as an important example of the Spanish/Mediterranean architecture for which Sarasota would become known. Preservations argued that there were spiritual and cultural reasons that it should be saved.
Those who favored razing noted that, ironically, it had been John Ringling's dream to have a Ritz-Carlton in Sarasota. Indeed, Ringling, the best-known scion of the circus family that put Sarasota on the map in the first half of the 20th century, started to build one himself across the bay in 1926. However, failing to get financial support, he abandoned the project and instead purchased El Verona.
Following protracted court wrangling, the John Ringling Center Foundation turned the eight-acre hotel property over to Core Development of Kansas under still-debated terms. The next year, Core signed an operating agreement with the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co., and the city declared Ringling Towers a public nuisance, paving the way for its demolition in June o f 1998. Ground was broken for the Ritz-Carlton 15 months ago.
The lead developer for the new hotel, Kevin Daves, told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune newspaper recently that the hotel with its planned convention facilities has "already had an effect on condominium prices [elsewhere] downtown, and some corporations may consider relocating here."
Moving there from St. Thomas, Donovan may find it reassuring that the structure is being built to Federal Emergency Management Agency standards, with windows capable of withstanding winds up to 140 miles an hour.
Construction smarts could come in handy
Donovan notes that the timeshare construction at the St. Thomas hotel has been an education, helping her develop skills she will put to use in her new Sarasota post, where work is still under way. "I had a great opportunity" in this regard, she says. "From the first day I stepped on the island, I began learning about construction and permitting processes." She also had the pleasure of attending several contentious sessions at the Legislature on zoning for the Ritz-Carlton expansion.
Pondering her impending departure later this month, Donovan says, "My husband, Kevin, and I both have aging parents in the states, so we'll be closer to them. But we have made lifelong friends here that we don't want to lose. We'll come back at least once a year."
She says her husband, who has been working for Albert Paiewonsky at Premier Liquors, supports her decision, with similar misgivings about leaving St. Thomas. "Kevin thinks he's a lucky guy to have been working for Albert," she says, calling Paiewonsky "the godfather of the hotel business on the island."
Jamie Holmes, current hotel manager at the St. Thomas property, will assume Donovan's post as general manager, and Donovan couldn't be more pleased. "We were elated when we got Jamie about two years ago," she says. "He's fabulous. When we hired him, we knew one day he would be general manager. Our company is about development, and we hire from within."
However, that will soon change.
Donovan has been transferred to grander, if not greener, pastures in Sarasota, Fla., where she will become the general manager of an 18-story, $130 million Ritz-Carlton scheduled to open in November.
While she sees the move as a smart one professionally, "emotionally it's been the most difficult thing I've ever had to do in my career," she says. Telling her staff of 360 a few days ago that she would be leaving was "painful — it made me cry. These people are very special. They're the greatest family in the world."
She recalls, "I was so taken with how open everybody was, when I first got here. They taught me how to be a general manager. If I was right, they'd tell me — and if I was wrong, they'd let me know."
The Ritz-Carlton St. Thomas assignment was her first as a hotel general manager. Taking it on, "I was very nervous, terrified," Donovan says. "My boss in the states told me he thought I would be perfect for the job, but I'd never been a GM before, and I didn't know how well I would do."
Many who have interacted with her would say she has done well. She is very community minded, for one thing. "For some people, coming to an island is not necessarily an easy thing," she says, "but I have fallen in love with the culture, with the way of life."
The Ritz-Carlton policy is for its hotels to be a part of the community. "I had a challenge when I arrived," Donovan recalls, "because the previous hotel, the Grand Palazzo, had had problems, and there was a stigma from those days. The community wasn't involved in that hotel."
Preparing to open on the island, the Ritz-Carlton ran advertisements seeking "ladies and gentlemen to serve ladies and gentlemen." That is an approach Donovan has consciously upheld throughout her tenure. "It's about respect for the people you serve, and for yourself," she says.
'Public trust' as a tourism issue
Candid in assessing what she sees as the strong and weak aspects of the Virgin Island tourism product today, she suggests, "Let's do pluses first."
"The strongest point is the magnificent surroundings — the views, the proximity of other islands, the water." Others: "the friendly, loving people. And St. Thomas is a little like San Francisco, very cosmopolitan in restaurants, shopping and the cultural diversity."
As for the minuses, "The weakest part of tourism is not having a tourism authority with public- and private-sector members. The lack of trust from the public sector for the private sector handicaps us." The government, she says, "shouldn't be afraid of the private sector."
"We need a visionary" in charge of overseeing tourism, she continues, "someone who thinks tourism with every fibre of their body."
She adds, "I understand what Pam Richards (the governor's fourth nominee for Tourism commissioner, who has been confirmed by the Senate but has not yet taken the oath of office) wants to do, but I don't think she has put out a vision. We have a pot of gold sitting here."
Donovan came to her career as an upper-echelon hotel executive the old-fashioned way: by working her way up from an entry-level job. After graduating from San Francisco State College with a business major in the early 70s, she couldn't decide what to do. She wound up working as a waitress at Atlanta's Peachtree Plaza hotel — and discovered that she loved it. "I really fed off the people I was serving," she remembers. "I was delighted when I realized I could make people smile."
That talent was apparently noticed, as her boss promoted her to concierge. "I didn't know what concierge meant — I had to look it up in the dictionary," she recalls with a laugh.
In her 17 years with the Ritz-Carlton organization, the green-eyed blonde has done just about everything in the way of people-contact jobs: front-desk clerking, housekeeping, catering, stewarding, carrying luggage, even parking cars. And that's to her advantage as the person in charge, she says: "You have to understand the jobs people do so you are able to motivate them, inspire in them self pride in their job."
What's up in Sarasota — and still to come
The property Donovan will soon manage makes the St. Thomas resort look like, well, a small-island set-up. Scheduled to open Nov. 16, the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota occupies a prominent site on the Florida west coast city's waterfront. At 261 feet, it is the tallest among the city's relatively few tall buildings. Projected initially to cost $75 million, it's now expected to come in at $55 million more.
In a departure for the luxury hotel chain, it will consist of a five-star hotel with extensive conference facilities, including a 12,000-square-foot ballroom on the bottom half and luxury condominiums on the top nine floors. The larger two of the four penthouse condos were valued at $4.3 million — each — when they were marketed in November of 1999.
The hotel portion will house 269 rooms and suites, including a 2,000-square-foot Presidential Suite. Fifty condo units were planned, but there will be 48 because two buyers each bought two so as to create larger layouts. All of the units were spoken for the same week they went on the market last year.
Next door, The Tower Residences at the Ritz-Carlton is to go up in the next two years. That 17-story complex will house 80 condo units, valued for the moment at $850,000 to $4.5 million. Meantime, across Sarasota Bay on Lido Key, the Ritz-Carlton is developing a beach club with 76 condos in a 10-story structure and beach amenities for guests and residents from all three properties. A golf course is planned, and there's talk of a water taxi to avoid the frequent traffic tie-ups on the drawbridge across the bay.
A 'new landmark' where an old one stood
The downtown hotel that Donovan will manage, now about 75 percent complete, has had the boosterism-minded city fathers and mothers agog for several years — and historic preservationists, too, albeit for different reasons. The hotel has been touted as the city's "new landmark" — an ironic reference to those still mourning the old landmarks torn down to make way for its construction, the John Ringling Towers hotel and a residence next door.
Debate raged in 1997 and 1998 between camps wanting to tear the old hotel down to make way for progress and wanting to restore it as a historic treasure.
Dating from 1926 ("historic" by Florida standards) and originally called Hotel El Verona, the structure, even abandoned and boarded up, was regarded as an important example of the Spanish/Mediterranean architecture for which Sarasota would become known. Preservations argued that there were spiritual and cultural reasons that it should be saved.
Those who favored razing noted that, ironically, it had been John Ringling's dream to have a Ritz-Carlton in Sarasota. Indeed, Ringling, the best-known scion of the circus family that put Sarasota on the map in the first half of the 20th century, started to build one himself across the bay in 1926. However, failing to get financial support, he abandoned the project and instead purchased El Verona.
Following protracted court wrangling, the John Ringling Center Foundation turned the eight-acre hotel property over to Core Development of Kansas under still-debated terms. The next year, Core signed an operating agreement with the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co., and the city declared Ringling Towers a public nuisance, paving the way for its demolition in June o f 1998. Ground was broken for the Ritz-Carlton 15 months ago.
The lead developer for the new hotel, Kevin Daves, told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune newspaper recently that the hotel with its planned convention facilities has "already had an effect on condominium prices [elsewhere] downtown, and some corporations may consider relocating here."
Moving there from St. Thomas, Donovan may find it reassuring that the structure is being built to Federal Emergency Management Agency standards, with windows capable of withstanding winds up to 140 miles an hour.
Construction smarts could come in handy
Donovan notes that the timeshare construction at the St. Thomas hotel has been an education, helping her develop skills she will put to use in her new Sarasota post, where work is still under way. "I had a great opportunity" in this regard, she says. "From the first day I stepped on the island, I began learning about construction and permitting processes." She also had the pleasure of attending several contentious sessions at the Legislature on zoning for the Ritz-Carlton expansion.
Pondering her impending departure later this month, Donovan says, "My husband, Kevin, and I both have aging parents in the states, so we'll be closer to them. But we have made lifelong friends here that we don't want to lose. We'll come back at least once a year."
She says her husband, who has been working for Albert Paiewonsky at Premier Liquors, supports her decision, with similar misgivings about leaving St. Thomas. "Kevin thinks he's a lucky guy to have been working for Albert," she says, calling Paiewonsky "the godfather of the hotel business on the island."
Jamie Holmes, current hotel manager at the St. Thomas property, will assume Donovan's post as general manager, and Donovan couldn't be more pleased. "We were elated when we got Jamie about two years ago," she says. "He's fabulous. When we hired him, we knew one day he would be general manager. Our company is about development, and we hire from within."
POLICE HAVE IDENTIFIED HOMICIDE VICTIM
Police have identified the man found shot to death in a truck on Commandant Gade early Monday morning as Craig Bess.
Bess, who was 30 years old according to a release from the Police Department, lived on Commandant Gade, also known as Garden Street.
Bess, initially identified by police only as a black male, was found in the back of what was reported at the scene to be his mother's truck, parked a block south of All Saints Cathedral School.
Police have appealed to anyone with information to call Major Crime Unit detectives at 774-4050 or 774-2211, the confidential crime line at 777-8711 or emergency number 911.
Bess, who was 30 years old according to a release from the Police Department, lived on Commandant Gade, also known as Garden Street.
Bess, initially identified by police only as a black male, was found in the back of what was reported at the scene to be his mother's truck, parked a block south of All Saints Cathedral School.
Police have appealed to anyone with information to call Major Crime Unit detectives at 774-4050 or 774-2211, the confidential crime line at 777-8711 or emergency number 911.
JUNE 1 IS DEADLINE TO SEEK DANIEL SCHOLARSHIP
April 30, 2001 – The St. John Community Foundation is now accepting applications for the 2001 Harry Daniel Scholarship. This is a one-time award in the amount of $1,000 to assist with tuition for a freshman entering college for the first time. The award is available to St. John residents only.
To request an application or obtain further information, call Community Foundation executive director Mary Blazine at 693-9410. The deadline for submitting applications is June 1.
To request an application or obtain further information, call Community Foundation executive director Mary Blazine at 693-9410. The deadline for submitting applications is June 1.
CLEAN & PREEN STUDENTS COLLECT EPA AWARD
May 2, 2001 — Tires, refrigerators, oil containers, batteries and 630 bags of garbage got two Virgin Islands students a trip to New York recently to accept the President's Environmental Youth Award on behalf of the Clean & Preen Summer Program's Benner Bay project.
Kori Vialet, a junior at Ivanna Eudora Kean High School, and Jacynthe Lettsome, a sophomore at Charlotte Amalie High, accepted the award from Region 2 of the Environmental Protection Agency. A total of 56 students participated in the project last summer, sponsored by the Anti-Litter and Beautification Commission, St. Thomas-St. John district.
The award, which recognizes young people who become environmental leaders within their communiy, was presented by Christine Todd Whitman, EPA administrator, and William Muszynski, acting regional administrator. Lettsome thanked Whitman for "recognizing our concern for the environment and our hard work to protect it." She presented Whitman with one of the summer program's trademark green T-shirts.
ALBC district director Geraldine Smith, project field coordinator Lueben Davis and student supervisor Rosemarie Dorsett accompanied the two teens to the ceremony at the EPA regional headquarters in New York.
The students spent six weeks cleaning the Benner Bay area on St. Thomas last summer. They carried, dragged and pushed debris to the roadside, where it was trucked to the landfill. The result was an environmentally improved area hospitable to the growth of mangroves and seagrass beds, both critical to marine life and wildlife.
The project was developed by the commission and funded in part by a grant from the Planning and Natural Resources Department. Each year EPA Region 2, encompassing New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, selects up to three Environmental Youth Award winners. Three projects from New York received honorable mention this year.
Kori Vialet, a junior at Ivanna Eudora Kean High School, and Jacynthe Lettsome, a sophomore at Charlotte Amalie High, accepted the award from Region 2 of the Environmental Protection Agency. A total of 56 students participated in the project last summer, sponsored by the Anti-Litter and Beautification Commission, St. Thomas-St. John district.
The award, which recognizes young people who become environmental leaders within their communiy, was presented by Christine Todd Whitman, EPA administrator, and William Muszynski, acting regional administrator. Lettsome thanked Whitman for "recognizing our concern for the environment and our hard work to protect it." She presented Whitman with one of the summer program's trademark green T-shirts.
ALBC district director Geraldine Smith, project field coordinator Lueben Davis and student supervisor Rosemarie Dorsett accompanied the two teens to the ceremony at the EPA regional headquarters in New York.
The students spent six weeks cleaning the Benner Bay area on St. Thomas last summer. They carried, dragged and pushed debris to the roadside, where it was trucked to the landfill. The result was an environmentally improved area hospitable to the growth of mangroves and seagrass beds, both critical to marine life and wildlife.
The project was developed by the commission and funded in part by a grant from the Planning and Natural Resources Department. Each year EPA Region 2, encompassing New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, selects up to three Environmental Youth Award winners. Three projects from New York received honorable mention this year.
SENATOR'S EVENT RAISES $8K FOR CENTRAL HIGH
May 2, 2001 – Some of the singers who took part in the karaoke fund-raiser for Central High School in March may have been out of tune, but their collective efforts hit a high note by raising $8,000.
The March 31 shindig at the Wreck Bar in Christiansted saw more than 300 people, including Lt. Gov. Gerard Luz James II, senators, other government officials and teachers, gather to raise money for Central High’s English Department. The effort fell short of the goal to collect $10,000 for a new copy machine and instructional materials, but the event organizer, Sen. Emmett Hansen II, said that was because "unfortunately, the event was cut short."
Hansen was referring to an unrelated incident involving a gun outside the bar.
Despite that glitch, the senator, a Central High graduate, said the success of the event demonstrated that the community can band together in times of need.
"It shows that, once you put your mind to it, you can get this community together," he said. "I feel really good."
Central High Principal Kent Moorhead said that money raised will be used for both the copy machine and for developing advanced placement and remedial programs. "All of Central High will benefit from this contribution," he said.
Hansen was non-committal about whether he is planning any other fund-raisers anytime soon. "I can’t spend all my time putting on benefits," he said. "Perhaps we’ll do it again this summer."
The March 31 shindig at the Wreck Bar in Christiansted saw more than 300 people, including Lt. Gov. Gerard Luz James II, senators, other government officials and teachers, gather to raise money for Central High’s English Department. The effort fell short of the goal to collect $10,000 for a new copy machine and instructional materials, but the event organizer, Sen. Emmett Hansen II, said that was because "unfortunately, the event was cut short."
Hansen was referring to an unrelated incident involving a gun outside the bar.
Despite that glitch, the senator, a Central High graduate, said the success of the event demonstrated that the community can band together in times of need.
"It shows that, once you put your mind to it, you can get this community together," he said. "I feel really good."
Central High Principal Kent Moorhead said that money raised will be used for both the copy machine and for developing advanced placement and remedial programs. "All of Central High will benefit from this contribution," he said.
Hansen was non-committal about whether he is planning any other fund-raisers anytime soon. "I can’t spend all my time putting on benefits," he said. "Perhaps we’ll do it again this summer."
