As St. Croix’s veterans were saluted for their service and sacrifice on Memorial Day, an issue left mostly unaddressed was about the service old soldiers are now receiving from their government.
Many of the 5,000 aging veterans on St. Croix are grappling with a variety of ailments, said Gregory Francis, director of the V.I. Veterans Affairs Office, so the single most important issue is health care. Currently, however, veterans must submit to a "means test" to determine the co-payment amount that will be paid for by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
But the test takes into account income of a veteran’s entire family, which means a vet often has to foot a larger portion of the cost of care. And, Francis said, transportation costs are also subject to the test, meaning most vets in the territory have to pay their own way to receive medical treatment at nearest full-service VA hospital, on Puerto Rico.
"If your income exceeds the amount, you have to pay transportation costs," said Francis, a Vietnam war veteran. "Some of the veterans are reluctant to take the test because they look at it as refusing them service."
Francis said he has discussed with Delegate Donna Christian-Christensen and other representatives the idea of having the means test look only at a veteran’s income rather than that of his or her entire family. He said he isn’t sure when Congress will address the issue.
Another sensitive issue that has seen progress of late is the development a veterans cemetery on St. Croix. A four-acre area for veterans and their dependents in the Kingshill Cemetery is being requested and should be opened soon, Francis said.
Meanwhile, Gov. Charles W. Turnbull recently approved a bill that would allocate $350,000 to cover development costs for land donated to veterans on St. Croix by the De Chabert family some 25 years ago. The approximately 30 acres in Estate St. George will be subdivided using government funding and then sold to veterans at nominal cost, Francis said.
Despite the issues facing veterans today, the Memorial Day commemoration was to honor fallen soldiers. Lawrence Bastian, commander of the local district of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, said that many Virgin Islanders who served in the country’s armed forces volunteered – and paid the ultimate price.
"As a result, many of the people here in our community lost their lives," he said. "We don’t take this day lightly."

A sparse crowd of about 75 persons turned out Monday for Memorial Day ceremonies at Roosevelt Park on St. Thomas.
The one-hour program was the last of three observances held on St. Thomas. It was preceded by a service at Western Cemetery that saw retired Col. Cleave McBean place a wreath at a memorial at Western Cemetery.
A seaside memorial was held next at the Coast Guard dock where Gilbert Samuel, a retired officer in the U.S. Navy, tossed a wreath to honor those who died at the sea.
A procession then moved from the Coast Guard Dock to Roosevelt Park.
At the Roosevelt Park ceremony, attended by Gov. Charles Turnbull, members of the Cabinet and Sens. Roosevelt David and Lorraine Berry, St. Thomas-Water Island Administrator Louis Hill read from the Memorial Day proclamations signed by President Bill Clinton and Gov. Turnbull.
Clinton proclaimed this Memorial Day as a day of honor for minority veterans of World War II.
At each ceremony the V.I. National Guard honored the war dead with a traditional 21-gun salute
Turnbull, Ernie Shulterbrandt and the commander of the American Legion Post 90, which hosted the ceremonies, laid a wreath at the memorial that graces the side entrance of the park on Norre Gade.
Dr. Alfred O. Heath, a retired Virgin Islands brigadier general, delivered the keynote address. Turnbull also spoke at the ceremony.
Similar ceremonies were held simultaneously on St. Croix.

A year ago, St. Thomas was awash in Old School funkateers, upwards of 7,000 of them, arriving on charter flights, staying at the hotels, spending in the shops and filling Lionel Roberts Stadium — with a lot of help from the locals — for the three straight "main stage" nights of the 5th annual Sinbad's Soul Music Festival.
This Memorial Day weekend, there is no 6th fest, here or anywhere else. Short on sponsorship, Sinbad canceled it without ever saying whether he would have returned to St. Thomas.
However, not all is lost.
Tuesday is the day that Tom Joyner's ship comes in.
And that's on St. Thomas. Wednesday, it'll call at St. Croix.
The ship is the SS Norway, which normally visits St. Thomas on Wednesdays. But this week, the Tom Joyner Foundation has taken it over for the "first annual" Fantastic Voyage, also known as the Old School Cruise. The vessel sailed out of Miami on Saturday night for seven days of Caribbean cruising and will return Friday night.
The week-long itinerary has the Norway making land only three times. Sunday, it anchored for a few hours at Great Stirrup Cay, a private Bahamian island that is a regular stop for the ship. Other than that, the Virgin Islands has the Old School cruisers to itself in terms of off-the-ship options — and for longer than the average passenger.
Initial plans were for the Norway to anchor in the outer St. Thomas harbor at 1 p.m. Tuesday and depart at 1 a.m. Wednesday. Now, however, the ship is scheduled to arrive at 8 a.m. and still stay 'til the after-midnight hour. Then it will steam south to St. Croix where from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday it will anchor off Frederiksted. The vessel, which has a relatively deep draft, carries two tenders aboard that are used to shuttle passengers to shore and back.
The Norway can carry 2,558 passengers. It will be one of two cruise ships in port at both islands. The other, the Carnival Triumph, with a 3,000-passenger capacity, will tie up at the West Indian Co. dock on Tuesday and at the Ann Abramson Pier on Wednesday.
All of the regulars on Joyner's Dallas-based ABC radio show, carried on WWKS-FM (101.3), are scheduled to be aboard: J. Anthony Brown, Miss Dupree, Myra J, Sybil Wilkes and, of course, Joyner himself. Sinbad hinted when announcing the cancellation of this year's soul music fest that he just might come along for the ride, but this has not been confirmed.
From 8 a.m. Tuesday, passengers disembarking from the tenders on the St. Thomas waterfront will be treated to music by the Pandemonium Steel Pan Orchestra. They'll be invited to check out shopper attractions, including discount coupons, at a welcome tent. From then until the evening, the visitors will be pretty much on their own.
The main event will be the 7 p.m. "Juke Jam" concert in Lionel Roberts Stadium featuring R&B/soul artists Frankie Beverly and Maze, reggae performer Maxi Priest and the local Starlites band. The onboard talent line-up includes Beverly and his band, Ashford & Simpson, Gerald Levert, Vesta and Kirk Whalum as headliners, plus Gerald Albright, Clarence Carter, Jeffrey Osborne and Betty White. Some of these other performers are expected to make cameo appearances at the stadium show, and the radio show regulars will perform between the musical acts.
The stage for the Juke Jam is "very similar to Sinbad's" and is being erected by "the same people that put up the Sinbad one," WWKS/Knight Quality Stations general manager Mark Bastin said. "They started assembling it Friday and have been working all weekend."
As luck would have it, a sizable setback occurred as a result of the heavy rain that fell Sunday night and early Monday morning. Water collected in the tarp that serves as the roof over the stage and it collapsed, twisting and breaking some of the metal supports. Welders were at work on two of the braces Monday as about a dozen other workers continued setting up the stage.
According to Bastin, the Starlites got tapped as the local band from a "short list" reviewed "a couple of months ago" by Al Walsh of Dallas-based ALW Productions, which works closely with the Joyner operation.
"They were looking at the 30-and-older demographics, looking for R&B hits and oldies, and the Starlites seemed to fit into that category," Bastin said.
The Joyner stadium event is aimed at least as much at the local community as at the cruise passengers, who are already getting to see all of the off-island artists except Maxi Priest (he flew into St. Thomas Sunday from London) perform aboard the Norway. The cruise packages include admission to the shore event. For everyone else, concert tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the gate. Outlets are International Records and Tapes, Modern Music/Havensight and Nisky Pharmacy on St. Thomas and Connections on St. John. Sheldon Turnbull's Melloside Promotions is Joyner's local liaison.
No local presenters have organized any entertainment events featuring local artists in an effort to attract the cruise passengers. Steven Bornn announced last fall, before the Joyner cruise was being marketed, that his Cause Effective Arts Program (CEAP) would put on a Memorial Day weekend concert featuring world music artists. However, earlier this year he called off the event for lack of major sponsorship.
According to Bastin, "Lots of people from the states are flying in for this concert" too. For them, as well as for the public, Bolongo Bay hosted a beach party with Imaginations Brass on Sunday afternoon, the Renaissance Grand Beach Resort put on a barbecue with local music Monday afternoon and the Inn at Blackbeard's Castle will host a pool party from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday.
On St. Croix, because Joyner has made a point of visiting the island, the Tourism Department is making a special effort to greet the Norway passengers, Assistant Tourism Commissioner Pamela Richards said. "They actually diverted the ship to St. Croix," she said. "Since they made such an effort for us, we're doing a little bit more."
The welcome will include a complimentary rum punch and entertainment in Buddhoe Park by the Ricardo Richards Pan Connection, Alli Paul's Mocko Jumbies, the Education Complex Concert Band and the Central High School Steelband.
Richards said the Tourism staff's goal is to make sure Joyner's cruisers, primarily middle-class, middle-age African-Americans, have such a good time that they'll want to come back to St. Croix for an overnight vacation.
"This is something we've done before, but the audience is different," Richards said. The Joyner cruise "has a lot of professionals who travel frequently, but it may be their first time on St. Croix."
She added, "All we need is one time" to convince them to return.
Early Monday morning, Dalton Associates in Frederiksted faxed a release to news media saying it would be staging a special Harbour Day event in conjunction with the Tourism Department to greet the Norway and the Triumph. Pledging "a fun-filled day of arts and crafts, live entertainment, food and lots of local culture," the release said artists, artisans and food vendors are welcome to take part and should call 772-1624 for information on space availability.
"Best of Joyner" radio programs are airing this week in the "Morning Show" slot, and Joyner will not be doing a live broadcast from St. Thomas this time, as he has done twice in the past, Bastin said. Instead, "We'll be doing a live remote on Jamz and Kiss from 10 to 11 a.m. on the waterfront," he said.

"Geoff’s room," the cheerful young female voice says, answering the telephone.
In the background, laughter and music can be heard as the young lady tells Geoff the call is for him.
Fifteen minutes later, 19-year-old Geoffrey Brian Kennedy concludes his conversation with the caller — a stranger who has just interviewed him — by saying, "Today’s a good day."
It all sounds so normal.
But there have been precious few good days, and no normal ones at all, for Geoff Kennedy lately. Not since around 3 p.m. on April 25, the day he was shot in the back trying to flee an armed assailant on one of the twisting byways behind Back Street in downtown Charlotte Amalie and was left paralyzed from the waist down.
According to Kennedy, people came running "within 30 seconds or a minute" when they heard the shot. He remembers a police officer on the scene and the ambulance that took him to the Roy L. Schneider Hospital emergency room. From there he was airlifted to Puerto Rico’s University Hospital, where he spent six days in intensive care and 18 more in intermediate care.
On Monday, May 22, he was transferred to the third floor of Health South, a rehabilitation facility in San Juan, where he will spend another six weeks in therapy. Then he will go home to Tortola, where he lives with his parents, the managing partners of a small hotel.
But life will never be the same for Geoff Kennedy there, or anywhere. He and his parents have been told by his doctors that he will never walk again — and for now, at least, they have no choice but to believe it is so.
Normal for Kennedy was a life on the go. He was into "mountain biking, horseback riding, sailing. He was the Caribbean junior mountain bike champion in 1996 — the B.V.I. has a very good team," his mother, Pam Kennedy, says.
"He was offered a pro surfing contract about three days before he was shot," his father, Terry Kennedy, adds. "He was working on his captain’s license. He’d been helping people bring boats down from the States. He had a chance to sail to the Canary Islands and bring a boat over from South Africa."
Meantime, it was his plan to get his General Equivalency Diploma, so that he could go to college in the States. On the morning of April 25, he traveled from Tortola to St. Thomas to make the arrangements to take the GED test. He planned to go to St. John at the end of the day to meet his friend Lesley Castle, who was celebrating her 18th birthday, and join her for dinner at Asolare, the restaurant where she has a part-time job.
"He was best friends with Lesley," her mother, Mary Bartolucci, explains. "Then, briefly, there was a romance, and then they went back to being very good friends."
Bartolucci, who has been calling radio talk shows and writing to print media about her concerns regarding the reporting and investigation of the shooting, says Kennedy "always had a lot of energy. He was a good athlete and very much into hiking. . . He has a personality that draws people to him. He’s just a really good kid, very much into life."
As is often the case with breaking crime news, initial media reports and talk on the streets in the immediate aftermath of Kennedy’s shooting included misinformation and speculation that proved unfounded. One account had him shot by someone who had tried to sell him some rings. There were rumors that it was a drug deal gone bad.
In the aftermath of last week’s fatal shooting of 18-year-old Jason Carroll on Main Street, there was talk that the triggerman in that crime might have been the same one who shot Kennedy. The man charged in that killing is 24 years of age. Kennedy says he was shot by "a skinny kid about 16."
When Kennedy got to the Adult Education offices on Garden Street that afternoon, the person he needed to see wasn’t there and he was told to come back later. So, he took a walk — along Back Street for a couple of blocks and then up Snegle Gade (Snail Street) by Cuzzin’s Restaurant, back by the old Safari Lounge.
"I didn’t have anything to do," Kennedy recalls. "I was just walking up the hill to see if there was anything up there, a bar to chill out maybe. I saw the kid. At the wall on the right side his bicycle was leaning. I was walking by, maybe two, three feet away."
What happened, then, he says, was this: "The kid was trying to sell me coke. He had a fanny pack, or a belly pack, with pot and little dime bags of coke. He had this bag waving at me, and in a split second the gun came out and he pointed it at my head. He said ‘Give me your money.’" The youth hit him on the head with the gun. "I jumped him," Kennedy says. "I don’t know if it was just the wrong thing to do. Maybe I should have just given him my wallet, but he might have just shot me anyway."
Then, as he tried to get away, the assailant pulled the trigger of what Kennedy later described as a small automatic handgun that was a brassy color, not black or silver. The bullet struck Kennedy between the shoulder blades, between the 9th and 10th vertebrae, and lodged very close to the aorta, the main artery pumping blood from the heart. According to police accounts, a .38 caliber casing and the brown bicycle were found at the scene of the shooting.
Five weeks later, police have yet to interview Kennedy, other than the information that was taken at the emergency room, and no suspect has been charged in connection with the case. Kennedy saw his assailant at close range and has a vivid recollection of what occurred.
Terry Kennedy says he received a telephone call while he was in Puerto Rico "a couple of weeks ago" from an officer on St. Thomas wanting to know how Geoff was doing and when "someone from the Police Department could come over to show him some photographs. But they’ve never called back or come over to see him."
Meantime, Kennedy’s parents and Bartolucci have been trying without success to get the police to release his wallet, which contained about $200, his passport and backpack. Since Bartolucci is on St. John, she has been trying to serve as liaison on behalf of the Kennedys. The latest word on the matter, last week, was "they won’t give them without a notarized statement from us," Terry Kennedy said.
For Geoff Kennedy, normal days now consist of physical therapy, occupational therapy, recreational therapy and emotional therapy sessions at Health South. "The people are amazing here," he says of the staff. "The doctors told me the outcome, and I’m just keeping the faith, praying to God and keeping everything positive. I’m trying to give a hundred percent and get out."
Building upper body strength by lifting weights is a part of the regimen. So are "learning to get in and out of bed, go to the bathroom, take showers, dress and undress, all the things we take for granted," his mother says. And so is the psychotherapy. "My therapist helps me out a lot," Kennedy says. "She doesn’t force me to think anything; she just helps me deal with it all."
He heard about the Carroll killing last week, two short blocks from where he was shot. "I don’t know what’s going on in St. Thomas," he says. "If the cops can’t handle it, they’ve got to get some help from somewhere. On Tortola, they have roadblocks now on Friday nights, stopping the kids that are cruising around.
"I used to go over there [to St. Thomas] and party all night and go from bar to bar at 3 in the morning in Red Hook and see people who looked shady but I never really gave it any thought. I can’t believe I got shot in the middle of the day."
He’s unsure what he would do if he could confront his assailant: "I don’t know. He did it spitefully. He doesn’t have anything better to do than rob people and shoot them in t he back? I’m angry. I would get him back. That’s the point I feel now."
The standard greetings of "how ya doing?" or "how’s it going?" don’t bother him. "I’m still here, and I’m talking to you," he says. "Normally I’m happy; actually I’m real happy when I’m doing things. I’m sad and get angry with the guy who shot me when I’m just sitting and thinking." He adds, "I get a lot of ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘I feel for you’ type of things."
But Friday, the "today" at the start of this article, as he said, was "a good day."
For one thing, five female friends came over from Tortola to visit for the weekend with a buddy of his due in on Saturday too. For another, he says, "I got my pass for the first time." That meant that with an aide accompanying him he could leave the third floor of the therapy center, leave the whole building, and go out into the normal world.
"I went to the Burger King," he says with satisfaction. "It felt good to feel the sun and the wind. The hairs on my arms felt real weird."
Tuesday: Family, friends and frustrations, and Lesley Castle’s indelible memories of finding her friend in the emergency room.

The Virgin Islands' crime situation is again being showcased internationally thanks to a column written by Bill O'Reilly and posted to the APBnews.com website.
O'Reilly, an occasional visitor to the V.I., used an article in the V.I. Daily News that claimed the V.I. had the second highest murder rate in the United States to launch his criticism of the crime situation in America's Paradise.
"So far the carnage has been kept secret from the more than 10,000 cruise ship passengers and hotel guests who flock to the U.S. Virgin Islands daily," O'Reilly wrote.
He blasted police on St. John for ignoring the dope dealers who "peddle their wares" around the "seedy town of Cruz Bay."
"Outrageous" was the word O'Reilly used to condemn the fact that tourists are warned not to walk around Charlotte Amalie after dark. He added that despite $1 million in federal funds funneled to the territory to clean up violent crime, the situation has only gotten worse.
He called the failure of local police to enlist help from federal law enforcement agencies "inexplicable," adding the "governor remains mute."
APBnews.com is dedicated solely to news about crime, justice and safety. It has a 55-person newsroom based in New York City with more than 130 freelancers under contract nationwide.
Content produced by APB News is syndicated online to various Web sites, including AOL, NBCi, MSNBC.com, Yahoo! and Snap, and offline to newspapers via Universal Press Syndicate.
For the full text of O'Reilly's article, click here.

A St. Thomas woman charged with compounding a crime in the embezzlement of $1.7 million from Little Switzerland four years ago entered a plea in Territorial Court over the weekend that, for all intents and purposes, avoids a jury trial that was set to begin Tuesday.
Lydia Magras-Greaux, through her attorney, Treston Moore, pleaded "no contest" to one count of compounding the crime of embezzlement. In return, prosecutors agreed to drop other charges against her. The plea bargain came during an unusual hearing before Judge Ishmael Meyers. Court insiders said the Saturday hearing was scheduled so that potential jury members could be given early notification that they would not be needed on Tuesday.
In a nolo contendere, or no-contest, plea, the defendant does not admit to guilt but does not challenge the charges. Meyers set sentencing for mid-July. The crime carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison.
Shortly after charges were brought against the other defendant in the Little Switzerland case, Lorrain Quetel, she entered into a guilty plea-bargain arrangement with the Justice Department. Her sentencing was delayed until the resolution of the government's case against Magras-Greaux, who also goes by the name Lydia Magras. Quetel also is to be sentenced in mid-July.
The government alleged that Quetel used her position at Little Switzerland to embezzle $1.7 million from the company and that Magras-Greaux compounded the crime by allowing the embezzled funds to be deposited into accounts of Bon Voyage Travel to which she had access as an officer of the now-defunct travel agency.
Assistant Attorney General Douglas Sprotte said the government was prepared to prove a scheme that saw money embezzled from Little Switzerland's Scotia Bank account transferred to Bon Voyage accounts.
"Ultimately, Lorrain Quetel embezzled approximately $1.4 million" and deposited those funds into the accounts of Bon Voyage Travel, Sprotte said at the Saturday hearing.
Legal sources said this weekend that the last-minute filing of the no-contest plea to avoid the criminal jury trial could work to Magras-Greaux's benefit during a pending civil case over the same matter. With Quetel having already pleaded guilty to the embezzlement, the burden of proof lies with Little Switzerland, the plaintiff, to prove liability on the part of Magras-Greaux.
Attorney Adriane Dudley, representing Little Switzerland, declined to comment Sunday on Saturday's development, saying she needed to discuss the implications of the no-contest plea with officials of the company before reacting publicly.
According to court records, the embezzlement of funds from Little Switzerland began on Aug. 12, 1996, and was discovered during an audit for that year. An investigation began in late 1997, and Quetel and Magras-Greaux were charged in 1998. Various motions filed by attorneys for Magras-Greaux delayed the trial.
Judge Ive Arlington Swan is expected to preside over the civil case brought by Little Switzerland against the two women. No date has been set for that trial.

Cecil Benjamin's decade-long reign as St. Croix local president of the American Federation of Teachers ended in a landslide loss late last week.
On Thursday, public school teachers on the Big Island overwhelmingly elected Tyrone Molyneaux over Benjamin, 493 to 219. Molyneaux will start his new job in September. Neither he nor Benjamin could be reached for comment over the weekend. Unconfirmed reports say that Benjamin plans to protest the outcome of the tally.
Terrence "Positive" Nelson, a long-time critic of Benjamin’s, also lost his bid for the AFT vice presidency. He said the union needed new blood at the top. He pointed to Benjamin’s close ties to the V.I. Democratic Party, and therefore the Turnbull administration, as a reason the lot of teachers hasn’t improved. The government owes its workers, including public school teachers, more than $200 million. Meanwhile, many schools are deteriorating from a lack of maintenance, and teachers must pay for classroom supplies out of their own pockets.
"I feel like better days are coming," Nelson said. "The majority of people are happy."
Re-elected Thursday were Maria "Chi Chi" Heywood as first vice president, Gail Harris-Perez as second vice president, and Rhonda Vanterpool as secretary. Judith Austin won the treasurer’s position.
An AFT elections official said Labor Department personnel observed the vote and certified the results. More votes are expected in Tuesday, but not enough to sway Thursday’s outcome, the official said.

The awkward plywood scaffolding that hugged the hillside facing the east side of the Charlotte Amalie harbor is giving way to an imposing, but graceful Danish West Indian salute to the community — the new Theodore Tunick & Co. insurance headquarters, which is expected to open in July.
"Nothing can ever come in on time or on budget, but we're getting there, and I'm very proud," company president James Tunick said.
He has had his share of hurdles, seen and unseen. For one, the building site itself, on a steep hillside, is composed of blue bitch rock.
"I've had people who know something about geology tell me they have never encountered rock this hard," he said. "It took us an additional four months, and many more dollars, to drill holes and put chemicals in to dissolve the rock to be able to excavate. It was extraordinarily hard. It was unbelievable!"
Actual work — paper work — for the building started in 1997 with a 10-month rezoning process before the Legislature. The building was designed by local architect Mike DeHass. "With such a prominent site on our harbor, I wanted something that would be aesthetically pleasing, something traditional that would enhance the hillside," Tunick said.
The building, with its bright traditional red roof, is painted in a light beige with pastel blue and beige stripes. Yet to be added before the scaffolding comes down are little red eyebrow roofs over the windows.
The five-story structure's lower two levels are parking lots exclusively for tenants and their customers. Tunick isn't saying at this time who the tenants will be, although he said half of the first floor is leased to a "longstanding St. Thomas business."
Tunick had thought a bank might like the location with drive-through convenience, but none has committed to space so far. Tunick's own insurance company will occupy the top floor. "We will be one of the few downtown buildings with adequate parking," he said.
Tunick has nothing but high praise for his construction crew, about 75 to 100 workers — "masons, plumbers, electricians, roofers, you name it," he said. "They did a fantastic job." And he is enormously pleased with DeHaas' West Indian architectural concept.
He hired all local contractors and subcontractors, with Zenith Development in charge. "The only off-island labor we had was the elevator installers from Puerto Rico," he said. The building has a five-story glass-enclosed elevator running down (and up) the center.
As for the price tag for the project, he said, "Say it's five million, actually over five million." He added, "Since we acquired Braithwaite Insurance [property and casualty], we have needed bigger quarters, and this will give us all the room we need – to say nothing of the view."
In recent years Tunick's company has occupied the second floor of the office building on Bluebeard's Hill behind the St. Thomas-St. John Cable TV headquarters on Beltjen Road. The property was acquired two years ago by Innovative Communication Corp., which has taken over the rest of the building and has plans for the insurance company space. Tunick said it will be "the sooner, the better for everybody concerned for us to get out of there."

The National Park Service will be hiring seven young people to work full-time in the V.I. National Park on St. John for eight weeks this summer in an immersion orientation program.
Designated a Youth Conservation Camp, the program is described as a "work-learn-earn" experience that is intended to give the participants "an understanding and appreciation of the environment," park Supt. Russell Berry said in a press release. Participants will get hands-on experience in administrative, maintenance and resource management aspects of the park operations.
Boys and girls ages 15 through 18 who are permanent U.S. residents are invited to apply to participate. Applicants must commit to working 40 hours a week, for which they will be paid $5.15 an hour. The program will run from June 19 through Aug. 11.
Application forms are available at the Cruz Bay Visitor Center and the park Maintenance Division compound on St. John and at the National Park Service offices in Vessup Bay on St. Thomas. They must be submitted by June 9. For further information, call Ina Duncan at 693- 8989.

The National Park Service will be hiring seven young people to work full-time in the V.I. National Park on St. John for eight weeks this summer in an immersion orientation program.
Designated a Youth Conservation Camp, the program is described as a "work-learn-earn" experience that is intended to give the participants "an understanding and appreciation of the environment," park Supt. Russell Berry said in a press release. Participants will get hands-on experience in administrative, maintenance and resource management aspects of the park operations.
Boys and girls ages 15 through 18 who are permanent U.S. residents are invited to apply to participate. Applicants must commit to working 40 hours a week, for which they will be paid $5.15 an hour. The program will run from June 19 through Aug. 11.
Application forms are available at the Cruz Bay Visitor Center and the park Maintenance Division compound on St. John and at the National Park Service offices in Vessup Bay on St. Thomas. They must be submitted by June 9. For further information, call Ina Duncan at 693- 8989.