Manny Centeno submitted his resignation Friday as director of the V.I. Film Promotion Office after a decade in the position. He gave May 29 as his last day on the job.
"I've been there 10 years," he told the Source. "I didn't expect to stay much longer than that. I didn t want to make a career of being in government."
Centeno said he doesn't know who will take over as director but that his assistant, Carolyn Polydore, is capable of holding things together on an interim basis, if not permanently. "I'm not going to leave the film office hanging, either," he said, indicating he will be available to assist for a while.
He inherited the job from Win de Lugo, the man who got the concept of marketing the territory to the film industry going and developed it successfully, despite a shoestring budget, over the years. De Lugo left to move to California, and his longtime assistant, Eric Matthews, left to become president of Carifest, the St. Thomas theme park still under development. Almost from the start, the Office of Film Promotion has been one of the few niches in the V.I. government that annually generates far more in revenues for the government than it spends.
Under Centeno's tenure, the office has coordinated the filming of countless commercials and a few television and movie projects in the Virgin Islands. In his resignation letter, dated May 12, he cited particularly his "great memories and the satisfaction of coordinating such projects as ‘Weekend at Bernie's II,' ‘The Shawshank Redemption' and "Hotel del Sol'" among "close to 200 other projects I was able to attract to the territory."
He also said he had enjoyed helping to attract and coordinating the administration's efforts "for the successful completion of Sinbad's Soul Music Festival" last May.
Lately, though, he said, funding for the office has been very tight, and most recently the industry has seemed to be caught in a downturn.
"This has been a relatively slow season for filming," he said. Most of the commercials aired these days are for E-commerce, he added, "and they don't require a lot of location filming."
Centeno said he may move to the mainland, but not immediately. "My options are open right now," he said. He plans to take his film industry skills and experience into the private sector.
"I have a few projects that I'm working on," he said. Among them are three web sites: caribbean film.com, islands.net and virgin islands.org.
The first will be an on-line resource for filming in the Caribbean and South America, containing information on hotels, local crews, locations and more, he said.
The second will feature information geared to people interested in relocating to an island, such as what goods and services are available. Centeno said this site will be the gateway to the others and that he plans to start by putting up information on the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, then expand to islands throughout the world.
The third site he described as "an on-line encyclopedia" of the territory. It is the furthest along to completion of the three, about half-way, he said. It will contain a detailed history of the islands and lots of maps and photographs. Eventually, he said, he wants to market it in CD Rom format.
Centeno said he also is working with some other people on a film project about an individual who lived and worked in New Orleans. "It's almost a biography of that person's life," he said, but would not elaborate. He also did not name his associates but said they include a producer currently in Puerto Rico working on a documentary. The film project is far enough along that "we have a script," he said.
AN ACHING TOOTH CANCELS POLICE UNION PRESS CONFERENCE
On Thursday night, Police Benevolent Association president Elroy Raymo announced a press conference for Friday afternoon to discuss, among other matters, the disciplinary hearing conducted Thursday for a police officer accused of assaulting a citizen on St. John in March.
On Friday afternoon at the appointed time and place, Raymo was nowhere to be found.
Reporters appearing at Zone A Command in the Farrelly Criminal Justice Complex for the session were told by the desk officer that a telephone call to Raymo's home was answered by his mother, who said he was in bed with a toothache.
It was like pulling teeth trying to get information about the disciplinary hearing from other sources Friday afternoon. Police Chief Jose Garcia declined comment on the outcome of the lengthy proceedings, held in his office on St. Thomas Thursday. He would say only that the next step in the hearing process is up to the PBA. He cited several grievance options available to the police union.
According to knowledgeable sources, about nine witnesses appeared at the hearing. Garcia said Friday that he was bound by the police union contract to disclose nothing about the findings. "I don't want to comment until all avenues of the contract have been satisfied," he said.
He would not say whether the hearing was completed Thursday. He also refused to confirm the identity the officer who was under investigation in the case referred to the chief by Cruz Bay's Zone D commander, Lt. Rene Garcia.
The case being heard by Garcia stemmed from a March 18 incident where an off-duty policeman, identified in press reports as Eugene Somersall, is alleged to have assaulted Kelly Giggenbach, an employee of Caribbean Villas, after stepping into a dispute between the woman and taxi drivers over a parking space near the Cruz Bay ferry dock. Witnesses said the officer grabbed Giggenbach by the breast and slammed her repeatedly against a car.
Police officials had announced that a second officer was also implicated in the case and was also under investigation. It was not clear whether Thursday's hearing was for both officers, or just the one accused of assaulting the woman. Giggenbach was among those who testified.
FBI officials have said the federal agency is also investigating the incident from the perspective of whether the officer violated the woman's civil rights.
On Friday afternoon at the appointed time and place, Raymo was nowhere to be found.
Reporters appearing at Zone A Command in the Farrelly Criminal Justice Complex for the session were told by the desk officer that a telephone call to Raymo's home was answered by his mother, who said he was in bed with a toothache.
It was like pulling teeth trying to get information about the disciplinary hearing from other sources Friday afternoon. Police Chief Jose Garcia declined comment on the outcome of the lengthy proceedings, held in his office on St. Thomas Thursday. He would say only that the next step in the hearing process is up to the PBA. He cited several grievance options available to the police union.
According to knowledgeable sources, about nine witnesses appeared at the hearing. Garcia said Friday that he was bound by the police union contract to disclose nothing about the findings. "I don't want to comment until all avenues of the contract have been satisfied," he said.
He would not say whether the hearing was completed Thursday. He also refused to confirm the identity the officer who was under investigation in the case referred to the chief by Cruz Bay's Zone D commander, Lt. Rene Garcia.
The case being heard by Garcia stemmed from a March 18 incident where an off-duty policeman, identified in press reports as Eugene Somersall, is alleged to have assaulted Kelly Giggenbach, an employee of Caribbean Villas, after stepping into a dispute between the woman and taxi drivers over a parking space near the Cruz Bay ferry dock. Witnesses said the officer grabbed Giggenbach by the breast and slammed her repeatedly against a car.
Police officials had announced that a second officer was also implicated in the case and was also under investigation. It was not clear whether Thursday's hearing was for both officers, or just the one accused of assaulting the woman. Giggenbach was among those who testified.
FBI officials have said the federal agency is also investigating the incident from the perspective of whether the officer violated the woman's civil rights.
AQUIFER TAINTED BUT OIL SPILL MAY NOT BE CAUSE
The territory’s top environmental official told senators Friday that 94,000 barrels of petroleum products have, indeed, seeped into the Kingshill aquifer underneath St. Croix’s industrial zone, but whether a recent 7 million-gallon oil spill is a cause is unclear.
Planning and Natural Resources Commissioner Dean Plaskett said that his staff has inspected a storage tank at St. Croix Alumina that had leaked millions of gallons of heavy fuel oil starting last October. Although the company reported the leak to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in March, news of the problem wasn’t brought to light until Sen. Alicia "Chucky" Hansen went public on April 26.
It was then that Planning and Natural Resources began its own investigation into the spill. On Friday, Plaskett told members of the Senate Planning and Environmental Protection Committee that the department will hire a consultant to gauge whether the spill has entered the aquifer.
"There is considerable . . . debate from our perspective as to whether or not the release was properly reported to the department," Plaskett said. "St. Croix Alumina says that because the oil didn’t escape the containment area around the tank, it didn’t constitute a release. . ."
Plaskett said that the tar-like consistency of the heavy fuel oil and the compacted caliche underneath the tank make it less likely any underground seepage has taken place. Testing by St. Croix Alumina and the government consultant will determine whether contamination from the spill has taken place.
If human health or the environment has been affected, Plaskett said, DPNR will seek compensation.
Meanwhile, an EPA report says that the Kingshill aquifer, located under the south-central area of the island, contains some 94,000 barrels –- or four million gallons — of petroleum products. Plaskett said the there are two distinct contamination plumes, one of which dates back to 1978 and has been traced to the former Hess Oil of the Virgin Islands Corp. refinery, now HOVENSA.
The second plume was discovered in 1994 and was caused by St. Croix Alumina, its predecessor or HOVIC, Plaskett said. He added that the plumes haven’t migrated beyond the boundaries of the refineries, which has reduced the threat to the water table.
"While the (recent) spill may not be the culprit," he said, "the larger question is the millions of gallons that are under the St. Croix Alumina facility. The contamination of the aquifer is something that transpired years before this recent spill."
There may be a stumbling block to obtaining compensation for the aquifer contamination from HOVENSA, Plaskett indicated. He said he is looking into the possibility that when the Schneider administration and HOVIC negotiated the most recent operating agreement, a waiver may have been included that would shield the company from being held liable for such pollution.
"If we’ve waived our right to pursue these people," there will be a problem, Plaskett said.
The EPA is the lead agency in cleaning up the contamination of the aquifer. The local government can assess impacts and seek compensation, Plaskett said.
Planning and Natural Resources Commissioner Dean Plaskett said that his staff has inspected a storage tank at St. Croix Alumina that had leaked millions of gallons of heavy fuel oil starting last October. Although the company reported the leak to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in March, news of the problem wasn’t brought to light until Sen. Alicia "Chucky" Hansen went public on April 26.
It was then that Planning and Natural Resources began its own investigation into the spill. On Friday, Plaskett told members of the Senate Planning and Environmental Protection Committee that the department will hire a consultant to gauge whether the spill has entered the aquifer.
"There is considerable . . . debate from our perspective as to whether or not the release was properly reported to the department," Plaskett said. "St. Croix Alumina says that because the oil didn’t escape the containment area around the tank, it didn’t constitute a release. . ."
Plaskett said that the tar-like consistency of the heavy fuel oil and the compacted caliche underneath the tank make it less likely any underground seepage has taken place. Testing by St. Croix Alumina and the government consultant will determine whether contamination from the spill has taken place.
If human health or the environment has been affected, Plaskett said, DPNR will seek compensation.
Meanwhile, an EPA report says that the Kingshill aquifer, located under the south-central area of the island, contains some 94,000 barrels –- or four million gallons — of petroleum products. Plaskett said the there are two distinct contamination plumes, one of which dates back to 1978 and has been traced to the former Hess Oil of the Virgin Islands Corp. refinery, now HOVENSA.
The second plume was discovered in 1994 and was caused by St. Croix Alumina, its predecessor or HOVIC, Plaskett said. He added that the plumes haven’t migrated beyond the boundaries of the refineries, which has reduced the threat to the water table.
"While the (recent) spill may not be the culprit," he said, "the larger question is the millions of gallons that are under the St. Croix Alumina facility. The contamination of the aquifer is something that transpired years before this recent spill."
There may be a stumbling block to obtaining compensation for the aquifer contamination from HOVENSA, Plaskett indicated. He said he is looking into the possibility that when the Schneider administration and HOVIC negotiated the most recent operating agreement, a waiver may have been included that would shield the company from being held liable for such pollution.
"If we’ve waived our right to pursue these people," there will be a problem, Plaskett said.
The EPA is the lead agency in cleaning up the contamination of the aquifer. The local government can assess impacts and seek compensation, Plaskett said.
UVI GRADUATES STUDENTS SHINE
When 303 students receive degrees next weekend at University of the Virgin Islands commencement exercises, they will be marking the culmination of one journey and embarking on the first leg of another.
Among the 202 students from the St. Thomas campus who will receive degrees at the Reichhold Center for the Arts on May 20 are nursing major Michele Stout, mathematics major Andie Hodge and social sciences major Lavern Queeley.
Stout, 21, enrolled at UVI as an early admissions student and has consistently excelled. Her senior project sought to increase the community's awareness of prostate cancer risks and to encourage those at risk to be tested. After receiving her bachelor's degree in nursing from UVI, Stout plans to obtain a master's degree in public health or in adult medical/surgical nursing. She is a member of the Golden Key National Honor Society and is the daughter of Roy and Noreen Stout.
Hodge, 24, received first prize in mathematics at the Miles College Winter Research Conference in Birmingham, Alabama for his project, "The probability of false diagnosis of prostate cancer using a logistic function, a patient's age and f/t PSA ratio." Hodge plans to pursue a doctorate degree in applied mathematics.
Intrigued by mathematics since high school, Hodge changed his major course of study at UVI from business to mathematics."In the sciences everything is dynamic –– constantly changing –– there is always something new to learn," he said. After graduate school, Hodge plans to work, perhaps as an engineer, and then return to the Caribbean to teach.
Queeley, 27, is the recipient of UVI's Social Sciences Faculty Award, given to the graduating senior with the highest GPA (3.79) who has made the biggest contribution to the social sciences department. She is also the recipient of the Emily Jones-James Economics Award and the Isidor and Charlotte Paiewonsky Social Sciences Award for the graduating student with the highest GPA. Queeley was a teaching assistant in Fall 1999 to Dr. Ededet Iniama, chairman of the Division of Social Sciences. A member of the Golden Key National Honor Society, Queeley has been admitted to The University of Akron as a candidate to receive a master's degree in public administration.
Accounting major Josephine Larsen and Computer Science major Calvin Harrigan are
two of the 101 students on UVI's St. Croix campus who will receive degrees on May 21 at the Island Center.
Larsen, 20, has been on the academic fast-track since being accepted at UVI in 1996 as part of the Early Admissions Program. She has been named Most Promising Student Leader 1997-1998, Student of the Year from 1997 through 1999, and has received the Alpha Kappa Alpha International Scholar Award and the Alpha Kappa Alpha Undergraduate Soror of the Year Award in 2000. Larsen is a member of the Golden Key National Honor Society, is on the Dean's List and was named to Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges. After she receives her bachelor's degree in accounting from UVI, Larsen will be employed as an associate manager with AT&T in Basking Ridge, New Jersey.
Harrigan, 27, a member of the Golden Key National Honor Society, is the recipient of the UVI Science and Mathematics Division's Best Academic Performance in Computer Science Award. Harrigan worked full time at HOVENSA while pursuing his bachelor's degree at UVI full time. He looks forward to a career as a software engineer and has plans to continue his education in order to receive a doctoral degree.
What these young people all have in common is that their lives have been dramatically changed by the learning experiences they have had at UVI.
Among the 202 students from the St. Thomas campus who will receive degrees at the Reichhold Center for the Arts on May 20 are nursing major Michele Stout, mathematics major Andie Hodge and social sciences major Lavern Queeley.
Stout, 21, enrolled at UVI as an early admissions student and has consistently excelled. Her senior project sought to increase the community's awareness of prostate cancer risks and to encourage those at risk to be tested. After receiving her bachelor's degree in nursing from UVI, Stout plans to obtain a master's degree in public health or in adult medical/surgical nursing. She is a member of the Golden Key National Honor Society and is the daughter of Roy and Noreen Stout.
Hodge, 24, received first prize in mathematics at the Miles College Winter Research Conference in Birmingham, Alabama for his project, "The probability of false diagnosis of prostate cancer using a logistic function, a patient's age and f/t PSA ratio." Hodge plans to pursue a doctorate degree in applied mathematics.
Intrigued by mathematics since high school, Hodge changed his major course of study at UVI from business to mathematics."In the sciences everything is dynamic –– constantly changing –– there is always something new to learn," he said. After graduate school, Hodge plans to work, perhaps as an engineer, and then return to the Caribbean to teach.
Queeley, 27, is the recipient of UVI's Social Sciences Faculty Award, given to the graduating senior with the highest GPA (3.79) who has made the biggest contribution to the social sciences department. She is also the recipient of the Emily Jones-James Economics Award and the Isidor and Charlotte Paiewonsky Social Sciences Award for the graduating student with the highest GPA. Queeley was a teaching assistant in Fall 1999 to Dr. Ededet Iniama, chairman of the Division of Social Sciences. A member of the Golden Key National Honor Society, Queeley has been admitted to The University of Akron as a candidate to receive a master's degree in public administration.
Accounting major Josephine Larsen and Computer Science major Calvin Harrigan are
two of the 101 students on UVI's St. Croix campus who will receive degrees on May 21 at the Island Center.
Larsen, 20, has been on the academic fast-track since being accepted at UVI in 1996 as part of the Early Admissions Program. She has been named Most Promising Student Leader 1997-1998, Student of the Year from 1997 through 1999, and has received the Alpha Kappa Alpha International Scholar Award and the Alpha Kappa Alpha Undergraduate Soror of the Year Award in 2000. Larsen is a member of the Golden Key National Honor Society, is on the Dean's List and was named to Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges. After she receives her bachelor's degree in accounting from UVI, Larsen will be employed as an associate manager with AT&T in Basking Ridge, New Jersey.
Harrigan, 27, a member of the Golden Key National Honor Society, is the recipient of the UVI Science and Mathematics Division's Best Academic Performance in Computer Science Award. Harrigan worked full time at HOVENSA while pursuing his bachelor's degree at UVI full time. He looks forward to a career as a software engineer and has plans to continue his education in order to receive a doctoral degree.
What these young people all have in common is that their lives have been dramatically changed by the learning experiences they have had at UVI.
MANY VIRGIN ISLANDERS RELY ON VITRAN
Dear Source,
Your recent articles on the cutbacks in Vitran service illustrate once again how the people of the Virgin Islands are forced to suffer due to poor management and even poorer oversight by top government officials.
The importance of a viable and effective public transportation system cannot be overlooked or sacrificed by inept politicians. Public transportation provides a necessary service to many Virgin Islanders.
Many who can not afford a vehicle, or who cannot afford the new, mandatory automobile insurance must rely on public transportation to get to work, to get
their children to school and to other "everyday" activities.
Government officials may say there are other alternatives, such as taxis or safaris which will "fill in" until the bus system can be restored. That
may be true in some cases but not all. Residents who live in many parts of the islands are not served by either of the "options." For example, some who live in Bordeaux have no safaris servicing in that area. And they have little hope of getting a taxi to pick them up or take them home. Speaking from personal experience, I can say it is almost impossible (there are a few exceptions) to get a taxi to take a single passenger from Charlotte Amalie to Bordeaux. Call any, call all of the taxi operators and you will be told the same thing – "no one is available at this time." What they should be saying is no one wants to go out there.
Other parts of the islands are equally unpopular with the licensed taxis so the residents are left with few options. And if for some unexplainable reason a taxi is willing to venture out to the "unpopular" areas, the cost is considerably higher that than of Vitran.
Another consideration for public transportation is the key role it can and should be playing in dealing with the ever worsening traffic congestion problem on the islands. Any feasible plan to address the congestion problems includes adequate and affordable public transportation.
Vitran employees are also forced to suffer. It is reported that they have offered to forego sick leave, overtime and holiday pay so that they can continue to work and continue to provide this needed service to the people of the islands. All government workers have for years been making concessions when it comes to pay and benefits.
The fact that the Vitran employees are willing to do it yet again is admirable. They should be rewarded for the efforts and not held accountable for the questionable actions of others.
A drop in ridership is cited as one of the reasons for the cutback is services.
If memory serves me, farebox money is only a very small portion of the Vitran budget so any drop should have a nominal impact. It seems I remember that a large portion of the Vitran budget is federally funded with the remainder coming from local sources. So if a cutback is necessary, one should look at those funding sources and how they were spent to find the real reasons for the "need" to curtail Vitran services. It would not be surprising to find that the monies had be diverted into another one of the government's funds.
Explaining the drop in ridership, James O'Bryan, public relations assistant to the governor, was quoted in the Source saying there has been "a steady decline" over the last two years in Vitran ridership territory wide. What had been "seven or eight thousand a day is now down to three to five thousand," he said.
O'Bryan attributed some of that decline to the competition from taxis and safaris.
What would O'Bryan say if asked if the safaris meet the federal standards for vehicles used for public transportation? Tito Morales, president of the Central Labor Council, has for a long time been telling government officials that safaris do not meet those federal requirements and that the VI government is licensing them in violation of federal law. How would O'Bryan describe the government's liability – having licensed those vehicles – should one of them be involved in an accident and, God forbid, people are killed and injured? The government is cracking down on other "illegal" vehicles such as gypsy taxis and uninsured motorists, why not crack down on all illegal vehicles?
There is talk of privatizing Vitran. Would it really be possible to find a company willing to come into the islands knowing it had to compete against the safaris and gypsy taxis which regularly cruise the Vitran routes to pick up passengers? Could a company survive without federal and local subsidies. How much would the government actually save?
The role of government is to provide basic, necessary services for the benefits of all the territory's residents. An affordable, efficient public
transportation systems is one of the basic services to which Virgin Islanders are entitled.
Scott Frank
Your recent articles on the cutbacks in Vitran service illustrate once again how the people of the Virgin Islands are forced to suffer due to poor management and even poorer oversight by top government officials.
The importance of a viable and effective public transportation system cannot be overlooked or sacrificed by inept politicians. Public transportation provides a necessary service to many Virgin Islanders.
Many who can not afford a vehicle, or who cannot afford the new, mandatory automobile insurance must rely on public transportation to get to work, to get
their children to school and to other "everyday" activities.
Government officials may say there are other alternatives, such as taxis or safaris which will "fill in" until the bus system can be restored. That
may be true in some cases but not all. Residents who live in many parts of the islands are not served by either of the "options." For example, some who live in Bordeaux have no safaris servicing in that area. And they have little hope of getting a taxi to pick them up or take them home. Speaking from personal experience, I can say it is almost impossible (there are a few exceptions) to get a taxi to take a single passenger from Charlotte Amalie to Bordeaux. Call any, call all of the taxi operators and you will be told the same thing – "no one is available at this time." What they should be saying is no one wants to go out there.
Other parts of the islands are equally unpopular with the licensed taxis so the residents are left with few options. And if for some unexplainable reason a taxi is willing to venture out to the "unpopular" areas, the cost is considerably higher that than of Vitran.
Another consideration for public transportation is the key role it can and should be playing in dealing with the ever worsening traffic congestion problem on the islands. Any feasible plan to address the congestion problems includes adequate and affordable public transportation.
Vitran employees are also forced to suffer. It is reported that they have offered to forego sick leave, overtime and holiday pay so that they can continue to work and continue to provide this needed service to the people of the islands. All government workers have for years been making concessions when it comes to pay and benefits.
The fact that the Vitran employees are willing to do it yet again is admirable. They should be rewarded for the efforts and not held accountable for the questionable actions of others.
A drop in ridership is cited as one of the reasons for the cutback is services.
If memory serves me, farebox money is only a very small portion of the Vitran budget so any drop should have a nominal impact. It seems I remember that a large portion of the Vitran budget is federally funded with the remainder coming from local sources. So if a cutback is necessary, one should look at those funding sources and how they were spent to find the real reasons for the "need" to curtail Vitran services. It would not be surprising to find that the monies had be diverted into another one of the government's funds.
Explaining the drop in ridership, James O'Bryan, public relations assistant to the governor, was quoted in the Source saying there has been "a steady decline" over the last two years in Vitran ridership territory wide. What had been "seven or eight thousand a day is now down to three to five thousand," he said.
O'Bryan attributed some of that decline to the competition from taxis and safaris.
What would O'Bryan say if asked if the safaris meet the federal standards for vehicles used for public transportation? Tito Morales, president of the Central Labor Council, has for a long time been telling government officials that safaris do not meet those federal requirements and that the VI government is licensing them in violation of federal law. How would O'Bryan describe the government's liability – having licensed those vehicles – should one of them be involved in an accident and, God forbid, people are killed and injured? The government is cracking down on other "illegal" vehicles such as gypsy taxis and uninsured motorists, why not crack down on all illegal vehicles?
There is talk of privatizing Vitran. Would it really be possible to find a company willing to come into the islands knowing it had to compete against the safaris and gypsy taxis which regularly cruise the Vitran routes to pick up passengers? Could a company survive without federal and local subsidies. How much would the government actually save?
The role of government is to provide basic, necessary services for the benefits of all the territory's residents. An affordable, efficient public
transportation systems is one of the basic services to which Virgin Islanders are entitled.
Scott Frank
VITRAN HAS LOW PRIORITY IN THE DPW AGENDA
On Monday evening, May 8, I listened to the Labor and Veterans Affairs Committee’s noble but futile attempt to save Vitran jobs and prevent the
excising of 50 percent of Vitran’s service.
I don’t even use Vitran; there has never been bus service anywhere close to my residence. However, I have long been a strong supporter of an efficient mass transit system for the Virgin Islands, and I believe that the present situation, leaving hundreds of bus-dependent citizens stranded on the roadside, borders on the criminal.
In the latter half of the 1980s, as the League of Women Voters’ representative, I served on a DPW Traffic Group. It had broad representation and it was able to accomplish a great deal, including recommendations for bus service and traffic control improvements, locating sites for the parking segment of a park and ride system, and planning a paid in-town parking system (not meters!).
However, when several years passed and none of this came to fruition, the advisory committee members began to realize that public transportation had absolutely no priority in the Department of Public Works. Attendance dropped; the group dissolved. Then, during the Schneider administration, the Traffic Group was replaced by two other advisory groups. It soon became apparent that the sole purpose of these groups was to put the final stamp of approval on what became known as Plan 8.
Monday evening’s hearings should have made DPW’s low priority consideration of public transit very clear, especially after several senators managed to pull out of Commissioner Thompson the admission that, in the past two years (and probably several previous years), zero T-21 dollars have been utilized for Vitran.
The commissioner indicated that the entire V. I. T-21 allotment has gone into "transportation planning". He did not elaborate, and no senator pursued the question further. If they had done so, they would have learned that, in the DPW agenda, "transportation planning" translates primarily to highway planning. The result: thousands of dollars paid out to stateside engineering firms for the design of expanded roadways which cannot be built within any reasonable time frame. In the meantime, Vitran was left to disintegrate.
It is possible, I suppose, that some additional money will be found somewhere to return the Vitran employees to full-time employment, but that would be a temporary fix. A longer lasting solution is needed.
Then too, all sorts of allegations of mismanagement, and worse, have circulated during the past few weeks. They need to be cleared up. One way to do that, as Sam Topp has suggested, would be by means of an audit of the Vitran management procedures by the V. I. Inspector General. A federal audit of the utilization and expenditure of federal transportation funds would also be helpful.
But it is not just Vitran! The whole question of DPW’s transportation policy, with its emphasis on highway expansion at the expense of public transit, should be thoroughly investigated.
The May 8 hearing merely scratched the surface, and the Legislature should not be allowed to drop the issue. So if you are concerned about the future of Vitran, please contact Sen. Gregory Bennerson and request Committee on Government Operations’ hearings on St. John, St. Croix and St. Thomas — now, while the subject is hot.
Editor's note: Helen Gjessing is the chair, of League of Women's Voter's Committee on Planning and Environmental Quality.
excising of 50 percent of Vitran’s service.
I don’t even use Vitran; there has never been bus service anywhere close to my residence. However, I have long been a strong supporter of an efficient mass transit system for the Virgin Islands, and I believe that the present situation, leaving hundreds of bus-dependent citizens stranded on the roadside, borders on the criminal.
In the latter half of the 1980s, as the League of Women Voters’ representative, I served on a DPW Traffic Group. It had broad representation and it was able to accomplish a great deal, including recommendations for bus service and traffic control improvements, locating sites for the parking segment of a park and ride system, and planning a paid in-town parking system (not meters!).
However, when several years passed and none of this came to fruition, the advisory committee members began to realize that public transportation had absolutely no priority in the Department of Public Works. Attendance dropped; the group dissolved. Then, during the Schneider administration, the Traffic Group was replaced by two other advisory groups. It soon became apparent that the sole purpose of these groups was to put the final stamp of approval on what became known as Plan 8.
Monday evening’s hearings should have made DPW’s low priority consideration of public transit very clear, especially after several senators managed to pull out of Commissioner Thompson the admission that, in the past two years (and probably several previous years), zero T-21 dollars have been utilized for Vitran.
The commissioner indicated that the entire V. I. T-21 allotment has gone into "transportation planning". He did not elaborate, and no senator pursued the question further. If they had done so, they would have learned that, in the DPW agenda, "transportation planning" translates primarily to highway planning. The result: thousands of dollars paid out to stateside engineering firms for the design of expanded roadways which cannot be built within any reasonable time frame. In the meantime, Vitran was left to disintegrate.
It is possible, I suppose, that some additional money will be found somewhere to return the Vitran employees to full-time employment, but that would be a temporary fix. A longer lasting solution is needed.
Then too, all sorts of allegations of mismanagement, and worse, have circulated during the past few weeks. They need to be cleared up. One way to do that, as Sam Topp has suggested, would be by means of an audit of the Vitran management procedures by the V. I. Inspector General. A federal audit of the utilization and expenditure of federal transportation funds would also be helpful.
But it is not just Vitran! The whole question of DPW’s transportation policy, with its emphasis on highway expansion at the expense of public transit, should be thoroughly investigated.
The May 8 hearing merely scratched the surface, and the Legislature should not be allowed to drop the issue. So if you are concerned about the future of Vitran, please contact Sen. Gregory Bennerson and request Committee on Government Operations’ hearings on St. John, St. Croix and St. Thomas — now, while the subject is hot.
Editor's note: Helen Gjessing is the chair, of League of Women's Voter's Committee on Planning and Environmental Quality.
EARLY CHILDHOOD CONFERENCES SCHEDULED
Interested persons are invited to participate in conferences on parenting skills, available technology to assist the physically or mentally challenged child, obtaining assistance in identifying quality childcare for children and other topical concerns.
Scheduled from 8:30 am until 4 p.m. on Tuesday, May 16 and Wednesday May 17, at the St. Croix campus at the cafeteria of the University of the Virgin Islands, the Departments of Education, Human Services and Health and the UVI's University Affiliated Program, will hold its Annual Early Childhood Conference, "Best Beginnings." The conference will feature internationally renowned motivational speaker and disability advocate Jeff Moyer.
On Friday, May 19 and Saturday, May 20, the all-day Early Childhood Conference moves to the St. Thomas campus of the University of the Virgin Islands. Scheduled from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. the conference will also be held in the university Cafeteria
To register for the Early Childhood Conference on St. Croix and St. Thomas interested persons may call 773-1311 extension 3006, 692-1919 or 774-0930, extension 4181.
Scheduled from 8:30 am until 4 p.m. on Tuesday, May 16 and Wednesday May 17, at the St. Croix campus at the cafeteria of the University of the Virgin Islands, the Departments of Education, Human Services and Health and the UVI's University Affiliated Program, will hold its Annual Early Childhood Conference, "Best Beginnings." The conference will feature internationally renowned motivational speaker and disability advocate Jeff Moyer.
On Friday, May 19 and Saturday, May 20, the all-day Early Childhood Conference moves to the St. Thomas campus of the University of the Virgin Islands. Scheduled from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. the conference will also be held in the university Cafeteria
To register for the Early Childhood Conference on St. Croix and St. Thomas interested persons may call 773-1311 extension 3006, 692-1919 or 774-0930, extension 4181.
BERRY TO ADDRESS ROTARY II
Senator Lorraine L. Berry, Senate Finance Committee chairwoman, will address Rotary II at 12:15 p.m., Wednesday May 17 at Marriott Frenchman's Reef 's Windows On the Harbor Room.
For more information, contact Susan MacFarland-Helton 776-0677.
For more information, contact Susan MacFarland-Helton 776-0677.
BERRY TO ADDRESS ROTARY II
Senator Lorraine L. Berry, Senate Finance Committee chairwoman, will address Rotary II at 12:15 p.m., Wednesday May 17 at Marriott Frenchman's Reef 's Windows On the Harbor Room.
For more information, contact Susan MacFarland-Helton 776-0677.
For more information, contact Susan MacFarland-Helton 776-0677.
TURNBULL DECLARES EMERGENCY IN EDUCATION
Determined to speed up repairs at some of the Virgin Islands’ deteriorating public schools, Gov. Charles W. Turnbull Thursday declared a state of emergency in the Department of Education.
The emergency proclamation will allow the Departments of Education and Property and Procurement to purchase supplies, materials, equipment and contractual services on a priority basis, according to a Government House release. The move will also speed up the completion of construction projects estimated at more than $100,000.
The governor’s decision specifically targets renovations at Charlotte Amalie and St. Croix Central High Schools, and the upgrading of the special education program.
"The Department of Education must be treated as a priority in order to address its myriad of problems and to avert a crisis in the educational system," Turnbull said.
The governor’s announcement comes after months of discussions with members of the V.I. Board of Education and leaders of the American Federation of Teachers.
Cecil Benjamin, president of the St. Croix chapter of the AFT, said the organization is "very pleased" that the governor has "finally decided to carry out the commitment" to declare the state of emergency.
"I’m glad he made the bold step to give (the Departments of Education and Property and Procurement) the authority" to streamline the procurement process, Benjamin said.
Now the AFT is looking to see what Turnbull’s next move will be. Benjamin said that in addition to the decaying school infrastructure a number of other issues still exist, including low starting pay for teachers and placing teachers on negotiated pay steps.
"What are the plans to rectify some of the problems we have it the Department of Education?" Benjamin asked. "You cannot be an effective teacher if the conditions under which you are working . . . are not conducive to learning."
Meanwhile, Jonathon James, one of the parents from a group on St. Croix that threatened to sue the Department of Education over conditions in the public school system, said that in light of the declaration the parents are willing to work with the governor and education officials. "Now I want to see some action," he said.
The governor’s emergency declaration will remain in effect until January 1, 2001, according to Government House.
The emergency proclamation will allow the Departments of Education and Property and Procurement to purchase supplies, materials, equipment and contractual services on a priority basis, according to a Government House release. The move will also speed up the completion of construction projects estimated at more than $100,000.
The governor’s decision specifically targets renovations at Charlotte Amalie and St. Croix Central High Schools, and the upgrading of the special education program.
"The Department of Education must be treated as a priority in order to address its myriad of problems and to avert a crisis in the educational system," Turnbull said.
The governor’s announcement comes after months of discussions with members of the V.I. Board of Education and leaders of the American Federation of Teachers.
Cecil Benjamin, president of the St. Croix chapter of the AFT, said the organization is "very pleased" that the governor has "finally decided to carry out the commitment" to declare the state of emergency.
"I’m glad he made the bold step to give (the Departments of Education and Property and Procurement) the authority" to streamline the procurement process, Benjamin said.
Now the AFT is looking to see what Turnbull’s next move will be. Benjamin said that in addition to the decaying school infrastructure a number of other issues still exist, including low starting pay for teachers and placing teachers on negotiated pay steps.
"What are the plans to rectify some of the problems we have it the Department of Education?" Benjamin asked. "You cannot be an effective teacher if the conditions under which you are working . . . are not conducive to learning."
Meanwhile, Jonathon James, one of the parents from a group on St. Croix that threatened to sue the Department of Education over conditions in the public school system, said that in light of the declaration the parents are willing to work with the governor and education officials. "Now I want to see some action," he said.
The governor’s emergency declaration will remain in effect until January 1, 2001, according to Government House.
