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.

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.

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 alleged assault by a police officer of a vacation rental property employee on St. John and the implication of a second officer in the case will be addressed at a press conference at 2 p.m. Friday in the Farrelly Criminal Justice Complex on St. Thomas, the head of the St. Thomas- St. John district Police Benevolent Association said Thursday.
Association president Elroy Raymo made the comment with regard to a disciplinary hearing for the two officers before Police Chief Jose Garcia on Thursday that reportedly lasted from around 11 a.m. until the end of the day. The two St. John officers were the subjects of the hearing following a preliminary investigation by the island's Zone D commander, Lt. Rene Garcia. Kelly Giggenbach, an employee of Caribbean Villas, told police an off-duty officer confronted her near the Cruz Bay dock on March 18 in connection with a dispute she was having with taxi drivers over a parking space. The officer then reportedly grabbed her by the breast and slammed her against a vehicle repeatedly in view of numerous persons in the area.The officer was subsequently brought up on disciplinary charges, along with the second officer, whose involvement has not been made clear.
Published media reports have identified the officer who allegedly accosted Giggenbach as Eugene Somersall and the second officer implicated as Lorraine Sprauve. Police have not publicly named those under investigation.
Deputy Police Chief Theodore Carty said Thursday that several witnesses appeared during the course of the proceedings. Police Commissioner Franz Christian said the results of the hearing would be disclosed upon conclusion. Around 7 p.m. Thursday, Raymo said a conclusion had been reached, but he would give no details on the results. He said the hearing would be one of the subjects addressed at the press conference at the Zone A Police Command in the Criminal Justice Complex.

The alleged assault by a police officer of a vacation rental property employee on St. John and the implication of a second officer in the case will be addressed at a press conference at 2 p.m. Friday in the Farrelly Criminal Justice Complex on St. Thomas, the head of the St. Thomas- St. John district Police Benevolent Association said Thursday.
Association president Elroy Raymo made the comment with regard to a disciplinary hearing for the two officers before Police Chief Jose Garcia on Thursday that reportedly lasted from around 11 a.m. until the end of the day. The two St. John officers were the subjects of the hearing following a preliminary investigation by the island's Zone D commander, Lt. Rene Garcia. Kelly Giggenbach, an employee of Caribbean Villas, told police an off-duty officer confronted her near the Cruz Bay dock on March 18 in connection with a dispute she was having with taxi drivers over a parking space. The officer then reportedly grabbed her by the breast and slammed her against a vehicle repeatedly in view of numerous persons in the area.The officer was subsequently brought up on disciplinary charges, along with the second officer, whose involvement has not been made clear.
Published media reports have identified the officer who allegedly accosted Giggenbach as Eugene Somersall and the second officer implicated as Lorraine Sprauve. Police have not publicly named those under investigation.
Deputy Police Chief Theodore Carty said Thursday that several witnesses appeared during the course of the proceedings. Police Commissioner Franz Christian said the results of the hearing would be disclosed upon conclusion. Around 7 p.m. Thursday, Raymo said a conclusion had been reached, but he would give no details on the results. He said the hearing would be one of the subjects addressed at the press conference at the Zone A Police Command in the Criminal Justice Complex.

An anonymous benefactor with a love of birds has made it possible for the St. Croix Environmental Association to purchase 60 acres of land at Southgate on the island’s east end.
The $822,697 donation means a prime nesting habitat for birds and endangered sea turtles long on the market for commercial development will be protected for perpetuity.
Newly named the Southgate Pond Nature Preserve, the property encompasses the eastern third of the salt pond east to Chenay Bay Beach Resort and the land between Green Cay Beach and East End Road.
Stuart Ketcham, chair of SEA’s board of directors, said the donation came from an individual who wished to remain anonymous. Apparently, though, the donor is a part-time resident of St. Croix who is also an avid bird watcher.
The story goes that on a recent birding excursion at the Southgate salt pond, the soon-to-be benefactor’s vehicle became stuck in the mud. While awaiting a tow truck at Cheeseburgers in Paradise, the person noted the nearby sign advertising the 60 acres for sale.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
"We didn’t have the money on our own to purchase the 60 acres," Ketcham said, adding that a management plan for the site will be developed jointly with the University of the Virgin Islands, the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service. "We can guarantee one thing," he said. "We aren’t going to build a 500-room hotel."
Along with the key sea turtle nesting beach, the dominant feature of the property is the salt pond, which is owned by the V.I. government. According to Olasee Davis, a SEA board member and a natural resource specialist at UVI, Southgate pond is one of the most important ponds in the Virgin Islands for local and migrating birds. Some 96 species have been recorded at the site, including 26 that are considered threatened or endangered in the Virgin Islands.
Although the salt pond is publicly owned, and therefore protected, Davis said, acquiring the surrounding land was vital for the pond to continue to be a stopover point for birds migrating between North and South America and those nesting locally.
"It doesn’t make sense trying to protect the pond without a buffer zone," he said.
The salt pond has shrunk to a third of its size half a century ago, Davis said. But while dredging by developers in the 1950s and the construction of Green Cay Marina to the west in the 1960s have changed the ecology of the pond, what remains is an important ecosystem, he added.
Davis also said the Southgate pond area has been designated by the Coastal Zone Management program as one of 18 Areas of Particular Concern in the territory.
Because the land will now be dedicated to preservation purposes, it is exempt from property and transfer taxes, according to Andrew Simpson, the attorney who handled the deal for SEA. He said a conservation easement is in place that ensures the land is held in perpetuity for preservation purposes.

Things went far from smoothly in the first day of curtailed Vitran bus service on St. Thomas and St. John, and yet it could have been worse.
As Verne Callwood, Public Works assistant commissioner for transportation planning, put it, St. Thomas experienced a "few bumps." At the Vitran terminal office in Contant, he said the number of drivers reporting for work in the morning came up short by two. As a result, while five buses were scheduled to be in operation, only three were out on the road for the first shift.
However, Callwood said, the reason the employees did not report for work was that, under their old schedule, Thursday had been their regular day off.
Callwood said Vitran is required by union contract to send out layoff notices two weeks in advance, but nobody had reckoned on the layoff date falling in the middle of the week. "We're all to blame on that one," he said.
As luck would have it, the demand for public transit was less than it might have been under other circumstances. There were no cruise ships in port at St. Thomas on Thursday. It was, in fact, the first such day since Hurricane Lenny visited the territory in November, according to Jimmy Danet, officer manager for The West Indian Company. As a result, a lot of safari bus and taxi drivers were on the road looking to pick up local fares who might not otherwise have been available to do so.
In addition, intermittent showers during the day across the island may have dissuaded those who did not have to go out and travel on public transit.
There were no signs of would-be riders stuck waiting at bus stops. In fact, with the off- and-on rain, most downtown and West End stops were virtually deserted outside of the morning and afternoon rush hours.
On St. John, Vitran operations manager Donna Roberts said the first day of running a decimated system with an all-new staff was rocky. Her entire St. John crew was laid off because of a lack of seniority, since Vitran began operating on the island only three years ago, and five St. Thomas employees were transferred to St. John.
However, Roberts said, first thing Thursday morning, one laid-off driver was called back – – and came back — because one of the two St. Thomas drivers scheduled to begin service at 5:15 a.m. was late.
Then, she said, that bus, one of just two operating on the island, went out of service, and a mechanic had to be called over from St. Thomas.
Callwood said the St. Thomas driver who reported on time in the morning has family on St. John and had spent the night there. Drivers newly assigned to work on St. John are expected to make their own arrangements to be able to report for work at their scheduled starting times.
The "day-off" bug bit on St. John, too, in the afternoon. Roberts said one worker assigned to the second shift didn't show up "because Thursday was his regular day off." She added, "I couldn't blame him, because he worked all week and he wanted to take his day off."
Roberts said she was glad she had prepared a contingency plan on Wednesday while working out the new bus schedule. She predicted that by Sunday, the system should be running smoothly.
On Sundays, there will be "restricted" bus service on St. John but none on St. Thomas or St. Croix. The impact this will cause for places of worship remains to be seen, but a clergyman at one major downtown St. Thomas church expressed concern. The Rev. Clifton Niles of Christ Church Methodist at Rothschild Francis "Market" Square said his congregation members would have to get together to work out car pools or other alternatives to taking the bus. "To be honest, I don't know how we are going to handle it right now," he said Thursday.
At another downtown church, the Frenchtown Evangelistic Assembly, which has just constructed a new house of worship on Veterans Drive, Pastor Edward Magras said the absence of Vitran service would not be a problem. "We have our own safari bus, which the church subsidizes," he explained, "so we aren't concerned."
There was no word from Government House Thursday on any new developments in the public transit situation. Administration officials had said Wednesday that financial analysts were weighing legislation appropriating $600,000 for Vitran operations and a union offer for employees to go to a four-day work week and forgo sick-leave, overtime and holiday pay in order to save some jobs.
Callwood's projection for Friday was that it, too, would be "touch and go." He said he had anticipated personnel problems as a result of the layoffs but credited the drivers with being "professionals dedicated to their jobs."
He said he expects that the drivers will rally in the next few days because they "love their jobs and have a commitment to the community." He added, "It's my gut feeling that in a few days we will be over these growing pains and get adjusted to the new schedule."
Danet said only one cruise ship is scheduled to be at the WICO dock on Friday, and none again on Saturday.
Safari bus driver Burnett Smith had a word of advice for Vitran Thursday, as he awaited passengers at the main bus stop on the University of the Virgin Islands campus. "They should run it as a private company," he said. "If they had to sell service to survive, they'd do it."

Dear Source,
My earlier email about safety in the islands spawned another response from your reader in Maryland.
My thoughts were not intended to suggest that the Virgin Islands guarantee anyone's safety. I merely suggest that the Virgin Islands, and ANY destination, take the issue very seriously. And, I totally agree with you that people should use common sense precautions wherever their travel may take them.
After living in the islands for 34 years, I think the majority of people in the islands are deeply concerned about how the islands are perceived by the rest of the country. I don't hear a great deal about travelers who are concerned with safety in traveling to, or through, Maryland.
Maryland doesn't generate a lot of press in that regard. But, we both know that the islands have suffered a great deal from negative publicity in the past. So, I would suggest that a method be found to neutralize the negative publicity that seems to visit the islands all too often. How to do that becomes somewhat problematic.
Since you have traveled extensively, perhaps you would share with the readers how Hawaii, Alaska, Canada and Europe deal with the problem and still maintain such a favorable perception.
Robert Miller

Financial administrator Dionidas Anthony was named Employee of the Year by her peers at the Myrah Keating Smith Community Health Center.
In paying tribute to Anthony at a luncheon ceremony Thursday, administrator Erica McDonald said the clinic workers were invited to submit nominations for the honor to a selection committee, which then forwarded its recommendation to her.
The luncheon itself was in honor of longtime housekeeper Margaret Charles, who retired in December after 15 years of service. Retiring Health Department employee Sally Brown was also honored with a plaque and gifts.
Thirty-seven other Keating staff members were recognized with service awards for milestones in their years of employment.
McDonald said she felt it was important to recognize the contributions of her staff because "the clinic can run if I'm not here, but it can't if they're not."
Anthony's peers said she had distinguished herself by taking a leadership role during the months when the clinic was between administrators. But Anthony said that role had fallen to others and she simply had offered her support. "I do things in the background," she said. "You know I don't like to be up front."

The University of the Virgin Islands will graduate 303 students at its 36th annual commencement exercises this month. The commencement for the St. Thomas campus will be held at 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 20, at the Reichhold Center for the Arts.
The St. Croix campus commencement will be held on Sunday, May 21, at 4:30 p.m. at the Island Center. Tickets are required for both ceremonies.
"I congratulate the members of the Class of 2000, who exemplify the very best that the University of the Virgin Islands has to offer –– sound academic achievement, vision and the technical expertise to shape the next century," said UVI president Orville Kean.
The commencement speaker for the St. Thomas campus is Emmit McHenry, president and chief executive officer of NetCom Solutions International Inc., an international telecommunications, engineering, consulting and technical services firm that has been honored with numerous awards from customers and industry for performance excellence. McHenry is an active member of the State Department's Advisory Committee for International Communications and Information Policy.
He has held management positions with IBM, Connecticut General, Union Mutual and Allstate Insurance Company, where he served in several positions including regional vice president for the five northwestern states (Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Alaska and Hawaii).
The commencement speaker for the St. Croix campus is Michael S. Fields, chairman and chief executive officer of the Fields Group, a management consulting firm. The Fields Group provides operational, marketing and financial consulting services to emerging companies in the information technology industry.
Prior to founding the Fields Group, Fields founded and served as CEO and chairman of the board of Open Vision, a leading supplier of systems management applications for open client/server computing environment. Fields and his wife Sandra, a St. Croix native, maintain a home on St. Croix.
The St. Thomas student commencement speaker is Leandra Lailow. The St. Croix student commencement speaker is Shakira Wilson.
"As we embark on a new century, members of the Class of 2000 are poised to set the pace in their respective fields of endeavor with eagerness and determination — traits that are prized at the University of the Virgin Islands," Kean said.