A seminar on Nutrition in Sickle Cell Disease and Living Well with Sickle Cell Disease is scheduled from 1:30 to 5 p.m. on Thursday, march 23, at Gertrude's Restaurant in Estate Casstle Coakley.
Individuals with sickle cell disease and their family members are encouraged to attend. A native Virgin Islander, Ms. Lecia Ritter, will be the presenter.
There is no cost to attend. to register call 773-1311, ext. 3199. Space is limited.
SICKLE CELL DISEASE SEMINAR SCHEDULED
A seminar on Nutrition in Sickle Cell Disease and Living Well with Sickle Cell Disease is scheduled from 1 to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, march 21, at the Palms Court Harborview.
Individuals with sickle cell disease and their family members are encouraged to attend. The presenter will be Ms. Lecia Ritter, a native Virgin Islander with sickle cell disease.
There is no charge to attend. To register, call 776-3580.
Individuals with sickle cell disease and their family members are encouraged to attend. The presenter will be Ms. Lecia Ritter, a native Virgin Islander with sickle cell disease.
There is no charge to attend. To register, call 776-3580.
NEW LOCAL TV SHOW FEATURING NUTRITION AND EXERCISE DEBUT
A new television show "Shape-Up Virgin Islands" debut was aired at 5 p.m. on Sunday, March 12, on WTJX-TV Channel 12.
The series will feature guests who will share favorite recipes, tips on healthy eating and fitness. The show will appear on Channel 12 on the second Sunday of each month.
The series will feature guests who will share favorite recipes, tips on healthy eating and fitness. The show will appear on Channel 12 on the second Sunday of each month.
WAPA BOARD TO MEET
The V. I. Water and Power Authority Governing Board will meet at 10 a.m. on Thursday, March 16, in the Conference Room of the St. Thomas Administration Building.
SICKLE CELL MOTIVATIONAL SEMINARS
Maternal Child health & Children with Special health Care Needs Program announces that a seminar on Nutrition in Sickle Cell Disease and Living Well with Sickle Cell Disease will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 21, at the Palms Court Harborview.
Individuals with sickle cell disease and their family members are encouraged to attend. Ms. Lecia Ritter, a native Virgin islander with sickle cell disease will be the presenter.
The seminar is free. to register call 776-3580.
Individuals with sickle cell disease and their family members are encouraged to attend. Ms. Lecia Ritter, a native Virgin islander with sickle cell disease will be the presenter.
The seminar is free. to register call 776-3580.
AARP AND VI ADVOCACY TO HOST SKILLS TRAINING
AARP and VI Advocacy Inc. will sponsor an Elder Law Advocacy Training Workshop from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, March 22, and Thursday, March 23, at the Windward Passage Inn.
The training will be useful to persons who are interested in self-advocacy, protecting the rights of senior citizens or persons with disabilites.
The registration fee is $15 and will be limited to first come first served basis.
Contact VI Advocacy Inc. at 772-1200 for more information.
The training will be useful to persons who are interested in self-advocacy, protecting the rights of senior citizens or persons with disabilites.
The registration fee is $15 and will be limited to first come first served basis.
Contact VI Advocacy Inc. at 772-1200 for more information.
TRACK AND FIELD MEET HELD
The V.I. Express Track Club held its second annual March Madness Track and Field Meet at the St. Croix Educational Complex on Saturday. The event is one of several track meets in the V.I. used as qualifiers for the annual CARIFTA Games which will be held this year in Grenada on Easter weekend.
Ramon McIntosh of the St. Croix Educational Complex Barracudas Track and Field Team lead the way in the 100 meters.
Ramon McIntosh of the St. Croix Educational Complex Barracudas Track and Field Team lead the way in the 100 meters.
RUNNERS FLY THROUGH ROAD RACE
Kent Bradbury and Theresa Harper took the top spots in the Flight #64 road race Sunday.
The four-mile race was the final event in the V.I. Pace Runners’ Run Like the Wind Road Race Series.
Bradbury's time was 22 minutes and 24 seconds, Harper's time was 26 minutes and 39 seconds.
In the male category the finishers were: 2nd Leopold Fredericks 24:23; 3rd Jabari Goodwin 25:47; 4th Teddy Seymour 27:03; 5th Gunnar Sanden 27:35; 6th Wes Whitehurst 28:25; 7th Luke Fredericks 31:39
In the Female category, 2nd Jo Shim 28:39; 3rd Earthla Arthur 29:58; 4th Dulcie Crowther 30:44; 5th Jawana Goodwin 35:05; 6th J'Kiwa Goodwin 35:28
The next race on the V.I. Pace Runners Schedule is the Annual National Library Week "Run To Your Library" 5k on April 15. For more information call the V.I. Pace Runners 777-0258 or visit www.virginislandspace.org
The four-mile race was the final event in the V.I. Pace Runners’ Run Like the Wind Road Race Series.
Bradbury's time was 22 minutes and 24 seconds, Harper's time was 26 minutes and 39 seconds.
In the male category the finishers were: 2nd Leopold Fredericks 24:23; 3rd Jabari Goodwin 25:47; 4th Teddy Seymour 27:03; 5th Gunnar Sanden 27:35; 6th Wes Whitehurst 28:25; 7th Luke Fredericks 31:39
In the Female category, 2nd Jo Shim 28:39; 3rd Earthla Arthur 29:58; 4th Dulcie Crowther 30:44; 5th Jawana Goodwin 35:05; 6th J'Kiwa Goodwin 35:28
The next race on the V.I. Pace Runners Schedule is the Annual National Library Week "Run To Your Library" 5k on April 15. For more information call the V.I. Pace Runners 777-0258 or visit www.virginislandspace.org
MURDER TRIAL POSTPONED UNTIL AUGUST
The murder trial of a 25-year-old man accused of murdering his girlfriend last October and burying her body in their backyard has been postponed until Aug. 28.
It was to have started Monday.
Because evidence against Marvin Dominguez in the strangulation death of Patricia Ann Haumacher, 30, has not been returned from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s crime lab in Washington, D.C., a government prosecutor last week asked Territorial Court Judge Alphonso Andrews for a continuance until the end of August, according to the V.I. Daily News.
Because of the postponement, Dominguez’s court-appointed attorney, Richard Daley, asked that the defendant, who is being held on $250,000 bail, be released until the trial starts. Because no detention hearing was held, Dominguez could be released from jail if his bail amount can be raised and the prosecution agrees.
Although Dominguez turned himself in to police in late November in connection with Haumacher’s murder, he has pleaded not guilty.
Haumacher’s family in New Jersey reported her missing on Nov. 9 after not hearing from her for more than a month. On Nov. 13 V.I. police interviewed Dominguez, who told investigators she was having family problems and had left the island. Acquaintances of Dominguez and Haumacher said she was last seen around Oct. 8.
Dominguez turned himself in on Nov. 29, soon after authorities queried him about Haumacher’’s whereabouts. The next day officials exhumed Haumacher’s body, bound and gagged inside a duffel bag, from a shallow grave in the yard of the house the two had shared in Estate Two Brothers. An autopsy concluded that the victim was killed by manual strangulation and had been dead for one to two months.
It was to have started Monday.
Because evidence against Marvin Dominguez in the strangulation death of Patricia Ann Haumacher, 30, has not been returned from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s crime lab in Washington, D.C., a government prosecutor last week asked Territorial Court Judge Alphonso Andrews for a continuance until the end of August, according to the V.I. Daily News.
Because of the postponement, Dominguez’s court-appointed attorney, Richard Daley, asked that the defendant, who is being held on $250,000 bail, be released until the trial starts. Because no detention hearing was held, Dominguez could be released from jail if his bail amount can be raised and the prosecution agrees.
Although Dominguez turned himself in to police in late November in connection with Haumacher’s murder, he has pleaded not guilty.
Haumacher’s family in New Jersey reported her missing on Nov. 9 after not hearing from her for more than a month. On Nov. 13 V.I. police interviewed Dominguez, who told investigators she was having family problems and had left the island. Acquaintances of Dominguez and Haumacher said she was last seen around Oct. 8.
Dominguez turned himself in on Nov. 29, soon after authorities queried him about Haumacher’’s whereabouts. The next day officials exhumed Haumacher’s body, bound and gagged inside a duffel bag, from a shallow grave in the yard of the house the two had shared in Estate Two Brothers. An autopsy concluded that the victim was killed by manual strangulation and had been dead for one to two months.
MALINGERING COULD BE CURBED – LET'S HOPE!
Sick leave abuse among the territory’s public servants has been a major headache for years. Many employees stay home when they aren’t really sick but just don’t feel like going to work. The results are obvious: inefficiency, lack of productivity, confusion and occasional shutdowns of offices.
It has been a widespread secret that a handful of doctors who willingly write sick slips for patients or friends have facilitated this costly practice.
But that may be — may is the operative part of that verb — coming to an end.
Two key Turnbull administration officials say the executive branch is drawing the line on "suspicious" excused illnesses, and they’ve put the islands’ doctors on notice that they’ll be held accountable for their actions.
"We have determined that certain physicians contribute to the problem by providing certificates of illness in a cursory and often irresponsible fashion," Attorney General Iver A. Stridiron and Chief Labor Negotiator Karen Andrews said in a joint statement last week.
They named no names, of course. However, they warned that administration officials intend to scrutinize doctors’ excuses "more carefully and aggressively." In cases of "excessive absenteeism or suspicious circumstances," doctors may be asked to justify their actions in writing or to testify in administrative or court proceedings.
Andrews told the Source that the administration also is going to take action against chronic abusers — those who are consistently absent on Mondays or Fridays or those who take a day or two off every pay period — by demanding proof of illness.
That too would be a welcome step. But will it happen?
It’s one thing to talk tough and quite another to follow through with action. And the Virgin Islands government, regardless of administration, has a distressing history of making threats — and promises — and not following through. This, of course, breeds disdain for and distrust of government and its officials. If public officials say one thing and then do another, why should anyone believe them?.
That is why we hope Stridiron’s and Andrews’ warnings are not just more idle threats. The Virgin Islands citizenry needs to have its faith in government restored, not its cynicism reinforced. So we, along with others, will be waiting and watching to see whether these officials are serious about curbing sick leave abuse.
It has been a widespread secret that a handful of doctors who willingly write sick slips for patients or friends have facilitated this costly practice.
But that may be — may is the operative part of that verb — coming to an end.
Two key Turnbull administration officials say the executive branch is drawing the line on "suspicious" excused illnesses, and they’ve put the islands’ doctors on notice that they’ll be held accountable for their actions.
"We have determined that certain physicians contribute to the problem by providing certificates of illness in a cursory and often irresponsible fashion," Attorney General Iver A. Stridiron and Chief Labor Negotiator Karen Andrews said in a joint statement last week.
They named no names, of course. However, they warned that administration officials intend to scrutinize doctors’ excuses "more carefully and aggressively." In cases of "excessive absenteeism or suspicious circumstances," doctors may be asked to justify their actions in writing or to testify in administrative or court proceedings.
Andrews told the Source that the administration also is going to take action against chronic abusers — those who are consistently absent on Mondays or Fridays or those who take a day or two off every pay period — by demanding proof of illness.
That too would be a welcome step. But will it happen?
It’s one thing to talk tough and quite another to follow through with action. And the Virgin Islands government, regardless of administration, has a distressing history of making threats — and promises — and not following through. This, of course, breeds disdain for and distrust of government and its officials. If public officials say one thing and then do another, why should anyone believe them?.
That is why we hope Stridiron’s and Andrews’ warnings are not just more idle threats. The Virgin Islands citizenry needs to have its faith in government restored, not its cynicism reinforced. So we, along with others, will be waiting and watching to see whether these officials are serious about curbing sick leave abuse.
