V.I. Congressional Delegate Donna M. Christian-Christensen is paving the way to have more Virgin Islanders hired for federal positions in the territory.
She plans to set up a job fair and expand the federal agencies' student cooperative program where local high school students can work in federal agencies as summer employees or part time employees in hopes of obtaining future employment.
Another strategy is to place touch screen computer kiosks with federal employment information on St. Croix and provide a better location for the one currently on St. Thomas, Christensen said.
Christensen met Friday with representatives from the Office of Personnel Management for the Federal Government to discuss her concerns about several issues regarding the hiring and promotion of federal employees in the V.I. including, promotional practices of federal agencies, entry level job availability in the territory, and timely access to information on federal jobs.
Christensen requested a briefing by OPM on these issues after receiving numerous complaints over the years from Virgin Islanders about apparent roadblocks to entering the federal employment system.
The representatives provided Christensen with a breakdown of the number of federal employees in the territory, the number of employees in 1999 and the percentage of Virgin Islanders hired.
The release from Christensen's office did not provide those figures.
"It was a very productive meeting," said Christensen. "We discussed strategies to increase opportunities for locals who are interested in federal government service either locally or on the mainland."

Delegate Donna Christian-Christensen is looking into ways for more Virgin Islanders to get federal jobs in the territory, according to a release from her office.
She met Friday with federal Office of Personnel Management staff members to discuss entry-level job availability, promotion practices and timely access to information on openings in the territory. According to the release, she asked for the meeting because of numerous complaints over the years from Virgin Islanders about perceived roadblocks to federal employment.
"It was a very productive meeting," the delegate said. "We discussed strategies to increase opportunities for locals who are interested in federal government service, either locally or on the mainland."
Two strategies toward increasing federal opportunities for Virgin Islanders, the release said, will be to set up a job fair and expand the cooperative program in which high school students can work in federal agencies as part-time or summer employees, in preparation for possible permanent employment after graduation.
Another will be to place touch-screen computer kiosks with federal employment information on St. Croix and to provide a better location for the existing kiosk on St. Thomas.
The release said Christensen was given statistics on the number of federal employees in the territory and the percentage who are Virgin Islanders, but it did not provide those figures.

The territory's physicians have been asked to be "more responsible in the issuance of certificates of illnesses" for government workers.
A joint statement by Attorney General Iver Stridiron and Karen Andrews, chief labor negotiator, said they "have determined that certain physicians contribute to the problem" of a financially strapped government "by providing certificates of illness in a cursory and often irresponsible fashion."
Andrews said Thursday that she had sent a request to all department heads earlier this year asking them to cite their three biggest obstacles. "The one prevailing issue was abuse of the sick leave policy," she said.
It is a particularly difficult issue at a time when the government cannot hire more employees, she noted. "We have to have all our bodies," she said.
The problem is especially acute in the Education Department. In a 1996 series on education in the Daily News, investigative reporter Melvin Claxton said one in 10 teachers was absent every day. Andrews said that remains the case.
Government employees average four hours of sick leave in every 80-hour pay period, according to Andrews.
To claim sick pay after being absent three days or more, an employee must usually submit a doctor's certificate. However, Andrews said, a supervisor can request a certificate for fewer than three days' absence.
She said abusers typically are absent on Mondays or Fridays, thus extending their weekends, or consistently miss one or two days every pay period. "If they can pay $15 or $25 for a certificate, why should they care?" she said.
The joint statement said that in cases of excessive absenteeism or suspicious circumstances, doctors may be asked to support their certification in writing or may be called upon to testify about services rendered "in departmental, administrative or court proceedings."
Stridiron and Andrews issued the statement in the aftermath of the closing Monday and Tuesday of the Motor Vehicle Bureau on St. Thomas because its workers reportedly were ill.

UVI Alumni Luncheon
The UVI St. Thomas/St. John Alumni Chapter is hosting a UVI Charter Day Celebration Luncheon on board Royal Caribbean Cruise Line's "Nordic Empress" on Saturday, March 11 at 11:30 a.m. The guest speaker will be UVI alumnus Terrence Thomas, director of management information systems at the V.I. GERS. Tickets are $35 and are available at the UVI Bookstore, Alumni Affairs Office and through chapter members.
Free Workshops
The Virgin Islands University Affiliated Programs is sponsoring free workshops on UVI's St. Thomas campus. On Monday, March 13, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Michael Lawlor will conduct a workshop entitled, "Models of Accommodation with Assistive Technology." The workshop is designed for special education teachers and others who work with people with disabilities and will be held in Chase Auditorium. On Tuesday, March 14, from 10 a.m. to noon, a workshop entitled, "Teaching Moments with Assistive Technology," will be conducted in UVI's Teacher Education building, Room 114. "Teaching Moments" is designed for University professors and other educators who work with students with disabilities.
Poetry Reading
March 17 – The UVI Humanities Division is sponsoring "Poetry & Conversation at 6 p.m.Friday, March 17 at L'Hotel Boynes" For more information call 693-1340.
UVI Humanities Festival 2000
March 19-26. Various venues. Admission is free unless otherwise noted. A partial schedule of events follows:
March 19 – UVI Charter Day Concert, 7:30 p.m. Reichhold Center for the Arts. General admission is $10, $5 for students with identification.
March 20 – "Charting Our Future in the Humanities: Global Perspective and Local Challenge" – A discussion with local scholars including Tregenza Roach, Tulip Fleming and Betty Mahoney. At 8:15 p.m. in UVI's Chase Auditorium.
March 23 – Paracumbe, a Puerto Rican folkloric dance company, and musician Salvador Fragosa perform in the UVI cafeteria at 7 p.m. General admission is $5.
March 24 through 27 – UVI Theatre presents "Play Mas," a drama by Trinidadian playwright Mustapha Matura, in UVI's Little Theatre, 8 p.m. General admission is $10 and $5 for students with I.D.
March 24 – Discussion with Earl Lovelace, Gus Edwards, James DeJongh , "Making, Mending and Tending the Net of Humanities Discourse," 5:30 p.m. – Ralph M. Paiewonsky Library.
March 25 – "Spinning, Weaving, Cooking and Chanting – the Cross-cultural Narrative of Caribbean Reality," will utilize a series of round-robins with scholars, writers and artists. In the UVI Harvey Center cafeteria from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
March 25 – Quadrille Ball in the Harvey Student Center Cafeteria at 9 p.m. featuring Stanley and the Ten Sleepless Nights. Tickets are $15.
March 26– "Jazz on the Green" with Martin Lamkin and Friends. From 4 to 8 p.m. on the grounds of UVI's St. Thomas golf course.

Twenty-six 10th, 11th and 12th grade students from Ivanna Eudora Kean High School decided they wanted to do something that would make a difference, so they spent Friday picking up litter and leaves and pulling weeds at Magens Bay.
"We were talking about environmental health," said Carolyn Davis, the health teacher at IEKHS, "and before I knew it they had a plan."
The students put the whole project together, according to Davis. They even arranged to have food served at lunchtime, and healthy food at that – veggie burgers and barbecued tofu.
Shanelle Magras, 16, coordinated the food, Davis said. Magras' grandmother, Beatrice Selkridge, made a lot of it.
Sinclair Wilkinson, Eudora Kean's principal, arranged for payment of the safari bus that brought the students to Magens, Davis said. But the kids were ready to do that themselves, too.
They finished way ahead of schedule. They were done with the land cleanup by noon. After a break for lunch, they planned to start cleaning up on the water side.
Linelle Andrews, an 11th grader, said, "It was fun – doing it with your friends."
"It actually looks better when it's clean. Maybe if the tourists see us cleaning up they'll keep it clean, too," said 17-year-old Inez Hunt.
Marcus George, 19, said, "I never knew how beautiful this beach is. When I was young I used to litter. Now, I can see how beautiful it looks when it's clean.
"We need to tell Virgin Islanders not to litter," George added.
"I feel better seeing the beach clean," said 12th-grader Kayshun Brown.
"As a teacher, it's wonderful to see the light go on," said Davis. "It's a pleasure to be with a class that is ready to do."

The Senate Health Committee unanimously approved legislation Friday that would simplify the organ donation process and bring it into line with procedures in most states.
The measure now goes to the Rules Committee.
Health officials testifying for the bill stressed the importance of revising the Anatomical Gift Act.
Amos Carty, general counsel for the Roy L. Schneider Hospital, said the changes could help narrow the gap between the supply of and demand for donated organs, according to the Daily News.
Carty was representing Eugene Woods, the hospital chief executive officer.
Dr. Ruth Watson, hospital medical director, told the committee, "Every donor has the potential of giving renewed life to those whose lives may depend on it."
The legislation, sponsored by committee chair Allie-Allison Petrus, expands the list of people who can permit donation of an organ and drops a requirement that documents permitting organ donations be witnessed.
It requires hospital staff to discuss organ donation and encourage consent by the family of any patient who is brain dead and is an eligible donor, according to the V.I. Independent.
The measure was strongly endorsed by a senior nursing student from the University of the Virgin Islands, Jennifer JnoBaptiste, who is working to increase community awareness about organ donation.
In January, she said, there were 66,983 persons on the national patient waiting list for organ transplants, and 44,000 of them needed kidneys. Availability of the organs is critical to minorities, she said, since "at least 49 percent of persons on the waiting list are people of color."
In other action, the committee tabled a bill to bring all professional mental health practitioners under an umbrella licensing board. Representatives of the Association of V.I. Psychologists and the National Association of Social Workers strongly objected to the proposal, saying that their respective standards are much more stringent that those of related fields, according to the Daily News.
Sen. Lorraine Berry, the bill sponsor, remarked that the committee seemed to have gotten in the middle of a "turf war," but agreed to have the bill tabled to work out an agreement satisfactory to all groups.

The Senate Health Committee unanimously approved legislation Friday that would make the organ donation process easier, and bring it into line with most other states.
Health officials testifying before the committee stressed the importance of the revised anatomical gift act. Amos Carty, general counsel for the Roy L. Schneider Hospital, said the act could help narrow the gap between the supply and demand of donated organs, according to the Daily News. Carty was representing Eugene Woods, the hospital's chief executive officer.
Dr. Ruth Watson, hospital medical director, was also in favor of the legislation. She told the committee the importance of revising the anatomical gift act was self-evident.
"Every donor has the potential of giving renewed life to those whose lives may depend on it," she said.
The legislation expands the list of people who can permit donation of an organ, unless the deceased refused a donation before his death. It also drops the requirement that documents permitting organ donations must be witnessed.
The proposal requires hospital staff to discuss organ donation and encourage consent by the family of any patient who is brain-dead and an eligible donor, according to the V.I. Independent.
The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Allie-Alllison Petrus, committee chair, was also strongly endorsed by a senior nursing student from the University of the Virgin Islands, Jennifer JnoBaptiste, who is working to increase community awareness about organ donation.
She said that in January, 66,983 patients were on the national Patient Waiting List for organ transplants, and 44,000 of them needed kidneys. The availability of organs is particularly important to minorities, she said, since "at least 49 percent of persons on the waiting list are people of color."
The act must now go to the Rules Committee before it comes back to the full senate for a vote.
In another matter, the committee tabled a bill to bring all professional mental health practitioners under an umbrella licensing board. Representatives of the Association of V. I. Psychologists and the National Association of Social Workers strongly objected to the bill, according to the Daily News, saying their standards are much more stringent that those of related fields.
Sen. Lorraine Berry, the bill's sponsor, remarked that the committee seemed to have gotten in the middle of a "turf war," but agreed to have the bill tabled to work out an agreement satisfactory to all groups. The bill, as it stands, is now postponed indefinitely.

The Senate Health Committee unanimously approved legislation Friday that would make the organ donation process easier, and bring it into line with most other states.
Health officials testifying before the committee stressed the importance of the revised anatomical gift act.
Amos Carty, general counsel for the Roy L. Schneider Hospital, said the act could help narrow the gap between the supply and demand of donated organs, according to the Daily News.
Carty was representing Eugene Woods, the hospital chief executive officer.
Dr. Ruth Watson, hospital medical director, was also in favor of the legislation. She told the committee that the importance of revising the anatomical gift act is self evident
"Every donor has the potential of giving renewed life to those whose lives may depend on it," she said.
The legislation expands the list of people who can permit donation of an organ, unless the deceased refused a donation before his death. It also drops the requirement that documents permitting organ donations must be witnessed.
The proposal requires hospital staff to discuss organ donation and encourage consent by the family of any patient who is brain dead and an eligible donor, according to the V.I. Independent.
The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Allie-Alllison Petrus, committee chair, was also strongly endorsed by a senior nursing student from the University of the Virgin Islands, Jennifer JnoBaptiste, who is working to increase community awareness about organ donation.
She said that in January, 66,983 patients were on the national Patient Waiting List for organ transplants, and 44,000 of them needed kidneys. She said availability of the organs is particularly important to minorities, since "at least 49 percent of persons on the waiting list are people of color."
The act must now go to the Rules Committee before it comes back to the full senate for a vote.
In another matter, the committee tabled a bill to bring all professional mental health practitioners under an umbrella licensing board. Representatives of the Association of V. I. Psychologists and the National Association of Social workers strongly objected to the bill, saying that their respective standards are much more stringent that those of related fields, according to the Daily News.
Sen. Lorraine Berry, the bill's sponsor, remarked that the committee seemed to have gotten in the middle of a "turf war," but agreed to have the bill tabled to work out an agreement satisfactory to all groups. The bill, as it stands, is now postponed indefinitely.

The territory is in position to get $225,000 of a $1.3 million federal set-aside for coral reef conservation.
Dean Plaskett, commissioner of Planning and Natural Resources, said the territory could receive that money to develop a marine management plan and eventually a marine park.
Plaskett was in Washington, D.C., last week to attend a meeting of the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force. The Washington meeting was a followup to the Coral Reef Task Force’s gathering held on St. Croix in November.
At that conference, the task force adopted the National Action Plan to Conserve Coral Reefs. The plan makes recommendations for the federal government, states and territories to ensure sustainable coral reef ecosystems.
Last week, Plaskett said, the Virgin Islands was acknowledged for its plans to establish marine sanctuaries and a marine park system. Help in funding such plans will come from the federal government.
Congress has appropriated $6 million for fiscal year 2000 for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for coral reef conservation. The Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service and Interior's Office of Insular Affairs have also received increased funding for coral reef protection in FY 2000.
NOAA and the Office of Insular Affairs will award approximately $1.3 million to support aspects of the All Islands Coral Reef Initiative Strategy. From that, Plaskett said, the Virgin Islands could see the $225,000.
He said DPNR is ready to work with the Park Service, the University of the Virgin Islands and non-governmental organizations to develop the territory's coral reef plan.

The territory is in position to get $225,000 of a $1.3 million federal set-aside for coral reef conservation.
Dean Plaskett, commissioner of Planning and Natural Resources, said the territory could receive that money to develop a marine management plan and eventually a marine park.
Plaskett was in Washington, D.C., last week to attend a meeting of the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force. The Washington meeting was a follow-up to the Coral Reef Task Force’s gathering held on St. Croix last November.
At that conference, the task force adopted the National Action Plan to Conserve Coral Reefs. The plan makes recommendations for the federal government, states and territories to ensure sustainable coral reef ecosystems.
Plaskett said that at last week’s meeting, the Virgin Islands was acknowledged for its plans to establish marine sanctuaries and a marine park system. Help in funding such plans will come from the federal government.
Congress has appropriated $6 million for fiscal year 2000 for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for coral reef conservation. The Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service and Interior's Office of Insular Affairs have also received increased funding for coral reef protection in FY 2000.
NOAA and the Office of Insular Affairs will award approximately $1.3 million to support aspects of the All Islands Coral Reef Initiative Strategy. From that, Plaskett said, the Virgin Islands could see the $225,000.
He said DPNR is ready to work with the Park Service, the University of the Virgin Islands and non-governmental organizations to develop the territory's coral reef plan.