June 1, 2001 — Faith Baker, program manager for the executive office of the federal Weed and Seed Program in Washington, D.C., will be visiting the territory's two Weed and Seed sites on St. Thomas and St. Croix next week.
U. S. Attorney David L. Atkinson said Baker has oversight responsibility for the territory's two sites at Estate Grove Place on St. Croix and Estate Bovoni on St. Thomas.
Baker and the Weed and Seed staffs will conduct workshops on all three islands, and meet with residents and other partners involved in the Weed and Seed program. The program uses a multi-agency strategy to "weed out" crime, violence, gang activity and drug use in targeted neighborhoods and restore or"seed" the community through a variety of social programs and economic revitalization.
The St. Thomas Estate- Bovoni Weed and Seed Program, now in its second year, is opening its "Seedtech Computer learning Center" June 7, a project that program manager Zelda Williams had been working on for more than a year.
On Wednesday at 3:30 p. m. Baker will conduct a workshop at the grand jury assembly room in the Federal Building for individuals and groups interested in learning more about Weed and Seed strategy, and how a community can qualify to become a recognized Weed and Seed site.
At 6:30 p.m. Thursday Baker will attend the Bovoni Weed and Seed steering committee meeting at the Estate Bovoni site, after which she will meet with residents and other partners involved in the Bovoni Weed and Seed strategy.
At 10 a.m. Friday Baker will conduct a workshop on St. John at the Legislature Building's conference room in Cruz Bay.
Atkinson said the workshops are free, and he stressed the "benefits to any community which is an officially recognized Weed and Seed site are immeasurable." For further information, or to register for a workshop, call Diane DeAbreu at the U. S. Attorney's office on St. Croix at 773-3920.
