April 19, 2007 — Despite a few bouts of heated debate and inter-island bickering in the Earle B. Ottley Legislative Chambers, majority and minority senators joined together on Wednesday to honor two of the territory's fallen heroes — Lt. Col. David Canegata III and Sgt. 1st Class Floyd Lake, who were both killed in a helicopter crash in Iraq on Jan. 20.
It was with heavy hearts, a few tears and many kind words that senators voted unanimously to pass two resolutions commending the two soldiers and bestowing upon them, posthumously, the V.I. Medal of Honor.
"Both of these gentlemen have not only contributed to our community but have spent their lives leading by example," said Senate President Usie R. Richards, a friend of Canegata's.
The most touching remarks, however, came from Sens. Juan Figueroa-Serville and James A. Weber III, who shared vivid memories of the two soldiers. Weber, Canegata's cousin, also choked back tears as he read one of the resolutions into the record.
"The beauty of my cousin, the measure of the man, if you will, is that he was deployed to Afghanistan but died visiting his troops in Iraq," Weber said. "And that's who we are as a people — we would fly into a battle zone to be with the people we care about."
Senators gave both "warriors" a standing ovation after both resolutions were approved and also took the time to speak out against the war in the Middle East, which many described as "senseless."
The medals of honor will be presented to the soldiers' families at a ceremony to be held at a later date.
About an hour later, minority and majority senators stood together once more during a press conference honoring the passing of the first 100 days of the 27th Legislature. To commemorate the occasion, Majority Leader Sen. Celestino A. White Sr. circulated a voluminous booklet outlining what each senator has accomplished since taking the oath of office in January.
The booklets were compiled by Karl Callwood, White's communications and research officer.
According to White, the booklets were compiled "in-house," using funds from the "majority leader's small budget." Copies will be provided to the public within a week, he added after the press conference.
Leafing through the document, many senators described the booklet as means of "accountability," which will give residents a firsthand look at what the Senate has been up to over the past few months. After the meeting, White said he would look into churning out additional reports, to give the local community an update on Senate activities conducted within the first six months or a year.
"With this booklet here, we wanted to show that while 100 days is not a lot of time, senators have accomplished a lot," White said, adding that senators often have to balance the day-to-day activities of the job with family and community activities.
In the booklet, White states that the Legislature has, over the past few months, led the charge on several major initiatives, submitting and passing bills dealing with pressing issues such as education and crime reform, infrastructure improvements (such as road repair), health care and financial planning.
"During the 27th Legislature, you will see an ambitious and progressive agenda which will include passage of property tax reforms, reinvigorating our captive insurance industry … and developing new housing opportunities by merging the Department of Housing, Parks and Recreation with the V.I. Housing Authority," White writes.
The rest of the Senate body also outlined other initiatives that they will be pursuing over next two years, including bills:
— establishing a V.I. Government Maintenance and Construction Bureau (Sen. Liston Davis);
— mandating that a portion of the gasoline excise tax returned to the Virgin Islands (Sen. Carlton Dowe);
— to upgrade and streamline existing probate laws (Sen. Louis P. Hill);
— providing certain incentives for local boat manufacturers under the Economic Development Commission's tax benefits program (Sen. Neville A. James);
— establishing 11 electoral sub-districts represented by a senator elected by voters in each sub-district (Sen. Norman Jn Baptiste);
— creating a compensation commission to determine the salaries of public officials (Sen. Terrence "Positive" Nelson);
— establishing the V.I. Affordable Housing Set-Aside Program, which requires developers to set aside a portion of the houses that they build for moderate-income households;
— providing a 10 percent levy on all construction valued at more than $1 million (Richards);
— setting up uniform tobacco product sales laws (Sen. Ronald E. Russell);
— establishing the V.I. DNA Database and Databank (Sen. Shawn-Michael Malone);
— streamlining agriculture and economic development throughout the territory (Weber);
— appropriating $4.5 million for the construction of a Police and Fire Services Training Academy on St. Croix (Sen. Carmen M. Wesselhoft);
— requiring all land being sold by the local or federal governments be offered to the V.I. Housing Finance Authority for the right of first refusal (White); and
— creating a Domestic Violence Act prohibiting employers from discriminating against victims of domestic violence, and protecting those victims from "being harassed on the job" by spouses or other individuals (Sen. Alvin L. Williams).
All senators were present during this week's two-day session, which began on Tuesday.
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