March 27, 2002 – Although the proposed Crown Bay development was moved to the top of the agenda for Wednesday's Port Authority board meeting, discussion on the matter was postponed because Edward E. Thomas, chief executive of The West Indian Co., didn't appear.
Thomas, according to board chair Pamela Richards, had been invited to take part in discussing Gov. Charles W. Turnbull's recent directive that the Port Authority cancel its agreement with Carnival Corp. and Royal Caribbean International to undertake the expansion of the Crown Bay dock and the development of an adjacent retail facility.
The governor further said he wanted VIPA and WICO, two semi-autonomous agencies that have a historically acrimonious relationship, to work together on the project. (See "Turnbull halts cruise lines-Crown Bay deal".)
In a release issued last week, Thomas said that "WICO has accepted the governor's position and directive and is ready to begin immediately working with the V.I. Port Authority to move forward speedily to construct the facilities in consultation with the cruise lines whose vessels will use the facilities."
However, Richards said at Wednesday's meeting that Thomas had told her he would not attend a VIPA meeting until and unless he had receive a letter stating that VIPA had canceled its agreement with the cruise lines. Richards said she would send Thomas a copy of the Port Authority board's letter to the cruise lines.
On a motion by Attorney General Iver Stridiron, the board unanimously voted to write a letter to Thomas inviting him to a special board meeting on Tuesday, April 2 at 10 a.m. Stridiron said the letter should state that no postponement for any reason would be acceptable, due to the importance of the matter at hand.
VIPA's executive director, Gordon Finch, who is on vacation, came to the meeting Wednesday to be present for the board's meeting with Thomas. When the WICO president didn't appear, Finch left, saying he would be back for the Tuesday meeting.
On Wednesday afternoon, Radio One news carried a statement by Stridiron that the VIPA board would discuss with Thomas at the Tuesday meeting "what, if any, role his organization may wish to play" in the Crown Bay development project.
Stridiron added, "We have determined that VIPA has the wherewithal, the financial strength, to develop Crown Bay without another entity. But we will honor the governor's request that we meet and discuss" the development with WICO officials. He added that while the Port Authority has the funds for Crown Bay, "we also have numerous other projects we want to move forward. If we had found an entity to put up $31 million (as the cruise lines had proposed to do), we would have used our own funds for these [other] projects."
Now, with the governor's directive, he said, "what will happen is we will develop Crown Bay with or without WICO, but with no guarantees the cruise lines will be calling for the next 30 years." The letter of agreement with the cruise lines involved a 30-year lease of the property for the retail development. "We would have had a contract in black and white guaranteeing they would be here for 30 years," the attorney general continued. Referring to the planned dock expansion, he added, "We didn't want to have a white elephant in Crown Bay."
Stridiron said he doesn't believe the governor's decision will negatively impact the relationship between VIPA and the cruise lines. He said he spoke with cruise executives at the annual Seatrade cruise industry convention that he, Turnbull, Thomas and other government officials attended two weeks ago in Miami.
"They accept that VIPA has always been fully in favor of the Crown Bay project, and they have expressed a desire to continue to call on St. Thomas, what they called the 'premier port in the world,'" Stridiron said.

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March 27, 2002 – The Caribbean Gospel Talent Search competition, which has been open to entries for several months, is coming to the April 19 deadline. There is no cost to enter.
The entry fee of $30 is being waived, and contestants who have already submitted fees will be refunded, according to a release from Jubilation! Outreach Ministries of St. Thomas, the lead organization for the contest.
Additionally, the contest is now open to all acts, whether solo or group performers, and the act does not have to be performed in a Caribbean style but may be in any musical form. Contestants may enter by submitting an audiocassette and photograph or a standard VHS videotape, from three to four minutes in length. Entries must be postmarked by April 19, 2002.
All Caribbean residents five years old and over can enter. Entries will be in two age categories: children's, for ages five to 12, and adult, for ages 13 and up.
Sixty performers will be selected to compete on a weekly television series called "Caribbean Gospel Talent Search." Entrants who advance will be videotaped in June and July for the series on one of six islands: Anguilla, Barbados, Dominica, St. Croix, St. Thomas, and Tortola. The 15-week series will air this fall in several Caribbean islands.
Viewing audiences will vote on their favorite performers through the Internet at CaribbeanTalentSearch.com, or by calling a special telephone number.
The live final competition, which will be in St. Thomas in November, will be hosted by Teresa Hannah of "Nashville Gospel" and judged by top industry professionals. Excerpts of the final will be featured in a special episode.
The winners in each age category will win a trip and appearances on "Nashville Gospel," along with other prizes and opportunities. "Nashville Gospel" has been showcasing gospel talent for more than 30 years and reaches nearly 76 million United States households
Jubilation! Outreach Ministries is a nonprofit television production and gospel music promotions ministry. Contestants may obtain entry form and further details from the CaribbeanTalentSearch website or by sending a self-addressed envelope to: Jubilation! Outreach Ministries, Caribbean Talent Search Rules Request, P.O. Box 304574, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands 00803. For further information call 340-776-7635.
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March 27, 2002 – The Caribbean Gospel Talent Search competition, which has been open to entries for several months, is coming to the April 19 deadline. There is no cost to enter.
The entry fee of $30 is being waived, and contestants who have already submitted fees will be refunded, according to a release from Jubilation! Outreach Ministries of St. Thomas, the lead organization for the contest.
Additionally, the contest is now open to all acts, whether solo or group performers, and the act does not have to be performed in a Caribbean style but may be in any musical form. Contestants may enter by submitting an audiocassette and photograph or a standard VHS videotape, from three to four minutes in length. Entries must be postmarked by April 19, 2002.
All Caribbean residents five years old and over can enter. Entries will be in two age categories: children's, for ages five to 12, and adult, for ages 13 and up.
Sixty performers will be selected to compete on a weekly television series called "Caribbean Gospel Talent Search." Entrants who advance will be videotaped in June and July for the series on one of six islands: Anguilla, Barbados, Dominica, St. Croix, St. Thomas, and Tortola. The 15-week series will air this fall in several Caribbean islands.
Viewing audiences will vote on their favorite performers through the Internet at CaribbeanTalentSearch.com, or by calling a special telephone number.
The live final competition, which will be in St. Thomas in November, will be hosted by Teresa Hannah of "Nashville Gospel" and judged by top industry professionals. Excerpts of the final will be featured in a special episode.
The winners in each age category will win a trip and appearances on "Nashville Gospel," along with other prizes and opportunities. "Nashville Gospel" has been showcasing gospel talent for more than 30 years and reaches nearly 76 million United States households
Jubilation! Outreach Ministries is a nonprofit television production and gospel music promotions ministry. Contestants may obtain entry form and further details from the CaribbeanTalentSearch website or by sending a self-addressed envelope to: Jubilation! Outreach Ministries, Caribbean Talent Search Rules Request, P.O. Box 304574, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands 00803. For further information call 340-776-7635.
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March 27, 2002 – The Caribbean Gospel Talent Search competition, which has been open to entries for several months, is coming to the April 19 deadline. There is no cost to enter.
The entry fee of $30 is being waived, and contestants who have already submitted fees will be refunded, according to a release from Jubilation! Outreach Ministries of St. Thomas, the lead organization for the contest.
Additionally, the contest is now open to all acts, whether solo or group performers, and the act does not have to be performed in a Caribbean style but may be in any musical form. Contestants may enter by submitting an audiocassette and photograph or a standard VHS videotape, from three to four minutes in length. Entries must be postmarked by April 19, 2002.
All Caribbean residents five years old and over can enter. Entries will be in two age categories: children's, for ages five to 12, and adult, for ages 13 and up.
Sixty performers will be selected to compete on a weekly television series called "Caribbean Gospel Talent Search." Entrants who advance will be videotaped in June and July for the series on one of six islands: Anguilla, Barbados, Dominica, St. Croix, St. Thomas, and Tortola. The 15-week series will air this fall in several Caribbean islands.
Viewing audiences will vote on their favorite performers through the Internet at CaribbeanTalentSearch.com, or by calling a special telephone number.
The live final competition, which will be in St. Thomas in November, will be hosted by Teresa Hannah of "Nashville Gospel" and judged by top industry professionals. Excerpts of the final will be featured in a special episode.
The winners in each age category will win a trip and appearances on "Nashville Gospel," along with other prizes and opportunities. "Nashville Gospel" has been showcasing gospel talent for more than 30 years and reaches nearly 76 million United States households
Jubilation! Outreach Ministries is a nonprofit television production and gospel music promotions ministry. Contestants may obtain entry form and further details from the CaribbeanTalentSearch website or by sending a self-addressed envelope to: Jubilation! Outreach Ministries, Caribbean Talent Search Rules Request, P.O. Box 304574, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands 00803. For further information call 340-776-7635.
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March 25, 2002 – The V.I. National Park is launching a series of open houses on its proposed Vessel Management Plan.
"No decisions have been made" as to the plan's final form, acting park planner Jim Owens says. "It's out for public input."
The first open houses will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. April 1 and from 8 to 10 a.m. April 3, both in the third floor meeting area of the Marketplace shopping center in Cruz Bay. The proposed plan is not yet available for viewing, but will be on April 1 at public libraries, at the park Visitor Center in Cruz Bay and online at the National Park Service and Friends of the V.I. National Park web sites.
The draft plan includes extending the time limit on boats using park waters to 30 days from the present 14. Owens said this is because local boaters have said they want to be able to spend more time in the park, and "we generally have enough moorings to accommodate that use."
The park moorings usually are fully occupied only during the busy winter months and Easter week.
While working on the recently implemented Commercial Services Plan, park officials decided to start charging overnight mooring fees. These will be incorporated into the Vessel Management Plan and will go into effect this spring or summer.
Boats using the park moorings between 5 p.m. and 7:30 a.m. will be charged $15 per day. Daytime use is free. Park officials initially announced plans to charge fees for anchoring, too, but they have dropped that proposal on the grounds that the park doesn't provide any services to boats that anchor.
When the fee program starts, all vessels 60 feet and under using park waters will have to tie up to a mooring if one is available. If none are, the vessels will be allowed to anchor seaward of moorings. Anchoring is not allowed in the park's South Shore waters; there, if all 28 moorings are occupied, other boaters must go elsewhere. The park has a total of 182 moorings available for overnight use; the other 154 are in North Shore bays.
No moorings are suitable for vessels over 60 feet in length, and they therefore must anchor. However, Owens said the Vessel Management Plan includes a proposal to install moorings for vessels of 60 to 75 feet.
The Vessel Management Plan addresses the wake and shoreline problems caused by interisland ferries and other commercial vessels that cut Lind Point too close. The plan proposes that these vessels cut a wide swath around the area, located at the north entrance to the Cruz Bay harbor. It also proposes that such boats be prohibited in other congested or ecologically fragile areas.
Owens said the plan may allow small vessels to let their passengers off right on the shore as locations such as Honeymoon Beach. He said this proposal came about because several daysail captains said they often have passengers aboard who are unable to swim in to shore. "There are safety concerns," Owens said. He said such anchoring will be allowed only in areas with no reefs or seagrass beds.
The park also may move its own fleet of boats from the bulkhead in front of the Visitor Center so that boating visitors can directly access the building. If that happens, Owens said, the park will build a dock on the north side of Cruz Bay, where the park has a ramp.
The Vessel Management Plan also addresses noise, speed and light issues.
Park authorities announced Friday that bid information for contractors who want the job of collecting the mooring fees is available at the Federal Business Opportunities web site.
This information is available only online. If help is needed to navigate the Internet site, call (703) 390-6630. Specific contracting questions should go to the contracting officer, Dianne Mitchell, at (404) 562-3163, ext. 575.
A pre-bid conference is scheduled for 9 a.m. Thursday at the Marketplace.

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The Charlotte Amalie High School Class of 1995 will hold a meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, April 5, at Frederick Evangelical Lutheran Church's Bethania Hall (across from Grand Hotel).
Be sure to bring class dues.
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March 27, 2002 – A Tutu Hi-Rise man has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with the beating death last December of 2-year-old Rasheem Todman.
Vancito Farrington, 32, was being held in jail Wednesday in lieu of $125,000 bail. He was arrested Tuesday evening on a warrant signed March 21 by Territorial Court Judge Ishmael Meyers.
Farrington, an unemployed father of two, was baby-sitting Rasheem and four other children the day before Rasheem was taken to Roy L. Schneider Hospital suffering from vomiting and diarrhea.
Rasheem died Dec. 18 of "blunt trauma to the stomach," according to an autopsy performed by the medical examiner, Dr. William Fogarty, who ruled the death a homicide.
In court papers, Police Detective Lionel Bess wrote that Rasheem's brother has told investigators that Farrington struck Rasheem several times in the stomach with such force that it made the little boy double over. In another statement to police, the witness said Farrington had hit Rasheem as many as 13 times in the stomach, Bess wrote, information that was consistent with the injuries found by the autopsy.
Rasheem's father told investigators that Farrington had approached him before the boy's funeral to say that he did not willfully kill the child. The father said Farrington told him that thought Rasheem "could have taken more than that," Bess wrote.
Farrington is to enter a plea to the charges in court on April 4.

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March 27, 2002 – The Financial Aid Office at the University of the Virgin Islands is accepting student applications for Tom Joyner Foundation Scholarships until April 12. UVI is also accepting applications for other scholarship aid from graduating secondary students who plan to attend UVI.
Each month, the Tom Joyner Foundation selects a Historically Black College and University to receive scholarship support. UVI is the choice for the month of May. Along with receiving scholarship assistance, the university will be featured on the nationally syndicated "Tom Joyner Morning Show," which is broadcast to 102 stations, including WWKS-FM 101.3 in the Virgin Islands.
Through Tom Joyner Foundation Scholarships, at least 42 students will receive assistance ranging from laptop computers to $5,000.
To be considered for a Tom Joyner Foundation Scholarship, a student must: be a full-time, matriculated UVI student with a grade point average of 2.5 or above; demonstrate financial need; provide an official UVI transcript; and permit the Tom Joyner Foundation to publicize award information along with a photo. The application deadline for Tom Joyner Foundation Scholarships is April 12.
The UVI Financial Aid Office is also accepting scholarship applications from graduating high school students who plan to attend UVI for the 2002-2003 academic year. To be considered, students must: have applied to UVI by the applicable scholarship deadline, have a minimum grade point average of 3.0, be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, be a resident of the U.S. Virgin Islands, and submit SAT scores.
Applications for graduating seniors are available in guidance counselors' offices at individual secondary schools and at UVI's Financial Aid Office. For more information call 693-1090.
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March 27, 2002 – The Financial Aid Office at the University of the Virgin Islands is accepting student applications for Tom Joyner Foundation Scholarships until April 12. UVI is also accepting applications for other scholarship aid from graduating secondary students who plan to attend UVI.
Each month, the Tom Joyner Foundation selects a Historically Black College and University to receive scholarship support. UVI is the choice for the month of May. Along with receiving scholarship assistance, the university will be featured on the nationally syndicated "Tom Joyner Morning Show," which is broadcast to 102 stations, including WWKS-FM 101.3 in the Virgin Islands.
Through Tom Joyner Foundation Scholarships, at least 42 students will receive assistance ranging from laptop computers to $5,000.
To be considered for a Tom Joyner Foundation Scholarship, a student must: be a full-time, matriculated UVI student with a grade point average of 2.5 or above; demonstrate financial need; provide an official UVI transcript; and permit the Tom Joyner Foundation to publicize award information along with a photo. The application deadline for Tom Joyner Foundation Scholarships is April 12.
The UVI Financial Aid Office is also accepting scholarship applications from graduating high school students who plan to attend UVI for the 2002-2003 academic year. To be considered, students must: have applied to UVI by the applicable scholarship deadline, have a minimum grade point average of 3.0, be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, be a resident of the U.S. Virgin Islands, and submit SAT scores.
Applications for graduating seniors are available in guidance counselors' offices at individual secondary schools and at UVI's Financial Aid Office. For more information call 693-1090.
Publisher's note : Like the St. John Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.

March 27, 2002 – The Financial Aid Office at the University of the Virgin Islands is accepting student applications for Tom Joyner Foundation Scholarships until April 12. UVI is also accepting applications for other scholarship aid from graduating secondary students who plan to attend UVI.
Each month, the Tom Joyner Foundation selects a Historically Black College and University to receive scholarship support. UVI is the choice for the month of May. Along with receiving scholarship assistance, the university will be featured on the nationally syndicated "Tom Joyner Morning Show," which is broadcast to 102 stations, including WWKS-FM 101.3 in the Virgin Islands.
Through Tom Joyner Foundation Scholarships, at least 42 students will receive assistance ranging from laptop computers to $5,000.
To be considered for a Tom Joyner Foundation Scholarship, a student must: be a full-time, matriculated UVI student with a grade point average of 2.5 or above; demonstrate financial need; provide an official UVI transcript; and permit the Tom Joyner Foundation to publicize award information along with a photo. The application deadline for Tom Joyner Foundation Scholarships is April 12.
The UVI Financial Aid Office is also accepting scholarship applications from graduating high school students who plan to attend UVI for the 2002-2003 academic year. To be considered, students must: have applied to UVI by the applicable scholarship deadline, have a minimum grade point average of 3.0, be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, be a resident of the U.S. Virgin Islands, and submit SAT scores.
Applications for graduating seniors are available in guidance counselors' offices at individual secondary schools and at UVI's Financial Aid Office. For more information call 693-1090.
Publisher's note : Like the St. Thomas Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.