Dec. 26, 2001 – Carnival 2002 started a little early -– at 6 a.m. Wednesday -– as hundreds of revelers joined together at the Fort Christian parking lot to tramp down Veterans Drive to the sounds of the Imaginations Brass.
The Old-Time Christmas Jump-up, sponsored by the V.I. Carnival Committee, is one in a series of events that will culminate in April when the territory will celebrate the 50th year of Carnival.
J'Ouvert, an early morning jump-up, traditionally takes place on the morning before the Children's Parade, after many of the participants have partied all night. But Wednesday's march, scheduled from 5 to 9 a.m. on "Christmas Second Day," had unusual timing and a decidedly seasonal look.
Santa hats were bobbing to and fro as the spirited group made its way past Gottlieb's Quickway Service Center around 8:45 a.m. tramping behind, before, and alongside the popular Imaginations Brass.
"We can't stop now," one dancer in a bright Santa hat declared as the hardy party-ers, indeed, kept on keepin' on.

Dec. 24, 2001 – With road repairs slated to start Jan. 7 on pothole-ridden Magens Bay Road, the only road to the popular Magens beach, two senators have written to Public Works Commissioner Wayne Callwood complaining about road conditions elsewhere.
Senate President Almando "Rocky" Liburd, a St. John resident, wrote a letter to Public Works Commissioner Callwood, about the "deplorable condition" of Bordeaux Road on his island.
"For many years, residents who have to traverse that road on a daily basis have complained about the safety hazards posed by that road," Liburd wrote.
"In a previous Legislature, monies were appropriated to repair the Bordeaux Road. To date, however, no substantial work has ever been done to that road," Liburd said, adding Bordeaux Road is part of the Federal Highway System.
Sen. Lorraine Berry wrote to Callwood about the "deplorable condition" of St. Peter Mountain Road between Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church and the Four Corners, also known as Cross Roads, intersection. In one of the worst areas, west of Barrett Hill Road, motorists traveling east are forced onto the wrong side of the road on a curve to avoid enormous potholes that cover the entire northern side of the roadway.
Berry said she believes the road is under the Federal Highway System and therefore funds should be available for short-term repairs as well as ongoing maintenance.
While work is under way on Magens Bay Road, traffic will be restricted to one lane in at least two areas between Louisenhoj Castle and the beach — at the top of the hill by the castle and near the turnoff to Peterborg Road.
Flag crew members and signs will direct traffic in the restricted areas, according to a release from Callwood.
The Magens road project, which is federally funded, is expected to cost $1.6 million and take about six months to complete.
Callwood could not be reached Monday due to the government holiday break.

Dec. 24, 2001 – Innovative Telephone customers in Estates Carlton, Whim and Two Williams, some of whom have been without service since Saturday, may have phone service restored by Monday night.
The phone service in those areas was interrupted due to a water main break in the La Grange area, according to a release from Innovative Telephone. About 800 customers were initially affected, according to Janette Millin Young, company spokeswoman.
Crews have been working on the problem since Saturday, and a release issued Monday morning said "the affected areas should be restored by Monday evening." Young said about 500 of the affected phones were working again, leaving "a few hundred" still out of order.
She seemed confident the work would be completed by Monday evening. "It is slow going," she said, "because all the lines have to be respliced. They got wet."

Dec. 25, 2001 – Among the brightly decorated lignum vitae trees the carolers marched into Emancipation Garden at daybreak Tuesday for the 2001 Challenge of the Carols, singing songs of love and peace and cheer to the couple hundred early risers who wouldn't start Christmas day any other way.
Honoring tradition, many of the carolers had been out all night in neighborhoods from Caret Bay to Tutu old and new, from Red Hook to Paul M. Pearson Garden. Starting or stopping along the way at a hotel or two, they mainly sang at private homes, where in turn they were treated to holiday food and drink.
This year, Gwendolyn and Edward Harley Sr. received the Luther Robles Award for providing the favorite "watering hole."
This 25th celebration was blessed with warmth as attendees left their raincoats at home and basked in the morning sunlight — once the sun came up. "Thank heavens," said Sylvia Ward, who arrived at 5:30 a.m.to be well situated for the celebration, which traditionally begins at 6 a.m. or thereabouts. "I didn't want to have to be in the rain again." Ward is a familiar face to island diners at the old Williams and Daniel's restaurant on Main Street and at Blackbeard's Castle.
Trading season's greetings and smiles, people mingled in Emancipation Garden among the trees decorated with everything from gingerbread men to pineapples, candy canes and globes of love. Gov. Charles W. Turnbull in a bright print shirt and straw hat sat among those using the planters for benches; traditional attendees Fred and Polly Watts of Harmony Dem were keeping the Christmas beat; Degaulle Brin at the refreshment truck gobbling up some saltfish; Cynthia Farmer brought Oreo, her year-and-a-half-old Shih Tzu done up in red jacket and hat; and Joan Bennett brought her 7-year-old Chihuahua, Dominoe, sporting what she described as "ferret antlers." The crowd didn't appear to know the difference.
The Bethel Baptist Church Choir started off the morning of song, followed by The Voices of Love. Also taking part were the Guardian Angels, DPW Choraliers, Lucinda Millin Home Chorale, Merry Carolers, Party Hardy Caroliers, Salvation Army Songsters and Torchbearers, and the Morgan Quartet.
This year, Sen. Celestino A. White Sr. and his Hapless/Hopeless Caroliers left the donkey at home. White has traditionally led the group into the garden riding on a donkey. This year, they came dressed in firemen's garb, a tribute to the New York City firefighters who responded to the World Trade Center attacks.
Glenn "Kwabena" Davis, one of the event's founders, presented the first-ever Silver Challenge Service Award to the Rev. Bentley Thomas, pastor and choir director of Bethel Baptist Church. Thomas said he has been coming to Emancipation Garden on Christmas mornings for more than the 25 years the Challenge of the Carols has been celebrated.
"Oh, yes. I've been coming to the garden for about 40 years, since the early sixties," he said, smiling. "It's a fine way to start Christmas."
The caroling tradition dates back many decades but fell by the wayside during the years of World War II and after. It was revived in the mid-1970s through the efforts of Davis, Dorothy Elskoe and Vernon Finch of the Christmas Card Challenge of Carols Planning Committee, which sponsors the event nowadays along with WSTA Radio.
At this year's event, the Addelita Cancryn Junior High School Concert Choir won the Esther Marks Award; the New Herrnhut Moravian Church Men's Chorale received the Alex Lloyd Award, the Lucinda Millin Home Family & Chorale won the Governor's Award and Lydia H. Boschulte was named Honorable Choir Conductor.

Dec. 25, 2001 – Christmas Eve was not exactly peaceful for at least one Virgin Islander. While many gathered to celebrate the birth of hope and love, veterinarian Dr. Andrew Williamson was pulled away from his celebration to work feverishly through much of the night trying to save the lives of several dogs brought to him suffering from strychnine poisoning.
One of the guests at Williamson's Christmas Eve celebration, animal advocate Christine O'Keefe, called the Source early Christmas morning asking help in spreading the word about the poisonings on the North Side.
Williamson said Tuesday morning five dogs were brought in Monday night. Two died.
"I've got two on the table right now. I can probably save them," he said.
He had this advice: "Anyone who values their pets should keep them close by today. And if you have any that haven't come home since last night, you should go look for them."
The dogs that have been brought in lived on the North Side between Mafolie and Bonne Resolution, Williamson said.
Strychnine causes failure of the central nervous system and induces seizures which ultimately cause death. Symptoms include excessive salivating, staggering and dizziness.
Williamson said the deadly poison is typically delivered in chicken legs or some other treat dogs like.
It's not the first time this has happened, he said.
"But what I don't understand is why they would chose to do this on Christmas," he said. "It's obscenely cruel."

Dec. 24, 2001 – Who ever saw the Easter Bunny decorated with thousands of tiny lights munching a bright orange carrot on somebody's roof in Frenchtown?
Well, actually a lot of people. Anyone who drives up Rue Honduras right around the corner from what used to be the Bar Normandie.
"Everybody stops and looks," smiles Ralston Newman Farrington, alias "Rabbit."
"They call it Disneyland, Little Disneyland, that's what they say."
And Disneyland would be hard put to erect so much color in so little space. Farrington's yard spans about 40 feet.
Rabbit can frequently be seen standing across from his small home observing his handiwork, deciding if the lighting is just right, or if the rabbit shows up enough. Sunday night he decided the rabbit needed a boat, and Monday he erected lines of lights between the rabbit and the star at the other end of the roof. "See, it's a boat, the rabbit is in the bow," he points out with pride.
Neighbors stop by. "Hey, Rabbit, just look at that. That's what we need here." Or, "We're so glad you did it again; it's so pretty." And, always, "How many lights? How do you do it?"
"I have no idea how many lights," Rabbit says. "I just put them up until they look right."
He has been brightening the neighborhood with his Christmas decorations since 1993, almost. In 1999, he declared he was tired of doing it and went on strike for two years. "They all got after me this year," he says. "Everybody said I had to do it, so I went all the way."
Rabbit, who with his wife, Anne, comes from Tortola, started decorating at his family home there. "My brothers and I would always do it. We had a three-story house, and I would do the top story, and we won prizes."
And, how about the nickname? "When we would run the 100-meter relay races, everybody would pass me until about the 75-meter mark. Then, they said, I just took off 'like a rabbit.'"
Next year the roof will get another animal, Rabbit says, albeit a more traditional one. The rabbit will have a reindeer for company.

Dec. 24, 2001 – With road repairs slated to start Jan. 7 on pothole-ridden Magens Bay Road, the only road to popular Magens beach, two senators have written to Public Works Commissioner Wayne Callwood complaining about road conditions elsewhere.
Sen. Lorraine Berry wrote to Callwood about the "deplorable condition" of St. Peter Mountain Road between Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church and the Four Corners, also known as Cross Roads, intersection. In one of the worst areas, west of Barrett Hill Road, motorists traveling east are forced onto the wrong side of the road on a curve to avoid enormous potholes that cover the entire northern side of the roadway.
Berry said she believes the road is under the Federal Highway System and therefore funds should be available for short-term repairs as well as ongoing maintenance.
On St. John, Senate President Almando "Rocky" Liburd complained, also in a letter to Callwood, about the "deplorable condition" of Bordeaux Road.
"For many years, residents who have to traverse that road on a daily basis have complained about the safety hazards posed by that road," Liburd wrote.
"In a previous Legislature, monies were appropriated to repair the Bordeaux Road. To date, however, no substantial work has ever been done to that road," Liburd said, adding Bordeaux Road also is part of the Federal Highway System.
While work on Magens Bay Road is under way, traffic will be restricted to one lane in at least two areas between Louisenhoj Castle and the beach — at the top of the hill by the castle and near the turnoff to Peterborg Road.
Flag crew members and signs will direct traffic in the restricted areas, according to a release from Callwood.
The Magens road project, which is federally funded, is expected to cost $1.6 million and take about six months to complete.
Callwood could not be reached Monday due to the government holiday break.

Funeral services for Thomas F. Thomas, who passed away on Friday, Dec. 22, are pending. He is survived by stepsons Noel Boynes and Carl Powell; daughers Adelita, Caroline (Pla), Caroline (STT), Cecile Thomas, Richards, Avilda Thomas Mathias, Elsie Thomas Trotman, Lydia Thomas Brow; brother Randolph Thomas; 25 grandchildren, 19 great gramdcjo;drem. 4 great great grandchildren; and many other friends and relatives too numerous to mention.
Funeral arrangements entrusted to the Creque Funeral Home.

Jean Etsinger
Dec. 23, 2001 – Classical and flamenco guitarist Francisco Burgos will be making his Caribbean debut this week performing in the Virgin Islands — and for the occasion he will be playing something quite rare: a work composed for classical guitar that has a Caribbean theme.
Burgos will appear on Thursday at the St. John School of the Arts in Cruz Bay.
The Caribbean-influenced work is "Suite Antillaise," by Francis Kleynjans, a contemporary Parisian composer.
"When I was invited to perform in the Virgin Islands, I started to look for music to be included in my program that somehow relates to this area," Burgos said in an interview from his home in Miami. "By chance, I ended up buying Kleynjans 'Suite Antillaise,' since the title was very suggestive …
"The more I played this piece, the more I fell in love with it. It is a very evocative work, at least from my point of view. Images of sailing ships coming into the harbor of an island in the French Antilles during the early 1900s … people saying goodbye from the docks to travelers who will sail the oceans came to my mind. I don't know if that was Kleynjans' idea when he composed this piece, but it definitely has made that impression on me. It is a wonderful piece to perform."
This is the fourth year that Tillett Gardens and the St. John School of the Arts have booked a classical/flamenco guitarist for the week between Christmas and New Year's. Spanish artist Virginia Luque appeared in 1998, and U.S. guitarist Dennis Koster was featured in 1999 and 2000.
Burgos, born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, brings a new dimension as a native Latin American. In a repertoire that spans five centuries, he draws as much on his New World roots as on the Old World traditions of classical and flamenco music.
He studied classical guitar at Madrid's Royal Conservatory of Music and lived in Spain for 11 years, studying with Andres Segovia, Jose Luis Rodrigo and a specialist in ancient guitar music, Argentina's Jorge Fresno. In New York, where he made his classical guitar debut in 1979 at the Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall, he studied 20th century music analysis and conducting at the Juilliard School.
The first portion of Burgos' program on both St. Thomas and St. John consists of classical works — a prelude, fugue and allegro by J.S. Bach; two sonatas by Scarlatti; and works by three Spanish composers — Variations on a Theme of Mozart by Fernando Sor, three pieces including "Recuerdos de la Alhambra" by Francisco Tarrega, and "Asturias" by Isaac Albeniz.
In the second part of the program, Burgos will perform "Cochichando" ("Whispering") by the Brazilian choro popular music composer Pixinguinha, the "Suite Antillaise," a sonatina by Spain's Federico Moreno-Torroba and several pieces by contemporary flamenco composers Paco Pena and Juan Martin.
"From a very young age, Brazilian music has been one of my favorites," Burgos said. "I
first came in contact with it in the early '60s when bossa nova came out with Antonio Carlos Jobim, Luiz Bonfa, Badem Powell and many other great musicians from Brazil. But later in life, when I was studying classical guitar in Spain, Villalobos' music became the door to enter and discover other types of Brazilian music styles that were more rooted in the popular music of Brazil, specially the choro.
"This is the case of Pixinguinha, who even though he did not write for guitar per se, his music — in this case arranged for guitar by Carlos Barbosa Lima — seems to fit the guitar perfectly, and it is really fun to play. It has an air of samba, very lively."
Federico Moreno-Torroba, Burgos said, "was a great Spanish composer. He wrote many works for classical guitar, first at the request of Andres Segovia and later for many other guitarists. He was the first composer in the 20th century who was not a guitarist to decide to tackle the task of writing a large-scale work for solo guitar. The sonatina that I will be performing was his first composition for guitar … His music has a very Spanish flavor from the Castillian region of Spain. I find his music very romantic and intimate but at the same time, like in his fastest movements, he shows a knack for rhythm that makes you dance."
Burgos is a composer, too. His work "The Return" was premiered in 1992 in observance of the Columbus Quincentenary. The piece is the final movement of a trilogy whose first parts are "Mediterranean" and "Tropical Night." According to the notes from his new CD, "Rhapsody," the idea behind each movement "was to create a mood for each stage of Columbus' voyage from Spain to the Caribbean and back to Spain."
He also has taught classical guitar at Spain's Avila Conservatory and at Glassboro State College in New Jersey and markets his own method of study. He encourages students of guitar to "learn as many musical styles as possible," and readily acknowledges that rock, pop, jazz and Latin genres have influenced his development "as a performer and musician."
The concert begins at 8 p.m. Thursday. Tickets are $20 general admission and $15 for students with I.D. They're available in advance at Connections on St. John. If the performance doesn't sell out in advance, tickets also will be available at the door. Reservations are not taken by telephone. For more information, call 779-4322 or 776-6777.
Burgos also will appear Wednesday night on St. Thomas at Tillett Gardens. For information about that performance, call 775-1929, fax to 775-9482 or e-mail to Arts Alive.

Dec. 23, 2001 – Classical and flamenco guitarist Francisco Burgos will be making his Caribbean debut this week performing in the Virgin Islands — and for the occasion he will be playing something quite rare: a work composed for classical guitar that has a Caribbean theme.
Burgos will appear on Thursday at the St. John School of the Arts in Cruz Bay.
The Caribbean-influenced work is "Suite Antillaise," by Francis Kleynjans, a contemporary Parisian composer.
"When I was invited to perform in the Virgin Islands, I started to look for music to be included in my program that somehow relates to this area," Burgos said in an interview from his home in Miami. "By chance, I ended up buying Kleynjans 'Suite Antillaise,' since the title was very suggestive …
"The more I played this piece, the more I fell in love with it. It is a very evocative work, at least from my point of view. Images of sailing ships coming into the harbor of an island in the French Antilles during the early 1900s … people saying goodbye from the docks to travelers who will sail the oceans came to my mind. I don't know if that was Kleynjans' idea when he composed this piece, but it definitely has made that impression on me. It is a wonderful piece to perform."
This is the fourth year that Tillett Gardens and the St. John School of the Arts have booked a classical/flamenco guitarist for the week between Christmas and New Year's. Spanish artist Virginia Luque appeared in 1998, and U.S. guitarist Dennis Koster was featured in 1999 and 2000.
Burgos, born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, brings a new dimension as a native Latin American. In a repertoire that spans five centuries, he draws as much on his New World roots as on the Old World traditions of classical and flamenco music.
He studied classical guitar at Madrid's Royal Conservatory of Music and lived in Spain for 11 years, studying with Andres Segovia, Jose Luis Rodrigo and a specialist in ancient guitar music, Argentina's Jorge Fresno. In New York, where he made his classical guitar debut in 1979 at the Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall, he studied 20th century music analysis and conducting at the Juilliard School.
The first portion of Burgos' program on both St. Thomas and St. John consists of classical works — a prelude, fugue and allegro by J.S. Bach; two sonatas by Scarlatti; and works by three Spanish composers — Variations on a Theme of Mozart by Fernando Sor, three pieces including "Recuerdos de la Alhambra" by Francisco Tarrega, and "Asturias" by Isaac Albeniz.
In the second part of the program, Burgos will perform "Cochichando" ("Whispering") by the Brazilian choro popular music composer Pixinguinha, the "Suite Antillaise," a sonatina by Spain's Federico Moreno-Torroba and several pieces by contemporary flamenco composers Paco Pena and Juan Martin.
"From a very young age, Brazilian music has been one of my favorites," Burgos said. "I
first came in contact with it in the early '60s when bossa nova came out with Antonio Carlos Jobim, Luiz Bonfa, Badem Powell and many other great musicians from Brazil. But later in life, when I was studying classical guitar in Spain, Villalobos' music became the door to enter and discover other types of Brazilian music styles that were more rooted in the popular music of Brazil, specially the choro.
"This is the case of Pixinguinha, who even though he did not write for guitar per se, his music — in this case arranged for guitar by Carlos Barbosa Lima — seems to fit the guitar perfectly, and it is really fun to play. It has an air of samba, very lively."
Federico Moreno-Torroba, Burgos said, "was a great Spanish composer. He wrote many works for classical guitar, first at the request of Andres Segovia and later for many other guitarists. He was the first composer in the 20th century who was not a guitarist to decide to tackle the task of writing a large-scale work for solo guitar. The sonatina that I will be performing was his first composition for guitar … His music has a very Spanish flavor from the Castillian region of Spain. I find his music very romantic and intimate but at the same time, like in his fastest movements, he shows a knack for rhythm that makes you dance."
Burgos is a composer, too. His work "The Return" was premiered in 1992 in observance of the Columbus Quincentenary. The piece is the final movement of a trilogy whose first parts are "Mediterranean" and "Tropical Night." According to the notes from his new CD, "Rhapsody," the idea behind each movement "was to create a mood for each stage of Columbus' voyage from Spain to the Caribbean and back to Spain."
He also has taught classical guitar at Spain's Avila Conservatory and at Glassboro State College in New Jersey and markets his own method of study. He encourages students of guitar to "learn as many musical styles as possible," and readily acknowledges that rock, pop, jazz and Latin genres have influenced his development "as a performer and musician."
He will be using just one guitar in his Virgin Islands concerts. With tropical weather and the out-of-doors venue on St. Thomas, he said, "I might have to tune it often."
The concert begins at 8 p.m. Thursday. Tickets are $20 general admission and $15 for students with I.D. They're available in advance at Connections. If the performance doesn't sell out in advance, tickets also will be available at the door. Reservations are not taken by phone. For more information, call 779-4322 or 776-6777.
Burgos also will appear Wednesday at Tillett Gardens on St. Thomas. For information about that performance, call 775-1929, fax to 775-9482 or e-mail to Arts Alive.