Sept. 12, 2001 – There was no count of the number of visitors stranded across the Virgin Islands Wednesday, but most of them won't have to pay the full hotel rate for the extra days they're forced to spend in the territory while they wait for airports to reopen.
Phyllis Blackman-Smith at the St. Thomas/St. John Hotel Association said most hotels cut prices for stranded guests by 30 to 50 percent.
It was not clear at noon Wednesday when the airports on St. Thomas and St. Croix, as well as those on the mainland, would reopen after being closed by the Federal Aviation Administration Tuesday in response to the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
The Port Authority said in a release Wednesday that no one except employees with proper identification were being allowed to enter the airports until they reopen. It suggested that the traveling public "contact the airlines directly for updates as to travel arrangements."
Richard Doumeng, president of the St. Thomas Hotel and Tourism Association, said that concern about any impact on tourism in the territory and globally pales in comparison that for the loss suffered by the victims and their families. He noted that in the Virgin Islands, the months of August, September and October traditionally see the fewest visitors, so any fall-off in the coming weeks will cause the territory relatively little harm economically.
Doumeng expressed the view that while many people may initially be reluctant to fly as a result of Tuesday's terrorism, in the longer term, they will view the attack as an isolated incident and return to their normal habits. These habits, he said, will include business travel and Caribbean vacations.
However, Doumeng added, Americans will have to get used to stringent security procedures already in place at what are considered vulnerable airports around the world. This means earlier check-ins and more thorough inspections, he said.
There were network television reports Wednesday that travelers should plan to get to airports at least two hours before their takeoff times, even for domestic travel, once flights resume.
"We've been so protected so long, we don't have a heightened sense of awareness like the rest of the world does," Doumeng said. He noted that security for El Al, the Israeli airline, is always high because the region experiences frequent terrorist attacks. "It's like the prime minister was on board every time," he said.
Eileen Irby, who manages vacation villas on St. John, said her business had already slowed down in recent weeks because of the stock market faltering, and potential guests were being conservative with their money. She suggested that even fewer visitors will be arriving in the territory "if this tips us into a recession."
Irby said she, too, doesn't believe people will stop flying. She noted that airplanes flying from the New York City area to the Virgin Islands or San Juan, where passengers connect with planes to the territory, carry as much fuel as those heading for Los Angeles. Published reports indicated that Tuesday's terrorists targeted flights bound from the East Coast to California because those planes carried heavy loads of fuel for cross-country travel.
West Indian Co. spokesman Calvin Wheatley said earlier that no cruise ships were scheduled to arrive for the rest of this week. The territory's seaports remained open Wednesday but under heightened security measures, the Port Authority said.

Sept. 12, 2001 – Thursday's Senate Rules Committee hearing on St. Thomas is to convene as scheduled. A bill that was to have been considered has been removed from the agenda, but two nominations to the Public Services Commission will be heard.
Luis Sylvester, chief of staff to the committee chair, Sen. Carlton Dowe, said Wednesday that a bill from the Labor and Veterans Committee affecting the Unemployment Insurance Fund was removed from Thursday's agenda because that committee meeting, which had been scheduled for Wednesday, was canceled. The bill had been scheduled for Rules consideration pending its approval by Labor and Veterans Affairs.
Still on the agenda for Rules are hearings on Gov. Charles W. Turnbull's nominations of Verne C. David and Jerris T. Browne to serve on the PSC.
Browne's nomination was first heard at an Aug. 30 hearing where three other PSC nominations were approved. Browne, Police deputy commissioner, was to have filled the position of Patrick Williams of St. Croix. Sen. Donald "Ducks" Cole moved approval of the nomination but received no second as the committee sat silent. Earlier, Sen. Norma Pickard-Samuel had questioned Browne's knowledge of the PSC and expressed surprise that Browne was unaware of current legislation mandating rate investigations.
Sylvester said the nomination can be brought to the floor again and voted on.
At the Aug. 30 hearing, Rules approved Alric Simmonds, Turnbull's deputy chief of staff, to chair the PSC, replacing Walter Challenger. It also approved Valencio Jackson, Finance Department assistant commissioner, to fill a board vacancy; and Desmond Maynard to serve another term on the commission. Maynard has been a PSC member since 1995.

Sept. 12, 2001 – Thursday's Senate Rules Committee hearing on St. Thomas is to convene as scheduled. A bill that was to have been considered has been removed from the agenda, but two nominations to the Public Services Commission will be heard.
Luis Sylvester, chief of staff to the committee chair, Sen. Carlton Dowe, said Wednesday that a bill from the Labor and Veterans Committee affecting the Unemployment Insurance Fund was removed from Thursday's agenda because that committee meeting, which had been scheduled for Wednesday, was canceled. The bill had been scheduled for Rules consideration pending its approval by Labor and Veterans Affairs.
Still on the agenda for Rules are hearings on Gov. Charles W. Turnbull's nominations of Verne C. David and Jerris T. Browne to serve on the PSC.
Browne's nomination was first heard at an Aug. 30 hearing where three other PSC nominations were approved. Browne, Police deputy commissioner, was to have filled the position of Patrick Williams of St. Croix. Sen. Donald "Ducks" Cole moved approval of the nomination but received no second as the committee sat silent. Earlier, Sen. Norma Pickard-Samuel had questioned Browne's knowledge of the PSC and expressed surprise that Browne was unaware of current legislation mandating rate investigations.
Sylvester said the nomination can be brought to the floor again and voted on.
At the Aug. 30 hearing, Rules approved Alric Simmonds, Turnbull's deputy chief of staff, to chair the PSC, replacing Walter Challenger. It also approved Valencio Jackson, Finance Department assistant commissioner, to fill a board vacancy; and Desmond Maynard to serve another term on the commission. Maynard has been a PSC member since 1995.

Sept. 12, 2001 – Thursday's Senate Rules Committee hearing is to convene on St. Thomas as scheduled. A bill that was to have been considered has been removed from the agenda, but two nominations to the Public Services Commission will be heard.
Luis Sylvester, chief of staff to the committee chair, Sen. Carlton Dowe, said Wednesday that a bill from the Labor and Veterans Committee affecting the Unemployment Insurance Fund was removed from Thursday's agenda because that committee meeting, which had been scheduled for Wednesday, was canceled. The bill had been scheduled for Rules consideration pending its approval by Labor and Veterans Affairs.
Still on the agenda for Rules are hearings on Gov. Charles W. Turnbull's nominations of Verne C. David and Jerris T. Browne to serve on the PSC.
Browne's nomination was first heard at an Aug. 30 hearing where three other PSC nominations were approved. Browne, Police deputy commissioner, was to have filled the position of Patrick Williams of St. Croix. Sen. Donald "Ducks" Cole moved approval of the nomination but received no second as the committee sat silent. Earlier, Sen. Norma Pickard-Samuel had questioned Browne's knowledge of the PSC and expressed surprise that Browne was unaware of current legislation mandating rate investigations.
Sylvester said the nomination can be brought to the floor again and voted on.
At the Aug. 30 hearing, Rules approved Alric Simmonds, Turnbull's deputy chief of staff, to chair the PSC, replacing Walter Challenger. It also approved Valencio Jackson, Finance Department assistant commissioner, to fill a board vacancy; and Desmond Maynard to serve another term on the commission. Maynard has been a PSC member since 1995.

Sept. 12, 2001 – Sixteen years of a rich Rotary history will be the topic of an address by Richard Grant, Rotary International district governor for 2001-2002, at the weekly meeting of the Rotary Club of St. Thomas at noon Thursday at Marriott's Frenchman's Reef Beach Resort.
The event will be a get-together for all the Rotary Clubs of St. Thomas and St. John – Rotary II, Rotary Charlotte Amalie, Rotary Club East and Rotary Club of St. John.
Grant, a St. Croix resident, became a Rotarian in 1985 and became treasurer of Rotary II on St. Thomas two years later. After moving to St. Croix, he became treasurer of the Rotary Club of St. Croix Mid-Isle in 1989. Most recently, he served as assistant district governor from 1997 to 2000.
An active community leader, Grant was named "Motivator of the Year" in 1991 by the V.I. Business Journal. Honored by Rotary three times as a Paul Harris Fellow, he is married to Dr. Rita Dudley Grant, psychologist and former Health Department assistant commissioner, who is also a Paul Harris fellow, and a member of Rotary's Bequest Society.
Grant's jurisdiction as district governor includes Rotary Clubs, in addition to those in the territory, in Anguilla, the Bahamas except for Grand Bahama, the British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, St. Barth's, St. Martin, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Sept. 12, 2001 – Sixteen years of a rich Rotary history will be discussed by Richard Grant, Rotary International District Governor for 2001-2002, Thursday at the weekly meeting of the Rotary Club of St. Thomas at noon at Marriott's Frenchman's Reef Resort.
The event will be a get together for all the Rotary Clubs of St. Thomas and St. John – Rotary II, Rotary Charlotte Amalie, Rotary Club East, and the Rotary Club of St. John.
Grant, a St. Croix resident, joined Rotary in 1985 and became treasurer of Rotary II on St. Thomas in 1987. After a move to St. Croix, he became treasurer of the Rotary Club of St. Croix Mid-Isle in 1989. Most recently, Grant served as Assistant District Governor from 1997 to 2000.
An active community leader, Grant was named "Motivator of the Year," in the V. I. Business Journal 1991 awards.
Grant, a three-time Paul Harris Fellow, is married to Dr. Rita Dudley Grant, psychologist and former V. I. Health department assistant commissioner, who is also a Paul Harris fellow, and a member of Rotary's Bequest Society.
Grant's new post is extensive. He will govern over Anguilla, St. Barthelemy, St. Martin, the Bahamas, except for Grant Bahama, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Haiti, Jamaica, the Turks and Caicos Islands and the U.S. V.I.

Sept. 12, 2001 – Sixteen years of a rich Rotary history will be discussed by Richard Grant, Rotary International District Governor for 2001-2002, Thursday at the weekly meeting of the Rotary Club of St. Thomas at noon at Marriott's Frenchman's Reef Resort.
The event will be a get together for all the Rotary Clubs of St. Thomas and St. John – Rotary II, Rotary Charlotte Amalie, Rotary Club East, and the Rotary Club of St. John.
Grant, a St. Croix resident, joined Rotary in 1985 and became treasurer of Rotary II on St. Thomas in 1987. After a move to St. Croix, he became treasurer of the Rotary Club of St. Croix Mid-Isle in 1989. Most recently, Grant served as Assistant District Governor from 1997 to 2000.
An active community leader, Grant was named "Motivator of the Year," in the V. I. Business Journal 1991 awards.
Grant, a three-time Paul Harris Fellow, is married to Dr. Rita Dudley Grant, psychologist and former V. I. Health department assistant commissioner, who is also a Paul Harris fellow, and a member of Rotary's Bequest Society.
Grant's new post is extensive. He will govern over Anguilla, St. Barthelemy, St. Martin, the Bahamas, except for Grant Bahama, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Haiti, Jamaica, the Turks and Caicos Islands and the U.S. V.I.

Sept. 12, 2001 – Thousands of Virgin Islanders live and work in New York City and Washington, D.C. With communications breakdowns Tuesday, little information was available locally about family and friends on the mainland.
Naturally, people throughout the territory and those elsewhere with strong ties to the Virgin Islands are anxious to obtain information about loved ones and associates, and to learn of their experiences and feelings with regard to Tuesday's terrorist attacks on the mainland.
The Source asks readers to e-mail any such information to source@viaccess.net so that we can keep our virtual community as enlightened as possible.
Information sought
Alana Mawson [e-mail to alanamawson@islands.vi] writes:
I am trying to contact my friends George, Christine, Mathew and Andrew Aprile, who live just blocks from the World Trade Center at 75 Murray Street. I have been unable to reach them via either e-mail or telephone and am very concerned about their whereabouts. Especially disconcerting was watching the news and seeing the Murray Street sign lying on the ground amid debris. If anyone can be of any help w/any information I would be most grateful. Thank you.

Like many persons on the planet, my wife and I have been watching the news out of the United States closely. We have been watching US News and International News and chatting with our new Danish friends. We thought that our friends in the islands would be interested in the European reaction to Tuesday's atrocities.
The news is every bit as huge here as it appears to be in America. People are glued to their television sets. Bars and such leave the coverage on non-stop.
Everyone we have met is disgusted and in shock. The thought of war is very much in the air — but perhaps with a different perspective. Many worry that this is "George Bush's excuse for the war he has been wanting." Here, Bush is considered trigger-happy.
Many people we met have ties with folks in New York and are concerned about friends and family. The world has become hugely interconnected. There were many sets of eyes full of tears.
Currently European stock markets are slightly down, but the U.S. currency is stronger. Both markets and currency exchange are in huge flux. Many governments are taking strong local action. Planes are not allowed to fly over London. The French army is patrolling the Paris airport and metro (subway/railroad).
It is interesting to note that Denmark has the world's largest Muslim population outside of the Middle East, most of whom came here on refugee status. One person joked with us, asking, "Does this mean that the U.S. is going to war with Denmark?"
The local situation perhaps recapitulates the problems of the world with the Middle East. Even though most are here on refugee status, the Muslim community in Denmark is often violently opposed to the Danish way of life. One major riot and several small ones have occurred in the few weeks that we have been here. The police have to patrol the Muslim district in large groups.
It is unfortunate that for some, the actions of a few persons can give entire religions, cultures and nations a bad name. No matter who is found guilty, now is the time for ALL of us to stick together against the very few who deserve condemnation.
We have not heard of any comment from the local Muslim community in response to yesterday's actions.

Editor's note: Charles Balch and his wife recently moved to Denmark from his native St. Thomas, where he taught computer sciences courses at the University of the Virgin Islands for many years.
We welcome and encourage readers to keep the dialogue going by responding to Source commentary. Letters should be e-mailed with name and place of residence to source@viaccess.net.

Sept. 11, 2001 – Delegate to Congress Donna Christian Christensen went into her Capitol Hill office early Tuesday morning, hours before suspected terrorists launched kamikaze attacks on the nearby Pentagon and New York City's World Trade Center.
The territory’s representative had gone to work earlier than normal to complete a speech for a meeting she was scheduled to attend later that day in Maryland. It wasn’t until she was on the road when she heard the unbelievable on the radio. She turned around and headed back to the nation’s capital where smoke was billowing from the Pentagon, the inner sanctum of the U.S. military.
"It was utter disbelief that this type of thing could be happening," Christensen related Tuesday evening from Washington, which, like Congress, was literally shut down earlier in the day. "We’re pretty much numb."
That shock, however, must be shaken off quickly as the House will convene Wednesday to draft a resolution condemning the attacks, Christensen said.
There was some debate among House members on whether there should be a session following the tragedies. But after a conference call with House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt (D.,Mo.) and Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R., Ill.), it was decided to continue conducting the people’s business.
While the decision was made to show the world that the country wouldn’t be brought to its knees, Christensen said it wasn’t an easy one to make considering that no one is really sure that the attacks have ceased.
Whether it is safe, she said, is "really with the [Bush] administration at this point."
"We need to go back to do work, but we shouldn’t be daredevils about it," she said. "I don’t think we have anything to prove to anyone at this point."
As for striking back at whomever is responsible for the deadly attacks, the delegate said she had mixed feelings. On one hand, she said U.S. officials need to identify the terrorists, where they come from and "make sure they pay."
On the other hand, Christensen said that the United States, particularly national security experts, must learn more about the rabid dislike for the U.S. in some parts of the world, especially when retaliatory strikes will only pour more fuel on the smoldering hate.
"I’m not for fanning those fires just to say we are a big powerful country," she said. "We need to take a look at that."
Meanwhile, Christensen echoed the sentiments of Gov. Charles Turnbull that residents of the territory should be vigilant even though the islands are thousands of miles away from the death and destruction.
"I don’t think the Virgin Islands are under any specific threat," she said. "But it doesn’t hurt to be cautious."