Sept. 7, 2001 — Land surveyors have recently been studying the hillside above Christiansted for a route for the long-awaited bypass road that would divert through-traffic around the historic town.
The proposed Christiansted Bypass, on the drawing board for some 26 years, still has a way to go, including purchasing private property along the route and obtaining Coastal Zone Management Committee approval. But according to Aloy Nielsen, director of federal highway engineering for the Public Works Department, $12.6 million in federal funds is available to begin the first phase of the project.
The 1.2-mile stretch of road is planned to start above the Old Senate Building on Contentment Road and run to East End Road in Mount Welcome. It will have two intersections, at King Cross Street and at Peters Farm Road.
At a recent town meeting in Christiansted, concern was expressed that diverting the main flow of traffic around town would affect business negatively. "I’m sure the value of property is going to dive more than it is now," Olaf Hendricks said.
But Nielsen said the bypass is needed as much now as when it was first proposed in 1975. At that time, the island’s main cargo port was at Gallows Bay. Trucks leaving the port for points west had to maneuver through the narrow streets of Christiansted, he said.
Although most cargo now is handled at the Container Port on the island’s south shore, large trucks and other through traffic still must pass through the town. That, Nielsen said, is affecting the historic flavor of Christiansted.
"If we can avoid all the through-traffic, why not do it?" Nielsen said. "We have a lot of historic buildings in Christiansted. They suffer a lot of vibration from the heavy vehicles."
According to Public Works Department and Federal Highway Administration officials, some 22 property owners must be paid fair market value for the land that is needed along the bypass route. Some residents may have to sell their houses and be entitled to compensated for relocation costs, he said.
And, Nielsen said, the bypass could open up development on the hillside above town, which commands panoramic views of Christiansted Harbor.
"Once it goes in, believe me, you’ll see a lot of development on that hillside," Nielsen said.
The bypass will have two 12-foot-wide lanes, 8-foot paved shoulders able to accommodate joggers and bicyclists, and a 5-foot-wide sidewalk running the length of the 1.2-mile road.

Sept. 6, 2001 – Starting Sunday, WTJX-TV/Channel 12 will be airing "Africa," a special eight-part presentation of the "Nature" series produced by Thirteen/WNET New York that is being carried on the Public Broadcasting System.
Each episode of the series will air initially on Sunday at 8 p.m. and then be repeated on the following Saturday at 4 p.m. As a special feature for WTJX viewers, a member of the St. Thomas-St. John African Association will introduce each program.
Narrated by Joe Morton, the landmark series "is the compelling story of a continent, told through the eyes of its people," according to the "Nature" web site. The various episodes focus on the lives of individual men and women across the continent, showcasing Africa's history, many cultures and stunning landscapes.
The production of Thirteen/WNET New York's Nature and National Geographic Television "tells the stories of these people making spiritual journeys," a release from WTJX, the Virgin Islands PBS affiliate, states. "It illustrates how the geography of Africa impacts their destinies."
Episode 1, "Savanna Homecoming," focuses on two women. The first, Alice Wangui, is a successful salon owner and expectant mother living in Nairobi. Viewers will follow her as she journeys across the savanna, determined that her baby be born on Kikuyu soil. The second, Flora Salonik, is a wife and mother living in a isolated part of Tanzania who longs for the city life she knew as a child growing up in Arusha.
Solomon Sentongo-Kabuka, president of the local African Association, believes the series is timely for the Virgin Islands community and for PBS audiences in general. "We [African people] have made progress that is not part of the everyday news," the Uganda native and University of the Virgin Islands faculty member said. "As you travel around the world, you find that you have Africans in all ranks professionally."
Beyond professional progress, Africa is making great strides in its social institutions, he said.
Today, for the nations of Africa, the goal is "no longer to become independent," Kabuka said, "but rather, how do you transform that independence?" The challenge and the opportunity that today's African peoples face, he said, is to enhance their quality of life "on both social and cultural levels."
Kabuka, a professor of business administration at UVI, said he hopes the series will dispel some misconceptions many people have about Africa. "When the outside world looks at Africa, they think it's just one culture," he observed.
In fact, "It's a continent that has more than 4,000 languages and dialects," he said. "It's a culture that has a multitude of religious beliefs and a variety of cultural and social norms. Some of these themes are depicted in the PBS program, giving a window to PBS audiences to see the dynamics currently taking place in contemporary Africa."
For more about the series, including many visuals, see Nature on the Web: Africa
The final episode of the series will air on Oct. 21 and 27.

Sept. 6, 2001 – The Saturday children's reading program at the Enid M. Baa Library will resume this weekend in the Children's Room on the ground floor of the building.
Hours are 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The program is free and open to all children 3 to 11 years of age. Younger children should be accompanied by a parent, guardian or other adult.
The Friends of the St. Thomas Public Libraries is continuing to provide volunteers to read to children and organize reading-related games and arts and crafts activities.
The core group of young people who have taken part in the program regularly in recent months is expected to expand as newcomers arrive with the start of the new school year. For that reason, the Friends group is seeking more volunteers to read, bring in activities, play games with the children, and generally create a positive attitude toward reading, a press release stated.
Many new books have been added to the library over the past few weeks, including donations from Rotary groups and individuals. These new acquisitions have been catalogued and are available for borrowing, the release said.

Sept. 6, 2001 – Sen. President Almando "Rocky" Liburd expressed shock Thursday at the crime that has taken place in the territory recently and called for mobilizing more V.I. government peace officers to join in fighting against it.
"I suggested at a meeting last month that we should get the police to train all the peace officers to work together to beef up the police presence on the streets," Liburd said. "We need to train the IRB [Internal Revenue Bureau], the Territorial Court marshals, the Finance and Licensing and Consumer Affairs officers. There is a need for more police presence on the streets, and we just don't have the money for outside help."
Liburd also had commented on recent crime at an August meeting of the Police Benevolent Association at the Palms Court Harborview Hotel on St. Thomas. "We see so many law-enforcement officers are being victimized by criminals," he said in that address. "It's a sign that a fundamental change has take place within the criminal street element. The thugs have begun to challenge law enforcement for control of our streets."
On Thursday, he said, "We simply cannot allow this to happen."
Liburd, a former auxiliary policeman, said the community has a role to play, too, in helping the police do their job. "We need people to come forward to help," he said. "I just can't tell you how important that is."
He called for all citizens to take an active role in combating crime by calling police with any information they might have. "You never know," he said. "Even the smallest piece of information could be very important. The very life of our community is at stake."
The recent spate of crime, especially that directed against police and peace officers, led Gov. Charles W. Turnbull to vow on Aug. 31 that his administration was "going to come up with a grand strategy … to beat the criminals." For details of that pledge and of recent instances of such crime, see "'Grand stategy' against crime planned".

Sept. 6, 2001 – Sen. President Almando "Rocky" Liburd expressed shock Thursday at the crime that has taken place in the territory recently and called for mobilizing more V.I. government peace officers to join in fighting against it.
"I suggested at a meeting last month that we should get the police to train all the peace officers to work together to beef up the police presence on the streets," Liburd said. "We need to train the IRB [Internal Revenue Bureau], the Territorial Court marshals, the Finance and Licensing and Consumer Affairs officers. There is a need for more police presence on the streets, and we just don't have the money for outside help."
Liburd also had commented on recent crime at an August meeting of the Police Benevolent Association at the Palms Court Harborview Hotel on St. Thomas. "We see so many law-enforcement officers are being victimized by criminals," he said in that address. "It's a sign that a fundamental change has take place within the criminal street element. The thugs have begun to challenge law enforcement for control of our streets."
On Thursday, he said, "We simply cannot allow this to happen."
Liburd, a former auxiliary policeman, said the community has a role to play, too, in helping the police do their job. "We need people to come forward to help," he said. "I just can't tell you how important that is."
He called for all citizens to take an active role in combating crime by calling police with any information they might have. "You never know," he said. "Even the smallest piece of information could be very important. The very life of our community is at stake."
The recent spate of crime, especially that directed against police and peace officers, led Gov. Charles W. Turnbull to vow on Aug. 31 that his administration was "going to come up with a grand strategy … to beat the criminals." For details of that pledge and of recent instances of such crime, see "'Grand stategy' against crime planned".

Sept. 6, 2001 – Virgin Islanders for Democratic Action are sponsoring a public forum to discuss election reform. The meeting is set for 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 15 at the Holiday Inn/Windward Passage Hotel on the St. Thomas Waterfront.
Sen. Lorraine Berry, in making the announcement from her office, urged those people interested in election reform– which she pointed out was a large number of voters in the last election – to attend the meeting.
Slated to speak and offer short and long-term proposals to create an election system with more accountability are: Supervisor of Elections John Abramson, Arutro Watlington, state chair of the Democratic Party, Woodrow Green, chair fo the Caribbean Democratic Alliance Club; assistant Attorney General Delia Smith, former Sen. Arnold Golden; attorney Maxwell MacIntosh, and political scientists Paul Leary and Malik Sekou. Wanda Mills will serve as moderator.

Sept. 6, 2001 – Sen. President Almando "Rocky" Liburd expressed shock Thursday at the crime that has taken place in the territory recently and called for mobilizing more V.I. government peace officers to join in fighting against it.
"I suggested at a meeting last month that we should get the police to train all the peace officers to work together to beef up the police presence on the streets," Liburd said. "We need to train the IRB [Internal Revenue Bureau], the Territorial Court marshals, the Finance and Licensing and Consumer Affairs officers. There is a need for more police presence on the streets, and we just don't have the money for outside help."
Liburd also had commented on recent crime at an August meeting of the Police Benevolent Association at the Palms Court Harborview Hotel on St. Thomas. "We see so many law-enforcement officers are being victimized by criminals," he said in that address. "It's a sign that a fundamental change has take place within the criminal street element. The thugs have begun to challenge law enforcement for control of our streets."
On Thursday, he said, "We simply cannot allow this to happen."
Liburd, a former auxiliary policeman, said the community has a role to play, too, in helping the police do their job. "We need people to come forward to help," he said. "I just can't tell you how important that is."
He called for all citizens to take an active role in combating crime by calling police with any information they might have. "You never know," he said. "Even the smallest piece of information could be very important. The very life of our community is at stake."
The recent spate of crime, especially that directed against police and peace officers, led Gov. Charles W. Turnbull to vow on Aug. 31 that his administration was "going to come up with a grand strategy … to beat the criminals." For details of that pledge and of recent instances of such crime, see "'Grand stategy' against crime planned".

Sept. 6, 2001 – A multimillion-dollar escalation in the cost of rebuilding three St. Thomas schools devastated by Hurricane Marilyn nearly six years ago has gotten the attention of at least one senator and some of her constituents.
Sen. Lorraine Berry wrote to Amadeo Francis, director of the Public Finance Authority, on Aug. 31 requesting copies of change orders and expenditures, along with the names of the contractors for the Bertha C. Boschulte Middle School and Lockhart and Peace Corps Elementary School reconstruction projects.
"I am increasingly requested by my constituents to provide information and explanations regarding the exorbitant cost of construction of these three schools on St. Thomas," Berry said in the letter
Construction work is completed on the Lockhart and Peace Corps schools, Juel Anderson, Education Department spokeswoman, said Thursday. But Berry said she has questions about the construction figures she has gotten so far on those projects as well as the still-under-construction Boschulte Middle School.
In testimony before the Senate Finance Committee on Aug. 23, Francis said that as of March 31, total expenditures came to $10.2 million for Lockhart Elementary, and $10.9 million for Peace Corps School. "That was in March," Berry said on Thursday. "What will the costs have amounted to by now?"
The costs for BCB have risen dramatically beyond projections, while construction is what Francis recently called "woefully behind schedule." At the August Finance Committee meeting, he said construction costs initially pegged at $20.5 million had reached $28 million. He did not detail the reasons for the overruns except to say costs had risen on all construction materials and it had been necessary to implement change orders.
Berry said in her letter to Francis that the $28 million figure "may well be exceeded by the completion of the school in late 2002."
Education Commissioner Ruby Simmonds said at a press conference on Aug. 23 that with the start of the school year, classes would be held in the new facility while work continued in some areas, but that the whole school would be ready for use by December. That was the same day that Francis told senators the school was behind schedule and over budget and was not expected to be finished until late in Fiscal Year 2002. The fiscal year runs from Oct. 1, 2001, to Sept. 30, 2002.
As far back as two and a half years ago, construction costs for the schools were rising dramatically. In a December 1999 Senate Education Committee meeting, Brian Turnbull, Public Finance Authority program coordinator, said $42.3 million had been budgeted for the overall reconstruction but the projected costs already had risen to $44 million.
The main reason, Turnbull said then, was that the contractors' original proposal didn't include removing the temporary modular classrooms in place at the three schools, demolition of their foundations, paving of roads and parking lots, or relocating furniture and equipment from the modular units into new buildings. At the time, Turnbull did not explain how the exclusion of these items had gone unnoticed when the original proposal was approved.
Turnbull also told the Education Committee then that BCB, which had been targeted for completion in mid-2001, had fallen behind schedule. He attributed the delays to requests from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which provided most of the funding for the rebuilding, site conditions, adverse weather and the high cost of concrete on St. Thomas.
Calls to Turnbull for comment on Thursday were not returned. Keith Richards, the governor's director of capital improvement planning, was off island Thursday and unavailable for comment on the matter.

Sept. 6, 2001 – Former Sen. Anne Golden didn't mince words Thursday about taxpayers' "sacred dollars."
Golden was one of two members of the territorial Republican Party who filed a class-action suit in U.S. District Court on Wednesday seeking to force the V.I. government to issue federally mandated income tax-credit checks. "The administration is displaying a total disregard for federal law," she said."I'm shocked that members of this administration would be engaged in defying federal law. I've not known them to be lawbreakers."
Federal law states the Internal Revenue Service tax-credit payments must be issued by Dec. 31. The Virgin Islands has a separate tax structure that reflects that of the IRS and is bound by its laws.
"Our local tax structure mirrors the federal Internal Revenue Service," Golden noted. "We chose that. If we wanted our own tax code, we could have written it a long time ago."
Golden, a St. Croix Republican, and Leo D.Goubourn, a St. Thomas party member, filed the suit on behalf of all V.I. taxpayers in the effort which was spearheaded by the party.
She said money for the tax-credit payments should be included in the V.I. government's Fiscal Year 2002 budget. "When you are managing other people's money, it's what's called a constructive trust," she said. "It's not the government's money to spend. It must be released to the people."
Golden said she was surprised recently by two things: First, that the supplemental budget appropriations bill Gov. Charles W. Turnbull sent to the Legislature in June didn't include an amount to cover the tax-credit payments; and second, that senators didn't say "We're missing something here" when they saw the bill.
(A prominent member of the V.I. Republican Party, and a force behind the class-action lawsuit, Michael Bornn, has said that the money owed taxpayers should not be budgeted or legislated — that it should come off the top of any government surplus before a budget is developed.)
"The government can't treat this the way they have refunds in the past, "Golden said, "They can't just ignore it."
Louis Willis, Internal Revenue Bureau director, has said his personnel do not have the time required to process the tax-credit payments now. Golden said on Thursday that it is his job as director to make time, and "he has to spare no resources." Willis also has said the government doesn't have the money to issue the checks at this time.
Golden said she didn't know "how he is going to determine who is eligible," but added, "If he's not going to pay it, it has to go on the books as a liability plus interest in the 2002 budget as a debt." And that, she said, raises the question of how interest on past-due tax credits will be calculated if payment is not made by the federal deadline.
Willis has said that instead of issuing tax-credit checks, the IRB will let taxpayers claim the credit when they calculate their 2001 income-tax returns, which are due April 15, 2002.
Golden, who served one term as a senator, in the 23rd Legislature, said that body recognized that taxpayer refunds are "sacred dollars." She said she and her colleagues had worked hard to get income-tax refunds for taxpayers who were due them from years earlier. The refunds were paid out of the proceeds from a $300 million bond issue the legislature approved. "We had lost millions with interest on those refunds," she said. "We had to pick up the pieces and pay the people back."
According to the former senator, the purpose of the tax-credit payment program — to stimulate the economy — is especially critical for St. Croix. "We'll never know the impact of the tax cut if it's not paid," she said.
The Republicans' lawsuit names Willis, the Internal Revenue Bureau, the V.I. government and Gov. Charles W.Turnbull. For additional information, see the previous Source stories "Republicans file suit for tax-credit payments" and "For Virgin Islanders, checks are not in the mail".

The Good Hope School has designated the dates for the big events coming in the new school year.
Oct. 4-7 – 6 p.m. – Calcutta Tennis Tournament, a mixed doubles affair, to be held at Buccaneer Tennis Club.
Nov. 27 – 6 p.m. – Starlight Gala Auction – a black tie affair, an evening of dining and treasures to bid upon held at the Good Hope School Campus.
Nov. 1-3 – Fall Drama Production. 7 p.m. on week nights, 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Held at the Good Hope School Savage Center for Performing Arts.
Feb. 15-18 – 15th Annual Caribbean Fine Art Exhibit, held at the Good Hope Campus.
Feb. 15 – 7-9 p.m.
Feb. 16-17 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Feb. 18 – 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
April – 12th Annual Good Hope Golf Classic
April 25-27 &
May 2-4 Spring Musical Production and Student Art Show – 7 p.m. week nights, 8 p.m. weekends, to be held at the Good Hope School Savage Center.
For information call 772-0022 or 513-8734.