Sept. 4, 2001 – Thanks to a $3 million appropriation from a federal fund, numerous recreation facilities on St. Thomas and St. Croix have new energy-efficient lighting. And there's more to come.
V.I. Energy Office director Victor Somme said the change from conventional lighting will save the Housing, Parks and Recreation Department lots of money.
Roy Canton, the department's supervisor of planning and maintenance, said he hadn't "crunched the numbers" to determine the total savings. However, he said, as an example, it costs $11 to $12 an hour to light Paul E. Joseph Stadium on St. Croix with conventional lighting. At the similarly sized D.C. Canegata Ball Park, the department spends $4 to $5 an hour for energy-efficient lighting.
Somme said the money was appropriated from a fund created when a federal court ruled that U.S. oil companies had overcharged when selling oil in the 1970s and 1980s. Money that the oil companies put into the fund is disbursed periodically to states and territories.
The Housing, Parks and Recreation conversion to energy-efficient lighting for recreational facilities began several years ago. On St. Thomas, Phase 1 involved the installation of new lights at Lionel Roberts Stadium, the ball fields in Smith Bay and Kirwan Terrace, and the Winston Raymo Center. On St. Croix, Phase 1 lighting installation was at D.C. Canegata Ball Park, AA baseball field, LBJ basketball and volleyball courts, Mon Bijou basketball court, and the Renhold Jackson Complex softball field, basketball court and volleyball court. In addition, solar lighting was installed at the Fort Frederick playground.
Phase 2 is scheduled for completion on Oct. 1. It has involved the installation on St. Thomas of energy-efficient lights at Joseph Aubain and Emile Griffith Ball Parks and at the Charlotte Amalie High School racetrack. On St. Croix, Phase 2 has brought new lighting to the Education Complex track and field facility, the Horace Clark tennis courts, and the basketball and tennis courts at Stoney Ground, D.C. Canegata, LaValle, Glynn and Princess communities.
Somme said as soon as the new fiscal year starts, on Oct. 1, decisions will be made on what projects will be included in Phase 3.
If Housing, Parks and Recreation can secure a long-term lease on the basketball court and baseball field in St. John's Coral Bay, Canton said, the department may make energy-efficient improvements to those facilities. Currently, the lights often stay on all night because no one turns off the switch. The Moravian Church owns the property. Somme said lease negotiations are under way.

Sept. 4, 2001 – Radio station executive Randy Knight, for whom the new athletic facility under construction on the Antilles School campus was to have been named, has asked that it instead be named for the school's longtime headmaster, Mark C. Marin, who died unexpectedly in July.
Knight, president of Knight Quality Stations, donated $1 million to the Frenchman's Bay school's "Imagine the Possibilities" capital development campaign last year for the sports complex. Formal ground breaking was held May 31 for what was then being called the Knight Center.
According to a release from the school, Knight has now directed the Antilles Board of Trustees to name the facility the Mark C. Marin Center.
"After being so moved by the many eloquent tributes to our dear friend, Mark, by such a loving cross section of our entire community," Knight said, "it is my desire to personally honor this good and decent man who touched so many lives in so many meaningful ways."
Marin had been headmaster of Antilles School for 22 years at the time of his death on July 25. Under his leadership, the school developed a reputation for academic as well as athletic excellence, greatly expanded the diversity of its student body and embarked on the current capital expansion that already has seen completion of the Henry A. Kimelman Library.
Elliott "Mac" Davis, Antilles board president, called Knight's gesture "a wonderful and fitting tribute to Mark Marin and all for which he stood." Davis added that Knight's "generosity of spirit and altruism truly know no bounds."
Kaye Knoepfel, Antilles headmistress, said, "Mark would be extremely touched by Randy's generous decision. He valued Randy's friendship and all that Randy was doing for Antilles and the community. He would be honored to have his name on this building."
Marin "was determined that the facility will have a major impact on the entire community, 'way beyond the borders of Antilles School," Davis said. While it will provide Antilles students a gymnasium for the first time, it also will be operated as a community facility. "Besides offering a modern gymnasium with broadcast facilities for island-wide basketball and volleyball tournaments, the facility will make possible Saturday programs and summer sessions involving all kinds of athletics for children all over the island, as well as community activities and events," the release stated.
Knight himself has said previously that "one of the conditions in giving the million dollars was that the center benefit students island wide." Although he had no previous affiliation with Antilles, Knight said he was moved to make the contribution because of the "deplorable conditions" of athletic facilities in the local schools. He said he chose Antilles because he found its administration to be "competent, responsible and accountable."
The Mark C. Main Center is scheduled to open next January.
"Although you can never replace special caring people like Mark," Knight said, "it is my hope that he will always be remembered as one of the few among us who really did make a lasting difference in the betterment of our community."

All interested persons are hereby notified that in accordance with Section 717 Chapter 12 of Title 29, Virgin Islands Code, as amended, dealing with the Economic Development Commission, a Public Hearing on the following applications for tax exemption will be held on Thursday, September 6, 2001 at 9:30 a.m. at the Government Development Bank, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
NAME: ……………………………………..TYPE: …………………LOCATION:
1.Management Associates, LLC Designated Service Business (New) St Thomas, V.I
2.Masterpasqua & Associates, LLC Designated Service Business (New) St Thomas, V.I
3. US BOS, Inc.Designated Service Business (New) St. Thomas, V.I
4. Marriott Ownership Resorts (St. Thomas Inc.) Timeshare Resort (New) St. Thomas, V.I.
5. Alpha Broadcasting Corp. Commercial Broadcasting TV (New) St. Croix, V.I.
Any person, firm or corporation interested in the approval or disapproval of the applications may appear and be heard, provided that a written statement is submitted to the Chief Executive Officer of the Economic Development Commission at least one day prior to the hearing at P.O. Box 3499 Christiansted, St. Croix USVI 00822, (Phone) 773-6499 (Fax) 773-7701 .

Nadine T. Marchena
Acting Chief Executive Officer

Sept. 4, 2001 – A jewelry wholesaler and the owners of Elegant Jewelry Shop on Raadets Gade were held up at gunpoint Monday afternoon by two men wearing ski masks. The two took jewelry reportedly worth "hundreds of thousands of dollars."
The jewelry was in a wheeled blue canvas bag used by the wholesaler to carry the merchandise from store to store on calls to regular clients.
Sgt. Annette Raimer, police spokeswoman, couldn't say Tuesday whether customers were in the store at the time of the robbery, which according to police was carried out with a machine gun.
Raimer said the salesman gave police "hundreds of thousands of dollars" as the value of the stolen goods.
The robbers made their getaway in a small white car being driven by an accomplice. Raimer said the vehicle could have been a Mazda or a Toyota.
She said the numbers on the car's license plate, as reported to police, were not on file for such a vehicle.
A $25,000 reward is being offered for the return or recovery of the stolen jewelry.
Both robbers were described as being slim and about 5 feet 11 inches tall.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Investigation Bureau at 715-5522 or call the emergency number 911.

Funeral services for Alphonso Glenn Brown, Jr., 33, of Est. Sion Farm, lately of Florida, will take place at 11 a.m on Friday, Sept. 7, at Holy Cross Catholic Church. Viewing will begin at 10 a.m. Internment will take place at Kingshill Cemetery.
He is survived by his mother Marietta Stephens; father Alphonso Glenn Brown; Brothers Gene Alexander, Geoffery Andre and Gregory A. Brown; sisters Mauricia and Latonia Lang; seven aunts; three uncles; and many other relatives and special friends too numerous to mention.
Professional arrangements by James Memorial Funeral Home, Inc.

Leone Myrtle Penn died Aug. 31. Her funeral service will take place on Saturday, Sept. 8, at the Christ Methodist Church. Internment will be in Western Cemetery.
She is survived by two sons, Marion A. Duncan, Roy A. Harley, adopted son Vernon Sprauve; daughters Ima Harriett, Iva Duncan, adopted daughter Elise Kean; two sisters, many nieces and nephews; nine grandchildren, 12 great grandchildren and two great great grandchildren.
Funeral arrangements by Creque Funeral Home.

Sept. 4, 2001 – For the first time in more than a decade, a seaplane will take off from Charlotte Amalie Harbor on Wednesday morning headed for the harbor in Old San Juan, as Seaborne Aviation inaugurates its new Virgin Islands – Puerto Rico service.
The last seaplane flight to San Juan was in 1989 with a Seaplane Shuttle Mallard aircraft, which landed at Isla Verde at the Luis Munoz Marin International Airport.
The Seaborne 17-passenger de Havilland Twin Otter aircraft will take a scenic route around the old city, landing in San Juan Harbor between Piers 6 and 7 on Calle de Marina, within sight of the Capitol Building.
With Customs and Immigration right there, passengers will avoid the long delays at the International Airport and the taxi ride to town, said Omer ErSelcuk, Seaborne chief marketing officer. "The service will take everything that is good about our frequent downtown-to-downtown service between St. Thomas and St. Croix, and make it better," he said.
"It's going to be more convenient for our business travelers," ErSelcuk said, "and we have another market as well — cruise ship connecting passengers. All they have to do is roll their suitcases down the pier, and they're there." He said flights at the end of September are already booked with cruise ship passengers.
There will be a special $69 each way introductory fare from Sept. 5 to 19, ErSelcuk said, with an additional $10 each way for connecting St. Croix passengers who must come through St. Thomas. Standard fares after the special will be from $80 to $99 each way, with special rates for residents. The 45-minute St. Thomas-San Juan flights will operate Monday to Friday, departing St.Thomas at 8:15 a.m. and noon, and departing San Juan at 9:30 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. On Saturdays and Sundays there will be one flight, departing St. Thomas at 3:34 p.m. and departing San Juan at 5 p.m.
Seaborne will initiate a new, innovative Frequent Flyer program Oct. 1, ErSelcuk said, which the company will detail then.
The airline plans direct St. Croix-San Juan daily two-flight service in mid-October after a fifth aircraft is added to its fleet, ErSelcuk said.
And that's not all the news. Seaborne will inaugurate Frederiksted-St.Thomas service in November, a route never flown before, which ErSelcuk said will accommodate business passengers from that end of the island and avoid the long taxi ride to Christiansted. In December service to Tortola from both St. Thomas and St. Croix will be added. The planes will land at West End at the old seaplane ramp.
The Seaborne aircraft have become a familiar sight in the Charlotte Amalie and Christiansted harbors since 1992. The company recently moved its Christiansted operation from the King's Alley boardwalk to the newly revamped Seaplane Shuttle ramp on Watergut, where an elaborate new maintenance hanger is almost completed.
Seaborne is the largest scheduled seaplane operator in the U.S., and carries more than 125,000 passengers a year. It is a V.I. company, employing about 100 employees in the V.I. and Puerto Rico.
To make reservations, call 773-6442. Additional information is available at www.seaborneairlines.com.
Seaborne's de Havillands are float planes that land on the water and taxi up to the ramp. Antilles Airboats, which christened seaplane service in the V.I. in 1964, used 10-passenger Gruman Gooses and later Gruman Mallards, which landed on the water and then waddled up the ramp. At one point, in addition to the St. Thomas-St. Croix route, the company had service to St. Martin, San Juan, Ponce and Fajardo, Puerto Rico, Tortola and St. John. In 1981 the company went out of business.
Later that year, V.I. Seaplane Shuttle started service between St. Thomas and St. Croix, eventually serving Tortola, St. John and San Juan. It went out of service in 1989 after Hurricane Hugo destroyed most of the aircraft.
Since then, a seaplane service using the Mallard aircraft briefly operated out of Cyril E. King and the San Juan International Airport. However it was short-lived as it was unable to reach an agreement with the V.I. Port Authority for leasing the St. Thomas and St. Croix ramps.

Sept. 4, 2001 – For the first time in more than a decade, a seaplane will take off from Charlotte Amalie Harbor on Wednesday morning headed for the harbor in Old San Juan, as Seaborne Aviation inaugurates its new Virgin Islands – Puerto Rico service.
The last seaplane flight to San Juan was in 1989 with a Seaplane Shuttle Mallard aircraft, which landed at Isla Verde at the Luis Munoz Marin International Airport.
The Seaborne 17-passenger de Havilland Twin Otter aircraft will take a scenic route around the old city, landing in San Juan Harbor between Piers 6 and 7 on Calle de Marina, within sight of the Capitol Building.
With Customs and Immigration right there, passengers will avoid the long delays at the International Airport and the taxi ride to town, said Omer ErSelcuk, Seaborne chief marketing officer. "The service will take everything that is good about our frequent downtown-to-downtown service between St. Thomas and St. Croix, and make it better," he said.
"It's going to be more convenient for our business travelers," ErSelcuk said, "and we have another market as well — cruise ship connecting passengers. All they have to do is roll their suitcases down the pier, and they're there." He said flights at the end of September are already booked with cruise ship passengers.
There will be a special $69 each way introductory fare from Sept. 5 to 19, ErSelcuk said, with an additional $10 each way for connecting St. Croix passengers who must come through St. Thomas. Standard fares after the special will be from $80 to $99 each way, with special rates for residents. The 45-minute St. Thomas-San Juan flights will operate Monday to Friday, departing St.Thomas at 8:15 a.m. and noon, and departing San Juan at 9:30 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. On Saturdays and Sundays there will be one flight, departing St. Thomas at 3:34 p.m. and departing San Juan at 5 p.m.
Seaborne will initiate a new, innovative Frequent Flyer program Oct. 1, ErSelcuk said, which the company will detail then.
The airline plans direct St. Croix-San Juan daily two-flight service in mid-October after a fifth aircraft is added to its fleet, ErSelcuk said.
And that's not all the news. Seaborne will inaugurate Frederiksted-St.Thomas service in November, a route never flown before, which ErSelcuk said will accommodate business passengers from that end of the island and avoid the long taxi ride to Christiansted. In December service to Tortola from both St. Thomas and St. Croix will be added. The planes will land at West End at the old seaplane ramp.
The Seaborne aircraft have become a familiar sight in the Charlotte Amalie and Christiansted harbors since 1992. The company recently moved its Christiansted operation from the King's Alley boardwalk to the newly revamped Seaplane Shuttle ramp on Watergut, where an elaborate new maintenance hanger is almost completed.
Seaborne is the largest scheduled seaplane operator in the U.S., and carries more than 125,000 passengers a year. It is a V.I. company, employing about 100 employees in the V.I. and Puerto Rico.
To make reservations, call 773-6442. Additional information is available at www.seaborneairlines.com.
Seaborne's de Havillands are float planes that land on the water and taxi up to the ramp. Antilles Airboats, which christened seaplane service in the V.I. in 1964, used 10-passenger Gruman Gooses and later Gruman Mallards, which landed on the water and then waddled up the ramp. At one point, in addition to the St. Thomas-St. Croix route, the company had service to St. Martin, San Juan, Ponce and Fajardo, Puerto Rico, Tortola and St. John. In 1981 the company went out of business.
Later that year, V.I. Seaplane Shuttle started service between St. Thomas and St. Croix, eventually serving Tortola, St. John and San Juan. It went out of service in 1989 after Hurricane Hugo destroyed most of the aircraft.
Since then, a seaplane service using the Mallard aircraft briefly operated out of Cyril E. King and the San Juan International Airport. However it was short-lived as it was unable to reach an agreement with the V.I. Port Authority for leasing the St. Thomas and St. Croix ramps.

Anyone who is interested in learning about the Baha'i Faith is welcome to attend an introductory meeting at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 5, at the Baha'i National Center in Contant.
For more information and directions call Cathy Von Gonten at 774-3712.

The public is invited to an informal Discussion of the principles of the Baha'i Faith to be held at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 5, at the Baha'i Center in Contant.
For additional information call Cathy Von Gonten at 774-3712.