May 31, 2001 – Four V.I. teen-agers with hearing disabilities are looking forward to a unique two-week experience in June: attending the summer sports program of the Gallaudet School for the Deaf in Washington, D.C.
The youngsters, all Bertha C. Boschulte Middle School students, are Kisias George, 15, Jaliya Anderson, 15, Rennick Etienne, 14, and Willie Payne, 14. All were smiling broadly and signing rapidly Thursday afternoon as they witnessed the receipt of a $1,000 check from St. Thomas Rotary East to help sponsor their excursion.
Carolyn Smith, acting executive director of the V.I. Resource Center for the Disabled, held her hand over her heart as she thanked Rotarian Ruth Miller for the donation, gazing proudly at the delighted teen-agers. "We're so proud, so happy," Smith said with emotion, waving away further comment as the students' teacher, Sarah Hancock, signed the comments for them.
Jaliya then stepped shyly over to Miller and gave her a thank-you card about 2 feet tall with a bright yellow and blue seascape on the cover. "Thank you," said the inside message in part, "for making a donation to our summer camp. You will help four deaf people. Do you like the picture on the front of your card? It is my own art style."
The group has raised all but $600 of the funds needed for the trip. Rotary II also provided $1,000 donation, the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands awarded a mini-grant, and American Airlines provided discounted fares.
The four even perform together as a quartet. Known as the "BCB Deaf-fun Signers," they will present a spring concert of silent songs in the middle school auditorium at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, June 4. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for children.
Miller and Hancock have served as the youngsters' mentors for several years. At BCB, where Hancock teaches, the students are enrolled in regular classes. Principal Carver Farrow described the four collectively as "a joy" and said he'll "be so sorry to see those kids go, along with Sarah." After the teens graduate in June, Hancock will stay with them as their teacher when they move on to high school.
"They are integrated in the school in every respect," Farrow said. "Last year they learned to play the steelpans, and Willie is ahead of everybody in his drafting class. I don't mean by a couple points; I mean head and shoulders."
Willie was disappointed to learn that he wouldn't get to play soccer at the camp, but allowed as how basketball was going to be OK. Kisias doesn't care all that much about the sports. "I want to meet deaf people," she said with a big grin.
In a fund-raising statement, the students describe themselves as "an isolated group of four deaf teen-agers on St. Thomas." They may be isolated in their inability to hear, but their excitement about the coming trip was all-embracing. "What's that new word we learned?" Hancock asked them by signing, then answered, "Oh yes, eager."
Smith said the fact that there are so few deaf teens on the island will make the summer camp all the more valuable for the young people.
They are scheduled to leave the territory on June 17 for the two-week program. Anyone interested in offering additional support may obtain further information by calling Sarah Hancock at 775-3806.

May 31, 2001 – The National Institutes of Health has awarded the University of the Virgin Islands two multi-year grants for student training that together are worth more than $3 million.
One is a four-year grant of $1,748,587 from the new Minority Biomedical Support program known as Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement, or RISE.
The other is a five-year grant of $1,287,970 from the Minority Access to Research Careers, or MARC, program.
Both grants support University initiatives to provide increased biomedical research training at UVI, according to a release. Funding in both cases is effective June 1. Both the RISE and MARC programs at UVI are under the direction of marine biology and mathematics professor Teresa Turner.
At UVI, the RISE program is focused on strengthening student research opportunities, developing collaborations between faculty and researchers elsewhere, establishing a molecular biology laboratory, and developing an inquiry-based chemistry curriculum. The program is open to undergraduate Science and Mathematics Division and psychology majors, with research and teaching faculty on the St. Thomas and St. Croix campuses to mentor participants. This is the first time students and faculty on the St. Croix campus will be involved in an NIH-funded initiative, according to the release.
UVI's expanded MARC program will support biomedical research training for students in the fields of computer science, psychology, mathematics, chemistry, marine biology and biology in greater numbers than before. Talented juniors and seniors will have their tuition paid and will receive a monthly stipend. The program also provides participating students an opportunity to present their research findings at national scientific meetings and to do summer research at national laboratories.
Freshmen and sophomores will be able to participate for the first time in MARC-funded enrichment seminars, tutoring and peer mentoring — activities designed to increase the pool of qualified juniors and seniors for the MARC honors program. The lower division program will be coordinated on St. Croix by Velma Tyson, mathematics professor, and on St. Thomas by Ralph Isovitsch, chemistry professor.
Gwen-Marie Moolenaar, UVI vice president for institutional advancement, wrote the university's first MARC grant proposal and directed the program from 1992 until 2000, producing what the release described as "one of the most successful programs in the nation." Isovitsch and Lynn Rosenthal, computer science professor, are among the faculty members who have guided it since then.
MARC trainees at UVI have gone on to top doctoral programs at Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Michigan, Howard University, Indiana University, Louisiana State University, the University of Maryland, Rochester University, Purdue University, the University of South Florida, Rutgers University, the University of Wisconsin (Madison) and the University of California at Davis and at San Diego.
The RISE and MARC programs enhance other grant-funded programs at UVI such as the National Science Foundation's Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program, the Health Careers Opportunities Program, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Scholars Program.
Students may obtain more information about these programs by calling 693-1232.

May 31, 2001 – The National Institutes of Health has awarded the University of the Virgin Islands two multi-year grants that together are worth more than $3 million.
One is a four-year grant of $1,748,587 from the new Minority Biomedical Support program known as Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement, or RISE.
The other is a five-year grant of $1,287,970 from the Minority Access to Research Careers, or MARC, program.
Both grants support University initiatives to provide increased biomedical research training at UVI, according to a release. Funding in both cases is effective June 1. Both the RISE and MARC programs at UVI are under the direction of marine biology and mathematics professor Teresa Turner.
At UVI, the RISE program is focused on strengthening student research opportunities, developing collaborations between faculty and researchers elsewhere, establishing a molecular biology laboratory, and developing an inquiry-based chemistry curriculum. The program is open to undergraduate Science and Mathematics Division and psychology majors, with research and teaching faculty on the St. Thomas and St. Croix campuses to mentor participants. This is the first time students and faculty on the St. Croix campus will be involved in an NIH-funded initiative, according to the release.
UVI's expanded MARC program will support biomedical research training for students in the fields of computer science, psychology, mathematics, chemistry, marine biology and biology in greater numbers than before. Talented juniors and seniors will have their tuition paid and will receive a monthly stipend. The program also provides participating students an opportunity to present their research findings at national scientific meetings and to do summer research at national laboratories.
Freshmen and sophomores will be able to participate for the first time in MARC-funded enrichment seminars, tutoring and peer mentoring — activities designed to increase the pool of qualified juniors and seniors for the MARC honors program. The lower division program will be coordinated on St. Croix by Velma Tyson, mathematics professor, and on St. Thomas by Ralph Isovitsch, chemistry professor.
Gwen-Marie Moolenaar, UVI vice president for institutional advancement, wrote the university's first MARC grant proposal and directed the program from 1992 until 2000, producing what the release described as "one of the most successful programs in the nation." Isovitsch and Lynn Rosenthal, computer science professor, are among the faculty members who have guided it since then.
MARC trainees at UVI have gone on to top doctoral programs at Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Michigan, Howard University, Indiana University, Louisiana State University, the University of Maryland, Rochester University, Purdue University, the University of South Florida, Rutgers University, the University of Wisconsin (Madison) and the University of California at Davis and at San Diego.
The RISE and MARC programs enhance other grant-funded programs at UVI such as the National Science Foundation's Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program, the Health Careers Opportunities Program, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Scholars Program.
Students may obtain more information about these programs by calling 693-1232.

May 31, 2001 – The National Institutes of Health has awarded the University of the Virgin Islands two multi-year grants for student training that together are worth more than $3 million.
One is a four-year grant of $1,748,587 from the new Minority Biomedical Support program known as Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement, or RISE.
The other is a five-year grant of $1,287,970 from the Minority Access to Research Careers, or MARC, program.
Both grants support University initiatives to provide increased biomedical research training at UVI, according to a release. Funding in both cases is effective June 1. Both the RISE and MARC programs at UVI are under the direction of marine biology and mathematics professor Teresa Turner.
At UVI, the RISE program is focused on strengthening student research opportunities, developing collaborations between faculty and researchers elsewhere, establishing a molecular biology laboratory, and developing an inquiry-based chemistry curriculum. The program is open to undergraduate Science and Mathematics Division and psychology majors, with research and teaching faculty on the St. Thomas and St. Croix campuses to mentor participants. This is the first time students and faculty on the St. Croix campus will be involved in an NIH-funded initiative, according to the release.
UVI's expanded MARC program will support biomedical research training for students in the fields of computer science, psychology, mathematics, chemistry, marine biology and biology in greater numbers than before. Talented juniors and seniors will have their tuition paid and will receive a monthly stipend. The program also provides participating students an opportunity to present their research findings at national scientific meetings and to do summer research at national laboratories.
Freshmen and sophomores will be able to participate for the first time in MARC-funded enrichment seminars, tutoring and peer mentoring — activities designed to increase the pool of qualified juniors and seniors for the MARC honors program. The lower division program will be coordinated on St. Croix by Velma Tyson, mathematics professor, and on St. Thomas by Ralph Isovitsch, chemistry professor.
Gwen-Marie Moolenaar, UVI vice president for institutional advancement, wrote the university's first MARC grant proposal and directed the program from 1992 until 2000, producing what the release described as "one of the most successful programs in the nation." Isovitsch and Lynn Rosenthal, computer science professor, are among the faculty members who have guided it since then.
MARC trainees at UVI have gone on to top doctoral programs at Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Michigan, Howard University, Indiana University, Louisiana State University, the University of Maryland, Rochester University, Purdue University, the University of South Florida, Rutgers University, the University of Wisconsin (Madison) and the University of California at Davis and at San Diego.
The RISE and MARC programs enhance other grant-funded programs at UVI such as the National Science Foundation's Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program, the Health Careers Opportunities Program, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Scholars Program.
Students may obtain more information about these programs by calling 693-1232.

To the Source:
Here we go again. School officials allowing our children and teachers to be exposed to contaminated water.
Do not count on parents remaining complacent, trusting that the Department of Education will see to it that the schools have safe drinking water! The record on that score is subject to serious question.
I've been involved with the Joseph Sibilly School and Monroe Annex problem from the beginning. I've been to all the Senate hearings on this problem. Nothing has been resolved.
As parents, if we allowed our children to drink contaminated water, Human Services would step in and, quite rightly, take our children from us to protect them from harm and parental negligence. Who is protecting our children at school? Are our schools safe places for our children? How can we protect them from harm and the apparent lack of interest of school officials?
The commissioner of Education told us that the water would be tested and we would be informed if there were problems. Yet in many cases, including last May, we were not informed. Now they stopped testing the water. Why? What stopped the testing?
The PTSA at Joseph Sibilly School and Monroe Annex had discussed the installation of an ultraviolet system which would take care of most organic contaminants. This was also brought up in the Senate hearings. This system was put into the new Peace Corps and Lockhart Elementary Schools when they were rebuilt. It is interesting to note that neither of these schools has an ongoing water problem.
Why has this system not been installed in all of our public schools? Don't all of our children deserve equal protection from harmful contaminants in their drinking water?
The organic contamination is just one thing. The Education Department still has no clue as to how carcinogenic chemicals ended up in Monroe Annex cistern.
This issue will not just go away. I will not go away as a concerned mother, or as president of the Northside Civic Organization. I will push for the answers we so rightly deserve. Again: Do not count on parents to remain quiet on this matter. The perception of the parents is that the Department of Education has been negligent. If no corrective action is forthcoming, the next step could be a lawsuit to force the department to honor its role in protecting the health of our children and teachers by at least providing safe drinking water.
We need a solution. As parents and teachers we must continue to demand answers. As I recently read in a Daily News interview, "The normal treatment is such cases" simply isn't working.

Ann Durante-Arnold
President, Northside Civic Organization, St. Thomas

May 31, 2001 – The territory's animals had politicians on their side Wednesday as a bill protecting their rights and making it a felony to abuse them cleared a major hurdle with passage by the Senate's Government Operations, Planning and Environmental Protection Committee.
The bill, sponsored by Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg, would make first-degree animal abuse a felony punishable by a fine of not less than $1,000 and up to five years in jail.
First-degree abuse includes causing of physical injury, unnecessarily killing an animal, disposing of a live animal in a garbage bin or at a garbage disposal site, neglect or abandonment, poisoning, cropping of an animal's ears or tail by anyone other than a licensened veterinarian, use of traps, training animals to fight, confining an animal in a vehicle without adequate ventilation, and committing a hit and run. The bill allows cockfighting.
The bill makes second-degree animal neglect a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500 and up to 100 hours of community service. It defines second-degree neglect as failing to give an animal adequate care.
The bill also protects a person who provides care for a confined animal that has been left without food or water.
The bill surfaced twice in the 23rd Legislature, both times being "held in committee" — in other words, forgotten — despite wide community support for the measure. Animal rights advocates gathered more than 3,000 signatures in support of the bill and voiced their concerns at hearings on both St. Thomas and St. Croix last year.
There has been no shortage of incidents to cause them concern. In one of the most horrifying, a cat was set on fire and hung on clothesline on St. John in 1999.
Recently a starving and infection-wracked horse that had been abandoned in a field by Roy L. Schneider Hospital was rescued from youngsters who were beating and riding the animal. The animal was found to be a former race horse and is now privately owned and healthy. But not all abused and neglected animals are that lucky.
Hubert Brumant, St. Thomas Humane Society manager, an avid advocate of the bill, has to deal with animal abuse on a daily basis, with no law enforcement to speak of. One of the worst cases last year, he said, was abandonment where the owner had simply left three dogs tied to ropes with no food or water, and all three died.
Animal activitist Christine O 'Keefe, a retired Humane Society board member, organized a campaign last year for the members of the community to fax their senators with animal concerns. O'Keefe noted at the time, "It's not just about the animals, either. It's been proven that most mass murderers started out abusing animals before they moved on to humans."
This was a concern raised by Donastorg at Wednesday's committee meeting as he asked his colleagues to support the bill. "If this bill can help curb other violent acts, it's worthy of your support," he said, also noting the petitions bearing 3,000 signatures.
The bill now goes the Rules Committee. If approved there, it will move the full Senate for a final vote. Co-sponsors of the measure are Sens. Lorraine Berry, Carlton Dowe, Emmett Hansen II and Celestino A. White Sr.

May 31, 2001 – A bill to create a "boot camp" in the territory for young criminals was approved by the Senate Government Operations, Planning and Environmental Protection Committee Wednesday after being amended to restrict the ages of those eligible.
In its original form, the bill, sponsored by Sen. Lorraine Berry, provided for an alternative residential correctional program for persons ages 12 to 25 who had been convicted of committing offenses prior to their 16th birthday. The amended version makes the age range 18 to 22.
Human Services Commissioner Sedonie Halbert and Attorney General Iver Stridiron both objected to the broader age range. Halbert also said the boot camp could duplicate services because the Youth Rehabilitation Center on St. Croix is for young people in that age group.
The YRC has come under criticism in the past for overcrowded conditions and for housing violent criminals with young persons convicted of lesser crimes. Both pointing this out, Stridiron and Halbert suggested the bill be amended to restrict the camp to youths 18 to 22. They also noted that many boot camps on the mainland are moving away from an orientation to military discipline and toward a more treatment-oriented model.
Berry said the camp would be funded by grants from the Law Enforcement Planning Commission. Stridiron cautioned that it might not be wise to tie a long-term program to the granting process. The bill was reported out to the Rules Committee.
Early in the meeting another bill sponsored by Berry, to remove the Legislature from the rezonong process, was tabled unanimously. The bill would give jurisdiction for rezoning exclusively to the Planning and Natural Resources Department. Berry said the measure addresses public concerns about the increasing number of "spot" zonings approved by the Legislature.
Dean Plaskett, PNR commissioner, told the lawmakers that since the territory has no comprehensive land and water use plan, a public hearing before the Senate and his department best satisfies the needs of all concerned parties involved.
Committee chair Donald "Ducks" Cole said he wouldn't support any measure giving away legislative responsibility. He also told Plaskett that he has drafted legislation for a water and land use plan but did not say when it would reach the Senate floor.
In other action, the committee:
– Approved a permit for the Public Works Department to reconstruct the Water Island ferry dock at Providence Point, which was destroyed by storms. The work is federally funded and is to be completed by July of 2002.
– Forwarded to Rules a bill to increase the penalties for animal cruelty.
– Forwarded to Rules a bill requiring Public Works to comply with all territorial and federal earth change laws when constructing roads or capital improvement projects.
– Tabled bills that would give the Government Employees Retirement System board the power to lend and borrow money and would promote employment of people with disabilities and declare the first week in October as "Virgin Islands Employ People with Disabilities Week."
A bill titled the "Pollution Environmental Leadership and Pollution Prevention Act" was withdrawn at the request of its sponsor, Sen. Roosevelt David.
Attending the meeting were committee members Adelbert Bryan, Cole, David, Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg, Carlton Dowe and Celestino White Sr. Berry was the only senator present who is not a member of the committee.

The St. Thomas-St. John-Water Island branch of the V. I. Republican Party will hold its monthly general meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 7, at Niky Shopping Center downstairs next to the Bank of Nova Scotia.
The public is invited.
For additional information call 775-9281; 775-2823; or 777-8701.

The St. Thomas-St. John-Water Island branch of the V.I. Republican Party will hold its monthly general meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 7, 2001, at Nisky Shopping Center.
The public is invited.
For additional information call 775-9258; 775-2823; or 777-8701.

The St. Thomas-St. John-Water Island branch of the Republican Party will hold its monthly general meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 7, 2001, at Nisky Shopping Center. The public is invited.
For additional information call 775-9259; 775-2823; or 777-8701.