The Committee for the Betterment of Carenage, with co-sponsors Coors Light, Offshore Marine and Hawaiian Tropic, will host the annual Father's Day Fishing Tournament on June 10. The event is traditionally held the weekend before Father's Day.
Fishing begins at 5:30 a.m. and all anglers are due back in Frenchtown at noon for weigh-in of their catch.
Prizes for first, second and third place will be awarded for the biggest kingfish, tuna, mackerel, barracuda, bonito and amberjack. There also will be awards for the best captain, the boat with the most weight of qualifying fish, and the youth angler with the most weight of qualifying fish.
Awards will be presented on June 17 at the Father's Day weekend celebration in Frenchtown.
Offshore Marine Services and the Committee for the Betterment of Carenage are providing $1,000 each toward the cash prize to be presented to the overall tournament winner.
Registration is from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 9 at the Joseph Aubain Ball Park concession in Frenchtown. There's a fee of $25 per angler.

May 29, 2001 – Student art and poetry contests are nothing new, but the one coming up Saturday at the Coral World Marine Park is.
Visual and literary images created in celebration of nature's all-purpose tropical support system will be judged, with the winners' works to be sent on to international competition.
And what might that system be? The mangrove, of course.
Mangroves, a Coral World release about the competition notes, provide a nursery for fish, crustaceans and shellfish; a rookery for coastal birds such as brown pelicans and egrets; and continuous filtration of sediment run-off from the land, keeping the island waters and reefs crystal clear.
On Saturday, Coral World visitors will be able to see and hear what students from J. Antonio Jarvis Elementary School, Sts. Peter and Paul School and two classes at the V.I. Montessori School thought about that.
For its 10th anniversary outreach effort, the Mangrove Action Project challenged youngsters ages 5 to 13 in the tropical and subtropical nations and territories of the world to create a poem or work of art showing "why mangroves are important to me and my community."
This International Children's Art and Poetry Competition was conceived to accomplish two objectives, the release states: First, to raise young people's awareness of the importance of mangroves; and second, to communicate to a worldwide audience "what is so fresh and natural" to the youngsters. The international winners’ work will be published in a 2002 calendar slated for international distribution.
To meet the requirements for participation by local youngsters in the Mangrove Action Project, Donna Griffin, education specialist for the Planning and Natural Resources Department's Division of Fish and Wildlife, made presentations on the mangrove ecosystem in classrooms and provided materials for teachers to create a mangrove lesson plan. Meantime, Donna Nemeth, curator of Coral World, set up a program at the marine park giving school groups free admission and an orientation to mangroves by a resident aquarist.
All schools were encouraged to promote the art and poetry contest. The young artists could work in pencil, ink, collage, pastel, wax or other mediums. The young authors were confined to 10 lines. Judging all the creative output on Saturday will be Doreen Walsh, painter and batik artist, of the St. Thomas-St. John Arts Council. The top three winners in each category will receive a certificate and a calendar, as will their school, with their works to be submitted to the U.S. office of the Mangrove Action Group for the international judging.
The Mangrove Action Project is supported by non-governmental organizations, scientists and academics in 60 nations. Its mission is to serve as a mangrove information clearinghouse; to foster public awareness of the importance of mangroves and the devastating effects of their loss; to develop financial and technical support for projects to save the mangroves; and to publicize the pressure on farmers and fishers in underdeveloped countries to harvest aquatic delicacies for marketing to wealthy nations at the cost of the environment.
For further information about Saturday's competition, telephone 775-1555, ext. 249, or e-mail to coralworldvi.com.

May 29, 2001 – Student art and poetry contests are nothing new, but the one coming up Saturday at the Coral World Marine Park is.
Visual and literary images created in celebration of nature's all-purpose tropical support system will be judged, with the winners' works to be sent on to international competition.
And what might that system be? The mangrove, of course.
Mangroves, a Coral World release about the competition notes, provide a nursery for fish, crustaceans and shellfish; a rookery for coastal birds such as brown pelicans and egrets; and continuous filtration of sediment run-off from the land, keeping the island waters and reefs crystal clear.
On Saturday, Coral World visitors will be able to see and read what students from J. Antonio Jarvis Elementary School, Sts. Peter and Paul School and two classes at the V.I. Montessori School thought about that.
For its 10th anniversary outreach effort, the Mangrove Action Project challenged youngsters ages 5 to 13 in the tropical and subtropical nations and territories of the world to create a poem or work of art showing "why mangroves are important to me and my community."
This International Children's Art and Poetry Competition was conceived to accomplish two objectives, the release states: First, to raise young people's awareness of the importance of mangroves; and second, to communicate to a worldwide audience "what is so fresh and natural" to the youngsters. The international winners’ work will be published in a 2002 calendar slated for international distribution.
To meet the requirements for participation by local youngsters in the Mangrove Action Project, Donna Griffin, education specialist for the Planning and Natural Resources Department's Division of Fish and Wildlife, made presentations on the mangrove ecosystem in classrooms and provided materials for teachers to create a mangrove lesson plan. Meantime, Donna Nemeth, curator of Coral World, set up a program at the marine park giving school groups free admission and an orientation to mangroves by a resident aquarist.
All schools were encouraged to promote the art and poetry contest. The young artists could work in pencil, ink, collage, pastel, wax or other mediums. The young authors were confined to 10 lines. Judging all the creative output on Saturday will be Doreen Walsh, painter and batik artist, of the St. Thomas-St. John Arts Council. The top three winners in each category will receive a certificate and a calendar, as will their school, with their works to be submitted to the U.S. office of the Mangrove Action Group for the international judging.
The Mangrove Action Project is supported by non-governmental organizations, scientists and academics in 60 nations. Its mission is to serve as a mangrove information clearinghouse; to foster public awareness of the importance of mangroves and the devastating effects of their loss; to develop financial and technical support for projects to save the mangroves; and to publicize the pressure on farmers and fishers in underdeveloped countries to harvest aquatic delicacies for marketing to wealthy nations at the cost of the environment.
For further information about Saturday's competition, telephone 775-1555, ext. 249, or e-mail to coralworldvi.com.

May 29, 2001 – Puerto Rico's 45th annual Casals Festival, which opens Saturday and continues through June 16, won't have a St. Thomas component after all. But it's not for lack of interest or effort.
On Tuesday, the Birch Forum on St. Thomas formally announced the cancellation of a planned June 9 performance by Berlin's Petersen Quartet at the St. Peter Mountain Great House. As no publicity about the concert had gone out, the news probably caught many classical music lovers doubly by surprise.
Last year, the Birch Forum, a philanthropic entity founded by Patti Birch in recognition of her late husband, attorney Everett B. Birch, broke new musical ground by making a concert on St. Thomas an official part of the Casals Festival program. The Rossini Quartet performed one night at the Centro de Bellas Artes in Santurce and the next at the Reichhold Center for the Arts.
Intent on transforming innovation into tradition for this year's festival, the Birch Forum made plans to bring the Moscow Soloists, a 23-member Russian ensemble founded and directed by world-acclaimed violist Yuri Bachmet, to perform at the Reichhold on June 7.
The group is scheduled to appear on June 6 at the Centro de Bellas Artes, and Bashmet is performing there again on June 8 as part of a stellar ensemble.
A month ago, it became known that, because of his Wednesday and Friday commitments, Bashmet would not be able to travel to St. Thomas for the Thursday performance. Plans proceeded to bring the Moscow Soloists without him, but earlier this month the Birch Forum ran into an insurmountable problem.
The ensemble members' flight home from San Juan to Moscow was scheduled for 7:15 a.m. on June 8 and, practically speaking, there was no way it could be changed. "There is no connecting flight from St. Thomas to San Juan which would allow them to make their return flight" if they were to perform on St. Thomas the night of June 7, Birch Forum board member Ricardo Charaf said.
So, the Birch Forum proceeded to Plan B — to bring another of this year's Casals groups, the Petersen Quartet, to St. Thomas, to perform on June 9, not at the Reichhold but at the St. Peter Mountain Great House. The quartet is scheduled to appear on June 13 in Puerto Rico. However, it turned out that it has a busy regional schedule the week before.
In a memo to board members last week, Neil Prior, Birch Forum president, said he had just learned from festival management that "we would have to pay to bring the Petersen Quartet from Santo Domingo to St. Thomas and then pay to take them to Panama, on top of their fee and expenses." He added, "In view of the additional financial burden and the short time available, I think we have no choice but to cancel for this year."
On Tuesday, an announcement and flyer from the Reichhold Center confirmed that the quartet's appearance had been canceled.
The cloud has a double silver lining, however.
"The Casals Festival management was very apologetic and promised to work with us in July for next year's event," Prior said in his memo. And the Birch Forum has already laid the groundwork to bring the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra to the Reichhold next fall for the third successive year. On that occasion, scheduled for Nov. 3, the Birch Forum is hoping to present a performance with the Caribbean Chorale of J.S. Bach's "Magnificat."
The Birch Forum has been co-presenting classical music and other performing arts events as part of the Reichhold season since 1996, when it brought in poet-dramatist Maya Angelou. This past season, in addition to the Puerto Rico orchestra, it sponsored the January appearance of operatic soprano Harolyn Blackwell and the April performance of the New Jersey Chamber Orchestra.

May 29, 2001 – Puerto Rico's 45th annual Casals Festival, which opens Saturday and continues through June 16, won't have a St. Thomas component after all. But it's not for lack of interest or effort.
On Tuesday, the Birch Forum on St. Thomas formally announced the cancellation of a planned June 9 performance by Berlin's Petersen Quartet at the St. Peter Mountain Great House. As no publicity about the concert had gone out, the news probably caught many classical music lovers doubly by surprise.
Last year, the Birch Forum, a philanthropic entity founded by Patti Birch in recognition of her late husband, attorney Everett B. Birch, broke new musical ground by making a concert on St. Thomas an official part of the Casals Festival program. The Rossini Quartet performed one night at the Centro de Bellas Artes in Santurce and the next at the Reichhold Center for the Arts.
Intent on transforming innovation into tradition for this year's festival, the Birch Forum made plans to bring the Moscow Soloists, a 23-member Russian ensemble founded and directed by world-acclaimed violist Yuri Bachmet, to perform at the Reichhold on June 7.
The group is scheduled to appear on June 6 at the Centro de Bellas Artes, and Bashmet is performing there again on June 8 in another ensemble.
A month ago, it became known that, because of his Wednesday and Friday commitments, Bashmet would not be able to travel to St. Thomas for the Thursday performance. Plans proceeded to book the Moscow Soloists without him, but earlier this month the Birch Forum ran into an insurmountable problem.
The ensemble members' flight home from San Juan to Moscow was scheduled for 7:15 a.m. on June 8 and, practically speaking, there was no way it could be changed. "There is no connecting flight from St. Thomas to San Juan which would allow them to make their return flight" if they were to perform on St. Thomas the night of June 7, Birch Forum board member Ricardo Charaf said then.
So, the Birch Forum proceeded to Plan B — to bring another of this year's Casals groups, the Petersen Quartet, to St. Thomas, to perform on June 9, not at the Reichhold but at the St. Peter Mountain Great House. The quartet is scheduled to appear on June 13 in Puerto Rico. However, it turned out that it has a busy regional schedule the week before.
In a memo to board members last week, Neil Prior, Birch Forum president, said he had just learned from festival management that "we would have to pay to bring the Petersen Quartet from Santo Domingo to St. Thomas and then pay to take them to Panama, on top of their fee and expenses." He added, "In view of the additional financial burden and the short time available, I think we have no choice but to cancel for this year."
On Tuesday, an announcement and flyer from the Reichhold Center confirmed that the quartet's appearance had been canceled.
The cloud has a double silver lining, however.
"The Casals Festival management was very apologetic and promised to work with us in July for next year's event," Prior said in his memo. And the Birch Forum has already laid the groundwork to bring the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra to the Reichhold next fall for the third successive year. On that occasion, scheduled for Nov. 3, the Birch Forum is hoping to present a performance with the Caribbean Chorale of J.S. Bach's "Magnificat."
The Birch Forum has been co-presenting classical music and other performing arts events as part of the Reichhold season since 1996, when it brought in violinist Itzhak Perlman and poet-dramatist Maya Angelou. This past season, in addition to the Puerto Rico orchestra, it sponsored the January appearance of operatic soprano Harolyn Blackwell and the April performance of the New Jersey Chamber Orchestra.

Most small business owners in the Virgin Islands are too busy building and maintaining their businesses to devote much time or energy to planning for their disposition. The difficulty with this approach is that the decision to sell the business is often made under circumstances, such as physical or fiscal illness, "battle fatigue," or other circumstances that require a prompt disposition.
As the tourist season draws to a close, many local businesses are considering their options. As a rule of thumb, the more promptly your business has to be sold, the less likely it is that you, the owner, will receive a price commensurate with the asset you are selling – and for many of us – our business represents the sum of our life's effort.
At Tom Bolt & Associates, P.C. we know that the disposition of business interests, particularly of family or other closely held business interests, is a multi-faceted endeavor, presenting far too many issues to discuss here. But here are some basic considerations:
1. If the business is to pass between generations of the same family (i.e., from parent to child), transfer should be arranged to minimize two very different, but equally important, aspects of the transfer – the minimization of taxes and the smooth transition of management between one generation and the other. Experience indicates that the transfer of management, if not handled properly and with foresight, is the bigger problem of the two, and is certainly the one more threatening to the health and vitality of the business.
2. If the business is to be transferred to an unrelated third party in an arm's length transaction, considerable forethought and effort must be given to the timing of the sale – what may be thought of as the "arc" of the transaction. How long before the time of actual sale should the owner prepare for the transfer? Is the business seasonal or of a type which may be particularly ripe for sale at a particular time?
What is certain about the process of selling your business is that when it comes to attending to the planning of the sale, more is better than less. More information is better than less. As always, more options are better than fewer.
The greatest single problem is knowing when to sell. This tends to be a problem for which objective criteria are not helpful. However, consistent with the idea that planning is good, it is important for a small business owner to take constant stock of where their business is, what its objectives are, and whether the present management has the emotional energy to maintain it or to raise it to a higher level. Only objective self-examination – often with help from close friends – can provide a working answer.
Attorneys and other professional advisors have an important role to play in the process. They can give helpful advice about the structure of the transaction and even about valuation. Occasionally, they can even introduce the buyer to the seller. At Tom Bolt & Associates, we know. We've handled these transactions from all sides. Please contact us by phone at 340-774-2944 or via e-mail at tbolt@vilaw.com for additional information and to discuss your business needs. Tom Bolt & Associates, P.C. – we mean business.
Check the Tom Bolt and Associates website at www.vilaw.com.

The Michael J. Kirwan Elementary School invites the public to a Pre-Summer Festival at 4 p.m. o Sunday, June 3, 2001, in the school cafeteria.
Donations are $7 for adults and $5 for children.
The festival will feature Mighty Waggie as the Master of Ceremonies; Nick Friday of Jam Band; Calypso King Wadablee; King Luis Ible, Jr.; King Kan Fun Plentie; Pas Reg; Incredible Shark; Frere Soul Jazz Combo; Ms. Wanda Dipnarine; Khadijah & Garvey Thomas; Gospel Singers; Rappers and Models. The Kirwin Concert Band and Choir will also perform.

The Michael J. Kirwan Elementary School invites the public to a Pre-Summer Festival at 4 p.m. on Sunday, June 3, 2001, in the school cafeteria.
Donations are: adults, $7, children, $5.
The festival will feature Mighty Waggie as the Master of Ceremonies; Nick Friday of Jam Band; Calypso King Wadablee; King Luis Ible, Jr.; Pas Reg; Incredible Shark; Frere Soul Jazz Combo; Ms. Wanda Dipnarine; Khadijah & Garvey Thomas; Gospel Singers, Steppers, Rappers and Models. The Kirwan Concert Band and Choir will also perform.

Jabari Goodwin clocked a 4 minute, 45 second mile Monday, half way through the 18th Annual Memorial Day 2 Mile road race on St. Croix.
Goodwin mastered the fast downhill course in 10 minutes and 6 seconds. Jeremy Laurent, just selected as a Virgin Islands National Guard NCO of the Year and Amalie Lockhart of the St.Croix Educational High School ran to the tape together with Lockhart closing at the end, to tie for second in 10:45; Teddy Seymour, a Vietnam veteran and former captain in the U.S. Marine Corps was third in 11:57; nine-year-old Junuru Goodwin was fourth in 13:32; J'Kinde Goodwin, the third Goodwin brother, was fifth in 14:05.
In the close women's field, Aurelein held on to cross the finish in her second road race win in a row. She finished first in the Paradise 5k on May 3. On Monday, she finished with a time of 11:43 over Theresa Harper, a teacher at St. Croix Country Day School.
This sets up a return match of the two in the upcoming Women Race on June 10, a two miler in the streets of Christiansted.
J'Kiwa Goodwin, in her best performance of late, finished third in 13:15; Earthla Arthur was fourth in 13:31; Dulcie Crowther was fifth in 13:59.
The Finishers Male:
1.Jabarie Goodwin 10:06; 2. Jeremy Laurent 10:45; Amalee Lockhart 10:45; 3.
Teddy Seymour 11:57; 4. Jnuru Goodwin 13:32; 5. J' Kinde Goodwin 14:03; 6.Mervin Mills 14:04; 7. Rey Ruiz 14:36; 8. Al Gerni 15:36; 9.Alex Bradbury 16:03; 10.Kent Bradbury 16:04
The Finishers Female:
1.Sherma Aurelein 11:43; 2. Theresa Harper 11:53; 3. J' Kiwa Goodwin 13:15; 4. Earthla Arthur 13:31; 5. Dulcie Crowther 13:59; 6. Jawana Goodwin 14:33; 7. June St.Cyr 17:19; 8. Lorraine Durand 17:40; 9. Bernice Kight 18:31; 10. Marie Elise Witmer 18:40; 11. Dorsett Baily 19:32
Top Schools: Khepra School (Home School) J'Kiwa Goodwin, Jawana Goodwin,
J'Kende Goodwin, Jnuru Goodwin, Coached by Dale Goodwin
The next run on the V.I.Pace runners calender is The 17th annual The Women Race on June 10 at 4:45 P.M. in Christiansted followed by the annual Olympic Day Run on June 23.

When senators lament that the Legislature gets no respect from the Virgin Islands public, they might want to consider the pappyshow that took place last week involving Alphonse Nibbs.
Knowing full well that Nibbs could not be there to testify before the Housing, Parks and Recreation Committee — that in fact he had a previous legal appointment in Louisiana — Committee Chairman Celestino White nevertheless used his position to stage an exhausting, time-consuming and cynical sham. White even went so far as to tell media before the meeting that Nibbs would appear, despite Nibbs’ repeated public statements to the contrary.
Nibbs, as most people know, had made serious allegations about corruption within the territory’s housing agencies. White apparently does not want Nibbs to testify publicly about his charges. Sen. Lorraine L. Berry does.
Aside from trying — and failing — to embarrass Berry, his political nemesis, before and during last week’s fiasco, what was the point of White’s holding a hearing on Nibbs’ allegations on a date when Nibbs couldn’t attend? That kind of cynical behavior undermines respect for the legislative body, for the Virgin Islands government and, ultimately, for democracy itself.
Are the people of this territory supposed to support this behavior with votes and money? Unfortunately, many do, as evidenced by the makeup of the Legislature. But many don't — and with more performances like last week’s, we predict that more people will be joining the ranks of the disgusted. People may laugh at the antics, but increasingly it is a derisive kind of laughter, directed at the players and the process that put these players in place.
The only hope is that out of these embarrassing scenes will arise leaders who want to do things differently; leaders who give the people of these islands more credit than this, leaders who are committed to effective, responsible conduct of the public’s business.
Senators, more and more people are laughing at you, not with you. Don’t you get it? Or don’t you care?