Six weeks before the start of the new academic year, repairs are under way at some of the territory's public schools and awaiting notice to proceed from the Property and Procurement Department at others, according to Education Department authorities.
"We are proceeding to accomplish as much as we can by the opening of the new school year," Education Commissioner Ruby Simmonds said in a release issued Thursday afternoon. She said most of the work in progress involves repairs to roofs, electrical systems and restroom facilities, including replacement of restroom hardware and doors.
In the cases where notice to proceed is yet to come, she said, the contractors recognize "the need for repairs to be completed by the start of the new school year," which is Aug. 25.
Construction crews are at work on St. Croix at the Pearl B. Larsen and Juanita Gardine elementary schools, Arthur Richards Junior High and Central High School, which is the site of a hazard mitigation project funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the release stated. Work "is expected to begin shortly"at Claude O. Markoe Elementary and Elena Christian Junior High.
Work at most of the schools is being made possible by FEMA funding and insurance claim settlements relating to Hurricane Lenny damage, and "much of this work will be ongoing after schools reopen," the release said.
In the St. Thomas-St. John district, no such hurricane-related resources were available, but FEMA-funded hazard mitigation work has begun at the Charlotte Amalie High School. On St. Thomas, repair work is also under way at Eudora Kean High; the Leonard Dober, Joseph Gomez, Kirwan Terrace, E. Benjamin Oliver, Joseph Sibilly and Edith Williams elementary schools; and the Day Adult Education Complex. And on St. John, repair crews are working at the Guy Benjamin and Julius E. Sprauve schools.
Simmonds stated that she was optimistic that "most, if not all, of our schools will be in much better shape by the end of August."

During an Internet roundtable discussion with experts attending the International AIDS Conference in South Africa, Delegate to Congress Donna Christian Christensen called on pharmaceutical companies to provide treatment for AIDS to Africans living with the disease.
Christensen, chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus Health Braintrust and a family physician, participated in the discussion by telephone before returning
to the Virgin Islands. She was joined by the Center for Disease Control's Dr. Helene Gayle, director of the National Center for HIV/STD/TB Prevention at the CDC, and Dr. David Holtgrave, director of the CDC’s Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention-Intervention Research and Support.
"One of the positions taken by some of the pharmaceutical companies in previous meetings in Washington is that the infrastructure of poor countries cannot provide the necessary support for patients who require long term access to AIDS drugs," Christensen said.
But she noted a recent New York Times article that reported that many infected Africans are seeking out multiple drug treatment trials that have been made
available to them.
"What this shows is that people everywhere do value life over death and given
the proper resources and opportunity for longer and greater life value, people
will respond to treatment," Christensen said.
She noted that it is still important, however, that ways are found to improve the overall health care delivery system both in the U.S. and around the world.
"As long as a community's health delivery system is not working a vaccine
that's available may still be ineffective," Christensen said.
As chairwoman of the CBC’s Health Braintrust, Christensen oversees the
implementation of national policy on health issues affecting communities of color, particularly to eliminate disparities in health care delivery. Her efforts include programs to address the threatening AIDS epidemic in the Virgin Islands and throughout the Caribbean. Christensen will travel around the Caribbean with Sandy Thurman, director of National AIDS Policy, later this year to reinforce the region's need for federal assistance in addressing the health crisis.
The International AIDS Conference which began July 8 ends on Friday.

During an Internet roundtable discussion with experts attending the International AIDS Conference in South Africa, V.I. Delegate to Congress Donna Christian Christensen called on pharmaceutical companies to provide treatment for AIDS to Africans living with the disease.
Christensen, chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus Health Braintrust and a family physician, participated in the discussion by telephone before returning to the Virgin Islands. She was joined by the Center for Disease Control's Dr. Helene Gayle, director of the National Center for HIV/STD/TB Prevention at the CDC, and Dr. David Holtgrave, director of the CDC’s Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention-Intervention Research and Support.
"One of the positions taken by some of the pharmaceutical companies in previous meetings in Washington is that the infrastructure of poor countries cannot provide the necessary support for patients who require long term access to AIDS drugs," Christensen said.
But she noted a recent New York Times article that said many infected Africans are seeking out multiple drug-treatment trials now available to them.
"What this shows is that people everywhere do value life over death and given the proper resources and opportunity for longer and greater life value, people will respond to treatment," Christensen said.
She noted that it is still important, however, to find ways to improve the overall health care delivery system in the U.S. and around the world.
"As long as a community's health delivery system is not working, a vaccine that's available may still be ineffective," Christensen said.
As chairwoman of the CBC’s Health Braintrust, Christensen oversees the implementation of national policy on health issues affecting communities of color, particularly to eliminate disparities in health care delivery.
Her efforts include programs to address the threatening AIDS epidemic in the Virgin Islands and throughout the Caribbean. Christensen will travel around the Caribbean with Sandy Thurman, director of National AIDS Policy, later this year to reinforce the region's need for federal assistance in addressing the health crisis.
The International AIDS Conference, which began July 8, ends Friday.

Fans of St. Croix radio talk show personality Mario Moorhead are again facing mornings without him.
In May, Moorhead took his popular daily show to WVIQ 99.5 FM after leaving his long-time morning slot on WSTX AM in March. But earlier this week, Moorhead resigned from his new station.
WVIQ owner Jonathan Cohen didn’t return calls but a station employee confirmed Moorhead had resigned. Moorhead couldn’t be reached to comment on the reason for his departure.
According to Barbara James-Petersen, WSTX general manager, Moorhead walked out of the studio in March after she asked him to set ground rules regarding his high-profile support for a fledgling political organization on St. Croix, the Crucian Coalition. The organization seeks to bolster St. Croix’s power in the Legislature and Moorhead’s show often featured discussions about the new group.
Soon after Moorhead left WSTX, James-Petersen said that by and large the radio station has an open-format policy but that ground rules were needed to keep the station from becoming a "free-for-all."
Moorhead’s move to Cohen’s station came as a surprise to some because of a flurry of controversy in February surrounding Cohen’s effort to hire a mainland talk host for one of his other stations. Many of Moorhead’s supporters blasted Cohen for signing a contract with Doug Tracht, also known by his on-air name of the Greaseman, who was fired from his last job in Washington, D.C., for making racist remarks.
In the wake of the whirlwind of controversy surrounding Tracht’s possible hiring, in which Cohen was called a bigot and reportedly threatened, the offer to Tracht was rescinded.
Cohen said in a statement soon after the debacle, "To those of you who sat in arrogant judgment of (Tracht’s) motives and mine, I reject your moral posturing and your incitement to bad behavior."

The Senate Rules Committee approved two nominations Thursday for the Port Authority board and one for the Industrial Development Commission.
On the Port Authority board, Kent E. Bernier was approved to replace outgoing member Melville Plaskett, while Leslie M. Milliner was approved to fill the seat left vacant by Nick Pourzal. Randolph Allen, who is the staff representative for the Virgin Islands affiliate of the United Steel Workers of America, was approved to fill the labor slot on the IDC.
Under questioning by committee chair Violet Anne Golden, Bernier said the territory should reconsider increasing the departure tax on cruise ships. He said they don't significantly contribute to the retail industry of the islands.
Milliner voiced concerns about cruise ships homeporting in the territory, and suggested providing crossing guards for passengers disembarking on the waterfront.
Bernier, in response to the lawmakers' questions, said his priorities include expansion of the St. Croix airport, dredging the St. Thomas harbor and the development of Enighed Pond on St. John. He also expressed an interest in getting better airline rates to the territory.
Milliner and Bernier were approved by the committee on a vote of 4-1. Sens. Golden, Judy Gomez, Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg and Almando "Rocky" Liburd voted in favor of the candidates; Gregory Bennerson voted no.
Allen told the committee that he supports "incremental reductions" in IDC benefits to companies investing in the territory, but he suggested each company's "survivability" factor should be a consideration.
Sens. Bennerson and Donald "Ducks" Cole questioned Allen's opinion about the territory's IDC program to which Allen responded, "It's the best in the region." Allen added, however, that hiring qualified personnel as compliance officers is essential for the program to be effective.
Allen was approved unanimously.
All nominations now go to the full Senate for final consideration.
Committee members present for the meeting were Golden, Gomez, Bennerson, Liburd and Donastorg. Vargrave Richards and Adelbert "Bert" Bryan were absent.

The Senate Rules Committee approved two nominations for the Port Authority board and one for the Industrial Development Commission Thursday.
On the Port Authority board, Kent E.Bernier was approved to replace outgoing member Melville Plaskett, while Leslie M. Milliner was approved to fill the seat left vacant by Nick Pourzal. Randolph Allen was approved for the IDC seat.
Under questioning by committee chair Violet Anne Golden, Bernier said the territory should reconsider increasing the departure tax on cruise ships. He said they don't significantly contribute to the retail industry of the islands.
Milliner voiced concerns about cruise ships home porting in the territory, and suggested providing crossing guards for passenger disembarking on the waterfront.
Bernier, in response to the lawmakers' questions, said that his priorities include expansion of the St. Croix airport, the dredging of St. Thomas harbor and the development of Enighed Pond on St. John. He also expressed an interest in getting better airline rates to the territory.
Milliner and Bernier were approved by the committee on a vote of 4-1. Sens. Golden, Judy Gomez, Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg and Almando "Rocky" Liburd voted in favor of the candidates, with Gregory Bennerson casting the no vote.
Allen told the committee that he supports "incremental reductions" in IDC benefits to companies investing in the territory, but he suggested each company's "survivability" factor should be a consideration.
Sens. Bennerson and Donald "Ducks" Cole questioned Allen's opinion about the territory's IDC program to which Allen responded, "It's the best in the region." Allen added, however, that hiring qualified personnel as compliance officers is essential for the program to be effective.
Allen was approved unanimously by the committee.
All nominations now go to the full Senate for final consideration.
Committee members present for the meeting were Golden, Gomez, Bennerson, Liburd and Donastorg. Vargrave Richards and Adelbert "Bert" Bryan were absent.

The Water and Power Authority governing board approved major increases Thursday in the month fuel surcharge to electric and water customers, effective immediately.
In a long and occasionally acrimonious meeting, the board approved the fuel surcharge increases because the Public Services Commission had not acted on WAPA's May 15 request for an increase to take effect July 1.WAPA board member Andrew Rutnik, a former member of the PSC, said the action is legal, as the PSC's rules state that if the commission takes no action within 30 days, a rate change request is approved by default.
At issue is WAPA's "levelized energy adjustment clause" which authorizes the utility to readjust its fuel cost surcharges to water and power customers every six months based on open market fuel prices, which have been soaring for months.
The new surcharge for an average residential electric customer using 500 kwh of power in a month would be about $24.68, bringing the total bill to $88.58. For a commercial customer using 1,200 kwh, it would be $59.17, bringing to total bill to $245.58. WAPA public information officer Patricia Blake-Simmonds stressed that these figures are "only approximate" until Glen Rothgeb, WAPA fiscal officer, can finalize them.
For water customers, the new surcharge will be $1.52 per thousand gallons of potable water.
WAPA executive director Raymond George has said he sent the proposed increases to the PSC last November, intending for it to take effect Jan.1, but the PSC didn't act on the measure until April, when the surcharge rate last went up.
WAPA recently reported a $13 million shortfall in collections, which is separate from the multimillion-dollar debt owed by its biggest customer, the V.I. government. The PSC's delay in acting in a timely manner on requests to raise the fuel surcharges has been a big factor in the revenue deficit, utility officials say.
George said may people have the misconception that the $13 million shortfall has to do with the enormous debt the government owes WAPA. He stressed the two have nothing to do with each other. The fuel surcharge increases are due to soaring worldwide oil prices, he said, adding that he doesn't see them going down any time soon.
George asked for the increases over a year, until next June. He said to recoup the $13 million in six months would have required a 33 percent increase in the surcharges, so he spread it out over a year, as a 20 percent increase. The last fuel surcharge adjustments, in July 1999, were based on fuel costs of $21.28 per barrel. Since then, prices have gone as high as $31 a barrel.George had said he hoped fuel costs would decrease by December so the surcharges could be scaled down.
After spending the first half-hour determining the agenda Thursday, the board got down to how best to prepare the public for the steep hikes coming in utility bills. George had called the meeting a few days earlier than usual in order to get the fuel surcharge increases approved and get the July bills out.
Committee chair Carol Burke said the media had misrepresented the fuel surcharge and suggested WAPA needed a public relations plan to explain the LEAC. All members agreed on the need to do something to ensure that the public would understand the increase. George noted that Wednesday's San Juan Star had reported that Puerto Rico's fuel surcharge had gone up 110 percent.
George was attacked by Rutnik as having the "worst public relations of any government agency," although Rutnik said his coment "wasn't personal." Rutnik suggested George appear on talk shows, and George said he had no objection to that. Rutnik also suggested Blake-Simmonds appear on a show to head off what board member William Lomax called the "inevitable public backlash."
Rutnik offered one explanation of why some government agencies' power bills could be so high, such as that of the Housing, Parks and Recreation Department. At Coki Point on St. Thomas recently, he said, he observed several businesses – food concessions and others – plugged into a department line via simple extension cords. "There's no security whatsover," he said. He added that he unplugged the cords and was thinking about doing it every day. He said he was with a department representative at the time who "didn't appear very concerned."
George brought some good news to the board meeing. He said that in June WAPA received $7.7 million from the government's executive branch and a total of $1.1 million from the other individual government agencies. This leaves the executive branch past due on another $11.4 million and all others behind $3.9 million, for a total of $15.4 million past due.
George also addressed WAPA's Federal Emergency Management Agency audit. He said the publicized $8.9 million perceived as what WAPA owes isn't right. "That sum is the difference between what has been paid us, and what we're trying to reclaim," he said. Rothgeb said, "If it were all ended today, FEMA would owe us about $700,000."
In other action, the board approved $142,956 for purchase of utility poles from Atlantic Woods Industries and $188,053 to Besco Inc. for repairs to unit 14.
George said he has contracted with three mainland utility companies in the event of needing assistance this hurricane season. He said FEMA will transport assisting power companies with whom WAPA has a contract and expedite the process of getting them here.
Board members present at the meeting were Burke, Lomax, Rutnik, Claude Molloy, J. Arthur Downing, Alphonso Franklin and G. Luz James Sr.

Archaeologist Ken Wild says he once believed the excavation site on the beach at Cinnamon Bay was the house of a tribal chief. Now, he says, there's evidence that he and his associates have found a Taino temple described in records by 15th century Spanish explorers.
Wild has been digging away at the Cinnamon Bay project for seven years. About two years ago, he and his ever-rotating team of student volunteers began turning up zemis, small stone carvings depicting deities of the indigenous Taino people. Since then, digging deeper, he says, they have found other artifacts that support his theory that the site, near one of St. John's oldest colonial structures, was, in fact, a Taino temple.
"This site, as we now know, is much more important the a regular site," Wild tells a dozen visitors gathered for one of the twice-weekly Cinnamon Bay tours.
After carefully sifting away sediment accumulated over hundreds of years, the archaeological team found stacks of pottery with holes carefully punched through each piece. This, Wild says, was one of the first clues. "Indian tribes to this day still punch holes in pottery as part of a ceremony to release the spirits," he says.
They also found the top of a duho, the high-backed chair of a tribal chief; manatee teeth that were used to decorate the chair; and carved eyes that were set in the heads of deity figures.
The Taino were accomplished weavers, Wild says, and it's known that some temple deities were made of woven cotton, sometimes with a skull positioned as the head. Among the artifacts found at the Cinnamon Bay site, he says, are the "eyes" of such figures, carved from shells, along with the remains of giant shellfish, believed to have been food offerings to the gods.
Next, Wild tells his visitors about 15th Century Spanish records of the first European encounters with the Taino people. These accounts, he says, indicate that "there was a special place where the chief kept his ancestors, and there was a requirement that once a year the people would offer sacrifices to his ancestors."
The pit is a short distance from what is believed to be the Cinnamon Bay Greathouse, a colonial structure begun around 1720. The building now houses Wild's laboratory and a gift shop for Cinnamon Bay campground visitors. In front of the building is a path that winds up toward Route 20, the North Shore Road. Wild says the original North Shore Road began where that foot trail is today and ran north toward Maho Bay.
The existence of that old road essentially kept the Cinnamon Bay Taino site untouched over the years, he says. Builders would be unlikely to excavate under an established roadway, and "when you have an old road like that, no vegetation has grown on top of it, no animal is going to burrow under it, and no agricultural plowing disturbs it."
Wild believes that the valley surrounding the campground is a vast aboriginal village dating back to at least 1,000 A.D. It would be highly unlikely for a religious temple – called a caney – to be located anywhere but within a surrounding society, he says.
Much of the work of uncovering Cinnamon Bay's historic treasures is being done by volunteers under Wild's direction. Currently, his helpers are students from the University of Southern Maine and Syracuse University – and two Virgin Islanders, Kristin Moorehead, who attends Spelman College, and Jamilla Abraham, a student at Brown University.
Also lending a hand are the hundreds of St. Thomas and St. John public and private school students who visit the site on field trips throughout the year.
The free guided Cinnamon Bay tours are being conducted on Wednesdays and Fridays at 1:30 p.m. through Aug. 14. To sign up, call 690-2497.
To read about another element of the Cinnamon Bay archeological puzzle, the animal remains, click on National Park.
For additional pictures of zemis and information about the Cinnamon Bay dig, visit the Scientific American web page at www.scientificamerican.com/exhibit/2000/062600cinnamon.

An initiative to get financial assistance from the V.I. National Park for Emergency Medical Services on St. John appears to be on indefinite hold.
National Park Service and EMS officials say talks were held at the start of this year about the possibility of federal reimbursement for ambulance calls made for park visitors.
But Dr. Herbert Sanders, director of the territory's ambulance service, says the chances of such an agreement winning approval may have been lost, now that Park Supt. Russell Berry Jr. is retiring.
"We had a meeting with Mr. Berry," Sanders said. "It was very pleasant, and we left with the understanding that there would be some follow-up on his part." But then he added, "It probably has died with him."
The EMS chief said 25 percent of all ambulance calls on St. John come from the park asking assistance for visitors who either are in medical crisis or are victims of accidents.
Citing financial reports on ambulance service operations in the month of May, Sanders said 20 ambulance calls were made on St. John to a total cost of $54,000. "If we could get some subsidy from the federal government, obviously it would be a great help," he said.
Berry could not be reached for comment. However, Judy Shafer, the park assistant superintendent, said she had received a follow-up letter from Sanders dated Feb. 17. "To the best of my knowledge, nothing further has happened on this," she said. "I don't know what the legal mechanisms would be to offer this type of assistance."
Shafer said the chances of reimbursement for ambulance service provided to park visitors are probably slim because the V.I. National Park is operating on a tight budget.
Sanders said he intends to pursue the matter further once a new park superintendent is in place. He said if St. John's ambulance service could receive partial reimbursement, it might be able to hire as many as three more EMT's.

For the third Thursday in a row, police on St. Croix protested their lack of a current contract and poor working conditions. But this time they weren’t marching alone.
Members of the St. Croix and St. Thomas Police Benevolent Associations, the Law Enforcement Supervisor Union, officers from the Bureau of Corrections and Planning and Natural Resources, and firefighters all marched on St. Croix’s Government House as part of the newly formed Public Safety Coalition.
The group was formed "to keep the needs on the front burner and in the public arena," said St. Croix PBA president Naomi Joseph. "It’s not just about money alone. It’s about having supplies and equipment to do the job.
"We can’t have firefighters without gear to go inside burning buildings and we can’t have police with out (bulletproof) vests to protect them," she said.
Joseph said that if and when the Turnbull administration finds money to spend on public safety, coalition members have agreed that it should be split among the different agencies.
Police officers and supervisors on St. Croix are currently working under unfunded contracts while supervisors haven’t seen a pay raise in nine years, said Arthur Hector, president of the St. Croix LESU. He said officers at Patrick Sweeney Headquarters are working in a dilapidated building and many are driving vehicles that, by contract, should not be on the road because of the amount of mileage.
Also participating in the protest was St. Thomas PBA president Elroy Raymo. He said "there are those who are upset with me and my men" for remarks he made recently saying that police would protest in front of tourists with the message that they aren’t safe because the administration is neglecting law enforcement.
Despite being criticized by Police Commissioner Franz Christian earlier this week for his comments, Raymo said the union would take its protests on St. Thomas to visitor-heavy areas like Havensight, Main Street and the Cyril E. King Airport if the administration doesn’t come to the negotiating table soon.
Additionally, representatives from the V.I. Fire Service and the Bureau of Corrections aired their grievances. Firefighters on St. Croix are ill-equipped and haven’t had a pay raise since 1993 while the Golden Grove Prison, which just started receiving Virgin Islands prisoners who have been held in off-island facilities, is understaffed.
"We’ve all been neglected," Joseph said. "We don’t have the basic tools to do our jobs."