Funeral services for Police Officer Errol Cyrus are set for Monday on St. Thomas.
Cyrus, a 20-year veteran of the police force, died June 26 at the Roy L. Schneider Hospital of complications from diabetes. He was 50.
A native of Aruba, Cyrus joined the Police Department as a "home guard," a position that later became known as a "grounds patrolman." He attained the rank of police officer in 1987. His last assignment was at the Motor Vehicles Bureau on St. John, where he had also served in the 1980s as an inspector.
His career included assignments at the Zone A Command in downtown St. Thomas, the Zone C Command in Four Winds and the Zone D Command on St. John, as well as with the Motor Vehicles Bureau on St. Thomas and in the department's Street Crime Unit, an anti-crime initiative begun in the early 1990s.
He received numerous awards for dedication to duty and outstanding service. In 1982, he was recognized for his work at the Inspection Lane on St. Thomas and the Police Department honored him for 20 years of service in 1997. He was vice president of his Police Academy 87-1 graduating class, which also included among its members Police Benevolent Association president Elroy Raymo, VIPD spokeswoman Sgt. Annette Raimer and slain police officer Steven Hodge.
Viewing of the body is set for Monday from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. at the Richard N. Callwood "Zone A" Command. At 10 a.m. Monday, funeral services will be held at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Sugar Estate. Interment will be in Aruba.

The name is similar to that of the National Security Agency, but this NSA is a private, nonprofit organization that collects declassified documents. A virtual one-stop shopping center for retrieving important government documents that have been declassified, you will find "electronic briefing books" containing documents on Che Guevara's murder, the contras and cocaine, Guatemalan death squads, Tiananmen Square, the Iran coup of 1953, the National Security Agency, and other touchy subjects. Commentaries written by the archive's staff help put things in perspective.

The colors of the V.I. National Guard were passed from retiring Adjutant General Jean Romney to newly promoted Brig. Gen. Cleave Antonio McBean in a change of command ceremony on St. Croix Friday.
Romney is retiring after a 29-year career in the U.S. Army, three-and-a-half as the commander of VING. Gov. Charles Turnbull appointed McBean, also a 29-year Army veteran, to take his place.
"I’m here today because of the strong mentorships I had," McBean said, pointing to General Rudy Francis, General Robert Moorhead, Al Heath and Gerard Luz James Sr. "Let's make no mistake. We have a nonnegotiable contract with the people of the Virgin Islands to have a trained and ready force."
Romney, a former V.I. senator, said his retirement and that of other high-ranking officers "shouldn’t be seen as an end to an era."
"I’m leaving this command in the very capable hands of competent leaders," he said.
McBean’s active military career included a tour in Vietnam. He enlisted in VING in 1977 as a sergeant, accepted a commission as a second lieutenant later that year and achieved the rank of colonel before being promoted to brigadier general on Thursday.
Although McBean will serve as acting adjutant general of the 900-strong VING, comprised of the Army and Air National Guards, for 90 days, he is expected to be named as Romney's permanent successor. The adjutant general position is a cabinet-level post filled by the sitting governor.
McBean is taking over VING as the National Guard Bureau in Washington, D.C. investigates allegations of sexual harassment in the local Air National Guard. Charges have been brought against Lt. Col. David Stickley, commander of the 285th Combat Communications Squadron, and Lt. Col. Wilfred Davis, the squadron’s executive support staff officer, alleging misuse of authority, discrimination and civil rights abuses.
On Friday, Capt. Osbert Potter, VING’s public information officer, said he had no new information on the status of the investigation or what McBean may decide once it is completed.
"We’ll see what the new general wants to do based on the findings," Potter said.
Also under investigation is VING’s second-highest-ranking officer, Col. Edward Charles. Charles has been on leave since March following accusations of sexual harassment.
At the ceremonies Friday, Charles said it could be another month before the investigation is completed. "I understand there is no final outcome yet. I’m prepared to go back to work," Charles said, adding that he is confident he will be "exonerated."

The French Heritage Week Arts and Crafts Fair will start at 10 a.m. on Sunday July 9 at Sib's Ball Park. Featured for sale will be native crafts, fruits, vegetables, plants and herbs.
There will be activities for children throughout the day including pony rides and face painting.
The St. Thoms Lions club in cooperation with the Health Department will have a van at the site from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. to conduct health screenings. Tests will be available for high blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes and HIV. Eye, breast and prostate examinations will also be conducted..
The Sea Breeze Band will wrap up the festivities, playing from 5 to 9 p.m.

French Heritage Week will kick-off at 6 p.m. Saturday, July 8 with the Queen and Princess Pageant. Vying for French Heritage Week queen's crown are Jennifer Greaux, Shelli Brin, Brenda Aubain and Rita Ledee.
Cassandra quetel, Shanelle Brin, Pualani Armstrong and Selina Edwards will compete for the French Heritage Week princess title.

A memorial get-together for Clare Van Syckle will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, July 5 at Randy's on Raphune Hill.
The gathering is to meet, remember, and celebrate the life of a dear friend, according to Helen Kirwan. Van Syckle died earlier this month in North Carolina. She was 81.

Comments by Gov. Charles W. Turnbull's chief financial advisor notwithstanding, the governor will not submit the administration's fiscal year 2001 budget to the Legislature by the close of business Friday, a date agreed upon by the two branches of government more than a month ago.
In a letter dated Thursday, June 29, and received in the offices of Senate president Vargrave Richards and Senate Finance Committee chair Lorraine Berry Friday morning, Turnbull indicated that the delay now is at least in part due to various measures impacting on fiscal areas that were approved by the Senate in a marathon session on June 19.
The governor gave no revised date for submitting the budget. The June 30 deadline represented a one-month extension from the May 31 deadline set by law for the administration to submit its proposed budget for the next fiscal year to the Legislature.
"We will continue our efforts to prepare a realistic and meaningful budget while simultaneously addressing the new issues which arose as a result of the Legislature's June 19, 2000, actions," Turnbull wrote. "As soon as our assessment is completed, I will make every effort to transmit the proposed fiscal year budget to the Legislature for its consideration."
On Thursday, Turnbull's assistant for fiscal policy and economic affairs, Rudolph Krigger Jr., told Radio One News and the Source with regard to the 2001 budget, "Things are moving along." He gave no indication that the budget would not be submitted Friday as scheduled, although the governor's letter was transmitted on Thursday.
Government House chief of staff Juel Molloy said Friday morning that "all the changes in that series of actions that were done June 19 – appropriating from the Indirect Cost Fund, disability payments in certain categories, and diversion of license fees from the General Fund – completely disrupted all the work that had gone into the budget."
In the governor's budget, Molloy added, "Another thing contemplated was charging fees for public and parochial school busing," and Senate reaction has been strong opposition. "We will have to do a whole series of revisions, given the actions of the Legislature," she said.
By law, Government House is to submit its proposed budget for the ensuing fiscal year to the Legislature by the end of May. The fiscal year runs from Oct. 1 of one calendar year to Sept. 30 of the next. On May 23, Turnbull asked for, and the Legislature agreed to, a one-month extension.
In his Thursday letter to Richards, Turnbull wrote that the budget development process "has not been without difficulties. Those difficulties have translated into delays and have created issues which the Office of Management and Budget has strived diligently to overcome." But, he said, measures passed by the Senate on June 19 "affect revenue and expenditure initiatives and policy decisions that the administration has incorporated in the proposed fiscal year 2001 budget." He termed it "imperative that this administration assess the impact"of the Legislature's actions on the proposed budget "in the context of the ongoing issues in the budget process."
In a daylong session lasting until after 8 p.m. June 19, senators approved a flurry of amendments affecting everything from the V.I. Water and Power Authority to the V.I. Judicial Council, tacking them onto a routine housekeeping bill relating to the Emergency Services Fund surcharge collected on behalf of the government by the V.I. Telephone Corp. Among them were provisions to:
– appropriate up to $250,000 from the V.I. Public Accountancy Fund to hire an independent consultant to analyze the proposed Southern Energy agreement with WAPA.
– appropriate $1 million from the Indirect Cost Fund for fiscal year 2000 for WAPA to extend, repair and maintain water lines in Estate Tutu, Anna's Retreat and Smith Bay.
– make Human Services Department corrections officers, Port Authority firefighters and Territorial Court probation officers elegible for duty-connected disability payments.
– allow the Judicial Council of the V.I. to establish a separate draw-down imprest account.
On the same date that Turnbull requested the extension to June 30, Berry told St. Thomas Rotarians that the lack of information from the administration about the "the true state of government finances" was hindering the Senate in the performance of its duties. She said Government House had provided no information on the 5 percent reduction in payroll costs required in the memorandum of understanding between the territory and the Interior Department.
In her address, Berry also cited Personnel Department officials saying the salaries for new or vacant positions were "not available," so that lawmakers had "no way to determine whether payroll costs were going up, down, sideways or whatever." All they could do, she said, was to await the 2001 budget to "try and figure out what is happening with personnel costs."
Speaking at Memorial Day ceremonies May 29 on St. Thomas, Turnbull said he sought the one-month delay to allow fiscal officers to analyze the impact of factoring "certain elements" of the Economic Recovery Task Force's Five-Year Operating and Strategic Financial Plan into the budget. He pledged full disclosure of government finances during the Senate's budget review process.

Comments by Gov. Charles W. Turnbull's chief financial advisor notwithstanding, the governor will not submit the administration's fiscal year 2001 budget to the Legislature by the close of business Friday, a date agreed upon by the two branches of government more than a month ago.
In a letter dated Thursday, June 29, and received in the offices of Senate president Vargrave Richards and Senate Finance Committee chair Lorraine Berry Friday morning, Turnbull indicated that the delay now is at least in part due to various measures impacting on fiscal areas that were approved by the Senate in a marathon session on June 19.
The governor gave no revised date for submitting the budget. The June 30 deadline represented a one-month extension from the May 31 deadline set by law for the administration to submit its proposed budget for the next fiscal year to the Legislature.
"We will continue our efforts to prepare a realistic and meaningful budget while simultaneously addressing the new issues which arose as a result of the Legislature's June 19, 2000, actions," Turnbull wrote. "As soon as our assessment is completed, I will make every effort to transmit the proposed fiscal year budget to the Legislature for its consideration."
On Thursday, Turnbull's assistant for fiscal policy and economic affairs, Rudolph Krigger Jr., told Radio One News and the Source with regard to the 2001 budget, "Things are moving along." He gave no indication that the budget would not be submitted Friday as scheduled, although the governor's letter was transmitted on Thursday.
Government House chief of staff Juel Molloy said Friday morning that "all the changes in that series of actions that were done June 19 – appropriating from the Indirect Cost Fund, disability payments in certain categories, and diversion of license fees from the General Fund – completely disrupted all the work that had gone into the budget."
In the governor's budget, Molloy added, "Another thing contemplated was charging fees for public and parochial school busing," and Senate reaction has been strong opposition. "We will have to do a whole series of revisions, given the actions of the Legislature," she said.
By law, Government House is to submit its proposed budget for the ensuing fiscal year to the Legislature by the end of May. The fiscal year runs from Oct. 1 of one calendar year to Sept. 30 of the next. On May 23, Turnbull asked for, and the Legislature agreed to, a one-month extension.
In his Thursday letter to Richards, Turnbull wrote that the budget development process "has not been without difficulties. Those difficulties have translated into delays and have created issues which the Office of Management and Budget has strived diligently to overcome." But, he said, measures passed by the Senate on June 19 "affect revenue and expenditure initiatives and policy decisions that the administration has incorporated in the proposed fiscal year 2001 budget." He termed it "imperative that this administration assess the impact"of the Legislature's actions on the proposed budget "in the context of the ongoing issues in the budget process."
In a daylong session lasting until after 8 p.m. June 19, senators approved a flurry of amendments affecting everything from the V.I. Water and Power Authority to the V.I. Judicial Council, tacking them onto a routine housekeeping bill relating to the Emergency Services Fund surcharge collected on behalf of the government by the V.I. Telephone Corp. Among them were provisions to:
– appropriate up to $250,000 from the V.I. Public Accountancy Fund to hire an independent consultant to analyze the proposed Southern Energy agreement with WAPA.
– appropriate $1 million from the Indirect Cost Fund for fiscal year 2000 for WAPA to extend, repair and maintain water lines in Estate Tutu, Anna's Retreat and Smith Bay.
– make Human Services Department corrections officers, Port Authority firefighters and Territorial Court probation officers elegible for duty-connected disability payments.
– allow the Judicial Council of the V.I. to establish a separate draw-down imprest account.
On the same date that Turnbull requested the extension to June 30, Berry told St. Thomas Rotarians that the lack of information from the administration about the "the true state of government finances" was hindering the Senate in the performance of its duties. She said Government House had provided no information on the 5 percent reduction in payroll costs required in the memorandum of understanding between the territory and the Interior Department.
In her address, Berry also cited Personnel Department officials saying the salaries for new or vacant positions were "not available," so that lawmakers had "no way to determine whether payroll costs were going up, down, sideways or whatever." All they could do, she said, was to await the 2001 budget to "try and figure out what is happening with personnel costs."
Speaking at Memorial Day ceremonies May 29 on St. Thomas, Turnbull said he sought the one-month delay to allow fiscal officers to analyze the impact of factoring "certain elements" of the Economic Recovery Task Force's Five-Year Operating and Strategic Financial Plan into the budget. He pledged full disclosure of government finances during the Senate's budget review process.

Comments by Gov. Charles W. Turnbull's chief financial advisor notwithstanding, the governor will not submit the administration's fiscal year 2001 budget to the Legislature by the close of business Friday, a date agreed upon by the two branches of government more than a month ago.
In a letter dated Thursday, June 29, and received in the offices of Senate president Vargrave Richards and Senate Finance Committee chair Lorraine Berry Friday morning, Turnbull indicated that the delay now is at least in part due to various measures impacting on fiscal areas that were approved by the Senate in a marathon session on June 19.
The governor gave no revised date for submitting the budget. The June 30 deadline represented a one-month extension from the May 31 deadline set by law for the administration to submit its proposed budget for the next fiscal year to the Legislature.
"We will continue our efforts to prepare a realistic and meaningful budget while simultaneously addressing the new issues which arose as a result of the Legislature's June 19, 2000, actions," Turnbull wrote. "As soon as our assessment is completed, I will make every effort to transmit the proposed fiscal year budget to the Legislature for its consideration."
On Thursday, Turnbull's assistant for fiscal policy and economic affairs, Rudolph Krigger Jr., told Radio One News and the Source with regard to the 2001 budget, "Things are moving along." He gave no indication that the budget would not be submitted Friday as scheduled, although the governor's letter was transmitted on Thursday.
Government House chief of staff Juel Molloy said Friday morning that "all the changes in that series of actions that were done June 19 – appropriating from the Indirect Cost Fund, disability payments in certain categories, and diversion of license fees from the General Fund – completely disrupted all the work that had gone into the budget."
In the governor's budget, Molloy added, "Another thing contemplated was charging fees for public and parochial school busing," and Senate reaction has been strong opposition. "We will have to do a whole series of revisions, given the actions of the Legislature," she said.
By law, Government House is to submit its proposed budget for the ensuing fiscal year to the Legislature by the end of May. The fiscal year runs from Oct. 1 of one calendar year to Sept. 30 of the next. On May 23, Turnbull asked for, and the Legislature agreed to, a one-month extension.
In his Thursday letter to Richards, Turnbull wrote that the budget development process "has not been without difficulties. Those difficulties have translated into delays and have created issues which the Office of Management and Budget has strived diligently to overcome." But, he said, measures passed by the Senate on June 19 "affect revenue and expenditure initiatives and policy decisions that the administration has incorporated in the proposed fiscal year 2001 budget." He termed it "imperative that this administration assess the impact"of the Legislature's actions on the proposed budget "in the context of the ongoing issues in the budget process."
In a daylong session lasting until after 8 p.m. June 19, senators approved a flurry of amendments affecting everything from the V.I. Water and Power Authority to the V.I. Judicial Council, tacking them onto a routine housekeeping bill relating to the Emergency Services Fund surcharge collected on behalf of the government by the V.I. Telephone Corp. Among them were provisions to:
– appropriate up to $250,000 from the V.I. Public Accountancy Fund to hire an independent consultant to analyze the proposed Southern Energy agreement with WAPA.
– appropriate $1 million from the Indirect Cost Fund for fiscal year 2000 for WAPA to extend, repair and maintain water lines in Estate Tutu, Anna's Retreat and Smith Bay.
– make Human Services Department corrections officers, Port Authority firefighters and Territorial Court probation officers elegible for duty-connected disability payments.
– allow the Judicial Council of the V.I. to establish a separate draw-down imprest account.
On the same date that Turnbull requested the extension to June 30, Berry told St. Thomas Rotarians that the lack of information from the administration about the "the true state of government finances" was hindering the Senate in the performance of its duties. She said Government House had provided no information on the 5 percent reduction in payroll costs required in the memorandum of understanding between the territory and the Interior Department.
In her address, Berry also cited Personnel Department officials saying the salaries for new or vacant positions were "not available," so that lawmakers had "no way to determine whether payroll costs were going up, down, sideways or whatever." All they could do, she said, was to await the 2001 budget to "try and figure out what is happening with personnel costs."
Speaking at Memorial Day ceremonies May 29 on St. Thomas, Turnbull said he sought the one-month delay to allow fiscal officers to analyze the impact of factoring "certain elements" of the Economic Recovery Task Force's Five-Year Operating and Strategic Financial Plan into the budget. He pledged full disclosure of government finances during the Senate's budget review process.

Thursday night, St. John paid tribute to Harry Daniel at the official opening of the year 2000 festival village named in his honor.
At the front of the stage in the Cruz Bay parking lot, a banner bid all welcome to "Daniel's Court." Taking the microphone, the 23-year police veteran, now retired, got right to the point.
"Like they normally say when you have court, hear ye, hear ye, hear ye," he said, "Daniel's Court is now in session, the honorable Harry Daniel and the people of St. John are hereby presiding – because it's not only me but also the people of St. John that welcome you here tonight."
St. John Festival Village chair Jane Johannes and other speakers at the opening night ceremonies took turns citing Daniel's years and fields of civic and community service – policeman, chief ranger of the V.I. National Park, master sergeant in the V.I. National Guard, immediate past president of the St. John Community Foundation, member of the Board of Education, advocate for military veterans and last but far from least, member of the St. John Festival and Cultural Organization.
Sen. Almando "Rocky" Liburd called Daniel a workaholic, saying in the same breath that St. John needs more people like him.
Johannes said Daniel's unceasing contributions helped bring the annual celebration into a better day. "I have worked with Harry Daniel for many, many years to keep this festival together," she told the audience. "For many years we didn't have one penny, but we worked day and night."
The festival royalty – Queen Suzette Kelly, Prince Imri Tonge and Princess Liyah Tonge – also gave greetings.
Just before the village ribbon-cutting ceremony, the honoree took care of one other pleasurable bit of business: He announced the name of this year's winner of the St. John Community Foundation's Harry Daniel Scholarship Fund award. And the winner was: Festival Queen Suzette.