St. John Tradewinds newspaper editor and publisher Tom Oat entered a not guilty plea in Territorial Court Thursday to charges of simple assault and trespassing.
Oat was arrested June 9 on a citizen's complaint filed by Public Works Department employee Ralph Titre after a scuffle near the gate of the Susannaberg transfer station. He appeared at the arraignment Thursday accompanied by his attorney, Treston Moore.
Since his advice of rights hearing on June 12, Oat has filed a counter-complaint against Titre, the transfer station weighmaster. Assistant Attorney General Guy Mitchell said the St. John publisher was seeking charges of assault and robbery, but as of Wednesday no charges had been filed, nor had any additional arrests been made.
At the arraignment, Judge Ive Swan said he would probably drop the charges against Oat and dismiss the case. However, he gave attorneys a schedule by which to file their arguments while he thought things over. "The government is deciding whether or not . . . to pursue this case, and, if so, on what kind of charges," Moore said after the hearing.
Shortly after the June 9 incident, Dean Blyden, a Tradewinds employee, said the Oat had gone to the transfer station after receiving complaints that workers were removing parts from cars that had been towed to the dump.
Public Works Deputy Commissioner Ira Wade has denied any wrongdoing by his workers. He says he told Titre to send Oat to his office if he came to the transfer station.
In court on June 12, Titre told Swan he tried to do that but Oat pointed a camera at him and began taking pictures. The weighmaster said he asked Oat to stop, then reached for the camera and that's when the scuffle began.
Titre also said Oat was involved in an earlier confrontation with Public Works employees when enforcement officers went to tow a Jeep Cherokee that had been used to deliver Tradewinds newspapers. The vehicle had been badly damaged days earlier in a late-night fire of suspicious origin.
Wade said he was asked to remove the Jeep by employees at the Cruz Bay Day Care Center who said the fumes from the burned vehicle parked outside the center were making some of the children sick.

The Marlins annihilated the Blazers 21-0 Wednesday afternoon at the Emile Griffith Ballpark in the St. Thomas PeeWee League.
The Marlins pounded the Blazers for 18 hits. Five Marlins were perfect at the plate. Akai Henneman, Jaleen Morton and Britian Brathwaite had three hits each. Qadry Smith and Malaki Fredericks had two hits each. Brathwaite and Shamoi Hodge each hit a home run.
The Marlins erupted for nine runs in the first inning. They added four in the second and eight in the third. The game was called after three-and-a-half innings.
No Blazer got past second base in the game. However, they did get four hits, one in each inning. K-Jani Matthews, Kanail Hazel, Xavier Richard and Rakim Fahie each had hits.
On weekdays the St. Thomas PeeWee League plays at the Emile Griffith Ballpark and on Saturdays the league plays at the Alvin McBean Ballpark.

Dear Source:
In addition to being a native Cruzan I am also the public relations manager for Certified Vacations Group, Inc., one of the world's leading wholesalers and operators of Delta Vacations, Continental Airlines Vacations, Future Vacations and ClikVacations.com.
Between our four brands, we offer vacation packages to all three of the US Virgins, so I try to keep up with the St. Croix Source as much as possible for personal as well as business reasons. I just wanted to commend you on producing an excellent publication.
The recent expose on the mainland tourism offices and the lack of a tourism web presence have been particularly eye-opening. I'm just glad to see that someone is doing the dirty work of researching where the money is going (always a great mystery in the USVI) and providing a forum for exploring different ways that the territory can be marketed more effectively.
Keep up the great work.
Best regards,
Steve Bennett

Sewage "terrorists" bent on embarrassing the Turnbull administration have been intentionally clogging the wastewater system in Christiansted for the last year, according to a Department of Public Works official.
Randy Germain, Public Works deputy commissioner for operations, said Thursday that crews caught a man "red-handed" dumping tires into an uncovered manhole Thursday. The incident followed sewage backups Wednesday that caused one downtown restaurant to close and other businesses to contend with foul odors.
Public Works crews responding to the problem ended up pulling out swimming pool filters, hubcaps, books, lumber and boat propellers from the sewer. Once the sewage line was cleared, flows returned to normal, Germain said.
After apprehending the man dumping the tires, Public Works employees called police. Germain said the department will file charges against the unidentified individual.
While Germain conceded that problems with the island’s sewage system date back 16 years, he said the recent incidents that have fouled downtown Christiansted are due to sewer-line blockages. He said that, on more than one occasion, Public Works has cleared debris from sewage lines, only to find new blockages a few days later.
"It’s direct sabotage, and it’s been going on for one year," Germain said, adding that a "bunch of terrorists" are trying to "embarrass" the Turnbull-James administration.
"I don’t know any person who flushes such things from his bathroom," Germain said. "There is no way one could dream of flushing a hubcap down the sewer line."
Meanwhile, a federal judge has ordered Public Works to repair almost the entire sewage system on St. Croix by June 30. If it fails to do so, V.I. government officials could face contempt of court charges.
The order in part calls for the LBJ Pump Station, which is responsible for moving sewage generated in Christiansted on the North Shore to the treatment plant on the South Shore, to be fully operational by the end of June.
When the LBJ station fails, sewage backs up in Christiansted and causes more than a million gallons of raw sewage a day to be discharged into the sea beyond Long Reef in the La Grande Princesse area.

At the start of this week, the island of St. John became home to six non-bank automated teller machines that could, for a nominal fee, save time for residents and visitors alike.
Frank Nassetta, the president of Caribbean Exchange Enterprises, and his assistant, Kim Holdridge, raced around the island Monday and Tuesday activating the ATMs – two at the Westin resort, one at Caneel Bay, one at the fire station in Coral bay, one up on Bordeaux Mountain at Paradise Innovations and one in Cruz Bay at the Azzuz Pizzeria in Wharfside Village.
According to Nassetta, a man in Coral Bay told him putting in a cash machine there was the greatest news since St. Thomas opened its first Kmart at Tutu Park Mall.
Five years ago, St. John had one bank.When a second opened in the mid-1990s, customers wanting cash had a choice of establishments but still just one location – downtown Cruz Bay. That was it, until the cash machines went into service Monday and Tuesday.
Nassetta, whose company is based in Frederiksted, said tourist demand for quick, easy access to cash was the main impetus for setting up the St. John ATMs – and the reason three of them are located at resorts.
Caribbean Exchange is the only company licensed in the Virgin Islands to operate non-bank ATMs so far, although Licensing and Consumer Affairs Commissioner Andrew Rutnik said Thursday that his office has received an application from a second firm. Until a recent change in the law, only banks could install and operate such machines in the territory.
Westin Resort general manager Greg Lundberg said having the machines on property "enhances our customer service. We have a lot of guests who ask at the front desk where they can get cash," and until now they've had to send them into town to a bank. "Now," he said, "we have the service right here on our premises."
What's more, Lundberg said, he plans to install another machine at the security gate for use by resort workers.
Nassetta said tourist transactions will probably be the primary source of revenues brought in by the machines. A fee is assessed for each "swipe" of the customer's credit or debit card. The machines installed for use by residents in Cruz Bay and Coral Bay are not expected to generate as much business, he said, but were set up as a service to the community.
In addition to the six ATM's on St. John, Caribbean Exchange has installed 15 on St. Croix and 18 on St. Thomas in recent weeks, for a total of 39 in the territory. He projected that it will take six months to a year for the company to recover the costs of shipping and installing the devices.

Two former V.I. Justice Department employees charged last week in connection with the embezzlement of money from the Division of Paternity and Child Support and welfare fraud entered not guilty pleas in their initial appearances in Territorial Court Thursday.
The pleas were entered by attorney Benjamin Currence on behalf of Cheryl Serrant and by attorney Stephen Brusch representing Dina Hermon. Both lawyers requested jury trials.
The women were implicated jointly but charged separately last week. Hermon is accused of 27 counts of embezzlement, and Serrant faces charges of filing fraudulent claims against the government to secure food stamps and public housing, and perjury. Both worked in the St. Thomas offices of the division as collector/cashiers until they were dismissed last year.
Hermon is alleged to have defrauded the division of cash which she received but never deposited in the Banco Popular account which she was charged with maintaining. Serrant, in charges unrelated to her former employment at Justice, faces 12 counts of filing fraudulent government claims, obtaining money under false pretense and perjury.
Court documents show an almost year-long investigation of both women. The documents state that in each case where a deposit shortage was noted, one of the women had hand-written the receipt, entered the transaction into a computer or prepared the deposit slip.
It is alleged that Hermon embezzled funds in August, October and November of 1998 and in April, May, June and August of last year.
In the Serrant case, Justice alleges that in applications for re-certification for participation for in the territorial food stamp program, she stated that she does not receive child support for her five children. The children's father in a separate statement said he provides for them all.
Fraudulent statements were allegedly submitted over the years 1997-1999.
Judge Ive Arlington Swan scheduled final motions in the case for Aug. 4 and set Aug. 31 as the final date that either defendant may enter into a plea bargain agreement with the government. He indicated that the case will likely be tried by Judge Ishmael Meyers.

Public Works Commissioner Harold Thompson said Wednesday he has been directed to "begin the process of privatizing the Vitran public transit system." Describing the system as being in critical condition, he said the word he has received from the "highest level of government" is that Public Works should no longer manage the mass transit system.
Private sector operation of the territory's mass transit is nothing new. Mannassah Bus Lines ran it for years. More recently, a stateside company, Laidlaw, was contracted to run the buses on St. Thomas while another off-island company, PeterPan, did the same on St. Croix.
Thompson, speaking on WTJX television's "Face to Face" program Wednesday night, told guest host Katrina White-Comissiong he is optimistic that private management will work this time. He said that privatization "worked for several years prior to its demise on St. Thomas in the mid-1990s." Problems in securing its annual subsidy from the government led to the contractor pulling out, forcing Public Works to assume responsibility for operating Vitran. Three years ago, bus service was instituted on St. John as well.
Thompson, Government House chief labor negotiator Karen Andrews and union bosses Luis "Tito" Morales and Ralph Mandrew all took part in the program. Labor and management clashed over issues including the laying off of 62 employees May 11 because of "economic conditions" and the government's refusal to pay a differential to employees who live on St. Thomas but are assigned to operate buses on St. John, since all St. John drivers, being relatively recent hires, were laid off.
The layoffs – of maintenance and office personnel as well as drivers – effectively cut Vitran service in half. The number of buses running was reduced on St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John.
Andrews had said previously that the initial $600,000 the Senate appropriated to bail Vitran out was going to pay outstanding debts, not rehire laid-off workers. Thompson indicated on the Channel 12 program that $1 million more approved by the Legislature this week specifically for Vitran rehirings will also be used to maintain the system at the current level through the end of the fiscal year, Sept. 30.
"With the appropriation," he said, "we have the funding to get through the year." Asked directly whether any of the employees would be rehired, he was noncommittal. "We are looking at operating the system at the current levels in this fiscal year and in the upcoming year, for which budgets are now being prepared," was all he said.
Andrews challenged union leaders'assertions that the funds allocated by the Senate were to rehire workers. "The law simply said $600,000 for public transportation," she stated. "It did not specifically say the monies were to return employees." She said the funds have been factored into Vitran operations at the reduced level of service. "We have done the best we can to sustain the operation at the reduced level," she said.
The bill passed by the Senate this week allocating the $1 million specifies in no uncertain terms that its purpose is to rehire laid-off drivers and hire new drivers, including drivers for the separate bus service Vitran provides for the disabled in accordance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.

Public Works Commissioner Harold Thompson said Wednesday he has been directed to "begin the process of privatizing the Vitran public transit system."
Describing the system as being in critical condition, he said the word he received from the "highest level of government" is that Public Works should no longer manage the mass transit system.
Private-sector operation of the territory's mass transit is nothing new. Mannassah Bus Lines ran it for years. More recently, a stateside company, Laidlaw, was contracted to run the buses on St. Thomas while another off-island company, PeterPan, did the same on St. Croix.
Thompson, speaking on WTJX television's "Face to Face" program Wednesday night, told guest host Katrina White-Comissiong he is optimistic that private management will work this time. He said privatization "worked for several years prior to its demise on St. Thomas in the mid-1990s." Problems in securing its annual subsidy from the government led to the contractor pulling out, forcing Public Works to assume responsibility for operating Vitran. Three years ago, bus service was instituted on St. John as well.
Thompson, Government House chief labor negotiator Karen Andrews and union bosses Luis "Tito" Morales and Ralph Mandrew all took part in the program. Labor and management clashed over issues including the layoff of 62 Vitran employees May 11 because of "economic conditions" and the government's refusal to pay a differential to employees who live on St. Thomas but are assigned to operate buses on St. John, since all St. John drivers, being relatively recent hires, were laid off.
The layoffs – of maintenance and office personnel as well as drivers – effectively cut Vitran service in half. The number of buses running was reduced on St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John.
Andrews had said previously that the initial $600,000 the Senate appropriated to bail Vitran out was going to pay outstanding debts, not rehire laid-off workers. Thompson indicated Wednesday night that $1 million more approved by the Legislature this week specifically for Vitran rehirings will also be used to maintain the system at the current level through the end of the fiscal year, Sept. 30.
"With the appropriation," he said, "we have the funding to get through the year." Asked directly whether any of the employees would be rehired, he was noncommittal. "We are looking at operating the system at the current levels in this fiscal year and in the upcoming year, for which budgets are now being prepared," was all he said.
Andrews challenged union leaders'assertions that the funds allocated by the Senate were to rehire workers. "The law simply said $600,000 for public transportation," she stated. "It did not specifically say the monies were to return employees."
She said the funds have been factored into Vitran operations at the reduced level of service. "We have done the best we can to sustain the operation at the reduced level," she said.
The bill passed by the Senate this week allocating the $1 million specifies in no uncertain terms that its purpose is to rehire laid-off drivers and hire new drivers, including drivers for the separate bus service Vitran provides for the disabled in accordance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.

If you cannot watch young theatrical hopefuls get off the bus in Manhattan without getting a lump in your throat, or if the moment the overture stills just before the curtain goes up gives you chills, "Center Stage" is for you.
One reviewer said "think Fame with classical ballet thrown in," or maybe "Chorus Line" in toe shoes, and that sounds about right. Think Lincoln Center where the American Ballet Academy holds forth.
Jody Sawyer ( Amanda Schull) has just arrived in New York to study at the famed academy. She has two roommates, Eva ( Zoe Saldana) streetwise and nonconforming, and Maureen (Susan May Pratt), the school's best dancer.
Jody somehow attracts company star Cooper (real life American Ballet theater superstar Ethan Stiefel), who decides to choreograph a rock ballet around Jody, much to the objection of his colleagues.
The film features the choreography of Susan Stroman, who picked up a couple Tonys this year, doing everything from Michael Jackson to Stevie Wonder to salsa and Tchaikovsky. Cooper's ballet, in which he enters the stage on a roaring Harley, is called "outrageously unfettered – over the top."
The film is said to be populated with some of the most talented Broadway actors around today, including Donna Murphy and Pricilla Lopez. It's called "immensely entertaining," dancing to "a sprightly beat," with stage and film director Nicholas Hynter at the controls.
The life of a ballerina closely resembles that of an Olympic athelete in training, discipline and dedication. And, like atheletes, they don't all make it. They don't call it "blood, sweat and tears" for nothing.
Stiefel is called "demonically talented," and it is said he may become a matinee idol, as did Baryshnikov after "The Turning Point."
It is rated PG-13 for language and some sensuality.
It starts Thursday at Sunny Isle.

If you cannot watch young theatrical hopefuls get off the bus in Manhattan without getting a lump in your throat, or if the moment the overture stills just before the curtain goes up gives you chills, "Center Stage" is for you.
One reviewer said "think Fame with classical ballet thrown in," or maybe "Chorus Line" in toe shoes, and that sounds about right. Think Lincoln Center where the American Ballet Academy holds forth.
Jody Sawyer ( Amanda Schull) has just arrived in New York to study at the famed academy. She has two roommates, Eva ( Zoe Saldana) streetwise and nonconforming, and Maureen (Susan May Pratt), the school's best dancer.
Jody somehow attracts company star Cooper (real life American Ballet theater superstar Ethan Stiefel), who decides to choreograph a rock ballet around Jody, much to the objection of his colleagues.
The film features the choreography of Susan Stroman, who picked up a couple Tonys this year, doing everything from Michael Jackson to Stevie Wonder to salsa and Tchaikovsky. Cooper's ballet, in which he enters the stage on a roaring Harley, is called "outrageously unfettered – over the top."
The film is said to be populated with some of the most talented Broadway actors around today, including Donna Murphy and Pricilla Lopez. It's called "immensely entertaining," dancing to "a sprightly beat," with stage and film director Nicholas Hynter at the controls.
The life of a ballerina closely resembles that of an Olympic athelete in training, discipline and dedication. And, like atheletes, they don't all make it. They don't call it "blood, sweat and tears" for nothing.
Stiefel is called "demonically talented," and it is said he may become a matinee idol, as did Baryshnikov after "The Turning Point."
It is rated PG-13 for language and some sensuality.
It starts Thursday at Market Square East.