College bound seniors, undergraduate and graduate students now have an opportunity to attend the college or university of their choice with the help of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the United Negro College Fund.
According to Delegate Donna Christian Christensen, the Gates Millennium Scholarship Initiative is accepting applications for its 2000-2001 inaugural year. Applications must be postmarked by March 15, 2000. The initiative targets low income students who are African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian Pacific Americans, and Hispanic Americans enrolling in and completing undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Graduate students must be enrolled in a mathematics, science, engineering, education or library science program for the academic year 2000-2001. Eligibility Requirements: In the inaugural year, individuals are eligible to be nominated as Gates Millennium Scholars if they: * are African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian Pacific American or Hispanic citizens/permanent residents of the U.S.; * have attained a cumulative GPA of 3.3 on a 4.0 scale; * have applied to, have been accepted into or are enrolled full-time in an accredited college or university for the academic year 2000-2001 at the time of the award; or have applied to, have been accepted into or are enrolled in a graduate degree program in mathematics, science (including life sciences, physical sciences, physical sciences and computer science), engineering education or library science for the 2000-2001 academic year at the time the nomination is complete; * have significant financial need as defined by the Federal needs analysis formula; * have demonstrated leadership ability through participation in community service, extracurricular activities or other activities. The Gates Millennium Scholars Initiative, funded by a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and administered by the United Negro College Fund and partners, is aimed at expanding access and opportunity to higher education to those citizens who will help reflect the diverse society in which we live. The Gates Millennium Scholars awards will enable 20,000 young Americans to attend undergraduate and graduate institutions of their choice. For more information contact the Congressional district offices at 774-4408 and 778-5900. To download copies of the application packet, visit the Gates Millennium Scholars website at www.gmsp.org.

The Deputy Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, Sam Condor, has congratulated Univeristy of the Virgin Islands alumnus and Kittitian businessman Richard Skerritt on his appointment this week as manager of the West Indies cricket team.
Skerritt, who graduated from UVI in 1980 with a bachelor of science degree in biology, holds the distinction of having been selected as UVI's first Rhodes Scholar. UVI President Dr. Orville Kean said Skerritt's appointment is well deserved.
"I am elated to learn of UVI alumnus Richard Skerritt's appointment as manager of the West Indies Cricket Team," he said. "As UVI's first Rhodes Scholar, Mr. Skerritt's academic and athletic accomplishments are legendary. I am sure he will bring that same level of achievement to professional cricket."
The highly prestigious Rhodes Scholarship Program was created by Cecil Rhodes,an Englishman who went to South Africa in the latter 19th century and made a fortune from diamond mining. Rhodes scholars spend two or three years studying at Oxford and those who are selected must have strong intellectual ability and achievement. The major selection criteria include a high grade point average, fine character, integrity and compassion for other people, an instinct to lead and a fondness for and success in sports.
In a letter to Skerritt, Condor, who is also Minister of Sport, expressed his pride and delight, along with that of the government and people of St. Kitts and Nevis, with the West Indies Cricket Board's selection. Skerritt is managing director of Delisle Walwyn Co. Ltd., a conglomerate in St. Kitts and Nevis.
"It will be a challenging task," Condor said of Skerritt's appointment at such a crucial time in West Indies cricket. In a congratulatory letter Condor assured Skerritt that he has the support of the government and the people of St. Kitts and Nevis.
While at UVI, Skerritt was a member of the cricket team and played intramural volleyball. He visited UVI during the 1990s as a Charter Day guest speaker.

Dear Source:
Recent letters to the St. Croix Source by former Sen. Allan Paul Shatkin and current Sen. Violet Anne Golden are insightful, eloquent observations on the deplorable state of financial affairs in the Virgin Islands.
I hope the elected officials are listening to what so many are saying and take
action soon. Spending time at a governors’ conference in Washington trying to get agencies to forgive loans is not what needs to be done right now. It is yet another example of the VI governments' "hand-out" mentality.
We need people in power who are willing to make some tough decisions and move the islands forward out of the name calling, corrupt, underhanded deal making
mentality that is destroying the economy and will eventually destroy the people of the Virgin Islands.
People like Allan Shatkin should not be former senators! His recent letter is a clear snapshot of the dismal state of affairs in the government.
PLEASE, let's elect some clear-thinking officials who only have the good of everyone at the heart of their agendas. No more hand outs and political back scratching. We need to fix this before it is too late.
Sue Seibel
Chicago, IL

As promised, hospital administrators have produced a replacement for the doctor hired late last year to serve temporarily as the second staff physician at the Myrah Keating Smith Clinic.
Dr. Norbert Straub came aboard in January in a temporary capacity, allowing the clinic to expand its hours and providing needed relief for the senior physician, Dr. Elizabeth Barot.
"Dr. Barot has been there for a while without a whole lot of backup," said Eugene Woods, chief executive officer of the Roy L. Schneider Hospital, under whose administration the St. John clinic falls.
Before Straub's arrival, Barot was for months the clinic's sole physician — on duty to see patients during regular clinic hours at St. John's primary health care center and on call any other time.
Woods and his medical services chief, Dr. Judith Watson, said when they hired Straub in December that they would immediately start a search for his successor. On Wednesday, Woods announced that Dr. Peter Alan Krause will fill the position, again temporarily.
Krause, who is certified in family medicine and cardiac life support, is scheduled to begin work at Keating on March 13. By the time the doctor's commitment to St. John expires in July, Wood said, he hopes to deliver a permanent hire for the second physician slot. Three resumes from doctors who have completed their medical residencies are already on his desk, the chief executive said.
Last year, as part of the reorganization of the territory's hospitals as semi-autonomous bodies, the Keating Clinic management was brought under the administration of the Schneider Hospital. In October, a new advisory board sent out an island-wide survey asking St. John residents what improvements they would like to see at their clinic. High on the collective wish list, Woods said, were increasing the number of staff physicians and expanding clinic hours — both of which have been accomplished.

Passengers on the cruise ship Destiny were greeted by "Beach Closed" signs Wednesday in Frederiksted.
The closure of Fort Frederik beach is due to a broken sewer line in Estate La Grange. According to a Department of Planning and Natural Resources environmental engineer, the break is causing some 100,000 gallons of sewage a day to flow through the Lagoon Street gut, past the beach into the ocean.
Public Works Commissioner Harold Thompson Jr. said Wednesday that he wasn’t sure whether a contract had yet been signed to have the broken line repaired. The Source couldn’t reach Thompson later in the day to confirm whether repairs had started.
In the middle of February, a malfunction at the Lagoon Street sewage pump station caused a discharge into the nearby gut, killing 1,100 fish.
Public Works’ aging sewage system is more akin to a sieve than anything else. According to the DPNR engineer, there are a half-dozen sewer line breaks or pump station problems resulting in sewage discharges.
A recent U.S. Environmental Protection Agency report found that approximately 70 percent of St. Croix's sewage isn't making it to the island's lone wastewater treatment plant for processing.
The result is that more than 1.5 million gallons a day of raw sewage is being discharged into the waters off the island. Last month, the EPA filed an emergency motion in District Court to have Judge Thomas Moore order Public Works to stop the discharges.
Moore subsequently told Public Works to have the problem-plagued LBJ pump station back on line by Feb. 18. Public Works, however, had to request an extension to Feb. 28. Repairs still had not been completed, though, and the department sought another extension – a day after the repairs were to be finished.
The EPA is currently considering whether it will oppose or agree to another extension.
The problems at LBJ and Figtree, which began in August and November respectively, have caused more than 225 million gallons of "raw, untreated sewage" to flow into the Caribbean Sea, according to the EPA report.
DPNR has reported that the coliform bacteria level in recreational water near the sewage bypasses has been high on several occasions. The maximum level for Class C, or recreational, water is 200 colonies per 100 millileter. Some samples have shown levels with more than 200,000 colonies, or over 1,000 times the maximum.
But even if the problems with the sewage collection system are rectified, the EPA has said Public Works’ 2.4 million-gallon-a-day wastewater treatment plant near the airport is unable to meet federal discharge requirements.
Because of that, the District Court order stipulates that Public Works must hire a private contractor to operate the wastewater treatment plant until it can clean incoming sewage thoroughly enough to discharge it into the sea.

The chairwoman of the Casino Control Commission on Wednesday refuted charges that the Divi Carina Bay Resort was violating local hiring laws.
Commissioner Eileen Petersen was responding to comments made by Raymond "Usie" Richards, a legislative planner for Sen. Adelbert Bryan, who recently said the new resort and casino’s hiring practices were discriminatory against black Virgin Islanders. Richards’ comments came on the heels of a controversy last week surrounding a local radio station’s plans to hire a DJ fired from his stateside job for making racist remarks.
Richards noted that some 20 "white continentals" had recently been at the Department of Health applying for food-handling cards in order to work at the Divi Carina Bay Resort and Casino.
Petersen, however, was adamant that hiring at the resort was compliant with the Casino Control Act. The act states that at the end of the first year of operation, 65 percent of the employees at a resort/casino must be bona fide residents. The figure rises to 75 percent at the end of the second year and to 90 percent at the end of three years.
The act defines a resident as someone who has been living continuously in the V.I. for five years, or a native-born Virgin Islander.
"As far as we’re concerned, they (the Divi) have been complying with all . . . regulations," Petersen said Wednesday.
Petersen said the CCC must license all employees at the resort and casino before they start work. While the resort and casino has imported personnel from off island, Petersen said the majority of those people are short-term specialists who will train locals and eventually leave.
"The Casino Control Commission is aware of all employment at the resort. We have a system where we monitor who is employed and what position," Petersen said. "There is no sound reason for them to want to violate the Virgin Islands Casino Control Act."
The casino act was approved for St. Croix in 1995 as a means of increasing the amount of hotel rooms on the island as well as a way to create jobs for locals.
Despite the Virgin Islands being a predominately black community, discriminatory practices have occurred in the past, making Richards' accusations plausible. In the Brown and Root scandal of the mid-1990s, it was revealed that the personnel contractor for then Hess Oil of the Virgin Islands was hiring an inordinate amount of white stateside residents, contrary to local laws.
In another case, yet to be litigated, a group of Virgin Islanders is suing the U.S. Department of Agriculture for alleged discriminatory practices in its rural home loan program. The U.S. government has already settled a multimillion-dollar suit with African-American farmers on the mainland for similar illegal practices.
Richards, meanwhile, said that monitoring employment practices to ensure there is not discrimination against Virgin Islanders should not be left just to the Divi resort and the CCC.
"The responsibility is not solely Divi’s. It’s also the government’s," Richards said. "If there is no enforcement, then, in fact, we will find these instances."
Petersen said that if Richards continues to feel there is a problem with hiring at the Divi Carina Bay Resort, she will look into it.
"I will take his information and conduct an investigation," she said.
At the end of January, the CCC reported that the Department of Labor had issued 155 work permits for the Divi Carina Bay Resort. At that point 128, or 83 percent, of the permits went to bona fide Virgin Islanders.
Some 110 people graduated from the V.I. government’s casino training school as dealers. The Divi casino will initially hire about one-third of the graduates. A total of 150 people are expected to work at the casino in a variety of positions after its opening, scheduled for the mid-March.

John P. de Jongh Jr. is Rotary's Person of the Year. The 20th annual award was presented Wednesday afternoon to de Jongh after an introduction that spoke of his numerous contributions virtually from the day he left Antioch College to return home.
In the 40 years or so since then, de Jongh has served as, Finance commissioner, executive assistant to the governor, executive vice-president and chief executive officer of Lockhart Company Caribbean, and chairman of WAPA's governing board.
Currently the president of the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce and of the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands, he is also the chairman of the governor's five-year economic recovery task force. De Jongh has been a board member of the Public Finance Authority, the Industrial Development Commission and the Board of Tax Review.
De Jongh was lauded for, among other things, his involvement in the negotiations of a tax exemption extension for HOVENSA.
Elliot "Mac" Davis, chairman of the committee to choose the Person of the Year, introduced the honoree as "a solid citizen, a public servant and resourceful businessman." He praised de Jongh as having made tireless efforts to improve the daily lives of residents in the territory.
An emotional, overwhelmed de Jongh had few words, saying "This is the last thing I would have expected." He said a member of Rotary had called on him to be the day's keynote speaker on the issues surrounding the economic plan.
"You got me!" said de Jongh.
The honoree said his accomplishments were based on his love for the V.I. He also credited his wife, Cecile, and their three children with contributing to his success.
The award itself is a statuette of Cervantes' character Don Quixote. Don Quixote is used in this instance to denote de Jongh's eagerness "to strive against seemingly impossible obstacles with selfless dedication to the community," Davis said as he introduced de Jongh for the coveted award.
Previous winners of the award include Albert Aubain, Bill La Motta, Dr. Roy L. Schneider, Costas Coulianos, Calvin Wheatley, Dr. Alfred O. Heath, Gov. Alexander Farrelly, Irvin "Brownie" Brown, Ron de Lugo, Dilsa Capdeville, Othniel "Addie" Ottley, Edward E. Thomas, Verne A. Hodge, Leona Bryant, Juel Molloy, Lorraine Berry and Randolph Knight.

John P. de Jongh Jr. is the Rotary II of St. Thomas Person of the Year. The 20th annual award was presented Wednesday afternoon to de Jongh after an introduction that spoke of his numerous contributions virtually from the day he left Antioch College to return home.
In less than 40 years, de Jongh has achieved much success, having served as Finance commissioner, executive assistant to the governor, executive vice president and chief executive officer of Lockhart Company Caribbean and chair of the Water And Power Authority governing board. Along with being the current president of the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce and the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands, he has also served on the Public Finance Authority, Industrial Development Commission and Board of Tax Review.
De Jongh was also lauded for his involvement in the negotiation of a tax-exemption extension for HOVENSA, and he presently chairs the governor's five-year economic recovery task force.
Elliot "Mac" Davis, Person of the Year Committee chair, introduced the honoree as "a solid citizen, a public servant and resourceful businessman." Davis described de Jongh as having made tireless efforts toward improving the daily lives of residents in the territory.
De Jongh's reaction: "You got me!" He related that a Rotarian had called to ask him to be the day's luncheon speaker, to address issues surrounding the economic plan. Emotionally overwhelmed, he had few words, saying, "This is the last thing I would have expected."
De Jongh attributed his willingness to serve to his love for the Virgin Islands and credited his wife, Cecile, and their three children with contributing to his success.
The award is a statuette of the enduring fictional character Don Quixote. The figure appropriately symbolizes de Jongh's "eagerness to strive against seemingly impossible obstacles with selfless dedication to the community," Davis said as he introduced the honoree.
Previous recipients of the annual award are Albert Aubain, Bill La Motta, Dr. Roy L. Schneider, Costas Coulianos, Calvin Wheatley, Dr. Alfred O. Heath, Gov. Alexander Farrelly, Irvin "Brownie" Brown, Ron de Lugo, Dilsa Capdeville, Athniel "Addie" Ottley, Edward E. Thomas, Verne A. Hodge, Leona Bryant, Juel Molloy, Lorraine Berry and Randolph Knight.

John P. de Jongh Jr. is the Rotary II of St. Thomas Person of the Year. The 20th annual award was presented Wednesday afternoon to de Jongh after an introduction that spoke of his numerous contributions virtually from the day he left Antioch College to return home.
In less than 40 years, de Jongh has achieved much success, having served as Finance commissioner, executive assistant to the governor, executive vice president and chief executive officer of Lockhart Company Caribbean and chair of the Water And Power Authority governing board. Along with being the current president of the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce and the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands, he has also served on the Public Finance Authority, Industrial Development Commission and Board of Tax Review.
De Jongh was also lauded for his involvement in the negotiation of a tax-exemption extension for HOVENSA, and he presently chairs the governor's five-year economic recovery task force.
Elliot "Mac" Davis, Person of the Year Committee chair, introduced the honoree as "a solid citizen, a public servant and resourceful businessman." Davis described de Jongh as having made tireless efforts toward improving the daily lives of residents in the territory.
De Jongh's reaction: "You got me!" He related that a Rotarian had called to ask him to be the day's luncheon speaker, to address issues surrounding the economic plan. Emotionally overwhelmed, he had few words, saying, "This is the last thing I would have expected."
De Jongh attributed his willingness to serve to his love for the Virgin Islands and credited his wife, Cecile, and their three children with contributing to his success.
The award is a statuette of the enduring fictional character Don Quixote. The figure appropriately symbolizes de Jongh's "eagerness to strive against seemingly impossible obstacles with selfless dedication to the community," Davis said as he introduced the honoree.
Previous recipients of the annual award include Albert Aubain, Bill La Motta, Dr. Roy L. Schneider, Costas Coulianos, Calvin Wheatley, Dr. Alfred O. Heath, Gov. Alexander Farrelly, Irvin "Brownie" Brown, Ron de Lugo, Dilsa Capdeville, Athniel "Addie" Ottley, Edward E. Thomas, Verne A. Hodge, Leona Bryant, Juel Molloy, Lorraine Berry and Randolph Knight.

In response to reports of duty-free cigarettes bought in the Virgin Islands being confiscated as tourists return to the mainland, Gov. Charles W. Turnbull has written to the commissioner of U.S. Customs asking him to intervene.
Turnbull, who is in Washington, D.C., this week, sent a letter to Customs chief Raymond Kelly requesting that he direct his agents to "halt the confiscation."
The Source learned earlier this week that cruise ship passengers were being told on board the ships that they would not be allowed to take American tobacco products back home. One retailer estimated the loss of cigarette sales in the territory could mean a loss to the government of as much as $20 million.
Turnbull, in a release from his office in Washington, used that $20 million figure, telling Kelly, "Although the ramification of this misinterpretation (of a 1997 law) may seem relatively minor given the breadth and complexity of issues that your agency deals with every day, the Virgin Islands will suffer severe economic consequences if the matter is not corrected."
Both Turnbull and Delegate Donna Christian-Christensen have said the actions stem from the misinterpretation of a 1997 law that was aimed at huge commercial shipments coming in from Mexico. Christensen described the situation as "one of those crazy things" that has an unintended effect.
She pledged to bring up the tobacco issue at a meeting she and Turnbull were scheduled to have at the White House this week.