Registration for classes at the Day Adult Education program will begin at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2000.
The program offers preparatory courses for students to obtain a GED diploma. Courses in typing, introduction to computers, Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excell are also available.
Registration will remain open in all classes until they are filled. Since class space is limited, interested students should register early.
Register Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. at the Day Adult Center on Commandant Gade.
For further information contact the Adult Education Center at 775-6899.

If the answers of the 100 or so people who responded to the Virgin Islands Territorial Emergency Management Agency's millennium survey are any indication, the territory is ill-prepared for Y2K.
VITEMA distributed the survey last week through the Daily News. It consisted of four multiple choice questions.
One asked if the territory is sufficiently prepared for Y2K problems. Another asked: "What do you believe will happen in 2000?" The possible answers to this: 1) the world will come to an end; 2) Christ's return; 3) World War III; 4) all of the above and 5) none of the above. Fortunately, number five was the big winner on that one.
Also asked was whether the government has done enough to prevent a territory-wide computer shutdown, and impressions about all the millennium hype. Responses to both were negative.
The agency got called everything from a "dummy," to publishing a "sophmorial" (sic) survey, and the "whole thing being a waste of time." However, Jevon Patrick, chief planner for VITEMA, took it in good humor. He said it's unfortunate people think the territory is not prepared, as VITEMA has done everything in its power to do just that.
The agency coordinates all local and federal offices in any emergency.
One innovative person, obviously a Crucian, in answer to what 2000 will bring, said "St. Croix's potholes won't be fixed, the ballpark won't be repaired and the government will take all the car insurance money."
Another survey was all crossed out with the message that "the federal government will take over the Virgin Islands, and about time!"
Patrick said he didn't feel most people took it seriously – the situation, as well as the survey.
"They don't really see the government shutting down or having major problems as a possibility," he said.
About the survey, he said he thought that most people figured, "well, I don't have to pay postage, so why not."

A federal Interior Department audit on the territory's Division of Paternity and Child Support uncovered, among other things, $8.3 million in contracts that were not put out for proper bid.
Interior's inspector general said the person responsible for supervising procurement said the division was comfortable with certain contractors and awarded subsequent contracts to those contractors.
Though the interim director of the program, Cisselon S. Nichols, said she did not concur with the findings, her memo did not say why or offer any explanation for the audit's findings.
The audit also found major flaws in the payroll process. It said the payroll section of the V.I. Justice Department regularly sent unsupported payroll documents to the Finance Department.
The audit said personnel in Justice stated that because of deadlines, the payroll was processed as though employees had routinely worked an 80-hour shift, even when those employees had not submitted time sheets.
The report said the personnel justified the action because they said they would make adjustments on the next payroll. But they didn't. The audit said the adjustments weren't made if the employees didn't submit an adjusted time sheet. And Justice personnel didn't seek the adjusted time sheets from employees.
"We concluded that there was little assurance that employees of the Division of Paternity and Child Support worked the number of hours for which they were paid or were charged for the number of hours of leave used," the audit states.
In fact auditors found evidence that old payroll registers were used to prepare current monthly payrolls summaries "because the current payroll registers were not available."
The audit also revealed the division spent $78,884 for office space that was never used and could be liable for $147,108 more to pay off the lease. They also spent $87,468 for construction work on the unused space.
Division officials said they believed they would eventually need additional office space. In her response Nichols said, "We must access our office space due to the addition of 20 new employees."
Nichols was not available for further comment Wednesday afternoon.

Dear Source,
With the adjournment of the 23rd Legislature for this calendar year, complete with its usual lack of civility and a lot of sound and fury signifying very little, the League of Women voters of the Virgin Islands still has important, but unanswered questions and observations.
For one, the Fiscal Year 2000 Omnibus Act has now made law some unrealistic financial mandates. Just as blood cannot be drawn from a stone, so, too the government of the Virgin Islands cannot expect, with any surety, that revenues will be available to the Department of Education and the University of the Virgin Islands in their entirety.
Never in the financial records of the last 30 years has the treasury of the Virgin Islands ever shown a surplus of this magnitude, particularly in the first quarter of the fiscal year.
This, of course, is partially thanks to the $300 million bond issue. Without such a cash flow, how can the Office of Management and Budget allot what the new law requires to either or both the Department of Education and the University?
Further, from where will funds be drawn to meet the pledge to pay semi-annual interest on the $300 million bond issue in fiscal year 2000? The pledge says from gross receipts taxes. Of course, this will further reduce revenues for operations of the government. Does the bond issue capitalize the first year's interest obligations? The public has a right to know.
The appropriation of $3.6 million from the windfall on rum excise taxes for road repairs taxes for road repairs raises its own questions. First, without proper accounting for past years' collections (estimated annual figure of $7 million) to expenditures from the road fund, neither the league nor the public has any idea how the revenues which feed the road fund [the 14 cents per gallon purchased at the gas pumps, the road tax, parking lot fees and traffic fines] are being spent. According to reports in the media, there is no money in the road fund. How have these monies been used?
The league also has concerns that Section 3 of the Fiscal Year 2000 Omnibus Act which allows partial payments of all obligations to the government may further exacerbate the cash flow problems.
Is the league of Women Voters of the Virgin Islands beating a dead horse? The league's policy dedicates the organization to non-partisan lobbying for an informed electorate and improved government. So, the league will continue to ask, and ask, and aks until public answers are provided.

Erva Denham, president

A 20-year-old St. Thomas man who was shot in the head Tuesday afternoon remains in critical condition at a Puerto Rico Hospital Wednesday. Deputy Police Chief Theodore Carty said Wednesday morning that Rahem Donastorg was airlifted from St. Thomas’ Roy L. Schneider hospital late Tuesday night. Other media reports said Wednesday that Donastorg had died after the shooting.
Donastorg has been a lineman apprentice at the V.I. Water and Power Authority since May.
The deputy police chief said a preliminary investigation has revealed that the shooting stemmed from a dispute over a vehicle. "Apparently a few days ago Donastorg and another person argued over ownership of vehicle," he said.
Carty said that while the weapon used in the shooting has not been recovered, police investigators "are following significant leads toward the identification of the suspect responsible."
A person close to the Donastorg family said the argument between the two started over the weekend and continuedn Tuesday afternoon.
One family member who asked not to be named told St. Thomas Source that the suspect "just opened fire on my family member and shot him in the head."
Tuesday’s shooting victim is a cousin of both Sen. Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg and Police Captain Al Donastorg Sr.
Carty appealed to the community to assist the department in its investigation of the shooting. He asked anyone with information to contact detectives at 774-4050 or emergency 911.

St. Croix’s Wayne James, whose efforts to memorialize the millions of Africans who perished along the Middle Passage, was named one of the 100 most influential people from the Caribbean over the last century by Voice of America Radio.
James is president of the Homeward Bound Foundation, an organization spearheading the Middle Passage Monument Project. The project honors the millions of African people killed during the transatlantic slave trade.
The first aspect of the project saw a monument lowered onto the floor of the Atlantic Ocean 427 kilometers from New York Harbor on July 3.
The sculpture faces Africa and between 2000 and 2005 will be accompanied by replicas to be placed on land in the six regions of the world where the slave trade occurred, namely Africa, the Caribbean, Central America, Europe, North America and South America.
James is currently in Europe in search of a site for the European-region Middle Passage Monument. Portugal, Spain, England, France, Holland and Denmark are being considered, said Brian Johnson, public relations director for the Middle Passage Project.
"By placing the monument into the Atlantic Ocean this past July in recognition of the estimated millions of African people who perished as a result of the transatlantic slave trade, James did something that could have and should have been done by any one of the millions of people, black, white and others, whose lives have been affected by slavery," said Derrice Deane, a VOA reporter. "That the paying of the tribute occurred to James is astonishing. That he accomplished his monumental task almost singlehandedly is even more astonishing."
Along with the VOA honor, which recognized Caribbean icons such as Marcus Garvey and Bob Marley, James won the International Humanitarian Medal earlier this year. He also was a recipient of the Beacon of Freedom Award in 1998.
"It is wonderful to be honored by the international community," James said. "It is touching to know that my work is impacting the lives of many people from many walks of life."
For more information on the Middle Passage Project,click here.

St. Croix's Wayne James, founder of a project to pay tribute to the millions of Africans who perished in the Middle Passage, has been named one of the 100 most influential Caribbean people of the 20th Century by Voice of America Radio.
James, best known locally as an internationally successful fashion designer, is president of the Homeward Bound Foundation, which he formed to spearhead the Middle Passage Monument Project. The project honors the millions of enslaved African people killed during the transatlantic portion of the slave trade between Africa and the Americas.
The first phase of the project was the lowering of a monument last July 3, Virgin Islands Emancipation Day, onto the floor of the Atlantic Ocean 267 miles offshore from New York.
The sculpture, fabricated by Walsh Metal Works on St. Croix, faces Africa. Between 2000 and 2005, replicas of the work are to be placed on land in the six regions of the world where the slave trade occurred — Africa, the Caribbean, Central America, Europe, North America and South America.
James is currently in Europe in search of a site for the European monument. Portugal, Spain, England, France, The Netherlands and Denmark are being considered, according to Brian Johnson, monument project public relations director.
Voice of American reporter Derrice Deane said that "by placing the monument into the Atlantic Ocean this past July in recognition of the estimated millions of African people who perished as a result of the transatlantic slave trade, James did something that could have and should have been done by any one of the millions of people, black, white and others, whose lives have been affected by slavery.
"That the paying of the tribute occurred to James is astonishing. That he accomplished his monumental task almost single-handedly is even more astonishing."
Along with the honor from VOA, which also recognized such Caribbean icons as Marcus Garvey and Bob Marley for their contributions this century, James won the International Humanitarian Medal earlier this year. He also was a recipient of the Beacon of Freedom Award in 1998.
"It is wonderful to be honored by the international community," James said. "It is touching to know that my work is impacting the lives of many people from many walks of life."
For more information on the Middle Passage Project,click here.

St. Croix’s Wayne James, whose efforts to memorialize the millions of Africans who perished along the middle passage, was named one of the 100 most influential people from the Caribbean over the last century by Voice of America Radio.
James is president of the Homeward Bound Foundation, an organization spearheading the Middle Passage Monument Project. The project honors the millions of African people killed during the transatlantic slave trade. The first aspect of the project saw a monument lowered onto the floor of the Atlantic Ocean 427 kilometers from New York Harbor on July 3.
The sculpture faces Africa and between 2000 and 2005 will be accompanied by replicas to be placed on land in the six regions of the world where the slave trade occurred, namely Africa, the Caribbean, Central America, Europe, North America and South America.
James is currently in Europe in search of a site for the European-region Middle Passage Monument. Portugal, Spain, England, France, Holland and Denmark are being considered, said Brian Johnson, public relations director for the Middle Passage Project.
"By placing the monument into the Atlantic Ocean this past July in recognition of the estimated millions of African people who perished as a result of the transatlantic slave trade, James did something that could have and should have been done by any one of the millions of people, black, white and others, whose lives have been affected by slavery," said Derrice Deane, a VOA reporter. "That the paying of the tribute occurred to James is astonishing. That he accomplished his monumental task almost single-handedly is even more astonishing."
Along with the VOA honor, which recognized Caribbean icons such as Marcus Garvey and Bob Marley, James won the International Humanitarian Medal earlier this year. He also was a recipient of the Beacon of Freedom Award in 1998.
"It is wonderful to be honored by the international community," James said. "It is touching to know that my work is impacting the lives of many people form many walks of life."
For more information on the Middle Passage Project,click here.

A smoky early morning fire at St. John’s Wharfside Village shopping center left businesses closed on Tuesday and caused major damage to the Pusser's Company Store and Restaurant.
Fire companies from Cruz Bay and Coral Bay responded to a 1 a.m. alarm from the Wharfside Village Shopping Center. Deputy Fire Chief Brian Chapman said it took his officers about an hour to contain smoke and flames at the offices of Pusser’s Restaurant and at the adjoining Pusser’s Company Store.
Betsy Woodward, manager of the Pusser's Closeout outlet on St. Thomas, said the St. John store was completely destroyed, but the restaurant can be salvaged and can "possibly open in a couple weeks."
Woodward said the company would try to reposition the Wharfside store's employees in other local Pusser's retail outlets.
Chapman praised his officers for their swift response, saying they were able to confine the blaze to a single room within an hour of their initial response.
"The guys did a great job," he said. "They contained it to the one room with fire damage and then the two adjoining rooms." However, he added, "There was a lot of smoke and water damage."
Chapman said the Low Key Watersports shop one floor below the Pusser’s facilities sustained some water damage. However, Low Key owner Ann Marie Estes told St. John Source Tuesday afternoon that her store also suffered substantial smoke damage.
"We took a big hit," Estes said. "But we just got power back, and we're open for business and will be running dives as usual."
Fire Marshall Glen Francis spent most of Tuesday morning documenting the damage and trying to determine the cause of the fire. Other stores at Wharfside were left without electrical power for a portion of the Tuesday business day while investigators probed the center’s electrical system.
Craig Dengler, owner of Cruz Bay Photo, said he stayed open until 4 p.m. taking in work and waiting to see what would happen. "I finally gave up at four o'clock," he said. "I'll be open tomorrow for sure."
Chapman said damage estimates are expected to be heavy but will ultimately be determined by the fire marshal.
The last major fire at Wharfside Village, in July of 1992, caused extensive damage to a Wendy’s restaurant that had been located on the first floor of the center. The fast food outlet subsequently closed permanently.

An inter-agency Housing Authority task force should announce specific plans next week for relocating approximately 1,000 people from the Donoe housing community so it can be demolished.
The 85 buildings that make up the community have been perched on the hillside overlooking Weymouth Rhymer Highway since the early 1970s. They are designed to hold 296 families, with an average family size of four.
The units at Donoe have not weathered time or hurricanes well.
"We don’t believe at this point it’s providing adequate housing for the rent we’re charging," said Housing Authority executive director Conrad Francois.
It would be "cost-prohibitive" to repair the structures. So instead, they will be scrapped and the residents will be moved primarily to private housing that will be subsidized by the Housing Authority through federal funding. All participating properties must pass inspection.
Large families will end up in other public housing communities, Francois said, because few private rentals offer five bedrooms or more.
Although the Virgin Islands has long had a housing shortage, Francois said that he is getting good response to advertisements seeking private rentals and that over the past two years 47 families already have moved from Donoe.
"We’re in a soft real estate market right now," he said.
The Housing Authority, under a federal program, will pay "fair market value" in the private sector. That translates to $500 to $1,000 a month for anything from an efficiency to a four-bedroom.
The resident is required to pay 30 percent of his or her adjusted gross income; the government picks up the rest.
The trend for the last few years in federal housing programs has been towards locating people in the private sector, according to Francois.
He said the authority will begin relocating Donoe residents in January and put the demolition out for bid in April or May. Cost is estimated at $2 million to $4 million – all provided by the federal government.
As a public corporation, the Housing Authority owns the land on which the Donoe community is built, Francois said.
"It’s our intent to redevelop that property on a less dense basis," mixing straight subsidized rentals with home ownership programs, he said. But no concrete plans are in the works and the authority has not yet secured the necessary federal funding.
Right now the authority is concentrating development efforts on a 36-acre piece of land in Hoffman-Nullyberg behind the Church of God of Prophecy off Weymouth Rhymer Highway.
Using federal money for the replacement of the Warren E. Brown apartments, which also were razed because of their poor condition, the Housing Authority has a request for bids out to build 176 units there.
Once that project is in hand, it will turn its attention to redeveloping Donoe, Francois said.