Gov. Charles W. Turnbull appealed to union leaders and the rank-and-file Tuesday to stop the wildcat strikes that have closed various schools and crippled police and firefighters in recent weeks.
Apparently motivated by the breakout of violence that morning on the Addelita Cancryn Junior High School campus, Turnbull took to the airwaves in the afternoon to read a three and a half-minute statement criticizing teachers, police and firefighters for their recent job actions.
As a result of "a job action" at Cancryn, he said, "there was an incident which could possibly [have] been avoided, were the teachers and support staff on the job where they belonged."
While "a Democratic administration is by definition pro-labor," he said, "the union leadership's posture of pursuing wildcat strikes. . . will not be condoned." He called on union leaders "to refrain from instigating the workers to participate in disrupting the normal flow of work activity."
Turnbull noted that the government has continued "to make payroll without massive layoffs and salary cuts" but added, "we must all be prepared to make sacrifices if we are going to resolve this financial crisis."
Noting that his plan to meet with union officials earlier this week fell through, he said he hoped such a meeting would take place "later this week." The meeting has reportedly been set for Friday.
"We remain ready to sit with organized labor to develop reasonable and realistic goals and objectives to bring this government runaway spending under control and to develop a plan to spur economic revitalization," Turnbull said.

The fate of beautiful Great Pond may be decided on Tuesday, October 5, when our Senators decide (1) whether to trade away Camp Arawak — land held by the government in trust for the people, and (2) whether to rezone Great Pond for "Heavy Industry."
The Beal proposal is an environmental issue. A rocket factory at Great Pond is an example of poor planning and unsustainable development. It will degrade the water quality
and coral reefs of Great Pond Bay.
It is poor environmental management and irresponsible land stewardship to allow industry in an Area for Preservation and Restoration and to trade away land donated for park and recreation purposes in that APR.
Beal is orchestrating a huge disinformation campaign to try to win the vote and sway public opinion. Beal is claiming that it's making a $100 million investment in our economy; but Beal's rezoning application states that the total investment will be $75.5 million, at least 30 million of which will be spent off-island.
So Beal's investment to our economy is actually less than half of what it claims. Of
course, these economic claims ignore the negative impacts; reduced property values and increased infrastructure costs with a minimal new tax base.
Additionally, Beal is asking for zoning changes — not a variance limited to this particular rocket factory, as it claims in the cover letter for the application. The cover letter is not what counts. It's the application and zoning maps, both of which call for zoning changes.
If the property is rezoned to I-1-Heavy Industry, zoning laws would allow Beal or future owners of the property to build virtually anything there, including another refinery.
SEA and the public are in agreement: We still welcome Beal to St. Croix — at Betty's Hope. The reasons Beal has given as to why Betty's Hope is unacceptable are, as Gordon Finch of the Port Authority put it, a "smoke screen — big time."
Beal has said it must have a protected harbor even though, as SEA has pointed
out, the proposed launch site at Sombrero has no protected harbor. On a recent radio talk show, Beal spokesman Wade Gates was asked point-blank if the Virgin Islands were to
build Beal a protected harbor, would it go to Betty's Hope? The answer: "No."
Another excuse Beal has given for not accepting Betty's Hope is that it must own the land and the Port Authority was only offering a lease. But in July at the Senate hearing, Gordon Finch said he would recommend to the VIPA Board that it sell Beal the land necessary for their factory. Beal still said no: Great Pond or nowhere.
One of Beal's early excuses was that it didn't want to be associated with smokestack industry. Then SEA made public a photograph of the Betty' Hope site, a beautiful piece of land miles from HOVENSA and St. Croix Alumina, with the refinery stacks barely visible
in the distance, and as a result Beal appears to have dropped that excuse.
The truth is there is no legitimate reason that Beal cannot build at Betty's Hope; and any challenges that Beal might face there pale in comparison to the obstacles at Great Pond.
St. Croix can have both: jobs and the environment — but not if we concede to Beal's unrealistic demands and are forced to choose between one or the other.
SEA has been proactive on this issue. For over a year SEA has attempted to help guide Beal to the proper site. The choice is simple; Beal can begin construction at Betty's Hope next year and the island and Beal will benefit.
The Betty's Hope site is perfect for Beal: flat land with deep water for barges and no coral reef obstacle course, and it's already zoned for industry. Or Beal can spend the next five-plus years attempting to litigate around our environmental laws and no one but Beal's lawyers will benefit.
Anyone who wants jobs should insist upon Beal at Betty's Hope. Anyone who cares about the environment should do so too.
SEA is encouraging people to contact their Senators TODAY to say No to the land swap and No to industry at Great Pond.
Robin Freeman is a program consultant for SEA.

While test scores show junior high school students on the mainland are lacking in writing skills, their counterparts here in the territory's public schools are even less proficient.
According to a National Assessment of Educational Progress writing test report, 1 percent of 614 public school students in the Virgin Islands tested at the "advanced" writing skills level. Eight percent tested at the "proficient" level, 53 percent at the "basic" level and 39 percent below the "basic" level.
V.I. students were on par with students nationwide in that only 1 percent tested as "advanced" writers. But at least 25 percent of students on the mainland scored at the "proficient" level, compared to the territory’s 8 percent.
The writing test was given to eighth-grade students at the five public middle and junior high schools on St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John in February 1998, Education Commissioner Ruby Simmonds said. Thirty-nine other states and jurisdictions participated in the testing.
"While the 1998 writing test scores for eighth graders are very disappointing, this is the first time that the Virgin Islands has participated in this instrument," Simmonds said, adding that the results will serve as a baseline for future tests.
"There is no place for our students to go but up," she said.
Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts and Texas were among the states with the highest scores.
Along with the Virgin Islands, the lowest performers were Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and the District of Columbia.
"There is a direct correlation between those states like Connecticut, which placed first in the nation again, and the quality of the instruction received by students," Simmonds said.
The "basic" achievement level is described as at least a partial mastery of the knowledge and skills needed for proficient work at each grade level. A "proficient" level is defined as solid academic performance and competence on challenging subject matter. The "advanced" level signifies superior performance.
Glen Smith, president of the St. Thomas-St. John chapter of the American Federation of Teachers, said the territory’s education system has taken some steps recently in establishing writing programs. But more must be done in the home by parents, he said.
Involvement in the home was cited as a factor in higher NAEP writing test scores nationwide. Students who had access to newspapers, magazines, encyclopedias and books outside of school tended to perform better on the test.
"We need help from parents," Smith said, suggesting that adults have their children keep daily journals. This helps the youngsters "develop their writing skills and critical thinking skills," he said.
Simmonds said a national survey found that 73 percent of public school teachers reported that they taught reading and writing as opposed to 25 percent of teachers in the Virgin Islands.
"The Department of Education is involved with several initiatives including the development of standards by which instruction of students will be guided," Simmonds said. "Tied to those standards is the issue of accountability. We will hold teachers accountable for the academic success of their students."
NAEP testing in science and math is scheduled for February 2000 for students in the fourth and eighth grades. For more information on test results, click here.

While test scores show junior high school students on the mainland are lacking in writing skills, their counterparts here in the territory's public schools are even less proficient.
According to a National Assessment of Educational Progress writing test report, 1 percent of 614 public school students in the Virgin Islands tested at the "advanced" writing skills level. Eight percent tested at the "proficient" level, 53 percent at the "basic" level, and 39 percent below the "basic" level.
V.I. students were on par with students nationwide in that only 1 percent tested as "advanced" writers. But at least 25 percent of students on the mainland scored at the "proficient" level, compared to the territory’s 8 percent.
The writing test was given to eighth-grade students at the five public middle and junior high schools on St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John in February 1998, Education Commissioner Ruby Simmonds said. Thirty-nine other states and jurisdictions participated in the testing.
"While the 1998 writing test scores for eighth graders are very disappointing, this is the first time that the Virgin Islands has participated in this instrument," Simmonds said, adding that the results will serve as a baseline for future tests. "There is no place for our students to go but up," she said.
Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts and Texas were among the states with the highest scores.
Along with the Virgin Islands, the lowest performers were Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and the District of Columbia.
"There is a direct correlation between those states like Connecticut, which placed first in the nation again, and the quality of the instruction received by students," Simmonds said.
The "basic" achievement level is described as at least a partial mastery of the knowledge and skills needed for proficient work at each grade level. A "proficient" level is defined as solid academic performance and competence on challenging subject matter. The "advanced" level signifies superior performance.
Glen Smith, president of the St. Thomas-St. John chapter of the American Federation of Teachers, said the territory’s education system has taken some steps recently in establishing writing programs. But more must be done in the home by parents, he said.
Involvement in the home was cited as a factor in higher NAEP writing test scores nationwide. Students who had access to newspapers, magazines, encyclopedias and books outside of school tended to perform better on the test.
"We need help from parents," Smith said, suggesting that adults have their children keep daily journals. This helps the youngsters "develop their writing skills and critical thinking skills," he said.
Simmonds said that a national survey found that 73 percent of public school teachers reported that they taught reading and writing as opposed to 25 percent of teachers in the Virgin Islands.
"The Department of Education is involved with several initiatives including the development of standards by which instruction of students will be guided," Simmonds said. "Tied to those standards is the issue of accountability. We will hold teachers accountable for the academic success of their students."
NAEP testing in science and math is scheduled for February 2000 for students in the fourth and eighth grades. For more information on test results, click here.

I would like to take this opportunity to be among those congratulating Tim Duncan on his public commitment to the people of the Virgin Islands.
It is nice to see a local do good after doing well. On reading accounts of his life in the islands I have learned that the place that Tim learned to play basketball was St. D’s, the now-dormant-but-not-defunct institution of learning, St. Dunstan’s Episcopal
School.
After having been founded by a group, which included my father Dr. Richard Bond, it provided K-12 education to the people of St. Croix for about 25 years. At that point due to the closure of Martin Marietta Alumina, the school fell below its break-even point and was forced to close. There were a number of other private K-12 schools, most started after St. D's, which were formed during the islands palmier days.
These schools filled in by enlarging their class size. In discussions as to how St. Dunstan's alums might help revive the school it has been stated that the island does not need increased K-12 capacity. This assessment may be the case but education need not be a strictly domestic service.
There are many communities which have education as their main industry. While a parochial view is reasonable for elementary, it's not for high school and college. Students can be recruited from around the region, the country or the world.
One of the anchors for many institutions of higher learning is their athletic program. Tim Duncan's achievements are partly a reflection of the quality of his coaches. Some of these same coaches continue to reside on St. Croix.
The court where Tim first started making hoops is still there. We have an attraction to athletes for short-term camp programs and students who might wish to play for "Tim Duncan’s team".
A basketball camp could be started here at St. D's independently. It could then be integrated into a ninth-to-sophmore institution.

An extremely wet tropical wave that passed over St. Croix for almost 24 hours flooded roads and kept all but essential government workers at home on Tuesday.
Government offices were closed as were all public and some private schools as flood warnings were issued by the National Weather Service. Many roads throughout St. Croix were flooded Tuesday morning making them impassable for school buses.
Hard hit was the Gallows Bay area where some 12 to 16 inches of water was reported, said Gene Walker, director of the V.I. Territorial Emergency Management Agency.
"Even though the worst is over, we’re still pending light and heavy showers," said Walker Tuesday afternoon. "We’re not out of the woods."
Longtime weather-watcher Fritz Lawaetz said the storm dropped varying amounts of rain on the island. By 7 a.m. Monday he said he had collected two inches of rain at his Annaly home. Not far away, however, he said some four inches had dropped.
"It’s been falling uneven over the island," he said. "It’s like a thunder cloud comes over and drops the rain and it’s gone."
Along with government offices, the classes at the University of the Virgin Islands St. Croix Campus were canceled. The second day of the government’s casino training school was also closed due to the weather.
Acting Tourism Commissioner Michael Bornn said one of the school’s orientation sessions that was scheduled for Wednesday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. has been rescheduled for Thursday at the same time. The orientation for Thursday evening will remain as scheduled, Bornn said.
Government offices and schools should be open on Wednesday as weather forecasts are calling for normal conditions to prevail.

In a statement "cautiously" supporting Delegate Donna Christian-Christiansen's borrowing bill, the White House has said the administration could support the legislation "if the territory agrees to enact an acceptable balanced budget/debt reduction plan."
The bill, which amends the Organic Act to allow the Virgin Islands to borrow working capital by issuing bonds, was passed unanimously by the House of Representatives on Monday.
Sources in Washington say federal officials have told Gov. Charles W. Turnbull that he must cut spending, particularly in the area of payroll, if he expects their help in solving the territory's fiscal woes.
Christiansen said in a press release Tuesday that the Clinton administration's reluctance to support her bill indicates Washington's level of concern about the territory's fiscal situation.
"While the president is willing to support this legislation and other initiatives to aid in our economic recovery, our local government must demonstrate its willingness to make tough choices to get our fiscal house in order," she said. "We are in a very precarious position right now, but there is still time to raise Washington's level of confidence that our government will act responsibly to ensure that we turn this economy around."
Budget hearings before the V.I. Legislature's Finance Committee wound up last week and the governor has finally submitted the long-awaited Government Reorganization Plan. But some in government say the plan is flawed.
In some areas the plan does not match the changes proposed in the governor's revised budget.
Questions also have been raised about the bond issue legislation that Turnbull recently submitted to the Legislature. It seeks authorization to borrow $130 million by issuing bonds through the Public Finance Authority. The debt would be repaid with gross receipts taxes.
Finance Committee chair Lorraine Berry said Monday she had questions about what that would do to the budget since the gross receipts taxes are part of the projected revenues for fiscal year 2000.

The trial of influential St. Croix business owner and former Public Works Commissioner Ann Abramson went into its second day Tuesday after prosecuting and defense attorneys painted highly different pictures of her in their opening remarks.
What was to have been the prosecution of both Abramson and St. Croix contractor Berthill Thomas on charges relating to Hurricane Marilyn repair work turned into a case against Abramson only. As jury selection was about to begin Monday for the proceedings in U.S. District Court on St. Thomas, Thomas entered a plea of guilty to making a false statement in return for the three other charges against him being dropped.
Abramson and Thomas between them faced federal grand jury charges of conspiracy, bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds, making false claims to federal officials, making false statements within the jurisdiction of a federal agency, aiding and abetting, conflict of interest and, in Abramson's case, tax fraud.
In an earlier trial, the jury deadlocked on nine charges against Abramson; Thomas was convicted of three charges.
Jury selection for Abramson's new trial took most of Monday. The jury of 11 women and four men began hearing opening statements at about 3:15 p.m. in the court of District Judge Thomas K. Moore.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Julien Adams, representing both the United States and the Virgin Islands, cited a V.I. Code provision that "public officials are expected to set high standards of ethical behavior with utmost integrity and loyalty to public interest." Abramson as commissioner failed to do so, he said.
"Hurricanes are a way of life here," Adams said. "The community suffers and reacts in one of two ways," either pulling together to help one another or looking out for themselves to the disregard of everyone else.
"Ann Abramson, with the power invested in her, used the disaster of Hurricane Marilyn to profit for herself," he said.
Adams said he would prove that Abramson and Thomas in collusion overcharged the V.I. government thousands of dollars for building repairs. He cited the repair of the Arthur A.
Richards Junior High School roof, for which Thomas was paid $83,639.20, and repair of the roof on the building housing the Finance Department on St. Thomas, for which Thomas initially billed the government for $47,400 but was paid $40,000. Adams also vowed to prove that Abramson filed a false income tax claim.
Defense attorney Michael Joseph countered that the government had "falsely accused a 74-year-old woman of crimes she never committed."
He said Abramson, a Frederiksted native, had been "for the people and a worker all her life." She started out selling fruit, vegetables and cakes while still in school, he said, pumped gas, became a social worker and eventually got into the transportation business, owning her own bus, taxi and heavy equipment companies.
He said she was asked by Gov. Roy L. Schneider to be his Public Works commissioner because she was "somebody who could get things done."
Abramson's other defense attorney, L. Schoenbach, said she was a person who "got out in the field and worked with her people," citing her assistance to schools after Hurricane Marilyn. He said she left financial matters to her accountant.
The first witness called was Gwendolyn Adams, Finance commissioner from February 1995 through November 1996. She said when she became aware of discrepancies in the billing for the Finance building roof repairs, she contacted Abramson because Abramson had brought Thomas to meet her and had recommended him for the job.
Adams said that Finance employee Walter Challenger, liaison to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, was in charge of overseeing the roof repairs. She said Challenger told her the bill was inflated and the work was "patchwork."
Adams said she never approved the work, and that in her absence, her deputy, Alicia Austin, signed the check paying Thomas. The check was picked up by Public Works Assistant Commissioner George Phillips on a day when Adams said she was in a meeting at Government House.
The grand jury indictment states that Thomas told Challenger the bill was inflated because he had to give some of the money to Abramson.
In the earlier trial on charges relating to the hurricane repairs, the jury deadlocked on nine charges against Abramson, convicted Thomas of three charges each of making a false statement and making false claims to a federal agency, and acquitted him of attempting to bribe a public official — Challenger. A grand jury subsequently handed up a superseding 15-count indictment, which included six new charges against Abramson and two against Thomas.
The earlier convictions of Thomas were not affected by the superseding indictment, Assistant U.S. Attorney Hugh P. Mabe said, and the one count to which the contractor pleaded guilty Monday concerned repairs to the Arthur Richards School roof.
Judge Moore said he expected the trial to continue through Friday.

How many voluntary pay cuts will it take for essential employees to calm down and go back to work?
We say let's find out, starting with Government House.
It is time for this administration to stop looking the other way while teachers, policemen, firefighters and others demonstrate in very real ways their disappointment and disgust with the nepotism and self-serving behavior displayed by top officials in the Turnbull-James administration.
We are beginning to feel like a broken record, repeating over and over that the leaders of this community need to lead by example.
If some teacher – responsible for the well-being of our children – who is making $25,000 a year while supporting children of his or her own needs to cinch his or her belt, how about the governor, his chief of staff and his primary financial adviser leading the belt-cinching parade.
Juel Molloy and Rudolph Krigger Sr. would have done well to refuse their $13,000 pay increases months ago. In truth, they should have turned those raises down before they ever went into effect, but they certainly should have done that once the increases became public and the response was so overwhelmingly — and angrily — negative. It is surprising to us that they didn't.
Molloy and Krigger might deserve to make $79,000 a year if this were a perfect world and the territory were on solid financial footing. They are smart, hard-working public servants. That is not the point. These islands are in an uproar over the double standard being set by the governor and his top aides – teachers are calling in sick, civilian Police Department employees are staging job actions, as are police and firefighters. Meanwhile, the governor continues to defend these indefensible raises and to hire people for superfluous positions such as public information officers.
Are the governor, his advisers and his Cabinet members deaf to the cries of "unfair" that are coming from the people? Their "let them eat cake" response suggests that is the case.
It is time for our elected leaders to set the right example. That is the only way to win back the trust and goodwill of the people they are trying to lead.

The trial of influential St. Croix business owner and former Public Works Commissioner Ann Abramson went into its second day Tuesday after prosecuting and defense attorneys painted word pictures of her as highly different persons in their opening remarks.
What was to have been the prosecution of both Abramson and St. Croix contractor Berthill Thomas on charges relating to Hurricane Marilyn repair work turned into a case against only Abramson. As jury selection was about to begin Monday for the proceedings in U.S. District Court on St. Thomas, Thomas entered a plea of guilty to making a false statement in return for the three other charges against him being dropped.
Abramson and Thomas between them faced federal grand jury charges of conspiracy, bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds, making false claims to federal officials, making false statements within the jurisdiction of a federal agency, aiding and abetting, conflict of interest and, in Abramson's case, tax fraud.
In an earlier trial, the jury deadlocked on nine charges against Abramson; Thomas was convicted of three charges.
Jury selection for Abramson's new trial took most of Monday. The jury of 11 women and four men began hearing opening statements at about 3:15 p.m. in the court of District Judge Thomas K. Moore.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Julien Adams, representing both the United States and the Virgin Islands, cited a V.I. Code provision that "public officials are expected to set high standards of ethical behavior with utmost integrity and loyalty to public interest." Abramson as commissioner failed to do so, he said.
"Hurricanes are a way of life here," Adams said. "The community suffers and reacts in one of two ways," with individuals pulling together to help one another or looking out for themselves to the disregard of everyone else.
"Ann Abramson, with the power invested in her, used the disaster of Hurricane Marilyn to profit for herself," he said.
Adams said he would prove that Abramson and Thomas in collusion overcharged the V.I. government thousands of dollars for building repairs. He cited the repair of the Arthur A.
Richards Junior High School roof, for which Thomas was paid $83,639.20, and repair of the roof on the building housing the Finance Department on St. Thomas, for which Thomas initially billed the government for $47,400 but was paid $40,000. Adams also vowed to prove that Abramson filed a false income tax claim.
Defense attorney Michael Joseph countered that the government had "falsely accused a 74-year-old woman of crimes she never committed."
He said Abramson, a Frederiksted native, had been "for the people and a worker all her life." She started out selling fruit, vegetables and cakes while still in school, he said, pumped gas, became a social worker and eventually got into the transportation business, owning her own bus, taxi and heavy equipment companies.
He said she was asked by Gov. Roy L. Schneider to be his Public Works commissioner because she was "somebody who could get things done."
Abramson's other defense attorney, L. Schoenbach, said she was a person who "got out in the field and worked with her people," citing her assistance to schools after Hurricane Marilyn.
He said she left financial matters to her accountant.
The first witness called was Gwendolyn Adams, Finance commissioner from February 1995 through November 1996. She said when she became aware of discrepancies in the billing for the Finance building roof repairs, she contacted Abramson because Abramson had brought Thomas to meet her and had recommended him for the job.
Adams said that Finance employee Walter Challenger, liaison to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, was in charge of overseeing the roof repairs. She said Challenger told her the bill was inflated and the work was "patchwork."
Adams said she never approved the work, and that in her absence, her deputy, Alicia Austin, signed the check paying Thomas. The check was picked up by Public Works Assistant Commissioner George Phillips on a day when Adams said she was in a meeting at Government House.
The grand jury indictment states that Thomas told Challenger the bill was inflated because he had to give some of the money to Abramson.
In the earlier trial on charges relating to the hurricane repairs, the jury deadlocked on nine charges against Abramson, convicted Thomas of three charges each of making a false statement and making false claims to a federal agency, and acquitted him of attempting to bribe a public official — Challenger. A grand jury subsequently handed up a superseding 15-count indictment, which included six new charges against Abramson and two against Thomas.
The earlier convictions of Thomas were not affected by the superseding indictment, Assistant U.S. Attorney Hugh P. Mabe said, and the one count to which the contractor pleaded guilty Monday concerned repairs to the Arthur Richards School roof.
Judge Moore said he expected the trial to continue through Friday.