Tropical Storm Floyd was centered 450 miles east of the Leeward Islands as of 5 a.m. Thursday, some 713 miles southeast of the Virgin Islands. The storm, with maximum sustained winds of about 60 mph, was projected at that time to pass about 270 miles northeast of St. Thomas and St. John around 2 a.m. Saturday.
While Floyd is expected to strengthen to hurricane force by Friday morning, it is expected to pose no threat to the Virgin Islands unless it changes course, National Weather Service forecasters said. However, they said, the Virgin Islands should expect increasingly rough seas Friday night through Sunday.
The broad storm formation, with tropical storm-force winds extending outward up to 115 miles from its center, was moving west-northwest at about 15 mph early Thursday. Its inner core may be getting better organized, weather personnel said, but it is predicted to gradually weaken with time. However, a low-level trough over the U.S. mainland East Coast could impact on its course. The coordinates of its center at 5 a.m. Thursday were 17.3 degrees north latitude and 54.6 degrees west longitude.
Gene Walker, executive director of the Virgin Islands Territorial Emergency Management Agency, said local residents should be "tightening the screws" in terms of finalizing routine hurricane season preparations for the passage of Floyd over the weekend.
This, he said, should include making sure the household emergency kit contains a three-day supply of drinking water, food and medications and a radio with extra batteries.
As for VITEMA itself, "We are ready," Walker told Radio One News.
He said the telephone numbers to call the agency for further information are 774-2244 on St. Thomas, 773-2244 on St. Croix and 693-5050 on St. John (not 776-6444, the number given in telephone books).

Two St. Thomas students are among seven 1999 V.I. high school graduates who are the recipients of HOVENSA’s first college scholarship awards.
Alex Moorhead, HOVENSA vice president, said the scholarships will continue for four years, provided that the students maintain good academic standing.
In addition, he said, 21 continuing college students — sophomores, juniors and seniors — who previously received scholarships from HOVENSA's predecessor, Hess Oil Virgin Islands Corp. (HOVIC), will continue to receive annual scholarships, under the same conditions, for the remainder of their four undergraduate years.
Prior to the formation of the HOVENSA joint venture, HOVIC paid out more than $1.7 million in scholarships over 26 years.
This year’s scholarship recipients are:
Beverly Bellot, a graduate of Ivanna Eudora Kean High School, who is enrolled at Rice University to study biology.
David Cruz, a St. Joseph's High School graduate, who is attending the University of Delaware to study chemical engineering.
Korrise King, a Eudora Kean graduate, who is at Columbia Union College to study computer science.
Natasha Liburd, an Education Complex graduate, who is at Rutgers University to study hotel and restaurant management.
Joan Obeius, a Central High School graduate, who is at the University of Houston studying business administration.
Esther Prince, a St. Joseph's graduate, who is at the University of Delaware studying environmental science.
Omari Williams, an Education Complex graduate who enrolled at the University of Tampa to study civil engineering.

On the first day of medical testing related to water contamination at the Joseph Sibilly School and its annex, 48 pupils and teachers were given physical examinations and had their blood drawn for laboratory analysis.
"We didn't get any lab results back by the end of the day," Dr. Audria Thomas, Health Department acting environmental health director, said Wednesday night, "but all of the physicals were pretty much negative."
The examinations concentrated on such things as "neurological problems, abdominal pains and abdomen enlargement," Thomas said.
Although there had been no public announcement that there would be physical exams as well as blood testing, parents and guardians were informed via the permission slips sent home with pupils last Friday, she said.
According to Thomas, a physician specializing in immunology and the treatment of allergy and respiratory ailments, the testing being done "doesn't identify contaminants." Rather, she said, analysis of the two child-size vials of blood drawn from each youngster "tells us if there are abnormalities in any of the organ systems, such as the abdomen or liver, or if there is anemia or that type of problem."
The findings should help determine whether "there is a potential problem" that could be a result of the consumption of contaminated water over a period of time, she added.
The testing is being done by the Planning and Natural Resources Department and with the federal Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta in conjunction with an investigation into the causes and effects of the water contamination, Thomas said.
Tonight, the Legislature's Planning and Environmental Protection Committee is scheduled to convene to take testimony on the water contamination. Sen. Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg, the committee chair, has asked that officials from the Education, Health and Planning and Natural Resources Departments be prepared to "provide senators, parents and the general public with more information about the contamination and corrective actions."
There was no indication that findings of the PNR investigation would be available by the time of the hearing.
The testing of Sibilly pupils and employees is "the first step in determining the severity of this problem," Donastorg stated in a press release Wednesday. "But the question remains: How did this water become contaminated, and are other schools and students at risk?"
All of Wednesday's exams and testing were completed between 9 and 11 a.m., Thomas said, adding, "It went pretty fast. With it being the first day and all, it went pretty smooth."
A school bus carried some of the youngsters from the school to the Roy L. Schneider Hospital and back, but "a lot of the parents brought their own kids," she said.
Thomas said it is more efficient to have the pupils bused to the hospital than for Health to send a mobile van to the school grounds because "the mobile van can hold only two examination rooms. By having four in the hospital setting and also having the lab there, we can do both the physical and the lab testing in the same setting."
Seven school days have been penciled in to complete the examinations and testing of all current Sibilly students and adult personnel, as well as others who were at the school between 1996 and last spring. "Teachers are being done at the same time as the children," Thomas said. "The last day will include the school workers and the former students."
Thomas emphasized that the Health Department testing is separate from the PNR investigation into the nature and cause of the water contamination at Sibilly and its James Monroe Annex, which is located a mile from the main campus and houses one of the school's two kindergarten classes. She said she had no information on the PNR efforts or their findings to date.
Two weeks ago, as classes were about to resume for the new school year, word reached the public that testing of water in the cisterns at Sibilly and its annex earlier in the year had detected the presence of five volatile organic chemicals in excess of the maximum acceptable contaminant level. The toxins identified included chloroform and potentially carcinogenic matter. The results of testing conducted in June, April and last December are at issue.
The Sibilly and Monroe cisterns were drained and cleaned during what was to have been the first week of classes, and bottled water has since been available for drinking and hygiene procedures.
Education Commissioner Ruby Simmonds and officials from the Health Department and the Planning and Natural Resources Environmental Protection Division have met several times with parents, and Simmonds on Monday rejected a demand from Sen. Norman Jn-Baptiste that the Monroe Annex be closed down because of sanitation concerns. PNR officials have not released any information on the investigation under way.
"Most of those things will be brought up at the Legislature meeting tomorrow (Thursday)," Thomas said Wednesday night. Asked whether she would be among those testifying, she added, "I imagine I will be."
Donastorg is encouraging parents of Sibilly pupils and the general public to attend tonight's hearing, which is to begin at 7 o'clock in the legislative chamber on St. Thomas.

The sharp report of a 21-gun salute and the stirring notes of Taps capped the emotion-filled celebration of Judge Almeric Leander Christian’s 80 years of life on Wednesday.
Hundreds of people from throughout the Virgin Islands gathered at St. John’s Anglican Church in Christiansted to view Christian’s body one last time and to remember a man who was "simply amazing."
Malcolm Plaskett, a friend of the Christian family, spoke about how the judge’s high standards rubbed off on the people he met.
"He understood it wasn’t difficult to do the right thing and encouraged others," Plaskett said.
District Court Chief Judge Raymond Finch recited some of the traits now being used to describe the judge: "taskmaster," "no-nonsense judge," "stern" and "kind."
"I will add my own: Intimidating," Finch said. "That’s the only way you can describe what he did to me."
"Rest in peace, Chief," Finch said in farewell.
Despite Christian’s outward appearance of a stern jurist, however, he was quite different privately, according to Plaskett. "Quiet as it was kept, he was the life of the party," Plaskett said.
Marc Biggs said Christian was a founding member of The Gentlemen of Jones, a community service group. Biggs, commissioner of Property and Procurement, said Christian "never lost the common touch."
Among the others in attendance at the services were Gov. Charles Turnbull; former Gov. Alexander Farrelly and his wife, Joan; Territorial Court Judges Ive Swan, Edgar Ross, Maria Cabret, Ishmael Meyers, Patricia Steele, Brenda Hollar and Soraya Diaz; former Territorial Court Judge Henry Feuerzeig and his wife, Penny; U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Moore; U.S. Magistrate Judges Jeffrey Resnick and Geoffrey Barnard and Barnard's wife, Ann; U.S. Attorney James Hurd; V.I. National Guard Adjutant General Gene Romney; former Delegate to Congress Ron DeLugo; University of the Virgin Islands President Orville Kean; former Attorney General Julio Brady; and several V.I. senators and cabinet members.
Both American Eagle and Seaborne Seaplanes put on extra flights to accommodate the large number of persons traveling from St. Thomas to attend the services.
Retired Episcopal Dean Thomas Gibbs, a Christian family friend, said that since the judge’s death, much has been said about the man — much of it true.
"We had among us a towering giant," he said. "We had with us a person who cast the mold of judges. Yet he was a person who could walk with humility among us."
In his letter of condolence to the Christian family, Hurd said the former District Court chief judge never played favorites in the courtroom.
"The fact that he was a former United States attorney did not cause Judge Christian to treat prosecutors with any special favor," Hurd said. "He sometimes chastised us privately, and sometimes he chastised us publicly. However, his was a fatherly type of chastening. We learned and grew from our experiences with him."
When Hurd tried cases in Christian’s court, he said, he was always amazed at the judge’s grasp of complicated legal issues and his photographic memory.
"Judge Christian could, for example, recite word for word portions of a witness’s testimony without the assistance of the court reporter," Hurd said. "He was, in two words, simply amazing."

The sharp report of a 21-gun salute and the stirring notes of Taps capped the emotion-filled celebration on Wednesday of Judge Almeric Leander Christian’s 80 years of life.
Hundreds of people from throughout the Virgin Islands gathered at St. John’s Anglican Church in Christiansted to view Christian’s body one last time and to remember a man who was "simply amazing."
Malcolm Plaskett, a friend of the Christian family, spoke about how the judge’s high standards rubbed off on the people he met.
"He understood it wasn’t difficult to do the right thing and encouraged others," Plaskett said.
District Court Chief Judge Raymond Finch recited some of the traits now being used to describe the judge: "task master," "no-nonsense judge," "stern" and "kind."
Finch continued, "I will add my own: Intimidating. That’s the only way you can describe what he did to me."
"Rest in peace, Chief," Finch said in farewell.
Despite Christian’s outward appearance of the stern jurist, however, he was quite different in private life, according to Plaskett.
"Quiet as it was kept, he was the life of the party," Plaskett said.
Christian was a founding member of the Gentlemen of Jones, a community service group, Property and Procurement Commissioner Marc Biggs noted. He said the judge "never lost the common touch."
Among the others in attendance at the services were Gov. Charles Turnbull; former Gov. Alexander Farrelly and his wife, Joan; Territorial Court Judges Ive Swan, Edgar Ross, Maria Cabret, Ishmael Meyers, Patricia Steele, Brenda Hollar and Soraya Diaz; former Territorial Court Judge Henry Feuerzeig and his wife, Penny; District Court Judge Thomas Moore; U.S. Magistrate Judges Jeffrey Resnick and Geoffrey Barnard and Barnard's wife, Ann; U.S. Attorney James Hurd; V.I. National Guard Adj. Gen. Gene Romney; former Delegate to Congress Ron de Lugo; University of the Virgin Islands President Orville Kean; former Attorney General Julio Brady; and several V.I. senators and Cabinet members.
Both American Eagle and Seaborne Seaplanes put on extra flights to accommodate the large number of persons traveling from St. Thomas to attend the services.
Retired Episcopal Dean Thomas Gibbs, a friend of the Christian family, said that since the judge’s death, much has been said about the man, and much of it is true.
"We had among us a towering giant," he said. "We had with us a person who cast the mold of judges. Yet, he was a person who could walk with humility among us."
In a letter of condolence to the Christian family, Hurd said the former chief District Court judge never played favorites in the courtroom.
"The fact that he was a former United States attorney did not cause Judge Christian to treat prosecutors with any special favor," Hurd recalled. "He sometimes chastised us privately, and sometimes he chastised us publicly. However, his was a fatherly type of chastening. We learned and grew from our experiences with him."
When Hurd tried cases in Christian’s court, he said, he never ceased to be amazed by the judge’s grasp of complex legal issues and his photographic memory.
"Judge Christian could, for example, recite word for word portions of a witness’s testimony without the assistance of the court reporter," he recalled. "He was, in two words, simply amazing."

The St. Croix Foundation for Community Development, which recently launched its own web site and online newsletter, received congratulations on the move Wednesday from Delegate Donna M. Christian-Christensen.
The new web site and the newsletter, The Vanguard, are supported by the onepaper platform, where The Source newspapers also are found. The not-for-profit agency's web site is www.onepaper.com/stcroixfoundation.
The foundation was recently designated as the site of the first Women's Business Center in the territory, one of about 70 in the nation. It will use its web presence to increase its visibility and to inform residents of its expanding role in the community, according to executive director Roger Dewey.
Christensen commended the foundation, begun in 1991 by the late St. Croix insurance executive Philip Gerard, for its growing outreach. The agency, which made headlines recently when it purchased a number of derelict Times Square properties with plans to restore them, has had "a tremendous impact on St. Croix and is now in a position to benefit all Virgin Islanders," she said.
"Having worked with this organization on many issues," the delegate said, "I am very pleased to welcome them as our newest on-line resource and am happy to provide my congressional web site (www.house.gov/christian-christensen) as a link."

A foul smell coming from a room in the Comanche Hotel in Christiansted lead police to the decomposing body of the establishment’s chef on Tuesday.
According to Acting Police Chief Novelle Francis a maid detected a "stench" coming from a room at the hotel at about 3 p.m. on Tuesday. Francis said that hotel management conducted a cursory search of the room and found a fluid, which appeared to be blood, on the floor.
At that point, hotel management contacted police, Francis said. Police then found the decomposing body of Brad Curl, 41, who was a chef at the Club Comanche.
Francis said Curl was last seen on Saturday, Sept. 4. There was no indication of foul play at the scene but an autopsy was scheduled for Wednesday. Francis said an investigation into the incident is continuing.

In a release from the Licensing and Consumer Affairs Department, business owners and operators are reminded that they are required to update their price lists on a monthly basis if they change any pricing for goods or services locally during the hurricane season.
Price lists were required to have been submitted to LCA as of June 1, the start of hurricane season, and monthly updates reflecting any changes are required through the end of November. The procedure was instituted to enable the department to determine instances of price gouging in the event of a hurricane causing major damage in the territory.
Any business owner or operator with questions about the procedure should call Margaret Sumter at 773-2226.

In a release from the Licensing and Consumer Affairs Department, business owners and operators are reminded that they are required to update their price lists on a monthly basis if they change any pricing for goods or services locally during the hurricane season.
Price lists were required to have been submitted to LCA as of June 1, the start of hurricane season, and monthly updates reflecting any changes are required through the end of November. The procedure was instituted to enable the department to determine instances of price gouging in the event of a hurricane causing major damage in the territory.
Any business owner or operator with questions about the procedure should call Margaret Sumter at 773-2226.