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St. Croix Source  ::  Source Staff

September 4, is a date that will be remembered long into the future. The Virgin Islands' own Stanley & the Ten Sleepless Knights are hosting their 40th Anniversary Grand Gala. After four decades of performing the "official music" of the Virgin Islands all over the world, they are truly our cultural ambassadors, and have honorably presented what is good and beautiful about the Virgin Islands to friends near and far.

The Grand Gala will take place on Saturday evening, Sept. 4, at The Palms, St. Croix. Dress is Crucian elegant (semi-formal). The evening will feature the music of the British Virgin Islands' Lashing Dogs and the U.S.V.I.’s X-Press Band; an extensive Crucian buffet dinner; an auction; the 2010 Stanley Awards; and many surprises.

A limited number of tables of ten are available and are going fast. From now through Aug. 4, Gala tickets can be purchased at a price of $100 per person. Tables of ten are currently available at $900 per table, through Aug. 4. After that date, tickets will cost $150 per person, with no guarantee of any tables of ten being available.

Ticket outlets are Pier 69, Armstrong Ice Cream, Pancho’s, Applause at Sunny Isles, Riddims Music Shop and Indulgence Salon & Spa. For tables of ten or group ticket sales, please call 226-9968 or 277-3261 or e-mail: bridget@tensleeplessknights.com.

Ten Sleepless Knights Inc. is a USVI registered 501(c)3 Non-Profit Organization. PO Box 411, Christiansted, 00821

The St. Croix Source  ::  Source Staff

On the weekend of July 24-25, a team of young athletes from St. Croix competed in the biennial 2010 Caribbean Union of Teachers Games held in St. Kitts. St. Croix's squad was comprised of a team of eight athletes under the age of 15: Annika Benders, Mikaela Smith, Sevon Washington, Krystahl Gordon, Shamiyah Burke, Rodney Griffin, Britney Sage and Malique Smith and three accompanying officials: Keith Smith, Mireille Smith and Mr. Johnson.

There were some very impressive performances with four Crucian athletes reaching the finals six times. Rodney Griffin reached the finals three times with personal bests in the 100m and 200m. Mikaela Smith, Shamiyah Burke and Malique Smith all reached the final one time each.

Full results for the team are:

Annika Benders U11: 100m 14.89 (11), 200m 30.50 (12), Ball Throw 23.75m (11)

Mikaela Smith U11: 400m 1:17.10 (10), Long Jump 3.05m (8)

Sevon Washington U11: 100m 14.40 (9), 200m 30.46 (10), Ball Throw 32.23m (11)

Shamiyah Burke U13: 400m 1:12.76 (11), Shot Put 4.91m (8)

Krystahl Gordon U13: 100m 13.99 (10), 200m 29.65 (12), Long Jump 4.04m (11)

Rodney Griffin U13: 100m (semi-final) 13.30, 100m (final) 13.17 (7), 200m (semi final) 26.80, 200m (final) 26.69 (8), Long Jump 4.44m (7)

Britney Sage U15: 100m 13.52 (13), 200m 28.42 (14)

Malique Smith U15: 800m 2:28.92 (11), 1200m 3:59.84 (7), High Jump 1.40m (12)

For more information or questions, contact Keith Smith at 277-1123.

St. Croix Source  ::  Bill Kossler

A team of scientists from the National Center for Atmospheric Research will come to St. Croix this August and September to study the earliest moments of hurricane formation.

“One of the great longstanding mysteries about hurricanes is how they form,” Christopher Davis, a principal investigator on the project, said in a statement from NCAR. “There are clusters of thunderstorms every day in the tropics, but we don’t know why some of them develop into hurricanes while others don’t. We need to anticipate hurricane formation to prepare for hazards that could develop several days later,” he said.

The study, entitled: "PREDICT, the Pre-Depression Investigation of Cloud Systems in the Tropics," will run from August 15 to September 30, the height of hurricane season.

The hope, according to an NCAR statement, is by better understanding the formation of tropical storms that may become hurricanes, scientists can help the National Hurricane Center reach the goal of seven-day hurricane forecasts, rather than the current limit of five days.

Reached by phone Wednesday, Davis said St. Croix was chosen as the base for the study because it is part of the United States, making everything easier and less expensive; it had sufficient accommodations and the airport runway is long enough. But location was the trump card in this case.

"We wanted a place from which we could go as far east into the Atlantic as possible," he said. The team will be flying the National Science Foundation and NCAR Gulfstream V research jet, which has a range of up to 7,000 miles, according to NCAR's statement. The NSF sponsors NCAR.

"We will be able to fly to about 40 (degrees) longitude," he said. "That's more than half way to Africa.

Storms and hurricanes form in the Gulf of Mexico and large parts of the Atlantic, but many form in the eastern Atlantic off the coast of Africa, then move west. So that eastward reach is helpful to the scientists, Davis said.

The Gulfstream V will reach an altitude of about 43,000 feet, letting scientists take observations near the tops of storms that form thousands of miles from the coast. The scientists will fly near thunderstorm complexes once or twice a day when tropical systems of interest come within about 1,500 miles of St. Croix. They will drop parachutes with packets of instruments to measure things like temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction and gather fine-scale details of ice particles and water droplets in clouds. One of the main goals is to take measurements of airborne Saharan dust and associated dry air that can interfere with hurricane formation, according to NCAR.

To get the most coverage and scientific information possible, the NCAR flights from St. Croix will be coordinated each day with flights for two other, independent hurricane studies taking place this summer, according to NCAR. NASA is leading a related study of hurricane formation called GRIP, for Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes, while the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is leading what it calls Intensity Forecasting Experiment, or IFEX.

While separate studies, taken together, the three projects may capture the complete evolution of a more hurricane from the moment of formation until landfall. While not as dramatic as a hurricane, capturing information where conditions seem ripe, yet storms do not develop, is equally important for understanding the whole picture of why some disturbances become storms and others do not.

Several universities are working on the study along with NCAR, including the Naval Postgraduate School; University at Albany-SUNY; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; University of Miami; NorthWest Research Associates, Redmond, Washington; New Mexico Tech; Purdue University; and University of Wisconsin–Madison.

The scientists will be reaching out to St. Croix high schools and to the University of the Virgin Islands in hopes of giving talks and demonstrations to a few classes. Alison Rockwell of the Earth Observing Lab, a part of NCAR, will be leading that outreach early Sept ember. Teachers and school administrators interested in arranging a talk may email Rockwell at rockwell@ucar.edu.

The Virgin Islands Daily News  ::  Daily News Staff

After positive feedback and a surprising amount of interest from the public, the V.I. Tourism Department has launched a new website for people to take the USVI Customer Service Pledge.



The site — usviservicepledge.com — offers workers and businesses the opportunity to take the pledge and have their names posted for all to see.

The “USVI Customer Service Pledge” — 10 tips developed to help Virgin Islanders provide good service to all guests — came as the result of a secret shopper program. The 10 tips in the customer service pledge are the same service standards used in the secret shopper survey.



Tourism launched the initiative in May to encourage everyone in the territory to focus on the simple ways to improve a visitor’s experience in the Virgin Islands.



On the website, people taking the pledge must agree to follow the 10 standards by entering their name, contact information and place of work in an online form. Once completed, their names will appear in an alphabetical listing on the website.



Businesses wishing to take the pledge can download the pledge form on the site and circulate it among their staff for signatures. Businesses that take the pledge will also be recognized with a listing on the site and a link to their website.



Employees taking the pledge can choose to receive a pocket-sized customer service pledge card as well as a button reading, “I took the customer service pledge.”



“As members of a tourism-based community, providing exceptional customer service is essential to the success of our destination and our future prosperity,” Tourism Commissioner Beverly Nicholson-Doty said in a written statement. “Equally important is the level of service we provide each other as residents of the Virgin Islands, which is why we encourage the public at large to take the pledge and make the USVI a more hospitable place for all of us.”  

USVI Customer Service Pledge



1.    Greet customers with a smile, eye contact, and positive body language.  



2.    Acknowledge customers as soon as they approach you or your “hospitality zone.”  



3.    Speak first and last to all customers. Be the first to say good morning, good afternoon and make sure to make a positive parting remark such as, “Have a nice day!”

 

4.    Provide helpful and accurate information. Make useful recommendations.  



5.    If you know the customer’s name, use it. It makes customers feel special.  



6.    If you receive a customer complaint, listen, apologize and agree to a solution with the customer.  



7.    Follow up on requests and inquiries, and make sure they are handled to the customer’s satisfaction.  



8.    Answer the phone within four rings using a proper salutation, such as “Good day, may I help you?”



9.    Create a positive impression to customers with a neat appearance.



10.    Extend hospitality to fellow employees and customers.


For more information about taking the customer service pledge visit www.usviservicepledge.com or call 774-8784.

St. Croix Source  ::  Source Staff

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Office of Law Enforcement (OLE) has partnered with federal and local agencies recently in an effort to protect mutton snapper and sea turtles transiting the closed fishing area around St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.

During Operation Slow Down, OLE and other law enforcement personnel were stationed in waters around St. Croix that are closed to fishing in order to allow mutton snapper to spawn. Leatherback sea turtles also pass through these areas on their way to nest in the nearby Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge, the largest nesting beach in the United States and U.S. territories.

Agents and officers enforced the closed fishing area by boarding boats suspected of illegally fishing. Vessels are allowed to transit areas closed to fishing, however, so enforcement personnel also advised passing vessels to slow down. While there is no specific speed limit in this area, boats attempting to fish in the closed area not only disturb the fish spawning but also risk hitting the sea turtles, which are protected under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Harassing or harming these turtles carries a fine ranging from $1,000 to $10,500 for the first offense.

The waters around St. Croix are closed to fishing from March 1 through June 30 each year. Fishing in closed areas is governed by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, and those charged with doing so during the closed period face possible fines ranging from $500 to $50,000 and/or fishing permit sanctions up to 45 days.

“We are planning on conducting this type of operation each year,” said Special Agent Ken Henline of OLE’s Southeast Division.

Operation Slow Down was a partnership of OLE, the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Park Service and the St. Croix Department of Planning and Natural Resources.

The mission of NOAA OLE is to ensure compliance with the laws and regulations enacted to conserve and protect our nation’s marine resources.

To report a suspected violation, contact the NOAA OLE national hotline at 1-800-853-1964.

St. Croix Source  ::  Source Staff

Advocates for the disabled, government officials and St. Croix residents gathered alongside Gov. John deJongh Jr. at Kingshill School on St. Croix Monday to raise awareness of the civil rights of people with disabilities.

The day's ceremonies were in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), landmark legislation signed into law in 1990 by President George H.W. Bush. The wide-ranging civil rights law prohibits discrimination based on disability.

"On this 20th anniversary ... we reaffirm our commitment to work toward full accessibility and inclusion of people with disabilities. As a nation, and as a community of Virgin Islanders, we continue to move forward,” deJongh said to an audience, which included students participating in the ADA Vocational Summer Program.

During his remarks, deJongh praised the ADA summer curriculum, in which students learn vocational, social, and life skills in a structured program that also provides an opportunity for creative self-expression in the arts, according to the Government House release.

Several top government officials who deal with issued affecting the disabled spoke at the ceremony, including Stephanie Barnes, the territorial ADA Coordinator; Yegin Habtes, executive director of the UVI Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities; and Human Services Commissioner Chris Finch.

St. Croix Source  ::  Carol Buchanan

A good feeling hits one upon entering the grounds of St. Croix Montessori. You go through a stone-walled gate, drive along a flamboyant lined drive to the cream-colored facilities surrounded by a white picket fence. Access and location are nice too, it is right by the new GERS building in Orange Grove, and easy to get to.

Dr. Maria Montessori, physician, psychologist and scientist, created the educational method that takes into account “the whole child.”

“We give the children a vision of the whole universe,” says Sylvia Sullivan, head Montessori instructor. “All while developing their whole potential.”

The classrooms are every bit as nice as the fenced, kid-friendly grounds on almost one and a half acres of lush tropical land with a view of the Caribbean Sea.

The breezy and spacious classrooms are highly structured spaces where “freedom with discipline” is key. The age-appropriate class materials are at child height and very hands on. Most materials are wooden and some are delicate, but the children are taught how to handle them properly. They are taught how to write cursive because their nature is more flowing movements. The students move around and are encouraged to socialize and work with each other and get along, learning to take turns and wait in line. They look at culture, art, nature,music, religion, and customs from the whole world.

Sullivan, who is also a registered nurse, was trained at the Montessori Institute of Atlanta and has been an Association Montessori International AMI-certified teacher for about 20 years. She says the children work at their own pace, becoming skilled at order, taking turns, independence, language skills, and a desire to have a love of learning.

“We want them to have a life-long love of learning,” Sullivan says. “This is education for life.”

They have three rules; self respect, respect of others and respect of the environment.

The school was started in 2006 by a group of parents who wanted Sullivan to be their child's instructor beyond the preschool and kindergarten she taught at another local school. The school is overseen by a board of directors. There are around 30 students ages two ad a half to nine enrolled in full or half days.

At the non-profit school, financial assistance is available and in return recipients are encouraged to give back somehow.

“We have a few young couples who want their children learning the Montessori method, struggling to pay the tuition,” Sullivan says. “It would be appreciated if some donations came our way to help them.”

Further information can be obtained by visiting the school's website at www.stcroixmontessori.com, or calling the school at 718-2859.

The Virgin Islands Daily News  ::  Cristian Simescu

Local and visiting students are spending part of their summer sharing experiences and being empowered.

About 25 students, ages 12 to 16, have participated in the five-week Youth Empowerment Summer Camp at the Virgin Islands Sustainable Farm Institute, located at Creque Dam Farm in St. Croix’s rain forest, through exposure to organic farming, music, arts and crafts.

The campers include students from the V.I. Department of Labor’s Lifeskills and Career Exploration Summer Program and visiting stateside students from Overland Summer Program. The Overland program, based out of Williamstown, Mass., is intended for 11- to 18-year-old students from all over the country for community service, outdoors activities, language study abroad and writing programs. The visiting students also volunteered at several nonprofit organization across the island.

Lifeskills and Career Exploration program director Nate Olive said the summer camp is part of the natural mentors program at the organization, where they invite schools from around the island to participate throughout the year.

“The goal of the program is to spark a heritage renaissance in the youth here in the Virgin Islands and to re-link the generations to help discover the identity of where we’ve been and where we are going,” Olive said.

“One of the major parts is empowerment, so we teach empowerment skills, like growing your own food and self-expression through culturally relevant music, like drumming,” he said. Olive also said the students learned about nature by becoming more aware of your environment and appreciative of life.

Olive said the campers learned to plant and harvest vegetables and fruits at the organic farm, as well as how to make juices and teas and cook what they harvested. He also said they learned to make things from the trees and plants on the farm that are needed on the farm, such as net bags, fruit pickers, fish spears and bamboo tree stands.

Campers also are required to lead a workshop once a week.

Shelli Brin, a counselor at the camp, said it was an honor to witness how the students have blossomed during the course of the summer.

“They’re being creative; they’re tasting things they never have before and pushing themselves to try new things,” Brin said. “Kids that have been scared of bugs are now catching bugs, cleaning off chicken eggs and leading workshops.”

The camp is co-sponsored by Crucian Heritage and Nature Tourism.

The Sustainable Farm Institute’s Natural Mentors program was named one of 10 finalists, from more than 600 entries from around the world, in the second annual Geotourism Challenge competition last year. The competition was sponsored by the National Geographic Society and Ashoka’s Changemakers, an online community for social innovation.

St. Croix Source  ::  John  Baur

Several hundred people turned out for Saturday's Emancipation Day Donkey Races, but they weren't there to see racing, exactly. They were there for the donkeys, and for the mayhem unleashed when the beasts of burden put their legendary stubbornness on display.

Put a horse with a jockey on a racetrack and you pretty much know what's gong to happen -- the horse will almost always run as fast as it can around the track. Put a donkey on a track with a novice passenger aboard and anything can happen, or nothing, but  something usually does.

http://www.stcroixlime.com/sites/default/files/donkey race two 072410-200x160.jpg" />"The donkeys never go where you want them to go," laughed a spectator who gave her name as Mrs. Roebuck. "They never do what you want them to do."

Saturday's donkey races, sponsored for the fourth year by the Gentlemen of Jones, were originally scheduled for the beginning of July as part of the Emancipation Day activities, but had to be rescheduled because of heavy rain. Even though Saturday morning was marred by a heavy downpour, by the time the gates opened at 1 p.m. at Paul E. Joseph Stadium in Frederiksted the sun was out, the sky was blue and the donkeys were ornery.

In the first round of donkey cart races, Prithee Mehta won going away when the wheel on Joe Stropole's cart became jammed.

"It was awesome," said Mehta, who moved to St. Croix two months ago. "He was ready to run."

Stropole got his own back in stirring fashion in the second cart race. Cory Surber, on a five-week visit from Ohio, was way out in front and heading for home when Stropole's donkey suddenly caught fire and came charging up like the Light Brigade, nipping Surber at the wire -- or what would have been the wire if the track weren't a casually laid-out ring of rope and barrels.

Stropole, of Frederiksted, said he had been talking to his donkey to get his attention.

"I told him if we won I'd bring him carrots," Stropole said.

The day featured a full schedule of races of adults and children riding bareback, sometimes in the same race. In the "Lades, Ladies, Ladies" race, 7-year-old Josie Calhoun, riding "Mama" and accompanied by her actual mama, Shannon, outpaced a field of adults to win the race with only one tumble.

Two races featured riders age 12 and younger. Others incuded a relay with three-person teams and a "Collegiate" race in which riders represented their schools.

But mostly the day featured the donkey. The animals may not have wanted to be out in the sun, but in the end they pretty much always did exactly what they wanted -- no matter what their riders might have preferred.

Hey, Music Fans!

Just a quick note tonight to let everyone know about the going-away party tomorrow night, July 22nd, at the Pickled Greek for Chris & Linda Simmons, who are about to sail their boat down to Trinidad and dry-dock it, and then proceed to go to North Georgia and start chopping firewood for the long, cold winter. About January, they'll be missing the 89 degree days!

Chris has played in many bands here and has usually been the last to,leave a jam or gig. Linda has been a good sport. Bless her! I remember many years back when Chris started coming to the Deep End Bar to sit in with me, I was very surprised that he had drums on his boat! Harmonicas I understand, but drums? Anyway, it's been fun to make music with Chris over the years, and we'll all miss his enthusiastic drive to keep the beat going.

Not much else on my list for this weekend, but Steve Katz will be at SALUD! Friday night, and Just Plain Folk, Den & Lin, will be playing at Cheeseburgers in Paradise. Then, on Sunday, The St.. Croix Blues Society will be at Coconuts, as usual, from 4 till 8 PM, for their Weekly Jam.

Everyone be careful, and have a safe, fun weekend!

TEXAS JIM