Women's History Month - Virgin Islands History Month

04 March 2013

First the weather:
79 degrees in Crown Bay St. Thomas
84% humidity.
30.02 Barometric Pressure – rising
Wind from South East at 2 mph – Under Mostly Clear Skies
No rain in the last 24 hours.

National Weather Service says: Partly cloudy. High of 82F. Winds from the South at 5 to 10 mph.

A cold front Bermuda to the Dominican Republic will move into the Mona Passage this afternoon and stall across the Virgin Islands on Tuesday. We will get scattered to broken clouds and scattered showers through Tuesday. The cold front will dissipate by mid week. Back to full sunshine.

Cruise Ship News
Adventure of the Seas, Enchantment of the Seas , Carnival Valor at Havensight Dock
Emerald Princess  at Austin Monsanto Marine Terminal:

At the top of the news on  Monday March 4

This is women's history month according to a proclamation from the governor.  The first lady Cecile DeJongh is launching a radio campaign. The theme is: women inspiring innovation through imagination: celebrating women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Expect to hear public service announcements highlighting the achievements of Virgin Islands women.

WTJX is picking up the women's history month and adding Virgin Islands History with a new series of videos highlighting the accomplishment of nine Virgin Islands women.  You will learn about the lives of Col. Caroline Adams Fawlkes, Dilsa Capdeville, Cora Christian, Ann-Marie Danet, Gwen-Marie Moolenaar, Eileen Ramona Peterson, Winnifred Powell, Dr. LaVerne Ragster, and Judge Wilma Lewis.  

And for Virgin Islands history there is a aseries of videos including;  A Journey into Quadrille, Cruzan Christmas Serenade, Nick Friday “The life of a legend,” Gov. Alexander Farrelly, and Face-to-Face with Ruby Ross.

Sixteen of our Firefighters have been engaged 4-months of intensive training with the Department of Heath Emergency Medical Technician Training Division. And today at Magen’s Bay Beach the Fire service and EMS will test the students’ skills in patient and victim care in water bound emergency scenarios. They are training to be certified and licensed as an Emergency Medical Technician.

A big thank you to FirstCaribbean International Bank for donating more than $200,000 dollars to Junior Achievement, including $12,000 for the program in the U.S. Virgin Islands. FirstCaribbean International Bank operates in 18 Caribbean countries from Trinidad to Belize but they don’t have a branch in the US Virgin Islands, though they operate in the British Islands. Junior Achievement teaches students about personal finance, economics and how to run a business. They came to the USVI in 2009 reaching more than 2,000 students – With new funds they will reach 3,500 students by June.

Here is more Good News - They call themselves the Junior Philanthropists. It’s a group of seventh-grade students at Antilles School.  Their latest was the Youth 4 Youth, tennis tournament this weekend. The three-day event welcomed competitors from all over the U.S. Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands. All money raised from the event go directly to the organization’s fund at the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands and are used to benefit educational programs for youths in need throughout the community.

Here is a chance for you to make some good news. Judge James Carroll is summoning us all to A Million Steps for Peace March. The judge got together with the Division of Personnel, Human Services, Police Department, Project Safe Neighborhoods, My Brothers Workshop, and the University to create an event for March 16. Everyone is invited. The Judge says the most serious problem in the Virgin Islands is not that we lost 59 people to violence, or that our homicide rate is highest in the nation, but that we treat it all like business as usual. The million steps for peace March starts at Fort Christian and wends its way through Havensight, out to Red Hook, then west through Smith Bay, up Cassi Hill, and finish at the University. That’s 18 miles! But you don't have to walk the whole thing! Relay teams will hand off the baton at way stations every three-miles.  They will walk through neighborhoods spreading a message of peace and hope and non-violence. Calling all church groups, schools, organizations and businesses to form six-member relay teams to cover the 18 mile course. The date is Saturday  March 16. Start time at Fort Christian 4:30 AM. For more information call Celia Carroll  at 775-9337


The Division of Real Property will issue the 2011 real property tax bills to property owners of record as of January 1, 2012.  The Division will again offer early payment discounts for property tax payers who pay their bills before the April 8, 2013 due date. A 5% discount will be applied to bills paid by March 25th.

WAPA Bringing automatic meter reading to the Virgin Islands starting this week in Estate Thomas, Sugar Estate and Hospital Ground and Havensight.  The WAPA crews will make changes to the meter – no change in water pressure – no outage while this is done. Some 1500 meters on St. Thomas and 240 on St John are slated for renewal. New meters come to St Croix with 2500 meters to install. The new meters will let WAPA collect usage data remotely. Saves money.

The Technology Center of the Virgin Islands is calling all Senior Citizens to come learn about computers. They have an 8-week computer literacy class for Senior Citizens only, starting today. Senior can chose Monday-Wednesday or Tuesday-Thursday each day it is at 10:30.  Seniors will enjoy learning with their peers: with hands on practical instruction; what components make a Computer and how to use them;
fundamentals of Windows, computer terms, operations, emailing, accessing the Internet, and doing a search. For more information, call Janice at 777-2727.

Our virtue of the week  is Courtesy. Courtesy is being polite and having good manners.  When you speak and act courteously, you give others a feeling of being valued and respected.  Greet people pleasantly.  Bring courtesy home.  Your family needs it most of all.  Courtesy helps life go smoothly.
You are practicing courtesy when you ...*   Remember your manners,  Treat elders, parents, teachers, and children politely,  Think about how your actions affect others, Eat, speak and move graciously,  Make requests instead of demands,  Greet people with a smile, Affirmation:   I am courteous.  I speak and act in a mannerly way.  I show others that I value and  respect them.