Today is Veteran’s
Day. It is a federal holiday. All
schools, banks, courts and government offices will be closed on today. St.
Thomas abattoir will be closed. . UVI and the
UVI Libraries and labs are all closed today .
On St. Croix there
is a veterans parade – lineup is 9:30 AM in front of the Frederiksted Post
Office and march to the Frederiksted Bandstand where there will be a program
featuring Rear Admiral Denise Canton of St. Croix. RADM Canton is
currently the second director of the Office of Commissioned Corps Force
Management in the Office of Public Health and Science.
On St. John there will be a parade beginning at Crabbys
Watersports in Coral Bay St. John at 10:30 AM marching to the Agriculture
Station. And there will be a mini food fair.
On St. Thomas the parade starts at 3:00 PM from Addelita
Cancryn Junior High School and marches past western cemetery and down Main
Street to Veterans Park for a ceremony.
Good News from Governor John DeJongh the territory has secured 2 million dollars
in funding for the plan to bury the electrical utility lines on Main street of
Charlotte Amalie. VITEMA applied to FEMA
for the grant to construct a multi-duct bank system on Main Street and
secondary electrical conduits along 1,700 feet of Main street, Raadets gade,
hibiscus alley, veterans drive, Tolbod gade and Post Office alley. The idea is
to make it easier to recover from a hurricane. The first step is to map all of
the existing utility lines and water lines under the street. A similar project
is underway in Christiansted. Overall there will be more than 3 million for
phase one and three million more for phase two.
On Wednesday WAPA says they will have extended hours pumping
now through tonight at 8:00 PM. They are
storing water for the St. Thomas East End. This may cause loss of water
pressure in the east end during the pumping. You are advised to store water in
case of loss of pressure.
Gas price hike. HOVENSA
has increased the rack rate for gasoline by 17 cents. Independent operators of
gas stations will now be paying $2.04 per gallon for regular, $2.13 for premium
and $2.09 for diesel. These are the highest prices in all of 2009. The new
prices will trickle odwn to the gas staiotn pump over the next few days.
How do we stop domestic violence? At Marriott's Frenchman's
Reef the National Network to End Domestic Violence opened its ninth annual
conference with people from every state and territory, law-enforcement
officials, survivors, judges and domestic-violence experts. They came together
to develop strategies to improve responses to domestic and sexual abuse. Top of
the list? Support org like the Women’s Coalition that stand up for victims and
stand with them as they deal with police and the criminal justice system. Also critical, educate people. Stop telling
women they deserve what is done to them or that they should not put a man
through the legal process to stop the violence. Education and Support. There will be more from that conference
today.
Reichhold Center for the
Arts will present The Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra and VI native
mezzo-soprano Melita Etienne, as the featured vocalist, perform Saturday, Nov.
14. The evening will feature performances of Sibelius’ Spring Song, Op.
16, Chausson’s Poeme de l’amoure et de la mer, Op. 19, and Mendelssohn’s
Symphony n3. Tickets are available from the Reichhold Box Office at
(340) 693-1559.
Hearty Congratulations to the Nigel O. Hodge Foundation now
making 13 years. They are holding a
Youth-A-Glow luncheon on November 15 at the
Holy Family Church Columban Hall The Tickets are on sale for $ 50 call
774-6031.
More News for Veterans, the Veterans Administration is
holding a Welcome home ceremony on St.
Thomas on Saturday November 14 at Emile Griffith Ball Park. All veterans should have received an
invitation and phone call from the VA reps.
We applaud your service to the nation.
Tributes to the late Henry Kimelman continue to pour into
the newsroom. Senators, the Senate President Louis Hill had kind words for
Kimelman. Governor John DeJongh notes that Kimelman was a significant
philanthropist in the Virgin Islands chartering the Community Foundation,
supporting Antilles School and the Charlotte Kimelman Cancer Institute. He was the first Commissioner of Commerce,
Industry and Tourism for the Virgin Islands and put us on the map as a tourist
destination. Less well known was his role in the presidential campaigns of
George McGovern, Frank Church and Gary Hart. Former Governor Schneider lauded
Kimelman and noted his role in bringing celebrities to the Virgin Islands in
the early days of tourism and he insured that local students got jobs in local
businesses. Kimelman was also one of the major players in Partners for Health
and funded the ICU equipment in his mother’s memory.
THE 5TH ANNUAL ST. JOHN CHRISTMAS MUSIC FESTIVAL &
CHILDREN’S PARADE on Sunday, December 13th. A glorious night of free Jazz
concerts under the stars in the heart of Cruz Bay in Winston Wells Ball Field
will follow immediately after our Parade. Celebrating its 5th anniversary, This
year we have a record breaking amount of floats that will ring in the holiday
season. It is truly a parade for all ages. Starting in front of Mongoose
Junction, Santa will lead the torch lit parade through Cruz Bay, around the
ferry dock and then up to Winston Wells Ball Field. Live Christmas music will
fill the air with our own children’s steel pan bands and plenty of Reggae sounds.
The parade route will be filled with Christmas spirit as locals and visitors
line both sides of the street. Upon reaching Winston Wells Ball Field, Santa
will be giving every child in attendance a free Christmas gift so plan on
coming early and staying late to enjoy a fabulous free Jazz concert by some of
the Virgin Islands’ most talented high school Jazz musicians. For additional information please contact
Steve Simon at stevesimonlive@yahoo.com
or at 340-643-6475.