News of St. John

The edge of Tropical Storm Jeanne passed to the south Tuesday night and Wednesday. The government is hoping to have schools reopen Monday. However, at least a few classrooms probably will still be closed while workers shovel mud and debris resulting from the torrents which rained down on the islands at mid-week. Department of Public Works crews have been attending to roads and downed trees.

The Commissioner of Tourism issued a statement saying the islands “remain open for business and continues to welcome visitors.” Cleanup efforts are expected complete by the weekend, said Pamela Richards. All airports, seaports and govern ment offices are open, she said.

Read moreCleanup continues after Jeanne’s deluge

The V.I. National Park in St. John has dropped its admission charge at Trunk Bay for Saturday. It’s the Park’s way of observing a nationwide Public Lands Day. “It’s a good time to bring the family and enjoy the snorkel trail,” Beulah Dalmida-Smith, the Park’s spokeswoman, told the St. John Source. While children under 16 are always free at Trunk Bay, adults are charged $4. Dalmida-Smith said the Park has dropped its admission charge to visit the Annaberg Plantation. The money collected did not justify the cost of a fee collector, she said.

A pair of Virgin islands police officers, both of whom live on St. John, have been assigned duty five days a week in Coral Bay. The Department’s director of crime prevention activities, Kenneth Blake, told members of the Coral Bay Community Council that Alvin Wesselhoft of Coral Bay and Lorraine Sprauve of Cruz Bay will be on patrol Tuesday through Saturday from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. They have been assigned the duty for almost two weeks, but “vehicle problems” prevented them from going on patrol, according to the St. John Source. In remarks, Blake blamed some of the recent crime problems on construction workers being paid low wages. He also encouraged Coral Bay businesses to install security cameras.

Unofficial results of Saturday’s primary voting show St. John resident Craig Barshinger with about 47 percent of the ballots to win the right to contest for the VI Senate’s At Large seat in the general election in November. His victory was a virtual landslide as his closest opponent garnered just 19 percent.

Read moreBarshinger hopes 5th time is a charm

A town meeting Oct. 5 will give residents the opportunity to comment on a proposed Comprehensive Land and Water Use Plan proposed by the V.I. Department of Planning and Natural Resources. At a preliminary session, senators discussed the plan in a meeting at the St. John Legislature. It would designate land-use and water-use guidelines for areas, ranging from industrial to agriculture, according to the Virgin Islands Daily News. A master plan for the VIs is considered critical for St. John which has only 19.4 square miles of livable space. Sen. Roosevelt David, at the meeting, hinted opposition, saying the plan appeared driven by environmental concerns rather than economic development. “That’s what puts food on the table,” he said, according to the St. John Source. St. John resident and architect Rob Crane said he opposes the plan. The current zoning methods are fine, but they are not enforced, he told the Daily News. The Source has posted online a PDF file of the 284-page plan. You can get it here.

The Coral Bay Community Council has scheduled Neighborhood Watch training to be included in its monthly meeting, Sept. 13. following a number of robberies in the area in August. The V.I. Police Department’s crime prevention director, Kenneth Blake, will attend. The Council’s president, Sharon Coldren, said the session will alert residents how to notice “suspicious activity” and gather information on which the police act, according to a report by the St. John Source . The meeting, and training, is open to all island residents.