May 16-22, 2011 © Copyright 2011 Judge Releases 3 of 7 Defendants Accused in Drug Ring Potter, Ferguson Sr., Ferguson Jr. and Skelton Remain in Prison Residents in Opposition of Convenience Center in Coral Bay Page 5 Ulrike Powell Is Employee of the Year Page 6 Oil Leak Sets Off District Power Outage Page 2 Young Authors from JESS Entertain Rotary Members with Original Short Stories VINP Archaeologists JESS students Kiahra Boynes, Alyssa Paris, Tyric Reggie, Keziah Liburd and Raymelvin Caraballo read their Are Keeping Busy original short stories to Rotary Club of St. John members at the group’s weekly meeting on Friday, May 13. The Page 7 group donated $10,000 to sponsor Cristina Kessler, center, as the school’s author-in-residence program, through which she hosted twice weekly workshops with the students throughout the school year. JESS Vice Principal Audrey Penn Brenda Dalmida and teachers Ann Sewer, Diane Cameron and Lucinda Parsons also attended the meeting where they were greeted by Rotary president Bruce Munro and district secretary John Fuller. STORY ON PAGE 11 Honored by EPA Page 10 RESERVE YOUR AD SPACE FOR 2012! ISSUE NO. 6 IS IN THE WORKS. email: [email protected] for more information. 2 St. John Tradewinds, May 16-22, 2011 Oil Leak Sets off District Wide Power Outage; CBCC May 16 Planning Series: No Current on St. John for Most of Day WAPA's Coral Bay R/O Proposal By Jaime Elliott The Coral Bay Community Council’s planning discussion se- St. John Tradewinds ries continues on Monday, May 16, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in room A district-wide power outage six of Guy Benjamin School. brought all of St. Thomas, St. John The group will discuss a proposed use for Parcel 6-4 Carolina. and Water Island to a halt for the Parks and Recreations, Public Works, WAPA and WMA all have majority of the day on Wednesday, possible uses for this site. At the meeting, CBCC will look at an- May 11. other proposal for use of part of the site: a WAPA-owned water Power across St. John went tank and standpipe for water trucks to support a proposed reverse down around 7 a.m. on May 11 as osmosis water-making plant on the bay with a presentation by a major gas turbine on St. Thomas Tracy Roberts of Springline Architects and Amy Dempsey of Bio- went off line and other units, un- Impacts. able to handle the increased elec- Be part of these public planning discussions! Look for more trical demands, quickly followed, information on http://www.coralbaycommunitycouncil.org/Land- according to information from the use.htm. For more information call the CBCC office at 776-2099. V.I. Water and Power Authority. “Service was interrupted to Finance Committee Taking Testimony all feeders just after 7 a.m. when the 42-megawatt gas turbine Unit WAPA's St. John sector map shows the different on St. John Vendor's Plaza on May 17 #23 in Randolph E. Harley Power sections of the island and the corresponding feeders which Plant tripped off line due to an oil supply power to the area. Last week's outage lasted until The V.I. Senate’s Committee on Finance will meet at 9 a.m. on leak,” according to the release. about 6 p.m. for sections 3, 4 and 5 while sections 1 and 2 Tuesday, May 17, at the Earle B. Ottley Legislative Hall on St. “Other units quickly dropped off were mostly up by noon. Thomas to receive testimony on a variety of lease agreements and line when they were unable to sus- bills including an appropriation for a Vendor’s Plaza on St. John. tain the increased load demand as The committee will receive testimony on Bill No. 29-0072, an schools and businesses prepared to act appropriating $300,000 to the Department of Public Works for open for the day.” ly restored to several feeders serv- lease as well. construction of a Vendor’s Plaza on St. John. Other bills under con- Power on St. John was first re- ing the St. Thomas/St. John dis- “WAPA apologizes to its cus- sideration include Bill No. 29-0081, an act to increase the motor stored out in Coral Bay and along trict,” according to WAPA’s media tomers for any inconveniences that vehicle rental surcharge to $5 and to use the revenues generated the north shore, when residents release. “By 2 p.m., technicians occurred throughout the day due to from the increased surcharge for the completion of certain capital enjoyed hearing their fans whir- were able to bring steam turbine the service interruptions,” accord- projects. ring by around noon. In Cruz Bay Unit #11 on line and restore sev- ing to the release. To give testimony on these bills, or others under consideration and Bordeaux, the electricity was eral more feeders. By 6 p.m., Unit To report service problems to by the finance committee, contact Chairman Senator Carlton not back until around 6 p.m. when #23 was back in service and all WAPA during regular business Dowe’s office at 693-3572. WAPA service was fully restored feeders had been fully restored.” hours, customers should call 774- in the district. The public utility operator apol- 3552. For emergencies or to report Mandatory Summer Food Service “By noon, service has been ful- ogized to its customers in the re- issues after hours, call 774-1424. Training Workshops on May 17 and 26 Mandatory training workshops for Summer Sites and Site Co- ordinators/Owners/Directors have been scheduled for the 2011 Summer Food Service Program, St. Thomas/St. John District Di- rector for the School Lunch Program Esther Izaak has reminded interested persons. The trainings will be on Tuesday, May 17, (which was initially announced as April 16) and Thursday, May 26. Both sessions start at 9 a.m. at the district Curriculum Center in Anna’s Retreat. TRADEWINDS PUBLISHING LLC All persons who will be involved in any aspect of meal service The Community Newspaper Since 1972 for their program must attend one of the scheduled training ses- sions and make every effort to be on time. The 2011 Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) will operate EDITOR/PUBLISHER COLUMNISTS NEWSLINE from June 27 through August 5. For more information contact the MaLinda Nelson & CONTRIBUTORS Tel. (340) 776-6496 [email protected] Chuck Pishko, Malik Stevens, Adam Fax (340) 693-8885 School Lunch Program at 774-8070. Lynch, Tristan Ewald, Paul Devine, www.tradewinds.vi NEWS EDITOR Andrew Rutnik, Craig Barshinger, [email protected] Jaime Elliott Maggie Wessinger "Saturday Night Fever" Fund Raiser [email protected] MAILING ADDRESS SUBSCRIPTIONS Tradewinds Publishing for Chris Chapman Set for June 11 WRITERS U.S. & U.S.V.I. only P.O. Box 1500 Stop by the Lime Inn on Saturday night, June 11, at 9 p.m. for a Andrea Milam, Mauri Elbel $70.00 per year St. John, VI 00831 disco extravaganza fund raiser to benefit Chris Chapman. That’s right, friends are planning to boogie down at Lime Inn as ADVERTISING THIRD CLASS PERMIT © COPYRIGHT 2011 [email protected] U.S. Postage PAID All rights reserved. No reproduction of the restaurant staff will be removing the tables. Adonis will spin Permit No. 3 news stories, letters, columns, photo- the tunes, finger foods will be served and the 80s will be revisited. CIRCULATION St. John, VI 00831 graphs or advertisements allowed without Tickets are $30 and available at Connections and St. John Hard- Rohan Roberts written permission from the publisher. ware. St. John Tradewinds, May 16-22, 2011 3 Judge Releases 3 of 7 Defendants Accused in Drug Ring Potter, Ferguson Sr., Ferguson Jr. and Skelton Remain in Prison By Jaime Elliott with a total of 47 drug trafficking the men as flight risks and dangers With information from the Sr.’s Estate Grunwald house and St. John Tradewinds crimes for bringing in cocaine, co- to the community. wiretaps and informants, the FBI Potter’s Estate Lower Carolina A botched Drug Enforcement caine base and marijuana into the In District Court on Wednes- planned a sting operation for the house as well as Potter’s Cruz Bay Agency sting. An 11-month under- territory and distributing the drugs day, May 11, FBI special agent morning of May 6. The bureau’s nightclub Find da Spot, accord- cover operation. Confidential in- among a network of dealers. Judge Michael Day testified about the informant set up a deal with Fer- ing to the report on the St. John formants. Early morning helicop- Miller denied bail to all but three details of the bureau’s nearly year- guson to buy 300 kilograms of co- Source. ters. At-sea apprehensions. Phoney of the defendants last week. long operation on St. John. Work- caine from a supposed Venezuelan The raid on Ferguson, Sr.’s Venezuelan cocaine buyers. Phone On Tuesday, May 10, Miller ing in conjunction with the DEA, dealer for $5,000 per kilo, who house netted a one-kilogram brick wiretaps. Home raids. granted bail to Robert Shinners, co- FBI officers watched and listened would give a 10 percent cut to the of cocaine, 19 half-ounce bags The Federal Bureau of Inves- owner of Low Key Watersports, on in on undercover drug buys using “boat man” who picked up the de- of cocaine in the bathtub, 100 tigation-led operation on St. John a $50,000 cash or property bond. confidential informants and re- livery, according to the report on jewel-sized bags of marijuana in which led to the arrest of seven As terms of his release, Shinners corded dozens of phone calls from stjohnsource.com.