House guests

A Beaconite enjoyed seeing a group of young students visiting the House of Assembly Friday to observe the morning part of the sitting. The students — members of Rotary’s EarlyAct Club who attend Ebenezer Thomas Primary School — were warmly welcom

ed by House Speaker Ingrid Moses-Scatliffe and several elected leaders. While some aspects of government may seem obscure to primary-schoolers, the reporter believes a personal experience will do far more to get them interested in civics than any textbook or lecture can. That’s why she was also pleased to see the way lawmakers gamely competed for choice positions in a photo with the student group. She’s sure this positive experience will leave a lasting impression on the students.

Identity confusion

A Beaconite was covering what he thought would be a standard hearing involving a minor crime Friday at Magistrates’ Court. But about 10 minutes after Magistrate Ayanna Baptiste-DaBreo granted bail to a woman accused of common assault and sent her to fill out the necessary paperwork, a clerk came back into the courtroom and whispered in the judge’s ear. Apparently, the name under which the defendant was being charged, Sharon Jackson-Hamilton, didn’t match the name on her driver’s licence: Verlene Laverne Jackson. When Ms. DaBreo asked about the discrepancy, Ms. Jackson replied, “All is my name. Some call me Sharon, some call me Verlene.” The magistrate looked to Crown Counsel Annjel Flax-Solomon for clarification. “The problem is, the police don’t take a copy of the driver’s licence,” Ms. Flax-Solomon said in explanation of why the Crown was charging the defendant under the seemingly wrong name. The ordeal got the Beaconite thinking: If police don’t check documents to verify personal information when they charge someone for a misdemeanour, what stops offenders from telling police a false name and getting off scot-free? He hopes that this is not a common problem.

Four-hour ferry ride

Days after Premier Dr. Orlando Smith claimed that the territory’s ferry service is improving, a Beaconite’s friends told a very different story. After flying into St. Thomas on Monday evening, they boarded a ferry in Charlotte Amalie at around 5:30 p.m. The subsequent trip to Road Town took about four hours. The troubles started early in the trip, when the boat apparently was operating off of just one engine, they said: The captain seemed to be relying on the currents to steer the boat out of the harbour at St. Thomas. Eventually, that engine went out too, leaving the ferry adrift until another boat came to the rescue, according to the Beaconite’s friends. Throughout the ordeal, they said, they never heard a ferry employee make an announcement or apologise to passengers for the delay. Not surprisingly, many tourists were scared and upset. Beaconites think the premier should take another look at the ferry service. It may have improved a little in recent months, but it is nowhere near where it should be. The ordeal recounted by the Beaconite’s friends would be unacceptable anywhere, and it is doubly distressing in a destination that relies on tourism to keep its economy afloat. Decisive action is needed to reform the ferry system, whose shortcomings have plagued the territory for much too long. At a time when the Virgin Islands should be working overtime to attract visitors, it can ill afford to welcome tourists with a four-hour ferry ride from St. Thomas.

Drunk in Love

Legislators do listen to pop music, a Beaconite realised last week. Last Thursday during his address to H. Lavity Stoutt Community College graduates, Education and Culture Minister Myron Walwyn paused for a moment to make some musical recommendations. Instead of listening exclusively to pop songs such as Beyonce’s “Drunk in Love,” Mr. Walwyn advised the graduates to take some time to listen to hits by Bob Marley. He urged graduates to emulate Mr. Marley, who he described as a humble man who stayed in touch with his roots in Trench Town, Jamaica. Similarly, he said, graduates should never forget their communities.

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