St John Beaches are OPEN for Business (Oops - Pleasure)!

Enjoy our October newsletter (& the re-opened beaches, waters, & trails of St John!!):

Life is good again on St John!

This past week we have gotten a lot of inquiries about how the Federal government 'shut-down' has impacted St John. Are the beaches open? Can we still have our wedding on the beach? Snorkel in the waters off the beaches? Well, until this morning Sunday, October 6 at 7 AM, the answer had been that the US Virgin Islands Park Service closed all Park facilities, including the beaches and waters surrounding the Park beaches. This impacted a lot of folks, tourists and locals, who depend on the Park beaches (wedding planners, taxi drivers).We were delighted when this morning the VI National Park Service Deputy Superintendent, Mike Anderson, told the St John Source that the VI Park beaches, waters, and trails will be open effective immediately!  The Visitor's Center and the Annaberg Plantation will both remain closed for now.

This happened just in the nick of time since this afternoon at 1 PM the 'Occupy St John Beaches' movement (over 1,000 people signed on in about 48 hours!) planned a 'sit in' - or I guess in this case 'swim in' at Maho Bay beach entitled "Yah nah shut down da beach me boy". The Occupy folks encouraged people to be respectful but, I am sure that the Park Service staff were also relieved that the event will now turn into a 're-opening' party!

October St John news flashes & fun St John clips:

• St John's Basketball Court and Playground has been totally renovated and this month the final equipment has been installed. The Estate Pine Peace court is the only regulation size basketball court on the island. The renovations included major improvements including a drainage system, new playground area, covered bleachers, a new scoreboard, new lighting, and a brand new basketball court. We, Great Expectations, were happy to be one of the private sector financial contributors to this important project. You can pass by the court at just about any time - day or night - and see it being used.
• 8-Tuff Mile Race Registration is now open and available for on-line sign-up. The 18th Annual Race which takes place on Saturday, February 22, 2014 has been a 'sold-out' event in the past so if you are interested in running or walking this race, best to sign up now!

• Cruz Bay Landing is the official name of the new restaurant of the JJ's Texas Coast space. Seems appropriate to us since the restaurant is right at the ferry dock. The space has been totally renovated and built out.  Todd and Christy, former owners of Woody's, promise this restaurant to be a fun, delicious, family place where their slogan 'You're Here. Now Relax' means serious fun.

• Great Expectations has a few openings this winter. If winter time is your preference to be on St John, do not dilly-dally since our calendar is already filling up for this winter (and spring). Contact us today to secure your week on St John to make sure you have a place in the warmth.

Time for Action on St John is NOW, not this Fall, or next Winter!

This section, one of 5 along a two-mile section of Centerline Road, is being undermined each day picture courtesy of St John Tradewinds

Lets hope that it does not take a horrible accident before Centerline Road is actually fixed. This week Linda Lohr of the St John Source reported the Public Works Commissioner Darryl Smalls confirmed that the portion of Centerline Road which is literally falling by bits and pieces into the valley far below should be repaired by March. Others have also recently written about the collapse of this important road: after a torrential rain last month, the Virgin Islands Daily News reported last month that the Centerline Road is Collapsing, St John Tradewinds warned Time to Raise the Alarm about Centerline Road and News of St John posted Sign Warns Drivers About Deteriorating Conditions.  Some people have tweeted about it and, of course, it has made it onto Facebook.  

St John Source reports that: Smalls said the project will go out to bid the week of June 17, if not before, and if the bids are “responsive,” they will be evaluated and awarded in July. He said work should start in September.

Over the years, the road faced occasional erosion issues but things really went south in October 2010 [nearly 3 years ago!] when Hurricane Otto passed through. It caused massive undermining of the road in one location and serious erosion and undermining in others.

Thankfully, some temporary fixes will happen 'right away' [today?, tomorrow?, or 'island time' right away?] according to Federal Highway Administration's construction manager crews will seal the crack in the road that sits just a few feet from the edge of the abyss. Additionally, they will construct an asphalt berm at the edge to divert the water away from hole.  Public Works says it will install speed bumps to slow people down and 'look for' a portable traffic light. We hope the National Park electronic sign that has been borrowed from the National Park Service (see below) stays in place to continue to warn drivers of the very narrowed road. 

News of St John took this picture recently

In the meantime, St John residents have taken to the road (literally) to get the backing of folks for action NOW! Coral Bay resident Beverly Melius took to the road with a petition the other day and within a few hours of standing by the hole in Centerline Road gathered 255 signatures on her petition to request that the Legislature hold a hearing on the road matter. A copy went to Smalls as well.  

The reason for concern is real. Centerline Road is the lifeline for Coral Bay since it is the only road which can accommodate trucks which bring in food, water, and propane and really is the only usable road attaching the east end of the island to Cruz Bay. As shown below, the only other access to Coral Bay is over Bordeaux Mountain (small road depicted by yellow line going into Coral Bay) which can be treacherous even in good weather but, especially so when roads are wet or at night.  The Bordeaux road is not a road to be used in any sort of emergency (for an ambulance, police, or fire vehicles) or for anyone who is at all timid about St John roads.

Centerline Road is the Route 10 (with arrow) and Bordeaux Mountain Road is the yellow line flowing into Coral Bay from the south

If you are as concerned as many of us about getting this road back to a safe condition as soon as possible (and, certainly before the end of hurricane season), please contact the Governor's Office and urge our Governor to do everything he can to expedite this important project. 

St John (USVI) Folklife Festival showcases the best of St John's culture

Folklife Festival Kicks Off at Annaberg

BY LYNDA LOHR — FEBRUARY 23, 2012, St John Source

Mrs Olivia Christian demonstrates the baking of Dumb-bread (photo courtesy of St John Magazine and Elizabeth Magro)

“At this stage in our history, we don’t grow as much as we used to,” said University of the Virgin Islands Cooperative Extension Service specialist Carlos Robles, speaking to dozens of students from several St. Thomas and St. John schools as well as numerous visitors who gathered at Annaberg Plantation for the festival.  The V.I. National Park’s 21st annual Folklife Festival kicked off Thursday with an emphasis on the event’s theme, "Wake Up and Plant a Seed."

According to Robles, about 99 percent of the territory’s food is imported. However, he said that doesn’t have to be the case because vegetables like peppers, sweet potatoes and cucumber grow well in the territory.

“This cucumber was grown in St. Croix,” Robles said, holding it aloft.

The herb basil also grows well in the Virgin Islands, he said, pointing out its use in making bush tea.

Park ranger Denise Georges, who organized the event, said that there is more to planting seeds than gardening. To demonstrate, Ingrid Bough, who heads up the territory’s libraries for the Planning and Natural Resources Department, was on hand to read “It’s Library Day.”

“Books are our friends,” Bough said.

The students from St. Thomas’ Bowsky School as well as St. John’s Guy Benjamin, Julius E. Sprauve and Gifft Hill schools had myriad expectations about what they’d learn on their field trip.

“I want to learn new things about St. John, see different people and learn about history,” said 9-year-old Daija Williams, a Bowsky School student. read entire story