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November 6, 2007
"St. John Pretty" beautification launch a success
The "St. John Pretty" Beautification Group completed a successful launch of its island-wide clean-up campaign on Saturday, November, 3, 2007. Following the success of the "St. Croix Be Clean" campaign launch on St. Croix, and in an effort to engage the community in clean-up efforts territory-wide, Office of the Governor Staff on St. John, led by Administrator Leona Smith, launched an initiative comprised of public and private entities to clean up and beautify the island. "St. John Pretty" began with a clean-up of Cruz Bay and will target different areas for clean-up, year-round. "When you work collectively, you get good results. Today’s effort is wonderful testament to the power of public/private partnerships. In bringing everyone to the table, we collectively take responsibility for keeping our island clean," Administrator Smith said. Comprised of ten teams, there were more than one hundred participants in Saturday’s clean-up effort. The "Beautification Group" is comprised of: Westin St. John Resort & Villas, Caneel Bay, Sirenusa, Hai 2, National Park Service, Stone Masonry, Inc./Earthworks, Gallows Point Resort, Winston Bennett, Alfredo’s Landscaping, Trayser Construction, West Indies Corporation, Island Getaways, Man Never Sleep Landscaping, St. John Community Foundation, Friends of Virgin Islands, Breckinridge Construction/Grand Bay, Gift Hill School, Ord, Inc., St. John Ice, Emmaus Moravian Church--Youth Adventures, VI Government Agencies, including WAPA, DPW, VITRAN, VITEMA, the Office of the Administrator, as well as Office of the Governor Staff and other private sector and citizen-volunteers from throughout the community. "I would like to thank all those who came out to participate in this important effort. Together we are cleaning up and putting forward the best of our island so that residents and visitors alike have an opportunity to experience the best of St. John," Administrator Smith said. One of the highlights of the morning clean-up was the extrication of a partially submerged boat that had been abandoned for nearly seven months in the Cruz Bay harbor. The extrication team was led by Brian Smith, a Cub Scouts Cub Master, who has been involved in clean-up efforts on St. John since 1989. Cub Master Smith led "Pack 30," a group of young cub scouts, in their effort to remove the abandoned boat from the water. Once it was out of the water, it was lifted via bulldozer to a dump truck and was then hauled away. "This boat was a safety hazard...someone could have had an accident," Cub Master Smith said. "We participate in clean-up efforts every Saturday; it’s in my blood to clean up the island," Smith continued. Participants convened Saturday at 8:00 a.m. at Franklin A. Powell, Sr. Park for Phase One of the Cruz Bay clean-up, which was comprised of painting curbs and taxi stand areas, removing trash, raking scattered leaves and brush, raking the beach, power-washing streets, cutting back overgrown tree branches, trimming palm trees, clearing walkways, weeding areas near the public restrooms, blowing leaves off the streets, and removing an abandoned boat from shallow waters. The area cleared and cleaned ran from Mongoose Junction to the Westin Hotel. Phase Two of the Cruz Bay project will include planting flowers, bushes, and trees and will be arranged at the next planning meeting of the Beautification Group, scheduled for later this month. "Community spirit and island pride are certainly evident today. Partnerships have developed as a result of this effort, and we must now take ownership of these areas, and areas throughout the island, in order to continue to keep it clean," Mark Hardgrove, Superintendent of the Virgin Islands National Park/Coral Reef National Monument, said. The Beautification Group meets once per month to discuss strategic planning of forthcoming initiatives and will convene once every three months to engage in clean-up efforts on St. John. The "St. John Pretty" campaign is an effort of The Office of the Administrator and is reflective of the Administration’s pledge to work together towards raising the quality of life for all in the Virgin Islands by celebrating clean communities and neighborhood pride. Members of the community interested in volunteering on the "St. John Pretty" initiative may contact the Office of the Governor at 776-6484. |
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