Things are looking up a bit in the USVI.
Tuesday, some public schools reopened, with more to follow:
www.virginislandsdailynews.com/…
viconsortium.com/...
Education Commissioner Sharon McCollum describes her plans:
[S]ome schools are being closed, others consolidated, and tents and “pop-up” buildings are being brought in to help house students whose schools were condemned.
“It’s not going to be perfect, the schools will be on generator. The Army Corps of Engineers have been dropping in the generators since Wednesday, they’re still installing generators,” McCollum said.
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“The community will see the schools being lit up, and I think that is an unstated message to the community that we’re coming back online and we are ready,” she said.
Yes, it will be cold lunches instead of hot lunches. But roads are open, so school buses can travel to the schools. But it looks like the kids' education is on track.
The calendar for the school year will run long to ensure students get the full 1,080 hours of required instruction, and will mean a “short summer vacation,” McCollum said.
However, Christmas vacation will remain intact so families can take a break together and celebrate.
The department also is looking to hold mandatory, federally funded Saturday half-day classes for seniors to ensure they’re on schedule to graduate and apply to colleges, she said
It is worth mentioning that food ships were delayed by hurricane Nate.
A Massachusetts company has been reestablishing cellphone service, both in St. John, USVI and Vieques, PR
www.bostonglobe.com/…
Vanu is planning to provide service to 17 sites in isolated parts of mainland Puerto Rico.
Power is mostly out, but help is arriving today.
265 Linemen and Their Equipment Arrive in USVI Oct. 12th
viconsortium.com/…
Governor Kenneth Mapp said on Tuesday night that the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority would welcome 265 linemen along with their equipment to the U.S. Virgin Islands on Thursday. The linemen, once here, will start work territory-wide the following day, the governor added, noting the development as a major step in the territory’s power restoration effort.
The article contains the current status details of power and water restoration in the USVI.
Why did it take so long for the utility crews to arrive? They brought their own trucks.
www.theday.com/…
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