Dec. 11, 2001 – At Monday night's awards presentation for the Caribbean Auto Mart Wahoo Wind-Up, Abe Tarapani of St. Thomas, fishing aboard the Bella Donna, was the top angler with a 56.6-pound fish. Rampage, owned and captained by Albert Sibilly of St. Thomas, won best boat honors by count, with 22 wahoo caught.
Bella Donna was the place to be for poundage, though. The winners for first, second, fourth, fifth and sixth place out of the top 10 were all aboard the boat.
Forty-six boats — 24 from American Yacht Harbor Marina on St. Thomas and 22 from St. Croix Marine on St. Croix — carried a total of 182 anglers cast off for the event, sponsored by the V.I. Game Fishing Club on Sunday. "This is the largest tournament in terms of participation that the Virgin Islands Game Fishing Club has hosted," organizer Kelvin Bailey said.
Among the participating boats were such seasoned regulars as Abigail III, Double Header and Rampage from St. Thomas; and Paige Marie, Leisure Lady and Miss Becky from St. Croix.
For Sam Topp, the occasion was one of enjoyment at getting back into the sport. "I used to work as a deck hand long ago right here at this marina," Topp, a talk show host on WVWI Radio, said. He proved he wasn't too rusty by being the only angler aboard Abigail III to catch a fish in the money — a 33-pounder that proved to be the 8th largest wahoo caught.
Two newcomer anglers were women who made up two-thirds of the event's only female team. "I've never been fishing before, but it was great," said Sue Cilliers, who with partner Zona Tapp and seasoned angler April Newland made up the Offshore Marine-sponsored team. Cilliers caught the group's only wahoo. "I had a large one up, maybe 40 or 50 pounds, but it pulled the hook right before I could boat it," Newland said. In her view, "Fishing is a great sport for women. It doesn't take great strength or a lot of skill to go out and have a good time. We'd like to get more women participating."
St. Croix's Adrienne Seward, aboard the Rock n' Robin, was the only St. Croix angler to win a prize, coming in third with her 44.2-pound wahoo. All of the other top catches were by St. Thomas fishermen.
Tarapani collected a cash prize for his wahoo, but it weighed in 3.4-pounds short of the 60-pound minimum needed to win an S10 pickup truck from the tournament sponsor, Caribbean Auto Mart. "We wanted to set a weight that was do-able," said Bill Lambert, the auto dealership owner. The Virgin Islands record for wahoo is a 138-pounder caught in 1982.
"The excitement is great," Lambert said of the tournament. "We'd like to encourage more of this type of inter-island competition."
Largest wahoo caught
1. Abe Tarapani, Bella Donna, 56.6 lbs.
2. Martin Wade, Bella Donna, 52.4 lbs.
3. Adrienne Seward, Rock n' Robin, 44.2 lbs.
4. Jonathan Gatcliffe, Bella Donna, 43.6 lbs.
5. Nelson Rosario, Bella Donna, 39 lbs.
6. Paul Meyer, Bella Donna, 38.6 lbs.
7. Craig Friedenberg, Starr Fish, 38.2 lbs.
8. Sam Topp, Abigail III, 33 lbs.
9. Steve Bergstorn, Ervin & Son, 32.8 lbs.
10. Adrian Baird, Mary B, 31.8 lbs.

The 14th Elected Virgin Islands Board of Education will meet on Saturday at the Board of Education Conference Room, Dronninens Gade, St. Thomas.

Dec. 10, 2001 – The 14th elected V.I. Board of Education will meet at 10 a.m. on Saturday in the board conference room on Dronningens Gade on St. Thomas.

Dec. 10, 2001 – The 14th Elected Virgin Islands Board of Education will meet on Saturday at the Board of Education Conference Room, Dronningens Gade, St. Thomas.

Dec. 10, 2001 – The 14th Elected Virgin Islands Board of Education will meet at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 15, at the Board of Eucation Conference Room, Dronningens Gade, St. Thomas.

The 14th Elected Virgin Islands Board of Education will meet at the Board of Education Conference Room, Dronningens Gade, St. Thomas.

Dec. 10, 2001 – The 14th Elected Virgin Islands Board of Education will meet at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 15, at the Board of Education Conference Room, Dronningens Gade.

Dec. 10, 2001 – Public assistance checks which were scheduled to have been sent out last Wednesday will be mailed by Friday, Human Services Commissioner Sedonie Halbert announced Monday.
She said the checks are issued by the Finance Department and were delayed due to processing problems. "Something went wrong, but I don't know what happened," she said. Halbert said her first priority is to see that the checks go out, and after that she plans to
investigate the cause of the delay. She said it had been a long time since assistance checks last went out late.

Dec. 11, 2001 – Happy Birthday, Sagittarians! Fiery Sagittarians are the adventurers and gypsies of the zodiac. Like the bear who went over the mountain to see what she could see, sage Sagittarians keep going over that next mountain. Highly intuitive, naturally wise though oddly gullible, with their eyes on distant horizons, their enthusiasm can be contagious.
December's New Moon on the 14th, the last one of 2001, is one of the most powerful alignments of the year, featuring an annular eclipse of the Sun. In this kind of eclipse, a narrow ring of the Sun is visible around the dark mask of the Moon. Centered in Costa Rica and Nicaragua, this eclipse will be partial and less dramatic in the Virgin Islands even at its peak – around 4:44 pm local time (AST).
A New Moon always begins a new monthly cycle, but an eclipse suggests a significant change in the energy field with effects that continue beyond this month. This eclipse aligns with the most powerful planetary pattern at work now transforming our reality.
The remote planet Pluto, invisible without a telescope, has been in Sagittarius since 1996. Named for the god of death and rebirth, Pluto reflects deep transformations that evoke powerful forces. With an orbital cycle of 248 years, Pluto takes more than a human lifetime to make a round of the zodiac and stays in a sign for many years, digging up ignored issues that must be faced: often centuries-old, deeply buried conflicts, such as what we are seeing in the Middle East.
Joining Pluto in Sagittarius for this eclipse are two other mythic planets:
Venus, goddess of love and beauty, and Mercury, messenger of the gods. The touch of Pluto on these planets suggests a deeper plunge into the mysteries of love and wisdom. Honesty in communications, shared with heart, can renew understanding and may be necessary to move forward. Some relationships are ready to end and meaningful new ones begin or go further. New information and insights necessitate a change in perspective.
On the other side of the sky is Saturn, the ringed planet. All winter we will see Saturn in the night sky. Look slightly east of the Pleiades, a favorite star cluster known in Japan as Subaru. The steady radiant light of Saturn contrasts with the reddish twinkle of the bright star Aldebaran right next to it. Aldebaran is a red supergiant star marking the eye of Taurus the Bull. See if you can see the V-shaped head of the Bull pointing away from Aldebaran and Saturn.
Named for the grim, austere timekeeper, Saturn represents necessary discipline and focus. We don't get away with anything where Saturn is. In Gemini, the sign of the Twins, the contrast between light and the dark is evident, but it depends on your point of view which is which. Saturn in Gemini brings important information and equally important questions. Saturn insists that we seriously consider how we think about things and what response is appropriate to the intensity of change at hand, both personal and worldwide.
Opposite Pluto for the first time in over 30 years, Saturn agrees that things cannot continue the same. We could not miss that message on September 11, right after the first face-off of these two planets. They remain tightly in opposition through May into June. This Pluto-Saturn dynamic is activated on this New Moon eclipse, the kick-off to the next phase of this major transition we are in, alone and together.
Wherever this planetary opposition lands in your own birth chart indicates the circumstances or themes urging you to let go of old stuff and open into expanding possibilities. What is your vision? What do you believe is the potential of this time? We can respond from fear or love. Which side of the coin is up for you? When you catch yourself thinking negative thoughts, edit yourself. Those downward thoughts take you in the wrong direction. Look at it from a different point of view. Go do something that makes you feel better. Find a reason to smile. Enjoy.
Sagittarius, sign of the Truth-seeker, is seeking universal truths, not those that are true for only one people, one religion or one nation. This is a test of our faith and our morality – are we living up to our truths? Are we walking our talk? On this New Moon eclipse, light a candle into your own heart–and listen to its light.
The light of this moon grows full on December 30. Until then….

Editor's note: Internationally-known astrologer Kelley Hunter, M.A., is a resident of St. John, where she leads star-gazing nights and offers consultations and classes. Contact her at 340-693-5839 or kellhunter@earthlink.net. Her new web site will be on-line soon: www.heliastar.com.
M. Kelley Hunter, Astro-consultant and mythologist
PO Box 37, St. John, USVI 00831
1-888-7ALTAIR

Dec. 10, 2001 – The artwork of St. Thomas painter Julie Cassinelli will be featured at the next Alexander's Cafe exhibition, which opens Friday with a meet-the-artist reception.
Cassinelli, a St. Thomas resident since 1988, was born in Canberra, Australia, and grew up in New York. She received a bachelor of fine arts degree in apparel design in 1983 from The Rhode Island School of Design and describes herself as largely self-taught in watercolor and acrylic painting and pencil drawing.
At Alexander's she will be exhibiting a selection of acrylics that include Italian landscapes painted after a trip to Europe last summer, tropical island seascapes and some large abstracts "inspired by the colors of the ocean."
In 1994, Cassinelli took first place in the watercolor category of the 6th annual Caribbean Colour fine art exhibition, presented at the Old Stone Farmhouse by the St. Thomas-St. John Arts Council. The exhibition opening Friday will be her first solo show.
For much of her recent work, Cassinelli says, her objective has been "to evoke a sense of tranquility and calmness — taking the viewer into a dreamlike and soothing place." That's hardly a surprising aspiration for the mother of three active daughters. But Cassinelli also says her own "inspiration and energy" for producing art these days comes from her three daughters, Olivia, Sophia and Julia, and her husband, Sebastiano.
The opening reception, from 5 to 7 p.m., will feature complimentary hors d'oeuvres, a champaign toast and door prizes to include dining certificates, wine and a piece of art by Silvia Kahn, the artist currently featured at Alexander's. The public is invited.
Cassinelli's paintings will hang through Jan. 10. The current showof Kahn's work will come down on Tuesday. Reservations for dinner after the reception may be made by calling 774-4349.