Featured in the September issue of the nationally distributed publication TEF Communicator are faces most Virgin Islanders will recognize.
Lt. Gov. G. Luz James and Sen. Donald "Ducks" Cole were caught by the camera as they attended an August summit meeting held here titled "Solidifying the Virgin Islands and Job Corps Partnership."
The monthly publication is put out by the Texas Education Foundation, which tracks the activities of the Job Corps. The meeting focused on the decline in placement of Virgin Islands Job Corp. students after they return to the islands.
Economic pressures are seen as the number one problem facing the students – there simply aren't enough jobs available. Several other senators accompanied Cole and James at the conference, which was headed by Charles Bullock, Jr., director of the Gainesville, Florida Training Center.
Each year more than 350 Virgin Islanders between the ages of 16 and 24 are trained at Job Corps centers in the eastern and southern United States.
Upon returning to the mainland, Bullock said of his visit in part, "I was able to have discussions firsthand with individuals about cultural issues impacting the island, and this will prove very valuable in future placements."