Views at CHRI

Most beautiful spot 

This is a photo from Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve visitor's contact station.

My summer view

This is a photo taken from my housing at St Croix.

Final Post from CHRI

Like the title of this post states, this is officially my last post from my summer internship at Christiansted National Historic Site. It went by so quickly and I can say I’m a better-groomed individual now than I was on the first week of my internship. I have learned a whole lot about the Crucian culture, I have learned a lot about law enforcement, and most importantly, I have learned a lot more about the National Park Service.

Jazz night at CHRI Fort

My final two weeks went well. I did patrols of the three NPS sites in St. Croix. Made non-law enforcement contacts as usual and observed my FTO, Ranger Laurencin, make actual law enforcement contacts. I also worked during the monthly programs at the Park like the Jazz Night and observed the role law enforcement played that night. 

Ranger Laurencin working with VIPD

My final day was yet another glorious day at the courtroom where plea agreements were accepted and summons were given to outstanding citations. On my final day, I also witnessed how the concurrent jurisdiction worked at Christiansted NHS.

This summer I had a lot of firsts. It was first time trying so many meals, it was my first time navigating a vessel, it was my first time seeing an iguana, it was my first time attempting to swim in an ocean, and it was my first time seeing such crystal clear water. I could go on and on but I just want to use this measure to thank everyone at Christiansted National Historic Site for welcoming me with open arms and teaching me all I learned and experienced this summer. Thank you.

Vicki and Adrian's visit

This week was very busy but fun also. This was the week Vicki and Adrian came visiting and we all know what that means. I was busy making sure they met everyone and everything went well. I was their tour guide (more like Vicki’s) and I gave a decent orientation of St Croix and what I have been doing as a ProRanger here in St Croix. Like I said I was Vicki’s tour guide because Adrian used to work here so it was more like an oral examination with him. He had a lot of questions and when I answered correctly, he kept playing the “are you sure?” game and made me rethink myself over and over till I learned to stand by my answers. I showed them all the three sites here in St. Croix and what we did in each of them. I got to showcase my boating skills to Adrian and we did some MOCC training. Vicki was our drowning victim and I had to throw the rope in a bag to retrieve her. It was great having them around.

ProRanger and Ranger Laurencin at the FBI training

Later that week after Vicki and Adrian left, I attended FBI training on weapons of mass destruction and incendiary devices. The training included a lecture and field demonstrations that took place in the Virgin Islands National Guard premises. I got to see how explosives could be made out of day to day home materials.

As previous weeks have ended with a wedding at the Fort, this week wasn’t any different.

This week was both my evaluation and that of St Croix’s, and we both aced it. Until my next post, stay tuned.

 P.S. Vicki got in our waters first in the course of her trip to beaches this summer J

Week #6

Like I said in my previous post, this week was going to be busier than the previous week. It started with the naturalization ceremony. I had never been to a naturalization ceremony before so it was cool to see what it was all about. We had people mostly from the Caribbean’s like Dominican Republic, Barbados, and so on. We also had a couple from European countries like Germany. The event was a success and the swearing in went as planned. I assisted with parking on this day and traffic in general because it took place on park property.

Judge handing a Naturalization Certificate to a lady.

Later in the week we had court hearings for the citations we issued the previous month. It was a quick hearing because we had only one defendant and she wasn’t present in the court and so the judge only issued a summons for her presence in court. We delivered her summons to her but locating her address wasn’t the easiest but then again it was expected.

The week ended with yet another wedding at the Christiansted Fort. Even though it was a rainy day and their decorations were destroyed, this couple improvised and used the walkway of the Fort.

It was yet another good week here in St Croix, stay tuned.

P.S. Rumors have it that we’ve never lost a court case here in St. Croix.

Week 5 at CHRI

Superintendent Joel Tutein getting his hands dirty #COOL.

I have gone past half of my internship here in Christiansted NHS. I have learned a whole lot about "Rangering" and now I’m giving back to the community and the Park, what I have learned so far. This week, the Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) began working at the Christiansted National Historic Site. I was introduced to them as part of the L.E. staff here at CHRI and I got the chance to brief them on how I arrived at St Croix and also concerning the ProRanger Program for those of them who might be interested in law enforcement in the future.

Contractors changing the ropes for the flag.

This week wasn’t as busy as previous weeks. I patrolled the three sites, I had non-law enforcement contacts, I practiced report writing, I helped with traffic, I changed the flags at the Fort, and I basically prepared for the upcoming naturalization ceremony that was going to take place on park property.

Next week sounds busy. We have the ceremony itself, court hearings, and a wedding at Christiansted NHS amongst other things.
Until my next post…

Island Ranger

This week I worked with the two Law Enforcement Rangers here at Christiansted NHS.

It was a very Buck Island oriented week and you know what that means. I got to practice and polish my boating skills, which have improved greatly with my continuous and constant training with Ranger Rivera. 

ProRanger with Ranger Laurencin at Buck Island.

My week started with me working as a back up officer for Ranger Gabriel Laurencin, the other Law Enforcement Ranger at Christiansted NHS. We patrolled Buck Island Reef National Monument, walked the West Beach and had non-law enforcement contacts with the visitors of the Park. On this day, I drove the vessel to and from Buck Island, and I also did the docking of the vessel with minimal inputs from Ranger Laurencin, which is a good thing because it shows I knew what I was doing. Also, we patrolled Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve. We checked the position of our site cameras and retrieved them to check for any trespassing in the area.

ProRanger at the Observation Platform

Later in the week I worked with Ranger Rivera and I experienced patrolling Buck Island Reef NM early hours. We were out in the ocean as early as 05:30 looking for fishermen or any park violators. We patrolled the island for a couple hours and I also got the chance to do more boat training like the “man-overboard” and “anchoring”. During one of our patrols of the island this week, we hiked the only trail on Buck Island to the observation platform.

 

My week ended with me aiding in the burial of a dead green turtle with Ranger Rivera. We went on a Buck Island patrol as usual, only to get a call while patrolling from our sister agency (USFWS) regarding a dead green turtle that was lying by the beach. We helped transport the turtle from the beachside to the deep ocean. The turtle had three cracked vertical lines on her shell, which the representative from USFWS said would likely be from a vessel’s propeller. It was good seeing how the National Park Service assists other agencies like the USFWS. It was sad that the turtle was dead, but it was good seeing and feeling a turtle up-close; she was EXTREMELY heavy to lift.

P.S. if you get stranded at Buck Island you could live off these berries that are local to the island, just be careful plucking them off the top of the cactus plant.

 

Updates from Ranger Akabogu at CHRI

Greetings everyone, its me (Ranger Akabogu), reporting to you live from St. Croix, Virgin Islands on how my third week here went. This week started with some physical training with my FTO (Ranger Rivera) for my upcoming PEB testing, then proceeded to some paperwork documentation on IMARS. Ranger Rivera and I had to document one of his cases that involved marijuana on IMARS. 

Positive marijuana test-kit

We tested the leafy substance to confirm it was marijuana, weighed it before and after the testing, and took pictures of the positive test-kit for evidence documentation. Since it was my first time testing for marijuana, Ranger Rivera allowed me to take the lead role in the testing process.

 This week I also got the chance to do a night vessel patrol at Buck Island Reef National Monument with Ranger Rivera. It was a total different experience than patrolling during the day. The navigation and visibility of the ocean was tougher. I drove the vessel to and from the Island with the guidance of Ranger Rivera. He introduced me to the night markers and I very much enjoyed and appreciated getting the night shift patrol experience.

My week ended with a wedding ceremony at the Fort in Christiansted National Historic Site.
It was yet another good Ranger training week here in St Croix, VI. Until my next post… stay tuned!            

P.S. if you plan on visiting St. Croix some day, there are no "Taxi-cabs" here in St. Croix, only 

“Taxi-Buses”.