(Washington, DC, - September 10, 2003)—Delegate to Congress Donna M. Christensen will hold a town hall meeting next week on St. John to afford residents the opportunity to provide input on homeland security issues that face the territory.

Christensen who is a Member of the House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security, said today that she and her Democratic colleagues across the country want to hear from everyday people what their concerns are for the protection of their individual communities in this new era of terrorism threats and enhanced security needs.

“Different communities have different needs,” said Christensen.  “Over the summer I heard from the people on St. Thomas and St. Croix, but the uniqueness of each of our islands makes it important to hear the specific concerns of St. John as well.   I want to hear from a variety of people on their perceptions of what our needs are and how they believe they can best be addressed.”

The St. John Town Hall Meeting will be held on Friday, September 12, 2003 at 6:00 p.m. at the Legislative Conference Room in Cruz Bay on St. John.

Over the summer, Christensen also met  with local and federal officials, but now wants to hear from the man and woman on the street on St. John as to how they believe our security needs should be approached.  “There are a lot of good ideas out there, and I hope that the community comes out and shares them so that we can come up with solutions that work for the territory.”

For more information, please contact Ed DeLagarde in the St. Thomas office at 774-4408 or Aldria Wade at 776-1212 in the St. John office.