Wheatley wants to honour O’Neals by constructing new building on VG

Ninth District Representative Vincent Wheatley said he will be proposing the construction of a fourth government building on the government complex in Virgin Gorda in honour of the O’Neals.

Speaking at the handover and rededication ceremony of the Flax Administrative Building yesterday, Wheatley said the time has come for the O’Neal family to also have a government building in Virgin Gorda named in their honour. This, he said, is considering the vast contribution they have made for the development of the sister island and the territory overall.

He did not give a time frame for the submission of his proposal.

“I will propose a fourth building that will hold the Virgin Gorda library. I think it’s time the library gets its own space and the O’Neals have contributed to the development of Virgin Gorda and the BVI,” Wheatley said.

“One of the first local persons ever to be elected to office in the BVI was an O’Neal. Mr Agrippa O’Neal. Also, Mr O’Neal served this country for many, many years. The O’Neal family has served this territory in general in many capacities whether in medicine, in education, business and so forth and I think it’s fitting they get a building in their name,” the Ninth District Representative added.

Wheatley continued by saying there is no guesswork on what government buildings should be called as there are many prominent families in the Virgin Islands that have contributed massively to the development and transformation of the territory.

He mentioned the Vanterpool family which he describes as a prominent family that have served and continue to serve the territory in various capacities.

“One of them, I remember very clearly, is a man called Nazareth Vanterpool. He even served in the Cuban American war. Again, a very prominent businessperson who helped bring this community from where it was to where it is,” Wheatley said.

The Flax family should get there own street too

The Virgin Gorda representative also acknowledged the work of the Flax family in Virgin Gorda and the role they play in the continued effort to ensure the transformation of the sister island.

“Of course, we have the one we are doing today, the Flax building. I’m not sure why the Flaxs doesn’t have a street named after them either. If we go to the Long Road, we have Bregado Flax with a school name after him. You have Sammy Flax on the same street, and you have Melvin Flax. I think we should call that street Flax Street because all the Flaxs are over there,” Wheatley said.

He also acknowledged Anderson Flax, the man who built the admin building and who was present for yesterday’s rededication of the government administrative building.