Mary Oliver
The wind wags its many tails. And in the evening the piled firewood shifts a little, longing to be on its way. —Mary Oliver
February 8, 2008
Letters To The Editor
SEAT BELTS SAVE LIVES Editors, Vineyard Gazette: We were deeply saddened to hear about the death of Brandy Marie Gibson in an automobile accident. We did not know her but understand she was a beautiful young woman. Our hearts go out to her family and friends. According to the police, Brandy and the two other…
Catherine Lenkoski Marries Martin Vojtus
Dr. Catherine Lenkoski of Hermosa Beach, Calif., and Martin Vojtus of Huntington Beach, Calif., were married Dec. 15 at Johnson Chapel, Amherst College, Amherst. The Rev. Richard Gross officiated. The bride is the daughter of Peter and Maryann Lenkoski of Wethersfield, Conn., and West Tisbury. The bridegroom is the son of Ladislav Vojtus and Alzbeta…
School Committee Schedules Interviews for Principal
School Committee Schedules Interviews for Principal The final four candidates for the position of principal of Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School will visit the school on Friday, Feb. 15 and Tuesday, Feb. 19. Two candidates will visit each day. The visits will culminate in interviews before members of the school committee. The committee will interview…
Valentine’s Day Inspires Vineyard Lovers
Many threads have woven through history to shape the Valentine’s Day we celebrate today into admittedly a rather commercial holiday. But it’s been industrialized since the mid-1800s when an enterprising Boston artist, Esther Howland, picked up on the popularity amongst wealthy Europeans of exchanging intricately designed Valentine’s cards. Ms. Howland started the first Valentine’s Day…
Gazette Chronicle: Lagoon Bridge, 1872
Lagoon Bridge, 1872 From the Vineyard Gazette editions of May, 1969:
With Edgartown Buffs
By KATE J. CONDE It’s a girl! Congratulations to Deputy Chief Alex Schaeffer and his wife Julie as they welcome their daughter Amelia Eliza to their family. The new addition was born Jan. 4 at 11:51 p.m., weighing in at 7 pounds, 14 ounces. Amelia joins big brother Tobi, who is eager to share his…
Correction
Correction A story in last week’s Gazette about a traffic fatality inaccurately described the collision impact between a car driven by Brandy Marie Gibson and a van driven by Francellyo C. Dias. The vehicle driven by Ms. Gibson, who died in the crash, struck the van driven by Mr. Francellyo. Also, due to incorrect information…
High School Students Will Showcase Singular Sensation of A Chorus Line
The tap shoes are on, the ballet slippers tied and the members of the chorus line are ready to kick their heels high. And on Thursday night, they will do so as the curtain rises at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School Performing Arts Center for the opening performance of A Chorus Line, the longest-running…
Vineyard in Winter? So Much State of Mind
I threw in the towel on Martha’s Vineyard winters 10 years ago and never looked back. I traded in the gray Januaries, the icy roads of February and the interminable crawl through March first for the white winters of Concord and later for the damp, slushy ones of Providence, R.I.
Beer and Wine Meeting
Beer and Wine Meeting Tisbury will sponsor a meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 19 at 6 p.m. in the Katharine Cornell Theatre on Spring street to discuss the possibility of the sale of beer and wine in the town. Discussion will be held in an open town meeting style forum. Town administrator John Bugbee said the…
Vineyard Haven Man Faces Charge of Rape
A Vineyard Haven man was arrested last week on charges of forcible rape and indecent assault and battery after he allegedly assaulted a woman at his home on Daggett avenue after she gave him a ride home from a party. Walas Rodrigues, 25, was arraigned in Edgartown district court on Monday on two charges of…
Movie About Windsurfing, Will Benefit Sailing Team
Movie About Windsurfing Will Benefit Sailing Team Travel the world with four of its best windsurfers today, Friday, Feb. 8 in The Windsurfing Movie, which will be shown at 7 p.m. at the Katharine Cornell Theatre in Vineyard Haven to support the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School sailing team.
Sustainable Island
Sustainable Island Four years ago the Vineyard Energy Project wrote a ten-year action plan outlining a series of strategies for the Island — which imports virtually all of its energy — to achieve greater independence.
Elaine Barse Finds Her Edge On Main Street
If it is true that convention is meant to be defied, Elaine Barse could write the book. A top-tier college graduate who chose the life of a ski bum over graduate school in her post-college years, today Ms. Barse owns The Green Room, the popular surf, skate and clothing store on Main street Vineyard Haven.
Oak Bluffs Police Arrest Irish Native for Larcenies
Oak Bluffs police last Friday arrested a 33-year-old native of Ireland after he reportedly stole a laptop computer and cash on separate occasions from a man who had hired him to paint his home. Gerard McSteen, also known as Jerrod McSteen, was apprehended by Falmouth police as he disembarked from the ferry in Woods Hole…
Public Speaking Workshop
Public Speaking Workshop Susan Klein and Charlie Esposito will offer a workshop in March and April on effective public speaking and microphone use. The workshop will meet four consecutive Thursday afternoons, March 13, 20, 27 and April 3 from 1:30 to 4 p.m. at the Tisbury Senior Center on Pine street in Vineyard Haven. The…
Louise Aldrich Bugbee: 1914-2008
Louise Aldrich Bugbee: 1914-2008
Contractors Who Stay Out in the Cold
They work under trying conditions. Chilly winds can blow over 30 miles per hour, the temperature hovers at above or below freezing and the precision of their work is expected to measure within fractions of an inch. Winter storms come and go, while the seas offshore boil with huge waves and send spray into the…
Land Owner Faults Commission For Ancient Way Guidelines
The Martha’s Vineyard Commission last Thursday heard emotional testimony from an Edgartown property owner opposed to new guidelines for the protection and maintenance of five ancient pathways in Edgartown, each of which dates back to colonial times. Benjamin Hall Jr., an Island attorney whose family owns land off Ben Tom’s Road, one of the ways…
Edgartown School Theatre Celebrates Science Fiction
Edgartown School Theatre Celebrates Science Fiction Starting tonight, Friday, Feb. 8 and running through Sunday, the Edgartown School Theatre Department will present Starmites, a musical science fiction adventure. Directed by Donna Swift and Beth Carr, the show is about a girl who is transported into one of her favorite comic books to help battle evil…
Aquinnah
JUNE MANNING 508-645-2574 (lthslnks@gis.net) It is apparent that perhaps global warming is catching up to us or we are to it. As many reminisced on Wednesday of where we were thirty years ago during the blizzard of 1978 and compared it to the 54-degree temperature of the day in 2008, it was quite a difference.…
School Committee Rescinds Sewer Vote
A plan to tie the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School into the Oak Bluffs sewage treatment plant at a cost of $1.5 million has hit another road block in its bumpy journey. The regional high school district committee voted on Monday night to rescind an earlier vote to float a bond for the project after…
Chilmark Faces Sharp Increase In Up Island District Budget
The Up Island Regional School District budget for fiscal 2009 is slated to increase 1.9 per cent. Still, enrollment swings and a new allocation system for building costs will have a large financial impact on two of the three Up-Island district towns if the budget is approved at town meetings. The average cost per pupil…
Islanders Plot Their Winter Getaways
The holidays are over, the snow has blown in and the slow crawl to Memorial Day has begun. There is less work available and fewer options for weekend fun. Rather than fall victim to the winter blues, however, Islanders from Edgartown to Aquinnah are starting to plan their warm-weather getaways. “It’s nice to break up…
West Tisbury
JOHN S. ALLEY 508-693-2950 (alleys@vineyard.net) The weekend weather was a mixed bag. It rained most of Saturday but cleared off and was mild and sunny on Sunday. The Dumptique is closed all of this month and will reopen in March. The gas station was unquestionably the busiest place in town Sunday morning with their special…
Island Backs Mr. Obama, Mr. Romney in Primary
The rest of the state may have other ideas, but the Vineyard wants Sen. Barack Obama to be President of the United States of America. Bucking the state trend on Tuesday, an extremely high turnout of Vineyard voters squarely backed Sen. Barack Obama in the Democratic primary with 55 per cent of the 5,288 Democrat…
Bound’s Tale of Indentured Girl Resonates Into the Present Day
There are at least five good reasons to read Bound, a new novel by Brewster resident Sally Gunning set for release in the spring. The story of a 15-year-old British girl indentured in the New World of the 1750s is a captivating read, written by an author well-trained in taut storytelling and well-versed in the…
Chilmark
JANE N. SLATER 508-645-3378 (slaterjn@comcast.net) What a week. Chilmark was excited by the primaries as indicated by the large number of voters who turned out. All the excitement and rhetoric seemed to bring on a thaw and the weather was decidedly not frosty! Then again, maybe the skies were weeping for our beloved Patriots who…
Traffic Fatality Stirs Negative Reaction Against Brazilians
Police this week continued their investigation into a traffic accident at the intersection of County and Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Roads last Tuesday that claimed the life of a 20-year-old Island woman and left two others seriously injured. Oak Bluffs police are still waiting for a report from a state accident reconstruction team. Police have also subpoenaed…
Conservation Society Walk Explores Seven Gates Farm
Conservation Society Walk Explores Seven Gates Farm The Vineyard Conservation Society winter walks program, focusing on the Island’s agricultural heritage, will continue on Sunday, Feb. 10, beginning at 1:30 p.m., with a guided walk at the 1,100 acres of protected open space at Seven Gates Farm.
Information Meeting Is, Scheduled on Wind Farm
Information Meeting Is Scheduled on Wind Farm Cape Wind and the Martha’s Vineyard chapter of Clean Power Now will co-host a meeting on Monday, Feb. 11 about the proposed wind farm in Nantucket Sound. The meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. in the Katharine Cornell Theatre in Vineyard Haven. Speakers include Mark Rodgers of Cape…
Vineyard Beekeepers Are Abuzz About Insects’ Sweet Promise
The road on Sunday was marked with only a simple sign — a white sheet of paper taped to a tree and stamped with the letter B. The B was for bees and the sign was to direct those interested in the insect to a meeting of beekeepers and bee enthusiasts. Like the bee that…
Vineyard Gardener
By LYNNE IRONS I am a slave to tradition. For starters, I hate to shop so when I find an article of clothing that I like, I buy four or five so I do not have to buy it again for years. I am a uniform dresser (as was Albert Einstein.) I eat the same…
Super Sunday Across the Island: Patriots Fans Cheer, Then Weep
From Chilmark to Oak Bluffs, Vineyard Haven to Edgartown, small family groups and boisterous bar parties celebrated Super Bowl Sunday as an annual break from quiet, brittle February. Last Sunday, photographer Peter Simon, wheelman John Pinchon and this reporter crisscrossed the Island to note Super Bowl customs, traditions and reactions to the game. Customary family…
Moon
A thin crescent moon appears low in our southwestern sky tonight. The moon is one day old from New Moon phase and will appear thin and difficult to spot since it is so close to the horizon. More Vineyarders will see the moon on Saturday evening when it is both higher in the western sky…
Mob of Crows
The Vineyard bird hot line received a fascinating report from Edo Potter, out on Chappy, who noticed a rowdy mob of crows outside her house around dawn last Friday. The crows were ganging up on something they had pinned to the ground — just what wasn’t clear, but it was large and, when Edo’s husband…
Oak Bluffs
HOLLY NADLER 508-693-3880 (sunporch@vineyard.net) My grandfather’s fourth wife, Lena, who had the thickest Yiddish accent ever heard in the Farifax district of Los Angeles, would have characterized this week as “a time of sedness and gledness.”
Ship, Tour Bus Agreement Questioned
When cruise ships arrive off Oak Bluffs in late summer, passengers interested in taking a sightseeing tour of the Vineyard are directed to one bus company, Island Transport Inc. and offered the opportunity to buy their sightseeing tickets while still on board. As the passengers arrive onshore, they board Island Transport buses and are taken…
A Tempting Fruit
The apple was wrongly accused. It might just have been an innocent victim of an ancient slander. Many scholars believe that it was actually a pomegranate and not an apple that tempted Eve and led to her banishment from Eden. The mistake may be understandable, as pomegranate translates roughly as “apple with grain-like seeds.” Eve…
Chappy
MARGARET KNIGHT 508-627-8894 (margaret02539@yahoo.com)
Temperature
Temperature: Precip. Day Max. Min. Inches. Fº Fº Feb. 1 38 26 .00 Feb. 2 52 36 .97 Feb. 3 48 26 .00 Feb. 4 46 29 .00 Feb. 5 45 36 .00 Feb. 6 48 41 .17 Feb. 7 56 36 .12
Water temperature in Edgartown harbor: 42º F.
Island Group Sponsors Poultry Raising Workshops
Island Group Sponsors Poultry Raising Workshops The Island Grown Initiative will sponsor poultry workshops on Saturday, Feb. 16 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the agricultural hall in West Tisbury. Workshops will be held all day about raising egg layers, housing, processing and marketing. They are open to all levels of interest and experience.
Vineyard Haven
NANCY GARDELLA 508-693-3308 (vhavenvgazette@yahoo.com) I was so disappointed when Amy Levine closed her fabulous store on Main street, It’s In the Bag. But how delighted I was to pass by today and see a young woman hard at work inside and a sign on the window: “Coming Soon! Island Music.” This will definitely be a…
Island Science Fair
Island Science Fair
The Art of Shooting Pictures After Sundown
T he jeep’s headlights illuminate the rut ted road. The moon does the rest, bathing the dunes all around in a soft glow that gives the place a nostalgic feel. Time seems to move forward and backward in the headlights’ loom. This is part of the romance of moonlight, I think. Is this here and…
Taxpayer Meeting
Taxpayer Meeting The Edgartown assessors will hold a meeting for taxpayers on Wednesday, Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. in the second floor meeting room of the town hall. Steve Ferreira, district manager of Vision Appraisal Technology, which provides assessing services to the town, will talk about the mass appraisal process and market changes that have…
High School Dinner
High School Dinner The Island Grown Initiative, together with chef Dan Sauer from the Outermost Inn, is working with Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School’s Culinary Arts Department program director Jack O’Malley and his students to host a winter local food dinner. The dinner is set for Monday, Feb. 11 at 6 p.m. at the culinary…
Community Initiatives on Energy Conservation Off to Good Start
Controversy, primarily around land use and land development issues, has been a defining trait of the Vineyard community in recent years. So it is remarkable and gratifying to see signs that the Vineyard is uniting around the common goal of conserving energy, improving efficiency and thinking about the future.
School Lunches
Charter School Monday, Feb. 11: Macaroni and cheese, broccoli, peaches and milk. Tuesday, Feb. 12: Carrot ginger soup, sunflower butter and jelly sandwich, fruit smoothie and milk. Wednesday, Feb. 13: Calzones: sausage and pepper, ham and cheese or spinach and feta, bean salad, pineapple and milk. Thursday, Feb. 14: Pizza: plain cheese, pepperoni or roasted…
West Tisbury Assessments Spur Taxpayer Meetings
Aggrieved West Tisbury taxpayers will meet this Sunday, Feb. 10 at 4 p.m. at the Howes House to review research on appraisal techniques and to prepare for a meeting next Tuesday with the town’s outside real estate appraisal company. The town assessors have invited Vision Appraisal Technology to meet with taxpayers at 5 p.m. Tuesday,…
Reader Feedback from the Web
What follows is a collection of reader feedbacks from the Gazette Web site.
Traffic Mishap Kills Vineyard Haven Woman, published Feb. 1: This is so sad. I hope that the illegal alien who was driving the van will be prosecuted and then deported back to Brazil. He was cited three times for unlicensed…
Abigail Burnett Campbell Weds Brewer Bastien Rowe
Abigail Burnett Campbell and Brewer Bastien Rowe were married at Channing Memorial Church in Newport, R.I., on Jan. 5. Following the ceremony, a reception was held at Rosecliff, a historic home owned by the Preservation Society of Newport County. The bride is the daughter of Michael E. Campbell and the late Barbara B. Campbell of…
Selectmen Extend Deadline For Chilmark Slips, Moorings
A packed audience breathed a collective sigh of relief Tuesday as Chilmark selectmen voted 2-1 to grant a one-time extension to town residents who this year missed the deadline to renew their application for a town mooring or slip. After much debate, selectmen Warren Doty and Frank Fenner voted to extend until Feb. 15 the…
