HELPFUL ISLAND

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

On Saturday, Dec. 15, I was out delivering in the Donaroma’s floral van when it got stuck in a snow bank on Barnes Road. Several people stopped to assist me, including a nice young lady who offered to have the football team come back and push, as well as two men who hooked a chain to the vehicle and pulled me out. This was all more than generous and I am so extremely grateful. Sure makes me proud that I live on the Island with such fine people. Thanks again to everyone who helped out and happy holidays.

Kevin Searle

Edgartown

•

IMPRESSIVE RESPONSE

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

Impressive is the correct word for the Tri-town EMTs. What a tremendous response I had from them last Saturday, Dec. 15, while walking with a friend at the Cedar Tree Neck sanctuary. My visiting friend fell on the ice on one of the paths deep into the sanctuary and dislocated his knee and could not stand much less walk. It was 27 degrees with probably a ten-knot breeze. Thirteen EMTs, both male and female, three dogs and an ATV were at his side within 30 minutes of my call to 911. They had my friend on a stretcher and in the ambulance within the hour. It was an extremely arduous route, over sand dunes, around boulders and up hard packed snowy paths. Luckily my friend was not in pain, but the EMTs had splinted his knee in place (which was practically at a 45-degree angle) and he had worn a sufficient amount of clothing so he wasn’t cold. After arriving at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, it was determined that he needed to be transported to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He left the Island in an ambulance on the 6:15 p.m. ferry less than four hours from the time of my call to 911. What an Island. What an impressive group of people. I am very proud of you all and so very grateful. With heartfelt thanks.

Alice Goyert

Oak Bluffs

•

IRISH BLESSING

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

This is the time of year associated with miracles and kindness to strangers, and the Irish history and culture class at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School has been the lucky recipient of incredible generosity. It does indeed take a whole village to raise a child, and this Vineyard village turned out in style to make it possible for young people with no money but a whole lot of heart to go to Ireland in April of 2008.

We wish to publicly acknowledge the unforgettable acts of kindness from all of these people. How lucky we are to live in a community that takes care of its children.

Thanks to all of you, we have our own miracle right here on the Edgartown-Vineyard Road. We don’t need 34th street. Your kindness has made a dream come true.

We wish you all a very happy and safe holiday and an Irish blessing. May the wind be always at your back, the rain fall gently on your fields, and until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand.

Elaine Cawley Weintraub

West Tisbury

•

MINNESINGER MEMORIES

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

I am indebted to TomMills for gently prying me out of my shell a little bit during high school. I really value the experience Ihad as a member of the Minnesingers. His standards were really high and he drove us in weekly nighttime practices up at GraceEpiscopal Church in Vineyard Haven. He pus hed us to become a really outstanding choral group. Wecaused jaws to drop!

Robert McLane

Regional High School

Class of 1971

Oakland, Calif.

•

STOLEN FAITH, CHARITY

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

Fifteen local people have worked hard for months to bring the community supplies for a traditional Christmas at the Tea Lane Christmas Shoppe located at Eden in Tisbury for the holiday season. On Dec. 15 or 16, someone felt we were doing such a great job that we didn’t need the door lock, the cash register or the $400-plus that was in it.

I wonder, doing something like that, can you have a merry Christmas? After all, even the Grinch brought it all back to Whoville. (No . . . we don’t have such expectations.) However, it has not downsized our hearts and they couldn’t steal our magic, so we continue until the 24th and Merry Christmas to all.

Furthermore, it was the theft of the Red Stocking Fund money that was the most shocking. What kind of person would steal from a charity that gives to Island children in need around the holidays?

Matthew Tobin

Chilmark

•

KIND DISCOVERER

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

Many thanks to the kind person who found my wallet in the Tisbury town lot on Thanksgiving Day and turned it in to the Tisbury police department.

Linda DeWitt

Edgartown

HELPING HAND

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

For several years, the Vineyard Health Care Access Program has enjoyed the support of the Rotary Club of Martha’s Vineyard. The access program, which is a program of Dukes County, uses this support for emergency assistance for Islanders who cannot afford prescription medication, medical supplies or medical transportation. The Rotary Club’s contribution goes directly to reimburse pharmacies and other vendors who supply vital products and services to the medically needy, including elders, people who are seasonally unemployed, people who have acute illnesses or injuries, and the disabled.

The recently renamed David Kurth Memorial Fund has helped hundreds of Islanders since 2003.

The access program is pleased to be a lifeline for Vineyarders who find themselves in the difficult position of choosing between paying for housing, fuel, food or medicine. We are so grateful to once again be a recipient of the Rotary Club’s generosity.

Sarah Kuh

Chilmark

•

BAZAAR SUCCESS

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

Many thanks to many people for helping to make the recent scallop raffle and holiday bazaar to benefit the friends of the Tisbury senior center highly successful. We are grateful to Lauren Martin of the Vineyard Gazette and Anna Marie D’Addare and Eleni Collins of the Martha Vineyard Times. Joyce Stiles-Tucker, director and Sandy Whitworth, activities director, were enormously helpful, as was Anthony Guyther and all the talented vendors.

Special thanks go to Rita Roberts, Irene Bough and Sandy Pratt.

Albert and Florence Koster

Vineyard Haven

•

FOOD FOR THE HUNGRY

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Island community for its generous support of the family to family program. By sending in $25, each family provided a Thanksgiving meal consisting of a 12-pound turkey, five pounds of potatoes, a pound of carrots, a pound of onions, two pounds of apples, stuffing mix, pumpkin pie mix, cranberry sauce and turkey gravy. On Nov. 16, we were able to distribute dinners to 82 families, helping to serve 181 individuals, many of them the elderly on fixed incomes.

As happens every year, demand exceeded supply. This year, despite our best efforts, we provided 82 meals but needed more. It is very hard standing at the desk giving out turkeys and looking down the line and knowing we won’t have enough for everyone. Thank you for making it possible to help provide a meal for our neighbors.

We will distribute our Christmas meals on Friday, Dec. 14; we expect an even larger crowd. With high fuel bills looming in the future for all of us, those on a fixed income will certainly suffer.

A special thank you to the Pacheco family and Reliable Market for providing us with such nice dinners for a price we can afford.

As always, the First Baptist Church supplied us with storage space and a place to hand out the dinners. They are very busy this time of year and always find time and room for us.

Anyone wishing to help can send a check to the Vineyard Committee on Hunger, P.O. Box 1874, Vineyard Haven MA 02568. Questions? Call Betty Burton at 508-693-5339.

Betty Burton

Vineyard Haven

•

UNITY CLUB THANKS

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

Recently the Unity Club of the Edgartown Federated Church held its Christmas fair, an annual fund-raiser. We are extremely grateful to Sam Koohy of the Vineyard Haven Stop & Shop for all the donations he made to help ensure the success of this event. In spite of the fact that organizations are continually asking the Stop & Shop for donations, Mr. Koohy was more than courteous and helpful. We are very fortunate to have him as manager.

Barbara Peckham

Oak Bluffs

•

NEW NOISE: 93.7

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

The new community radio station WVVY is now broadcasting on FM 93.7, thanks to helpers too numerous to list here exhaustively, volunteers who aided us in many ways since the process of starting a radio station started eight years ago. In our most urgent hour of need, several people came as if called to get our transmitting equipment purchased and installed. Craig Hockmeyer donated the money needed for our transmitter. The pole for our antenna was brought to the Island at no charge by Ralph Packer. Fred LaPiana and the department of public works, the Tisbury selectmen and Andrew Nanaa of fiber-optic company GPCS worked expeditiously together to allow our pole to be set at the DPW in Tisbury. Jim Medlock provided much-needed advice. When the pole arrived, the NStar crew helped set it. A fire department ladder truck helped our techs install the antenna. Andy Gunn of the Prometheus Radio Project guided us through the equipment purchase process and came on short notice to the Island to install our station and to aid us in putting a station together on a shoestring. Vinnie Padalino hopped in his truck and drove to Buffalo to pick up equipment that would have otherwise been delivered late. Jim Glavin sacrificed many otherwise billable hours to make sure everything was where it was needed when it was needed. New volunteers with needed expertise have been coming forward as we need them. The proposals for radio shows are flowing in. Once again, the Island has demonstrated what community means: teamwork.

I am so deeply grateful to the volunteers who dedicated so much of their time to this effort over the long haul. There have also been many musicians who have played benefits for us and donated songs to our compilation CD.

Now we have a radio station! It will take some time for us to work out some of the technical kinks. Our broadcast also relies on computers that sometimes crash, causing occasional radio silence. We hope you will bear with us through these teething troubles. If we’re down, check back later. As our resources increase, our equipment and stability will improve. We will be adding programming as we go and look forward to developing a crack news and public affairs team. Those who are interested in having a radio show can leave a message at the station: 508-693-9379. To volunteer, e-mail maria@wvvy.org.

We look forward to entertaining and elucidating you. As our schedule firms up, we will post it on our Web site at wvvy.org (where streaming audio is also available). We play the award-winning nonmainstream news program Democracy Now! every weekday at 5 p.m. Check Local Lunch every midday for Vineyard musicians of today and yesteryear. We promise that WVVY will be like no other station you have heard. We look forward to playing music and news and theatre and comedy and strange noises for you for many years to come.

Maria Danielson

Oak Bluffs