FISHERMEN’S FIGHT

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

First, I would like to clarify that I am not a lawyer; though my education is in insurance law, there was no way I was going to sit behind a desk. Ever.

Second, thank you for your story about the event that we held at the P.A. Club last weekend. I am sure that the excellently written article brought many of the attending crowd to the event.

The event was successful beyond any of our expectations, due to the help and generosity of many. The Island community came out in droves, with some people making large donations way above the suggested donation at the door.

The fishermen’s association knew going into the evening that we had received a matching donation, up to $5,000, from an anonymous donor. That was encouraging.

The Massachusetts Fishermen’s Partnership president Ed Barrett called in to say that they had a check for us for $1,000.

We received a grant from Farm Neck for $1,000.

We raised over $2,000 on our raffle.

And then, as we were setting up, additional door prizes started coming in the door.

Shirley Craig brought us a scratch rake and a copy of Philip Craig’s cookbook Delish; Janet Messineo brought two of her beautiful minnow pins; Karen Coffey sent a big decorative metal star and Peter Simon donated 20 calendars.

The crew itself was magnificent. The hall at the P.A. Club was transformed by Beth Hiller, Audrey Mayhew, Shelly Edmonson and Nan Doty. Jon Mayhew brought some wooden lobster pots for the display of the raffle prizes.

Prizes were donated by many businesses — thank you to all who donated. The raffle was a large part of our successful evening. The first winner donated the prizes back, saying he just wanted to make a donation.

And the food was delish. The cutters in the kitchen, Matty Mayhew and Bill Alwardt, had no time for a break. People were eating the littlenecks, donated by Edgartown Fish and Bill Alwardt, and Emmett Carroll’s delicious oysters as fast as they could be cut. The Net Result donated every imaginable kind of seafood pate and dip.

And the music — Tristan Israel and Paul Thurlow rock. They kept the energy up and people smiling. Special guest Willy Mason graciously offered his beautifully crafted songs, skillful playing and his remarkable voice.

President Warren Doty spoke about our mission. We are not against power generated by wind turbines. We would like to require the Cape Wind project to move away from the essential fish habitat of Horseshoe Shoal. We are raising money for a lawsuit in our attempt to do that. We need to raise $75,000. Last weekend was a good start. We were so busy, Warren didn’t even have time to play his banjo.

Donations may be sent to: MV/DC Fishermen’s Association, P.O. Box 423, Oak Bluffs, MA. 02557

Michele Jones

Oak Bluffs

The writer is a member of the board for the Martha’s Vineyard, Dukes County Fishermen’s Association.

•

CARING HOSPITAL

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

On a Monday, a few weeks ago, my wife took me to the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital emergency room with what I thought were lingering flu symptoms. I had been sick for six days with, I thought, the flu.

Upon entering the hospital, I was immediately triaged and placed in a room with Rick Lambos, RN. He was amazing as my advocate and he provided me support, along with his many years of experience. Shortly after arriving, it became apparent to me that I had a very aggressive and serious infection in my blood. Both Dr. Nieder and Dr. Laursen put their heads together to determine my best course of action. Over the next few hours I needed an X-Ray, a CAT scan, as well as blood tests, and EKG tests. Through all of this, Rick was my main man. He got me to the tests and then the results back to the docs so a game plan could be developed to eliminate the infection.

According to my wife, the emergency department was a very busy place that day. Once Dr. Nieder and Dr. Laursen were able to pinpoint that there was a bacteria in my blood, they were able to select the correct antibiotic and to start me on my way to recovery.

Due to the severity of the infection and dehydration that I had suffered, I was admitted to a room on Monday evening. Over the next five days, I received some of the most professional and caring nursing from the entire staff. There were three amazing nurses who stood out: Laura Hilliard, Linda Fischer, and Jessica Walsh. They were all knowledgeable, compassionate and supportive of my situation and my health.

To speed my recovery along, I was treated to exceptional meals from the dietary department, delivered with a smile each day by Wenonah Harrington. They were even willing to provide a meal for my wife when she visited in the evening.

No one wants to go to the hospital, for obvious reasons, but I can state unequivocally, that if you had to go to one, our beautiful new hospital stands ready to assist us all. The well-trained, longtime staff is exceptional. I will be forever in their debt and wish I could remember each and every one of the staff that touched me. You are a part of this even though I have not named you.

I occasionally hear little negative side comments about the hospital. I was very sick, I was there, and now am cured! None of us could get along without this fine institution and we should all feel blessed with the physical structure, but most importantly the well-trained, caring and supportive staff. Thank you one and all.

Paul Watts

Vineyard Haven

•

BREAKFAST WITH SANTA

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

The Martha’s Vineyard Chamber of Commerce would like to thank all the donors and volunteers that made our annual breakfast with Santa a great success. All proceeds go to the Jim Lambert Memorial Scholarship Fund, providing several Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School graduates with financial assistance in their secondary educational pursuits.

Ken Goldberg

Vineyard Haven

The writer is program director for the chamber of commerce.

•

cape wind responds

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

The Gazette published an article on Dec. 10 reporting the views of a fishing organization that is trying to raise funds for a lawsuit against federal agencies that have approved Cape Wind.

Unfortunately readers of that article may have been left with the false impression that Horseshoe Shoal could become off limits to fishermen because Cape Wind could restrict boating in the area — this is not the case.

It is important that fishermen, boaters and the general public be aware that there is a provision in the lease granted to Cape Wind by the U.S. Department of Interior that states, “The lessee [Cape Wind] shall not prohibit vessels from entering, operating, or anchoring in the leased area or establish exclusionary zones in the leased area.”

On July 2, the Barnstable Patriot published an article entitled “Coast Guard: We won’t close wind farm area” which dispelled similar rumors, in which a Coast Guard official stated that closing the area to boating “has not been contemplated by the Coast Guard nor anyone else I know of.”

The reality is that the wind turbines will be separated six to nine football fields apart allowing ample room for fishermen to navigate and fish.

The diagram accompanying this letter depicts a 45-foot boat in the middle of a turbine quadrant that visually demonstrates the amount of open water a boat captain traveling onto the shoal would have to navigate among the wind turbines.

Further, the U.S. Department of Interior, after years of study, concluded in its final environmental impact statement that the impact of Cape Wind on fisheries and fishing will be minor and that the structures may increase the abundance of certain species of fish from the addition of hard surface habitat to the shoal.

For its part, Cape Wind will work constructively with the fishing community during project construction and operations to minimize any disturbance to their ongoing activities. We will be good neighbors as we harvest a new and important catch on this shoal, abundant and inexhaustible clean energy.

Mark Rodgers

North Falmouth

The writer is communications director for Cape Wind.