Margaret Knight
508-627-8894
Sometimes I glance at headlines and misread them, making me do a double take — did I really read what I thought I just read? It was almost like that with the front page headlines of last Friday’s Gazette: Edgartown Exits Comcast Talks; Cable Service to Chappaquiddick Is the Demand as Town Gets Tough, Walking Away from the Negotiating Table. I couldn’t believe what I was reading at first. Of course it doesn’t in any way guarantee Chappy will actually receive cable service, but it does give one a sense of hope and, if nothing else, an acknowledgment of one’s existence.
Chappaquiddickers have expressed varying degrees of surprise, disbelief, or cynicism at the fact of Edgartown pulling out of contract negotiations. Some people are unconvinced that Comcast would ever take on such an unprofitable venture as serving Chappy, but not all feel this way. Bob Gurnitz said, “I am really pleased that the town of Edgartown is taking a strong positive position on this issue. There is still a lot of hard work ahead of us before we have cable service and I look forward to a good outcome. Proper cable and cell phone coverage is no longer just a luxury.”
Bob has been working with the Chappy cell committee on the cell service plan for Chappy, by conference phone since he left for Florida. The RFP that David Maxson, consultant to the town, has put together in conjunction with the committee, overseen by Georgiana of the planning board, is about ready to be sent to the selectmen. A list of town-owned parcels that could potentially be used to build a base station for a DAS, if no other existing cell service “hotels” work out, is being compiled to include in the document. The plan is to give it to the selectmen at their meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 3 at 3:45 p.m. Chappaquiddick seems to be veering toward the 21st century.
E. St. John Villard (aka Liz, at the ferry) wrote and directed a Christmas pageant for the 21st century, As A Witness, which was performed at the Old Whaling Church (aka the Edgartown United Methodist Church) a couple of weeks ago. Chappaquiddick resident Luke McCracken was in the play, as well as Anna-Liza Villard, who now lives in Bourne and played an angel. Donations from the performance went toward repairing the historic “Welcoming Christ” window in the Old Stone Church in Vineyard Haven (aka the Christ United Methodist Mission Life Center).
Winter is the season of organized suppers — one of the benefits of living in a small place where people are more likely to know or care about their neighbors — even to want to get together with them. The West Tisbury Congregational Church Community Suppers begin on Wednesday, Jan. 4 at 5:30 p.m. and will continue every Wednesday through March 28, weather permitting. According to Marjorie Pierce, side dishes will be gratefully accepted but are not required, and everyone is welcome. On Monday nights, a community dinner is served at the Methodist church in Edgartown, starting at 5 p.m.
The Chappaquiddick Community Center’s Christmas Eve dinner was a popular event with lots of Chappy families, residents, and guests in attendance. Many people contributed to the meal, which was a veritable feast, and helped to decorate, set up and clean up. Thanks to them for their contributions that gave us all a chance to socialize and share a Chappy home-cooked meal together. Thanks, too, to Gabby Wilbur for entertaining us with carols played on her saxophone.
Chappy’s social season closed the year with a party this past week at the home of Richard and Jennifer Schifter, out at the tip of Wasque. The Schifters once again generously welcomed all of Chappy to come and socialize at their place, while they fed us vast quantities of delicious food.
Peter Wells’ question of the week: How many catch basins are there on the Chappy main road, and when were they last cleaned? The answer will be in next week’s column.
Comments
Comment policy »