JOHN S. ALLEY
508-693-2950
We continue to have a mild winter with January finishing with above average temperatures most of the month. We have had one snowfall of about six inches, a few bitterly cold days, and that has been it so far. The ground is not frozen, so if we make it through this month it will be all downhill from there.
A packed house attended Cynthia Riggs’s 25th Annual Groundhog Day party yesterday. It was a great chance to socialize with your neighbors and friends, catch up with the latest political happenings around town and have an enjoyable evening with delightful food and lots of adult beverages.
Lois Crane, of the Vineyard Transit Authority, is pleased to report that their annual bus passes have been available since early January. You can obtain yours at the VTA office building in the Airport Business Park from 8 a.m. till 7 p.m. Seniors may call the Up-Island Council on Aging at the Howes House or call 508-693-2896 and stop in during normal business hours. She also tells us that the Island-wide bus system carried more than 900,000 passengers last year.
George and Mary Lu Hough of Indian Hill Road became great-grandparents on Wednesday, Jan. 25. Harper Neil Greene was born in Newton to Neil and Amy Greene. He weighed 8 pounds, 11 ounces. Congratulations!
Anna Alley, of State Road, went up to East Taunton last weekend to visit her grandson, Robert John, and the baby’s parents, Arsen and Nicole. Arsen came down on Wednesday to do a number of septic inspections and returned home the same day.
Marsha Winsryg returned home on Sunday after visiting her daughter, Nora, down in New York city. She reports having a swell time and absorbing a large amount of culture. On the way home the bus changes in Bourne for the trip to Woods Hole. There, in what she called the little romantic convenience store, she met up with her husband, Paul Karasik, who was also on his way home after a trip to France.
Will Monast, of Waldron’s Bottom Road, proudly reports that his son, Cal, a student at the University of Pennsylvania, had his first thesis published on breast cancer recently.
Jill Lane, over at the school, reports that there will be a family pizza and bingo party at the school tonight at 6 p.m.
Tara Whiting, town clerk, reports that she has absentee ballots for the March 6 primary. You may come to vote in town hall, or she will mail them out. Call 508-696-0148 with any questions. Also, please remember that census forms are not the correct way either to register to vote or change your party preference. If you add a member of the household who wants to become a voter, that person must come in and fill out a voter registration form. The same applies if you want to change your political party affiliation.
Norman Perry, chairman of the Police Station Building Committee, reports that the conceptual design phase of the proposed new police station will be presented at a public forum on Thursday, Feb. 9 from, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at fire station number two on State Road in North Tisbury. This is an important and critical step of this project. The committee is seeking public evaluations, suggestions, opinion and approval. Keenan and Kenny Architects will be on hand.
Rufus Peebles reports that the Democratic Town Committee will be holding a caucus at the Howes House on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 11 a.m. to elect three delegates and three alternates to the Massachusetts Democratic Convention in June. All registered Democrats are encouraged to attend and vote. If you have questions, please call Rufus at 508-693-5100.
Susan Sigel Goldsmith reports that the Martha’s Vineyard Horse Council invites all interested parties to join them at the Feb. 9 meeting at 6:30 p.m. in the West Tisbury School library. Get involved and learn more about what the Horse Council does on Island.
Tim O’Reilly and their children, Ted, Stephanie, Molly, Nancy and Andrew, want to take this opportunity to wish their mom Jean (Fischer) O’Reilly a very happy 60th birthday on Tuesday! Tim reports that she is the best wife/mom in the world! Jean is a local gal and worked for Alley’s General Store for several years and met Tim, who was a rookie candy salesman supervised by Jack Watson. The rest is history! Happy birthday, Jean, from your old friends.
The League of Women Voters of Martha’s Vineyard is hosting a breakfast in recognition of Black History Month tomorrow at the Howes House at 9 a.m. Following the breakfast, Natalie Dickerson, a former president of the Vineyard branch of the NAACP, will be their keynote speaker. For more information, contact Carole Early at 508-693-7914
Jennifer Tseng, over at the library, reports that the JC Trio will be playing jazz this afternoon at 4 p.m.
Trustee Dan Waters reports that the Library Foundation, Inc. announced this week that it has surpassed an important milestone in its capital campaign: the state requirement of raising $902,000 in private matching funds by Jan. 31. “We’re pleased to let you know that our campaign so far has received more than $1.3 million in private donations,” said Hunter Moorman, chair of the Foundation. He added, however, that the fund-raising isn’t over yet. The campaign must still meet another fund-raising goal: that of the town. “Part of the understanding between the library and the town has always been that the library would contribute no less than $1.5 million, or 25 per cent of the project cost, raised through private donations,” said Mr. Moorman. “Only then would the Library Trustees come to the town meeting in April to ask for the town’s share of 25 per cent.” The Foundation believes it can raise the remaining $200,000 before the annual town meeting. If the town approves its share of the funding, groundbreaking is scheduled for the fall, with the library re-opening in fall or winter of the next year. During construction, the library will operate from temporary quarters.
Karin Stanley reports that the West Tisbury Local Historical Commission has completed the West Tisbury Historic Resource Inventory project begun in 2007. This project, funded through the Community Preservation Act, updated and digitized over 300 records of historic properties inventoried by the Historical Commission from 1980 to 2000 that were submitted to the Massachusetts Historical Commission.
A professional historic preservation team from the Public Archaeology Lab in Rhode Island was the successful bidder to conduct the upgrade of the records. Digital images were taken of all properties, additional information and historical notes about properties were added to the existing inventory forms, new maps created, and properties eligible for National Register status were designated. All of this information now is available online at westtisbury-ma.gov/Boards/loc-hist-comm.html. The West Tisbury historical committee has created a short tutorial on the town Web site on how to access this database.
The information contained in the Historic Inventory was gathered over a 40-year period. If anyone has more information about these properties that would be helpful in more accurately documenting the historic record of the town, please e-mail lhc@westtisbury-ma.gov and a member of the West Tisbury historical commission will get back to you.
On Feb. 10, 1948 at the annual town meeting voters by a wide margin accepted a gift from Donald R. Campbell, of Old County Road, of the Mill Pond and the land under it. Ancient records show that because of its central location and water power it not only attracted the farmers with their grain to grind, but it became the site of the only textile mill on the Island. Here the celebrated satinet cloth was woven. It also was a favorite spot for skaters for several generations, who cut figure eights near the light of bonfires kindled on danger spots where the big brook empties into the pond. The acceptance contained a condition; the town must remove the weeds, repair the dam and raise the water level in the pond. After considerable debate a letter from Rev. Thompson, Master of the Grange, was read urging acceptance and pledging their full cooperation and assistance in the clean up.
Happy Birthday to: Jeanne Ogden and Brianna Holt, Rita Reynolds, Janet Belain and Ken Francis today; Ernie Chaves, Tom Dresser and Lillian DiMartino tomorrow; Michelle Jasny, Emily Rodegast and Joe Hegarty on Sunday; Maggie Bresnahan and Spencer Booker on Monday; Richard Olsen, Ken Campbell, Jean Morton Fisher, Dianne McDonough and Jill Napior on Tuesday; Beth Carr, Kate Warner, Lind Marshall and Louise Sweet on Wednesday; Harold Lawry, Alley Estrella and Paul Thurlow on Thursday. Belated Birthday wishes to Barbara Day, Lucy Hodgson Morse, Emmett Carroll and Matthew Anniese.
Well, that is all of the social news for this week’s edition. If you have any news please call or e-mail me. Have a great week.
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