JANE N. SLATER

508-645-3378

(slaterjn@comcast.net)

Chilmark is ready for its first town meeting of the year. A special town meeting has been called for Monday night at the community center, beginning at 7:30 p.m. The subject of the evening will be the future of the Tea Lane Farm and its buildings. Many volunteer hours have gone into the drafting of plans in the hopes that the voters will approve them and the old farm will be a farm again. Be sure to come out on Monday night and bring your Chilmark neighbor. There is a lot to be considered. Saving our history and keeping it current is a difficult challenge in these times.

Welcome home to Andria Jason, who has been working and living in Washington, D.C. She has returned to Chilmark and will be keeping her grandmother, Hilda Jason, company on North Road. She is the daughter of Sheila and Lenny Jason of Chilmark. Andria recently has been made director of the Permanent Endowment Fund for Martha’s Vineyard. Cheers from us all!

The Friends of the Chilmark Library are showing free films on Friday evenings at 7 p.m. at the library. The next one will be tonight and is A New Kind of Love. All are welcome and popcorn and drinks are offered at no cost.

The Chilmark library is now offering Chowder and a Movie on Wednesdays at noon. This season, the movies all have a French connection. The next luncheon movie will be on Feb. 15. All are welcome at no charge.

The library is offering an informal program of French conversation for all who enjoy speaking French, beginners and those who are fluent; all are welcome on Wednesday afternoons beginning at 5:30 p.m. There will be breads, cheeses and sparking water for all!

We send condolences to the family and friends of William Gilmour, of Wayland and Chilmark, who died on Feb. 8 in Wayland. He was a popular member of the up-Island Hancock family and a devoted husband and father. We will all miss his lively personality that brightened every summer; there will be more details in a later Gazette issue. He was predeceased by his wife, Ruth Hancock, and is survived by their three daughters, Betsy, Nancy and Jill and their families.

Jan Buhrman’s wonderful online magazine is available for viewing and is full of interesting pictures and news. Please see it at kitchenporch.com. I learn something basic about the world of food every time I read her writings.

Vineyard Smiles is offering senior citizens a mobile dental program, provided by Vineyard Health Care Access Program and Island Health, Inc. It is sponsored by the towns of Chilmark and West Tisbury through the Vineyard Nursing Association. They will hold a clinic on Friday, Feb. 24 at the Howes House from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and will offer free oral exams, cleaning and fluoride treatments performed by licensed and professional dental hygienists. In other words, if you are a senior you may have your teeth cleaned at no cost to you, thanks to this new program. If you have questions, please call 508-696-0020, ext. 14.

Feb. 3 was Go Red for Women day across the United States. The American Heart Association created this program to increase awareness that heart disease is the number one killer of women in the country. Towns, schools and districts on Martha’s Vineyard participated by wearing red to work and school on Friday and also donating heart healthy foods to the Island Food Pantry. This was the fourth year of the program and approximately 275 Vineyarders participated. All the details were the result of Chilmarker Judy Jardin’s hard work. This is the fourth year that she has coordinated the day. She is the Wellness Consulate for the Cape Cod Municipal Health Group.

Finally, an apology to my readers for the brevity of my last few columns, but I am happy to say that I have now completed a pair of eye surgeries that have greatly improved (or will soon improve) my vision. I have been writing through a blur, but am promised much improvement soon!