MARGARET KNIGHT

508-627-8894

(margaret02539@yahoo.com)

The grass is finally greening, and the honeysuckle is leafing out along the roadsides. The peepers can be heard day and night. Spring is here, and familiar faces are reappearing on the ferry. It brings great pleasure to Chappaquiddickers to see Charlie Ross driving the ferry on occasion. Also back driving regularly is Kim Morse. She and Jonathan have returned from their winter skiing expedition in time to see the On Time II go into the water after its long winter in dry-dock. Jonathan was working on repairs before he left. It’s been in Vineyard Haven for six months, and due back to Chappy as of this weekend. Its bottom is painted with environmentally friendly blue paint, among many, many upgrades. The On Time III will be getting some work done this spring, but there is no plan to take it out of the water. Peter does plan to get a new engine for it, though.

Annual town meeting is one of the Island’s great spring community events, as well as being the foundation of our democracy. This year’s meeting began with the Boy Scouts leading us in a pledge of allegiance to the flag. With a spirit of generosity, much thanking of people took place, including a standing ovation for Jeff Norton, in gratitude for his 37 years of service as town moderator. First on the agenda was the homey housekeeping chore of moving more than one million dollars from “free cash” (paid for by you) into various accounts — the result of less than a quorum at an earlier special town meeting. We then proceeded to pass an annual budget of twenty-seven-and-a-half million dollars without much comment. We also voted to allow the selectmen to apply for the library grant which would be used to build a new library, followed by a round of applause. The addition of five streetlights out toward Katama was the most contentious article. Many had an opinion on whether there should be more lights outdoors, including the former and present highway department heads, who had a brief verbal sparring match. In the end, we voted in favor of more light. The final article was passed, saying we don’t want our tax dollars spent on fighting wars, a similar article to last year’s, which seems to have been ignored.

Bay State Piping is finished with digging holes and pulling wires, and all seems to have gone well. They pulled two sets of wires through conduits so we already have a backup if something happens to one. They filled in the hole on Dock street after taking out the large metal “dig hole” box. Everything is ready for the electric lines to be hooked up, first on Chappy and then under the harbor. Then the dirt patches will be asphalted when the plant opens. The electric poles on Chappy may not be taken down until fall.

It was a thunderstorm that started all this work, and maybe in celebration — or in warning that it can happen again — we had a giant storm early Wednesday morning that passed loudly right over Chappy. Lightning struck at Peter Wells and Sally Snipes’ house and made a hole in the yard about seventy-five feet from the house. It also blew up the telephone box on the side of the house, and the cover off the transformer at the road. Peter heard a snap when it hit which was probably the plastic of the phone box. Luckily, that was the limit of the damage!

Peter reports there are two new members of the Chappaquiddick fire truck: Matt Chronister and Jan Grabowski. They have been busy with various trainings including the new improved CPR protocols. The Nature Conservancy controlled-burn team held a training in wildland firefighting for Chappy firefighters. They used a sandbox with miniature houses and land forms to demonstrate what would and would not work in terms of firefighting strategies.

The annual Easter egg hunt will be held again thanks to Liz Villard, of Vineyard History Tours. All Chappy families are welcome to come and find eggs; meet at the Chappy Community Center at 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 23.

The second bimonthly potluck at the Community Center will be held on Wednesday, April 20, starting at 6 p.m. Donna Kelly will be the host. All are welcome.