Spring is less than a month away. We have had more rain over the weekend, snow on Saturday evening that only lasted for a few hours and not the significant snowfall as predicted, a day of sunshine, and then two days of thick fog. Warmer weather is on the way.

Sorry if you missed the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School performance of West Side Story this past week. It was an awesome production. The choreography by Ken Romero was flowing, the solos and each verse throughout the show were performed with perfection, and the community orchestra was professional as always. It was music director Jan Wightman’s final musical for her teaching career and will be missed. Truly a great show.

The town of Aquinnah is accepting applications for 2 two-bedroom homes under construction at Smalley’s Knoll being sold through the Island Housing Trust for $255,000 with affordability restrictions. Interested households earning up to $60,900 through $87,000 depending on household size may pick up applications at the Aquinnah Town Hall or the Dukes County Regional Housing Authority. Download from either the Town or Trust websites or call DCRHA at 508-693-4419 for a mailed copy. The deadline for applications is April 6, 2018.

It has been a busy week in the Albert and Linda Fischer world. Bert celebrated his birthday on Feb. 13, the same day his son Chris married Amy Schumer in Malibu, Calif. And to top off the week, son Andrew and his wife Emma welcomed their first child, making Bert and Linda first time grandparents. Congratulations and best wishes all the way around.

Get well wishes to Kristina Kestenbaum Leslie who has returned home from having surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Her daughters Samantha and Jennifer flew in from California to be with their mother during her recovery.

Congratulations to Aileen Mahoney, daughter of James and Melissa Mahoney, who received her red belt in karate on Feb. 17 at the Blitz Studio in West Tisbury. Her younger brother Seamus received his green belt on Saturday. They are the grandchildren of Kevan and Marcy Nichols of Tisbury.

Jannette Vanderhoop will have a sale and display of her ten treasure boxes that equates to ten years of collecting. Stop by at the tribal administrative building at 20 Black Brook Road on Feb. 24 from 2 to 4 p.m.

John O. Vanderhoop and his wife Gabi are proud to announce that their grandson, Kyle Killebrew, a Ph.D. graduate student at University of Nevada at Reno, has completed another scientific paper and had it accepted and published. The journal publication is titled “Electrophysical correlates of encoding processes in a full report visual working memory paradigm.”

Condolences to the family and friends of Albert (Buddy) Allen, a former school mate and dear friend of our late cousin Kenneth James Belain.

Condolences to the family of friends of Kevin Hearn, a former schoolmate at MVRHS.

Happy 42nd anniversary wishes to Kenneth Belain, Jr. and his bride Janet Rose Crane aka Roe, as they celebrate on Feb. 28.

Happy 49th anniversary wishes to Al Perry and Madeline Cookie Gazaille on March 1.

Happy birthday wishes this week to Cindi Dolph-McKenna on Feb. 18; Barbara Perry Francis our eldest resident Aquinnah Wampanoag tribal member; Troy Vanderhoop Jr. will be 18 years old on Feb. 27; my eldest great grandchild James I. Millman will be 15 on Feb. 28; Dora Morrow and Krystal Rose Schaeffer will also celebrate on Feb. 28; Remy Tumin, formerly of the Vineyard Gazette and now with The New York Times, will celebrate the day after Feb. 28; Cameron Widdiss will be 17 on March 1; Heather Ferreira parties on March 2; and Jan Wightman and Kathie Noble Case share the day on March 3.

Send Aquinnah news to junemanning152@gmail.com.