Dylan Thomas
The birds of the winged trees flying my name Above the farms and the white horses I rose in rainy autumn And walked abroad in a shower of all my days. – Dylan Thomas
January 18, 2008
West Tisbury Will Rework Affordable Covenants
West Tisbury selectmen said this week that they plan to redraft the town’s affordable housing ownership covenants to avoid recurrence of the foreclosed affordable home that has the town in court with a West Coast lender. Questioned at the weekly selectmen’s meeting about the current situation involving a Scrubby Neck Road affordable home, selectman Glenn…
Medication Safety Fair
Medication Safety Fair Martha’s Vineyard Hospital has scheduled a medication safety fair in the hospital’s main lobby on Saturday, Jan. 26 from 9 to 11 a.m. Community members are encouraged to bring their current medications, including any vitamins, herbs and over-the-counter medications, in a bag to the fair, where hospital workers will be assisted by…
School Lunches
Charter School Monday, Jan. 21: No school, Martin Luther King Day. Tuesday, Jan. 22: Tomato vegetable soup, hot dog or tofu dog on a roll, fruit smoothie and milk. Wednesday, Jan. 23: Bagels with cream cheese, tuna salad or melted cheese and tomato, Japanese salad, pineapple and milk. Thursday, Jan. 24: Pizza (plain cheese, pepperoni…
Aquinnah
JUNE MANNING 508-645-2574 (lthslnks@gis.net) Resounding applause to Dan Sauer for his arising early to assist with the construction of the new playground in December. Dan was inadvertently omitted from the list of volunteers who worked on that cold blustery morning to provide a safe place for the children of Aquinnah to play.
Strawberry Plants Lie Dormant; Pick a Trail Instead at Thimble
Come springtime, the telltale signs of Vineyard farming activity will begin to reappear. One day, the fields are lifeless, the next, tractors are out and the soil has been tilled. Before too long, farmhands dot the fields picking berries and greens and juicy tomatoes. The farm stands fill up, parking at the farmer’s market is…
West Tisbury
JOHN S. ALLEY 508-693-2950 (alleys@vineyard.net)
Cloudy Splendor
“Fight blue-sky thinking.” So says part of the manifesto of the Cloud Appreciation Society. This London-based organization (with a membership of 11,546 cloud spotters) takes the position that “clouds are unjustly maligned and that life would be immeasurably poorer without them. Life would be dull if we had to look up at cloudless monotony day…
Edgartown
KATHIE CASE 508-627-5349 (kcase1@verizon.net) Mother Nature once again is playing with us. We have had great temperatures but this weekend we will be covered by Arctic air. One thing is sure: the Patriots can play in any weather. Happy birthday to all who celebrated their day this past week. Big balloons go out to Victoria…
Possible Dreams Auction Will Move to Outerland
Possible Dreams Auction Will Move to Outerland After 29 years in the garden of Edgartown’s Harborside Inn, the Possible Dreams Auction this August will move a few miles up Island to the grounds of Outerland, the former Hot Tin Roof nightclub, to celebrate its 30th anniversary this summer in a rain-or-shine venue. The auction will…
New Chapter Group
New Chapter Group The New Chapter Group will be starting again soon at the Tisbury Senior Center with Karen Meeks as facilitator. If you are newly retired, just moved to the Island or experiencing any change in your life, you are invited to join the group, which will meet monthly. More information is available by…
Winter Waterfowl
Now that the annual Christmas Bird Count is fading into pleasant memories and a lot of fascinating data, we might be lulled into thinking that we can put citizen science aside until next winter. Nope! Such is not the case, as we have a request for help with a winter waterfowl survey of sites where…
Chappaquiddick Ferry Ready for Sale
The Chappaquiddick ferry, a singular enterprise and sole transportation link for the residents of this tiny island situated off the extreme eastern end of Edgartown, is set to be sold to Peter Wells, a seasoned captain who is a familiar face at the helm of the three-car ferry. The Edgartown selectmen will hold a public…
Vineyard Haven
NANCY GARDELLA 508-693-3308 (vhavenvgazette@yahoo.com) I am so pleased to receive so many lovely holiday cards and family news from my friends. You know many of them. Just to update you, Eileen Whiting, our former town treasurer, wrote from Florida that she is well and delighted to have Marjorie Convery in the neighborhood now. I can…
Subprime Lending in West Tisbury
Subprime Lending in West Tisbury Fallout from the many-headed monster otherwise known as the subprime mortgage crisis certainly seems to have no end, and now the crisis which is national and growing has landed — of all places — in West Tisbury.
The Vineyard Gardener
By LYNNE IRONS I hope I do not sound completely hard-hearted, but, thankfully, my last rabbit has died. I started out with two adorable Easter bunnies when the children were little. I was assured they were both females. You must be able to see where this is headed.
No Winter Blues on the Busy Waterfront
Winter is the ideal season when wood shavings fly, drills and sanders sing and Vineyard boat builders assemble and repair boats. At one of the Island’s smallest boat shops, Rick Brown of Far Cry Boats in Vineyard Haven is working on two. Space is a premium inside his 15 by 36-foot workshop with limited heat.…
Welcome Ryan
Welcome Ryan Angela and Neil R. Estrella of Vineyard Haven announce the birth of a son, Ryan Fullin Estrella, born on Jan.14 at the Martha’s Vineyard Community Hospital. Ryan weighed 9 pounds, 5 ounces at birth.
A Place for Planning
A Place for Planning More than thirty five years ago, an engineering firm looked at the six towns on the Vineyard and envisioned a possible seventh town carved into the Island’s center, around the regional high school and along the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road. The firm, Metcalf and Eddy, saw the area as a social and…
Brickyard Hike
Brickyard Hike The Trustees of Reservations will sponsor a hike on Jan. 20 at the Menemsha Hills Brickyard ruins, the last remnants of a once-prosperous Vineyard industry. In this annual guided walk, participants will learn about the brickyard’s industrial past and plans for its future. The walk is free for members of the Trustees and…
Cape Wind Clears Key Federal Hurdle in Draft Environmental Report
America’s first major offshore wind power generation project, Cape Wind, has cleared a key hurdle after a comprehensive federal environmental study found it would have no lasting major adverse impacts on wildlife, navigation, fishing, tourism or recreation. The draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) by the Minerals Management Service, running to almost 2,000 pages, will now…
Find Family Tree Online
Find Family Tree Online Interested in learning more about your family’s genealogy? At the Oak Bluffs Public Library you now can search Ancestry Library Edition, a popular tool for online genealogical research. If you need help using this new resource appointments may be made to sit with a librarian for a 30-minute consultation. To learn…
Joseph Nunes, 1910-2008
He was a first generation Portuguese American who was a member of the Oak Bluffs fire department for more than forty years, a widely loved unsung hero.
Katrina Benefit
Katrina Benefit The pastors of the United Methodist Cooperative Ministry will sponsor a fund-raiser today, Friday, Jan. 18 to help support volunteers who will travel to Slidell, La., to help with post-Hurricane Katrina reconstruction. The event, which will feature home-made waffles, is scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Christ United Methodist Church, Church…
School Enrollment Is Expected To See Steady, Steep Declines
Enrollment at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School is expected to drop by 150 students — or about 20 per cent — over the next 10 years, according to a report from the New England School Development Council.
Island Plan Workshop Will Examine Social Environment
Island Plan Workshop Will Examine Social Environment The Island Plan launches its social environment work group with a workshop on Wednesday, Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. at the Oak Bluffs senior center. The work group will look at the human aspects of the Island, such as the characteristics of the population and community, social, health,…
Letters to the Editor
FORMULA FAIRNESS Editors, Vineyard Gazette: The Tisbury lawsuit about the assessment formulas for the high school is just one more attempt to deal with a difficult situation, when the situation itself is based on an antiquated system of paying for the school. The high school was established through a regional agreement among the six towns…
Temperatures
Temperature: Precip. Day Max. Min. Inches. Fº Fº Jan. 11 48 35 Trace Jan. 12 55 39 .50 Jan. 13 49 33 .00 Jan. 14 47 34 .60 Jan. 15 38 23 .00 Jan. 16 40 25 .00 Jan. 17 33 21 .00
Water temperature in Edgartown harbor: 40º F.
Pondfront Owners Shocked at Tax Bills
A dozen stunned West Tisbury property owners crowded the normally quiet town assessors meeting this week to question their assessments and tax bills, which have more than doubled this year.
Venus and Jupiter
Venus and Jupiter, the two brightest planets in our night sky, are getting closer together. Venus for many weeks has been alone low in the eastern sky before sunrise. It is an impressive “morning star” and easy to find. Already, another planet has arrived on the scene.
Notes on Leaving Vineyard After 30 Years
One day, when I was bemoaning my quality problem of missing the Vineyard when I went home to Honolulu and missing Honolulu when I returned to my Island home on the Vineyard, a good friend said to me, “Dana, why don’t you look on this as your having two beautiful rooms in a very large…
A Reporter’s Notebook: Inspiring Night in Nashua
By 10 p.m. on the night of the New Hampshire primary, the signature chants of the hundreds of Barack Obama faithful gathered in the Nashua school gymnasium were getting pretty thin. Sporadically, and particularly when the big screen on the wall cut to the speeches of the various Republican candidates — whose contest had been…
Vera Shorter Is An Artist of All Things Possible
The day outside was cold. A real winter northeaster was blowing in and the gray clouds above promised snow. The door to Vera Shorter’s Vineyard Haven home, however, was open. She had just indulged in what is quite possibly her only vice she said as she spread a stack of ginger snaps on a plate.…
Chappy
MARGARET KNIGHT 508-627-8894 (margaret02539@yahoo.com) People expect January to be a cold, dark month with nothing much happening, but the month is not living up to its reputation. The days are starting to be noticeably longer, and the sun feels warmer already when it shows up, which hasn’t been often. No doubt winter still will arrive,…
Gazette Chronicle: On Being Black
On Being Black From the Vineyard Gazette editions of January, 1983:
House Foreclosure Petitions Increased Last Year on Island
Home foreclosure petitions were up sharply on the Island in 2007 over 2006. A total of 69 homes were listed for foreclosure by ForeclosuresMass.com, a commonwealth reporting agency, for the 12 months ending Oct. 31, 2007, compared with 41 homes in the same period the year before. Island foreclosures averaged about 30 homes per year…
Dean’s List
Dean’s List Samantha Rabin, daughter of Karen Bressler and Steven Rabin of Turkeyland Cove Road in Edgartown, has been named to the dean’s list at Hamilton College for the 2007 fall semester. Ms. Rabin, a first-year student at Hamilton, is a graduate of Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School.
The March from Iowa to New Hampshire
The old America I knew took a hike last week and a new America emerged before my unbelieving eyes at approximately 9:30 in the evening. That was the hour my belief system was turned upside-down, when Barack Obama was projected to win the Iowa caucuses and it was extraordinary.
New General Manager
New General Manager Scout Real Estate Capital has hired Thad Hyland, an award-winning hospitality industry veteran, to serve as general manager of the Harbor View Hotel & Resort and Kelley House in Edgartown. For the past dozen years, Hyland has worked as managing director of the legendary Ojai Valley Inn & Spa near Santa Barbara,…
Announcing Júlia
Announcing Júlia Angelica Moreira and Laudinei Prata Vilaça of Edgartown announce the birth of a daughter, Júlia Bonjour Prata Vilaça, born on Jan. 7 at the Martha’s Vineyard Community Hospital. Júlia weighed 7 pounds, 4.4 ounces at birth.
Sophomores Speak Out
Hi and welcome to this week’s edition of Sophomores Speak Out. This week we have a lot of interesting articles on a variety of topics. They are fun and interesting to read and they show you how many things are going on in the world. Sometimes it makes you think, how can I help? —…
Puffback Saga Pins Library in Town Hall
When a furnace burst, coating much of Edgartown’s library building in atomized oil at the beginning of December, director Felicia Cheney thought she and her staff would be in and out of emergency digs in the town hall selectmen’s meeting room within a fortnight. But a drawn-out insurance claim process has left the books and…
Oak Bluffs
HOLLY NADLER 508-693-3880 (sunporch@vineyard.net) If I were writing a children’s book about this week in my life, it would be called, Fun! Fun! Fun! Bills! Bills! Bills! There’s been a lot of stuff on National Public Radio lately about hidden fees in our invoices, and I decided to go on a crusade and find out…
Amahl and the Night Visitors Revives Spirits With Music, Comedy, Kindness
The good thing about January is that it isn’t December. December, of course, is when we spend too much money on presents, stress out that we’re compelled to send cards and letters, attend parties and fundraisers, and string up tired decorations. Or we’re feeling guilty that we’re not doing any of those things. But on…
Sheriff’s Meadow to Name New Executive Director
Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation plans to appoint Adam Moore, a former land superintendent at the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank, as its new executive director. Mr. Moore is currently executive director of the Connecticut Forest and Park Association, a position he has held since 2001. He oversees 800 miles of trails. During his tenure, Mr. Moore doubled…
Garden Scholarships
Garden Scholarships The Nauset Garden Club will award two $3,000 scholarships to residents of Cape Cod or the Islands for the 2008-09 academic year. The students should be entering their junior or senior year of college during the 2008-09 academic year, majoring in landscape design, horticulture, environmental, marine or a related science, or be enrolled…
Get Full Picture of Japanese Film Icon
When Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon, the story of a rape and murder told from three perspectives, was released in 1950, it won the Gold Lion at the Venice Film Festival and has since received some of the most gushing reviews of all time from Western critics. But the head of the Japanese production company which had…
Court Ruling Backs Review Of Mansions on Little Lots
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has finally put beyond doubt the power of local officials to prevent developers from tearing down small houses on undersized lots and replacing them with McMansions. Almost two and a half years after the state’s highest court deadlocked 3-3 in the case of Katama homeowners who wanted to double the…
Chilmark
JANE N. SLATER 508-645-3378 (slaterjn@comcast.net) We send condolences across the Vineyard to all who enjoyed the company of Bob Morgan of Edgartown, who died earlier this month. All who knew him appreciated his enthusiasm and love for his family, his Island home and his country. He will surely be missed by many of us.
Benefit Auction
Benefit Auction A silent and live auction to benefit the Edgartown School eighth grade trip this spring to Washington, D.C., is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 1 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the Oyster Bar & Grill, 57 Circuit avenue, Oak Bluffs. Items slated for the auction include a Peter Simon family portrait, a Ray…
West Tisbury Tract Sells for $15 Million
A 50-acre property in the Priester’s Pond area of West Tisbury has changed hands for $15 million. The buyer is Claudia Miller, whose mainland place of residence and prior connection to the Vineyard, if any, are unknown. The land includes two houses, one that was built in the Berkshires in 1795 and brought to the…
Agricultural Society Invites Farm Grant Applications
Agricultural Society Invites Farm Grant Applications The Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society has issued a call for applicants for its annual grant program. Eligible are all farm-related individuals or organizations whose goal is to improve the quality of life and contribute to the sustainability of the Vineyard agricultural community.
Detective Duo Strikes Vineyard In Last of Craig/Tapply Trilogy
THIRD STRIKE: A Brady Coyne/J.W. Jackson Mystery. By Philip R. Craig and William G. Tapply. Scribner, New York, N.Y. December 2007. 323 pages. $24 in hardcover.
Correction
Correction A story in last week’s Gazette reported incorrectly on the school where the Rev. Judith Campbell completed her post-doctoral work. Her degree is from the Union Institute in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Gazette regrets the error.
Dean’s List
Dean’s List Genevieve Flanders, daughter of Joyanne and Steven Flanders in Chilmark, has been named to the dean’s list at Hamilton College for the 2007 fall semester. Ms. Flanders, a graduate of Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School, is a junior majoring in neuroscience at Hamilton.
Cancer Support Fund
Cancer Support Fund A fund has been established at the Martha’s Vineyard Savings Bank for Heather Jardin, who is undergoing treatment for leukemia at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston. Heather is the manager of the herb garden at Morning Glory Farm in Edgartown, where she has worked for the past 10 years. Her address…
