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
February 29, 2008
Death’s Clean-up Crew
Only slow food will do for this bird. Faster prey would fly, run or otherwise get away before it became a vulture’s meal. Vultures like their food not just slow, but stopped cold (and dead too.) Fresh kill is good, but, in a pinch, the vulture can eat meat that has begun to rot. Luckily…
Police Charge Two with Drunk Driving
A West Tisbury woman suffered minor injuries and was charged with drunk driving after she reportedly drove through a stop sign on Atlantic Drive in Edgartown early Tuesday morning and flew over a sand dune before coming to rest in shallow waters in Herring Creek. Edgartown police said Susan Austin, 54, may have been stranded…
Island Plan Discussion
Island Plan Discussion On Tuesday, March 4, at the Federated Church in Edgartown, the Neighborhood Convention will host Mark London, executive director of the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, presenting The Island Plan — Choosing the Future We Want for Our Community. The meeting begins at 10:45 a.m., followed by lunch in the parish house. Participants are…
Florida Birds
Although spring is in the air, the recent snow still makes birders dream of different habitats and warmer weather. Travel out of the country is becoming dearer and air travel is about as irritating as it gets. So perhaps a road trip to Florida is an option. The image that comes to mind for most…
Vineyarders Savor Succulent Slow Food
Lynne Irons stood in the kitchen, plate in hand and eyes wide. It was dinner time on Lambert’s Cove Road, but the Vineyard Haven gardener stood still, starstruck by the bowls heaped high with root vegetables, the pots of various sizes simmering on the stove and, the crowning glory, the roast pig nestled by backyard…
Aquinnah
JUNE D. MANNING 508-645-2574 (lthslnks@gis.net) Aquinnah Nurse Juleanne VanBelle will be at the town hall on March 7 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. for all of your health questions. Residents are invited to stop by and see Juleanne for a health assessment. Get-well wishes to Edward Fantasia Jr., who was admitted to Children’s Hospital this…
The Vineyard Gardener
By LYNNE IRONS I have been wracking my brain to come up with a garden topic this week. Should I stay with some sort of winter theme or get fully into the gear-up for spring? I think I’ll take on credit cards instead. Here is my best shot at a segue. I use my credit…
Chilmark Will Vote On Housing Project
By JULIA RAPPAPORT Chilmark voters will be asked to spend half a million dollars at a special town meeting Monday as they consider whether to purchase two properties which will allow the Middle Line Road affordable housing project to move ahead. The project, now in its final planning stages, will be the first town-sponsored affordable…
Project Proposals Sought
The Aquinnah Community Preservation Committee will hold hearings on March 11 on proposals for projects to be funded by CPC funds in the coming year. Open land preservation, recreation, historicpreservation and affordable housing are the maincategories for whichproposals willbe considered. Applicants mu st submit their proposals no later than 5 p.m. on Monday, March 3. Proposals can be dropped off…
Italian Dinner Will Benefit High School Disney Trip
Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School will sponsor an Italian Dinner Night in the culinary arts dining room from 6 to 9 p.m. Monday, March 10. The dinner will benefit the school store student staff field trip to Orlando, Fla.
County Commission Welcomes Grant To Battle Student Substance Abuse
The Youth Task Force of Martha’s Vineyard has landed a $100,000 grant to continue its work combating risky behaviors among Island teenagers.
County Charter: Good Lessons From Past
County Charter: Good Lessons From Past Sadly, the public has shown little interest so far in the work of the Dukes County Charter Study Commission. Part of the reason may be the commission itself, which has spent a good deal of time in the past year tangled in its own process, although perhaps not hopelessly…
Health Session Scheduled
The Visiting Nurse Service of Martha’s Vineyard Community Services will present a Healthy Lifestyles Program for the Entire Family on Saturday, March 15. The program will be held between 9 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. in the Southside Conference Center at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, Oak Bluffs. Sponsored by nurse service and the boards of health of…
Habitat, Edgartown Seek Family to Purchase Home
Habitat for Humanity and the town of Edgartown are searching for an Edgartown family to purchase a two-bedroom, affordable house. The application deadline is March 31, with construction set to begin this summer.
Private Use of Public Space
Private Use of Public Space The use of prominent public places in Oak Bluffs for private profit is legitimate cause for concern. The most serious example is the shanghaiing of Ocean Park, the oceanfront jewel among town parks, for a privately backed performance of the Boston Pops.
Pinkletinks!
Deborah Ratcliff notified the Gazette this week that she heard pinkletinks at her home in Oak Bluffs on Tuesday night. Spring cannot be far behind. Edgartown voters are reminded they have a special town meeting that begins at 7 p.m. on Thursday night. Chilmark voters are reminded their special town meeting begins at 7:30 p.m.…
Corrections
Correction A story in last week’s Gazette about musician John Cruz, Heather Goff was incorrectly identified as the author of the song Missing You. Mr. Cruz wrote Missing You, while Ms. Goff wrote Dream Song on the album. The Gazette regrets the error. • The obituary for Maria Esther Nunes that appeared in last Friday’s…
Island Songlines
Island Songlines Picturesque snow quieted the Island a week ago, a reminder of how long, dark and lonely the wintertime can be here. Some say it’s a reason young people leave the Vineyard. Then came Saturday with another musical potluck at the Chilmark Community Center. Not for the first time this winter, a few young…
Vineyard Towns Begin Budget Season; Red Ink in Oak Bluffs
With the rising cost of everything from salaries to health insurance premiums coupled with slowing commercial and residential growth, elected leaders in all six Islands towns will likely face especially tough decisions this budget season as they begin to draft their financial blueprints for the coming fiscal year.
Coast Guard Trains Hard to Serve Community
On a blustery, cold February day, the 47-foot Coast Guard motor lifeboat out of Menemsha pitched and rolled in Vineyard Sound. Strong, chilly winds coming up from the southwest had kicked up big swells off Menemsha Bight to nine feet and off Quick’s Hole to 12 feet.
Letters to the Editor
CONSERVE TOWN BYWAYS Editors, Vineyard Gazette: On Thursday, March 6, at 7 p.m. at the Old Whaling Church, Edgartown will hold a special town meeting to add five ancient paths to the protective status of special ways. The town byways committee and the planning board have been working to protect these ways for nearly 20…
Fatal Accident On Alabama: No Violations
A fatal accident aboard the schooner Alabama during a day sail out of Vineyard Haven in the summer of 2006 involved no violation of U.S. Coast Guard regulations, a report by Coast Guard investigators has found. Issued by the Coast Guard on Jan. 18 and released to the press this week, the report is the…
Tashmoo Spring Building Preservation Committee Seeks Ideas for Future Use
The Tashmoo Spring building preservation committee has scheduled a brainstorming meeting about the possible future use of the Tashmoo Spring Building, built in 1887 as a pumping station at the head of Lake Tashmoo, Vineyard Haven. The meeting will be held at the Tisbury Senior Center from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 5. Exterior…
Goodbye to Truth, Sunshine, Good Writing
I’m going to miss my Vineyard Gazette. We’ve been together a long time. I care about it. I need it. Whether sitting on the porch in Menemsha reading the Gazette or home in the city reading The New York Times, I’m one of the people the godfather of medium and message Marshall McLuhan was talking…
Byways Rules Set for Vote in Edgartown
Vigorous environmental protection for five ancient ways will be the central issue at an Edgartown special town meeting set for next Thursday. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the Old Whaling Church; moderator Philip J. Norton Jr. will preside over the session.
Announcing Natalie
Announcing Natalie Shannon Larsen and Daniel Larsen Jr. of West Tisbury announce the birth of a daughter, Natalie Elizabeth Larsen, on Feb. 25 at the Martha’s Vineyard Community Hospital. Natalie weighed 7 pounds, 1 ounce at birth.
Gazette Chronicle: 50 Years Ago
50 Years Ago From the Vineyard Gazette editions of February, 1958:
Out of the Blues: Maynard Silva Makes a New Start With Old Truths
Who is Maynard Silva, anyway? Certainly, he is a classic blues man. Island born and raised, Mr. Silva has appeared on stages on and off the Vineyard for nearly 40 years, his voice a familiar throaty growl. His public persona is the sheen on a core of enormous strength and wisdom, shaped by time and…
Boys Lose Heartbreaker in Overtime
A great coach once said, “What counts in sports is not the victory, but the magnificence of the struggle.” By that standard, the boys’ basketball team’s magnificent but ultimately heartbreaking 83-76 overtime loss to Wareham in the second round of the Division 3 south region state tournament on Wednesday must be considered a success.
Temperatures
Temperature: Precip. Day Max. Min. Inches. Fº Fº Feb. 22 32 19 .11 Feb. 23 35 28 .57 Feb. 24 34 24 Trace Feb. 25 38 26 .00 Feb. 26 47 26 .00 Feb. 27 49 38 .68 Feb. 28 42 22 Trace
Water temperature in Edgartown harbor: 42º F.
Charter Study’s Home Stretch
By now most of my friends and neighbors know that I’m on the county charter commission. They frequently ask: “Well, what’s going on?” And I try to explain. Since many of you may be asking the same question, here is one answer. I need to stress that I am speaking for myself and not the…
Feel the Power of Song and Film With Festival’s Pete Seeger Story
After logging many long hours on the couch and mindlessly devouring one too many buttery bags of popcorn, the votes are in. No, not for the Oscars, but for the official selections of the eighth annual Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival. The brains behind the wintertime event are so excited about the roster they have decided…
School Choice: Stephen Nixon
Stephen Nixon, assistant principal of Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School since 2004, will become principal in July, beating more than a dozen off-Island candidates for the position now held by Margaret (Peg) Regan, who resigns at the end of this academic year. The announcement came this week from schools superintendent Dr. James H. Weiss, who…
Chappy
MARGARET KNIGHT 508-627-8894 (margaret02539@yahoo.com) The longer you live in a place, the more its finer points come into focus. First, you might just know there’s an island named Chappaquiddick, but very soon you know the names of its most mentioned features, like Wasque, the ferry, and the dyke bridge. After you’ve lived in a place…
Forum: Beer and Wine Sales in Tisbury
Bring Your Own Editors, Vineyard Gazette: If you would like a drink with your meal in a Vineyard Haven restaurant, you can do that now. Why risk the possibility of losing control of the way our quiet, safe town develops by voting to serve beer and wine. Once Tisbury is not dry, it is not…
Peg Thayer Paintings At Chilmark Library
Island artist Peg Thayer opens an exhibition of her recent paintings at the Chilmark Library on Saturday, March 1, with a reception from 3 to 5 p.m. The show continues during library hours through March 27. Peggy Thayer has been a practicing painter for more than 30 years, working in a variety of media including…
Encyclopedia That Requires No Bookshelf
A single-source catalogue of every one of the 1.8 million or more life forms on Earth, the Encyclopedia of Life will involve a network of some of the world’s most prestigious scientific institutions. But the encyclopedia, which went online for the first time this week, will depend heavily for its success on people — like…
Edgartown
KATHIE CASE 508-627-5349 (kcase1@verizon.net) The competition is on. I officially counted five blooming crocuses in my garden. I have three purple, one white and one yellow. The daffodils are showing their green heads.
Sophomores Speak Out
Greetings to all of our readers. This week we have a variety of topics. As usual, there are lots of things on our minds. We have decided to show our readers a photograph about our bulletin board: Hope 2008. We made this board to show that we were going to take a stand for fairness.…
Islanders Meet Oscar
While filmmakers were picking up Oscars in Los Angeles, guests at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Society party Sunday night t the Oyster Bar Grill also picked up a statue — an Academy Award brought by an Islander whose father won the prestigious statue in 1948 for a short film documentary while serving in the Army…
Mr. McCormack Fights Plan To Take Sheriffs’ Departments
Dukes County sheriff Michael McCormack is staking out his opposition to a draft bill from Gov. Deval Patrick that threatens to take over the seven county sheriff departments which still operate independently of the state.
Oak Bluffs
TOM DRESSER 508-693-1050 (tomdresser@aol.com) Thirty months ago today, on August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina ripped through New Orleans. Anyone who has seen photos of the area knows the destruction the storm caused. Anyone who has visited the scene knows how much work still has to be done.
Hello, Rylie
Hello, Rylie Rylie Adele Mansfield, the daughter of Katy Mansfield and Rick Mansfield, formerly of Vineyard Haven, was born Dec. 12. She weighed 7 pounds, 9 ounces. Her grandmothers are Eileen Andrews of Vineyard Haven and Gloria Mansfield of St. Michaels, Md. Her late grandfathers are Roger Andrews of Vineyard Haven and Rick Mansfield of…
Puzzlers Race to Prize of Glory
Words and numbers were flying through the minds of those at the Chilmark library this past Saturday afternoon, as 15 adults and 3 youngsters gathered for the Crossword and Sudoku Challenge. Outdoors it was chilly, with snow in the air. Inside the warm library, tables were clean, pencils were sharp and the place was quiet,…
Mr. Fynbo, Mrs. Serpa Contest Selectman Seat in Edgartown
Edgartown is a place where special town meetings often fail to attract a quorum and selectmen’s meetings seldom push the half-hour mark. In recent years the town has not been known for its red-hot electoral battles.
West Tisbury
JOHN S. ALLEY 508-693-2950 (alleys@vineyard.net) February has been the snowiest and coldest month of the winter. It sure has been like a ghost town all week largely because it is the school’s winter vacation and many families are on the move. People have left Dodge for a warmer climate while others have gone up north…
Chris Pitt Neutralizes the Competition
Courtesy Edgartown School. Eighth grader Chris Pitt won the Edgartown School spelling bee on Feb. 20. The runner-up was sixth grader Alice Keenan.Chris won by spelling the word neutral correctly. This makes Chris a two-time winner — he also took home the top prize two years ago as a sixth grader.
Family Law Talk at Library For Gay, Lesbian Couples
PFLAG of Martha’s Vineyard — Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays — will host an important and informative talk for the general public on family law issues related to gay, lesbian and transgender couples and families at 4 p.m. on March 15 at the Unitarian Universalist Society of Martha’s Vineyard in Vineyard Haven.
School Lunches
Charter School Monday, March 3: Spaghetti with tomato sauce, meatballs, green beans, garlic bread, peaches and milk. Tuesday, March 4: Corn chowder, grilled cheese sandwich, fruit smoothie and milk. Wednesday, March 5: Bagels with cream cheese, tuna salad or melted cheese and tomato, Moroccan salad, pineapple and milk. Thursday, March 6: Pizza (plain cheese, pepperoni…
Chilmark
JANE N. SLATER 508-645-3378 (slaterjn@comcast.net) An extra day in this February might provide some sunshine . . . it has been a gray week with lots of rain. However, it was the perfect school vacation . . . if you went off Island.
Senior Shines in Solo Art Show
High school senior Rebecca Swartwood sits casually on an artist’s stool, remarkably poised and well-spoken. She exudes an inner confidence, without the bravado often associated with youth. She brims with enthusiasm at the life she sees ahead of her, with art an integral but not overriding part of a well-considered career path.
Museum Hires Island Man
Matthew P. Stackpole, the former executive director of the Martha’s Vineyard Museum, has been named a major gifts officer at Mystic Seaport – The Museum of America and the Sea, in Mystic, Conn. Mr. Stackpole will focus his initial efforts on raising support across the nation for the museum’s pending restoration of the Charles W.…
Morning Planets
The best show in town is in the early morning, in the week ahead. The moon, Jupiter, Venus and Mercury are low in the southeastern sky before sunrise. There is a change from day to day.
