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
April 18, 2008
West Tisbury Selectmen Plan Meetings With Town Boards
West Tisbury selectmen welcomed a new board member and settled into new roles this week. Shortly after Richard Knabel was welcomed to his seat following victory over Glenn Hearn in the annual town election last week, Jeffrey S. (Skipper) Manter took the gavel as chairman. “It looks a little different from this side of the…
Matt Coffey Receives Island Vision Fellowship
Matt Coffey Receives Island Vision Fellowship Matt Coffey, an associate at Breese Architects in Vineyard Haven, has received a Martha’s Vineyard Vision fellowship. Mr. Coffey has been with the firm for six years. He has become increasingly interested in green building and sustainable design, educating himself and others in the firm.
Emergency Funds Available
Emergency Funds Available Dukes County has been awarded $4,028 from the federal government’s emergency food and shelter program to be distributed among agencies in the county. The funds will be given to not-for-profit organizations either providing or capable of providing food or shelter services in the county. The deadline is Wednesday, April 23.
Church Workshop Shows Globalization as Mission
Like it or not, we all are a part of globalization. The source of our consumer products, the workers growing or assembling them, and the means of getting them to us, all affect how we live and work — even here on Martha’s Vineyard. Globalization: Its Impact on Our Lives is a course to be…
Patriots Day
Good Morning! The Gazette office will be closed on Monday in for the state holiday. And Susan Brown of Edgartown called yesterday to report Mayflowers blooming near the Edgartown Great Pond.
Felix Neck Schedules Day for Volunteers to Assist
Felix Neck Schedules Day For Volunteers to Assist The Massachusetts Audubon Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary is inviting volunteers to come to the sancturary from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, April 26 to help the sanctuary prepare for the season. Volunteers will reinvigorate Felix Neck’s butterfly garden by planting, cleaning and pruning, and by building picnic…
Group Schedules Meeting On Business Techniques
On Tuesday, April 29, the Martha’s Vineyard Women’s Network will host a breakfast meeting on customer service and sales techniques for success. The meeting will bring together successful business women to discuss how they’ve used better sales techniques and customer service to build their businesses on the Vineyard.
Cape Wind’s Bad Play
Cape Wind’s Bad Play The town of Edgartown and the Martha’s Vineyard Commission are right in their request to intervene in the case against Cape Wind. This is an important case which goes to the heart of the powers of the Cape Cod Commission and by extension the Martha’s Vineyard Commission — the only two…
Aquinnah
JUNE MANNING 508-645-2574 (lthslnks@gis.net) The Aquinnah Public Library will be holding the final day of the spring book sale on Saturday, April 19 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in observance of National Library Week. All proceeds benefit the library, the programs at the library, and the activities there.
Corrections
Corrections A story in last Friday’s Gazette incorrectly reported the number of votes received in the Edgartown town election by Susan Mercier, who was elected to the school committee. She received 707 votes. The Gazette regrets the error. • A story in last Friday’s Gazette incorrectly sited the author of History of Martha’s Vineyard. The…
Dean’s List
Dean’s List Jared C. Macdonald of Edgartown, who is majoring in video and audio production technology, has been named to the dean’s list at New England Institute of Technology in Warwick, R.I.
Too Much of a Good Thing
Too Much of a Good Thing The proposed redevelopment of what is being called Bradley Square in Oak Bluffs blends an impressive list of components and initiatives: affordable housing, space for working artists, historic preservation, an office for the Vineyard NAACP and a multicultural center. But the project as proposed is too impressive, packing too…
Chilmark
JANE N. SLATER 508-645-3378 (slaterjn@comcast.net) Chilmark’s weather is getting more springlike every day with the roadsides bright with yellow flowers and green grass . . . and some new yellow and white lines newly painted on North Road. All are seen in a pleasant blur as we move faster and faster toward what we hope…
West Tisbury
JOHN S. ALLEY 508-693-2950 (alleys@vineyard.net) Today is the beginning of a long holiday weekend in the Commonwealth. Monday is Patriots Day and it is also the beginning of spring break week over at the school. Trout fishing in the Mill Pond continues to increase each day and should really pick up next week. On Monday…
Pilates for Health
Pilates for Health A pilates exercise class for for anyone interested in fitness runs every Thursday at 10 a.m. at the Tisbury Senior Center, 34 Pine Tree Road in Vineyard Haven. Instructor Brenda Correa demonstrates how to develop core strength and improve balance, posture and flexibility. She also teaches breathing techniques. Participants should bring a…
Straight From the Center Console of Life
Last February, Menemsha lost one of its memorable characters, a genuinely nice guy and a good friend, when Carl Whitman passed. He died the way he lived, unafraid to face the pain and suffering with which he would inevitably deal.
Chappy
MARGARET KNIGHT 508-627-8894 (margaret02539@yahoo.com) Last weekend my family went to Virginia where spring is some weeks ahead of here. It was a reminder of how wonderfully soft and warm the air will feel — at some point in the future. The Virginia woods were highlighted by the amazing purple-pink flowers of the Eastern redbud trees…
Commission Reschedules Public Feedback Sessions
The Dukes County Charter Study Commission has revised several dates for its series of public feedback sessions. The sessions will provide an opportunity for the public to weigh in on the work of the commissioners as they near the end of their 18-month study of county government. The commission will make recommendations to the public…
Community Improvement
Community Improvement Markham Vineyards, a winery with a history of community involvement, is searching for leaders dedicated to improving their neighborhoods, cities or towns, to apply for a nationwide initiative awarding $25,000 grants to two individuals to help complete community projects. Enter online at MarkhamMarkofDistinction.com.
Letters to the Editor
WHILE ROME BURNS Editors, Vineyard Gazette:
Edgartown
KATHIE CASE 508-627-5349 (kathleencase@comcast.net) How can we not like this weather? The only problem is Mother Nature loves to tease us and we know this is short-lived until June. So we have to enjoy it while we can. Donaroma’s is looking like Oz again following the arrival of the pansies, daffodils and hyacinths. Everyone who…
Reveling in Return of the Raptors, Islanders Turn Out for Festival
Osprey have been around since well before man showed up, but the graceful raptors created a shiny new moment for two boys last Sunday. “Look, they’re coming in to land,” shouted Finn Hall, 11, to his younger companion. Both sets of eyes were glued to telescopes focused on osprey pole nests several hundred yards away.…
Oak Bluffs
HOLLY NADLER 508-693-3880 (sunporch@vineyard.net) You’ll recall last spring I alerted the citizenry of Oak Bluffs to the invasion of aliens operating out of the legion of Comcast trucks rolling over our roads. It seems the extraterrestrials were on to me because, a couple of months later, when I requested cable hookup for my tiny apartment…
Wind Farm Critics Gain Some Speed in Marathon Race to Save Shoal
The marathon of federal public hearings on the Cape Wind draft environmental impact statement is over. The federal Minerals Management Service got the message loud and clear. Cape Wind is the wrong step in the right direction.
Gazette Chronicle: Joe the Clam Eater
Joe the Clam Eater From the Vineyard Gazette editions of January, 1948 Not conquering perhaps, but a hero just the same, Joseph H. Silva returned this week to his home in Edgartown. He went west as the Vineyard’s champion clam-eater, seeking a prize as the nation’s capacity consumer. Mr. Silva has won local fame for…
Vineyard Plein Air Works Open in Susan Sellers Show
A retrospective exhibition of Susan Sellers’s plein air works opens this Sunday, April 20, with a reception from 4 to 6 p.m. at Featherstone Center for the Arts. Ms. Sellers’s show of nearly 30 pieces, primarily oils with a few pastels and giclées, reflects the Vineyard. The gas pump on North Road, an abandoned Chilmark…
Vineyard Haven
NANCY GARDELLA 508-693-3308 (vhavenvgazette@yahoo.com)
Reader Feedback
What follows is an edited collection of reader feedbacks from the Gazette Web site in response to a story about Edgartown seeking to intervene on the side of the Cape Cod Commission in the case against Cape Wind before the Energy Facilities Siting Board. The complete and unedited collection of comments can be read at…
Tisbury Turns in a Stunning Tie Vote; Beer, Wine Question to Be Recounted
In an extraordinary outcome, a Tisbury town referendum on whether town restaurants should be allowed to sell beer and wine with meals ended in a tie vote this week, 690 in favor and 690 against. Following the annual town election Tuesday, which saw a record turnout, supporters of beer and wine sales have called for…
Boys’ Lacrosse Team Storms to 7-1 Record
Although Tuesday’s boys’ lacrosse game between the Vineyarders and the Whalers from Nantucket had all the makings of a classic barn burner between two inter-Island rivals, the game in the end provided plenty of smoke but little fire.
IGI Organizes Summer Institute for Teachers
Island Grown Initiative has scheduled its first Summer Institute for Teachers, a three-day workshop for educators on the Vineyard interested in incorporating curriculum tied to farms and gardens into their classes. The institute will run from August 11 to 13 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at a number of Island locations. Admission is free…
Sophomores Speak Out
Greetings to all of our readers. It’s spring and we are thinking about sport and politics and how sometimes both of these overlap. We hope you enjoy reading about our ideas, and look forward to being in touch again after April vacation. Enjoy. — Troy (85) Small, Editor
Short Wednesdays? By Vikki Segal
Weary Oak Bluffs Voters Wrap Up Four-Night Town Meeting
In a town well known for spirited and lengthy town meetings, Oak Bluffs voters may have set a new benchmark this year, as intense scrutiny of town finances coupled with often emotional debate on a wide range of topics pushed the political season to 12 hours spread over four evenings.
Man Gives Gift to Encourage the Vineyard’s Female Farmers
A longtime West Tisbury resident has donated $12,000 to support and encourage female farmers on the Vineyard. A documentary film on women in agriculture and a panel discussion which followed inspired Kenneth Malcolm Jones, a machinist and founder of the nonprofit organization Up the River Endeavors, to give the money. The event, entitled Ladies of…
Tisbury Students Devour Tales to Grow Dragon
The Tisbury School is celebrating April as School Library Media Month. This year’s theme, shared with the public library, is Join the Circle of Knowledge at Your Library. School reading specialist Natalie Krauthamer and librarian Patricia Ryan report that students from kindergarten through grade four have joined the circle of knowledge by participating (at home…
Northern Bobwhites
Northern bobwhites are about as tall as robins, but are considerably chunkier. They are also called quail, and they prefer a combination of shrubs and grass, especially hedgerows in agricultural fields. These ground-nesting birds are now scarce, although they were abundant year-round residents as recently as the 1980s. Numerous reasons may explain the current scarcity…
Teacher Shortages Worry Schools
High housing costs and new federal certification requirements have led to teacher shortages at Island schools. Staffing problems are currently limited to the subject areas of math, computers, special education and foreign languages, but school leaders are nevertheless worried and taking steps to address the problem. At a meeting of the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High…
Veteran Nurseryman Discusses Sustainable Plantings With Members of Garden Club
Paul Mahoney, a nurseryman for 30 years and the owner of Jardin Mahoney in Oak Bluffs, spoke at a recent meeting of the Martha’s Vineyard Garden Club on the topic of Sustainable Plants in the Landscape. Mr. Mahoney explained that the word sustainable, when used in gardening, has an open definition, but he bases it…
Hello, Esmé
Hello, Esmé Esmé Catherine Colon was born March 24 at Cambridge Hospital in Cambridge to Tricia Sirakovsky and Tim Colon. She weighed 10 pounds. She joins her brother Felix. Her grandparents are Katherine and Frazier Colon of Vineyard Haven and Patricia Sirakovsky of New City, N.Y., and Henry Sirakovsky of Nanuet , N.Y.
The Vineyard Gardener
By LYNNE IRONS The other day on the radio, they were discussing the rising cost of rice and how it is affecting a great deal of the world’s people. In fact, many cultures eat rice at every meal. They blamed part of the problem, of course, on the price of oil needed to haul that…
Bay Scallop Harvest Increases on Island; Propagation Credited
Several years of effort to restore the dwindling Island bay scallop population finally paid off this year; scallop landings Islandwide increased 23 per cent over the previous year. “There are probably still millions of dollars of shellfish in Chilmark waters,” shellfish constable Stanley Larsen said this week. The town’s annual bay scallop harvest grew for…
Student Honored
Student Honored Michelle Holmberg, a senior at Fairfield University and a resident of Oak Bluffs, is scheduled for induction April 13 into Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious academic honor society. The daughter of Donna and Warren Holmberg and a graduate of Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School, she is majoring in psychology…
Temperatures
Temperature: Precip. Day Max. Min. Inches. Fº Fº April 11 62 42 .00 April 12 54 43 .24 April 13 59 45 .61 April 14 59 36 .03 April 15 52 35 .00 April 16 55 29 .00 April 17 61 31 .00
Water temperature in Edgartown harbor: 55º F.
A Flower that Opens Souls
There are many wonderful sayings regarding the first blooms of spring.
As Fuel Costs Skyrocket, SSA Raises Fares
Fares for both cars and passengers on Steamship Authority ferries will go up beginning May 1 as a result of soaring world energy prices. Passenger fare increases on both the Vineyard and Nantucket routes were recommended by boat line management at the April governors’ meeting in New Bedford on Tuesday. The fare hikes are expected…
Low-Numbered Cape, Islands Plates Set for Auction
Starting July 8, the newest crop of low-numbered Massachusetts license plates will be on the auction block when Cape Cod and Islands plates numbered 1 through 999 finally become available. The Cape and Islands plates, which have been in circulation since 1995, carry imagery of Nauset Light in Eastham, along with the cliffs of Siasconset…
Reed to Know
Reed to Know Greg Whitmore, the Islands’ regional ecologist for The Trustees of Reservations, will give a talk entitled All About Phragmites from 1 to 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 20, at the Mary P. Wakeman Center, Shirley avenue, off Lambert’s Cove Road in Vineyard Haven. Mr. Whitmore will discuss the natural history of the…
Out of Edgartown: Old Indian Moves On
Editors, Vineyard Gazette: Another one gone:
Wary Selectmen Continue Public Hearing on Chappaquiddick Ferry Rate Increases
Proposed fare raises from the new owner of the Chappaquiddick ferry have drawn complaints from dozens of residents. Peter Wells has asked permission from selectmen to raise cash prices for round-trip journeys from $3 to $4 for foot passengers and from $10 to $12 for cars. To date 35 letters against the proposed hikes have…
Moon and Saturn
The gibbous moon moves up beside the brightly ringed planet Saturn on Monday and Tuesday evenings. The two are in the zodiacal constellation Leo. The bright star Regulus is nearby.
Kick the Habit With Chemical-Free Lawns
On May 31, the Polly Hill Arboretum and the Vineyard Conservation Society will welcome Paul Tukey, founder of SafeLawns.org, an international coalition promoting environmentally friendly lawn care, for a lively discussion on lawns.
Reporter Spins Yarn (No, Real Yarn!) For First Fiber Festival Adventure
Driving down the California coastline on a farewell tour of the state she called home, former CBS news producer Susan Gibbs pulled off the highway. She had quit her job; the contents of her Los Angeles home were packed into boxes. She was about to move across the country to New York city, and Ms.…
Martha’s Vineyard Commission Approves Middle Line Project
With a green light from both the Martha’s Vineyard Commission and the Chilmark planning board, the Middle Line Road affordable housing project has moved two steps closer to breaking ground. Middle Line, which has been in the works since 2004, will be the first town-sponsored affordable housing project in Chilmark, with six rental units and…
Dean’s List
Dean’s List Hans Buder, the son of Lynn and Karl Buder of Vineyard Haven, was named to the dean’s list with distinction at Duke University in Durham, N.C. for the fall semester of 2007.
Scottish Society Announces Presidential Proclamation
Philip Dietterich announced at the Tartan Day meeting held April 4 at the Old Whaling Church that President George Bush had on that day issued a proclamation regarding the observance of April 6 as National Tartan Day. Although a Senate resolution had established April 6 as Tartan Day several years earlier, a Presidential proclamation is…
Author Delves Into Passion and Scandal of Unsolved East Chop Murder Mystery
In Mystery on the Vineyard, author Tom Dresser delves into a grisly unsolved murder. Here is an extract from the new book. It was pre-World War II and a dapper off-Islander arrived, impressing the locals. Drawn to the prettiest girl, he was upset when an elderly woman tried to break up the romance.
…
Inn Will Convert to Members-Only Club
Sparks flew briefly in the Chilmark town hall this week after the zoning board of appeals approved a plan to turn the long-established Inn at Blueberry Hill into a members-only private club. The zoning board voted unanimously Tuesday to approve the plan by Lifestyle Development Company, a New York-based for-profit organization. The inn must keep…
District Reduces Aquinnah Assessment Through Aid
At its April meeting, the Up-Island Regional School Committee voted to use recently received impact aid totaling $12,743 to reduce the assessment of the member town of Aquinnah. Because tribal housing is in Aquinnah, the committee decided that that town should reap the benefit from the district’s receipt of the aid. The Wampanoag Tribe of…
Choreographers Note
Choreographers Note Built on Stilts, the Island’s own annual dance festival, will celebrate its summer season August 15 to 19 and 23 to 24. To register a piece, visit online builtonstilts.org. Registration deadline is July 1.
Fine Wines Dinner to Aid Fine Lines of Dancers
The Sweet Life Cafe is collaborating with The Yard to support their artists-in-the-schools program. In the past decade, the program has allowed thousands of Island children to explore dance and music from many cultures with premiere talents in dance education and performance. On Friday, May 2, Sweet Life owners Pierre and Susan Guerin will host…
Contest for Selectman’s Seat Tops Aquinnah Election Ballot
Voters will have three strong-minded candidates to pick from in Aquinnah in a race for selectman to be decided May 14 in the annual town elections. First-term incumbent and current chairman Camille Rose will face off against John Walsh and Roxanne Ackerman for the three-year term. Mr. Walsh is currently a member of the town…
Piper Arrives
Piper Arrives Lauren and George Oskan of West Tisbury announce the birth of a daughter, Piper Lydia Oskan, born on April 8 at the Martha’s Vineyard Community Hospital. Piper is also welcomed by big sister Ella. Piper weighed 8 pounds, 1 ounce at birth.
Glassworks Season to Fire Up at Boston Art Show
Martha’s Vineyard Glassworks this week ignited its furnace for another season, to “charge” (melt) the first pot of glass for 2008. The Glassworks was closed to the public over winter to undertake renovations of the upstairs gallery and energy efficiency improvements on the production floor. Visitors are welcome to watch, learn and appreciate the age-old…
Earth Day Clean Up
Earth Day Clean Up Vineyard Conservation Society’s annual Earth Day Beach Clean Up tomorrow, Saturday, April 19, from 10 to noon, so bring your family and friends to your favorite beach. Volunteers will meet you and show you what to do. Volunteers will receive all the materials needed for the cleanup, plus a conservation society…
