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
March 6, 2009
Prior Preparedness Prevents Problems
The town of Oak Bluffs is proud to be “StormSmart.”
Or rather, the town is on its way to gaining said smartness. Being StormSmart has to do with one of those scary, invisible truths that no one wants to think about: sea level rise. And the debate is over. No matter how well…
Moshup’s Treasure Needs Protection
The Legend of Moshup is an ancient creation story from the Wampanoag oral tradition. It tells of the giant Moshup, the personification of the immense forces of nature, deciding to settle here after a long journey, and dragging his foot to separate Martha’s Vineyard from the mainland and plow up the Cliffs of Gay Head.…
Letters to the Editor
DYING DIFFERENTLY
Editors, Vineyard Gazette:
As with the Moshup Trail heathlands, Hospice of Martha’s Vineyard is a rare and unique species in our world today. It deserves the same kind of consideration and intentional support to preserve its place in our community.
Thrifty Shoppers Suffer for Saftey
Thrifty Shoppers Suffer for Saftey
Hurrah, Hannah
Hurrah, Hannah
Hannah M. Ingalls-McGlynn, of Edgartown, has been named to the Dean’s List at Boston University for the Fall semester.
50 Years Later, a Blue-Eyed Lady Returns to Egypt
I am just back from Egypt. Happily, during my visit, there were no untoward incidents like the recent bombing in a Cairo bazaar. But I was spending more time outside the capital than in it. On this visit, I did not do such obvious touristic things as bazaar shopping, riding a camel or climbing a…
An Ancient Treasure Needs Protection
The Legend of Moshup is an ancient creation story from the Wampanoag oral tradition. It tells of the giant Moshup, the personification of the immense forces of nature, deciding to settle here after a long journey, and dragging his foot to separate Martha’s Vineyard from the mainland and plow up the Cliffs of Gay Head.…
Hard Times Invite Forgiveness
There’s a squirrel hanging about in my yard, and I’m not pleased to have him there. Once, I saw squirrels as playful creatures with fluffy tails and great enthusiasm for life, leaping from limb to limb, bounding over lawns, searching out acorns. All bushy tailed and beady eyed, they were amusing characters in the story…
Spring Ahead
Daylight Saving Time arrives at 2 a.m. Sunday. Remember to turn your clocks, and your computers, ahead one hour.
Sunday Will Be Different
Sunday Will Be Different
Charter School Enrollment
The Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School is hosting an enrollment open house on Wednesday, March 11 — it’s 5:30 p.m. to visit the kindergarten, and 6:30 for grades one to twelve. All are welcome to tour the school and learn about its academic program and warm community atmosphere.
Applications for next school year…
Oak Bluffs Election Sees Five Candidates Vie for Two Seats
The political season in Oak Bluffs promises to feature several exciting races for elected office, as five candidates run for two seats on the board of selectmen and the incumbent moderator faces his first challenger in nine years. West Tisbury should also see some political sparks, as two candidates with a sometimes confrontational past vie…
Edgartown Junkyards Leave Neighbors Arguing Semantics
Recent Edgartown selectmen’s meetings have acquired a running theme — junk.
When residents of Holly Bear Lane came before selectmen shortly before Christmas they complained of a salvage yard in operation at the entrance to the road on property owned by Chris Chambers. This Monday they were back, armed with a list of…
Denys Wortman, Tisbury Selectman, to Step Down
Tisbury selectman Denys Wortman this week announced he was stepping down from the position, and endorsed Tisbury attorney Geoghan Coogan to fill his place on the board.
Mr. Wortman told Tuesday’s selectmen’s meeting he would step down, effective April 28.
He has served just one three-year term and had planned to…
Meeting, Dinner Slated: Island Grown Schools
The first spring community Island Grown Schools meeting will be on Tuesday March 10 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Island Co-Housing Common House in West Tisbury. The meeting will focus on plans for school gardens this spring and summer, and on new opportunities for collaboration between Island farms, schools, and new sources of…
Experimental Mussel Farm Proposed
A bowl of steamed blue mussels is among the most valued culinary seafood dishes on the Island. Just about every restaurant that serves seafood offers the bivalve. But all of the mussels consumed on the Island comes from afar, nearly all from Canada. But in the years ahead the popular shellfish may be raised and…
An Ancient Art Lives on at Island Boatyard
A new 29-foot gaff-rigged sloop is being built at Gannon and Benjamin Marine Railway. The work began in January and the boatyard is working towards a June launch. “In these financial times, we feel fortunate to be building a boat. We only got word after Christmas,” said Ross Gannon of the boatyard. At Christmas time…
Towns Get Creative to Balance Budgets: Can Sheep Take Landscaping Contract?
The tough economic times are forcing officials in cash-strapped Island towns to get innovative heading into the budget season. Town leaders are considering everything from four-day work weeks to replacing landscaping crews with grass-eating sheep — even to sharing resources with other towns, traditionally a hard sell on the Vineyard.
Plan for Stage Venue at Cliffs Passes First Hurdle in Aquinnah
A proposal to build a summer performing arts stage near the Aquinnah Cliffs easily cleared its first hurdle at a special town meeting on Tuesday, despite strong resistance from some Wampanoag tribal representatives.
Two local men, Ted Cammann and Jim Glavin, are behind the move to use the natural amphitheatre within the circle…
Chilmark Scrimps While Value Skyrockets
While its leaders scrape the town coffers for pennies, America’s wealthiest small town just got richer, according to a report from Chilmark’s assistant assessor.
The town’s total value, based on assessments, stands at $3.1 billion in 2009, up $186 million on last year says the report.
Chilmark was deemed the richest…
Chilmark Home Site Can Stay in Family; Questions Remain
Selectmen made an exception for Dardanella and Sean Slavin, Chilmark’s first recipients of an affordable home site under the town’s new affordable housing bylaw, ruling Tuesday to allow the property to pass to an heir without income restrictions.
But in the ruling selectmen wrestled with — and left unanswered — a key philosophical…
Thrift Stores Scrap All Children’s Stock
At a time when the crumbling national economy is forcing many Vineyard families to seek bargains on kids’ clothing, toys and games, both Island thrift stores have been forced to throw away nearly their entire inventory of children’s items due to a new federal law designed to protect children from lead products.
Towns Face $89 Million in Unfunded Liabilities
The taxpayers of Tisbury have been warned they will have to come up with some $1.5 million each year for the next 30 years to meet their currently-unfunded liabilites to town employees.
The huge figure is contained in a comprehensive analysis, carried out by Jon Snyder of the town’s finance and advisory committee,…
Kindergarten Registration
Kindergarten Registration
Tisbury parents of a children who will be five years of age on or before Sept. 1, 2009, are asked to register their child for kindergarten. Call Barbara Armstrong at 508-696-6500 between now and April 3 to request a pre-registration packet and to set up a registration appointment. Registration will be…
Vineyarders Knocked Out of Semifinals
Matt Mincone, coach of the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School boys’ hockey team, wasn’t disappointed by his team’s crushing 3-2 loss last Friday against Coyle Cassidy in the Division 2 South Sectional semifinals, a game decided by the largely unfamiliar format of a shoot-out.
Nor was the coach sad, or enraged by the…
Bank Statement
Bank Statement
The Martha’s Vineyard Savings Bank reported it closed $90.6 million in mortgage loans during 2008. As a result, the bank grew its loan portfolio 6.89 per cent for the year. The bank’s total assets grew 2.55 per cent for the year. Core deposits grew to $360.9 million, and capital grew to…
Mr. Labrecque Promoted
Richard J. Labrecque has been named senior vice president at the Edgartown National Bank.
The new title reflects Mr. Labrecque’s accomplishments in the commercial lending area, said bank president and chief executive Fielding Moore: “Rick has done an excellent job of working with Island businesses to find innovative solutions to meet the banking…
West Tisbury Library Hosts Wednesday Reading Series
The West Tisbury library, in collaboration with the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, will be hosting a five-week Wednesday reading series. The readings will take place Wednesdays, March 11, 18, 25 and April 1 at 5:30 p.m., and will feature one poetry fellow and one fiction fellow. Listeners will have the opportunity to ask…
Consumer Price Watch
Gas
And now, more good news on the proposed gas tax. A group that includes the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce doesn’t think 19 cents is enough; they’d like to make it 25 cents. Still another group thinks 29 cents sounds just right. At either 25 or 29 cents, Massachusetts will have the…
No End In Sight: March Starts With Snow
The season’s first significant northeaster dumped snow on the mainland and shut down transportation, keeping many home, or away from home. March came in like a lion and gave Island school children one more day off before school resumed after the winter break. And many who spent the weekend trying to get back to the…
Skate Shop Burgled During Snow Storm
Tisbury police are investigating a nighttime burglary at the Green Room in downtown Vineyard Haven Sunday night in which someone broke through a side door on the basement level and stole money from a cash register and donations canister and several items of clothing.
West Tisbury Board to Review Police Chief’s Contract Terms
West Tisbury selectmen plan to formally review the contract of Police Chief Beth Toomey in executive session, after learning the agreement contains language that automatically renews the employment terms every three years and has allowed the police chief to accumulate over $50,000 in unused sick days and vacation time.
Oak Bluffs
Thomas Dresser
508 693-1050
thomasdresser@gmail.com
Recent dreams of spring were rudely dashed by the reappearance of old man winter, as March roared in like a lion. Well, as New Englanders know, we just have to deal with it.
The Oak Bluffs library is promoting a new audio…
Hello, Franchesa
Kim and Lee Carlos of Edgartown announce the birth of a daughter, Franchesa Rose Carlos, born on Feb. 11, 2009, at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Franchesa weighed 6 pounds, 12 ounces at birth. She is welcomed by her big sisters, Sabrina and Gabriella.
Scarlett Elizabeth Adams Born Ready for Island Visit
Welcome to Scarlett Elizabeth Adams. Scarlett is the daughter of Susannah and Christopher Adams of Scituate, Mass. She is the great-granddaughter of Helen Jackson of Edgartown and the granddaughter of Marilyn and Bill Adams of Quincy, Mass.
Scarlett’s brother, Charles, and sister, Clara, welcomed her home on Monday, Feb. 23. Her family is…
Chappy
MARGARET KNIGHT
508-627-8894
(margaret02539@yahoo.com)
March the lion roared in on Sunday with snow, ice, rain and wind. March comes just when you think you might have enough firewood or, in our case, wood pellets, to last until spring. It lets you know you were wrong about that, and about…
Temperatures
Temperature: Precip.
Day Max. Min. Inches.
Fº Fº
Feb. 27 48 34 .00
Feb. 28 52 41 .25
March 1 47 31 *.23
March 2 34 29 *1.23
March 3 32 18 .03
March 4 28 16 .00
March 5 34 20 .00
…
Edgartown
KATHIE CASE
508-627-5349
(kathleencase@comcast.net)
I talked to my brother in Florida and he said that it was cold the night before as it got down into the 50’s and my girlfriend on the other coast said she put a sweater on because it was 45 degrees. So I guess…
Chilmark
JANE N. SLATER
508-645-3378
(slaterjn@comcast.net)
It looks a scene from Dr. Zhivago out my window this week… ice and snow everywhere… the geese who hang out in the upper channel at Menemsha are noisy these mornings… cold feet after a night in that water, no doubt. Anyway, by the…
Venus and Saturn
Our skies at night have two planetary visitors. Venus is high in the western sky after sunset, and at the same time there is the ringed planet, Saturn, rising in the east. Both are bright and easy to spot.
Greetings, Tashard
Greetings, Tashard
Sherine Forbes and Tyrone Hutton of Oak Bluffs announce the birth of a son, Tashard Jabori Hutton, born on Feb. 14, 2009, at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Tashard weighed 7 pounds at birth.
Welcome Colette
Welcome Colette
Colette Grace Dampier was born on Jan. 20 at the Aspen Valley Hospital in Aspen, Colo., weighing 8 lbs. 4 oz, and 21.5 inches long. The proud parents are Susan and LeRoy Dampier of Carbondale, Colo., formerly of the Vineyard. The grandparents are Sue Craver of Chilmark and Joe Doherty of…
Aquinnah
JUNE D. MANNING
508-645-2574
(lthslnks@gis.net)
The weekend was rather blustery to say the least. A strong northeast wind prevailed from Saturday night through to Monday, leaving half a foot of snow in most places around Aquinnah. The temperature has remained well below freezing and driveways are thick ice. Many…
Full Film Festival Schedule
Opening Night Program begins at 7 p.m. at the Chilmark Community Center
7 p.m. Life. Support. Music. (Documentary 79 minutes U.S.A. 2009 directed by Eric Daniel Metzgar)
Contest Will See Student Critic Receive Cash, Glory
The Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival is inviting Island high school students to participate in the first ever MVFF High School Critics Challenge. Students currently enrolled at the high school and interested in film are asked to submit essays that address, in no more than 250 words, “The importance of film in today’s culture.” The deadline…
Singer-Songwriter Takes Tisbury Stage
A guitar and banjo player, Tony Furtado mixes modern music with the traditional, creating a distinctive sound.
By the age of 19, Mr. Furtado earned himself a reputation as a young banjo prodigy, winning two National Bluegrass Banjo Championships. Despite the press and praise as one of the most promising bluegrass artists, Mr.…
Wendy Weldon Retrospective
Wendy Weldon Retrospective
A retrospective of paintings by Wendy Weldon will be on exhibit from Feb. 28 through April 4 at the Chilmark Public Library. There will be new work as well as older paintings, all of which have never been exhibited before on the Vineyard. Paintings from her Shrine series, her Bed…
How Salty Dogs Stay Fit: Dr. Michael Jacobs Talks
Dr. Michael Jacobs will speak on Staying Healthy in the Marine Environment: Managing the Fearsome Five at Sail MV’s third winter dinner/lecture at the Black Dog Tavern on Wednesday, March 11, at 6 p.m.
Dr. Jacobs, a lifelong sailor, is director of Vineyard Medical Services and has been a consultant to yachtsmen, sailors,…
The Lonesome West: A Brothers’ Quarrel
The audience at the Katharine Cornell starts tittering the moment Coleman Conner (Chris Brophy) swaggers onstage. Hips thrust forward, jaw slack, malevolent halfwit eyes groping around the room for something to steal or mangle, he manages to make his trip from the doorway to the liquor cabinet into one continuous promise: we are in for…
Whaling Captain’s House Opens for Benefit Tours
Habitat for Humanity of Martha’s Vineyard will hold an Empty House Tour on Saturday, March 7, from noon to 3 p.m. at the Captain Mellon House, an 18th century whaling captain’s home, located at 105 Main street, the corner of Main street and Pease’s Point Way in Edgartown.
The public is invited to…
Film by Local Filmmaker Features at MV Museum
Film producer, director and Chilmark resident Arnie Reisman will show and discuss his newest film, The Powder & the Glory, at the Martha’s Vineyard Museum this Saturday, March 7. The showing will celebrate the opening of the museum’s new exhibit, Voices of Vineyard Women.
Lorraine Parish Teaches, After a Fashion
When people ask Vineyard Haven clothing designer Lorraine Parish if she got her start while studying at Rhode Island School of Design, she laughs and tells them, “No, it was ninth-grade Home Ec.” Her career in fashion took off from there.
Louisa Gould Reopens
To celebrate the reopening of her Main street, Vineyard Haven gallery, Louisa Gould is offering free art tomorrow.
Louisa Gould Gallery has been under renovated since a pipe burst of Jan. 2, but it will reopen tomorrow, Saturday, March 7, from noon to 5 p.m. And as a thank you to customers, Ms.…
Zephrus Offers Benefit Dinner on International Women’s Day
Sheila Bracy, Executive Director of Women Empowered, stumbled on a unique idea for her March 8 fundraiser. “Zephrus is offering a wonderful opportunity for Women Empowered to celebrate International Women’s Day with its supporters and to raise money for our program.” Dinner this Sunday is open to the public, and 20 per cent of the…
For Three Days, Chilmark Joins Sundance, Cannes and Tribeca
Why do we tell stories?
Under the blanket of interminable Vineyard winter, the answer that jumps to mind most readily is claustrophobia; the need to leave our own the immediate situation and rediscover vastness; to escape ourselves for long enough to see our own contours a little bit more clearly.
The Vineyard Gardener
By Lynne Irons
Thank you so much — you know who you are — to all the callers willing to give me information about locating peanut seeds. Honestly, it is humbling to think you are all out there reading this. What I don’t know about gardening is a lot. I do make up…
Methodists in March
Methodists in March
The three United Methodist churches — Christ, Edgartown and Trinity United Methodist — will join together for Sunday morning worship at the Trinity United Methodist Church at 10 a.m. during the month of March. Worship is followed by coffee hour and adult bible study. For more information, please call the…
Chapter 42: Just Because Abe’s Paranoid…
In this year-long serialized novel set on the Vineyard in real time, a native Islander (“Call me Becca”) returns home after two decades to help her eccentric Uncle Abe keep his landscaping business, Pequot, afloat. Abe fears and detests Richard Moby, the CEO of an off-Island wholesale nursery, Broadway. Convinced that Moby wants to destroy…
Early Record Osprey Sighting
Our adventures in Botswana will have to wait for next week as the birds take precedence.
Bird Sightings:
We appear to have a new early record for the sighting of an osprey over the Island. Will and Sue Geresy of Chappaquiddick spotted a very high flying osprey over Poucha Pond on…
Global Flight Paths
Birds are changing their winter ranges as a result of climate change. Average temperatures in January have increased more than five degrees Fahrenheit in the continental United States between 1966 and 2005, and the ranges of many species of birds in the early winter have shifted northward.
