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
May 29, 2009
News Update: Friday, May 29 – Winning Streak Ends for Vineyard Girls
The dream season for girls’ lacrosse came to an end Friday on a muddy, rain-soaked field at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School against a powerful team from Hingham. The Hingham girls prevailed 11-8 in the second round of the state tournament. The Vineyard girls, who have been undefeated all season and had advanced to…
Inspiration Will Strike Tabernacle Next Weekend
The Tabernacle in Oak Bluffs will see one of it’s first crowds of the summer at the upcoming Inspiration Weekend, June 5 to 7, hosted by the Martha’s Vineyard Methodists. Senior pastor at First Baptist Church of Atlanta and founder and president of In Touch Ministries, Dr. Charles Stanley will lead the event, which features…
Island Bear Gets Mainland Makeover
Smokey the Bear, the trusted and revered advocate for forest fire prevention, was brutally attacked at his Island home at the corner of Barnes and Edgartown-West Tisbury Roads sometime this winter, authorities confirmed this week.
Consumer Price Watch
Gas
Prices for regular unleaded gas as of May 26:
Edgartown
Airport Mobil $2.999 Depot Corner $2.999
Edgartown Mobil $3.059
Oak Bluffs
deBettencourt’s $3.019
Jim’s $3.059
Vineyard Haven
Citgo $2.939
Tisbury Shell $2.999
…
Mid-June Opening Likely For New Island Nightclub, Nectars
With most permitting in hand and a planned roster of regional and national musical acts up their sleeves, a group of Vermont promoters plan to open doors next month on the property formerly home to the Outerland nightclub.
Remaining red tape notwithstanding, the owners of Nectar’s nightclub in Burlington, Vt., aim to launch…
West Tisbury Wary of Cell Tower Plan
A majority of West Tisbury residents at a packed public meeting on Wednesday spoke against a plan from American Tower Corporation to build a distributed antenna system (DAS) to improve cell phone coverage in the three up-Island towns.
Many who attended the meeting cited concerns about safety, questioning whether radio frequency from the…
Soft-Serve Scofflaw Arrested
Eating ice cream is a familiar pastime on Memorial Day weekend, but for Zachary Gould, 25, of Oak Bluffs, who had a sweet tooth and apparently too much to drink, the temptation to grab some soft-serve proved to be criminal.
Edgartown police yesterday arrested Mr. Gould, who smashed in the back door of…
Health Care Access Offers Help to Navigate Insurance Changes
Some 1,500 Vineyard residents will have to find a new health insurer, following the Island hospital’s decision to stop accepting the Boston Medical Center (BMC) HealthNet program, one of two Commonwealth Care providers here.
From the end of June, BMC will withdraw from the Island and another insurer, Neighborhood Health, will come in.…
Memorial Day
Memorial Day
A Name Is a Claim on a Life, a History
Memorial Day brings many great tradi tions. Yesterday we watched some of the tributes on the television and I was struck by the footage of visitors to The Wall in Washington, D.C., to pay tribute to those who lost their lives in Viet Nam. As most people know, the memorial is a triangular shaped wall…
Vineyard Hospice Begins New Chapter
On May 28 Hospice of Martha’s Vineyard and Hospice & Palliative Care of Cape Cod (H& PCCC) announced an alliance that will bring expanded hospice services to Martha’s Vineyard while preserving the traditional role of Hospice. This letter is an effort to set forth my personal feelings and the board’s rationale for this innovative undertaking.
Transparency and Accountability Trump Conflicts of Interest
To quote the Vineyard Gazette editorial in the May 15 issue: “The goals of affordable housing are both vital and laudable, but they are not above the equally important principles of transparency and accountability, especially to the thousands of private donors and taxpayers who have contributed so generously to a good cause.”
The Island…
Letters to the Editor
enough hypocrisy
Editors, Vineyard Gazette:
This from Laurie David’s (self-proclaimed environmental activist) blog on the Huffington Post:
“My favorite action tip for the week is to stop idling. On average, a car will burn more than half a gallon of fuel for every hour spent idling. In general, 10…
The Curious Anatomy Of a Junk Drawer
We just installed a new oven and the kitchen has been all torn up. A fit of tidiness and order naturally followed this upheaval, an inspiration to do something serious about cleaning things up to match the shiny new appliance. Starting to hunt for a Band-aid in a kitchen drawer full of junk, I decided…
Port Town in a Storm
Port Town in a Storm
A Daunting Task
A Daunting Task
While Island seniors and their families are planning their graduation parties, parents of Island middle schoolers are discovering ways to make sure their kids reach graduation, happy and healthy. The Martha’s Vineyard Youth Task Force hosted dinners at all Island schools in the past week, to communicate with parents about…
Walkers Go All Night, Raising Money for Cancer Research
The American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life sets up at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School next week for its sixth annual event. Teams of walkers and runners will gather at 3 p.m. on Friday, June 5 and most will camp overnight so they can continue taking turns on the track until the event ends…
Habitat Applications
Habitat for Humanity of Martha’s Vineyard and the Town of West Tisbury have extended the deadline for applications to buy and help build one of eight houses at Eliakim’s Way at 250 State Road in West Tisbury.
The three-bedroom, affordable, energy efficient house will include solar panels to approach zero net energy use.…
Tisbury School Honor Roll Announced
Tisbury School has announced the third quarter honor roll for 2009.
Fifth grade high honors go to Benjamin Davey, Olivia Jacobs, Nelly Katzman and Casey McAndrews.
Fifth grade honors go to Matthew Barton, Gabriel Canham, Elissa DeCosta, Celena Guimaraes, Karem Guimaraes, Edwin Gould-Hatt, Mya Houston, Jacob Janak, Jacob King, Evan Kristal,…
Youth Task Force Meets and Mulls Over Substances, Consequences and Chowder
There’s nothing like a piping hot cup of New England’s finest potage to warm parents to the idea of talking to their kids about drugs and alcohol.
The Martha’s Vineyard Youth Task Force welcomed its highest turnout yet of seventh and eighth grade parents to this season’s final Chat and Chowder event at…
Calling All Poets
Calling All Poets
The Island Voices poetry performance series continues at Che’s Lounge on Wednesday, June 3 at 7:30 p.m. All Island poets are invited. The event is slated to continue weekly through the summer, with a roster including spoken word performers, rappers and freestylers, slam poets, singer-songwriters, and free verse and traditional…
Unofficial Champs Take Game, Set, Match
The Vineyard boys’ tennis team this week earned a number three seed and a bye in the first round of the MIAA tournament, and will play at home on Monday; meanwhile the boys’ lacrosse team lost to Sandwich in the first round of the state tournament on Tuesday.
The boys’ tennis team finished…
For Swimming Against Apathy, Cindy Doyle Is Woman of Year
It all began as a quest for a swimming pool.
Cindy Doyle spent five mornings a week swimming at her local YMCA in Providence. The only downside of her decision to make the Vineyard her year-round home in 2001 was the absence of a pool for her daily workout. “I found out about…
Catch and Release Tournament Starts Tomorrow
Tomorrow, flyfishermen from around the Island and beyond will gather for the 18th annual Martha’s Vineyard Rod and Gun Club flyrod catch and release tournament. Registration is at the regional high school cafeteria from noon to 3 p.m. Entry fee is $35. Fishing begins at 7 p.m. and continues until 2 a.m. Sunday.
…
Vineyard Fast Ferry Lowers Rates; Reservations Up
The Vineyard Fast Ferry, shuttling passengers from Quonset Point, R.I., to the Island for its seventh summer season, has lowered rates to their lowest level since 2006 thanks to lower fuel costs.
Vineyard Fast Ferry president Charles A. Donadio Jr. said reservations are up over last summer on the service which passengers use…
Botched Exercise Puts Five in The Drink
Five Coast Guardsmen were rescued from a submerged 25-foot response boat on Wednesday during a training exercise 10 miles south of Noman’s Land. The Coast Guard said one of the men suffered an ankle injury while another was treated for hypothermia. They were transported quickly to Menemsha where they were met by paramedics, according to…
Dirty History: Archaeologist James Tuck Unearths The Pieces of Centuries Past
James A. Tuck has traveled through the centuries on the Vineyard, not to mention in New York and Newfoundland.
Mr. Tuck, 68, is one of Canada’s top archaeologists; two weeks ago, he and his colleague Robert J. McGhee were honored by their peers at the Canadian Archaeological Association with the Gagnant du Prix…
Joins Tennis Center
Joins Tennis Center
Damon Burke has joined the Vineyard Tennis Center, Workout and Spa as its new assistant director. A former Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School student, Mr. Burke has had a lifelong commitment to sports and fitness. He played soccer for Long Island University (Southampton and CW Post) and for the Kyoto…
Council Turns 18
Council Turns 18
The Tisbury council on aging will celebrate its 18th anniversary on Sunday, June 7 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Tisbury senior center. Entertainment will be provided by Ray Frazio and there will be refreshments. The public is invited.
Foundation Grants
Foundation Grants
The Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation is accepting inquiries in its 2009 Developmental Disabilities Grant category.
Organizations on Martha’s Vineyard serving children and adolescents with developmental disabilities may be eligible for funds. The due date for the letter of inquiry is July 22, 2009. For more information, see…
Activist Laurie David Cited For Wetlands Violations
Noted environmental activist and Chilmark seasonal resident Laurie David has been cited and fined by the Chilmark conservation commission for fresh violations of the state Wetlands Protection Act.
The property owned by Ms. David off North Road was the subject of a series of wetlands violations in 2005, when construction of a stone…
Vineyard Hospice Plans Expansion
Hospice of Martha’s Vineyard announced this week that it will join forces with a leading Cape Cod hospice organization, a move that will lead to expanded services including those covered by Medicare, Medicaid and other insurance carriers.
The plan calls for Hospice & Palliative Care of Cape Cod to become affiliated with the…
Spica
The brilliant star in the southern sky is Spica. Spica appears almost due south soon after sunset and it is readily noticeable with its distinct bluish white color. Spica is one of the brightest stars in our night sky and the principal star in the zodiacal constellation Virgo.
Girls Advance in State Tournament
Although persistent drizzle made the playing field slippery on Wednesday, the undefeated Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School girls’ lacrosse team had no problems finding their footing, easily defeating lower-seeded Oliver Ames in the Division II sectionals of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association tournament to advance to the next round.
Police Chief’s Comments to a Newspaper Two Years Ago Are Remarkably Similar
Almost two years before he made the scathing comments about the Tisbury police which cost him his job, police chief John Cashin launched a similar broadside, aimed at his former colleagues on the Norwalk, Ct., police force
It was on July 26, 2007 and Mr. Cashin was almost 10 months into his tenure…
Archaeological Board Gives Blue Mussel Farm a Green Light
A project to build an experimental blue mussel farm off the Vineyard has cleared a thorny bureaucratic hurdle and may begin as soon as a month from now.
Believed to be an innovative and key leg of a movement to revive the fishing industry here, the project has the backing of state, local…
Chappy Heliport Plan Will Not Fly, Says Superior Court Judge
In a strong endorsement of the planning powers of local towns, a superior court judge this week upheld Edgartown’s right to stop a Chappaquiddick resident from using a backyard “heliport” to fly to and from his property.
The Hon. Cornelius J. Moriarty, an associate justice of the superior court, upheld the town’s cease…
Temperatures
Temperature: Precip.
Day Max. Min. Inches.
Fº Fº
May 22 71 54 .00
May 23 72 57 .00
May 24 65 53 Trace
May 25 68 58 .02
May 26 77 51 .00
May 27 60 48 .02
May 28 58 52 .07
…
Awash in Red Ink, Town Faces Employee Layoffs
Faced with a budget deficit for the current and next fiscal years that could total $1 million or more combined, Oak Bluffs officials are bracing for hard choices likely to include a special town meeting to slash spending as well as laying off some town employees.
Chappy
Margaret Knight
508 627-8894
(margaret02539@yahoo.com)
Despite the cool temperatures and what the calendar says, summer has started. One of the sure signs is a siting of Siamak Adibi riding his bike up to or back from the ferry. He has a way of pedaling along that makes it look…
Chilmark
JANE N. SLATER
508-645-3378
(slaterjn@comcast.net)
Chilmark bravely celebrated the weekend chosen to be the Memorial Day weekend in weather of assorted stripe. It was earlier than the traditional weekend and maybe that explains the cold and foggy days we had in town. Some folks went swimming and there were…
Aquinnah
JUNE MANNING
508-645-2574
(lthslnks@gis.net)
Sincerest condolences to the family and friends of Thomas Battiste of Cape Breton who passed away on Tuesday following a brief illness. Tom, a graduate of Harvard University, had worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington, D.C., and was part of the original…
Edgartown
KATHIE CASE
508-627-5349
(kathleencase@comcast.net)
Well, Memorial Day weekend has now come and gone, and I guess summer is officially on. It was a week early but someone forgot to tell Mother Nature, as instead of the weather getting warmer, it got colder. I can not remember the last time…
Tuesday’s Full of News
Notice to our readers: the Gazette begins its twice-weekly publication this week, so watch for the Tuesday edition, beginning June 2. Summer is certain to follow. See you Tuesday.
Faces and Figures at Featherstone
With a quiet, unerring regularity, two groups of life drawing artists have congregated at Featherstone Center for the Arts in Oak Bluffs each and every week for years, slowly improving their ability to conjure living, breathing images out of flat white paper.
The best work from members of both the Tom Maley and…
Kaleidescope Dancers To Perform Sunday Show
Kaleidescope Dance will make school more fun (and inspiring) than you ever imagined, when it presents the 14th annual spring show on Sunday, May 31, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the performing arts center at the regional high school.
The Grocer’s Son Visits Katharine Cornell Theatre
This Saturday, May 30, The Grocer’s Son screens at the Katharine Cornell Theatre at 8 p.m. This 2008 film from France, starring Nicolas Cazale as Antoine, retells the fable of the prodigal son with modern updates. The Martha’s Vineyard Film Society’s Richard Paradise summarizes, “Antoine reluctantly returns to his rural hometown after 10 years in…
Children’s Ballet
Children’s Ballet
No June Kids Programs
No June Kids Programs
The youth programs at the Vineyard Haven Public Library will be on hiatus for the month of June. They resume July 2 and continue throughout the summer. The hiatus will allow librarians to plan and organize a full Summer Reading Program, with many exciting events including a visit by…
New Gardening Program Debuts at Native Earth
Prosperity Gardening at the Native Earth Teaching Farm, located at 94 North Road in Chilmark, begins Sunday, May 31, from 3:30 to 5 p.m., and continues weekly throughout the summer.
Wes Nagy Ensemble Plays Grace Church
Grace Church welcomes the Wes Nagy Jazz Ensemble at their 11 a.m. Worship service on the Day of Pentecost: Sunday, May 31. Under the leadership of keyboardist Wes Nagy (who also happens to be the Director of Music at Grace Church), the ensemble will perform a medley of jazz music and will also accompany the…
Spring Migration
Late spring can be an interesting time for Vineyard birders. Although the migration of dicky-birds as well as shore birds, waterfowl and hawks has finished for the season, there are always surprises. The sandhill crane that appeared last week isn’t a bird one would expect to see during a normal Vineyard spring migration. The return…
Built on Stilts
Built on Stilts
Built on Stilts, the Island’s community dance and performance festival, is accepting registrations for participating artists now through July 1. The festival will run from August 12 to 17. The Built on Stilts children’s programs, Stiltshop and Advancedshop, are also now enrolling on a first-come, first-served basis. Visit builtonstilts.org for…
Moby Rich Author Faces Final Judgment; Mr. Melville Unhappy
Scene: The Pearly Gates, hopefully a good 50 years from now. St. Peter is standing by the gates. Nicole Galland enters, agog at what is before her.
NG: There must be some mistake. I’m an agnostic Buddhist pagan. Plus I’m Jewish. I think I took the wrong exit.
New Island Lifeguards
New Island Lifeguards
After successfully completing a rigorous Red Cross program, 16 Mansion House swimmers were certified as lifeguards. The Mansion House was pleased to donate pool time and classroom space, as it continues to support lifeguard training as certified by the Red Cross and taught by Jennifer Fragosa.
Life guarding…
ServSafe Certification Lets Schools Serve Fresher Food
Vineyarders can now train here for certification that enables them to help prepare fresh local food in school cafeterias, an important piece of supporting Island food service staff and the extra work it takes to use fresh, rather than canned or frozen, food in school meals and snacks.
The ServSafe certification training will…
Young Actors to Hit Global Stage
When an actor is nominated for an Oscar, the studio handles the marketing, with expensive lobbying campaigns planned over months.
When Kate Murray and her drama department at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School found out they’d been nominated for a comparable reward — a spot representing American student theatre at the Edinburgh…
Hard to Swallow
Chokeberry had a stranglehold on James Hardin’s affection.
In 1973, James W. Hardin wrote an article called The Enigmatic Chokeberries. While I was unable to find this treatise on his beloved plant, I can relate to his fondness for a lanky shrub that is currently blooming in woodlands Islandwide.
The Vineyard Gardener
By LYNNE IRONS
Uncle! I have tried to do too much with this baby boomer body. It is remarkable how many different body parts hurt every morning. I hobble around for a couple hours when, not very long ago, I could hit the ground running. No matter! I’ll rest when I’m dead.
Moby Rich: The Epilogue
Moby Rich told the story of native Islander (“Call me Becca”) who returned home after many years away, to help her unstable Uncle Abe keep his landscaping business, Pequot, afloat. Abe had a monomaniacal fear and loathing of Richard Moby, the CEO of an off-Island wholesale nursery, who unscrupulously took over one Island landscaping business…
