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
June 5, 2009
Wheelock Graduate
Wheelock Graduate
Kaitlyn L. Maciel of West Tisbury graduated from Wheelock College in Boston on May 15 with a bachelor of arts degree.
Aquinnah Selectmen to Revisit Proposal for Concerts at Cliffs
Less than a month after spiking a proposal to build a performing arts stage at the Aquinnah Cliffs town leaders decided this week, over the bitter protest of one selectman, to have another look at it.
After heated debate, the board voted 2-1 to redraft a request for proposals for the controversial idea,…
50 Years On, The High School Class of 1960 Reunites, Again
It was an informal class reunion Monday evening, when a small group of the very first graduates of Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School gathered again at their alma matter.
“This year’s graduating class is the 50th. I thought it would be nice to bring back the first,” said regional high school principal Steven…
Sophomores Speak Out
Living on the Island has many benefits. One such benefit is all the job opportunities. Island teenagers have such a variety of choices for summer work. We don’t realize how lucky we are. Anywhere else jobs for teenagers would need to be close by. Here, even if it is in another town, it is still…
Live Differently, Expect Challenges
Jay Segredo, one of the main characters in my novel The Mud of the Place, is a gay man who grew up on Martha’s Vineyard but lived off-Island for two decades. Though close to his family, he’s never come out to any of them, and when he moves back to the Vineyard, where everybody knows…
Cell Phone Coverage: Not So Simple
Reading the Fine Print
Editors, Vineyard Gazette:
The proposed distributed antenna system (DAS), to improve wireless and public service telecommunications up-Island, has many facets to it, as I have learned over the past year since I inherited West Tisbury’s place on the tri-town DAS committee.
Providing accurate information to…
Dangers Lurk in an Island Summer
I recently returned from a three-week hiking trip in the Ozarks, in time for a second springtime here on-Island. Spring here seems to be about a month behind where it was in Arkansas: leaf-out just beginning, poison ivy red and crinkly and pert, puddles announcing their presence with shrill frog choruses. (At least I assume…
Walking Tall, for a Good Cause
Walking Tall, for a Good Cause
This evening begins one of the most poignant and boisterous and multigenerational and successful of the many annual fundraisers on the Island — the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life.
No Longer Golden Pond
No Longer Golden Pond
Sengekontacket Pond is in trouble, but not from bacterial contamination, making the state-mandated summer closures on the pond, now in their second year, seem like a bureaucratic farce.
Guest Preacher at Chilmark Methodist
Nell Fields, chaplain and director of the Hope Project at Westborough State Hospital, will preach at the Chilmark Community Methodist Church on Sunday, June 7 at 9 a.m. Ms. Fields holds a Masters of Divinity from Andover Newton Theological School. The Hope Project is a multi-year, multi-disciplinary, hospital-wide initiative on hope therapy, a cognitive-based intervention…
Edgartown Library Takes Home Five State Awards
On the strength of four entries, the Edgartown library won five state awards for excellence last month from the Massachusetts Library Association.
At the association’s annual convention in Springfield, the library won awards in every category it had entered, plus a special statewide honor as well.
The annual contest involves academic,…
University Dean’s List
University Dean’s List
The following students were named to the dean’s list for the fall 2008 semester at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst: Carlos J. Ventura Jr. and Cassandra L, Nordstrom of Edgartown; Ashley E. Rebello, Benjamin A. Madeiras and Jesse H. Nicholson of Oak Bluffs; Allison C. Brown, Julius B. Lowe,…
Temperatures
Temperature: Precip.
Day Max. Min. Inches.
Fº Fº
May 29 61 52 .09
May 30 62 56 .27
May 31 74 51 .00
June 1 71 44 .00
June 2 64 53 .00
June 3 66 55 .03
June 4 70 54 .63
…
Regional High School Awards Honors
Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School held their honors night yesterday at 7 p.m. at the performing arts center with principal Stephen Nixon announcing the following awards:
Art: Excellence in drawing and painting, Lauren Petkus; excellence in photography and graphics, Raymond Ewing; excellence in 3d design and architecture, Douglas Fraser and Clarissa Murphy; excellence…
High School Tennis Falls to Third Seed Dover-Sherborn After a Solid Season
The regional high school boys’ tennis team fought valiantly on Wednesday in the second round of the Division 3 state tournament against number three seed Dover-Sherborn, but in the end fell to the defending South Sectional champions 4-1.
Despite the loss the Vineyard boys had a remarkable season, going 15-5 overall and advancing…
Edgartown
KATHIE CASE
508-627-5349
(kathleencase@comcast.net)
We are all still waiting for the heat to arrive. I have seen so many people with their warm jackets on, including myself, but we have to smile as the Island is blooming with green, and the iris’s are out and many other spring flowers.
Aquinnah
JUNE MANNING
508-645-2574
(lthslnks@gis.net)
One week of a reprieve before my family home is torn down. Thanks for the additional time. It is terribly difficult to part with some of the treasures of several generations. But, everyone keeps saying “think positive” and look forward to the new beginnings for…
West Tisbury
JOHN S. ALLEY
508-693-2950
(alleys@vineyard.net)
The weekend started out gray with a threat of rain, but lawn mowers could be heard buzzing most everywhere in town. There was a shower or two but it didn’t amount to very much after all and many outside chores were completed. The rhododendron…
Chilmark
JANE N. SLATER
508-645-3378
(slaterjn@comcast.net)
Chilmark sends condolences to the family and many friends of Lorna Tilton Flanders who died at her home on Monday. The burial was at Abel’s Hill cemetery on Wednesday. She was part of the Chilmark community most of her life and we will all…
Hello, Ella
Hello, Ella
Danielle Dunn and Sam Dunn of Tisbury announce the birth of a daughter, Ella Byrne Dunn, born on May 27, 2009, at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Ella weighed 8 pounds, 7 ounces at birth.
Women’s Representative
Women’s Representative
Elaine Weintraub of West Tisbury has been named to a two-year term on the Cape Cod and Islands Commission on the Status of Women.
The appointment was made by Greer Switson, chairman of the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women. Ms. Weintraub is a longtime global studies teacher…
Strawberry Moon
Sunday night’s full moon appears in the zodiacal constellation Scorpius. It is time for the Strawberry Moon. This is as far south as the Full Moon gets and it always takes place in June. Just as astronomers report that the noontime sun is at the highest on the day of summer solstice, the full moon…
Consumer Price Watch
Gas
Prices for regular unleaded gas as of June 1:
Edgartown
Airport Mobil $3.049 Depot Corner $3.199
Edgartown Mobil $3.259
Oak Bluffs
deBettencourt’s $3.089
Jim’s $3.099
Vineyard Haven
Citgo $3.059
Tisbury Shell $3.069
…
Hospital Chairman Resigns N.J. Post
The chairman of the board of trustees for the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital is mired in controversy at another hospital in Hackensack, N.J., where he has resigned his position.
John P. Ferguson, the longtime president and chief executive officer at the Hackensack University Medical Center, stepped down last week amid an unfolding scandal and…
Author to Debut Book on Comics Genius
West Tisbury Renaissance man Paul Karasik is launching his new book You Shall Die By Your Own Evil Creation in style, presenting The Fletcher Hanks Experience — a safari over the craggy landscape of the psyche of comic legend Fletcher Hanks — tomorrow at the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art Festival 2009 in New…
Aquinnah Makes Quorum, Quick Decisions
It was a labor of love that lacked passion at the Aquinnah special town meeting Wednesday night — a bare quorum of 42 voters turned out to dispose of a 15-article warrant, offering scant discussion, and it was all over within half an hour.
Chilmark Faces Grave Issues in Reshuffle
Incoming Chilmark police chief Brian Coffi created several staffing issues when he accepted the position a fortnight ago.
The town is looking for a replacement patrolman and they’ll also need a superintendent of cemeteries.
Mr. Coffi has been patrolman since 2001 and has been tending the town cemetery since Basil Welch…
Island Hip-Hop Dancers Win Prize
A Martha’s Vineyard dance crew led by choreographer Kelly Peters rocked a Times Square Hard Rock Cafe in a national dance competition sponsored by Clearasil.
The skin-care giant hosted the Pimple Blocker Battle, a dance-off between five dance groups from around the country. The competition was designed as a promotion for Clearasil’s new…
Hello, Humberto
Hello, Humberto
Jane McGroarty Sampaio and Humberto McGroarty Sampaio of Oak Bluffs announce the birth of a son, Humberto Kenneth McGroarty Sampaio, born on June 1, 2009, at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Humberto weighed 8 pounds, 9 ounces at birth.
Erika Arrives
Erika Arrives
Laura Hayden and Danny Cournoyer of Edgartown announce the birth of a daughter, Erika Destiney Cournoyer, born on June 1, 2009, at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Erika weighed 7 pounds, 9 ounces at birth. She is welcomed by big sisters Amanda and Madison and big brother Ryan.
Welcome Lily
Welcome Lily
Laura Street and Erick Street of Venice, Calif., and West Tisbury announce the birth of a daughter, Lily June Street, born on April 2, 2009, at UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica. Lily weighed 7 pounds, 2 ounces at birth.
She is welcomed by grandmother Margot Barnes Goodwin of…
Eelgrass Makes A Comeback In Katama Bay
The decline of eelgrass on the Vineyard and along the eastern seaboard has been known and documented for many years. Eelgrass is key to the health of a coastal pond ecosystem, and its disappearance has had a significant impact on sea life, fish and shellfish.
But in at least one area of Katama…
Edgartown Bill Comes Due: MVC Assessment Must Be Paid
As Edgartown announced a special town meeting to pay its share of running costs for the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, selectman Arthur Smadbeck issued a scathing review of the planning agency’s behavior and budgeting process this week, bluntly questioning its continued usefulness as a regional body.
“Let’s analyze it,” he told the Gazette this…
On the Defensive, Selectman Declares Government is Open
Tisbury selectmen this week responded sharply to criticism of their style of management, following accusations of secrecy in relation to police chief John Cashin’s departure, and broader criticism about undue interference in the affairs of town departments.
At the beginning of Tuesday’s meeting of the selectmen, board chairman Tristan Israel gave a spirited…
Nine Charter School Graduates Shine
As the Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School’s ninth graduating class prepares for commencement tomorrow, this small community will celebrate the achievements of its largest group ever — nine students, fittingly.
Downturn Colors Outlook for Summer
With the summer rental market still soft and an economy that has grown overly reliant on real estate and construction trades, business leaders on the Vineyard are keeping a wary eye on trends in commerce as the summer season begins.
Memorial Day weekend brought a small flood of visitors and many businesses reported…
Cape Wind is Moving Ahead
It has been 2,755 days since the Cape Wind project was first formally proposed. It is a controversy older than the war in Iraq. Hostilities began only a few weeks after the war in Afghanistan.
And, as in those other conflicts, indeed in any protracted battle, it’s crucial to maintain morale of the…
Town Tackles Budget Crisis
Oak Bluffs leaders said this week that a special town meeting will be held in late summer where voters will be asked to cut approximately $500,000 from next years’s budget — approved at town meeting only two months ago — in order to ensure that the state Department of Revenue will sign off on next…
Corrections
Corrections
A headline on a story about health insurance changes on the Vineyard published in last Friday’s Gazette was inaccurate; the changes do not mean that 1,500 Islanders will be without health insurance.
•
A story in the Tuesday Gazette about Sengekontacket Pond carried the wrong last name for one of…
The Vineyard Gardener
By LYNNE IRONS
I realize it is unpopular to want more rain but, honestly, the several days of hot, dry wind just sucked the moisture out of everything including me. Even after last Friday’s lovely shower, the soil was completely dusty a half inch down. I’m hyper-aware of this fact as I am…
Star of the Wood
Star flower, star power.
If you find yourself seeing stars in the middle of the day, in bright sunlight, it may not necessarily be due to a bump on the head. It may simply be Mother Nature making magic.
Norton Point Shorebirds
Bird watching or birding, you may call it what you wish, is great hobby, occupation, form of relaxation, and more than anything else is an ongoing education. The learning experience involved in birding is one that has kept me hooked on watching, reading about, talking to others about, and surfing the net for information about…
May 29: Mostly Overcast
Friday, May 29: Mostly overcast. Skies darken as storm clouds pass overhead. Occasional rain. A midafternoon heavy shower. Pools of rainwater on the street have streaks of yellow pollen. Skies start to clear before sunset. Partly cloudy at night.
Felix Neck Citizen Science Aided by Grant for Intern
Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary will conduct new research with the help of citizen scientists, thanks to an environmental science research grant awarded by the Vermont Institute of Natural Science and the Student Conservation Association.
The grant provides funding for a conservation intern to work on wildlife research projects, including horseshoe crab monitoring, dragonfly…
The Fishermen
By MARK ALAN LOVEWELL
Fewer fish were caught and released in the 18th annual Martha’s Vineyard Rod and Gun Club’s flyrod striped bass catch and release tournament last weekend than in the previous year’s contest. It may be the first time the number of fish caught and released was less than the number…
Cape Cod Baseball League to Play On Island
Cape Cod Baseball League to Play On Island
This Tuesday, June 9, two franchises of the famous Cape Cod Baseball League will go head to head on Vineyard soil when the Falmouth Commodores play host the Wareham Gatemen at the Vineyard Baseball Park at the high school at 1 p.m. An autograph session…
Virtuoso Guitarist Plays Dive Bar
Virtuoso Guitarist Plays Dive Bar
Jersey Shore-based musician Pat Guadagno will perform two shows on Friday and Saturday, June 5 and 6 at the Dive Bar on Circuit avenue in Oak Bluffs, located between the Ritz and the Lampost. The club, formerly known as the Rare Duck, has been a tour stop for…
Money Raised to Fill Island Food Pantry
Money for the Vineyard Food Pantry, now closed for the summer, comes from many different sources. Recently the cochairmen of last year’s Crop Walk, Phil Dietterich and Alden Besse, presented a check to Armen Hanjian, food pantry coordinator, for $5,113, earmarked to bolster the pantry coffers as it continues to provide food for Islanders in…
Fundraiser Turns Diners’ Dollars Into Flyer Miles for Drama Kids
High school drama students played in the Yard last weekend — performing in a new (for them) up-Island setting to match the students’ new much-upped fund-raising goal: enough money to take a strong ensemble to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival next year.
This fundraiser was particularly significant for the drama department because…
Café Fashions Designer Yard Benefit
What do food, fashion and fine wine have in common? Surprisingly, the Yard, the Island’s choreography and performing arts center in Chilmark. Connecting the dots requires going to the other end of the Island. First, across from the Black Dog Tavern in Vineyard Haven, where fashion designer Stina Sayre keeps shop. Then to Oak Bluffs,…
Double Dose of Comedy
Double Dose of Comedy
Aquarium Passes
Aquarium Passes
Landscape History Talk
Landscape History Talk
On Wednesday, June 10, at 7:30 p.m. the Polly Hill Arboretum welcomes David Foster, forest ecologist and director of the Harvard Forest, who will speak about the landscape history of Martha’s Vineyard and nearby coastal Islands.
Every landscape is shaped by the historical interaction between humans and the…
Benefit Art Show
Benefit Art Show
Island of Women
Island of Women
An Island of Women, an original musical, looks at life on the Vineyard between 1850 and 1852 when much of the male population was off whaling. It was created by Island historian and director E. St. John Villard. It’s music was composed by retired Methodist minister of music Phil Dietterich,…
Women Empowered Honor Founder, and Woman of Year
Guests swarmed to Mediterranean restaurant early Saturday afternoon to honor Empowered Woman of the Year Cindy Doyle and to observe the passing of the torch from former Women Empowered executive director Kaye Flathers to successor Sheila Bracy.
“We were thrilled with the turnout,” said Ms. Bracy. She attributes the success of the brunch…
Director Mollye Maxner Wows With Play
If there’s to be a central tragedy in one’s life, odds-on it’s bound up in the heartbreak of an unhappy family. In Athol Fugard’s seminal play, Master Harold and the Boys, which premiered in 1982 at the Yale Repertory Theatre before going on to an extended run at the Lyceum on Broadway, the playwright depicts…
Inspiration Weekend 2009: Tabernacle Returns to Roots in Religious Revival
Is the Vineyard poised to become the launch point for the next American Great Awakening?
Ask Squire Rushnell and Louise DuArt, the celebrity entertainers and authors who are the masterminds behind Inspiration Weekend 2009, which runs this weekend (June 5 to June 7), at the Tabernacle in Oak Bluffs, and they’ll tell you…
