Mary Oliver
The wind wags its many tails. And in the evening the piled firewood shifts a little, longing to be on its way. —Mary Oliver
January 28, 2011
News Update: Tuesday, February 1 – Weather Sees After-School, Other Activities Canceled
All after-school and evening activities of the Martha’s Vineyard Public Schools are canceled for Tuesday, Feb. 1, according to the superintendent’s office.
School dismissal will be at the usual time and all buses are expected to be on schedule.
Swim lessons at the YMCA also are canceled for today.
…
Wind is Right for Sailing Association to Host Dinner
The Holmes Hole Sailing Association will be docking at the Wharf Restaurant in Edgartown on Sunday, Feb. 13 at 6 p.m. for their annual dinner. A spot at the table needs to reserved by Feb. 10.
Leading this sail to the stomach will be newly elected Commodore Dan Culkin.
On the…
Just Say Yes to Improv, IMP After-School Classes Begin
The art of improv is the art of saying yes. In other words, whatever is offered up during the performance by the audience or fellow actors, the main ingredient to success is to go with it.
Sounds like a sound philosophy for life or at least for getting through the tough, or merely…
Dean’s List
Dean’s List
Daniel K. Kaeka 5th of West Tisbury has been named to the dean’s list at Western New England College for the fall semester of 2010. Mr. Kaeka is a sophomore majoring in pre-pharmacy.
Brazilian Class Builds Cultural Bridge
A year ago, a group of students of Brazilian ethnicity decided that they wanted to educate the school about Brazilian culture. Through hard work, charm and community support they created the first-ever Brazilian awareness day at the regional high school.
Are You There Comcast? It’s Me, Chappy
W hat is the problem with extending Comcast service to Chappy? Is it so ridiculous to think that those who live on Chappy would like access to the same 21st century technology available to the rest of Edgartown like TV, high speed internet, access to MVTV or emergency broadcasts, etc? A few of us on…
Bird’s Eye View of Wind Power Should Play Part in Discussion
T here are many bird-watchers on the Vineyard. They come from all walks of life from architects to zookeepers. Some are liberals, some conservatives and maybe some are even Tea Party members. They have different ideas on what the definitions of conservation, ecology and green living are. The issue of turbines for the generation of…
Affordable Housing’s Changing Landscape
Affordable Housing’s Changing Landscape
Till the Seas Gang Dry, My Dear , And the Rocks Melt With the Sun
Robert Burns, the bard of Scotland, would have had a pleasant evening at the Harbor View Hotel in Edgartown on Saturday night. More than 100 Vineyarders turned out for the 24th annual Robert Burns Nicht Supper. There were toasts. Members of the Scottish Society of Martha’s Vineyard recited the poet’s words and sang his lyrics.…
Artful Laughter
Artful Laughter
When discussing her art, Patricia Carlet speaks clearly about what she intends.
“My art is created to evoke smiles and encourage laughter. If it captures the pleasure and irony of the everyday for the viewer, then I feel that I have succeeded as an artist.”
As cabin fever…
Farewell to a Woman of Character and Grit
She was an Oak Bluffs selectman and I was a cub reporter for the New Bedford Standard Times. The year was 1973. Geraldyne DeBettencourt had recently been elected as the first woman selectman on the Vineyard. It was quite a milestone when you think about it now, especially placed in the context of nearly four…
Citizens and Scientists Unite at Felix Neck
Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary is expanding its citizen science program to protect coastal birds and wildlife by involving citizens, working side by side with scientists, to protect the nature of Martha’s Vineyard.
Boathouse Foundation Gives Back
For the second consecutive year the Boathouse Foundation, a philanthropic unit of the Boathouse Club of Edgartown, presented a check for $25,000 to the YMCA of Martha’s Vineyard. Presenting the check on behalf of the Club’s members, employees and owners, were Scott Anderson (general manager) and Sydney Mullen (club manager).
First Home Swim Meet in Forty Years is Community Achievement
It may have been the coldest day on the Vineyard in five years, but the warmest place to be on Monday afternoon was the pool inside the new YMCA of Martha’s Vineyard in Oak Bluffs. The heated aquatics center was an echo chamber of energy as the Vineyard high school swim team took to the…
Democratic Delegates
Democratic Delegates
To elect delegates to the state Democratic convention in June the West Tisbury Democratic town committee will be having a caucus on Saturday, Feb. 12th at 10 a.m. at the Up-Island Council on Aging, 1042 State Road, West Tisbury.
In order to vote and/or run for delegate, you must…
Valentine’s Weekend
Valentine’s Weekend
Spend a romantic Valentine’s Day weekend with your loved one at Hob Knob in Edgartown this year and enjoy a romantic culinary experience for two, courtesy of the Island master chef Jaime Hamlin. See a live demonstration, share a toast with the chefs, and enjoy a menu of custom food and…
Secretaries Deal Covers Salary Increases, Safety
The All-Island School Committee voted to ratify a three-year agreement with Island school secretaries last Thursday, after nearly nine months of negotiating. Vineyard schools superintendent Dr. James H. Weiss said yesterday the contract, which is retroactive to July 1 of last year, will include no salary increases this year (2011), a two per cent increase…
Diver Rescued From Frigid Chappy Waters
A diver who was working with a private team to remove unexploded ordnance from beach areas around the Island was rescued on a remote Chappaquiddick beach in a driving snowstorm early Wednesday afternoon. Calls that went out over the Island communications center emergency radio network reported the man was unconscious when he was pulled from…
Church Bell Gets Hundred Year Tune- Up
On Monday the 1,590-pound church bell that has rung the hour for Edgartonians for five generations was temporarily relieved of duty. The bronze bell, cast in 1843 and installed in the Edgartown Whaling Church in 1889, was gingerly removed from atop the clock tower by crane, for the first time, on the coldest day this…
Island Artisans Grow Off-Island Following
Members of the Vineyard’s creative community seldom miss an opportunity to support each other, especially when there’s free food involved, as was the case when Island artisans, interior decorators and architects met last week to share notes on sourcing custom-made, handcrafted built-ins and accessories close to home.
Winter Gardening
Winter Gardening
Ground frozen, snow forecast and the smart birds munching Spanish speaking worms down Mexico or South America way. So, time to start gardening, right?
Crazy as it sounds, it’s true. Waiting on the warmth to start laying the foundation for a summer garden is a quick ticket to a…
Incentive to Drop Insurance is Option for Healthier Budget
Tisbury is looking to reduce the cost of health insurance by pushing town employees to shift themselves onto the policies of family members who don’t work for the town.
In return for getting themselves off the town’s health insurance, workers could be offered thousands of dollars toward subsidizing the cost of alternate arrangements.…
Grange Folds as Sign Comes Down on an Era
The West Tisbury Grange No. 251, one of the Island’s oldest social and fraternal organizations, has disbanded. The last meeting was held more than a week ago. The master of the Grange, John S. Alley, removed the charter from the building on Wednesday. He plans to return the framed, yellowed 105-year old document to the…
Tisbury Switches Back to MVTV, Towns Are United in Cable Talks
Tisbury selectmen have confirmed the town will abide by the existing funding arrangements for MVTV, thus ending a week of confused speculation that Tisbury could pull its support for the Island’s community broadcaster.
The concerns were fueled by comments from Tisbury’s Department of Public Works director, Fred LaPiana, indicating that the town could…
Farm Forced to Shut Down Dirt Bike Track
A week after a public hearing that saw the abutters of Nip ’n’ Tuck Farm in West Tisbury plead with the town zoning board of appeals to shut down a dirt bike track on the farm, owners Fred and Betsy Fisher have decided to shut the track down themselves.
Small Farms to Rely on Identification, Win Relief from Food Safety Paperwork
The Vineyard is generally a safe place to eat. You can visit the fields where your vegetables were grown, you know the roast chicken you’re having for dinner was slaughtered humanely at an Island farm and this is a small enough community where you trust the purveyors.
But not everything Islanders eat is…
Up-Island District Unites to Silence West Tisbury Critics of Chilmark School
Rising tension over West Tisbury’s responsibility to pay the lion’s share of the Up-Island Regional School District budget led to sharp words at a district school committee meeting this week after the West Tisbury finance committee balked at paying for the school budget.
The finance committee took a preliminary vote last week not…
Three Men Arrested in Oak Bluffs Drug Seizures
Three men were arrested on drugs and gun charges Wednesday after a search in an Oak Bluffs home revealed 175 marijuana plants, a shotgun, rifle and ammunition, according to a press release from the Oak Bluffs police department.
Brothers Joseph DePriest, 41, and Luke DePriest, 31, face charges in Edgartown district court of…
Gas Station Plan Gets Snarled In Traffic Study Requirement
A Martha’s Vineyard Commission subcommittee decided this week to require a new traffic study for a proposed fuel station off State Road in Vineyard Haven, but not before a bit of open disagreement on the merits.
Museum Unveils Designs for New Site
The Martha’s Vineyard Museum would restore the former Marine Hospital’s view to Vineyard Haven harbor in its ambitious plan to relocate there, renovating the hospital building to house museum staff and collections, razing a 1938 brick addition, building a new barn-like structure running for exhibition and storage space, paving a 50-car parking lot and clear-cutting…
Liquor License Issues Arise in Edgartown
The Edgartown selectmen voted this week to allow the Atlantic restaurant to change its liquor license from annual to seasonal. The Atlantic is now closed until April.
“If the economy improves they’d love to be back to an annual [license],” restaurant spokesman Sean Murphy said at the selectmen’s weekly meeting on Monday. “The…
Oak Bluffs Weighs Committee To Analyze Budget Problems
In what is likely to become a common theme, the Oak Bluffs selectmen spent much of their Tuesday meeting discussing the town’s budget problems.
Eating in Edgartown is About to Get Easier
Fresh produce, meat, fish, bread, cheese and wine are the essentials of any meal, and come spring you won’t have to travel past the Triangle in Edgartown to collect your provisions. Three new food establishments plan to open this spring.
On North Summer street, fresh baguettes and baked goods will be for sale…
Edgartown Eyes More Eye-Catching Welcome
The Edgartown beautification committee, whose mission is to bring aesthetic improvements to the town not covered by taxes, has begun a fund-raising campaign to beautify the gateway to town.
Committee member Carol Fligor would like to see a sign at the Triangle that says Welcome to Edgartown, established 1671.
Letters to the Editor
WRONGLY BLAMED
Editors, Vineyard Gazette:
I read with great dismay your editorial about our town administrator Michael Dutton. Having lived through the tenure of every town administrator we have ever had in Oak Bluffs and with regular attendance at most of the meetings of the board of selectmen, I can say…
New Moon
A thin crescent moon appears low in the southeastern sky tomorrow morning, right next to the bright planet Venus. The two are in the zodiacal constellation Scorpius.
Gazette Chronicle: All Aboard
All Aboard
From Gazette editions of January, 1961:
The All’s Right with the World department received a much needed boost on Monday night when the steamer Nantucket, which was already rounding Nobska Point on its journey from Woods Hole to Vineyard Haven, turned around and went back to pick up six…
Chappy
MARGARET KNIGHT
508-627-8894
(margaret02539@yahoo.com)
Chappaquiddick swamps and ponds have been frozen much of this winter, although the ice on Brine’s Pond has never been thick enough for skating. After the brief spell of cold into the single digits this past week, ice flowing in islands and streams have been…
Chilmark
JANE N. SLATER
508-645-3378
(slaterjn@comcast.net)
Chilmark will not be Disney East this time I am so proud to be a part of this town. The zoning board members concurred that their building inspector had made the right decision in granting permits to two working farms for wind turbines. It…
Please Adopt Us
Please Adopt Us
Temperatures
Temperature: Precip.
Day Max. Min. Inches.
Fº Fº
Jan. 21 41 27 .43
Jan. 22 42 18 .00
Jan. 23 29 17 .00
Jan. 24 25 4 .00
Jan. 25 32 6 Trace*
Jan. 26 37 22 Trace*
Jan. 27 34 26 1.02”
*Melted…
Madilyn Arrives
Madilyn Arrives
Morgan and Joshua Alwardt of West Tisbury announce the birth of a daughter, Madilyn Renee Alwardt, born on Jan 25, 2011, at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Madilyn weighed 7 pounds, 9 ounces at birth.
Greetings Griffin
Greetings Griffin
Erin Tiernan and John Tiernan of Oak Bluffs announce the birth of a son, Griffin Edward Tiernan, born on Jan. 20, 2011, at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Griffin weighed 6 pounds, 15 ounces at birth.
Hello, Jade
Hello, Jade
Kelly Berninger and Michael Berninger of Edgartown announce the birth of a daughter, Jade Mikaela Berninger, born on Jan. 19, 2011, at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Jade weighed 7 pounds, 4 ounces at birth.
Announcing Violette
Announcing Violette
Melissa Harding and Travis Larsen of Oak Bluffs announce the birth of a daughter, Violette Mackenzie Larsen, born on Jan. 20, 2011, at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Violette weighed 7 pounds, 9 ounces at birth.
IMPish Production is Sweet Relief
Mrs. Baker, played by the irrepressible 10-year-old local pop diva Samantha Cassidy, wants a baby and Mr. Baker, the similarly pre-teened Oliver Carson, does not. (On alternate days last weekend these characters were performed by Danielle Hopkins and Jesse Dawson.) Mr. Baker wants a big fat, gingerbread cookie to eat. They fight/sing about it: “Food…
Reading Like a Writer
Reading Like a Writer
Night falls early. Stores and shops have mostly shuttered for the winter. The mercury in the thermometer can barely get out of bed it’s so cold outside. To fight, or maybe perhaps to embrace, the quiet, the solititude, the blues, you know what you’ve been doing. You’ve been writing.…
Health Insurance
Health Insurance
Massachusetts law limits when state residents can buy health insurance. The law applies to individuals and families buying health insurance on their own, outside of an employer’s plan or government-subsidized program. People in this group will have two opportunities to buy health insurance in 2011: Jan. 1 to Feb. 15, and…
Disappearing Honeybees Subject of Movie and Talk
Colony Collapse Disorder: Although not a household name yet, it is a phenomenom affecting the way we live and eat.
Honeybees, an essential link via pollination in the survival chain of hundreds of species of fruits and vegetables, are disappearing all across the planet.
On Sunday, Feb. 13, at the Chilmark…
Hot Licks for a Cold Night: John Cruz Plays Off-Season
Never mind the current cold snap, we’re about to get hit with some warm, melodic, honey-hued breezes this Friday, when Hawaiian music great John Cruz brings his soulful blues to the Island. But for now, it’s still freezing. And on Monday afternoon, when the beloved bluesman called from Northhampton, Mass., where he’s writing his third…
Cultural Luncheon
Cultural Luncheon
The Martha’s Vineyard Center for Living is hosting a cultural luncheon from noon until 2 p.m. at the Grill on Main street in Edgartown on Saturday, Jan 29.
The topic for this lunch is the influence and contributions of African Americans on Martha’s Vineyard.
Speakers include Carrie…
Yoga for Arthritis
Yoga for Arthritis
A yoga for arthritis class begins on Monday, Jan. 31 and continues on Mondays and Fridays for four weeks.
The class is designed to help one move more freely, improve balance and increase range of motion with simple yoga alignment techniques. This yoga practice is suitable for anyone…
White-Winged Crossbills
“Look, there is a rose-colored bird on the feeder that looks like it’s been in a train wreck. Its bill is all bent out of shape.”
“Cool, it is a white-winged crossbill, and that is the way the bill is supposed to be. I have been hoping the crossbills would come to our…
Bits of Work
Brrr! I write this column on Monday morning. I’m looking at four degrees. If memory serves me, and it rarely does, I don’t believe we were in the single digits all last winter.
Dean’s List
Dean’s List
Stephen (Stavros) Viglas of Edgartown, has been named to the dean’s list at Suffolk University for the fall semester. He is a junior, majoring in sociology.
Itchy Gitchy
If you heard the news, go to the “head” of the class.
Hot off the presses is the report that there is a new treatment for the perennial problem that plagues parents and schools everywhere. Lice now have a new enemy. After years of acclimating to traditional treatments and evolving resistant strains, the bugs…
