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 29, 2011
News Update: Wednesday, May 4 – The Bluefish Are Here!
The first bluefish of the season was caught by an Oak Bluffs angler at Wasque on Tuesday.
George Moran, 66, was fishing for striped bass with another Oak Bluffs angler, Vincent Frye, in the afternoon, overcast with a hollering wind.
Mr. Moran said they were hoping to get striped bass —…
News Update: Tuesday, May 3 – Tisbury EMS Building Faults Provoke Board Anger
Tisbury selectmen read the riot act on Tuesday night to the company building the town’s new $7.4 million emergency services building on, citing a long list of faults which have delayed the project.
The building was due to be finished before the summer. Now it is unlikely to be operational until well into…
Play Ball!
Play Ball!
Martha’s Vineyard Little League will celebrate opening day on Saturday, April 30, with a parade and ceremony in Oak Bluffs. The parade will begin at 10 a.m. and proceed up Circuit avenue toward Veira Park where the 24 teams of the league will be announced. The day’s opening match-up will feature…
For the Love of Lamb, It’s Sheepapalooza
Sheepapalooza is a weekendlong celebration of sheep and shepherds at the Farm Institute in Katama.
Events kick off today, Friday, April 29, evening with a free presentation on the care and handling of sheep with Stan Potratz of Premier 1 Supplies, and a light supper is included.
Young Pitchers Step Up to Varsity Mound
In the sixth and final inning of the varsity softball team’s 16-1 Tuesday rout of Falmouth, one visiting Clipper stands at the plate trying to break down sophomore Vineyard pitcher Hailee McCarthy. The possibility seems unlikely — Hailee has allowed just four hits and two walks in this game, and has gone two for four…
Playhouse Auditions Are Saturday: Summer Roles
The Vineyard Playhouse will hold open auditions for its summer main stage season on Saturday, April 30, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the playhouse on Church street in downtown Vineyard Haven.
Film Society to Screen French Comic Confection
The French word for ‘trophy wife’ is potiche. And Belle de Jour herself, Catherine Deneuve, is the potiche in the French film Potiche screening on Saturday, April 30, at 7:30 p.m. at Katharine Cornell Theatre in Vineyard Haven.
New Writers, New Plays from ArtFarm
The Island theatre group ArtFarm is gearing up for a groundbreaking third season, with a summer lineup true to its mission to collaborate, educate and innovate.
First up is the second annual New Writers, New Plays festival of readings by emerging playwrights, which is a coproduction between ArtFarm and Vineyard Arts Project. Playwrights,…
Four Fish Talk: Book Club Plans Programs for May
The Vineyard Haven Public Library has chosen Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food, by Paul Greenberg, as its Island Sustainability Book Club selection to be presented in the month of May. Several programs will supplement the discussion of Four Fish, all aimed at better understanding our oceans, the threats to them and…
Work for Wildlife
Work for Wildlife
Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary will host a volunteer day on Saturday, April 30 from 9 a.m. to noon. Help prepare the butterfly garden for the season, build a picnic table, remove bittersweet that plagues the sanctuary.
Please wear work clothes and bring work gloves along with any gardening…
Well, Well, Well
Well, Well, Well
WellFest offers Islanders an afternoon of demonstrations and information of various alternative healing techniques on Saturday, April 30, from noon to 4 p,.m. at the Grange Hall in West Tisbury .
More than 400 free minihealing sessions will be available, courtesy of the Martha’s Vineyard Whole Health Alliance.…
Slaying Macbeth for the Masses
Slaying Macbeth for the Masses
Shakespeare for the Masses, which stages “dramatically incorrect” adaptations of the Bard’s works, concludes its third season this weekend with The Tragedy of Macbeth. Call it the antidote to Royal Wedding Overload.
Making Poetry Fun
Making Poetry Fun
Chilmark poet John Maloney will hold a poetry workshop at the Chilmark Public Library starting on Wednesday, May 4 at 5:30 p.m. This four-part series will continue on May 11, June 1 and June 8. You may attend as many as you wish.
Letters to the Editor
UNVARNISHED TRUTH
Editors, Vineyard Gazette:
Stark and troubling as it was to read, Liz Durkee’s “What Climate Change Means to You” on the Gazette Commentary Page last Friday was a breath of fresh air. It is the unvarnished truth, a description of what is happening right now — today — and…
Congressional Art Prizes
Congressional Art Prizes
Two Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School students were among the winners of this year’s Congressional Art Competition, announced this week by Rep. William Keating.
Courtney Minnehan placed third in photography with her entry, Water View.
Bradley Carroll’s photograph, Umbrella, took honorable mention.
Their submissions…
Food Collection Continues
With the closing of the Island Food Pantry in mid-April, the Unitarian church Friends of the Island Food Pantry concludes another winter of helping put food on the tables of needy families, seniors and unemployed workers on the Island. This program of canvassing for food donations at local supermarkets has been recognized as the single…
Council on Aging
Council on Aging
The annual meeting of the Friends of the Council on Aging is on Tuesday, May 17 at 10 a.m. at the Edgartown senior center, the Anchors on Dock street. The public is welcome to attend.
Read On, Grandparents
Read On, Grandparents
Grandparents are invited to share their love of reading with their grandchildren on Friday, April 29, after school, beginning at 2:40 p.m. at the Oak Bluffs School.
Father and Son Complete Walk Around the Island
Felix Colon, age 8, and his father, Tim Colon, finished walking around the Island last Sunday when they rounded East Chop and came into Vineyard Haven harbor. They are pictured at the East Chop Light, about one hour from the completion of their journey.
The six-day trip began last fall and occupied more…
Turning Sixty? Let’s Boogie!
It’s Saturday night in West Tisbury and the Agricultural Hall is throbbing with good music, food and conversation. It’s one of those Island style potluck bashes concocted from the fact that Todd Follansbee is passing into his sixth decade. So he and Deborah Mayhew decided to celebrate with others turning 60 this year; and then…
Living Local’s Meaty Side • Endlessly Changing Shoreline
Living Local’s Meaty Side
The recent move by the Island Grown Initiative and the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society to form a partnership to consider construction of a facility where Vineyard farmers can have their sheep, cattle and pigs safely, humanely and cleanly converted to cuts of meat for sale and home use is…
Eat Well and Sleep Free During Winnetu Special
Take a break while you still can: Island residents may stay for nearly-free at the Winnetu Oceanside Resort, where soon the rooms will be packed with vacationers. The one-bedroom suite is free of charge (apart from a $25 housekeeping fee) when Islanders enjoy a meal at the resort’s ocean view Lure Grill.
Jane Coakley to Lead Chamber Music Society
David Rhoderick, president of the Martha’s Vineyard Chamber Music Society, has announced the appointment of Jane Coakley as its new executive director. Ms. Coakley succeeds Rise Terney, who held the position from 2009 to April 2011.
Catherine Coogan Is New Family Planning Director
Catherine Coogan is the new director of Martha’s Vineyard Family Planning.
Ms. Coogan, a resident of Vineyard Haven, is a registered nurse with a bachelor of science in nursing from Boston College and a master’s in public health from Boston University. Ms. Coogan has 13 years experience as a medical provider. She has…
Youth Leadership Summit
Youth Leadership Summit
Vineyarders are invited to nominate a young person (ages 15-20) from the Island to serve as a delegate to the 2011 Youth Leadership Summit for Sustainable Development. The summit will be held from June 18 to 24. An orientation will be held on Wednesday, May 4 from 4 to 5…
Middle School Night
Middle School Night
The Martha’s Vineyard Youth Task Force invites parents of students in grades six to eight to a free evening of delicious food prepared by the regional high school culinary arts program, and discussion and resources to support you as your children make the transition through middle school and into the…
DRI Checklist Comments
DRI Checklist Comments
The next meeting seeking public comment on the Martha’s Vineyard Commission’s revision of its development of regional impact (DRI) checklist will be held on Monday, May 2, at 5:30 p.m. at the commission office in the Olde Stone Building in Oak Bluffs. The comment session will address a variety of…
Food Handling Course
Food Handling Course
On May 3, ServSafe Food Sanitation Training and Recertification classes begin at Adult and Community Education of MV (ACE MV). The class is taught by Alice Robinson. It is designed for safe food handling practices for food service personnel and anyone responsible for enforcement of the food sanitation code. Exam…
Indian Graduate Inspires Novel Born of Island
Every place Geraldine Brooks has ever lived has given her a book, but up to now they have come at a lag. She wrote her first book, Nine Parts of Desire, about Muslim women in the Middle East, after she had left her Wall Street Journal post there and was living in London.
Chilmark Voters Argue Little, Finish Annual Town Meeting
Chilmark voters made speedy work of their annual town meeting on Monday night at the Chilmark Community Center, approving an overhaul of the town personnel bylaw, a new set of rules for swimming pools and tennis courts and a $7 million budget in two hours flat.
A total of 107 voters attended; longtime…
Vineyard Power Cooperative Joins Partner in Bid on Wind
Compared with the other nine developers who have expressed interest in building commercial-scale wind farms across some 3,000 square miles of federal ocean south of Martha’s Vineyard, the Vineyard Power cooperative looks like a minnow.
Gates Millennium Scholarship Is Awarded To Island High School Musician Evan Hall
If it’s a weeknight in Vineyard Haven then the strains of B.B. King or Howlin’ Wolf are likely spilling from the third story of an unassuming white house on Church street. There the Mourning Sons are crammed into the attic, mired in a tangle of extension cords and lit only by a bare lightbulb and…
Bitter Tisbury Contest Decided by 12 Votes
Jeff Kristal won a second term as Tisbury selectman on Tuesday, in a second close race with the man he replaced three years ago, Tom Pachico.
At the end of a campaign marked by personal attacks by the candidates on one another, Mr. Kristal prevailed by a mere 12 votes, 461 to 449.…
MVC Asked to Mediate Clash Between Goodale’s Gravel Pit and Neighbors
Simmering tension between neighbors and the owners of Goodale’s sand and gravel pit bubbled over before the Oak Bluffs selectmen this week, who decided to refer the entire matter to the Martha’s Vineyard Commission for review.
Neighbors claim the pit is expanding without permission in possible violation of zoning rules for the area…
Vineyard Bookshelf
Caleb’s Crossing, By Geraldine Brooks, Viking, 2011, Hardcover, 320 Pages, $26.95, in bookstores May 3.
Prescription Drug Collection
Prescription Drug Collection
On April 30 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the Tisbury police department and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will give the public another opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous, expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs. Bring your medications for disposal to the…
County Budget Inches Upward
The Dukes County commission approved a $5.57 million budget at their monthly meeting on Wednesday, a three per cent increase over last year.
The increase is due to a larger Martha’s Vineyard airport budget and a two per cent cost of living increase for county employees. County employees have not received a COLA…
May 11 Selectman’s Race Shapes Up in Aquinnah
Incumbent Aquinnah selectman Camille Rose will face a challenge in the annual town election this year, as Beverly Wright has thrown her hat into the ring as a candidate. Mrs. Wright is former chairman of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah). Ms. Rose, the current chairman of the selectmen, is seeking a third term.…
Sewering Pitched as Pond Cure
Sewering the Ocean Heights section of Edgartown could go a long way toward restoring Sengekontacket Pond, a prominent marine scientist told the Martha’s Vineyard Commission this week.
Liquor Store Plan is Back in Motion
Town Provisions owner Brion McGroarty told the Edgartown selectmen this week that he is making another attempt to build a liquor store near the airport.
The selectmen gave Mr. McGroarty their blessing to proceed with the permitting process to build an addition to the building now owned by Nectar’s and the Vermont pizza…
Shellfish Department Under Fire, Special Meeting Called
At the end of a discursive three-hour Oak Bluffs selectmen’s meeting on Wednesday emotions bubbled to the surface about the role of the shellfish constable and the state of the town’s shellfish department in general.
“I think right now the shellfish department is a disgrace,” said fisherman Steve Amaral. “You go up to…
Welcome Home from the War, Mr. Principal
If the weather finally turns a corner toward spring balminess in the coming weeks it may be nudged by the overwhelming outpouring of warmth seen at the West Tisbury School for principal Michael Halt, who returned to the school this week after a 15-month tour of duty with the U.S. Marines Corps Reserves in Afghanistan.
Brynn Elizabeth Arrives
Brynn Elizabeth Arrives
Casey and Dan Bennett of Franklin announce the birth of a daughter, Brynn Elizabeth Bennett, on March 20. The maternal grandparents are T.O. and Shellie Johnson of Edgartown, previously from Marblehead. Paternal grandparents are Kevin and Denise Bennett of Ayer.
Oak Bluffs
HOLLY NADLER
508-274-2329
(hollynadler@gmail.com)
This week I’ve been thinking of the Last of the Yankee Ladies on this Island — Louise Aldrich Bugbee of Oak Bluffs who wrote for this paper for over 30 years and who died in January of 2008. Now, I know what you’re thinking: There…
Aquinnah
JUNE D. MANNING
508-645-2574
(lthslnks@gis.net)
The Martha’s Vineyard Youth Task Force invites all middle school parents to Chat and Chowder on Wednesday, May 4 at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School cafeteria from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Enjoy the evening with delicious food prepared by the high school culinary…
Gazette Chronicle: Elevated Views
Elevated Views
From Earlier Gazette Editions:
Martha’s Vineyard has two sorts of hills, those that are real hills with impressive height, and those that merely happen to be somewhat elevated above the general locale. As to height, Peaked Hill with its 311 feet tops all others and Prospect Hill with its…
Temperatures
Temperature: Precip.
Day Max. Min. Inches.
Fº Fº
April 22 60 38
April 23 53 39
April 24 57 45 0.39
April 25 64 49 0.04
April 26 62 49 Trace
April 27 60 54 Trace
April 28 66 56 0.05
Water temperature…
Edgartown
KATHIE CASE
508-627-5349
kathleencase@comcast.net
We have been living a true Island spring — the mainland is having sun and warm weather and we are having fog and cool weather. But the upside of this story is when the city people are having hot scorching weather, we are having a…
Bright Morning Planets
The morning sky is loaded with planets. For those who rise well before the sun, say 4 a.m., there is a show of planets hovering in the southeastern sky. Venus, Mars, Mercury and Jupiter are in a tight nest with the thin crescent moon. The time to look is about a half-hour before sunrise, although…
Honor Roll Addendum
Honor Roll Addendum
The following correction and additions to the Tisbury School honor roll were sent to the Gazette this week.
Lachlan Cormie received high honors for the third quarter; he had been listed as receiving honors.
Seventh grade honors also went to Megan Piche, Michaela Piche and Max…
Please Adopt Us
Please Adopt Us
All the staff and volunteers at the Animal Shelter of Martha’s Vineyard wish everyone a belated Happy Easter. We appreciate so much all the contributions — including money, food, blankets, toys and cleaning supplies — that people have made throughout the year. The shelter could not survive without your generosity.
Welcome Clovis
Welcome Clovis
Noni and Jed Smith of Aquinnah announce the birth of a baby boy, Clovis Hugo Smith, on April 22 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Clovis weighed 8 pounds, 1 ounce at birth.
Welcome, Ayla
Welcome, Ayla
Samantha Look and Kristian Strom of West Tisbury announce the birth of a daughter, Ayla Carolyn Look Strom, born on April 2, 2011, at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Ayla weighed 6 pounds, 7 ounces at birth.
Sculpting Understanding Out of Mystery
For a couple of the coldest months each year, for more than 30 years, Ward Just and his wife, Sarah Catchpole, have escaped to Paris They need some city time and anyway, their beautiful West Tisbury home is not so well insulated. And Paris fires the imagination.
From the Circus to the Sudan, Edward Hoagland Finds Soul
In his small office with wide floorboards and rippled glass windows, Edward Hoagland sat in front of his bookshelf at his 18th century Edgartown home earlier this week. Behind him on his desk was a 1968 Olympia typewriter, the ink still wet from the essay he had been working on earlier that morning. Old New…
Poet’s Corner at Library
Poet’s Corner at Library
Cape Cod poets Elizabeth Bradfield and Nancy K. Pearson join Island poet Lisa Vunk in a reading on Sunday, May 1 at 4 p.m. at the West Tisbury Library.
Elizabeth Bradfield’s Approaching Ice (Persea Books 2010), was a finalist for the James Laughlin Award. Her book Interpretive…
Fashionable Art of Flowers
Fashionable Art of Flowers
Featherstone Center for the Arts will host its second annual Garden Tea Party and Fashion Show on Saturday, May 7 from 2 to 4 p.m. The tea party will feature tea, sandwiches and cake. A Peggy Zablotny botanical collage will be the raffle prize, while other prizes will be…
Surface Skaters
Water striders always come out on top.
They also stay on top! Water striders are those zippy, semi-aquatic insects that seem to magically skate along the surface of ponds, streams and other slow-moving waters. These above-water acrobats never plunge into the water or become submerged; they live on, not under, the surface of…
Simple Potato Planting
It’s happened again. I’ve seeded too many flats, taken on too much work and ordered too many potatoes.
Wintering in the Bahamas
Have you ever wondered where our nesting birds spend their winter? I have. Well, thanks to a study conducted by Dr. Cheri Gratto-Trevor, a research scientist for Environment Canada, we now know that at least one of “our” piping plovers spends its winter on Andros Island in the Bahamas. I put our in quotes because…
