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
January 13, 2012
News Update: Thursday, Jan. 19 – Exotic Pheasants Turn up on Vineyard—But Why?
By PETER BRANNEN
Meet the Island’s most reluctant tourist, the ring-necked pheasant. Plucked from a bucolic life on a MassWildlife-sanctioned game farm in New England, in the fall they’re packed in cardboard boxes and given a one-way ferry ticket to the Vineyard. After a brief respite at one of the Island’s most picturesque…
News Update: Thursday, Jan. 19 – West Tisbury Sets Sights on Trash Eyesore
Unsightly trash along the West Tisbury-Edgartown Road has become a problem and West Tisbury police chief Dan Rossi intends to stop it.
“I have to go down that road to go home and it’s irritating,” he said at Wednesday’s meeting of the West Tisbury selectmen.
The problem was brought to the…
Vineyard Hotelier Sets Sights on Nantucket
Mark Snider, owner of the Winnetu Oceanside Resort at Katama, has inked a deal to purchase an iconic Nantucket hotel.
Mr. Snider paid $2.8 million to buy the Point Breeze from TD Bank, which has owned the hotel since it fell into foreclosure two years ago, the Nantucket Inquirer and Mirror reported this…
News Update: Tuesday, Jan. 17 – Chilmark Barn House Added to Historic Registry
The historic 17th century Barn House in Chilmark, famously home to an avant-garde communal colony of Vineyard artists, writers and intellectuals, has been added to the National Register of Historic Places, the Massachusetts Historical Commission has announced. The compound is the first place in Chilmark to be named to the national historic register, and joins…
ACE MV Registration Underway
Adult and Community Education (ACE MV) will hold information sessions for its winter and spring classes today, Jan. 17 and tomorrow, Jan. 18. Sessions will take place from 4:30 to 6 p.m. on both days at the regional high school.
Course offerings include arts, music, dance, business, computers, education, parenting, cooking, health, history,…
Happy Martin Luther King Day
Today is Martin Luther King Day, a federal holiday. All schools and municipal buildings, as well as the Gazette office, are closed.
News Update: Monday, Jan. 16 – Edgartown Flight Instructor Killed in Cape Cod Plane Crash
Brewster police chief Richard J. Koch Jr. said in a statement Monday that Oulton Hues, 73, of Norwood and Edgartown, and Robert Walker, 68, of Falmouth, were the victims who died in the single-engine plane crash in Cape Cod Bay on Sunday.
Mr. Hues was the pilot and a flight instructor; Mr. Walker…
Understanding the Occupy Movement
Having trouble getting a handle on what to occupy these days? Well, on Sunday, Jan. 15, there will be an educational forum entitled, Understanding the Occupy Movement.
The forum takes place at the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center, located at 130 Centre street in Vineyard Haven. The discussion is from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.…
Haggis, Poetry and Bagpipers at the Grill on Main
Save your appetite today for some haggis — a wee bit of sheep’s heart, liver and lungs to be exact — being prepared for the MV Center for Living’s cultural luncheon, honoring the Scottish influence and contributions to the Vineyard
The luncheon, where there will be other food besides haggis, takes place from…
Ferries Canceled Due to High Winds
The Steamship Authority has canceled a number of ferries traveling to and from the Vineyard on Friday due to high winds. Those who intend to travel should check steamshipauthority.com or call 508-477-8600 for the latest updates.
The cancellations comes in the midst of the Island’s second wind advisory in as many days. According…
Public Dancing Allowed
The Chilmark Community Center will host an evening of dancing and desserts tonight, Jan. 13, to benefit the Yard. Johnny Hoy and the Bluefish will play from 8 to 10 p.m. Admission is $20, free for all kids. All proceeds from the evening’s festivities will be used to retire the Chilmark dance center’s debt.
Ritz Cafe Ordered To Close for Serving Minor
The popular Circuit avenue bar Ritz Cafe was ordered to suspend operations this past week, part of a 20-day penalty meted out this summer for serving alcohol to minors. This is the Ritz Cafe’s fifth violation since 2000 from the Alcohol Beverage Control Commission, the state entity that regulates and approves alcohol licenses.
Elite Academy
Elite Academy
Two Martha’s Vineyard students, Conor Smith of Edgartown and Riley Donegan of Vineyard Haven, have been awarded congressional nominations to attend United States military academies, Cong. William Keating announced during a visit to the Island this week. Conor Smith plans to attend West Point in New York; Riley Donegan will attend…
January Blooms
Good morning! Tom Hodgson of West Tisbury reported the first snowdrops this week. The Gazette office will be closed on Monday in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. national holiday. The office reopens on Tuesday morning.
Chris Baer’s High School Students See the World Through a Lens
At a high school in Uganda, disobedient students sit under a punishment tree. In Taiwan, students can join the gift-wrapping club, which meets after school. In Yemen, high school students can take dentistry classes as part of a vocational program.
Lingering Long Near Vineyard Proves Lethal for Sea Turtles
Weathermen are not the only ones confused by this year’s unseasonably warm winter weather. Off the Cape and Islands, this winter more than 100 sea turtles, tempted to linger in the balmy waters, have met a cold and sandy end.
“This year I’ve seen more turtle strandings than I’ve ever seen in my…
Comcast Under Pressure from All Sides to Provide Service to Chappaquiddick
Following a meeting between the Cape and Islands legislative delegation and Comcast executives in Boston yesterday, cable television service for Chappaquiddick and other remote areas on the Vineyard inched a little closer to reality.
“They heard from us clearly that it’s very important for underserved communities on the Island to get Internet,” Seth…
Primary Care Access – Promised for Island Vets
After more than five years of efforts to restore Island medical care for Vineyard veterans, good news came this week: A new contract for services is expected by the end of February.
View From Washington: Congressman Describes Government in Turmoil
After a year in Washington representing the 10th congressional district, Cong. William Keating came to Martha’s Vineyard Monday with a message: Like most Americans, he’s angry. Angry about the dysfunction he sees in Congress, he said, and threats to what he calls core American values, opportunities for education and advancement.
Charter School Girl’s Hockey Bid Exposes Long-Standing Barriers
When it comes to athletic opportunities, students at Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School face some tough barriers: too few charter school students to field a team of their own, and a host of logistical issues that largely prevent charter would-be athletes from playing for Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School teams.
The issue resurfaced…
On the Ice and the Hardwood Vineyarder Girls and Boys Excel
The Nan Rheault Invitational tournament takes place this weekend at the MV Arena, spotlighting the girls’ hockey teams. Boys’ hockey and boys’ basketball also have home games.
Vineyard Squirts Make Big Splash at Fenway Park
Two teams from the Martha’s Vineyard Youth Hockey League received a late holiday gift last week, as the Squirt 1 and 2 travel teams made their most monumental journey yet. The 9- and 10-year olds played a friendly game at frozen Fenway Park on Jan. 3.
Hello Payton
Hello Payton
Holly and Wayne Lawyer of Chilmark announce the birth of a daughter, Payton Sydney Lawyer, born on Dec. 28, 2011, at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Payton weighed 8 pounds at birth.
Living Center Gains Broad Support For New Airport Facility
The Martha’s Vineyard Center for Living may be closer to finding a permanent home.
The West Tisbury selectmen pledged their support this week for the center’s $400,000 state grant application to build a facility on a piece of land at the airport business park. The State Community Innovation Challenge Grant will be submitted…
Welcome Tenzin
Welcome Tenzin
Tenzing Youten and Tsering Dorjee of Oak Bluffs announce the birth of a son, Tenzin Mipham, born on Jan. 6, at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Tenzin weighed 7 pounds, 5.5 ounces at birth.
Please Adopt Us
Please Adopt Us
The new rocking chair (a gift from a generous friend) in our cat room is really getting a workout — the cats just love it and so do the volunteers who sit and comfort all our lap cats. It is amazing how much it calms them down.
There…
Island Food Pantry Volunteers Are Dedicated to Those in Need
There are 71 of them and they come from all parts of the Island to help. They are the volunteers who help run the Island Food Pantry.
Effort to Protect Ancient Ways Starts Over
A long-running effort by the town of Edgartown to place five ancient ways under the protection of an Islandwide district of critical planning concern has stalled again following a problem with a legal notice posted recently by the Martha’s Vineyard Commission.
Seasons Is Site of Fundraiser For New Year’s Fire Victim
On New Year’s Day a destructive house fire in Oak Bluffs threatened the life of Island resident Paola Ayala Fuller. Everything she owned was destroyed. Now, a group of Ms. Fuller’s friends is seeking to help her regain her footing with a fundraiser at Season’s Restaurant & Pub on Saturday, Jan. 21 from 5 to…
Oak Bluffs Gives Preview of 2013 Budget
The Oak Bluffs selectmen this week got a look at the fiscal year 2013 budget, which totals $24.35 million and emphasizes sustainability and steering the town out of tough financial straits that include a free cash deficit of more than $800,000.
In creating the budget, “we went through the budget bottom up,” said…
Tisbury on Same Channel as Edgartown, Votes to Exit Contract Talks With Comcast
Tisbury selectmen joined the chorus calling for cable television service to Chappaquiddick on Tuesday, voting to pull out of the Islandwide contract talks with Comcast.
“With Edgartown pulling out because of the Chappaquiddick piece not being addressed, I’d like us to send our marching orders to our representative [Fred LaPiana] to stop talks…
As Waistlines Increase, Ferry Lines Face Passenger Decrease
As waistlines have expanded, the Island’s ferry lines have had to keep up, and new rules about more massive passengers that went into effect in December have some Island lines – though not the Steamship Authority – cutting back capacity.
Moon and Mars
The gibbous moon appears near the bright red planet Mars tonight, and tomorrow night. Both are in the zodiacal constellation Virgo.
Chilmark Officials Mull Changes In Wake of Big House Debate
Days after a heated debate on whether the town of Chilmark should take on the issue of regulating large houses, the Chilmark planning board this week said they felt the support to move ahead with changing existing zoning bylaws.
The board narrowed possible restrictions at Monday’s meeting and focused on capping house sizes…
Mill Pond Findings
Mill Pond Findings
The West Tisbury Mill Pond Committee will present the findings of recent ESS Group, Inc. environmental and engineering study at a public information meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 18. The meeting, held at the Howes House, will feature a PowerPoint presentation and a question and answer period. The goal of the…
Corrections
Corrections
A story in Friday’s Gazette about the Chilmark planning board discussion on large houses reported the wrong square footage for a house owned by Adam Zoia on Quitsa Pond. The size of the house is 8,238 square feet.
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Temperatures
Temperature: Precip.
Day Max. Min. Inches.
Fº Fº
Jan. 6 40 27 .00
Jan. 7 53 39 .00
Jan. 8 56 39 .00
Jan. 9 45 29 .00
Jan. 10 41 27 .07
Jan. 11 45 28 .00
…
Shellfish Group Returns Seashells to Sea Floor
What should you do with your discarded bivalve shells? Better question: What can they do for the environment?
Plenty, it turns out. In 2011 former Martha’s Vineyard Shellfish Group summer employee Jessie Kanozak started the MV Shell Recovery Partnership with the goal of preventing shells from taking up valuable space in our trash…
Menemsha Boathouse Looms Large
Final plans for the new U.S. Coast Guard boathouse in Menemsha are ready to go to the state historical commission for review, but they will go without the blessing of the Chilmark selectmen.
At a final public hearing held on Wednesday the Coast Guard design team presented few changes from the last…
Chilmark
JANE N. SLATER
508-645-3378
(slaterjn@comcast.net)
More than a few letters have already come in from people expressing interest in leasing and working on the restoration of Tea Lane Farm. The Chilmark selectmen and the Tea Lane Farm committee hosted a very well attended open house at the farm on…
Sexuality Workshop
Sexuality Workshop
Joy Robinson-Lynch, MA LMHC, a sexuality educator with more than 25 years of experience as a trainer and counselor in healthy adolescent sexual development, will present a four-session workshop for eighth grade girls starting Sunday, Jan. 22. The class, called Getting 2 Know U: Your Body, Your Feelings, Your Mind, will…
Jarrell Arrives
Jarrell Arrives
Jennifer Lehman and Michael Almeida of Vineyard Haven announce the birth of a son, Jarrell Lewis Lehman, born on Dec. 25, at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Jarrell weighed 8 pounds, 8 ounces at birth.
Chamber Changes
Chamber Changes
The Martha’s Vineyard Chamber of Commerce has approved an exterior remodeling project for its headquarters at 24 Beach street in Vineyard Haven. The plan calls for the installation of new siding, windows and a roof, plus a public access area featuring reception space, display units and digital information screens modeled after…
West Tisbury
JOHN S. ALLEY
508-693-2950
(alleys@vineyard.net)
If you are superstitious, sprinkle a little salt over your left shoulder before reading today’s column. It sure has been quiet in town since the holidays. Not much traffic in the evening, we have had a few cold nights, no skating at all, folks…
Chappy
MARGARET KNIGHT
508-627-8894
(margaret02539@yahoo.com)
Most places where people live don’t change and actually disappear at a discernible rate on a daily basis. Life on Chappaquiddick, at the edges, is different. People think winter here is pretty slow, and I guess that’s true in general, but right now there’s lots…
Edgartown
KATHIE CASE
508-627-5349
(kathleencase@comcast.net)
The weather has been about the same but the sky has been sensational. The moon has been full and bright, and the sunsets have been spectacular. There was one sunset that was all over Facebook. It certainly was a beautiful sight.
Here I…
Special Delivery
Special Delivery
Starting this month Cardi’s Furniture Stores will offer limited delivery to Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket and Rhode Island. Delivery is available on select dates to those who purchase $1,000 in furnishings. The delivery rate is $95.
The first Island delivery took place Jan. 10. A second delivery is scheduled for…
Oak Bluffs
HOLLY NADLER
508-274-2329
(hollynadler@gmail.com)
Only two weeks into January and already Oak Bluffs has suffered two fires. The first was the New Year’s Day conflagration of that nice house on Spruce avenue. I was walking Huxley along the harbor when we saw billows of black smoke and columns of…
Dream Big, Dream Often, For Today’s Aspirations May Be Tomorrow’s Reality
I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We…
Pumped Up
From Gazette editions of January, 1962:
The latest addition to the Island’s intertown, fire-fighting brigade is the new maxim pumper, delivered a few days ago to the town of Oak Bluffs. This pumper has a 750 gallons per minute capacity, and carries a reserve water supply of 500 gallons. Voted by the annual…
Walking the Talk, Civil Rights Era Blooms Anew
The year is 2008. Georgette drives the van from Montgomery to Selma on U.S. Route 80. As it leaves the city and heads through the country, the landscape surrounding the four lane highway opens up. Fields of cotton with big old trees lie on either side of us as Georgette grips the steering wheel.
…
To Pontificate Is Boring, to Debate Divine
There was a time in America when debate mattered. It was a period when declamation was standard fare of a youngster’s education, when people knew about disputation and rhetoric and dialectics, when beyond a mastery of a subject, how one expressed an opinion, whether with wit or humor or insight, was important.
Bright Idea
Edgartown selectman Michael Donaroma has a good suggestion for resolving the endless and potentially costly bickering over the roundabout: put a nonbinding question on annual town ballots Islandwide this spring and find out what the voters really think.
What began as a reasonable debate over the merits of the project has now devolved…
Climb to the Mountaintop
The moon was an otherworldly blood orange Monday night as it lit a shimmering fuse along the waters off the Oak Bluffs town beach. It was so spectacular that nearly every car and truck pulled off the road so its inhabitants could stare . . . and reflect.
Dean’s List
Dean’s List
Ryan Brennan of Vineyard Haven has been named to the Providence College dean’s list for the fall 2011 semester. To qualify for the dean’s list, students must achieve at least a 3.55 grade point average with a minimum of 12 credits.
Subsidized Apartments
Subsidized Apartments
Winter Weeding
A blender is a must when cooking for children. Violet’s friend, Cesca Robinson, joined us for supper recently. I served a pork, potato, and leek dish. Both girls loved it but each painstakingly picked out the leeks and left them in a tidy pile at the edge of the plate. I always puree vegetables I…
Razorbill Season
This is the season not of the witch but the razorbill. They have been seen from every side of the Vineyard and Chappaquiddick. Unlike their cousins the puffins, dovekies, murres, guillemots, murrelets and auklets that remain offshore except to breed, the razorbills will come into harbors, bays and estuaries that are less salty than the…
Squashing Rumors
Don’t squash my enthusiasm.
Why shouldn’t I be excited about the last little bit of local produce in my pantry? Along with some remaining homegrown potatoes, garlic, frozen garden tomatoes and backyard-raised chickens, I am lucky to have a few Island-grown butternut squashes left.
Civil Rights Service
Tonight’s Shabbat Service at the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center will honor the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his friend and colleague Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel.
Good Island Food: Hard Work Equals Satisfying Work
Asked in an interview about five years ago to name his favorite spot in Chilmark, my grandfather almost instantly responded: “The Keith Farm, Middle Road.” He then recalled his process of clearing that land, lamenting that he never had the right tools and remembering how he worked late into the evenings with his tractor clearing…
Musical Pit Stop Revs Up Oak Bluffs
Willy Mason on drums? I have never seen that before. The headliner of Vineyard musicians who fills houses across our nation and in Europe played back-up all night. But Willy was appropriately humble in this company — a gathering of the best of the best of Island musicians. Rob Myers, aka Jellybone Rivers had invited…
Grace is Hot Meal on Cold Night
Grace is Hot Meal on Cold Night
Winter gets a bad rap for a number of reasons. Cold, dark, possibly lonely as the Island empties out and more stores say goodbye until spring. But there is always one wonderful aspect of the off-season, as reliable as the spring peepers, the community suppers.
Tracks, Glassy Slides, and Scat, Elusive Otters Leave Their Marks
This is what 118 people saw on Sunday afternoon’s otter walk sponsored by the Vineyard Conservation Society: three ducks, five dogs on leashes, a rusted tractor wheel, and four folding chairs with broken seats.
This is what they did not see: otters. But they saw plenty of evidence that otters are alive and…
Catboat of the Month Club
West Tisbury catboat sailor Jim O’Connor has come out with his fourth annual calendar. Each month gets a photograph. Mr. O’Connor is a professional caterer and runs ChefWorks. When he is not cooking up meals in the summer he and his wife Kim, an educator at the Oak Bluffs School, and their black labrador retriever…
ACE MV Registration
ACE MV Registration
Registration is now open for the Adult and Community Education (ACE MV) winter and spring classes.
Course offerings include, well, just about anything you can think of including arts, music, dance, business, computers, education, parenting, cooking, health, history, languages, writing, the list goes on and on. Many classes…
Alzheimer’s Support
Alzheimer’s Support
A group for those caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s or other dementia will begin meeting on Wednesday mornings from 10 to 11 a.m. for the next 12 weeks. The first meeting takes place on Wednesday, Jan. 18.
Topics to be discussed include managing medications, the lonely and…
MV Democrats
MV Democrats
The Martha’s Vineyard Democrats are holding a meeting this Saturday, Jan. 14. from 9 to 10:30 a.m. at Howes House in West Tisbury.
The guest speaker is Mary Jane Sorrentino, a sustainability consultant with Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project. Ms. Sorrentino will present a half-hour program on elements of…
Yoga Teacher Training
Yoga Teacher Training
On Saturday, Jan. 14, FLY Yoga will offer a preview of their spring teacher training school with Sherry Sidoti. The event takes place from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at Tapas Hot Yoga in Vineyard Haven (near the Steamship Authority)
There will be a donation-based 60-minute yoga class followed…
Inside Scoop on Occupy
Inside Scoop on Occupy
Having trouble getting a handle on what to occupy these days? Well, on Sunday, Jan. 15, there will be an educational forum entitled, Understanding the Occupy Movement.
The forum takes place at the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center, located at 130 Centre street in Vineyard Haven. The discussion…
Haggis Hotline
Haggis Hotline
Save Saturday, Jan. 14, for some haggis; that would be a wee bit of sheep’s heart, liver and lungs to be exact, traditionally simmered in the animal’s stomach for approximately three hours. Alas, times and health codes change. Most haggis this side of the pond is now simmered in casings rather…
Art in the Stacks
Art in the Stacks
The Friends of the Vineyard Haven Public Library are presenting an exhibit of paintings by Brazilian artist Bella, also known for her work as a musician, singer, songwriter, playwright, and puppeteer. The exhibit will be on display during regular library hours through Feb. 4.
For more details,…
Tisbury Uncovered
Tisbury Uncovered
The Vineyard Haven Library is starting a new series devoted to all things Tisbury. The series of discussions are presented by the League of Women Voters and the Evening Lecture Series and will occur on Tuesday evenings through March 13, each night beginning at 7 p.m.
First up, on…
Sense of Wonder Art Class
Sense of Wonder Art Class
Need to get your sense of wonder recharged? Well, your children are in luck and, by extension, you adults too. Pam Benjamin’s Sense of Wonder classes for kids ages 5 to 12 started up again this week — and she still has a few openings left on Wednesday…
Integrity in the Kitchen Begins at Home
For chef Robert Lionette, food is an experience. It has a social and cultural history that goes beyond the flavors conjured up in a restaurant. It should have depth and meaning, and most of all, integrity.
This can take place in a restaurant or, as on a recent Wednesday morning, at his home…
