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
February 17, 2012
Maintenance Partially Closes Sagamore Bridge
Scheduled maintenance on Thursday, Feb. 23 will reduce traffic on the Sagamore Bridge to one lane in each direction. Delays are likely to occur during peak travel periods. All travel lanes on the Bourne Bridge will remain open to traffic.
News Update: Wednesday, Feb. 22 – Selectmen Order New Owners, New Locale for Troubled Dogs
Two Akitas previously sentenced to be euthanized were ordered into the ownership of an off-Island rescue group by the West Tisbury selectmen Wednesday night. Per an agreement between the town and the dogs’ owners, the dogs are never to return to the Island.
The dogs will be surrendered to the Lexus Project, a…
News Update: Wednesday, Feb. 22 – Tisbury Eyes Wine Sales at Farmers’ Market
Two years after a sharply divided town electorate approved the sale of beer and wine in Vineyard Haven restaurants, Tisbury selectmen may ask voters to expand wine sales beyond the dining room. Two Massachusetts wineries are eyeing the Down-Island Farmers’ Market to sell and sample their wines this summer, and this week selectmen said they…
Sail MV Dinner
The second of the Sail Martha’s Vineyard dinner and lecture series at the Black Dog Tavern takes place on Wednesday, Feb. 22, at 6 p.m. The speaker is Dan O’Connor from Life Raft and Survival Equipment Co. located in Tiverton, RI. Mr. O’Connor’s talk is titled Safety at Sea. His presentation will focus on what…
News Update: Tuesday, Feb. 21 – Town Dredge Committee Chairman Blasted for Possible Ethics Violations
Edgartown town counsel Ronald H. Rappaport had strong words of criticism Tuesday for Norman Rankow, the former chairman of the town dredge advisory committee who used the town-owned dredge for a private project in the town harbor last month without a permit and in violation of state and town environmental laws.
Threat to Fish, Cormorants May Soon Be Driven From Area
The double-crested cormorant may be legally protected, but if the town of Chilmark and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) get their way, the Island will soon see fewer of the pesky birds, whose voracious appetites threaten fish restoration projects.
The tribe is seeking a special permit from the U.S. Fish and…
Mardi Gras Makes Its Way to the Vineyard
Lent is coming, but before you start thinking about what to give up, it’s time to indulge. The Vineyard is playing host to a variety of Mardi Gras festivities on Fat Tuesday, Feb. 21.
News Update: Sunday, Feb. 19 – Girls’ Hockey Advances to State Tournament
For the first time in the program’s 14-year history, the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School girls’ hockey team qualified for the state tournament, defeating visiting Marshfield 2-1 on Saturday afternoon.
With the win, the girls move to 10-7 on the season with two games left to play. In order to reach the state…
Where Smoke, Fire Drill
The Edgrtown fire department will set fire to an unoccupied home in Katama on Saturday, Feb. 19 as part of a training exercise. The drill will occur between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Edgartown fire chief Peter Shemeth said the house was slated to be demolished, but the homeowner instead allowed the department…
News Update: Saturday, Feb. 18 – Dodger’s Hole Home Destroyed in Early Morning Fire
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Aesop’s Fables at the Chilmark Community Center
ArtFarm Enterprises has teamed up with the West Tisbury School’s fourth grade class to create a unique adaptation of Aesop’s Fables. The performances take place tonight, Feb. 18, at 4 p.m. at the Chilmark Community Center.
The performances are a mixture of live theatre, film, music, and dance. And it’s free.
Elects Officers
Elects Officers
Vineyard House, a public charity that provides housing for Islanders in early recovery from substance abuse, held its annual general meeting and officer elections Jan. 23. Mark Jenkins will remain in place as president of the board of directors, and will serve alongside co-vice presidents Beth Toomey and John Early, treasurer…
Veterans Must Wait for Health Care Access
For Vineyard veterans seeking on-Island access to health care, a long wait is getting longer.
Despite word in January that a contract for health care should be in place by late February, the process has been delayed by administrative roadblocks.
The Veterans Administration is “still shooting for springtime,” for a contract…
Act One Months Away – for Venerable Vineyard Playhouse
Like a set change between acts, the Vineyard Playhouse has been in a feverish state of transformation this winter. Now, with construction ahead of schedule on the new $2 million expansion and renovation of the Vineyard Haven venue, the playhouse board of directors has voted to continue construction through the summer, while kicking its fund-raising…
Menemsha Fire Claims Unpaid: Town Insurance Policy Will Not Cover Boat Owners’ Losses
A year and a half after the Menemsha fire, insurance claims for fishermen and recreational boat owners who suffered property losses remain unsettled.
About 40 people have filed claims through the town and the U.S. Coast Guard, which owned the historic boat house that was lost in the massive fire on July 12,…
Canines Ordered Destroyed May Be Spared in Settlement
The West Tisbury selectmen are now considering reversing an order to destroy two Akitas on condition that the owners agree to turn over the dogs to new owners.
Pros and Cons of a Warm Winter: Sun, Flowers, Ticks and Skunks
Ah, the first signs of spring: Crocuses are in bloom, animals are emerging drowsily from their burrows and the forecast is pleasant. Wait, what month is this?
On Wednesday Ben Sipprell, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service forecast office in Taunton, confirmed what Islanders who spend any amount of time outdoors already…
Ice Hockey Tournament
Ice Hockey Tournament
The 15th Annual Fairleigh S. Dickinson Tournament takes place this weekend at the Martha’s Vineyard Arena. The varsity Vineyard boys hit the ice at 7 p.m. on Saturday for their first game, taking on the Lynnfield Pioneers. The Dennis-Yarmouth Dolphins play the Masconomet Chieftans at 5 p.m.
The…
An Astronomically Perfect Storm
A few days ago, I was checking the tides on the Internet for West Falmouth. I visit there frequently in my Whaler and my mom lives there. The site also gives the time of sunset, moonrise, and full moon. I noticed that on Tuesday the time of full moon coincided with the time of sunset…
Zoned Out
From Gazette editions of February, 1962:
Edgartown voters in an expeditious annual town meeting exorcised that old devil zoning with their usual robust enthusiasm, this time by defeating the project for a zoning committee with $1,000 for expenses, but otherwise went along with the recommendations of the advisory committee. The school remodeling and…
Letters to the Editor
LOVE BOATS
Editors, Vineyard Gazette:
Your Feb. 10 editorial is right in its main point, that the Steamship Authority is essential to the Islands, and any experiments with mainland ports must not jeopardize its economical operation. However, when you say that Vineyarders have always loved their “ferries,” “boats” would be historically…
When Seeing Your Shadow Is a Good Thing
Imagine your dream job. Now imagine you could spend the afternoon with someone who has it. That’s exactly what members of the Martha’s Vineyard Youth Leadership Initiative did last week for the second annual job shadow day. They aspire to become green architects, economists, green engineers, doctors, nurses, physical therapists, environmental scientists, farmers and even…
Learning from the Whitney Houston Tragedy
The death of Whitney Houston, whatever the final cause, is a tragedy, but one that can also serve as an opportunity to talk about addiction; the horrible effects, the road to recovery, and, most importantly, prevention.
February Days
Islanders love to talk about the weather, and this winter has been no exception — except that the conversation is strikingly different. No snow save a couple of dustings and a late January dump of eight or nine inches of wet white stuff that melted away in the sunshine and mild temperatures over the next…
Canine Rescue
The West Tisbury selectmen have been put in a difficult spot as they try to navigate the ongoing conflict over two Akitas that have killed chickens and geese at a neighboring farm. The selectmen’s responsibility is to the town as a whole, and — as cruel as it may sound to some — they must…
Farm for the Future
Tea Lane Farm in Chilmark will get a new lease on life following the special town meeting this week, when voters swiftly approved a plan to create a long-term arrangement for a farmer to take over the fifty-acre property that has been a landmark at the corner of Middle Road and Tea Lane for as…
County Communications Center Readies for Move Underground
The county communications center, a hub for all dispatches from police, fire and other public safety agencies, is about to go underground. In two months, the $1.5 million project to expand the space and further improve services to the county will relocate the center from a one-level, too-small ranch house at the airport into the…
Renaissance House
Renaissance House, a retreat for artists and writers in Oak Bluffs, is accepting applications for its 11th year of operation.
Renaissance House is sponsored by the Helene Johnson and Dorothy West Foundation for artists in need. Both women were writers of the Harlem Renaissance. Ms. Johnson died in 1995 and Ms. West in…
West Tisbury
JOHN S. ALLEY
508-693-2950
(alleys@vineyard.net)
Today is the start of a long holiday weekend. Presidents Day is celebrated on Monday. The school, post office and all municipal buildings will be closed. It is school vacation week for the rest of America’s public school systems. Ours starts next Friday and…
Aquinnah
JUNE D. MANNING
508-645-2574
(lthslnks2004@yahoo.com)
Approaching the age of Medicare, supplementary insurance, pharmaceutical coverage, online registration and telephone calls, ad infinitum, has been made a great deal easier with the assistance of our Up-Island Council on Aging (COA) Director Joyce Bowker. Blessings to Joyce, who has provided her knowledge…
All-Star Football Player
Delmont Araujo, a senior at Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School, has been selected to play for the South squad in this years Shriners All-Star football game.
The game will be played in Gillette Stadium on Friday, June 15.
Registered Nurse Honored
Lorna E. Chambers-Andrade, RN, PhD, a resident of Edgartown, was honored at the 40th anniversary celebration of the New England Regional Black Nurses Association in Boston at the Copley Marriott Hotel on Feb. 10. She was the seventh elected president of the association, from 2002 to 2004.
Over 300 people attended the celebration.…
Edgartown
KATHIE CASE
508-627-5349
(kathleencase@comcast.net)
Jessica Burnham recently posted pictures on Facebook of snowdrops blooming. When I came home that same afternoon I found I had a lone purple crocus of my own in bloom. The next day they were covered with snow, but no worry. They were okay, as…
Chappy
PETER WELLS
Guest Columnist
My mother spent her childhood summers on the Chappaquiddick shore of Edgartown harbor in a house that was washed away in the hurricane of 1938. The house was on pilings right on the beach at the base of the bluff just below the last house on Caleb’s…
Oak Bluffs
HOLLY NADLER
508-274-2329
(hollynadler@gmail.com)
This is a Touched by an Angel story. And it really happened, right here in Cottage City.
Please Adopt Us
Please Adopt Us
Two stray animals from Vineyard Haven were brought to the Animal Shelter of Martha’s Vineyard this week. The first is a young female cat, probably not much more than a kitten. She has unusual coloring — orange and brownish stripes. The animal control officer, Laurie Clements, brought her in on…
Dean’s List
Dean’s List
Rebekah Jane Nivala of Vineyard Haven has been named to the fall 2011 dean’s list at Wheaton College in Illinois. Rebekah is a senior, and is pursuing a degree in piano performance. Rebekah is also a member of the Women’s Chorale ensemble and the Intercollegiate Debate Team, and is involved with…
Evelyn Arrives
Kathlyn Lorraine Medeiros and Gilmar Mateus de Souza of Oak Bluffs announce the birth of a daughter, Evelyn Lorraine de Souza, born on Feb. 9, 2012, at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Evelyn weighed 7 pounds, .045 ounces at birth.
Agricultural Society Begins Fundraising Campaign
The Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society has announced what it is calling a quiet fund-raising campaign this week to raise money to help offset the cost of its recent land purchase in West Tisbury.
The society and the Polly Hill Arboretum bought nearly 10 acres of land from the Martha’s Vineyard Museum last summer…
Hockey Bantams Triumph, Peewees Take Third Place
The Eric B. MacLean Memorial Tournament took place last weekend at the Martha’s Vineyard arena, with the Bantam squad taking home the championship trophy and the Peewees finishing third overall.
Striped Bass Got Game?
Whether to make striped bass only a game fish will again be brought before state legislators. The Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture will host a public hearing on at least three bills that concern the future of striped bass in the state. The hearing will be held Feb. 28 at 11 a.m.…
Edgartown Girls, Oak Bluffs Boys, Middle School B’Ball Champions
No matter what level of sport is being played, the adage remains the same: Defense wins championships. And it was on the strength of shot-blocking and rebound-grabbing, as much as their own shots themselves, that the Edgartown girls held off the West Tisbury squad 41-18 Tuesday night in the middle school basketball championship game at…
Selectmen Okay Paving at Chappy Beach Club
The Edgartown selectmen Monday approved a proposal from the Chappaquiddick Beach Club to pave a small turnaround area at the club entrance on the Chappaquiddick Road.
Club manager Peter MacRae said the area is used as a turnaround point for the club’s shuttle van; he said sand and gravel have both proved to…
Gazette Wins Top Prizes, Cited for Excellence in Journalism
The Vineyard Gazette won 27 awards in the annual New England Better Newspaper Contest this year, including general excellence, the top prize awarded in the winter contest for small newspapers for 2011. “An outstanding, fascinating weekly newspaper. Superb newspaper writing. It should be studied in journalism classes on community newspapers,” judges wrote.
Committee Chairman Used Town Dredge With No Permits
The former chairman of the Edgartown dredge committee is at the center of a flap involving unathorized use of the town dredge for a project on private property in Katama Bay.
Norman Rankow resigned from the dredge committee last week, saying that he felt he needed a break. He had served on the…
Preschoolers Remember Their Teacher
Students and staff at the Martha’s Vineyard Early Childhood Center are mourning the loss of preschool lead teacher Sherry Winnette, who died last weekend.
“She was an amazing teacher, and clearly the children, the staff, and the parents will miss her,” said Debbie Milne, the director of early childhood programs at Martha’s Vineyard…
Wind Farm Worries Include Fin Whale Migration, Wildlife
As the federal government presses ahead with plans to develop wind farms on a 1,300-square-mile plot of ocean south of the Vineyard, on Monday night the Island had its turn to have a say about it.
Representatives from the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, accompanied by members of the Gov. Deval Patrick…
Chilmark Voters Readily Back Lease Plan for Tea Lane Farm
Chilmark is now accepting proposals for Tea Lane Farm after town voters agreed, with sweeping support this week, to lease out the historic farm on a long-term basis.
Applications are due by next month; the Tea Lane Farm committee is still finishing a timetable and rubric for the project. The farm committee will…
Vineyard-Cape Commute: Crows Are Above it All
There is a group of about 1,500 winter commuters a day between the Cape and Martha’s Vineyard, and not one of them takes the ferry. They all fly.
The commuters are crows. They leave for the Cape early in the morning and return to the Vineyard around 4 p.m. to spend the night…
Crow Roosts
Approximately 1,500 crows roost at the land bank’s Tradewinds Preserve off County Road in Oak Bluffs. This roost was noted this winter as a result of the recent Christmas Bird Count; Tom Chase’s field team counted these crows and found the second confirmed sighting of fish crows on the Island. Allan Keith’s field team could…
Time to Transport
Several family members have birthdays this month so there has been some serious cake-eating at our house. It’s time to get back to nothing but salads for awhile. Fortunately, I have tons of lettuce, spinach, kale, and pea shoots growing right now. It has been a mild couple of months — just perfect for cold-weather…
Ithaca College Dean’s List
Ithaca College Dean’s List
Matthew Fisher, son of Jeffrey Fisher of Vineyard Haven, was named to the dean’s list at Ithaca College’s School of Humanities and Sciences for the fall 2011 semester. Matthew is a sophomore German (teaching) major.
Felix Neck Camp Offers Scholarships
Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary announced that it will provide Fern & Feather Natural History Day Camp scholarships and discounts to year-round Vineyard residents again this year.
The camp offers opportunities for children to experience the outdoors in the 350-acre wildlife sanctuary while exploring forest, field, salt marsh, freshwater and saltwater communities. Each weekly…
Science Fair Takes Center Stage for Students
The 13th annual Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School science fair took place Saturday morning, with freshmen Lee Faraca and Gordon Moore winning the grand prize for their project Cost Efficiency: Solar vs Wind Energy.
“We tried not to expect anything,” Gordon said afterward. “We didn’t think we were going to win.”
…
Holy Cross Dean’s List
Holy Cross Dean’s List
Grace M. Shelley, a fourth-year student at the College of the Holy Cross, has been named to the dean’s list for the first semester of the 2011-2012 academic year. She is the granddaughter of Jane W. Shelley of Oak Bluffs, with whom she has spent the last two summers…
Miscast Miscanthus
Elephant grass is the elephant in the room–or, in this case, the field.
Scientifically known as Miscanthus, and commonly called plume grass, maiden grass, Eulalia grass, and Chinese or Japanese silver grass, elephant grass has been popping up all over the Island. This nonnative plant, along with its many ornamental cultivars, has become…
Dean’s List Honors
Dean’s List Honors
Berklee College of Music announced that Lydia Fischer of Chilmark and Evan Hall of Aquinnah earned placement on the dean’s list for the fall semester of the 2011 academic year. To be eligible for this honor, a full-time student must achieve a grade point average of 3.4 or above; a…
Sail MV Dinner to Highlight Survival Training
The second of the Sail Martha’s Vineyard dinner and lecture series at the Black Dog Tavern takes place on Wednesday, Feb. 22, at 6 p.m. The speaker is Dan O’Connor from Life Raft and Survival Equipment Co. located in Tiverton, RI.
Mr. O’Connor’s talk is titled Safety at Sea. His presentation will focus…
Daffodils on the Way
Daffodils on the Way
American Cancer Society volunteers are pre-selling bouquets of daffodils at various Island locations as part of an annual fund-raising effort. The bouquets cost $10 and will be delivered in March. Proceeds from the sales support cancer research, programs and services, including free transportation from Woods Hole to areas of…
Soup Kitchen Cuisine: Braised Rabbit?
Washington, D.C. had a taste of the Vineyard last month when three Island chefs traveled to the nation’s capital to participate in Sips and Suppers. The annual fundraiser brings together the country’s top chefs for Martha’s Table and DC Central Kitchen, two soup kitchens in the area.
Sharks Beef Up Squad
The Martha’s Vineyard Sharks have announced two new additions to their 2012 season roster. Ryan Brockett, a left-handed pitcher from St. Mary’s College in California, will join the wooden bat collegiate baseball team this summer. Mr. Brockett’s primary pitch is a fastball that tops 80 miles per hour. He joins Yale University shortstop Cale Hanson.…
Fat Tuesday
Lent is coming, but before you start thinking about what to give up, it’s time to indulge.
Getting a jump on the Mardi Gras festivities is the Federated Church in Edgartown. On Saturday night, Feb. 18, beginning at 6 p.m. the church is hosting a jambalaya dinner, complete with music, beads, masks, and…
Mime Time Is Now
What is the sound of one mime laughing? This question and more will be answered on Thursday, Feb. 23, at the Vineyard Haven Public Library when the comic mime, Robert Rivest, brings his show Literacy Alive to the Island. Showtime is from 3:30 to 4:15 p.m.
Fourth Grade Fables
ArtFarm Enterprises has teamed up with the West Tisbury School’s 4th grade class to create a unique adaptation of Aesop’s Fables. The performances take place tonight, Feb. 17, at 6:30 p.m. and tomorrow, Feb. 18, at 4 p.m. at the Chilmark Community Center.
The performances are a mixture of live theatre, film, music,…
Kudos to Island Tennis Pro
Connie McHugh of the Vineyard Tennis Center and Workout has been selected secretary of the United States Professional Tennis Association in New England. The USPTA is the professional association that tests and certifies tennis teaching professionals from around the world.
Mrs. McHugh received her certificate for 25 years of service in the United…
Game, Set, Art
There is a new gallery in town, one where you can build your muscle mass or rack up some aces while enjoying the aesthetic pleasures of Island photographers.
The gallery is located at the Vineyard Tennis Workout and Spa, on Airport Road in Edgartown. Serving up the first show is photographer Alida O’Loughlin.…
Bookstore Book Club
The Bunch of Grapes Bookstore is starting up a book club and leading off with The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. Ms. Skloot’s book deals with a woman whose cells have been unwittingly used for scientific research since the 1950s. The themes explored include the birth of bioethics and the dark history…
NAACP Dinner
On Saturday, Feb. 18, from 5:30 to 9 p.m. the annual NAACP and Martin Luther King membership and awards dinner takes place at the Grill located at 227 Upper Main street in Edgartown. The evening features a conversation on civil rights with Lucy Hackney, Rose Styron, and Betty Rawlins.
The awards this year…
Good Gossip, Great Comedy
Each year the Bravencore Theatre Troupe, made up of students from the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School, creates an original work for the Massachusetts Educational Theater Guild’s (METG) annual high school festival. Kate Murray, the theater arts teacher at the high school, views this as a badge of honor as not all of the other…
