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
June 8, 2012
News Update: Thursday, June 14 – Boys’ Tennis Team Wins State Championship
The Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School boys’ tennis team won the state Division 3 Championship — their first ever — over Nashoba Thursday, sweeping the first four matches in straight sets. (The fifth match was still being played at this time.)
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Vineyard Awarded $2 Million in Grant Monies
The Vineyard has been awarded $2 million in community development block grants by Gov. Deval Patrick for housing rehabilitation and child care subsidies. Edgartown, West Tisbury, Chilmark and Aquinnah were awarded a total of $1.1 million, while $991,000 went to Tisbury and Oak Bluffs. The money will provide some 50 applicants with money to repair…
Boys’ Tennis Advances to State Finals
The undefeated high school boys' tennis team picked up their 22nd win of the season Monday afternoon with a 4-1 victory over Weston, punching their ticket to the Division 3 state finals in the process. Junior Justice Yennie, who kept his own unbeaten streak alive, picked up the first win of the day at third…
News Update: Monday, June 11 – Thimble Farm Saved Again as Working Farm
Thimble Farm, 37 acres of fertile farmland in the center of the Vineyard that recently went on the market for sale, will be saved as a working farm thanks to generous donations from both the owner of the property and two seasonal Vineyard residents, the Island Grown Initiative has confirmed.
News Update: Monday, June 11 – Edgartown Fined $8,000 for Unauthorized Dredging
Edgartown has been fined more than $8,000 by the state Department of Environmental Protection in response to unauthorized dredging that occurred in January in Katama Bay, though an environmental assessment showed few long-term impacts from the project.
Town counsel Ronald Rappaport told the selectmen Monday that the fine, which was originally $16,320, was…
Ice Arena Improvements
Here are the cold, hard facts – The Martha’s Vineyard Ice Arena plans to expand, and the public is invited to help plan. The Arena, along with Mashek MacLean Architects, will host an open forum at 5:30 p.m. on June 12 at the P.A. Club in Oak Bluffs. Everyone is invited to come and break…
News Update: Sunday, June 10 – Class of 2012 Graduates, Celebrates A Future All Their Own
On Sunday afternoon 156 seniors were preparing to graduate from Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School as the class of 2012.
Regional High School Graduation
Congratulations to the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School Class of 2012, which graduates today. The ceremony begins at 1:30 p.m. at the Tabernacle in Oak Bluffs, and is open to the public.
News Update: Saturday, June 9 – Undefeated Boys Win Tennis Section Title; Girls Lose Hard-Fought Heartbreaker
The undefeated regional high school boys’ tennis team continued its champion season run on Saturday, advancing to the state semifinals for the first time in the program’s history by defeating Dover-Sherborn. The third-seeded girls’ team, which has also had an outstanding season, saw a different outcome on Friday after a marathon two-day match against second-seeded…
Hungry for Baseball? Full Meal Arrives
Forget Shark Week – Shark Summer on the Vineyard is about to begin, not in the water but on the baseball field. The Martha’s Vineyard Sharks, the Island’s own collegiate wooden bat summer baseball team, stage their second season home opener by taking on the Nashua Silver Knights at 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 9.…
Stoplight 101
Young drivers on Martha’s Vineyard would benefit by having a traffic light to negotiate. Traffic lights are a mainland reality, and we should make sure our children are prepared to encounter them.
I always thought that the blinker intersection would be a great place for a traffic light, but it looks like a roundabout is…
Changing Neighborhood
Things have changed in our quiet, country neighborhood since the new, taller, bigger White-Lynch asphalt tower was built at Goodale’s ever-expanding pit. We are awakened to the asphalt plant machinery at 4 a.m. Black soot, spewing from the tower, stains our roof. Sensitive Vineyard wildlife habitat is placed at risk and destroyed. More trees have…
Flags of Honor
This past Memorial Day commemorated the 20th year of our Avenue of Flags at Oak Grove Cemetery in Tisbury. We started with 50 flags; we now proudly fly 425. Each flag represents a male or female veteran who served in the military, living or deceased. These flags are raised and taken down each Memorial Day,…
Successful Dialogue
I was filled with deep joy and appreciation when I read the article Students Lead Conversation On Race, Diversity, Tolerance in your May 25 edition. Discussing issues of race, diversity and tolerance in an open and caring way allows for healing the wounds caused by race and other forms of discrimination, oppression and exclusion, and…
Farmers’ Market Returns
This Saturday is in many ways the start of summer, at least in West Tisbury, where the Farmers’ Market begins its season. The eating and shopping starts at 9 a.m. at the Grange Hall and keeps munching on until noon. The market is open every Saturday during the summer and on July 4 begins its…
News Update: Friday, June 8 – Driver Misses Bridge, Crashes into Sengekontacket Pond
An Edgartown woman was charged with drunken driving Friday after a single car crash left the car submerged in the water by the big bridge in Oak Bluffs. Ashley Peters, 22, was charged with drunken driving, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, marked lanes violation and speeding in the crash at 12:50 a.m. Friday, state…
News Update: Friday, June 8 – Martha’s Vineyard Commission Will Revisit Roundabout
In the wake of the overwhelming votes this spring in five Island towns against the controversial roundabout project, a longtime member of the Martha’s Vineyard Commission has called for the regional planning agency to revisit its own position on the plan. At the end of the MVC meeting Thursday night, Leonard Jason Jr. announced his…
Paws of Approval for Top Tisbury Readers
Edgartown K-9 officer Jeff Trudel and his dog, Buster, paid a special visit to Tisbury School readers last week.
Buster gave his “paw of approval” (as well as lots of kisses and tail wags) to the top readers from each of the second through fourth grade classes. The visit capped off Books for…
Graduating High Schoolers Stick Together Until the End
On Tuesday morning, 68 seniors of the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School graduating class hopped on a school bus and headed off-Island for the day.
“A lot of kids can talk the talk and nothing actually happens,” said school adjustment counselor Amy Lilavois on Monday morning. “But sure enough, they got a list…
Proposed Development Raises Hackles on Chappaquiddick
On Chappaquiddick, concern is growing over what neighbors are calling a hotel-like development on Sampson’s Hill, a residential neighborhood on a high point in the center of the remote island located off the eastern end of Edgartown.
The property owner, Stephen Olsson, is advertising his luxury vacation rental homes on the Internet as…
Earns MFA at Columbia
Earns MFA at Columbia
Alexis Tonti, the daughter of Robert and Alicia Tonti of West Tisbury, has graduated from Columbia University’s School of the Arts with an MFA in writing (nonfiction concentration). Ms. Tonti earned the degree in October 2011, though the official ceremony took place in May as part of university-wide commencement…
Holmes Hole Saling Schedule
The Holmes Hole Sailing Association, a group of skippers that has sponsored friendly competitions since 1970, has announced its 2012 summer schedule of handicap sailboat racing from Vineyard Haven Harbor.
The association will sponsor a series of 27 races, in a variety of formats, beginning with a tune-up race in Vineyard or Nantucket…
Celeste Ewing’s High School Years End With Cheers, Tears and Hope
Everybody knows Celeste Ewing. That’s one of the things her teachers and her family have to say about her — when you walk down the street or down the halls of the high school with Celeste, everyone says hi to the friendly 22 year old.
For the last eight years, Celeste, who has…
Restoration of Union Chapel: Halfway Back to Former Glory
The new pews are still empty, and the fresh pine they are built from won’t begin to creak until parishioners arrive later this month, adding their imprint to the long history of the Union Chapel in Oak Bluffs.
Tribe Moves to Convert Community Center to Bingo Hall
As the plan to build a resort-style casino in Southeastern Massachusetts continues to run into roadblocks, the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) is quietly moving to complete construction work on the tribal community center in Aquinnah where it wants to open a high-stakes bingo hall.
With Flowers in Their Hair, Charter School Grads Embrace Independence
Cherilla (Coco) Brown still remembers feeling ecstatic when, six years ago, she won the lottery to attend the charter school. She hated elementary school, to the point of locking herself in the car each morning so her mother wouldn’t be able to drive her. But she found a love of learning at the charter school,…
Called for Time, Tennis Victory Remains Elusive
The girls’ tennis team’s day trip to the semifinals of the MIAA Division 3 South Section tournament has turned into a drama-filled extravaganza: with the away match against Cohasset tied at 2-2 after over five hours of play, the Vineyarders had to leave the courts to make the last boat home. They will resume play…
Spring Sports Post-Season Play, Win or Go Home Time Again
Junior Maggie Riseborough cemented her legacy as one of the best field athletes in Massachusetts, as she turned in a sixth-place finish in the shot put at the annual Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletics Association All-State meet last Saturday with a throw of 36’7.75”.
Conference All-Stars
Conference All-Stars
Thirty Vineyard athletes were named to the Eastern Athletic Conference all-star teams for their respective sports this season.
Girls’ lacrosse: seniors Shelby Ferry, April Hargy and Madison Hughes; juniors Alayna Hutchinson, Jennie Lindland and Taylor Poggi; and sophomore Isabel Smith.
Boys’ lacrosse: seniors Nelson Dickson, Charlie Everett,…
Venus and Jupiter in the Morning
Where is Venus now? This past Tuesday, the second closest planet to the sun passed between the Earth and the sun, appearing as a dot before our star. Many astronomers observed the unusual transit of Venus using special solar telescopes.
For Former Deckhand, An Historic Voyage
She began her career on the water, 18 years ago, as a youth, collecting tickets as a deckhand on the Chappy Ferry. Last Friday, Lieutenant Anna-Liza Villard-Howe of Bourne took charge as captain of the 72-foot research vessel Gloria Michelle, a National Oceanographic Atmospheric Administration research vessel. The vessel works for the Northeast Fisheries Science…
Bring Some Magic Into a Life
Bring Some Magic Into a Life
Want to bring a little magic into the life of a child? Big Brothers Big Sisters needs people like you. Volunteer today to be a Big Brother or Big Sister to a kid who could use an adult friend in his or her life. Call 888-412-BIGS, or…
Temperatures
Temperature: Precip.
Day Max. Min. Inches.
Fº Fº
June 1 80 60 .00
June 2 69 54 .14
June 3 65 58 .58
June 4 70 53 Trace
June 5 56 52 .08
June 6 62 45 Trace
…
Court Rules Against Public Relations Firm In Small Claims Case
A contract dispute between Vineyard Web designer Kathleen Forsythe and Edgartown public relations specialist Danielle Pendergraft’s company ended this week with a finding for Ms. Forsythe and her company, Forsythe Designs Inc.
In a small claims court ruling issued Monday, Edgartown district clerk/magistrate Liza H. Williamson ordered Mrs. Pendergraft’s company, Holiday Public Relations…
Dog Days of June Is Talk of West Tisbury
Late last Thursday afternoon at Lambert’s Cove Beach in West Tisbury, early-season sunbathers dipped their feet in the icy water. A young couple paddle-boarded, their laughs just audible over the sound of waves. One man snoozed in a lounge chair, a discarded book at his side.
Barking Up the Wrong Beach, Or Not
Emotions ran high at a West Tisbury special town meeting Tuesday night where voters continued the ongoing debate over town rules relating to dog ownership. First, voters rejected a proposal to strengthen the town leash law, and then split on the question of whether to pay for enforcement of a new rule that will restrict…
Please Adopt Us
Please Adopt Us
Vineyard Visitor Tells Tale of Tail Feathers, Osprey Rebound
Belle, originally of Tashmoo, spent the last two winters in South America and just got back in May. Now she is spending most of her time fishing Tisbury Great Pond with four of her friends.
Belle’s journey home was far from routine — something about a mysterious delay around May 1 near Port…
OMG, High School and Cell Phones BFF, Students Say GR8
Let the texting begin.
The high school is relaxing a ban on cell phone use next year, allowing students to use their mobile phones in limited times during the school day.
The regional high school committee Monday voted unanimously in favor of a new pilot policy that allows for students to…
Follow Your Passions, Value Your Friendships
Each September the yellow school buses roll, and well-scrubbed, optimistic young children climb on board, carrying them with them the ambitions, hopes and fears of their families. For 13 years this process continues, and then suddenly, almost unexpectedly, school days are over. There is a song that I have often sung in Ireland, and known…
Hiking With Herb: No Walk in the Park
As I drove up to Pennywise Preserve last Saturday, I expected to see several other Island hikers waiting to join the pack. What I saw instead was an older man, sitting on a rock, legs crossed, no car, no bike . . . just by himself.
“Are you here for the cross-Island hike?”…
Vineyard Cooking: An Eternal Connection for This Family
Watching my three daughters Wendy, Jennifer and Ali, cook together in the barn-like kitchen behind my eldest daughter Wendy’s house has been one of the great joys of my life. Even before they thought seriously about writing a cookbook, they had their title: Three Sisters Cook And Their Mother Couldn’t Boil Water. Although the kitchen…
On the Right Track
From past editions of the Vineyard Gazette:
The natural formation of the Island of Martha’s Vineyard is such that nature seems to have prepared an excellent route along the north shore, where a railroad can be constructed at a very small comparative expense. The highest land on the Island is an elevation, 100…
West Tisbury at a Crossroad
Like a teenager who seems to grow a foot overnight, change has a way of coming slowly, then presenting itself all at once.West Tisbury, the town that has been the symbol of the Vineyard’s agricultural heritage for hundreds of years, has been absorbing population steadily since the 1970s, but seems suddenly to have lost some…
Hats Off to the Class of 2012
It often begins with tears, the dropping off of a young child at preschool. In the classroom it is the little boy or girl whose tears flow. Later, in the car, it is mom or even dad who cries, the strongest of souls moved to mush at this new beginning. The end, high school graduation,…
Pomp, Circumstance and Bankable Advice
Editor’s Note: What follows is the text of the commencement address delivered by West Tisbury resident Dan Waters to the 2012 graduating class at the Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School last Sunday.
By DAN WATERS
Welcome to one of the scariest moments you’ll ever live through.
The day you…
Washashore Chronicles: Just Give Him the Sand, the Sea and a Car
Recently my wife and I drove to Edgartown to meet friends for an age-appropriate movie, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. It was the 4:15 p.m. screening, so considering the movie, which we liked and now refer to as Slumdog Pensioners, the theatre was packed. After the movie we had an early supper at an Edgartown…
Chilmark
JANE N. SLATER
508-645-3378
(slaterjn@comcast.net)
Chilmark’s roadsides are sporting leafy green cover-ups that now hide all that previously could be seen from the road! All the greenery is very lush and thick. The white bloomings of spring are beginning to fade and the major color now is green everywhere.…
Aquinnah
JUNE D. MANNING
508-645-2574
(lthslnks2004@yahoo.com)
With the opening of the Howwossee Trading Post this past week, all the shops at the Cliffs are now open for the season.
Congratulations to all the students of the Class of 2012 who will be graduating on Sunday from Martha’s Vineyard…
Announcing Aiden
Announcing Aiden
Emily and Paul Galligan of West Tisbury announce the birth of a son, Aiden Thomas Galligan, born on June 2, 2012 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Aiden weighed 7 pounds, 5 ounces at birth. Aiden is welcomed by grandparents Brenda and Neil Galligan, and Jennifer and Gary Dillon.
Vineyard Haven
NANCY GARDELLA
508-693-3308
(vhavenvgazette@yahoo.com)
What is with this crazy weather? Did our friends from Connecticut bring it? Welcome back to so many seasonal faces. Wanda Denton has returned from West Hartford and is gardening. Jim and Trude Hart have returned from Florida and are gardening. Felicity Tuttle and Jim…
Regional High School Honor Roll
Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School principal Steve Nixon has announced the honor roll for the third quarter of the 2011-2012 academic year.
Grade 12 high honors go to Ambika Datta, Riley Donegan, Celeste Ewing, Eva Faber, Oliver Filley, William Fligor, April Hargy, Christine Janak, Celia Mercier, John Shannon and William Stewart.
Edgartown Public Library Appoints New Director
The Edgartown Free Public Library has a new director.
Jill Hughes, the former executive director of the Connecticut Library Consortium, will start the job June 25. She is replacing former director Felicia Cheney, who announced that she was resigning last December.
Ms. Hughes was introduced to the town selectmen Monday. After…
Tennis Battle Wages On
The girls’ tennis team is locked in a semifinals showdown against Cohasset, as play continues well into the evening. The winner of the match advances to the finals of the MIAA Division 3 South Section tournament. As of 6:40 p.m., the score was tied 1-1 with three matches yet to finish. Both doubles matches went…
Golf Tournament
Golf Tournament
Ann Heron, Tom Prendergast, Connie O’Doherty, Norman Vunk and Payton Wallace took top honors at the 18th Annual Children’s Benefit Golf Tournament, held June 3 at Farm Neck Golf Club. But the real winners of the day may have been the Boys & Girls Club and Big Brothers Big Sisters of…
Oak Bluffs
HOLLY NADLER
508-274-2329
(hollynadler@gmail.com)
Every July our town hosts the Monster Shark Tournament, and most of us put up with it with a shrug and the comment, “It’s good for business.”
We walk past the table set up by Vineyarders Against The Shark Tournament. The nice young ladies…
Edgartown
KATHIE CASE
508-627-5349
(kathleencase@comcast.net)
I have been hearing that people would like to have back March when the weather was spring-like and we didn’t know what was going to happen to our spring. I have also heard people say they actually turned their heat on once or twice, which…
Chappy
MARGARET KNIGHT
508-627-8894
(margaret02539@yahoo.com)
Chappaquiddickers are getting used to seeing change at the Wasque end of the island, but the Point end is in flux, too. Because of the stronger currents resulting from the Norton Point breach, the beach on the outer harbor side of the ferry continues to…
There Is a Road, No Simple Highway, Musicians Travel, Each Step Their Own
In the morning Diana Reilly puts on her garden gloves and travels around the Island with a gardening crew.
At night she turns into DJ Di and makes dance parties bloom with her beats.
“I’m like a vampire,” she joked.
Leading this double life makes for long days, but…
Recent Real Estate Transactions
Oak Bluffs
Ginger Bread House LLC purchased 76 Penacook avenue in Oak Bluffs from Frank Barvenik and Louis Burritt, co-executors of the Estate of Alma A. Barvenik, for $140,000 on May 29.
Kevin E. Peters purchased 72 Norris avenue in Oak Bluffs from Deutsche Bank National Trust Company for $357,750 on…
Graduate
Graduate
Ryan Brennan of Vineyard Haven was graduated from Providence College on Sunday, May 20, with a bachelor’s degree in sociology.
Master’s Degree
Master’s Degree
On Thursday, May 24, Duncan Mayher Pickard earned a master’s in public policy degree from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.
He is the son of Paul D. Pickard of Oak Bluffs and Gretchen Mayher of Oak Bluffs.
Dean’s List
Dean’s List
Stephen Hammond of West Tisbury was named to the dean’s list at the Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology for the spring 2012 semester.
Poppy Pleasures
You could blame the devil for spawning this horned plant.
Or you could hold Thomas Jefferson responsible for its appearance on America’s eastern beaches. In 1807, he planted its seeds at Monticello “in an oval bed southeast of the house.” No matter whom you fault, the mellow yellow blooms of the horned poppy…
Out of the Nest
An entertaining e-mail from Bob St. Germain reminded me that it is that time of year again. I must give my annual lecture on the importance of keeping a distance from bird nests and also slowing down on the roads. Birds passing across the Vineyard roads are undoubtedly carrying food for young at this time…
Broody Hen
I’ve had a hen jealously guarding her eggs. When I try to take them she pecks my hand and becomes downright aggressive. For several weeks I have left her alone. Last Sunday morning one tiny baby hatched. It was tucked in under her wing when I opened the coop. This has happened in the past…
Pro-Shark Concert: Music With a Bite
The battle lines have been drawn.
For some years now the town of Oak Bluffs has hosted an annual Monster Shark Tournament during a weekend in July. The event is well attended by both fishermen and spectators. But it is also protested regularly.
Islanders Walk the Walk, All Night Long, for Cancer Benefit
There were children prancing around in angel costumes, families noshing on barbeque food and familiar tunes blasting from speakers. It was like one big Islandwide block party at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School track last Friday as Islanders gathered to celebrate life.
But all fell silent when Tammy King, chief organizer of…
Red Chair Enjoys Vineyard Vacation
The Beach Plum Inn had an unusual guest this week.
Quiet, reserved, and ready to explore the Island, this four-legged visitor cozied up in the lobby of the inn for the past week, enjoying the scene and posing for pictures too.
It’s not a dog, nor even a cat. Nope, it’s…
Hungry for Baseball? Full Meal Arrives
Hungry for Baseball? Full Meal Arrives
Forget Shark Week – Shark Summer on the Vineyard is about to begin, not in the water but on the baseball field.
Ice Arena Open Forum
Ice Arena Open Forum
Here are the cold, hard facts – The Martha’s Vineyard Ice Arena plans to expand, and the public is invited to help plan. The Arena, along with Mashek MacLean Architects, will host an open forum at 5:30 p.m. on June 12 at the P.A. Club in Oak Bluffs. Everyone…
Gelatin Photography
Gelatin Photography
Silver-toned gelatin may sound like an expensive and dangerous dessert, but be assured it isn’t. Vineyard resident and photographer Janet Woodcock will give a talk about her art – traditional silver-toned gelatin photography – on Saturday, June 9, at 5 p.m. at the Louisa Gould Gallery located at 54 Main street…
Rose Treat Celebration
Rose Treat Celebration
No one can get enough of the Vineyard. But perhaps no one had a greater talent for prolonging her Island stay than the late Rose Treat. She died on November 2, 2011 in her Sengekontacket home, just two weeks shy of turning 103 years old.
Film Society Movie
Film Society Movie
A young lover juggles passion and morals. She tries to balance atop a teetering marriage. She hides a blooming love affair. She’s got all the duties of a crowd of circus performers, but not the skill sets. Her act is crumbling.
Relax, this is not an Island resident…
When Irish Music Smiles
When Irish Music Smiles
Tonight, June 8, at 8 p.m. KCT concerts is hosting a night of Irish music with fiddler Oisin MacDiarmada and singer and accordionist Seamus Begley. The show takes place at the Katharine Cornell Theatre in Vineyard Haven.
Mr. MacDiarmada is a native of Sligo, a region known…
Nature Photography Class
Nature Photography Class
Want to maximize your camera’s capabilities and hone your eye for photographic composition while surrounded by the natural beauty of Polly Hill Arboretum? Katherine Rose, a former garden photographer for the Boston Globe, will be leading a workshop at the arboretum on Thursday, June 14, from 4 to 6 p.m.…
Home Grown: West Tisbury Farmers’ Market Opens
Tomorrow, June 9, is in many ways the start of summer, at least in West Tisbury. This is the day the West Tisbury Farmers’ Market begins its season. The eating and shopping starts at 9 a.m. at the Grange Hall and keeps munching on until noon.
As its name implies, the market includes…
A Champion of Education for All
When Dan Seklecki was a young special education teacher in 1975, education for all students was a new concept. There was a new federal law, a “zero reject” policy that entitled all children, regardless of their needs, to a free public education.
No Student Is an Island With Generous Scholarship Network
Going to college entails a lot more than a desire to learn and some suitcases — unless those suitcases are packed with cash. As college costs continue to skyrocket, the need for financial aid is more crucial than ever. For the students of Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School, there is a loud response to that…
At School and on the Mound, Valedictorian Proves He’s Tops
Scholar.
Athlete.
Entrepreneur.
Volunteer.
Fisherman.
Chef.
Pianist.
Wait, that last one hasn’t happened yet.
But regional high school senior William Stewart has been thinking about teaching himself to play the piano for a while now, and this summer, before…
