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 21, 2014
On Chappy: Feb. 21
Spring is upon us. There are many signs, some of which seem to conflict with the thermometer reading. Just within the last few days the ferry captain on the afternoon shift has been able to get home before darkness sets in. I have seen the new 2014 seed catalogs at friends’ houses. The full moon…
Sky Fall
Spring Is a Month Away The sky is falling, steadily. Total snowfall since the first of January is 33.6 inches; which means we are already ahead of the annual average of 24.7 inches, according to the numbers compiled by the National Weather Service station in Edgartown. Last year, 2013, the total snowfall was 36 inches.…
Workplace Dispute Puts Airport in Spotlight
A Martha’s Vineyard Airport employee is at the center of a tangled web of charges and countercharges, including a complaint filed with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination.
High School Gets Mostly High Marks From Accreditation Process
In a 134-page report released this month, the New England Association of Schools & Colleges Inc. (NEASC) evaluated the quality of the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School’s educational programs.
Soccer Stars Kick It Up A Notch
Last fall Olivia Pouliot, 12, became the newest and youngest member of the Olympic Development Program. Olivia has been playing soccer on the Island since she was five, and often “played up” in the youth soccer league because the overall pool of girl players is small (at age nine, she played on an Under-14 team).
Honoring Each Moment Along Life’s Long Journey
Caring for someone with Alzheimer’s disease is difficult for many reasons. On the Vineyard, memory loss groups are indeed as much about providing a place for people with Alzheimer’s to go and feel comfortable, as a way for caregivers to get a needed respite and learn critical information.
Cost a Big Factor in New Freight Ferry, Smaller Design Chosen
The Steamship Authority governors Tuesday voted to go forward with designs for a new freight ferry with a capacity for 384 people. For almost a year, the SSA has been looking at plans for fleet replacement, beginning with replacing the freight ferry Governor. In August, the board opted in favor of a 235-foot freight vessel…
From Skateboard to Easel, Honoring One Man’s Story
Celebrating his late brother’s life, Randy Pease brings Beautiful Beast: The Life & Work of Geoff Pease to Brooklyn, N.Y., on March 14 through March 16.
Officer On Leave for Car Crash Resigns
Russell Ventura, 39, submitted a letter of resignation to West Tisbury police chief Daniel Rossi on Feb. 13. This week the West Tisbury selectmen accepted Mr. Ventura’s resignation without discussion by a vote of 2-0.
Task Force Arrests Oak Bluffs Man for Cocaine Trafficking
Gizmar DeSouza, 28, was arraigned Feb. 20 in Edgartown district court on charges on trafficking in a class B substance (cocaine) and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. Police said he allegedly had 28 grams of cocaine in his possession.
Threatened by Erosion, Chilmark Cottage to be Moved
A small house on the Wequobsque Cliffs will be moved 95 feet back from the edge of the cliff. Given the rate of erosion, one member of the Chilmark conservation commission wondered if it is far enough.
Oak Bluffs Man Held on Attempted Murder, Assault Charges
Marcelo F. Barbosa, 27, was arraigned Feb. 10 in Edgartown district court on charges of attempted murder, intimidating a witness, and domestic assault and battery.
Winter Sports Tourney-Bound
For the third straight year, all the varsity winter sports teams have qualified for the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletics Association postseason tournament.
Risky Business of Herbicides
Beyond the monarchs and the milkweed a broad discussion has been unfolding on the Vineyard in recent months and weeks about the use of herbicides.
Vineyard Notebook
I like the changes snow brings to a landscape: the crisp, invigorating air, the mystery of tracks in the snow, the silence before snowplows and sanders are out, the fragrance of wood fire smoke luring me indoors to warm up after a walk.
Island Man Faces Charges for December Hunting Altercation
Richard D. Roy was arraigned on one count of assault and battery Feb. 7 in connection with a December incident that sent police on a manhunt in Chilmark.
Sober Housing Is Essential in Helping Addiction
As I learned firsthand over recent years, a critical component of this support must be sober living homes. These are the facilities that are meant to provide people with an opportunity to recover in a safe environment.
Walking the Land to Visit the Past
Against a backdrop of rising seas rising and receding shorelines, it feels as though the Vineyard gets a little smaller every year. But one town is actually a bit bigger than it once was.
Blizzard
A poem for winter.
Hunting for Words, Loaded With Grief
The night my mother had died I slept on the lawn in a sleeping bag under the stars. I woke the next day and felt the same emptiness.
Vineyard Bookshelf
Anna Edey imagines a world with little need for fossil fuels, that provides us with all the comforts and technologies we currently expect and enjoy, includes ways to grow fresh food locally and allows us to keep using cars without harm to our air, soil or water.
Vineyard Wedding Magazines to Merge
The Vineyard Gazette Media Group announced a new development this week with two Island publications devoted exclusively to weddings. Martha’s Vineyard Wedding, owned by Hurd Publishing, will become part of Martha’s Vineyard Island Weddings.
Cost of Quality Education
This year, Martha’s Vineyard’s path has been severely disturbed by the sudden need to cope with a large increase in the school budget. Unfortunately it comes at a time when the school system has just achieved its goal of becoming one of the best locations in Massachusetts to provide children with an education.
Bringing Back the Monarchs
How wonderful to see Shirley Mayhew’s monarch butterfly movie and to think that not so long ago the Vineyard sheltered so many monarchs on their migrations.
Quilt Account Explained
The quilters who are part of the Quilt Fund for Fuel Assistance want everyone to know that nothing improper has ever been done with the monies we have collected from all the thousands of people who have bought quilt tickets over the past 16 years, or so. We are so grateful that we have been…
Down Time
The feeling of peace is still at Wasque, but now it is that uneasy peace that follows great upheavals, for the sea has pounded in, has gnawed and chewed away at this corner of land. The little beach pond is no more.
Selectmen Agree; Directions Change for Squibnocket Improvements
In Chilmark, selectmen discussed voter approval regarding the the Squibnocket Beach improvement project. The board also reaffirmed its vote to turn down a dredging project in Menemsha channel.
Vineyard Haven Dredging Work Completed
Work to deepen the channels at the entrance to Lake Tashmoo and at the west entrance to Vineyard Haven harbor wrapped up earlier this month. Sand was placed at the public beach in Tashmoo as well as the public beaches at Grove avenue and Owen Little Way.
Oak Bluffs Town Column: Feb. 21
The news of the Smithsonian Institute including Oak Bluffs in an exhibit in the National Museum of African American History and Culture is spreading and creating much excitement. People are proud that our small town will be nationally acknowledged for its contributions to black history, appropriately enough with this announcement in February. The history of…
Edgartown Town Column: Feb. 21
Well, in three short weeks spring will be here. However with all the snow we have piled in parking lots and wherever else we could find to pile it, I’m not sure we will feel it.
Please Adopt Us
It is eerily quiet these days at the Animal Shelter.
Rosanne Cash to Play Summer Benefit for Gay Head Light
The country music legend will come to the Vineyard this summer to play a benefit concert on July 1. Flatbread will donate the venue. Planning is still in the early stages.
Aquinnah Town Column: Feb. 21
There is a Lego competition at the Aquinnah Public Library on Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 1 p.m. Your creation may win you a prize. On Thursday, Feb. 27 at 5 p.m. there will be another dinner and movie for the kids.
Chilmark Town Column: Feb. 21
This week’s storm caused a very old tree on the roadside property of Tom Ruimerman and Janet Weidner and their boys, Peter and Andrew, to collapse from snow and wind.
West Tisbury Town Column: Feb. 21
Today marks the beginning of the school vacation week for Vineyard students and many families will also take a vacation from the winter boredom.
Hello, Kelson
Sandra Paim and Julian Borges of Oak Bluffs announce the birth of a son, Kelson Julian Paim Borges, born on Feb. 14 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital.
Announcing Michaela
Beth Auld and Mark Auld of Oak Bluffs announce the birth of a daughter, Michaela Rose Auld, born on Feb. 18 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital.
Regional High School AD Honored for Excellence
Mark McCarthy, who is in his fourth academic year as athletic director at the regional high school, will receive the Theodore (Ted) Damko District D award from the Massachusetts Secondary Schools Athletic Directors Association.
State Officials Discuss Proposed Regulations; Island Fishermen Have Their Say
On Tuesday, the state Division of Marine Fisheries held a public hearing in Vineyard Haven. Discussions centered around commercial fishing season length, reducing fishing days, bag limits, bass tagging systems, and stricter licensing rules for conch fishermen.
Land Bank Revenues: Feb. 14
The Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank reported revenues of $229,249.14 for the business week ending on Friday, Feb. 14, 2014.
Edgartown Residents Wed in New York City
Terrance Grannis and Sorina Sandor wed in New York city on Oct. 18, 2013.
Heather Gantkin and Jonathan Mazzarella Will Marry in Edgartown
Mr. and Mrs. James Gantkin of Milford, Conn., and Mr. and Mrs. Marshall Mazzarella of Boston and Edgartown, are happy to announce the engagement of their children, Heather Gantkin and Jonathan Mazzarella.
Danielle Giguere and Stuart Bangs to Wed
Danielle Giguere and Stuart Bangs are engaged. Danielle is the daughter of Philip and Martha Giguere of Andover. Stuart is the son of Paul Bangs and Margaret St.Denis of Edgartown.
Real Estate Transactions: Feb. 10 – Feb. 16
Molly Reilly and John Reilly purchased 4 Sheriffs Lane in Edgartown from Scott Gieselman for $4,000,000 on Feb. 14.
Jim Lambert Scholarship Winners
The Martha’s Vineyard Chamber of Commerce has announced the winners of the 2014 Jim Lambert Scholarships.
Edgartown Student named to Dean’s List
Amy Fligor of Edgartown was named to the fall 2013 dean’s list at the University of Delaware.
Boating Skills Course
The Martha’s Vineyard detachment of the Coast Guard auxiliary offers a 10-week Boating Skills and Seamanship (BS&S) course beginning Wednesday, March 5. The course meets weekly on Wednesdays from 6 to 8 p.m. through May 14, with the exception of school vacation week, at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School.
Aloha, Birds!
One of the first birds we saw in Hawaii was the rare akiapola’au, a honeycreeper whose bill is weird.
Cost of Clearing Island Roads Piles Up, Like the Snow
Every Island town reported this week that it has already exceeded its snow removal budget for 2014. West Tisbury tops the list by far, with $85,000 spent to date on plowing and sanding town roads.
Edgartown School Second Quarter Honor Roll
The Edgartown School has announced its honor roll for the second quarter of the 2013-2014 academic year.
Welcome, Helena
Welcome, Helena Luciani Jacobs and Gilson Goncalves of Oak Bluffs announce the birth of Helena Jacobs Goncalves, born on Feb. 13 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Helena weighed 7 pounds, 15.3 ounces at birth.
Y Camp for Winter Break
Winter break day camp is an option for students having a stay-cation next week. The YMCA offers themed activities, field trips, swimming, arts and crafts and more from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday next week.
Little Lambs
Every Wednesday and Saturday from 2:45 to 3:30 p.m., the Farm Institute is looking for help with feeding and weighing the newborn lambs.
Hello, Pizza!
The Chilmark Community Church is changing from soup suppers to pizza nights. The last soup supper is Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 5:30 p.m. The first pizza night is on Tuesday, March 11 at 6 p.m.
Friends of Family Planning Wants You to Make Art
Friends of Family Planning is looking for artists for its annual art show to be held this year from May 23 to 25. The deadline for applications is April 15.
Freezer Pleasers
I hate to buy fresh produce when I can grow anything on my own. We should all be thinking along these lines. Besides shoveling and tending the chickens, my only outdoor activity has involved knocking snow and ice from my favorite shrubs.
Frozen Foods
Historically, eating snow was common. An early report comes from Roman Emperor Nero (54 – 86AD) who mixed fruit or honey with his snow. Grape pulp snow was a particular favorite.
Hospital Takes Steps to Ease Primary Care Crunch
In a first-of-its-kind program here, the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital will hire doctors who are acute care specialists to manage inpatient care. Primary care doctors will no longer shoulder the burden of doing rounds, hospital leaders said.
Overnight Storm Brings More Snow
The Island awoke to a fresh blanket of snow Sunday following an overnight blast of more winter weather. Total snowfall overnight was 5.5 inches at the National Weather Service station in Edgartown. By afternoon sledders were out in force on sunny Island slopes.
Senior Hockey Co-Captain Is Setup Sensation
He’s come up through the ranks since his youth hockey days. Now Tyson Araujo is quietly making his mark in high school hockey statewide. But his focus remains on the team.
