Gail Blout, who has served eight terms on the select board of the state’s smallest town, will not run for reelection at the May town meeting. Ms. Blout said she decided over a year ago it was time to let someone else take the reins.
MassDevelopment, a quasi-public agency focused on stimulating economic growth in the state, put out a request for proposals for the different parcels on the New Bedford state pier, including the spot used by the Cuttyhunk Ferry Company.
Voters in Gosnold, the state’s smallest town, approved key funding last week to build a fuel farm after going three years without a reliable fuel source.
A recent state Seaport Economic Council grant will give Cuttyhunk the ability to complete a permanent fuel farm facility so it no longer has to transport fuel from other communities, as it has for the past three years.
Menemsha Dock in Chilmark, Cuttyhunk Harbor in Gosnold and a plan to dredge Lighthouse Beach in Edgartown are three of 19 projects statewide to receive funding.
In the list of Vineyardisms offered by H. Franklin Norton in an article published in the Gazette some months ago, there appeared “as proud as a Cuffy”, doubtless referring to the family founded by Paul Cuffee who was born on the island of Cuttyhunk in 1759. Captain Cuffee was something of a barbarian in his taste in wearing apparel and personal adornment. according to tradition he used to get himself up in such style that he rivalled the barber’s poles, Christmas trees and firework displays.
The initiative announced Monday will preserve nearly all the remaining undeveloped land on Cuttyhunk — including a large swath of unspoiled barrier beach, marsh and upland.
