Affordable Housing

Homebuyers interested in applying for four affordable homes being built by the Island Housing Trust off Lambert’s Cove Road in Tisbury can obtain applications at the Vineyard Housing Office (346 State Road, Vineyard Haven), by calling 508-693-4419, or online at ihtmv.org/applications.shtml.

Application submission deadline is May 28.

Stewards of Our Island: Local Concerns. Local Solutions. That is the theme of this year’s Wampanoag Environmental Health Consumer Expo 2010, slated for Saturday, April 10, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School. The Expo is open to the entire Island community, free of charge. There’s an exhibitor hall going up in the cafeteria, with representatives from public health, healthy housing, local non-profit environmental organizations, green businesses and others, covering a range of environmental health issues.

The Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School district committee meeting ended abruptly on Monday night following a peculiar exchange when several committee members refused to talk about the nonrenewal of an assistant principal’s contract in open or executive session.

When the committee began to discuss the hiring process for a new assistant principal to replace Neal Weaver, committee member Jeffrey (Skipper) Manter raised questions about the need for a replacement.

In the face of town fines accruing at the rate of $300 a day, the Garde family of Tisbury has renewed its legal fight to keep its three delinquent husky dogs.

Last week the family patriarch, Kenneth C. Garde, filed a motion for a stay of execution against an order made by the Edgartown district court, requiring compliance with last October’s order of the Tisbury selectmen which banned the dogs from town for repeated escapes and poultry-killing incidents.

As home mortgage foreclosure notices began appearing, then multiplying, in the Vineyard newspapers, John Pearson grew concerned. When the notices began to include names he knew, including people who volunteered with him at Big Brothers/Big Sisters, he convened a group to take action.

In 2004, as an officer in the United States Marine Corps, summer Chilmarker Zachary Iscol was sent to fight in Al Anbar, the most violent province in all of Iraq. He was a young man full of idealism and naivete, with no idea what the war had in store for him. He learned soon enough,

It took 10 years for the voters of West Tisbury to make up their collective mind about what to do with the historic town hall building, left to our care by previous generations. Its maintenance had been ignored for decades, not by any malign intent, until it became obvious to enough people that something had to be done. So after an extended and bumpy decision process, we now have an impressive building to meet our needs for the 21st century and beyond, and one that more than respects the 19th century external sensibility of the original structure.

This week our student’s thoughts are turning to spring, sports and learning. Spring is definitely in the air.

The Best Season

By SHELBY FERRY

PAY RAISE QUESTIONS

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

During a time where everyone is being asked to tighten their budgets, I find it interesting that the Oak Bluffs fire chief is asking for a $30,000 raise. Remember, this is not a full-time position. The department is still a volunteer department, meaning that the members receive yearly stipends, including the chief.

An important source of housing support on Martha’s Vineyard will be one focus of the next few weeks of town meeting discussion. Votes on funding for the coming fiscal year’s rental assistance program totaling $560,000 are spread across the Island’s six towns. So too are the 77 households who currently use rental subsidies to help maintain themselves and their families.