A new weekly bereavement group for those who have experienced the loss of a partner or spouse meets on Tuesdays, beginning March 16 at 10 a.m. at the West Tisbury Congregational Church. Colleen Seadale, bereavement counselor for Hospice of Martha’s Vineyard and licensed marriage and family therapist leads the group. Space is limited. For details on the program or to preregister, call 508-693-0189.

Screening at the Katharine Cornell Theatre tonight, Feb. 19, is The Messenger, a powerful story of Will Montgomery, a war hero who upon returning from service in Iraq, is enlisted in the Army’s Casualty Notification Service, tasked with informing families of loved ones lost in the line of duty. The struggle Will faces as a professional bearer of bad news during his own search for personal healing and comfort is interrupted by an unexpected emotional connection with a war widow.

They meet in the deep of winter and talk about summer fishing. Though the temperature outside is in the 20s on this Monday night and icicles hang from the eaves, the room inside the Martha’s Vineyard Rod and Gun Club in Edgartown is infused with the warmth of a July day on the water with the sun beating down and the false albacore running off the Menemsha jetty. This is fly-tying night, and it has been going on every Monday night here since January.

The Island Affordable Housing Fund announced this week that the copresidents will step down, one immediately and one in the spring.

Robert Wheeler will resign immediately and Candace daRosa will stay on until the organization’s spring annual meeting, a press release stated this week. At that time a new president will be selected by the board.

Mrs. daRosa intends to stay on as a board member while Mr. Wheeler will leave the board, according to the release.

Dean’s List

Sagitta Woodman, of West Tisbury, made the dean’s list at Salve Regina University in Newport, R.I. A sophomore majoring in international social work, she is the daughter of Mara Coleman of West Tisbury.

The town of Oak Bluffs has received a $102,000 state grant that will be used for improvements at East Chop Drive, which has been plagued by coastal erosion and drainage problems in recent years.

The money will be used to install a modified gravel wetland system along the road to reduce untreated storm water that discharges into the town harbor. The improvements are also aimed at eliminating a large puddle that often occurs near the East Chop Beach Club after storms.

The Nauset Garden Club of Cape Cod and the Islands is offering scholarships for students majoring horticulture, landscape, environmental studies, botany, marine biology, biology and microbiology.

Full-time students entering the junior or senior year or graduate study program of an accredited college or university are eligible. The club will offer two $3,000 scholarships for the 2010-2011 academic year. The club also offers the $5,000 Evelyn Ponticos Helides Scholarship.

West Tisbury selectmen this week voted to appoint Sgt. Daniel Rossi as acting police chief beginning in April for six months, while a search is conducted to find a replacement for outgoing chief Beth Toomey.

Selectmen Richard Knabel and Dianne Powers approved the appointment at their weekly meeting Wednesday afternoon.

Selectman Jeffrey (Skipper) Manter, also a sergeant on the police force, abstained.

Next week is school vacation, the quietest week of the year on the Vineyard, but in Oak Bluffs it will be anything but quiet as the sound of hammers, saws and heavy equipment fills the air.

Construction workers are scrambling to complete several major building projects before spring turns to summer in a few short months.

There are an unusually high number of new projects in Oak Bluffs this year.

Responding to vocal protest from hotel and restaurant owners, the Edgartown selectmen voted this week to drop two articles from the annual town meeting warrant that would have increased the rooms tax and added a meals tax in town.

Allowed under a local option provision in state law, the town was considering increasing the room occupancy tax by two per cent, and imposing a meals tax of .75 per cent.