KATHIE CASE

508-627-5349

(kathleencase@comcast.net)

I heard the expression “Welcome to New England” after almost every forecast this week because it was beautiful today, and tomorrow will snow, then freezing cold. I know we complain about it a lot, but we always find ourselves back here in New England.

Happy birthday to all who celebrated their day this past week. I did not get the list of school children’s birthdays this month, so I apologize and send special wishes to all of them.

Tom Hodgson of Tiasquam road in West Tisbury once again reports the year’s first snowdrops, this time by e-mailing the news along with this photograph.

Hilary Russell Minot of Boston and David Anthony Capato of New York city were married on Saturday, June 13, 2009 in Edgartown, where they met at a clambake five years ago.

The couple said their special vows to each other on this sunny Saturday at the Federated Church, where the ceremony was performed by the Rev. Dr. Jerry Fritz.

The ceremony was followed by a dinner dance at the Edgartown Yacht Club, where guests enjoyed themselves from sunset to midnight, dancing to the ever-enticing band, Sultans of Swing.

Aiming to preserve the Denniston House, home to the Island’s first African-American church, the Island Affordable Housing Fund this week announced a partnership with the Martha’s Vineyard chapter of the NAACP to raise the money needed to pay off the mortgage on the Bradley Square property in Oak Bluffs in the next six months.

T. Ewell Hopkins, executive director of the fund, said his organization owes about $700,000 on a note with the Martha’s Vineyard Savings Bank. The property is located on the corner of Dukes County and Masonic avenues.

Chairman Cheryl Andrews-Maltais of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) was a guest of President and Mrs. Obama at a holiday reception on Monday, Dec. 14, 2009 in the East Wing of the White House. She met the President and First Lady. “It was an extraordinary experience,” she said. “I was so proud and deeply honored to be invited and to have the tribe recognized.”

Mrs. Andrews-Maltais was one of only four tribal leaders invited.

Sixth grader Casey McAndrews defeated defending champion Barra Peak to claim victory in the 2010 Tisbury School Geography Bee. The deciding question was: “After the United States and France, which island country generates the most power from nuclear energy?”

The correct answer is Japan.

Casey met eighth grader Barra in the championship round of the bee, which is sponsored by the National Geographic Society and Google. Similar competitions have been held in thousands of U.S. schools for the past 22 years.

Author Paul Schneider will discuss his approach to developing the narrative voice in nonfiction and his research for his upcoming book on the Mississippi River. This event is part of the Martha’s Vineyard Museum Speakers Series and will take place on Jan. 30, at 3 p.m., in the museum’s library at 59 School street in Edgartown.

Organic Farmers

Massachusetts organic farmers and those in transition to organic production may sign up now for technical and financial assistance under the federal Environmental Quality Incentives Program organic initiative of the USDA. Farmers are encouraged to apply by March 12 for their applications to be reviewed and ranked for currently available funds.

The theme this year was youth, including youthful viewpoints and honors for people who work with youth, at the annual Martin Luther King Jr. day brunch, hosted by the Vineyard chapter of the NAACP. The event took place at Deon’s Restaurant in Oak Bluffs on Monday and was attended by over 100 people. It was a celebration both of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the work that the NAACP and those affiliated with the organization have done and continue to do.

The West Tisbury planning board last week voted without dissent to endorse a new bylaw aimed at regulating the size and location of future wind turbines in town. The three-page bylaw was drafted by a special subcommittee and approved by the planning board last Monday.

The bylaw will now go to town voters at the annual town meeting in April. An earlier version of the wind bylaw was shelved at last year’s town meeting so the planning board could take more time to work on it.