Editor’s Note: Barack Obama was inaugurated as President of the United States, elected on a platform of change, on Jan. 20, 2009. He took the oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution as the country confronted its gravest set of circumstances in at least a generation.

A year into the Obama presidency, the Gazette invited leaders in their fields to write about the changes still needed, nationally as well as locally.

West Tisbury police chief Beth A. Toomey announced this week she is retiring after nearly three decades on the job as a police officer and 16 years as chief. Ms. Toomey made the announcement in a letter to the selectmen dated Jan. 13, which was read aloud by chairman Diane Powers during Wednesday’s regular selectmen’s meeting.

Edgartown police chief Paul V. Condlin announced his retirement to the selectmen at their meeting Monday afternoon.

“I will forever be grateful for having the opportunity to serve the town of Edgartown as a police officer for the past 33 years,” Mr. Condlin wrote in a letter to the selectmen.

The retirement will be effective August 7.

The Martha’s Vineyard Commission last Thursday unanimously approved a proposal to renovate and expand Morning Glory Farm in Edgartown, which was under review as a development of regional impact (DRI).

The plan was reviewed by the commission’s land use planning committee last Monday and approved by the full commission last Thursday after 30 minutes of deliberation.

The plan now goes before the Edgartown planning board for review at the local level.

The Tisbury selectmen, concerned about the high number of sidewalks around town that remained impassable long after the recent storms had ended, remind residents and business owners that nonremoval of snow is a violation of a town bylaw, punishable by a fine.

Special Education

Oak Bluffs selectman Kerry Scott announced on Tuesday that she will not run for a third term in April.

“I have done a lot of thinking and soul-searching and have decided I will not run for reelection as selectman this spring . . . it certainly has been a privilege to serve the past six years . . . I would like to thank the people of Oak Bluffs for this opportunity,” Ms. Scott said, reading from a prepared statement.

Squirrel Causes Power Loss

Electric power to 5,400 customers on the Island was interrupted for a few minutes on Monday morning, when an errant squirrel passed between wires in the NSTAR electrical system off the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road in Tisbury. The outage at approximately 7:15 a.m. lasted for only a few minutes.

Dean’s List

Samantha Rabin, daughter of Karen and Steven Rabin of Edgartown, has been named to the dean’s list at Hamilton College for the 2009 fall semester.

Miss Rabin, a junior majoring in sociology, is a graduate of Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School.

Dozens of curious Islanders turned out to take part in Saturday’s green tour of the affordable housing project under construction at 250 State Road in West Tisbury. The sun was shining on a bitterly cold day as members of the Island Housing Trust and South Mountain Company led visitors through three solar homes in various stages of completion.