Dean’s List

Will Rogers was named to the dean’s list for the spring semester at University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He is the son of Lisa and Donnie Rogers of West Tisbury.

There were more than enough good fishing days this fall to spread into October. The 18th annual Octoberfish tournament, offered by Larry’s Tackle Shop, saw plenty of fish and fishermen. The biggest fish was a 16.80-pound bluefish caught from the shore by Luc Mercier of Edgartown. He weighed in his fish at the tackle shop on Oct. 25. His fish was caught more than a week after the close of the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby. Had it been caught earlier, it would have put him on top of both contests.

Regional high school principal Steven Nixon presented a $16.6 million draft operating budget to a school subcommittee Monday night, a 1.01 percent increase over last year. Even with many staff and faculty receiving contractual step increases this year, the budget remains nearly flat due to retirements and the elimination of the home economics program.

With the commercial bay scallop season off to a lively start, those who love to eat scallops will find plenty at the local market. But there will be sticker shock; the price is well up this year, with Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket again the only big sources for freshly harvested bay scallops.

Bay scallops were retailing at about $22 a pound on the Vineyard on Wednesday.

Marathon Man

Robert W. Herman of West Tisbury competed in and completed the 33rd Cape Cod marathon on Oct. 31 in Falmouth.

I congratulate Bill Keating on his win. This letter is not aimed at him, just the system in general in which we all live. I hope Mr. Keating has the ability to stand up to special interests and keep the people in mind when he is tempted with money and power. I would also like to encourage him to look outside the box in his search for solutions and not be restricted by the status quo. I’m sure I speak for the entire district when I wish him the best of luck.

Moving on:

The town of West Tisbury has begun a discussion about what, if anything, should be done to maintain the Mill Pond, a man-made impoundment of the Mill Brook in the center of West Tisbury. So far, the discussion has focused mainly on dredging the pond again; the pond was last dredged in 1970.

The midterm elections are over. The president and Democrats did not so much lose as they abdicated to Republicans and the extreme right–wing of the Republican party, the Tea Party, by not effectively communicating a persuasive message of their vision for the nation, accomplishments, and the heavy lifting they were doing on behalf of the American people.

DEEP LOSS

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

It was a beautiful fall evening on the Island and I was taking an after-dinner stroll with my children. My six-year-old son, Hardy, crashed about in the woods. My daughter, Pickle, not her real name but definitely her given name, walked a few yards in front of me.

Pickle is two and a half and becoming now a small creature of the world rather than just something of my own. She walked in front of me, not even looking back to see if I were following. I felt a tug at my heart.