Straight Shooters

Jonathan Gill captured the large caliber division of the annual Martha’s Vineyard Pistol Championships held on Sunday, Oct. 10 with a score of 290 out of 350, while Jim Dorsey captured the small bore caliber division with a score of 305 of 350 in that pistol class.

Competitors had to fire from different distances, positions and time limitations.

Taffy McCarthy is solitary on stage in the literal whole-nine-yards of white satin bridal paraphernalia; the gown is too long for her customary hopping and bopping.

In this Island Theatre Workshop (ITW) rehearsal of the first of five short original plays — banded together under the title Pick of the Crop — Ms. McCarthy portrays a hill country bride-to-be called Sis. The monologue, One Last Look, was written by the actor herself.

Doctor of Philosophy

For the past decade Betty Burton has organized the Vineyard Haven Public Library’s evening lecture series. On Tuesday it was her turn to speak. Like many Vineyarders, when she came to the Island years ago, she left behind an impressive oeuvre on the continent: Mrs. Burton was a researcher on the cutting edge of the still emergent field of genetics in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

“Even people who have known her for a long time don’t know about her career as a research scientist,” says her husband, John Sundman.

The Limpopo is a river in Botswana. It is also the name of a doughnut served at State Road Restaurant in West Tisbury. But this is not just any doughnut as anyone who as eaten one, or 30, say, in a week-long binge will attest. It is the perfect doughnut.

Brown and slightly crispy on the outside. A brioche dough interior that is neither too dry nor too moist. And a constellation of sugar crumbs coating the outside, sweet but not cloying. To call this a mere doughnut would be like calling your dog just an another animal. It would not be right.

Suicide Prevention

Island Elderly Housing will host a community forum on suicide prevention on Wednesday, Oct. 27 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. The forum, presented by the Cape and Islands Suicide Prevention Coalition, is open to all.

Suicide is a very real problem among our youth and elderly, particularly in the dark days of winter. The forum will feature a conversation with Dr. Sally Spencer-Thomas, an internationally renowned clinical psychologist, mental health advocate and, significantly, a suicide survivor.

NSTAR received emergency permission from the Edgartown selectmen on Monday to replace a damaged submarine cable in the channel between Edgartown and Chappaquiddick. The cable failure caused a nine-hour power outage on Chappaquiddick in September.

A rolling meadow that has been used for sheep grazing off State Road in Tisbury will be protected thanks to the purchase of a conservation restriction by the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank.

The land bank commission announced on Tuesday that it has signed a contract to buy a restriction on seven acres owned by Kristen Kingsbury Henshaw. The purchase price is $301,000. The field is located about .2 miles from the land bank’s Tisbury Meadow Preserve.

Real Estate Course

New requirements for obtaining a Massachusetts real estate license take effect in the spring of 2011 requiring three years of experience as a salesperson as a prerequisite for obtaining a broker’s license; currently one year is required.

The classroom requirements for a salesperson or a broker’s license will also be increased from 24 to 40 hours, and the require.

Dukes Academy, a state licensed real estate school based on the Vineyard, is offering classes beginning Oct. 26.

A 10-article warrant will come before Edgartown voters at a special town meeting next Thursday, with spending requests for fire truck maintenance and a new police cruiser, among other things.

The session begins at 7 p.m. at the Old Whaling Church on Main street; moderator Philip J. Norton will preside.