Mainland police this week said a Fairhaven man who disappeared from a Vineyard-bound voyage of the New England Fast Ferry late last month left a note for his family; as a result police now believe the man did not fall off the boat by accident.

On Sept. 24 Walter P. Tyler, 28, of Fairhaven, reportedly boarded the 1 p.m. high-speed passenger ferry from New Bedford to the Vineyard but never arrived on the Island. A team of investigators last week searched the waters between Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound but found nothing.

The search for a new manager for Dukes County hit a roadblock last week.

On Sept. 27, the screening committee appointed to review applications and recommend three finalists to the county commissioners recommended the commissioners re-advertise the position and said it would not continue the screening process with the applications received to date.

The recommendation was made in executive session at the regular meeting of the committee.

Sengekontacket Pond will reopen Monday to shellfishing, but the source of the bacterial contamination which led to its closure for most of the summer remains a mystery.

Edgartown shellfish constable Paul Bagnall announced on Monday that new tests of the pond’s water, done last week, showed coliform bacteria counts down to within safe levels, allowing most of it to be reopened.

Concluding four years of negotiations, the Chilmark selectmen this week announced a three-way land swap which will open up a new conservation corridor between North and South Roads and create four affordable homesites in town.

The land swap involves the town, the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank and the Hillman family, longtime summer residents who own property in Chilmark. No money will change hands in the deal. Final approval will be needed from Chilmark voters, the town planning board and also the state legislature.

The Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby is a folksy event that has also become a mature, sophisticated enterprise generating more than $2 million, perhaps as much as $3 million annually in shoulder season revenue for Island businesses.

“That’s why the derby was started. There was no shoulder season when the derby began as a chamber of commerce event,” derby president Ed Jerome said this week at the Wednesday morning weigh-in.

The Tisbury selectmen voted a maximum age of 65 for its firefighters on Tuesday night, at the recommendation of the town's attorney - and to the dismay of about 10 firemen in attendance.

The pressing question of whether fire captain Michael Carroll - who turned 65 this month - would have to leave the department had a more popular outcome. Mr. Carroll will be exempt from the new policy, which is effective only for firefighters turning 65 on or after Oct. 1.

Investigators are continuing their search for a Fairhaven man who may have fallen overboard during a Vineyard-bound trip of the New England Fast Ferry on Monday.

A team of investigators that includes Island and mainland police, the U.S. Coast Guard and the New Bedford Port Security Authority searched this week for 28-year-old Walter P. Tyler who boarded the 1 p.m. high-speed passenger ferry from New Bedford to the Vineyard but reportedly never arrived.

JUNE MANNING

508-645-2574

(lthslnks@gis.net)

The Aquinnah Community Programs Committee will sponsor a bazaar and flea market on Sunday, Sept. 30 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribal Building on Black Brook Road. A luncheon of bass chowder, sandwiches and beverages will be available. A table of interesting raffle items and a giant box of free items also will be there.

Lucia Welcomes Nicola

Heather and Joseph Capece of West Tisbury announce the birth of a daughter, Nicola Josephine Capece, at the Martha’s Vineyard Community Hospital on Sept. 8. Nicola weighed 7 pounds, 7.5 ounces at birth. She is also welcomed by her sister, Lucia.

Luiz Ricardo Arrives

Daniella Andrade and Agentic de Oliveira of Oak Bluffs announce the birth of a son, Luiz Ricardo de Oliveira, born on Sept. 19 at the Martha’s Vineyard Community Hospital. Luiz weighed 7 pounds, 6 ounces at birth.