JOHN S. ALLEY

508-693-2950

(alleys@vineyard.net)

Charter School

Monday, Oct. 1: Rotini with broccoli and garlic, Italian sausage, peaches and milk.

Tuesday, Oct. 2: Mexican chicken or vegetable soup, tortilla chips, fruit smoothie and milk.

Wednesday, Oct. 3: Barbecue sandwich, fish sandwich or veggie burger with cheese, coleslaw, pineapple and milk.

Thursday, Oct. 4: Pizza (plain cheese, pepperoni or roasted veggie), tossed salad, fresh fruit and milk.

Friday, Oct. 5: Stir-fried vegetables with chicken or tofu, brown rice, pears and milk.

Ella Lynne Luening-Goidicke is a natural performer. She should be — the stage is in her blood. Her mother is Island singer and actress Sabrina Luening. Her uncle is local musician Erich Luening. They have lent their talent to many bands — 2nd Power, Drawn Butter, 36 Grit to name a few — and a dizzying number of theatre performances. To top it off, Ella is named for the sultry crooner Ella Fitzgerald. “She has rhythm,” Mr. Luening said recently about his niece who turns three in November. “She’s already a better dancer than I am.”

The West Tisbury conservation commission Wednesday night approved a set of conditions for the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank to use in managing and maintaining public access to the 11.1-acre glacial pond.

The order of conditions will take effect after a 10-day appeal provision is satisfied and if the land bank accepts the conditions. “We will review the final draft when we receive it and if Matthew [property manager Matthew Dix] is comfortable, we are ready to go,” land bank executive director James Lengyel said this week.

The tax rate in Chilmark will go up from $1.87 to $1.96 in 2008, assistant assessor Pamela Bunker reported at an annual public property rate classification hearing with the selectmen on Tuesday. This marks an increase of nine cents.

The Chilmark planning board moved ahead this week with a proposed amendment to town zoning bylaws that would require all pools in the town be heated with renewable energy. After a discussion and public hearing on Monday the board unanimously voted to forward revised wording of a proposed bylaw to the town selectmen for placement on a special town meeting warrant. The meeting is set for Oct. 29.

Edgartown selectmen this week approved a trial dredging project with a new piece of equipment some people hope will address not only the Edgartown Great Pond’s water quality issues but also problems with many of the Island’s smaller ponds.

The $500,000 portable dredge called Nessie now will be trucked in from California and, if all goes according to plan, should begin work clearing deposits of sand which have prevented proper flushing of the pond within a month.

Oak Bluffs selectmen on Tuesday threatened to kick an off-Island contractor out of a staging area on School street after dozens of residents complained about excessive noise and light from the site that was keeping them up at night and generally causing problems in their neighborhood.

Before Tuesday’s book launch at the Bunch of Grapes, the audience was issued an unusual instruction for such an event. They were asked not to seek to get their copies of the book The Coldest Winter, signed by the man launching it, Ward Just.

The reason was obvious, but sad. Mr. Just did not write the book. His good friend David Halberstam did, but he died in a car accident in April this year.

Daylight is on the wane, temperatures are dipping and beaches are emptying, but on the high school athletic fields the fall sports season is just starting to heat up.

As one Vineyard sports fan put it this week, “The leaves are turning, the busy season is over, and there is high school football on Saturday and the Patriots on Sunday . . . not to mention the Red Sox are going to the playoffs . . . it’s the most magical time of the year.”