Tisbury's John G. Rogers Is Dead at 76; Was Best Friend to
Vineyard's Animals

By PHYLLIS MERAS

John G. Rogers of Vineyard Haven, audio engineer, former Tisbury
animal control officer and longtime Steamship Authority employee, died
unexpectedly on Sunday at the Martha's Vineyard Hospital. He was
76.

Everyone is talking about it. The big freeze is here and its impact
is significant.

When the Chilmark Store opens in April, it will be familiar through and through but with new faces behind the counter. Primo and Mary Lombardi of Chilmark, proprietors since 1986, sold the store on Monday to four Chilmarkers.

Avoid This List! A Good Reason for Balancing the Checkbook

By JESSIE ROYCE HILL

The daughter of a well known Island family had already bounced two
checks to Shirley's Hardware when its owner, Jesse Steere, spotted
her shopping among the nuts and bolts with her father one day.

Mr. Steere decided to confront her about the $96.89 she owed.

"She told me she'd been living in New York and
hadn't gotten a chance to pay it," Mr. Steere recalled.
"But even people who live in New York have to pay their
bills."

The West Tisbury town hall is a problem that just won't go away. Voters at a special town meeting this week will be asked to take the project back to square one, funding the design phase of renovating the 132-year-old town hall, a former school building.

Two Boards Urging State: Slow Bridge

Oak Bluffs, Tisbury Selectmen Suggest Island Might Be Better Off
Without Temporary Structure at Lagoon

By ALEXIS TONTI

The boards of selectmen in Oak Bluffs and Tisbury are urging
MassHighway officials to make plans now for a permanent replacement for
the Lagoon Pond drawbridge and to consider ways to avoid a temporary
replacement - including the closure of Beach Road for a period of
time.

Two Island Trash Districts Consider Partnership

By MANDY LOCKE

A decade after Tisbury and Oak Bluffs pulled out of the Islandwide
trash district in the midst of a bitter political battle, officials from
both districts are discussing a renewed partnership.

Sixteen Feet Is the Magic Length for Determining Extra Ferry Fee

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

New Year's note to travelers who drive their cars on Steamship
Authority ferries: Do you know how long your automobile is?

If not, and the car is longer than 16 feet - welcome to 2004,
and please get out your wallet.

New rules went into effect at the boat line on Jan. 1, among them a
rule that imposes an extra fee on cars and trucks that are over 16 feet
in length.

An Accepting Culture Is Cited as School Eyes Marijuana Use

By CHRIS BURRELL

For students at the Martha's Vineyard Regional High School,
it's as commonplace as the pencils and notebooks: kids bringing
marijuana to school or showing up for class when they're high.

The principal describes it as "epidemic," and students
say pot is pervasive, used by a vast number of their peers on campus.

NANTUCKET - She's earned a lot of nicknames over the
years, among them Mother Trucker and the Queen of Nantucket, but beyond
all the monikers she is also the epitome of a tireless soldier -
unconditionally loved at home, often spurned and misunderstood abroad.