Erin and Daniel Lashnits Herman of Vineyard Haven and Berkeley, Calif., announce the home birth of their daughter, Ada Frances Herman, on August 10 in Berkeley. Ada weighed 8 pounds at birth. Her grandparents are Annette and Ken Herman of New Zealand and Connecticut, and Carol Lashnits of Vineyard Haven and the late Kevin Coughlin, formerly of Vineyard Haven.

Nicole and James Hayes of Oak Bluffs announce the birth of a daughter, Lillian Christine Hayes, born on Oct. 6 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Lillian weighed 7 pounds, 11 ounces at birth.

Ila Briggs Halby and Peter Halby of Vineyard Haven and Lincoln, Vt., announce the birth of a son, John Briggs Halby, born on Sept. 22 in Vermont. John weighed 7 pounds at birth. John joins his big brother Truman at home.

Enrollment at Island public schools increased slightly for the 2013-2014 school year, according to data collected on Oct. 1. This is the fourth year in a row that enrollment at the six Island schools has held relatively steady, reversing a nine-year trend of decreasing enrollment numbers.

The competition in the 68th annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby has been intense over the last several days, with the top of the striped bass boat leader board  changing almost daily. Stephen J. Pietruska, who won the grand prize last year for catching a 44.4 pound striped bass, is on the top of this year’s boat striped bass division. Last Friday evening he weighed in a 38.71 pound striped bass he had caught earlier in the day. His fish pushed Alexandra Lynch’s 35.42 pound fish into second. She caught that first place fish two days earlier.

A Oak Bluffs man charged with allegedly injuring his infant daughter was indicted Monday by a Dukes County grand jury.

Shaun A. Sicsico, 19, was indicted on charges of assault and battery on a child with substantial injury and permitting substantial injury to a child.

A West Tisbury man was killed Monday when the car he was driving collided with a tree on Old County Road, according to the West Tisbury police.

David S. Campbell, 25, was traveling northeast on Old County Road in a green 2004 Honda Accord when the car went across the roadway near Skiffs Lane and hit a tree, according to a press release by the West Tisbury police department. The incident happened at about 3:15 p.m.

Owners of two up-Island restaurants said they were complying with state regulations following a bad water test that led to their closure late last week.

The state department of environmental protection ordered the drinking water shut off at the Chilmark Tavern and State Road Restaurant after total coliform bacteria and E. coli bacteria were found in routine water samples from the restaurants.

I will readily admit that fall is my favorite season of the year. The fact that I work at the Polly Hill Arboretum (a tree museum!) makes it possible for me to see the collective fall color of over 1,300 different trees and shrubs.

If you want to play pickup soccer all you need is a ball and a field.

If you want to play pickup cricket you need a bit more.

A tennis ball (or four, in case one bounces away) will do in place of the hard leather ball typically used in games. Wooden spikes will do for wickets, and sticks with blue surveyors’ tape on them work for denoting the outfield boundaries.