Two Island men with an interest in history and research spent
Thanksgiving Day on a mission far from the dining room table this year. While friends and relatives were at home preparing turkey and pumpkin pie, Jay Segel and Ron Monterosso were in London meeting with Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip to recount the story of a native American who traveled to England in the late 1700s to try and get his tribe's land back.

In celebration of the 250th anniversary of the birth of the poet Robert Burns, the Scottish Society of Martha’s Vineyard will hold its annual Burns Nicht Supper on Saturday, Jan. 24, at the Harbor View Hotel. Burns was a prolific writer of poems and songs, as well as a bon vivant of some repute in his native Scotland. Although he lived only 37 years, the so-called Bard of Ayreshire penned or adapted over one thousand songs and wrote uncounted poems, among them the well-beloved A Red Red Rose, and To A Mouse.

On Tuesday, Jan. 20, Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States in an inaugural celebration in the nation’s capital, in front of the United States Capitol. The Vineyard Gazette went to the Island’s streets and shops Tuesday, a week before the national event, to ask Vineyarders what they would say to the new President, if they had a moment with him.

Announcing Ian

Elizabeth and Sean Kelleher of Parker, Colo. are thrilled to announce the birth of their son Ian Christopher Kelleher on Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2008. Ian arrived two weeks early on New Year’s Eve, weighing 7 pounds, 14.6 ounces, measuring 20.25 inches, and according to his parents is perfect. Elizabeth is a former Vineyard Gazette circulation director; Sean is a former Edgartown police officer.

Responding to high demand, a grant-writing consultancy business is seeking to double a housing repairs assistance program to $2 million and open the program up to the Island.

The program was previously available to just Oak Bluffs and Tisbury home-owners, based on grants written by Bailey Boyd and Associates for the past five years. The program qualifies low or very low income households for forgivable loans up to $30,000 to fund home repair projects from roof, window and door replacement to energy saving changes.

The Dukes County Commission is looking for dedicated residents interested in filling a wide range of important volunteer positions.

Some 30 positions are up for reappointment effective March 1. Terms are being shifted to start on the first of March and end the last day of February to comply with the new requirement adopted by the county commissioners as recommended by the charter study commission.

The Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School boys’ hockey team suffered two of its toughest losses of the season this week, losing 3-2 in the closing minutes Friday to old rival Han-over, and then losing 4-1 to a top Division I team from Framingham at home Saturday.

Coach Matt Mincone said his team actually played better in the more lopsided 4-0 loss to Framingham than they did against Hanover the night before.

The coach said the Vineyarders played flat and uninspired hockey against Hanover in a game they easily could have won.

Vineyard resident and choreographer Lucinda Childs was recently in New York to cast her upcoming production Dance. When the director of The Yard, Wendy Taucher, asked if I would be interested in observing, I jumped at the chance. Although Ms. Childs calls the Vineyard home, her work is performed predominately in Europe, where she has choreographed for the Berlin Opera Ballet, the Bavarian State Ballet, the Paris Opera Ballet and the Lyons Opera Ballet.

Class Registration Open

Adult and Community Education Program registration is now open online at www.acemv.org, or you can find out more and register in person at Wednesday and Thursday, Jan. 14 and 15, at 6 p.m. at Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School. You also can register on the first day of the class with a $5 late registration fee (used as scholarship fund for GED), but you run the risk of missing a canceled or limited size class. For details and course offerings, see online acemv.org or e-mail lynn@acemv.org, or call 508 693-1022 ext 240.

The Martha’s Vineyard Rod and Gun Club fly-tying program will be held every Monday night at The Anchors, Council on Aging, in Edgartown, while the clubhouse on the shore of Sengekontacket Pond is being rebuilt.

The Monday night fly-tying session had been on hold this winter because the clubhouse was unusable. It was suggested that the The Anchors might be a good temporary winter site and director Laurie Schreiber agreed.