Vineyarders and visitors alike gathered at Niantic Park on Saturday to take part in the ninth annual Vineyard Streetball Classic. The double-elimination basketball tournament for preteens and teens featured, as is tradition, three-on-three half-court ball. As part of the classic’s ongoing evolution, new traditions, including a free throw contest, were also added to the day’s activities.

Thomas J. Hegarty drives around the Vineyard in his Dukes County pickup truck as though he could drive right out to the edge of the world. He holds up the peace sign to nearly every car he passes, or at least calls out the window to say hello.

He’s a man about town, but the former carpenter, contractor and Lampost bartender with the trademark Ray-Ban sunglasses and sometimes coarse sense of humor, has another side too. Mr. Hegarty is celebrating his 10th year as the director of the county integrated pest management program.

Yes, celebrating.

Oak Bluffs police officer Steven Conley was promoted to the rank of Sergeant on Tuesday, July 5, with a ceremony at the Oak Bluffs Police Station. Officer Conley has worked for the department for just over five years.

The promotional process included a written examination, physical agility testing, psychometric and psychological exams, and an interview with the town police chief, Erik Blake.

The shores of the beach at Herring Creek, which flows into Menemsha Pond, are clear. A string of rocks tapers out into the cove, a lone rowboat floats at high tide. In the morning the water stands still, rippling from the occasional gust of wind, resounding the chirps and chatters of coastal birds. Gone from the shoreline are the black, netted bags that served as oyster pods in the attempt to revive the shellfish population in the pond over the last decade.

Lambert’s Cove Beach, Seth’s Pond, Long Cove Pond and Tisbury Great Pond were all closed to swimming on Thursday after results from routine water testing revealed a spike in the bacteria enterococcus.

West Tisbury health agent John Powers said he expects the tests to be an anomaly and anticipated the beaches would be open again by today. He said the contamination at Lambert’s Cove may be in part due to a breach at James Pond.

The Edgartown Yacht Club’s annual Round the Island race begins at 8 a.m. tomorrow morning, and by Wednesday afternoon already there were 46 sailboats registered to start in the 67-mile contest. It is one of the three big racing events for the Edgartown club, with sailors from along the East Coast here for a full day of sailing.

Edgartown selectmen approved converting two loading zones on South Water street to short-term parking this week.

The spaces in front of the Harborside Inn will become 15-minute parking areas in an effort to ease traffic flow. Town highway superintendent Stuart Fuller said at the weekly meeting on Tuesday the new spaces will help accommodate short-term parking for the hotel and banks in the area.

Town administrator Pamela Dolby recommended giving out parking warnings before issuing tickets for the first few weeks.

Chilmark selectmen took up a series of summer housekeeping items this week, approving the Chilmark Road Race, wrapping up harbor repair projects and reviewing advertising bylaws.

The selectmen approved the annual road race at their weekly meeting on Tuesday with one requirement: There must be more portable bathrooms throughout the course.

Union Chapel

On Sunday, July 10, 2011, the Rev. Kevin Pleas will be the guest preacher at the Union Chapel in Oak Bluffs. Reverend Pleas received his M. Div. from Andover Newton Theological School in 1987 and has been a local church pastor ever since. He has served churches in Massachusetts, Illinois, Connecticut, and Maine as both pastor and senior pastor. For the last 10 years he has been providing spiritual leadership for the First Congregational Church of Camden, Me.

The house at 49 Bailey Park Road in West Tisbury has new owners.

At a groundbreaking ceremony last Saturday, Doug Ruskin, president of Habitat for Humanity of Martha’s Vineyard, introduced Joe Fragosa Jr., his wife, Jennifer, and their five-year-old daughter, Briana.

Mr. Fragosa, 51, said he and his wife have been looking for a permanent home for seven years. He is an arborist who grew up on the Island. She is a water safety instructor.