Oak Bluffs-born Dr. Thomas Allingham, now of Ridgeland, Miss., was honored as 2011 Alumni of the Year at Cape Cod Community College yesterday.

The 1974 graduate called the college the place where he moved from “lost” to inspired.

Today, Dr. Thomas Allingham is interim chair of the department of anesthesiology, associate professor of surgery and the associate director of the surgical intensive care unit at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

John William Beal, of Hingham and Oak Bluffs, was awarded a bachelor of science in government and international affairs and a commission as Ensign in the United States Coast Guard on May 18

Third grade ain’t what it used to be, and nowhere is this more pronounced than in Deborah Hammett’s class at the Oak Bluffs School, where four state-of-the art iPads arrived this week, thanks to a $2,500 grant from Comcast. The grant was given to support classes that use technology in their work.

What, you might ask, will third graders do with iPads? Lots of things, as it turns out.

Unlawful dumping at the Edgartown fishermen’s depot led the Edgartown selectmen to approve new rules this week for the storage depot off Meshacket Road.

Selectmen will appoint someone to be in charge of the depot and will install some kind of security system around the area.

Peace activist Cora Weiss, a seasonal resident of Aquinnah, was honored with the Ann S. Kheel prize for Exceptional Dedication and Service to Humanity by the New York Urban League at its 46th annual Frederick Douglass Dinner on May 12.

Mrs. Weiss was recognized along with former New York city mayor David Dinkins and celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson for their efforts to promote equal opportunity and civil rights.

Since last we celebrated a Memorial Day, Douglas E. Vanderhoop has become one of the highest decorated veterans in the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah). In the annual Ute Tribe’s Fourth of July Pow Wow, Mr. Vanderhoop was initiated into the Red Feather Society, the highest military honor that can be bestowed upon indigenous tribal members in the United States and Canada.

Mary Carr, 88, made a journey back to the Vineyard last Friday. The last time she was here, 67 years ago, war raged in Europe and in the Pacific. It was a time in the nation’s history when people all around her made huge sacrifices. In that year, she lost her husband.

For Mary, this two-day Vineyard visit was a rekindling of fond memories. It was also about Memorial Day and loss and sharing her personal story with others.

The house at Tea Lane Farm in Chilmark needs $500,000 worth of repairs and renovations to prepare it for a future farming family, a special subcommittee told the Chilmark selectmen this week.

The committee of Frank Fenner, Leonard Jason and Dick Smith presented preliminary plans to the selectmen at a public hearing Tuesday night that show a much-altered interior layout but keep the existing exterior the same.

Tiffany Smalley yesterday was awarded her undergraduate degree from Harvard University, and with it the distinction of being the first student from the Wampanoag nation to do so since its first Native American graduate, another Vineyarder named Caleb Cheeshateaumuck, graduated in 1665.

Several major employers of Brazilian labor on the Vineyard spoke out this week against a newly-established Island blog which has accused them of hiring undocumented workers. The inflammatory blog has caused distress and anger among the Brazilian community as well as their employers.

Posts on the blog accuse entities as diverse as landscape companies, restaurants, retailers, even the YMCA and the Martha’s Vineyard Commission of illegal hiring and sometimes corruption.