The storm, a category 3 hurricane as of Wednesday afternoon, is poised to lose some of its strength as it moves over colder Atlantic waters, but Islanders are readying themselves for strong winds this weekend.

In pursuit of an upcoming grant opportunity, the town's climate advisory committee is seeking residents' responses to a survey.

The Aquinnah communty response team will host a free first aid training on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the town hall.

Emergency management leaders have been busy planning within their respective town boundaries, but coordinating an Islandwide response has been slower to get off the ground. Late last week about 50 people gathered to restart the effort among the six towns.

Tisbury police Lieut. Eerik Meisner was appointed as new town emergency services director this week. His recommendation to the post came from town fire chief John Schilling.

Edgartown police chief Antone Bettencourt said the mass casualty drill will last about three hours and will likely close part of Edgartown-West Tisbury Road and Cooke street.

After 38 years of service, longtime Oak Bluffs emergency manager Peter Martell is stepping down from his post. His proudest accomplishment? "Nobody's died on my watch," he said.

One year after Hurricane Sandy dealt a knock-out punch to the mid-Atlantic and cast a glancing blow to the Vineyard, the question as to how New England will fare in the next great storm has been the subject of much discussion up and down the coast. The Vineyard has been lucky, said Dr. Jeffrey Donnelly, an associate scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. But eventually the Island’s number will come up.
Go back, for example, to the Great Colonial Hurricane of 1635.

Each morning when West Tisbury emergency management director John Christensen wakes up, he turns on his iPad and checks the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association’s weather forecast. It doesn’t matter if it’s the middle of winter or hurricane season.

On Saturday afternoon the Edgartown Police Department held an open house, giving taxpayers a chance to see all the new bells and whistles.

Officers gave tours of the new Emergency Management Center and showed off the new emergency response boat.

Patrolman Jamie Craig, a member of the SWAT team dispatched to Watertown last week, talked about SWAT training procedures.