As many as 100 people attended an often emotional public hearing held by the Martha’s Vineyard Commission on Thursday, March 20 to hear a proposal to transform the old Bradley Memorial Church in Oak Bluffs into a multi-use building with affordable housing, artists’ workshops and a museum.

A sport utility vehicle carrying three people fell off the Chappaquiddick ferry into the frigid waters of Edgartown Harbor late Tuesday night, prompting a hasty rescue of both the passengers and vehicle.

Following the incident, police said they plan to issue a summons to the driver for negligent operation of a motor vehicle and operating under the influence.

Tisbury voters will consider a budget of almost $20 million, as part of a 44- article annual town meeting warrant on Tuesday.

The total is an increase of 7.6 per cent on last year. Education costs make up almost 40 per cent of the total, and the biggest single cost increase is the town’s contribution to the regional high school, up almost 10 per cent, largely due to the new school funding formula foisted on the Island by the state.

A ban on cars. A moratorium on fossil fuels. A bus that runs on cafeteria burger grease.

These are among the many projects in discussion or already under way at Island schools seeking to lead environmental action on the Vineyard.

With support from private donors, West Tibsury’s green-minded design and building firm South Mountain Company is managing two such projects: to eliminate fossil fuel consumption at Chilmark elementary school and to construct a highly visible solar energy producer for the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School.

Long before Texas gave the world its better-known gift to democracy, George W. Bush, it gave the Vineyard Deborah Medders.

It was 1988 when Ms. Medders came to the Island from the Lone Star state, and saw for the first time that unique New England exercise in participatory democracy which is town meeting. She was enthralled.

“I remember so clearly my first town meeting, winter 1988. I was just so taken with this government of the people by the people,” said Ms. Medders this week, after presiding over yet another town meeting.

It may be hard to tell now, but there was a time when the Bradley Memorial Church was arguably the spiritual and social center of Oak Bluffs.

There it is, Five Corners — our Five Corners. It’s not the most elegant intersection on the Island. It’s rather scruffy, in fact. But, recently, in an effort to clarify where cars should go, the Town of Tisbury added a highway directional sign, actually two signs, one above another, atop a field of concrete brick pavers on the Post Office side of the road. Now every time I pass by I think of the hundreds of people on this Island who spend thousands of hours every month trying to keep Martha’s Vineyard special.

We won’t clam up.

We oppose the 31 per cent cut of high school performing arts classes. We offer proposals that will hold off those cuts and strengthen performing arts without raising our taxes. Will you help us?

LIGHTS OUT

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

Tomorrow, Saturday night, March 29, is Lights Out Martha’s Vineyard from 8 to 9 p.m. We encourage every Islander to participate by turning out lights for this one hour to raise awareness about energy conservation.

As it has the past few years, the department of Dukes County Sheriff Michael McCormack will continue to face budgetary uncertainty this year.

So said Sheriff McCormack this week after news leaked that the effort from Gov. Deval Patrick to assume budgetary control of the seven county sheriffs still elected independently in the state appears headed for defeat.