A thin crescent moon appears low in the southeastern sky tomorrow morning, just before sunrise. The moon appears underneath the brilliant planet Venus. Both are in the zodiacal constellation Scorpius. Venus and the moon are 10 degrees apart, and are the two brightest celestial objects in the sky, easy to find, and a pleasant and memorable sight.
MARGARET KNIGHT
508-627-8894
(margaret02539@yahoo.com)
As the new year rolls in across the Chappaquiddick marshes, bringing with it what it will, I wonder about this season’s weather, especially as I started noticing cabin fever — even before the official start of winter.
A storm can come along and disrupt island life at any time of year, but somehow winter weather, with the likelihood of making us miserably cold outside or stuck inside for days, seems a more important unknown than in other seasons.
HOLLY NADLER
508-693-3880
(sunporch@vineyard.net)
We all have our personal New Year’s resolutions (lose weight, call Mom more often, stop storing sealed bills in the trunk of the car . . . ) but here are a couple of self-improvement policies we might adopt communally:
By KATE J. CONDE
The temperatures may be dropping outside but a fiery blaze made it feel like a sultry August afternoon in November as the boys, plus Kara and Morgan, practiced their skills during a smoking hot drill.
The controlled burn took place over a two-day period with all engine companies participating, including one from Oak Bluffs. The ability to burn a building in this manner allows for practical skills to be learned by our fervent firefighters.
The Vineyard Golf Club Foundation has announced the donation of about $66,000 in cash in the past year to nonprofit organizations on the Island.
The foundation also gave more than $24,000 in donated golf games in the past year. These games generated even more money when auctioned for the benefit of Vineyard nonprofits.
Over the past six years, the foundation’s cash and golf-game donations total more than $652,000.
To fund the foundation, each member of the Vineyard Golf Club is asked to give a minimum of $500 annually.
Charter School Tours
The Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School has scheduled visiting days for the coming weeks. Informational tours will be held for parents interested in learning more about the charter school on Wednesday mornings from 9 to 10 a.m. on Jan. 16, 23 and 30, Feb. 6, 13 and 20. Please call the school at 508-693-9900 to sign up for a visit.
A New Energy Course
With the passing of the holidays, winter stretches out before the Vineyard. Islanders bracing themselves for the season’s short days, long nights and pervasive isolation are facing an added burden this year: heating costs forecast to rise twenty-five per cent over last year’s levels.
Comparing the Ferries
Nine months ago, the Steamship Authority ferry Island Home replaced the ferry Islander on the Woods Hole-Vineyard Haven route. Now that Vineyarders have had some time to ride the new vessel, how does she stack up against her venerable predecessor? In what ways does the vessel excel the Islander, and where does she lag behind?
In Defense of Yo-Yoing
Editors, Vineyard Gazette:
In view of the fact that I am already considered by many in the “sport” fishing community as one of those dirty commercial bass fishermen, it will do little to hurt my reputation to shed some light on the history and practice of yo-yoing that has been conveniently overlooked in the knee-jerk and poorly considered reaction to lead weights being found in several derby fish this year.
