County Commissioners Face Decision On Three-Year Appointment to SSA

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

The Dukes County Commission faces a crucial battle this week that
will set the course for Island policy at the Steamship Authority in the
years ahead, as it prepares to appoint a Vineyard boat line governor at
a special meeting Wednesday night.

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the community room of the Oak Bluffs
School.

Tribal Chairman Wins Election with Plurality

By JOSHUA SABATINI

The three-way race for chairman of the Wampanoag tribal council
concluded Sunday afternoon with the tribe re-electing incumbent Beverly
Wright.

Mrs. Wright will serve a fourth consecutive three-year term. After
her victory, Mrs. Wright spoke with the Gazette about her plans for the
future.

Mrs. Wright said she wants to create a better communication with the
surrounding Island towns and residents of Martha's Vineyard.

By a heavy majority, Chilmark voters this week approved plans to
expand and renovate their public library. At a Monday night special town
meeting, more than 300 voters filled the Community Center to overflowing
and strongly backed the project.

More than 2,000 fans were on hand last Saturday to watch the Vineyarders harpoon the Nantucket Whalers 34-0, winning a third consecutive Island Cup for the first time since the trophy was created in 1978.

By halftime of last Saturday's game, with Vineyard's 34 points already on the board, the battle was apparently over. In the second half, spectators - bundled in jackets and hats to block the northeast wind - began to converse with their peers rather than pay particular attention to the game.

Beginning next year, the Field Gallery will be under new management.
Chris Morse and his wife, Sheila, owners of the Granary Gallery, will
manage the 31-year-old gallery across the street from Alley's
General Store in the heart of West Tisbury.

Terrorism War Poses Risk for Island Charities

By MANDY LOCKE

As American spending habits are tempered this fall by a soft economy
and the recent outpouring of generosity to new national causes, leaders
of Island charities and nonprofit organizations cross their fingers that
donors will continue to reach deep into their pockets to provide for the
ongoing needs of the Vineyard community.

Island Escapes Deep Cuts In Aid to Towns, Schools

By MANDY LOCKE

On the last day of the session, state legislators finally approved a
five-month overdue budget slated to trim $650 million from the
commonwealth's spending. But the sweeping cuts in the $22.25
billion state budget did not dip drastically into local Vineyard aid for
towns and schools.

"It could have been worse," said Cape and Islands Rep.
Eric T. Turkington Wednesday morning, after having studied the budget
proposal for less than a day.

After spending much of the last two years in political hot water over gun-toting rangers, sheds with no building permits and the stewardship of a beloved general store, the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) now finds itself in a state of inner turmoil, its members at odds with each other.

Hospital Nurses Union Takes Its Case to Island Community

By JULIA WELLS

Nurses at the Martha's Vineyard Hospital this week fired back
at chief executive officer Kevin Burchill, charging that he has forced
them into a bitter contract dispute that, left unresolved, could spell
the end of high-quality nursing at the Island's only hospital. The
nurses also said they will now take their case into the Vineyard
community in a public appeal for support.

Forget the season behind them; forget the playoffs ahead. This week, for the football squad and fans alike, Saturday's battle for the Island Cup - like many a legendary sports rivalry - is the only thing that matters.

Martha's Vineyard enters Saturday's game against Nantucket at 9-1, having already clinched the Mayflower League Large title. The Vineyarders have outscored opponents 180-40 in their last five games.

At 5-4, the visiting Whalers have had a disappointing season. But ending the trophy's two-year stay on the Vineyard would turn it into a successful one.