Oak Bluffs Town Official Is Ordered to Pay Fines for Violating State
Laws

By CHRIS BURRELL

The enforcement branch of the Massachusetts Department of
Environmental Protection (DEP) has found that Joseph N. Alosso -
an Island official in charge of two municipal sewage treatment plants on
the Vineyard - deliberately violated more than half a dozen state
environmental regulations last year during the construction of a septic
system for his new four-bedroom house in Oak Bluffs.

Bucking the advice of traffic and planning experts, Oak Bluffs
selectmen this week voted to abandon all efforts to design and construct
a roundabout at one of the Vineyard's most dangerous
intersections.

The split decision from the board - a 3-2 vote - came
just one month after selectmen reaffirmed their commitment to build a
roundabout at the heavily trafficked junction of Edgartown-Vineyard
Haven and Barnes Roads.

Reade Kontje's home is a work in progress. Outside the cedar
shakes are fresh; so too is the sawdust on the table by the front door.
The lawn is a mix of grass and weed. The trees have mostly been cleared
and are drying in a woodpile in back, but one old pine still stands by
the driveway. On it hangs a simple yellow sign: Reade's.

Forest Officials Pledge Hearings to Discuss Massive Cutting Plan

By TOM DUNLOP

A key official with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and
Recreation said this week that the public will have its say before the
state moves ahead with any plan to clear hundreds of acres of planted
trees in the Manuel F. Correllus State Forest.

Vaccine Shortages Strike Flu Clinics

Health Officials Say Clinics Canceled as National Crisis Hits Home;
Common Sense Is Urged

By IAN FEIN

Public health officials across the Vineyard confirmed this week that
all of the fall flu clinics have been canceled indefinitely while the
Island waits to see just how many vaccines it may or may not receive.

Officials said they are in constant contact with the state
Department of Public Health, and will announce vaccination updates as
soon as information is available.

Fast Ferry Sails Into Off Season

New Bedford Service Continues Through the Winter Months; Private
Operators to Test New Vineyard Route

By IAN FEIN

Heading into uncharted waters, the New England Fast Ferry company
shifted to its winter schedule this week, providing the Island's
first year-round service to New Bedford since the final run of the
Nobska on New Year's Eve, 1960.

The All-Island School Committee voted without dissent this week to hire Edgartown School principal Edward Jerome as interim superintendent of the public schools.

Recommended last week by the cabinet of Island principals and assistant principals, the 90-day appointment of Mr. Jerome was approved Wednesday by the school board. The appointment is effective tomorrow, one day after Vineyard schools superintendent Dr. Kriner Cash officially steps down.

With two days to go before the close of the 59th Martha's
Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby, tournament officials are
already calling this year's event one of the most successful in
the history of the competition.

Two Vineyard Educators Proposed as Candidates for Interim School
Post

By IAN FEIN

At the behest of the all-Island school committee, a group of top
school administrators, yesterday recommended two of their own for
consideration as interim superintendent of Vineyard schools.

One week after an Oak Bluffs selectman withdrew his support for the
planned roundabout at the blinker intersection, new doubts are surfacing
over the future of the project.

Selectman Richard Combra unexpectedly reversed his stance at the
regular board meeting last week. Mr. Combra said he thinks the
roundabout could create more bottlenecks at the Triangle intersection on
the Edgartown end and the State Road intersection on the Vineyard Haven
end.