State Study Panel Hands High Marks to Charter School

By JAMES KINSELLA
Gazette Senior Writer

A state education inspection team has given a mostly glowing
evaluation of the Martha's Vineyard Public Charter School in West
Tisbury.

The team's 42-page report, based on a visit to the school from
Oct. 31 through Nov. 2 last year, will be among the information
considered by the state board of education at its Feb. 28 meeting in
Malden on whether to renew the school's charter for the next five
years.

If you want to find Basil Welch, just pull into his Chilmark
driveway and follow the signs.

Pass the one on the right that says Caution: Old Hunter Crossing,
tacked to the tree on the edge of the yard.

Stay left of the working outhouse with the crescent moon cutout and
the signs that read Turnips and, below that, Selectmen's Meeting
Room.

The floors of the houses tend to be linoleum or older carpet, or perhaps cheap pine. The windows often are nondescript, the detailing undistinctive, and the lots small.

But if you can lay hold of between $400,000 and $500,000, chances are that one of these less-than-pristine homes on Martha's Vineyard - the bottom of the Island real estate market - can be yours.

"They're a good opportunity to get into the market . . . especially for a young couple who can put in some sweat equity," said Alan Schweikert, owner of Ocean Park Realty Inc. in Oak Bluffs.

West Tisbury selectmen this week put the brakes on plans to scale back the troubled town hall renovation project.

The deadlocked 1-1 vote on Wednesday cut off funding for the redesign and effectively killed the renovation - at least for now.

Selectman John Early said that although he still wants the existing town hall to be renovated, he did not believe the scaled back project could be completed within the $3.7 million budget. He said he would not proceed without additional support from town voters.

A pedestrian walkway that stretches along the perimeter of the harbor. Traffic patterns aimed at easing congestion in the Island's most notorious intersection. Improved public transportation routes that will offer passengers more alternatives. A town hall nestled in the heart of the village.

Renee Balter is a celebrant of art, of Mini Cooper automobiles and especially of her adopted home town of Oak Bluffs - its downtown, its architecture, its Camp Ground, its parks, and something harder to define.

"The feeling here. There's just such a wonderful sense of community," Mrs. Balter said.

If she celebrates Oak Bluffs, the town celebrates her: the Connecticut native who over the past 15 years re-energized the town's business community and its ties to the town at large.

A vote by the New England Fishery Management Council this week to
further restrict the number of days fishermen can pursue cod and
yellowtail flounder drew sharp reaction from fishermen around the
region, including one on the Vineyard.

If this was a children's story, it might be titled Goldilocks
Meets Billy Goat Gruff. But the story is true, however bizarre, so
instead it must be titled something more straightforward, like Goats
Trash Chilmark Home. And the subtitle? Only on Martha's Vineyard.

County Commission Puts Charter Study Question on Ballot in November

By JAMES KINSELLA
Gazette Senior Writer

Come November, voters in Dukes County will decide whether to launch
a formal process to study and possibly change the structure of their
county government.

The Dukes County Commission on Wednesday voted 6-0, with
commissioner Leslie Leland absent, to place the question of a county
charter study commission on the state election ballot, scheduled for
Nov. 7.

Appraisal Company President Sends Out Missive on Tax Case

By IAN FEIN

The head of Vision Appraisal Technology Inc. has stepped into the
fray surrounding the Graham property tax case against West Tisbury
assessors.

Defending his Northboro company, Vision Appraisal president Kevin
Comer sent to clients across the commonwealth last week a letter that
criticized press coverage of the case and comments attributed to West
Tisbury resident William W. Graham and his attorney.