On Oct. 3, against the recommendations of the selectmen, town administrator, police department and local residents, the Oak Bluffs planning board decided to include all of Dukes County avenue in the proposed medical marijuana overlay district. This decision does not follow the commonwealth’s recommendations or, in fact, the bylaw the planning board itself has created which clearly states that no “RMD shall be located within 500 feet of any playground, public park, public athletic or similar recreational facility.”

Recently the Oak Bluffs planning board voted to create an overlay zoning district for registered marijuana dispensaries (RMD) which includes the complete length of Dukes County avenue and they did this against the specific requests of the police department and the selectmen and in sharp contrast to the 500-foot buffer to parks and recreational facilities as found in their own bylaws.

As a lifelong Minnesotan of 70-plus years I was appalled to read Arnie Reisman’s article (Soothing Shrug of the Shoulder Season, Sept. 13) making reference to Minnesota GOP Representative Michele Bachmann (soon to retire, thank goodness) and her stupid recent behavior and comments.

To my relatives and friends, please accept my wholehearted gratitude for the cards, attendance, flowers, food and respect shown to my son Ricky from the Baptist Church Service to the last ride around Gay Head with all his favorite Hot Rodders.

The fall youth hockey season reached its midpoint earlier this month.
Last weekend, the Travel Mites took on Dennis-Yarmouth in what head coach James McKeon described as a total team effort of unselfish hockey. Led by Nick BenDavid, Parker Blake, Maks Pacheco and Micah Simmons, the Mites scored 21 goals to Falmouth’s four. Paige Anderson, Chase Grant, Ingrid Gundersen and Vinnie Paciello all scored as well

The Squirts 2 team fell 2-1 on Saturday to a tough Attleborough North Devils team, with Riley Sylvia holding down the fort in net.

The Vineyard varsity boys’ soccer team closed out the regular season in similar fashion to the way they started it — by shutting out a challenging opponent.

Rick Karney had a message for diners at a Slow Food event this week: Eat more oysters.

“Its’ an industry that cleans the water, creates a sustainable food product and creates habitat,” said the longtime director of the Martha’s Vineyard Shellfish Group. “In order for this industry to flourish, we have to put more in . . . as you eat your oysters tonight, they’re not only good but they’re doing a good thing for the environment.”

A bell sounds for the first of five short 20-minute lunch periods at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School. It’s 10:45 a.m., two faculty monitors stand by the doors, and here they come, approximately 114 teens from all grade levels looking carefully planned casual in baggy layers, sweatshirts, sandals, sneakers, clogs.

And it all happens in slow motion.

Joanna Fairchild has joined the staff at Ocean Park Realty. Ms. Fairchild has been a year-round resident of Martha’s Vineyard since 1995. She owned a business in Oak Bluffs called High Rollers in 1979. In 2004 she served as the head concierge at the Harbor View Hotel and founded Vineyard Coach & Concierge, a transportation and event planning company.