The third weekend in July was again a busy time for the Oak Bluffs police department, which reported a busier-than-normal weekend in light of the shark tournament and festival. But while last year police said they felt overwhelmed, this year the department reported that an increased police presence may have deterred more serious incidents.

The department reported that between Thursday, July 18 and Sunday, July 21, police responded to 175 incidents, making 25 arrests and placing four people into protective custody.

Last weekend the Charles W. Morgan was relaunched on her 172nd birthday after a major rebuild; much of her remains original including the keelson. The live oak in her massive double sawn frames was salvaged after a southern U.S. hurricane, and she has been rebuilt absolutely true to her original design and methods of construction. She was originally launched from the Hillman Shipyard in New Bedford (the Hillman family came from Chilmark) on July 21, 1841, and sailed on 37 voyages with the last voyage in 1921.

The following essays were the top three winners in the annual Della Hardman Day essay contest for students at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School. The theme this year was: “Does entertainment such as video games, TV, movies and social media, have the capacity to ‘ruin’ society, as Neal Gabler suggested in his book Life the Movie: How Entertainment Conquered Reality.”

Back in the day, as they say, when a lot was two words and a newspaper lede (which this is right here – the opening paragraph) was a lead, and when a woman was called Jaymie it was spelled Jamie and not Jaime, which should be pronounced Hymay as it is in Spanish, back then when all was right with the world (but not nearly as right as it is today), I read books. Real books with bindings and pages, both hard and soft cover. I still do.

Seth’s Pond in West Tisbury has been reopened, health agent John powers announced Thursday.

The popular freshwater swimming pond was closed July 9 after water samples revealed high levels of enteroccocus bacteria.

The pond was also briefly closed in June due to bacteria.

Imagine our shock on Saturday after a lovely family stroll through the gingerbread houses when we came upon the shark tournament. It was a truly barbaric display and the antithesis of the Vineyard we know and love. Adults encouraged children to participate in the dismemberment of the sharks and all celebrated the grisly displays of bloodied, severed sharks’ heads.

About 30 years ago one law school student could choose to take a break from his academic responsibilities and spend a few days on the Vineyard, where young Barry would be welcomed by his friends. If he came by Cape Air, no one on its flight path would be alarmed. And no one would record or care how he spent his time before the return flight.

It has been brought to my attention by a number of people in Oak Bluffs that a crosswalk that was accessible for disabled individuals in wheelchairs was recently painted over, one way of stopping the use of the crosswalk. At first, I didn’t understand this move, but then lo and behold they started to park taxis in the area that now blocks the use of the sloped ramp altogether.

I need to point out some contradictions that exist on the Island regarding dogs. A letter to the editor on July 19 about dogs on the beach generalized dog owners as “idiots” and “irresponsible.” This I take issue with as I would never act in the way the Walkers describe their beach and dog situation. Right underneath this exhortation is a sensitive story written by Peter Robb about his love for his dog, Lucca, and the kind loving act of adopting dogs. Quite a contrast.

One of the reasons I love living on the Vineyard is that almost every Sunday morning, I get up at dawn and go walk on the beach.

We have such a variety of different beaches on this Island, and I think they are all beautiful.