Women’s Network

Martha’s Vineyard Women’s Network will host a social get-together at the Cellar Bar in Edgartown on Thursday, March 8 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Bring your business cards and a friend to the bar, located downstairs from Atria restaurant. The meeting is free and open to all members and nonmembers. Cash bar and dinner items will be available.

Hello Hazel

Signe Benjamin and George Hearn of Vineyard Haven announce the birth of a daughter, Hazel Katherine Hearn, born on Feb. 23 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Hazel weighed 7 pounds, 11 ounces at birth and joins big brothers Hoffman and Harper.

The Martha’s Vineyard youth soccer preseason is off to a busy start, with the under 12 division one boys’ team participating in the annual U.S. Youth Soccer Workshop in Boston last month. The team took part in a demonstration on defending principles. U.S. national team mens’ coach Jurgen Klinsmann provided the keynote speech for the symposium.

In The Fish Bowl

Assault Charges Dropped

An Air Force sergeant accused of assault while on the Vineyard in August as part of President Obama’s protection team will not face charges.

At a show cause hearing in November, district court clerk-magistrate Liza Williamson did not find probable cause to charge Master Sgt. Peter McNally, 41, with indecent assault and battery on a person over 14 and assault and battery.

Mites Skate to Title

Winter sports success continued even for the youngest of Vineyard hockey teams, with the Martha’s Vineyard Mites winning the 2012 Needham B Tournament championship last weekend in Needham.

The team was undefeated in the tournament, winning all three of its qualifying games, against Needham, Milton and Winchester, despite the extra challenge of playing on an Olympic-sized sheet of ice.

University Dean’s List

Counselor Training Begins

The regional office of the Massachusetts SHINE program has announced that a new training course for Vineyard residents will be offered beginning April 23. The five-day training program will prepare participants for the state certification exam to become a counselor for the state program that provides free and unbiased health insurance counseling for Medicare beneficiaries. More information is available from the regional office at 508-394-9326.

A new grant landed by the Farm Institute in Edgartown will make it possible for Island farmers to experiment with innovative crops. The Pilot Parcels Project will make five one-acre plots available to both beginning and experienced farmers this summer.

Farm Institute executive director Jon Previant said this week it doesn’t matter how much experience the farmer has — only that they have a good idea.

“This project is aimed at increasing the amount of knowledge of alternative methods and alternative crops on the Island,” he said.

A solar array panel at the Aquinnah landfill is on track to be fully operational this spring, after the town and energy cooperative Vineyard Power signed a final lease and power purchase agreement last week.

Voters approved the array at a special town meeting in December, and selectmen, town counsel and Vineyard Power have been hammering out the final details of the agreement since then. Removal fees for the panels, the length of the lease and concerns about Vineyard Power going bankrupt have now been resolved, the selectmen said.