An indefinite suspension imposed on the firm laying a private sewer line from the Field Club to the Edgartown sewage treatment plant was lifted yesterday after 48 hours when wastewater, water and highway departments declared satisfaction that the job could be continued safely and within regulations.

Farrissey Telecom, a construction firm hired by the developers of the high-end members-only Field Club, had hit service lines on three occasions during the previous week, breaching contract rules for the excavation work and prompting selectmen to suspend the work.

Saturday was a vintage homecoming night at the American Legion Hall in Vineyard Haven. More than 60 mostly graying friends, all of them young at heart, gathered for a home-cooked pork dinner.

Rows of tables were set with white paper tablecloth. Artificial flowers in little vases were evenly spaced on every table. The conversation throughout the hall was spirited. Men showed up with pressed slacks and ironed shirts. Many of their ladies came wearing dresses and a few wore lipstick.

It is still winter but the Chilmark selectmen on Tuesday had beach business to discuss.

At a public hearing the town beach committee made several requests for change at Lucy Vincent Beach. Selectmen granted three, including a flat rate of $85 for all vehicle beach passes, permission to charge for catered events held at town beaches and a new fee policy for transferred vehicle stickers. “We’re trying to make the beach pay for itself,” said committee member Pam Bunker.

After he has extolled the virtues of off-menu choice making in American restaurants at the Dock Street Diner in Edgartown one morning, Leslie Baynes — high school committee member and the only 39-year Vineyarder with a London cockney accent — explains how he came to like this country, eventually.

The ringed planet Saturn is closest to the Earth this weekend. The distant planet is in opposition and about 778 million miles away. Its position in the sky is the best part. Saturn rises in the east with the setting of the sun and remains viewable through the night. Saturn is high, almost overhead, at midnight and sets in the west at sunrise.

MARGARET KNIGHT

508-627-8894

(margaret02539@yahoo.com)

With all the stormy weather we’ve had lately, the opening at Norton Point beach is changing dramatically. Bobby Gilkes noticed clumps of beach grass floating by as he ran the ferry last Wednesday and figured something was happening out there.

TOM DRESSER

508-693-1050

(tomdresser@aol.com)

It’s good to be back.

I’ve been asked to fill in the column to give Holly Nadler a three-week respite to catch her breath out in (fill in the blank: sunny, muddy, windy, fiery) California.

NANCY GARDELLA

508-693-3308

(vhavenvgazette@yahoo.com)

Some of you have called to tell me your e-mails to me are bouncing back. The reason seems to be that you are omitting the second “v” — my address is short for Vineyard Haven, Vineyard Gazette! Don’t forget that second “v” — it’s been a very slow news week.

Dean’s List

Stonehill College in Easton recently named Michelle Alton of Edgartown, a member of the class of 2011, to the dean’s list for the fall 2007 semester.

The Martha’s Vineyard Museum is extending its hours of operation this winter.

The museum will be open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and the Gale Huntington Research Library will be open Wednesday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and by appointment.

Winter admission is $6 for adults, $5 for seniors, and $4 for children 6 to 12.