SSA Debate Spits Islands
Stormy Waters
By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer
Calling a virtual mandate from some 800 people on Nantucket
uninformed, Vineyard Steamship Authority governor and board chairman
J.B. Riggs Parker said last week that he will press ahead with the
ambitious new service model for the public boat line.
"I believe I am not informed enough to make a statement on
these issues, and if I am not informed, it would be unusual to conclude
that communities as a whole are informed," declared Mr. Parker.
Harbor masters, town officials and many Island residents consider them a safety hazard and an annoyance. Users buy and rent them as recreational vehicles and for the fun of riding Vineyard waters at high speed.
The two colliding positions run to the heart of a longstanding Island and national dispute over use of personal watercraft, better known to many as Jet Skis. Now state legislative proposals governing the use of these watercraft may be changing.
A lobster pot filled with a bouquet of colorful flowers adorned the
top of the casket for one of the Island's best-known fishermen,
selectmen and friend. Hundreds stood in silence during the graveside
service for Herbert Hancock on Sunday afternoon. Mr. Hancock died April
26 at the age of 71.
An osprey flew high above Chilmark Pond. Friends and family stood
below on a grassy knoll at the Abel's Hill Cemetery.
Affordable housing, Island health care, and the cost of education were a few of the hot spots Tisbury voters endured at their annual town meeting Tuesday evening.
Citizens plowed through 18 articles and four hours of discussion inside the Tisbury School gymnasium in a meeting which began at 7:30 and at continued past 11 p.m., when the floor voted down the option to take a recess.
SSA Problems and Rate Hikes
By JULIA WELLS
Steamship Authority governors will be asked this morning to consider
a mid-season fare hike, as the boat line faces escalating costs from
legal bills, rising debt and projected operating losses on the new ferry
run between New Bedford and the Vineyard this summer.
The proposed fare hike is set for discussion only; no vote is
planned until next month. If it is approved, passenger fares and the
popular auto excursion fares for Island residents will all go up.
Job Fair Seeks Placement for School Students
By KATHERINE WILEY
Maura Dickson needs a job.
So Wednesday afternoon she went to the high school gymnasium to chat
with area businesses who were taking part in a job fair.
"I'm looking for a summer job because it's really
hard to find a job at this time of year. All of the college kids call
up," the high school senior said.
So she slowly made her way around the tables that lined the gym,
picking up applications and asking questions.
Herbert Hancock, 71, Was Chilmark Selectman
Herbert R. Hancock, selectman, lobsterman, builder and artist, died
at home Thursday morning, April 26, after a short, brave battle with
cancer. He was 71.
Chilmark Casts Its Votes
By KATHERINE WILEY
In a meeting which ended minutes before midnight, Chilmark voters
gave the go-ahead to the library renovation and expansion project,
increased traffic control in Menemsha, and a slew of zoning bylaw
changes.
These decisions took place at the Monday evening annual town meeting
where 32 per cent of the town's registered voters - 243
people - filled the Chilmark Community Center to capacity.
Protection for Pond Shorelines
By JULIA WELLS
Amid a proliferation of applications for permanent piers, a new
district of critical planning concern (DCPC) has now been proposed for
the shorelines of two shellfish-rich ponds in the town of Chilmark.
Last week the Martha's Vineyard Commission voted to nominate
the Menemsha and Nashaquitsa Ponds as a DCPC on the Chilmark side.
Site problems, traffic impacts, resentment from two rival business owners and an exceptional program that has sparked a love of tennis in hundreds of Island children - all these were subjects for discussion at a second public hearing last week on the new building proposal by Vineyard Youth Tennis Inc.
