One week after an Oak Bluffs selectman withdrew his support for the
planned roundabout at the blinker intersection, new doubts are surfacing
over the future of the project.

Selectman Richard Combra unexpectedly reversed his stance at the
regular board meeting last week. Mr. Combra said he thinks the
roundabout could create more bottlenecks at the Triangle intersection on
the Edgartown end and the State Road intersection on the Vineyard Haven
end.

In spite of a tumultuous first three years as Vineyard Steamship
Authority governor, Kathryn A. Roessel wants more.

On Wednesday Ms. Roessel submitted a letter to the Dukes County
commissioners, formally seeking reappointment to the high-profile
volunteer position. Her current three-year term expires at the end of
the December.

Sitting on Squid Row behind the Texaco station in Menemsha is a
pretty good place to be if you want to learn something about fishing.

Service Workers Land Contract

Union leaders announced yesterday that they had struck a contract
for 200 service workers at the Martha's Vineyard Hospital and the
Windemere Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center.

The two-year contract is effective Oct. 1 and includes a three per
cent cost of living increase for workers over the next two years. When
step increases are added, workers at the hospital and Windemere can
expect to see a total salary increase between six and eight per cent.

Public Bulletin on Influenza Vaccine

The national flu vaccine shortage announced this week has caused a
ripple of reaction on the Vineyard, and local visiting nurse services
and health agencies report a flood of telephone calls from concerned
residents, many of them elderly.

Public health officials said the shortage will affect the Vineyard,
but it is too early to say how much.

Traditions: Cranberry Day Is Celebration of Great Spirit

By C.K. WOLFSON

On the second Tuesday of the month, as they have been doing for
centuries, since even before explorer Bartho-lomew Gosnold came upon the
Vineyard, Island Wampanoags will celebrate Cranberry Day, the harvesting
of the last fruit of the season.

Sometimes referred to as the Red Harvest, the day is a tribute to
the Great Spirit and is one of the most important Wampanoag
celebrations.

It has been billed as a native forest restoration project unlike any
ever seen, aimed at promoting biological diversity and preventing
catastrophic wildfires while improving the health and appearance of the
Manuel F. Correllus State Forest.

But for Island conservationist Robert Woodruff, several key issues
need to be addressed before the first tree is felled in the new plan to
clear away more than 500 acres of dead and dying pine trees from the
heart of the Vineyard.

Vineyard Brokers Report Sales Up Across the Market

By ALEXIS TONTI

With the turn of the season from summer to fall there are signs that
the Vineyard real estate market has turned also, picking up the pace as
it rounds the corner after a slow stretch.

"Sales are absolutely up," declared Judith Federowicz,
the owner of Landmarks Real Estate in Vineyard Haven.

Quick's Hole is a narrow passage that lies between the islands
of Pasque and Nashawena, a treacherous passage lined with boulders on
either side that earned its name from the swift currents running through
it.

The hole lies seven miles northwest of Menemsha. Vessels traveling
between Menemsha and New Bedford use this channel to thread the chain of
the Elizabeth Islands. Rocks are visible along the shoreline, and many
more dangers lie below, charted and uncharted.

Dr. Kriner Cash Resigns Superintendent Position After Nine Years on
Job

By JULIA WELLS

Vineyard Schools superintendent Dr. Kriner Cash announced
unexpectedly this week that he will leave his post after more than nine
years to take a job in Dade County, Fla.

Mr. Cash will leave the Vineyard in two weeks; Oct. 15 will be his
last day on the job.