After nearly three weeks of turmoil and back-and-forth accusations,
Vineyard school leaders officially severed ties with their school bus
contractor, Island Transport, and have crafted a deal to hire the
Vineyard Transit Authority (VTA) and a Florida company to run the school
buses in time for the opening of the school year next month.

Edgartown Library: A Critical Phase

By MAX HART

The Edgartown library must expand now or else fail the community it
serves.

That's the message the board of trustees of the Edgartown Free
Public Library is hoping to convey to town officials and voters this
week as it starts a critical phase of its push for expansion of the
century-old facility. A crucial vote next week will decide the first
step in what the board hopes will be a successful bid to bring the
library into the 21st century.

A Dancer and His Patron Build New Program, and Studio, Here

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By JESSIE ROYCE HILL

In an airy studio redolent of newly sanded wood and fresh paint, 15
teenage dancers surround the floor, their eyes fixed upon a legendary
dancer.

Camp Ground Considers Leaseholder Vote

By CHRIS BURRELL

They're demanding universal suffrage, the right of cottage
owners in the Camp Ground to choose their leaders, but after a weekend
of heavy politicking, a newly constituted tenants' group emerged
with only a partial victory.

The 21-member board of directors of the Martha's Vineyard Camp
Meeting Association (MVCMA) agreed Friday to explore a proposed
amendment to the bylaws - a move that would alter the governance
of this historic community in the center of Oak Bluffs.

Along with the Ferris wheel and the tilt-a-whirl, one of the wildest rides of the Martha's Vineyard Agricultural Society Livestock Show and Fair this year was provided by the weather.

Eleanor Neubert, fair manager, said the weather gets much of the credit for the fact that attendance this year totaled 27,887 people, more than a thousand above last year's total and an all-time record for the fair.

Youth Hockey Builds Character; Also Puts Deep Dents in Island Family
Pocketbooks

By CHRIS BURRELL

For nine months a year, Susan Mercier's three daughters love
to lace up the skates, throw on the gloves and pads and grab a stick for
a game of ice hockey.

"It's the most empowering thing you can do for your
daughter," said Ms. Mercier of Edgartown.

Parking Enforcement in Tisbury Is Major Year-Round Business

By ALEXIS TONTI

After chipping away for years at traffic problems in Vineyard Haven,
the Tisbury selectmen are now considering an overhaul of the
town's parking regulations in order to relieve congestion in the
downtown area.

"Traffic flow and parking go hand in hand. With a better
parking system, traffic flow will improve," Tisbury police chief
Theodore (Ted) Saulnier said this week.

On a small patch of tar in front of the Oak Bluffs Steamship
Authority terminal, where Oak Bluffs avenue, Seaview avenue, Seaview
avenue extension and the ferry pier all converge, Officer Matthew Stein
is holding court.

New Nantucket Member Joins Steamship Board; New Ferry Plans Advance

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

NANTUCKET - A new board member for Nantucket and a new ferry
for the Vineyard - these were the benchmarks of the monthly
Steamship Authority meeting yesterday morning when SSA governors tackled
an array of business for the boat line which is the lifeline to the two
Islands.

It's Always an Illuminating Experience: A Grand Night of
Glowing Lanterns

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By C.K. WOLFSON