County Tries to Balance $4.4 Million Budget
By ALEXIS TONTI
Eliminating the water testing laboratory and turning down a $42,500
funding request by the Dukes County Regional Housing Authority -
these are some of the measures under consideration by the Dukes County
commissioners as they try to balance the $4.4 million total operating
budget for next year.
The county commissioners must consider the changes after an initial
draft budget came in with a shortfall of nearly $120,000.
Sgt. William L. Searle, state environmental police officer for the Vineyard, will retire from his post at the end of this month. Sergeant Searle, who is 54, is retiring for personal reasons, on June 30. He and
his wife, Linda, are selling their Island home and moving to Florida.
Prisoner's Story: Long Captivity Framed His War
By MANDY LOCKE
Six months after Lieut. Curtis Jones watched a one-hour Army
training film on how to handle imprisonment by the enemy, he fell into
German hands.
That March day in 1943 was a blur. Mr. Jones is still not quite sure
what went wrong, but he is not one to second-guess the events of his
life.
Two Guards Suspended After Indictments in Inmate Beatings
By ALEXIS TONTI
After three days of witness testimony and deliberation, a Dukes
County grand jury Wednesday indicted two correctional officers and an
inmate on conspiracy charges in connection with an inmate beating at the
Dukes County House of Correction.
Michael Trance, 26, of Edgartown and Teejay Roginski, 25, of Tisbury
are both charged with conspiracy to commit assault and battery in
connection with an inmate-on-inmate attack last June.
Windemere Is Operating in Black This Fiscal Year
By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer
On the subject of money, at the Martha's Vineyard Hospital
this year the watchword is up: Cash is up, patient volume is up and
contributions are up.
The hospital released draft combined financial statements this week,
and the numbers show that the Vineyard's only hospital ended its
fiscal year solidly in the black - even after factoring in a
$198,000 operating loss at the Windemere Nursing Home and Rehabilitation
Center.
Hospital Is Exploring Ties to Oak Bluffs Sewer Line
By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer
Leaders at the Martha's Vineyard hospital said this week that
the plan to build a new hospital also now includes an emerging plan to
tie into the Oak Bluffs sewage treatment plant.
"We have begun talks with the town of Oak Bluffs, and we know
that nothing would be better than getting everything out of here,"
said hospital board vice chairman Tim Sweet yesterday.
Survey Offers Snapshot of Businesses
By MANDY LOCKE
Daytrippers pump little revenue into the coffers of Island
businesses. Vineyard establishments are well-rooted; the majority have
survived more than 17 years. Despite the national economic downturn of
the last few years, Vineyard business owners weathered it quite well;
nearly three-quarters earned as much if not more in 2003 than the
previous year.
Boat Line Forecast: Steady as She Goes, Waiting on Weather
By ALEXIS TONTI
When Steamship Authority managers look ahead to the summer season,
they are hesitant to make any forecasts. Traffic may be a little off
right now, but everyone agrees that in the end the weather will be the
biggest influence on how many passengers ride the ferries.
"I think things are a little slower than we would like, but
that can reverse pretty quickly," SSA chief executive officer Fred
C. Raskin said this week.
In West Tisbury, ‘A Path Beside the Roadways'
By CHRIS BURRELL
A sidewalk may seem like the most hum-drum of amenities, but in West
Tisbury they refer to their walkways with great deference, calling them
"paths beside the roadways."
Until last year, this up-Island town with nearly 15 miles of paved
streets enjoyed only the barest scrap of sidewalk, about 200 feet from
Alley's General Store up around the corner of Music street to the
side entrance of the First Congregational Church.
After more than two years of trying to conceive a new purpose and
new life for an old building, Oak Bluffs selectmen are poised to sign a
contract to lease their abandoned town hall to the Steamship Authority
for roughly $46,000 a year.
