Election Season Brings Contests in Four Towns

With the calendar turning to March, four of the six Island towns
have now closed their spring election ballots. Only in Aquinnah and
Chilmark does time still remain for candidates to return papers and run
for elected town office. Where ballots are closed, voters will have
choices among candidates for the post of selectman in all the towns.
West Tisbury has a race for treasurer, and seats on Island boards of
health and planning boards are also attracting some competition.

Housing Plan Hits Water Quality Snag

By JULIA WELLS

Septic discharge from the Bridge housing project could pose a
problem for neighboring wells, the Martha's Vineyard Commission
water quality planner said last week.

Announcing his intent to retire as ed­itor and publisher of the Vineyard Gazette after more than 27 years at the newspaper, Richard Reston this week also named his successor.

Beginning in the middle of March, John W. Walter Jr., a former executive editor of the Atlanta Journal-Consti­tution, will arrive on the Island and take over the leadership role of the Gazette.

Mr. Walter, 56, was named editor and publisher of the Gazette and its other publications, Martha’s Vineyard Mag­azine and the Best Read Guide, after a search process that began early last fall.

Up-Island School Budget Jumps 15 Per Cent

By CHRIS BURRELL

Taxpayers in Aquinnah, Chilmark and West Tisbury will see the cost
of educating schoolchildren rise sharply next year as the proposed
budget for the Up-Island Regional School District goes from $5.9 million
to more than $6.8 million, a 15 per cent increase.

The reasons are much the same as at the regional high school, where
the budget will jump by almost 10 per cent next year. State aid is
dropping, and the cost of insurance is climbing.

SSA Receives Bids for Service

Two Bidders Respond to Request for Ferry Service Proposals from New
Bedford; One Offers Year-Round Run

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

Expanded ferry service between New Bedford and the Vineyard moved
one step closer to reality this week after senior managers at the
Steamship Authority got their first look at two proposals from private
companies who have an interest in running the route.

Storm Buries Vineyard Under Tons of Snow

Northeaster Strikes on Monday, Slowing Island Life to Crawl

By MANDY LOCKE

Mother Nature showed little mercy this week - bringing the
Vineyard to a standstill beneath mounds of snow and whipping winds.

From slightly before 8 o'clock Monday morning into the wee
hours of Tuesday, snow buried all that did not move and slowed to a
crawl the few who did venture out in the blizzard-like conditions.

MVC Begins Review of Housing Plan

Ecumenical Group Proposes 32 Units on Tisbury Land

By JULIA WELLS

Calling it a new vision for the Vineyard, a novice Island nonprofit
last week unveiled a plan to build 32 units of affordable housing in 16
duplex-style buildings on the Norton family land off State Road in
Vineyard Haven.

Mac Schilcher Wins Honors on Gridiron

By JONATHAN BURKE

On June 20, Mac Schilcher, a six-foot, three-inch, 240-pound senior
who loves to hit, will represent the Vineyard on the football field one
last time. Next year, his primary allegiance will move to Wagner College
on Staten Island, where he has been recruited to play Division 1AA ball.

$100-Per-Hour Employee Raises Ire at High School

By CHRIS BURRELL

The full-time administrator's job pays $65,000 a year, but
when the Martha's Vineyard Regional High School needed a
replacement to fill in for the first five months of the school year, the
pay rate nearly doubled.

By the time the interim dean of students clocked out at the end of
January, he had earned $37,117 working from a contract that had him
working half days from September through January. That's nearly
$100 an hour or about $400 a day.

Announcing his intent to retire as editor and publisher of the
Vineyard Gazette after more than 27 years at the newspaper, Richard
Reston this week also named his successor.

Beginning in the middle of March, John W. Walter Jr., a former
executive editor of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, will arrive on the
Island and take over the leadership role of the Gazette.