This Week's Paper
Lucy and Michael Pelham of Melrose announce the birth of a daughter, Nancy Magnolia Pelham. Nancy’s grandparents are Garrett Orazem and the late Nancy Durkin Orazem of Edgartown, and Sylvia Pelham and the late Robert Pelham of Lake Hopatcong, N.J. Nancy weighed 6 pounds, 2 ounces at birth.
With the opening notes of Edward Elgar’s traditional processional music Pomp and Circumstance, two long columns of graduates made their way down the aisle of the Tabernacle Sunday afternoon. The audience turned and erupted in applause for the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School’s Class of 2013, 184 strong.
Students chatted excitedly as they took their seats, practicing the proper method for receiving diplomas (right hand to shake, left hand to take) and looking back at the rest of the audience, which spilled out of the open-air Tabernacle onto the lawn.
The regional high school lunch program is projecting a year-end deficit of nearly $61,000, assistant principal Matthew Malowski told the high school committee Monday evening. Losses can tracked to lower reimbursement from the up-Island school district, which stopped using the high school for its lunch programs last year, as well as a decrease in daily revenues, which are down 14 per cent from fiscal year 2012.
“We are seeing a marked decrease in participation,” in the a la carte budget, Mr. Malowski said.
While winter storms have threatened some waterfront homes, they’ve been a boon to nesting piping plovers, who prefer the scoured beaches left by storms and hurricanes. But this year’s population of the tiny migratory shorebird still face challenges from predators.
Acting behind closed doors, the Tisbury selectmen voted without dissent Monday to fire a Tisbury police officer who is the subject of a criminal complaint and who has had a recent history of misconduct.
Kelly Kershaw, 30, was terminated following a nearly three-hour executive session that was attended by the three town selectmen, their town administrator, Ms. Kershaw and her attorney. Her attorney told the Gazette later in the week that Ms. Kershaw, who had been employed with the police department since 2004, will take action to dispute the decision.
The 33 eighth graders at the West Tisbury School aren’t the only ones moving on to high school. Their principal, Michael Halt, an Island educator and administrator since 1997, is gearing up for a major transition of his own. Mr. Halt’s last day is June 28. Then he will pack up his truck and head for California, where, in the fall, he will start as principal of the San Clemente High School.
With construction about halfway complete on the new West Tisbury Library project, town leaders raised concerns this week about a rapidly dwindling contingency fund for the project.
The $6 million project has already used up half of a $200,000 reserve in the budget. Construction began in December and there is a little less than $100,000 left.
Each family has its own Vineyard specialty, a beloved summer-after-summer tradition that everyone cherishes and remembers during those empty winter days in February.
Carol Carrick, the award-winning author of more than four dozen children’s books and books for young adults, many with a Vineyard setting, died unexpectedly at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital on June 6. She was 78 and lived in West Tisbury. The cause was complications from a stroke.
Ralph Graves, the former editor of Life Magazine, a novelist and longtime summer resident of the Island, died in New York city on June 10 after a period of declining health. He was 88.
Once the address of choice for whaling captains, North Water street in Edgartown is now home to captains of modern industry, a handsome boulevard of stately white mansions and manicured hedges that runs from Main street past the Edgartown Light.
Handsome, that is, but for Number 62, the so-called Captain Warren House — the now-decrepit building next to the Edgartown Free Public Library — which has become the most public of eyesores as the town of Edgartown continues its search for a buyer who will take it off its hands for a reasonable price.
Tuesday night was the first home baseball game of the season for the Sharks and kids from all the little league teams around the Island were invited to take part in the festivities. Teenagers to tee-ballers as tall as a Shark’s backpocket came dressed in their uniforms with gloves at the ready. The competition on the field was first rate. So, too, were the scrambles for foul ball souvenirs.
All the years of my marriage when
things have gotten tough, my husband has always said at least no one is chasing us with machetes. Really? has always been my inward eye-rolling response.
When I was first dating him I asked him all those beginning-of-a-relationship questions, like what’s the meanest thing your father ever said and what food did your mom make you eat and were you rich or were you poor? He said his father never said a mean thing and his mother never made him eat anything he didn’t want. And without hesitation he answered yes to rich.
June 15 marks the eighth World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, a time for us to build a better understanding of elder abuse and effective ways to respond.
Elder abuse has no boundaries. On-Island and around the globe, the experience of elder abuse transcends communities, cultures and income levels. The term elder abuse refers to intentional or negligent acts that cause harm to those the law recognizes as vulnerable elders Massachusetts law defines an elder as a person age 60 and over. The law requires people in certain professions to report suspected elder abuse to public authorities.
From the Vineyard Gazette edition of July 12, 1946:
The season at the Martha’s Vineyard Playhouse on East Chop has begun this week with Arthur J. Beckhard’s revival of his success, Goodbye Again, which is to open in New York in the fall. Roger Pryor is seen in the leading role, originally played by Osgood Perkins.
Goodbye Again is a comedy in a lighter vein by Alan Scott and George Haight, first produced in 1932. It has in it some inspired fooling, a slight mixture of bedroom farce, and ample opportunity for Mr.
The Dukes County pest management program will be discontinued beginning July 1 due to lack of funding. County manager Martina Thornton notified selectmen and town administrators of the decision in a letter sent last Friday.
The program would have been funded by just two towns, Chilmark and Aquinnah, for the fiscal 2014 year.
The Aquinnah bay scallop season ends Friday, marking what is believed to be the latest date for a bay scallop season closing in the commonwealth.
The scallop season usually runs from fall until the last day of March, but Aquinnah shellfish constable Brian (Chip) Vanderhoop said unusual circumstances led to the extension of the fishery this year.
Arthur Asdikian, 36, of Edgartown, was arraigned on May 26 charges in Oak Bluffs of drunken driving and failure to signal. A pretrial hearing was scheduled for July 1.
Jordan J. Henderson, 23, of Vineyard Haven, was arraigned on a May 31 charge in Oak Bluffs of disorderly conduct. According to a police report filed in court, a woman allegedly reported to police on Circuit avenue that Mr. Henderson grabbed her, but Mr. Henderson was later told to go home because the woman left.
The school on Penikese island will reopen this summer under new leadership and a new name, the board of directors for the school confirmed this week.
The new school will be named Penikese.
The program will use the same facilities as the long-running Penikese Island School, and will begin admitting adolescents with substance abuse issues beginning between mid-July and mid-August.
Postseason play begins this weekend for the MV United travel soccer squads, who had an outstanding season even by the high standards of the Vineyard league. Of the eight teams in the program eligible for the South Coast Soccer League postseason, five made it to the playoffs: both under-11 boys’ squads, the under-13 girls’ team, the under-15 girls team, and the under-18 boys’ team. The under-18 team, largely sophomores, finished first in their division and will host Westport in the first round on Sunday at Veterans Field. Game time is at 1:30 p.m.
Track and field senior Maggie Riseborough competed in the New England Outdoor Track and Field Championships in New Britain, Conn., on June 8, marking the second straight year she has represented the Vineyard and the state at the meet. Riseborough qualified for New Englands with a top-four finish at the Massachusetts All-State meet on June 1, which featured athletes from all levels of high school competition. The Vineyard competes in division four.
At New Englands, Riseborough placed 24th in a field of 35 with a throw of 34 feet, six inches.
After seeing a steady decrease in overall numbers for years, Vineyard softball is at a critical point for sustaining the sport.
Just 11 players — two more than the minimum needed to field a team — suited up for the varsity high school team this year, with 10 at the jayvee level. Only four freshmen came out for the teams. The once-thriving Babe Ruth softball league, for girls aged 8 to 16, had no teams at all this year and what was once a staple of afterschool life, the junior high program, will no longer be offered as of next spring.
Dinosaurs and sharks mingled nicely with live ducks and a baby goat at Saturday’s Sense of Wonder creations art show in Vineyard Haven. The dinosaur and shark were a couple of papier mache creations completed by young campers who attend the after-school program at Sense of Wonder. The ducks seemed right at home in a tub of water in the backyard. Music, face painting and a bean bag toss shared the space.
Oak Bluffs package stores may now stay open until 11 p.m., following a vote by the town selectmen Tuesday. Previously the stores had closed at 10 p.m., while Edgartown liquor stores remained open an extra hour. The request to delay closing came from the owners of the package stores, who wished for a more level playing field with their Edgartown competition, selectman Michael Santoro said.
Pet owner alert: the Harbor View Hotel is sponsoring a Celebration of Pets this Saturday morning, June 15, from 10 a.m. to noon. Bring your furry or feathered family members in carriers or on leashes to walk in the parade and to receive a blessing. The Animal Shelter of Martha’s Vineyard will award ribbons to all participants. This is your chance to pet an alpaca. The black dog from the Black Dog will also be there. The event is free, but if you are moved to make a donation to the shelter to aid animals less fortunate than your own, it will be appreciated.
At first they giggled.
Last fall when the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School swim coach introduced yoga meditations to the team’s practice routine, the swimmers exchanged quizzical looks and snickered with one another.
“Yoga?” the students asked.
Yoga.
Vineyard resident and award-winning author and historian David McCullough was lauded by Suffolk University with an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree during commencement ceremonies at Boston’s B
The Aquinnah Power Cruise will be in Aquinnah Circle tomorrow from noon to 3 p.m. Admission is free and fun for the whole family. Meet members of the Boston Area Roadsters Club and Vineyard enthusiasts with special interest vehicles. There will be a swap meet with new and/or used auto parts to buy, trade or sell. Awards will be given in specific categories. For more information, please call cruisemaster Carl Widdiss at 508-645-9528.
Chilmark sends congratulations to newlyweds Kristine Larsen Schiffer and Kirk Safford who were married at Menemsha on May 18. Merrily Fenner, justice of the peace, performed the ceremony on the bulkhead at Menemsha and a buffet luncheon followed. Kristine is known to many as one of the helpful and busy members of the staff at Larsen’s Fish Market and someone who grew up in Chilmark. We all send them cheers and good wishes.
Building on Vineyard Haven’s recent selection as one of 12 nationally designated small town ArtPlaces for 2013, the community is invited to a public hearing to determine if the town of Tisbury should apply for a state-designated cultural district and adopt a Vineyard Haven Harbor Cultural District resolution. The Vineyard Haven Harbor Cultural District Partnership is looking for public input regarding the designation. The hearing is on Tuesday, June 18 at 6 p.m. at the Katharine Cornell Theatre, 54 Spring street in Vineyard Haven.
Anna Poblocka and Piotr Kornalski of Oak Bluffs announce the birth of a son, Jason Adam Kornalski, born on June 8 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Jason weighed 6 pounds, 13.6 ounces at birth.
They say that all good things come to those who wait. I’m not certain who they are, but they are correct when the waiting applies to returning columnists. Good things abound whilst I am at the keyboard writing about all things Chappy. I feel bad for Thursdays and Fridays. They are sorely neglected by the Gazette town columns. Columns are written before Thursday or Friday transpire, and after the limits of memory. They are passed over like towns between exits off the pike.
I have nothing to say really about the weather this week except every time the sun comes out my grass grows an inch an hour. I don’t think I really paid attention to that until now when I have to mow the lawn myself.
William H. Blakesley’s memorial is scheduled for Friday, June 21 at 2 p.m., at the Trinity Methodist Church in the Camp Ground in Oak Bluffs.
A Power Point of his work will be shown accompanied by the Momenta Quartet from New York City.
Nathanial Horwitz will play his harp at the side of the tent where refreshments will be served following the service.
Some may know how Tai Chi and Chi Gung help create a more balanced approach to life. Upcoming classes at the Tisbury Senior Center add swords and fans into the mix.
Fans add to hand and wrist movement while the sword helps to create a continuous flow of energy. The class leader Daisy Lifton brings 20 years of experience teaching Chi Gung and Kung Fu to students of all ages.
An interesting group which formed on Feb. 28, 1908 was the Triad Club, a women’s club with the purpose of information, improvement and sociability — whose members cleverly adopted the clover to identify the three goals of the club. Oak Bluffs was only a year old as an independent entity, but women remained dependent on their husbands. Thanks to Susan Wilson, who researched the topic for her article in the August 2007 Dukes County Intelligencer and the religiously kept club minutes, we have a clear view of the organization and its activity.
Mary E. Kauffman, formerly of Vineyard Haven, died on June 7 in Ocala, Fla. She received her RN diploma from Mercy College of Nursing in Ann Harbor, Mich., and her bachelor’s degree in professional administration from St. Joseph College in Standish, Me.
Betty served as a first lieutenant in the Third Auxiliary Surgical Group in the North African and European World War II theatres, in front line duty. She lived on the Vineyard for several years before eventually moving to Ocala.
Ah, the sounds of summer to come! Remember that great instrumental song Dueling Banjos? When I sit outside to relax I am treated to the season’s sounds of dueling weed whackers, arguing lawn mowers, fighting wood chippers, and the annual dirge of non-mufflered motorcycles. Frankly, I prefer the sound of silence.
The weekend weather was swell after some drenching rain. After church many people had an opportunity to go to the beach for the first or second time and Lambert’s Cove was pleasantly crowded. The baseball fields and tennis court were very busy. Because of strong seas many SSA trips were diverted to Vineyard Haven from Oak Bluffs over the weekend. The Father’s Day weather forecast is for a reasonably good day, but Dad will relax at least for one day no matter the weather. Also he will not have to clean up after dinner even if it is a backyard cookout. Today is Flag Day and the summer season officially begins next Friday. Yes, traffic jams in Vineyard Haven have already begun.
Connected. Privileged. Honored. Thankful. Full.
Those were a few of the words the Chilmark School fourth and fifth grade class used in their class blessing at the school’s community lunch Friday afternoon. The lunch was the last of the school year in a series of gatherings organized by Island Grown Schools and volunteers.
“When I say Barrington, you say Levy!” shouted a man onstage wearing gold-framed sunglasses. “Barrington!”
“Levy!” the crowd roared back at him.
The chant continued, ultimately dissolving into raucous cheering as Barrington Levy, reggae revolutionary, took the stage at Dreamland in Oak Bluffs on Friday night.
Father’s Day saw a tasty kick-off this year with the annual Martha’s Vineyard Restaurant Week that began Sunday, June 16 and continues through Thursday, June 20.
Senior Graduate
Scholarships and Awards
Alfred Metell Memorial Health Sciences Scholarship:
Smith, Katherine, $1,500.
Alice Blackwood Memorial Scholarship:
Bick, Rayne, $1,000.
Alida Carey Gulick Memorial Scholarship:
Freitas, Andrew, $1,000.
American Legion Ladies Auxillary Scholarship:
Valley, Samantha, $500.
Boathouse Foundation Culinary, Hospitality Scholarship:
Brown, Sivana, $3,500; Lowell-Bettencourt, Charlotte, $3,000; McAndrews, Sean, $3,500.
It’s been 36 years since a group of Vineyarders decided to raise awareness of those who go to bed on an empty stomach by handing out bread to people on Main street in Vineyard Haven. This year’s bread sale won’t be limited to a few slices of the white stuff, though. There will be pastries of all kinds, including gluten-free options, as well as cookies, breads and muffins for sale.
The annual Bloomsday celebration on June 16 will feature all sorts of craic and carryings-on. John Crelan, founder and director of Arts and Society, is in his 35th year of organizing the celebration of music, drama and dance based on James Joyce’s classic, Ulysses, the plot of which takes place on June 16, 1904 from 8 a.m. that morning till the early hours of the next day.
Whether your interests lie in lighthouses or in the luminescent quality of a watercolor, Martha’s Vineyard Museum has something to offer this summer. The museum is open year-round and begins the summer season with an opening party on Friday, June 14 from 7 to 9 p.m. at 59 School street in Edgartown.
Vineyard artist Linda Thompson captured the erosion at Lucy Vincent beach in her oil paintings which will be exhibited at the Chilmark Library beginning June 15. Other offerings include Menemsha scenery and the Allen sheep farm. Ms. Thompson is a Chilmark resident who has studied art at Pratt Institute, Carnegie Mellon University and McGill University.
A reception with the artist is on opening day from 3 to 5 p.m. at the library located at Beetlebung Corner in Chilmark. The exhibition will be open during regular library hours until June 21.
Whether it’s Fido or your Aunt Fanny’s feline, all are welcome to the fifth annual Paws on the Porch pet celebration at the Harbor View Hotel on June 15.
After gathering on the porch of the hotel at 10 a.m., pets of every variety, from the scaly to the feathery, can take part in the parade to the Edgartown Lighthouse. The parade will be led by the Black Dog mascot.
Father Michael Nagle of Good Shepherd Parish will bless all the animals.
After the parade, it’s water and pet treats for everybody back at the Harbor View porch.
The Vineyard’s top saltwater fly fishermen will pair up with anglers from all over the country to compete in tomorrow night’s 22nd annual Martha’s Vineyard Rod and Gun Club striped bass catch-and-release tournament. It is primarily a night fishing event that begins at 7 p.m., and no fish are taken home.
Cooper A. Gilkes 3rd, who co-organizes the event, said many of the contestants are already here and are out scoping their favorite fishing places. This is a good fishing spring, Mr. Gilkes said. Shorefishermen are doing well all around the Island.
That was some serious rain last Friday evening. I love it. I did not have to haul hoses around for several days.
Before I got to mention the locust blooms, they were gone. How does that happen? I hope everything is in season forever in heaven.
It was truly a tree-mendous mystery.
Troubled trees that have been found throughout the Cape and Islands over the last few years have only recently been diagnosed.
The symptoms are cause for great concern. Some of our native and ubiquitous black oaks are not fully leafing out, leafed-out trees are sporting brown foliage in the summer, and twigs are appearing swollen with small pin-sized holes — all reasons to sound the alarm.
Award winning songwriter Kathy Moser performs a special concert at Alex’s Place on June 22 featuring music by and for people in recovery and their families and friends. Ms. Moser is a national touring artist who has performed and led songwriting workshops in alcohol and drug treatment facilities all over the U.S. Appearing with her will be Bethel Steel who was just chosen as a finalist for the Kerryville New Folk Competition.
The concert begins at 7 p.m. at Alex’s Place at the YMCA.
Summer reads are one thing, but the Martha’s Vineyard Book Festival is quite another. In its fifth year, the festival occurs the first weekend in August every other year and highlights the Island’s rich literary history while bringing some of the best known authors to the Vineyard. The weekend features some of the country’s leading authors and includes readings, panel discussions, author interviews and book signings.
Tiger Eyes, written by Judy Blume, is the story of a teenage girl, Davey, who moves to New Mexico with her mother and younger brother after her father is killed at the family’s convenience store in New Jersey. While there she meets a Native American boy named Wolf whose father is suffering from cancer. Ultimately, Davey learns to cope with the death of her own father.
The stage at Flatbread was packed with instruments on Monday night and the dance floor filled with fans standing shoulder to shoulder. Deer Tick, an alternative rock band from Providence, R.I., was back in town after a two-year hiatus.
The band jumped feet-first into their set. Their style is shamelessly and classically authentic. The vintage whirl of a Hammond B-3 organ blended beautifully with a pair of rancorous guitars.
Jiro Dreams of Sushi, a documentary about the world famous sushi chef in Japan, made waves in the food world last year with its high definition celebration of the tiny basement level restaurant and their impeccable selection and treatment of the most appetizing seafood imaginable. Jiro continues to make his name serving what is thought to be one of the most expensive meals on earth, which is calculated partly by the length of the meal that often lasts less than 20 minutes as simple dish after dish is prepared in rapid succession, almost immediately after the last is consumed.
Move over Martha, there’s a new gal in town: Bad Martha, a new craft beer company. The company is premiering two beers this month in Island package stores and restaurants, a summer ale and an extra special pale ale. Beer will be available for tasting at the Martha’s Vineyard Preservation Trust annual Taste of the Vineyard Stroll on Thursday night.
Every dance has its own vocabulary or its own “it-ness” as choreographer David Brick refers to it. For the past three weeks at the Yard, Mr. Brick’s job has been to draw out this “it-ness”, harness it and help three up and coming choreographers dig a little deeper into their work.
The nesting season for the birds of Martha’s Vineyard is upon us. Last week’s discovery of the brown creepers’ nest nudged other birders to sharing their bird nesting stories. And I started thinking about all the different nests I have seen on the Island. The variety is amazing and the different architecture and material choices is immense. The range in size and shape is incredible, from the tiny one inch across and one inch deep cup of lichens and moss woven together by our ruby-throated hummingbird to our fish hawk’s massive old nests.
An ambitious state solar energy program has reached its goal four years ahead of schedule, leaving questions about whether some projects on the Vineyard still in development will remain eligible to take full
Carol Carrick, the well-known children’s author whose books have had a cherished place on family bookshelves and in children’s rooms in public libraries for more than 40 years, died last week in her West Tisbury home.
The moon dominates the early hours of evening in the southwestern sky.