Oak Bluffs
First on most people's minds these days are our annual town meetings. Oak Bluffs will hold its meeting on Tuesday, April 8, at 7 pm. There are many very important decisions to make that will affect many people of all ages from school students to town employees and town retirees. Remember that you are not allowed to complain about the outcome of votes unless you attend the meetings and also go to the polls on Thursday, April 10, and express your wishes.
A tragic accident early Thursday morning, ending with a car going over the bluffs at East Chop and the subsequent death of the driver, brought out EMS, fire, and police personal, who searched throughout the early morning hours of Thursday until recovery was made early Saturday morning. Our sincere sympathies to the family of Benjamin Viera. We are so very sorry and appreciate the tireless efforts made by everyone who was involved.
April 8, 10, and 16 are parent conference days at the Oak Bluffs School. Dismissal will be at 12 noon on those days.
We send birthday smiles on April 1 to Robin Meader and Tyson Araujo and a very happy 90th birthday to Betty Rose. Richard D. Combra celebrates on April 2, Heather Holt on April 4, Sandy Ferreira on the sixth. Ben Hall III shares April 8 with me, and Donald Combra and Richard Giordano both party on April 9.
Robert Cronig (of Cronig's Market) will be 90 on April 5. According to his family, he is still telling stories, enjoying visits from friends and family, going out for rides, and rooting for the Red Sox. He also still has his great sense of humor, and Gerry continues to take good care of him.
On Friday, April 4, at 3:30 pm at the story time for ages 6 to 10 there will be a poetry and rhyme theme and a 3-D daffodil craft project. Then on Saturday at 10:30 am there will be a Fancy Nancy Story Time Extravaganza. Please come dressed in your fanciest fancy attire. All ages are welcome. There will be sparkly crafts and cupcakes after reading. Help name the new toy kangaroos on Wednesday, April 9 during pre-school story time.
The library is once again promoting its spring book fine amnesty program along with the Martha's Vineyard Library Assoc. The Oak Bluffs library will not assess fines on overdue materials from April 7 until April 20 for patrons who make a non-perishable food donation to the Island Food Pantry. Take advantage of this opportunity to save yourself some money and to donate towards a worthy cause.
Speaking of worthy causes, the friends of the John Swan family have planned some fundraisers to help this family through some rough times while John is receiving medical treatment, which involves many off-Island trips for treatment and an inability to continue working for a while. On April 12, a pasta dinner is planned at the P.A. Club in Oak Bluffs. Tickets, which are priced at $10 for adults and $5 for children, are available at the door or from club members. If you need further information about where to buy the tickets, you may call me and I will put you in touch with a member who has tickets available. In addition to the dinner, there is a raffle that will run for a month with some wonderful prizes, including a 40-inch HD television, two Red Sox tickets for the June 7 game vs. the Mariners, and a wampum bracelet fashioned by Sue Madeiras.
The board of directors of the Friends of Oak Bluffs held their March meeting at Estelle Surprenant's to take care of business and with a plea to anyone who wants to help plant the mall to call one of the members or just appear with your gloves and trowel on Thursday, May 22, at 8 am. Also, a reminder is being sent out that although they have many "friends," the original board has remained the same since the early 70s, and they would welcome committed new blood. Over the years the Friends have been responsible for the memorial benches, lamp posts, bricks, and sidewalks, and have helped with the restoration of the bandstand and aided in the "beach to boardwalk" plan, among other things. Thanks to Heather Goff, they now have their own web site: friendsofOakBluffs.org, where you can get information and download applications for the projects. Other board members are Judy Williamson, Nancy Billings, Priscilla Sylvia, and Renee Balter.
Enjoy your week and send your news along please.
Peace.
