Martha’s Vineyard ushered in the New Year well behaved

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Emily Hall wore the appropriate glasses while celebrating New Year's Eve at the Harbor View Hotel. — Photo by Susan Safford

Martha’s Vineyard celebrated the departure of 2011 and the arrival of 2012 in style and mostly without incident, but for the unusual report of a stolen Oak Bluffs ambulance department vehicle.

Someone likely in need of ride on New Year’s eve hopped into the ambulance service Ford Expedition with the keys left on the center console parked outside the Oak Bluffs Fire station. The vehicle was found at 7 am, Sunday morning on Church Street in Tisbury in good condition.

The keys were still in the vehicle and nothing was removed or damaged, detective Mark Santon said.

Generally speaking, police departments across the Island reported it was quiet. The down-Island towns attracted good numbers of holiday visitors.

Tisbury Police Chief Dan Hanavan said his department made no arrests. “We are lucky it was quiet here, and that’s the way we like it,” he said.

A New Year’s day fire marred an otherwise calm holiday weekend in Oak Bluffs. Lt. Tim Williamson said their were few other incidents over the holiday weekend. “One disorderly arrest, and one unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle arrest,” he said. “Very quiet.”

Edgartown police said the New Year was uneventful in their town, also. “It was a quiet, safe evening,” Chief Tony Bettencourt said. “We had only two protective custody reports.”

A spectacular fireworks display over Edgartown Harbor, courtesy of the Harbor View Hotel, generated the most noise. For those able to stay up to midnight it was quite a show.

Not surprisingly, the up-Island towns had the least to report. “It was quiet here,” Aquinnah police sergeant Paul Manning told The Times.

If there was any excitement it was the discovery of a dead common dolphin and a gray seal that had washed up on Lobsterville Beach. There was no information on what may have been the cause.

The story was the same in Chilmark, “quiet,” and in West Tisbury, “quiet.”