| At
Large Business Briefs Cartoons District Court Report Editorial Gone Fishin' Letters to the Editor Real Estate Transactions Sports Sports Highlights |
| Art Bestsellers Dance Edibles Film In Print Music Theater |
| This
Week's Happenings Save
That Date Ongoing Events Groups Libraries Museums and Tours Children's Resources Hotlines 12-Step Programs Religious Services Volunteer Opportunities |
| Achievements Astrology Birds Births Community Shorts Dean's List Engagements Garden Notes Honor Roll Obituaries Off North Road Short Subjects Town Meetings Visiting Vet Weddings |
| Aquinnah Chilmark Edgartown Oak Bluffs Tisbury West Tisbury |
The
Martha's Vineyard Times is a weekly publication.
March 31 - April 6, 2005 Edition
Web
Comments
- Email Submissions
March 31, 2005 Burdens on limited incomes To the Editor: Regarding “West Tisbury selects town hall architect,” article in the March 17 Times, it seems that these town committees have no understanding that many of the residents are elderly and or handicapped and thus are living on a very limited income which every year has to be stretched further and further, barely making ends meet. In response to Chief Toomey regarding the damp/mold problem: there is not a home in the area that doesn’t have the same problem, which is easily corrected by using a bucket of water and chlorine bleach, along with some scrubbing. If this is not enough a dehumidifier in the basement would be helpful. As far as the size of the police building: it is a rare day that anyone other than the secretary is there, so I cannot see the need for a larger space. There are several buildings that could be utilized to temporarily house the town hall employees: The fire station on the West Tisbury–Edgartown Road, which if ever needed, could be added on to and has copious parking available. The “Emergency Building” in North Tisbury. The upstairs rooms of the Howes House, which are accessible by elevator. The Music Street Library. The parking could be alleviated simply by excavating into part of the embankment to the left of the building. All of these suggestions would be of little cost to the town, and maybe the next budget would be kept in line without having to request more and more overrides. Muriel Bye West Tisbury Hurricane’s destruction in Florida invisible To the Editor: Regarding Doug Cabral’s essay on the devastation to South Florida from last season’s hurricanes “Not Always Greener,” I’m not sure which Florida he’s reporting on. After returning to my home last fall after living and working at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital ER, I was prepared for the worse. Driving I-75 from Jacksonville to Tampa and on to Anna Maria Island, the only damage I saw was a couple of downed trees and billboards. Damage to the Tampa Bay area was virtually non-existent. The only damage to my home was from my daughter living there in my absence. The weather is still beautiful, the Gulf of Mexico azure blue, and the sands like sugar. No destruction, no loss of roofs, no downed trees. Perhaps less damage than the mountains of snow in the Vineyard this winter displayed in your newspaper. Yes there was severe damage in Punta Gorda and Arcadia, hardly prime tourist destinations. All of my rental properties have been full for the season, and this week the most frequently seen signs displayed “No vacancy.” I would encourage all Vineyarders seeking an escape from the mountains of snow to consider a spring or summer break to the Gulf Coast. Air and water temps will soon be in the 80s, the sea turtles are about to begin their egg laying, and the sun beckons. Come on down. Rick Call Vineyard Haven and Anna Maria, Florida Weather report To the Editor: When we heard that a blizzard was headed our way, we filled the bathtubs, checked the flashlights, and trimmed the oil lamps. The camp stove was hauled out of its lair, and cans of tuna and hash found to be plentiful. This drill has seen us through several hurricanes and power outages when our electric stove, pump, and well have proved useless. A 50-mile-an-hour wind, horizontal snow, and plummeting temperature combined to make the camp stove on the back porch as useless as the electric stove inside. We dined on potato salad one night, and tuna salad, the next. As time passed, we added clothing until we truly had the “layered look,” and indulged in much luxurious reading in bed. On the third night, the house having reached an icy 42 degrees, we decided to go out for a hot meal. If the power was still off upon our return, we would take the kind offers of friends and relatives for warm beds to heart. At the restaurant, my cries of joy over hot food and a warm room were overheard. A couple we had never seen before stopped at our table twice. They had a place in Katama, were leaving the next morning, and wouldn’t we like to use their house? I was truly overcome. We could have ripped them off, set up a drug den, or white slave market — anything. I kick myself for failing to get their name. You know who you are. Next Island visit, please identify yourselves so we can thank you once again. Mary S. French West Tisbury Justice missing To the Editor: As regards to the Terri Schiavo case, I watched the emotional tug-of-war for her lingering life and wondered what was just about it? Normally, when a human reached a certain state of protracted life, the tubes are removed or not administered at all. As happened in Ireland with my grandmother who suffered from dementia, there is a policy of not force-feeding and the patient will die “naturally.” The interest I have comes from a comment Terri’s father made to Paula Zahn on CNN. Under the present administration and only since the present administration, “She has received no medical aid, her teeth are rotting in her head, and she has had no physical therapy, she has been wronged,” he said. So we question — President Bush, rushing back to the White house Saturday night to ensure justice for Terri by keeping her alive but not funding her aid, and thus treating her quite inhumanely. Where is the justice? Is this right? I see a bigger picture. Lara O’Brien Vineyard Haven Mystifying cough To the Editor: I would like to alert everyone concerned with respiratory ailments that both my wife and myself somehow acquired disabling coughs that thus far have defied diagnosis and treatment. They started in the lower lung with no involvement, initially, of the throat or nasal passages. I went to the emergency room at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital suffering from dehydration and probable overdose of dextromethorphan, the least incapacitating of the effective cough suppressants available in this country, but one which is mind altering (teen-agers get high on it). All vital signs were good, the X-rays indicated nothing in the lungs, as did the stethoscope, despite the fact that the inflammation in my lungs and throat was debilitating from coughing 24/7. I was given Levaquin. A week later I drove to the ER, repeated the process with the same results. Prednisone was prescribed which temporarily alleviated some of the inflammation. When my wife started coughing, I asked my son-in-law in Boston to please pick us up. We both went to Lahey Clinic where the ER procedure was repeated. My wife was prescribed Zithromax. I then saw a pulmonary specialist who found nothing. My wife had severe breathing difficulty and we went to the ER at Emerson in Concord where the same procedures were repeated and no diagnosis made and nothing prescribed. I then saw an infectious diseases specialist who also found nothing. I will see an allergist on March 29 and hold out little hope that anything will be discovered. It has been six weeks for me and the cough has subsided to a tolerable annoyance which should be gone in a few more weeks at the present rate of progress. My wife has occasional distressed breathing which is slowly subsiding. There is also a suggestion of the “whoop “ although the symptoms do not seem to correlate well. Talking aggravates the problem. We have both suffered from very viscous mucous in the throat and apparent constriction in the throat, which is not substantially reduced by an albuterol nebulizer. I am writing this to alert any possible victims of these symptoms and the fact that the diagnosis seems to be evading the medical community. If anyone would like further info/clarification, I would be willing to try. My wife and I would like to thank the crew of West Tisbury EMTs that took me to the emergency room six weeks ago. Even though my problems were not life threatening, it was very comforting to know that their competence and prompt response could have made the difference had my problems been acute. It also serves as a reminder to those who haven’t had the need of emergency services that there are these dedicated people on call who may very well make the difference between a tragedy and a problem. I remember the fire department was there also and if the police were also there, thank you all. Belatedly, I would also like to thank everyone concerned for their help when my wife broke her hip two years ago. We were off-Island so long, I’m sorry to say that by the time we got back, the press of accumulated obligations pushed it into limbo. But we haven’t forgotten that the help was there when we needed it. We sincerely appreciate all that you have done for us. Robert A. Pacl West Tisbury Exposed, and unhappy about it To the Editor: I am outraged and disappointed by the picture of a nude woman on the High School View page of the March 10 edition of The Times. This form of pornography is simply not acceptable in a public forum, especially on the high school page. It is offensive to common decency and morality. The article coupled with the picture is ludicrous. It says, “‘Boycott magazines and television shows and music,’ Strumpet says, ‘that demean women or men or gay people or religious groups or ethnicities or races.’” Which is certainly a worthy goal. However, is The Martha’s Vineyard Times one of these media outlets to be boycotted? If this picture is not demeaning to women, what is? Is this magazine being paid for with taxpayer dollars? Is this an example of the values being taught to our youth at the high school? I certainly do not want this magazine accessible in a public library either. A public apology should be forthcoming from The Martha’s Vineyard Times, and all those involved in putting this in the newspaper. It is simply not acceptable to expose me, my family, and the public to this trash. I do agree with one statement in the article, “If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention.” Christian Waller Edgartown Court’s back To the Editor: Thank you for printing again the “Court Cases.” Also, thanks to Ezra and The Times for their great coverage of issues concerning Island veterans. Woody Williams Tisbury Urges support for CPA Letter to the Editor: I am writing to applaud Bob Wheeler for his letter to the editor entitled “Housing shortage can be addressed.” I too am in full support of the new articles coming before town meeting this spring. Via the Community Preservation Act and the proposed housing bank, the town of Tisbury will be doing its part in finally making things happen. My family and I experienced firsthand the horror of the affordable housing crisis four years ago. We found ourselves with little or no recourse (our landlord sold the house we were renting for three times its value and for some bizarre reason, even though both my husband and I were both gainfully employed, we could not find a house we could afford, until Brad Austin, currently president of Bridge Housing, and John Harrer, being aware of our plight, offered us a house they were in the process of renovating at a price much lower than they could have sold it on the market. They were true guardian angels, and I don’t think I ever publicly acknowledged their kindness and generosity. Having been recipients of the gift of affordable housing I wanted to give back to my community and am now a member of the Tisbury affordable housing committee. We are currently in the process of working on creating new affordable sites via town-owned properties, but even these options are limited. Please — vote yes on ballot questions number one and two. Your children will thank you for it. Laura Barbera Tisbury An affordable housing tale To the Editor: This letter relates to the Tisbury housing committee’s affordable housing project proposed for Lambert’s Cove Road. We have lived on Martha’s Vineyard for the past 32 years, the last 25 in our home in Pilot Hill Farm on Lambert’s Cove Road. I was the librarian at the Edgartown Elementary School for 26 years. I retired last year. My husband of almost 25 years is David Ferraguzzi. We have three grown daughters, all college graduates, two now working in the public service sector. Our family’s success story is in a way a product of “affordable housing.” We were one of five families who won building lots in Pilot Hill through a lottery held by the Vineyard Open Land Foundation way back in 1976. Because of that lottery, and only because of that lottery, were these five families able to remain on the Vineyard. Because we won a lot, I was able to finish my master’s degree and become a school librarian. My husband became a successful building contractor, served on the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, became one of the founders of the Friends of Vineyard Soccer program, is a charter member of the Dukes County Regional Housing Authority, and is currently a commissioner for the Tisbury Department of Public Works. Frank Piccione and Ann Milstein won another lot. Ann served on the Tisbury school committee for many years and created and ran a successful year-round business in Vineyard Haven called Rainy Day. Frank became a builder and has served on the zoning board of appeals in Tisbury for the past 20 years. Carol Lashnits and her husband Kevin won another lot. Carol has been the director of Island Elderly Housing for many years. Thaw Malin, another lot winner, became a well-known and successful Vineyard artist. All of us were able to stay and make a life on this Island. And in most cases we were and still are giving back to this community — because we were given the gift of affordable housing. My husband and I know that there are many families on this Island, recipients of affordable housing programs in all of our towns, who have given back tenfold to the Vineyard. Our youngest daughter was also able to stay on the Vineyard because years ago she got affordable housing — a rental on Lake Street. Because of this, not only was she able to stay here, she was able to complete her undergraduate studies at UMass. She now works as a paralegal for Reynolds, Rappaport and Kaplan, and owns her own home — a house that was slated for demolition that she was able to purchase for $1. But that’s a whole other story. As I said, we live in Pilot Hill, and we happen to be one of two Pilot Hill families whose property abuts the proposed development on Lambert’s Cove Road. David and I have seen the map and we realize that we’ll probably see the access road, and in the winter we might even be able to see the four proposed houses. And as abutters, we know that our property values might be somewhat affected. But we also know that that’s temporary, and we’re not planning on going anywhere for a long time. A very long time. All that having been said, I’d just like the affordable housing committee to know that David and I are not NIMBYs (Not In My Backyard). We can’t be NIMBYs because we know too many viable, productive, wonderful people, some in our own family, who have been forced to leave the Vineyard or who can’t return to the Vineyard, simply because they can’t afford to live here. And in addition we know that this Island will continue to lose more and more families and individuals like those I mentioned above, unless we encourage and support affordable housing — wherever it is on Martha’s Vineyard. That’s why David and I unreservedly support this affordable housing project in “our backyard.” Patricia Carlet & David Ferraguzzi Tisbury A salute for affordable housing leadership To the Editor: I want to express my deepest thanks to Molly Flender, the outgoing chairman of the Chilmark housing committee. Since its founding in 2001, she has guided the committee and the town to increase affordable housing in Chilmark. This was not easy, since Chilmark’s property values are very high, and its way of dealing with the need for affordable housing was through personal connections. In the rapid loss of affordable housing, it was clear that the town itself would have to do something. During her time as chairman, Molly Flender shepherded changes in Chilmark’s zoning regulations to encourage landowners to carve off one-acre lots for resident homesites. She helped create the homesite program, which has received applications from 20 people and fully qualified 13, with more in the pipeline. No private resident homesites have been offered yet, but the current plan for Middle Line Road to create six ownership units on this town-owned land will help some of these people. Molly pressed town officials to make Middle Line Road a priority for the development of affordable housing. She was the point person in the passage of the Community Preservation Act (CPA) in Chilmark. The town oversight committee for the CPA has allocated 75 percent of the funds for affordable housing. Those funds, accumulating since 2002, will cover a good part of the plan for Middle Line Road and will relieve the town of the financial burden of developing it. The CPA funds have also subsidized affordable rentals. Working with the rental assistance program of the Dukes County Regional Housing Authority, Molly set up an ongoing program that has helped four grateful Chilmark households. The plan for Middle Line includes six more affordable rentals. For all this, I salute my friend and colleague Molly Flender. Chilmark has benefited greatly from her persistence, attention to detail, political skill and deep commitment to affordable housing. Zelda Gamson Member Chilmark Housing Committee Preserving the people To the Editor: Community preservation is not a new idea on the Vineyard. Nearly 20 years ago farsighted Islanders created the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank, which together with its partners among the non-profit conservation organizations have saved hundreds of acres of pristine open space. A parallel effort by the Martha’s Vineyard Preservation Trust has proven to be a national model for saving the island’s historic structures, everything from the Old Ag Hall to Alley’s Store to the Flying Horses. The Island has clearly been a leader in saving its land and its historic buildings. By doing so, ironically, the Island has made itself even more attractive to the monied outsiders who have bid up the value of Island real estate to the sky, so much so that it has created a new part of the community in need of protection. Those are the people who were born here, who work here, who grew up here and want to come back or stay and teach, police, build, nurse, feed, and transport the rest of us, but simply can’t afford to buy or even rent here any more. The Island needs to preserve them too, and it is for them that the Community Preservation Act is on the spring election ballot this year, in Edgartown, Oak Bluffs, Tisbury, and West Tisbury. Adoption of the CPA involves a modest property tax increase, carefully designed to impact minimally on the small and middle-income homeowner. And it brings with it the pledge of a dollar-for-dollar match from the state, sent to each town, every year, with no strings attached. Can the state be trusted to come through with its match? A good question. No one can tell the future, but since the CPA became law in the year 2000, some 60 or 70 towns have taken the chance, voted for the CPA and raised their taxes. Every single one of them has received a dollar-for-dollar match, every year – even during the toughest fiscal times, the state has seen since the Great Depression. Assuming the town voters adopt the act, and the state comes through with its share, what will happen to the money? The law allows each town, through a locally appointed CPA committee and through its own town meeting, to decide that question. It can be used for historic preservation, open space acquisition, or housing, but on the Vineyard it is clearly housing that will receive the lion’s share of the funding. And it should, because lack of affordable housing is clearly the largest looming threat to the sense of community that has made the Vineyard such a special place. Unless the problem is addressed, the Vineyard workforce will increasingly become made up of people who come from other places, who come across the Sound on boats every day. These are good people, but their homes and hearts are elsewhere. They will not fight Island fires, drive Island ambulances, serve on Island school boards, or shop at Island stores. The Vineyard has been a national leader in protecting and preserving its land and its buildings. It’s time now to act to protect the Vineyard’s people, the people who make this such a great community, and the Community Preservation Act is the way to do it. Rep. Eric T. Turkington Falmouth No reason to change the line To the Editor: I appeared before the selectman six weeks ago and testified that the Chappaquiddick Island Association [CIA] voted to oppose the change of the Chappy ferry waiting line from Simpson’s Lane to the Edgartown School. I was criticized at that time that the board did not speak for all of the membership. My reaction was to check our bylaws about this. I found that three years ago there was a motion made at our annual meeting to amend the by laws so that the CIA board could not take a position before government boards unless approved first by the majority membership. This motion failed 124-5. Since the meeting with the selectman I have received close to 200 e-mails and letters about the movement of the Chappy ferry waiting line off of Simpson’s Lane from the Chappaquiddick Island Association membership. We have about 340 families from Chappy that pay annual dues. This represents a return of about 60 percent, an excellent response. Almost all of them with the exception of two or three who are not sure, are strongly opposed to the move off of Simpson’s Lane. Why? Many think that it will take longer to get over to Chappy. Maybe as much as 15 minutes to 30 minutes longer. On some days it could turn out to be an hour to an hour and a half to get across to Chappy. It is not unusual now to wait an hour before reaching Chappy. They do not like the idea of sitting in the shadeless Edgartown School parking lot in the hot blazing summer sun with elders, the handicapped, small children, pregnant women, babies, perishable groceries, pets, etc. I personally know of five handicapped individuals living on Chappy in the summertime. They do not like the idea of leaving their engines on for air conditioning, contributing to pollution and costing them more for gasoline. They do not like the idea of coming home from physician visits and medical procedures and having to wait in a blazing hot parking lot. At least Simpson’s Lane is a shady. Simpson’s Lane is a nuisance, but nowhere near the kind of nuisance that the school parking lot will be. People tend to turn off their engines while waiting on Simpson’s Lane. Many are requesting that the school lot be used for truck staging. Others request that a separate line be set up on Simpson’s Lane for Chappy property homeowners with a sticker system giving Chappy residents priority. They do not like the idea of the town having to pay extra money to hire attendants/ police at the school. They recommend that a separate line be set up somewhere for construction vehicles and vans and trucks. They deeply resent the fact that several property and business owners have a say over the 420 Chappy homeowners and their families who pay about 20 percent of Edgartown’s taxes. Collectively Chappy properties are worth more than $1 billion. Simpson’s Lane property owners are assessed at several million dollars They resent the fact that the selectman are having hearings about this when they are not here, deep into the winter and early spring. Several have asked about due process. I will quote an attorney who owns property on Chappy who would like “…to register my recommendation that any proposal having a substantial impact on summer residents, property owners, and taxpayers, such as the proposal to move the Chappy ferry line (a proposal addressed almost entirely to summer concerns), be raised at this time and in a manner that will afford those impacted with a right to be heard and some minimal due process. Voting on such a proposal in the winter, without adequate notice to the summer property owners and taxpayers about whom the proposal is largely addressed (I heard only through word of mouth) does not afford such due process.” It also affects those of us that live here year-round but especially so in the summer time. By staging the line at the school you may be placing the town at increased risk for liability since the school lot is not a public way. This past week the town or the Innkeepers had Simpson’s Lane surveyed by civil engineers to check on encroachments by abutters onto town land (Simpson’s Lane). I have not heard the outcome of that study. I have checked on who owns these properties on Simpson’s Lane that are complaining to the selectman. These folks operate inns and condos. Here is the tail wagging the dog. They have not proven financial hardship because of the line. They just say that it is an inconvenience. Why should several business people have a say over hundreds of homeowner/taxpayers and their families on Chappy? For the many years that I have been going back and forth to Chappy, I have heard of no compelling reason to change the line. Let’s leave it right where it is. The one thing that you might want to consider is staging construction vehicles and other trucks somewhere else. Terry Forde CIA President Chappaquiddick How about us? To the Editor: An outraged Chappy resident writes of the proposed ferry line move: “Since a move will make it much more difficult for people to get to Chappy, our property values (and the tax base) will be negatively affected as more potential buyers will be turned off by the serious nuisance factor associated with traveling to Chappy.” Wow, can we get some of that over here in crowded, accessible, highly assessed Tisbury? Christopher Gray Vineyard Haven The Fifth Avenue housing model To the Editor: This is a copy of a letter sent to the Chilmark selectmen: The youth lot program was a long and successful program. It gave many people a stake, from which to build a life. The success rate has been unbelievable. Unfortunately, rising real estate values forced the town to reconsider. The dispensation of the Peaked HIll youth lots was the catalyst for this reconsideration. The town had voted to acquire this property, while the youth lot program still was effective, with youth lots as a stated purpose. However, when the two Peaked Hill lots were assigned, the town went to great lengths to attempt to ensure that these two lots would, at some time in the future, return to town control. As I understand what happened, the assignees paid a nominal amount for the land and then were allowed to build a home. And, if they chose, to pass it to their children, thereby removing those lots not only from town control but from any real considerations of affordable housing. Now to Middle Line. This is town property. Let me repeat, this is town property. The town of Chilmark is unable to cure the economic ills of the country. Should I repeat this too? The town’s responsibility and its goal is to provide the most affordable housing to the largest number of people, to allow them to live here. It is not to provide affordable housing and land to people who would not otherwise be able to afford to own here. If someone can find me the details of the Park Avenue affordable ownership program, then I will change my mind. Palm Beach is an acceptable substitute. Home ownership is universally desirable. And the old program not only recognized this but made it possible. However, with limited and extremely valuable public assets, the town cannot favor the interests of a few over many. The reality is that the only way to ensure that affordable housing is available with this property into the future is to build rental units, make a deal with the housing authority, and keep moving. Any homesite compromises to appease a few people who want the town to assure permanence and a slice of the American dream in their lives removes this asset from town control and does nothing to further the long term cause of affordable housing in Chilmark. In the noise of public debate, the truth here is that the town of Chilmark should maintain control. Homesites dilute the control in spite of all assurances to the contrary. Alex Preston Chilmark Alex Preston is a former Chilmark selectman. Birds first To the Editor: The Cape Wind proposal to put windmills in Nantucket Sound is one of the most important issues facing our area in a long time. Real experts and those of the self-appointed kind have eloquently mulled over the pros and cons of this mammoth energy project. There have been many good cases made for the construction of these windmills. There have also been good arguments made against said structures as well. There’s no need to track down my credentials as it pertains to expert status. I do not claim to have any, other than that of a concerned commoner of the Vineyard. Along with the accredited experts, we should hear from the regular folks, like me, that will have to live with the consequences of the experts’ collective decision. There has already been plenty of smoke generated by the competing factions amidst this controversial matter. That being the case, I would like to explore an important component which has not received the kind of attention it deserves. That component is my objection to the windmills because of the dire effects these windmills will have on our sea birds. I almost bought the Cape Wind project hook, line, and sinker, for no other reason than to forsake the selfish motivations of the Beautiful People. (You know who you are). Yet at some point my emotional response had to give way to reason. If I happen to become an unlikely ally with the environmental whackos and the oceanfront elitists in my opposition to the windmills, so be it. As a fledgling member of Ducks Unlimited, I feel obligated to publicly come out against this industrial development in such a sensitive environmental area. I have not spoken with any key members of D.U., nor have I seen anything in their superb magazine regarding their support or opposition to this project. My instincts lead me to believe that D.U. is in quiet opposition to a permanent open season on all sea birds via Cape Wind. Unlike the members of D.U., the windmills will not go home after they reach their limit. Duck’s Unlimited’s policy is to identify prime, essential habitat to promote the necessary wetlands for waterfowl to thrive. They try to remain a non-partisan organization that has a job to do regardless of who is in Washington. This air of neutrality has served the organization well over the years. Like it or not, politics matter, and a concerned organization should not stand idly by while events unfold which threaten the intentions of its mission statement. There is no wisdom in collecting money to buy waterfowl habitat, promote its future, only to see the fruits of these efforts (the ducks), lost in a vast collection of man-made avian death-traps. On the other hand, I recognize that Americans face some tough choices concerning the direction and composition of a 21st century energy policy. It is during these times of crisis, that bad ideas are entertained as quick fixes to long-term problems. Horseshoe Shoals is an area that is critical to the migration of countless seabirds and ducks that called this area home long before we set out to tame it. Energy has to come from somewhere. There will always be some unfortunate aspects to generating power regardless of its type. But condemning thousands of birds to slaughter only to see them wash up on our pristine beaches will only remind us of the folly of man. Windmills in Nantucket Sound will be the marine equivalent to bird life as strip mining was to Appalachian trout fishing. I’m not talking about snail darters, imperial moths, kangaroo rats, or crows for that matter. I’m talking about the ospreys, scaup, black ducks, and numerous other endangered birds which will continue to face long odds in a post-modern world. Horseshoe Shoals is a vital sanctuary for these birds. They are common to this area and most of us take them for granted as merely props for our backdrop. Yet on the world stage, they are quite unique and deserving of some added protection where it counts most. We can never know for certain the future impact this kind of energy project will have on our fragile environment. Some of our best indications should come from similar efforts that have already gone from drawing board to implementation. Windmills in California led critics to attach the title “condor Cuisanarts” to them after witnessing thousands of kills in a matter of a couple weeks. Fog, clouds, haze, etc., happen on a regular basis there and here, making bird collisions a certainty. Off the east coast of Canada, a windmill farm has caused the cessation of traditional migration routes. My prediction about what the windmills will do to the birds is not news to many people. What is surprising to me is that so many think that wiping out our seabirds is an acceptable consequence in an effort to generate power. The cause of generating energy by way of windmills is noble, but the sacrifice of so many birds is too high a price to pay. You can be sure that Teddy Roosevelt and Aldo Leopold are looking down on us hoping we deep six the windmills. Lincoln Hugo Edgartown Loud and clear To the Editor: About a letter to the editor headlined “IEH board faulted” in the March 3 edition of The Times, I want to speak to the problem that is discussed regarding the Island Elderly Housing manager, for I have firsthand experience with being subjected to similar treatment. Some managers have no business being managers in the first place. They do not fill the bill, so to speak. Many of us have seen it throughout our experiences both publicly and privately. I suffered a similar fate as those qualified employees who, through no fault of their own, left IEH. They found themselves in an intolerable situation. When I saw the ad in the paper a few weeks back, looking to fill maintenance positions at IEH, I applied. I knew it was a volatile situation from reading letters to the editor and an article about IEH in your newspaper. Turns out I did not get offered one of the positions. Just as well. In a job interview at Ms. Lashnits’s office, I mentioned a person whom I had worked with before as a reference. She said he had worked for them at one time. I happened to run into this gentleman at Up-Island Cronig’s. He is an established asset to an up-Island town’s municipality, a quality individual. When I asked about IEH and a possible maintenance position there, he let out a voluminous laugh. He had a few choice words I cannot repeat, but let suffice to say that my suspicions regarding a management problem there were confirmed. Is this problem a bureaucratic enigma, one that will not be addressed anytime soon despite all the cries of foul? It doesn’t surprise me though. Often in bureaucracies there are people who find themselves a niche to hide in, and then isolate themselves from scrutiny. It takes an act of Congress to get them eradicated. I worked at a communications company on-Island here until recently and during my three-year, eight-month employment, I saw 14 people come and go. Some left of their own accord, others left as did I, because the manager was insufferable. In cases like these it is often not one incident or event that is cause for concern, but an accumulation of events over a period of time that builds up to disfranchisement. Hopefully, the board that oversees this IEH complex will take into consideration the outcries of its residents and public at large. There is definitely a mosaic picture being formulated here, an overview that shows an ugly picture at IEH. Marilyn J. Fredrick, your voice should be heard loud and clear. Michael F. Kemly Edgartown Wrapped in the bosom of town meeting To the Editor: This week I attended my first Tisbury town meeting, and I must say it was quite an experience. I’ve always kept my opinions to myself, but after six years of living full-time on the Island, I believe that I too have finally earned the right to be petty and unreasonable. The first half hour was spent debating whether or not to allow the town to park vehicles on the plot of land belonging to the Manter Trust. The question was whether or not it was legal under the details of the will written in 1908. Are we just now getting around to this question? Even for the Vineyard, 100 years is a startling example of procrastination. Maybe the whole Boch Park thing will get resolved before the next ice age, or at least before the end of the Mayan calendar. I believe that is an obtainable goal. And what is the big objection to the issue of parking? Do I have to bring up the fire engine? It is like there is an underground movement trying to bring back the horse, or a group of activists who are still angry about the town paving the Edgartown/ Vineyard Haven Road. I expect these issues to remain unresolved for some time to come, like the giving back of Indian lands or who will get Howard Hughes’s fortune. Then there was the issue of relaxing the leash laws in order to create a dog park. Relaxing the leash law? What leash law? If the leash law were any more relaxed, the dogs would be riding around on mopeds. The leash law is enforced about as much as the 1886 law allowing goats in church. The idea of a dog park is great, but I suspect that by next year we will be banned from parking anywhere near it. Now if we are going to enact a new law we should make it an important one, such as prohibiting the showing of photos of grandchildren while in line at Cronig’s. Next we were taken through a long list of vital issues such as whether or not to replace the town hall windows and if we all thought it would be fun to call ourselves an “energy aware Island.” Is it any wonder why everything here takes forever to get accomplished? Why must we be asked for our permission on every little issue? I half expected for a debate to be opened on the new pistachio fudge flavor at Mad Martha’s. Sometimes I do believe ignorance is bliss and that occasionally we know too much. It is like the Abu Graib prison scandal in Iraq. Did we really need to see hundreds upon hundreds of explicit photos to understand? I mean if I wanted to see hundreds of angry, naked people who hated me for invading their land, I could sneak on to Lucy Vincent in July. However, I do want to point out how impressed I was with Deborah Medders for the way in which she conducted the meeting. She obviously knew her job well and did her best to keep order and civility. She was like the nurse in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” who did her best to get the patients to behave. She deserves our praise and gratitude. In closing let me just say how much “a part of it” I felt at the end of my first town meeting. (Actually I left after 30 minutes so I could catch American Idol, but it is a start.) It has given me the courage to complain with confidence. Although adjusting has taken a while, I really have grown to feel like a true Islander and not that unwanted summer guest that you don’t have the heart to ask to leave. I have realized in these past six years that, yes, it is a strange little island, but it is home. Mark Martin Tisbury Not Maui To the Editor: Thanks for the photo of Grace Church on Palm Sunday. This was quite different from Palm Sunday at my last parish on Maui where we did not have to order palms. Pastor Al Stefanik Grace Edpiscopal Church Tisbury Response and correction To the Editor: This is a letter to Marc Hanover, the Vineyard member of the Steamship Authority and the authority chairman: As a follow-up to the letter I sent you in February concerning the Steamship Authority reservation policy for vehicles 18 to 20 feet (ref. Letters to the Editor, Martha’s Vineyard Times, March 3, Vineyard Gazette, March 4), I received a letter today from Wayne Lamson, SSA general manager, acknowledging that an error had been made in their allocation of vehicle space and that they have corrected the problem. Many thanks for your help, Mr. Hanover, and to you, Mr. Lamson and the Steamship Authority, for correcting the problem. Les Phillips Oak Bluffs Oppose Chappy ferry line shift To the Editor: We are writing you to voice our opposition to the proposed move of the Chappy ferry line. We own a house on Chappy. With Norton’s Point closed in the summer, the ferry is the only access to Chappy. The proposed move will make the wait longer, which is unfair to the 420 homeowners on Chappy. If the ferry line were moved out of downtown Edgartown, there would be an increase in traffic in downtown Edgartown. Currently, Chappy residents can park their cars on the Chappy side and ride over as passengers or bicyclists to come into Edgartown. Several options are solutions to the current ferry line congestion: open Norton Point year-round, have the ferry service start earlier and set up a staging area for trucks. The use of Simpson’s Lane works for the majority. Don’t change it on the account of a few. It makes sense to try these options and evaluate them in September. Rick and Beth Biros Chappaquiddick Finally, to be heard To the Editor: This letter was sent to the Oak Bluffs selectmen and the Oak Bluffs Council on Aging: Thank you very much for all that you are doing for us at Woodside Village. It is nice to be heard. Roger Wey told us that he has been in touch with HUD, and we are excited about this. For the past several months we have felt dismissed by the Island Elderly Housing administration, Carol Lashnits and Dorothy Young, the Island Elderly Housing directors, Ann Wallace, Fredrick Presby, John Early, Mark Hutker, Linda Leonard, Mathew Stackpole, Robert Edmunds, Edith Brown and both local newspapers. We are grateful how quickly the Oak Bluffs Council on Aging responded and sent Susan Von Steiger over to meet with residents who wanted to talk about issues at Woodside Village. Susan listened to us and truly understood our fears and concerns with IEH. We told Susan that Dorothy Young had a meeting with each building where she told everyone that Carol Lashnits is no longer involved in the day-to-day operations. She said she would only be involved with development, support services and the maintenance department. Where is the no involvement in the day-to-day? Dorothy Young also said she will be meeting with a management committee made up of “floating” board members and Carol Lashnits. What has changed? At this open meeting with Dorothy Young this question was asked, no clear answer was given. She did not even tell us that Ann Wallace had resigned from her role as president. We asked if we could have a say in who is chosen for the board and why are board meetings not open to residents. Perhaps a representative from one of the senior centers would be a good place to start. Other questions about staff turnover were asked: no clear answer. We expressed how we still want Jay Foley and Kevin Oliver to return. We trust Jay and Kevin, and we feel safe with them. We were told they left for personal reasons, but we know better. The new slogan at Woodside Village is: “We are senior citizens, not second class citizens!” Russell Marsden Marilyn Fredrick Woodside Village I Idealism dashed To the Editor: I have been living on-Island for a year and a half now and have pretty much bought in to the idealism that this Island offers, that one can leave one’s cars, houses, etc. open and no harm comes from it. That was until last week. My kid sister has been here roughly a month and has been working hard to support herself from day one. Last week (though it was careless), she left her purse in the car and left the car unlocked. In her bag was a week’s wage in a bank envelope. Quite a sum, which would have been April’s rent. She was parked in West Tisbury working part of the afternoon and then at our house in Edgartown proper later in the day. I just wanted to say, Mr. Editor, that I hope whoever took that money never complains that there isn’t enough work and the wages are too low. Probably they don’t even work for a living. Must be easier to prey on those who do the work. Working really is too hard, education and training really are overrated. Maybe I should rethink how I obtain my money. (No offense boss.) Tamar Russell Edgartown Proud of the courts To the Editor: I have been off-Island for some years, and plan to resettle in the near future. I served on various town boards In Oak Bluffs and Tisbury — some appointed, others elected. Chairman of the Tisbury board of appeals was the most dear to my heart. Florence, Italy is another home to me, however at nearly 80 years old, it’s time to return to the Island. I hope in some way, this short letter will find a path to the letters to the editor. In the recent Schiavo case, never has American judiciary, especially the United States Supreme Court, shown so brightly. If our founding fathers were alive this day how proud these progenitors of our Constitution would be that it is alive and well. Their philosophy yet remains that our country is a nation of laws as opposed to the whims and desires of a capricious theocratic government. History, for example, has more than proved the pain and suffering of theocratic dogma. The inquisition in which the Roman Catholic Church instituted burning alive women and children must remain in mind as much as the Jewish holocaust. Humanity has traversed too far to be subjugated by any dogma that cannot stand the light of day. George R. Silva Falmouth and Florence, Italy North Bluff property owner defends garage construction To the Editor: I have been advised by my attorney for a long time to make no comment to reporters regarding my building on Seaview Avenue, but Belleruth Naparstek’s libelous accusation in her article published by the Vineyard Gazette on March 18 deserves a response. I got my building permit lawfully. When the town changed its mind about my permit, it admitted that my application was the first of its kind under the town’s new zoning bylaws, and the law hadn’t been applied before. It’s for the courts to decide if the building inspector made a mistake. Whatever the case, it was not an error that I made. Mrs. Naparstek accuses unnamed persons of engaging in “bullying behavior of innocent citizens.” In the past, she has accused me of spoiling a perfect, spotless neighborhood, of deterring visitors to Oak Bluffs, of being a shady miscreant, and undermining the democratic values of our town. She suggests her crusade results from a deathbed wish her husband made, as he won’t rest in peace until the wrecking ball destroys my property. I am sorry for Mrs. Naparstek’s loss, as I am sorry for anyone who loses a loved one. I too have had deaths in my family that have caused me distress. Mrs. Naparstek appeals to concerned citizens to save the Island from destruction and scoundrels like me. She requests contributions for legal expenses. Mrs. Naparstek is a published author, a woman of words. I am a simple man; and believe it or not, I am an honest man as well. The Copeland District was extended to my property after my permit was issued and my building was legally built. Two of the members of the Copeland review board, who were appointed after my building went up, have houses in the neighborhood that are very sizeable; one owns the tallest house on the North Bluff. She admits that she does not know what the town’s bylaw means when it requires new buildings to have Victorian architecture. I could go on with what I see as unjust and undemocratic. It is very difficult to remain silent while being slandered and criticized. I doubt that the newspapers will print this, as I have been tried and convicted by them months ago. I wish that everyone would make judgments that are based on truth and fact; and not on newspaper editorials. Joseph G. Moujabber Oak Bluffs Charter School trustees see it differently To the Editor: We, the board of trustees of the Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School (MVPCS), congratulate the Up-Island School Committee for its many achievements this year, as set forth in their March 24 OpEd report to up-Island residents. Two points need clarification. First, the Up-Island school committee suggests that state education funds go to the Up-Island school district and are distributed to each up-Island school from that point. They write, “Money that flows now to the Up-Island school district supports students at the West Tisbury School (323 in K-8), the Chilmark School (54 in K-5) and the MV Public Charter School (47 from up-Island in K-8), as well as a few who are scattered among the down-Island schools under the Island’s school choice policy.” Actually, that is not the way the money moves. When a family decides to send their child to the MVPCS, the money for educating that child comes directly to the MVPCS from the state. The money follows the child. Funds do not go through the Up-Island school district to the MVPCS. The MVPCS, like all charter schools in Massachusetts, is an independent district governed by a board of trustees, which reports directly to the board of education for the Commonwealth. Second, the Up-Island school committee implies that it supports and facilitates school choice and welcomes input from the public. They write, “Providing this range of options in order to best meet the educational needs of these 400-plus children is not inexpensive. We wrestle with the need to balance best educational practices against fiscal realities every time we deliberate, and welcome your participation.” This year the Up-Island school committee and former superintendent, Kriner Cash, lobbied state legislators to reduce school choice, without approval from up-Island voters or consultation with MVPCS. This legislation reduced the percentage of students from Aquinnah, Chilmark, and West Tisbury who can choose the MVPCS from 12 percent to nine percent. Shortly after we opened in 1996, the state legislature created a cap to the amount of funds charter schools could receive. The legislature set the cap at six percent in 1997 and raised it to nine percent in 1999. In the Up-Island school district (and two other districts in the state) the cap was set at 12 percent because the legislature did not want us to be put in the position of asking families to leave. The MVPCS has consistently reached the 12 percent cap from the Up-Island school district. In fact, our wait-list indicates that the charter school could enroll far more students than the cap presently allows. A majority of the 123 students on the MVPCS wait-list are from the Up-Island district. Much to the disappointment of these Up-Island families we have been forced to pass over their children on our wait-list because we have reached the limit of Up-Island students we are able to admit. By reducing our Up-Island cap to nine percent, the Up-Island school committee has actually decreased public school options. It is our hope that in the future the Up-Island school district and the Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School can work together in solving budget problems and provide the best educational opportunities for the children. We believe that the Vineyard schools are among the finest you will find in the nation. Families should have the opportunity to choose the public school that best fits their child’s educational needs. Sam Berlow (Tisbury), Nelia Decker (West Tisbury), Selena Roman (Oak Bluffs), Jim Newman (Aquinnah), Bruce MacNelly (West Tisbury), Marie Larsen (Edgartown), Amanda Hutchinson (Aquinnah), Harold Hill (Oak Bluffs), Dan Cabot (West Tisbury) Trustees of the Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School |
|||
| Send this page to a friend: | |||
|
©The
Martha's Vineyard Times 2004 - www.mvtimes.com
|
|||
