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News
in Brief
April
28, 2005
Oak Bluffs building
inspector will retire
Reliable
sources confirmed this week that Richard Mavro, the Oak Bluffs building
inspector who has been on medical leave for more than a month, plans
to make his absence permanent.
Sources said that under an agreement with the selectmen, which has
not yet been finalized, Mr. Mavro will pursue a medical retirement
from his position, which he has held since April 1989.
Kelly McCracken, Dukes County Contributory Retirement System administrator,
said that there are two types of medical retirement – accidental
and ordinary. Under an accidental retirement, which usually involves
a permanent disabling injury on the job, the employee receives a
pension at 72 percent of his annual salary, completely tax-free.
Under an ordinary medical retirement, which typically involves a
developed disability or permanent injury, the employee would receive
50 percent of his salary, but does not qualify for tax exemption.
Mr. Mavro’s salary in fiscal year 2005, which ends June 31,
was $48,691.
Ms. McCracken said that medical retirement involves a complicated
process, including a medical review board ruling to determine whether
the employee qualifies for medical retirement.
Oak Bluffs officials did not say which form of medical retirement
Mr. Mavro would seek. However, if he is unable to retire under the
strict guidelines, sources said that under the agreement with the
selectmen, he will resign from his position. Whether he is successful
with his retirement plans, or he resigns from the position, sources
said that the town has agreed to pay Mr. Mavro $25,000 upon his
departure.
No officials would speak on the record this week about the selectmen’s
agreement with Mr. Mavro. Sources said that the agreement includes
a confidentiality clause.
Mr. Mavro could not be reached for comment.
Mr. Mavro has been the focus of controversy over several construction
projects, including a three-story garage that an Oak Bluffs businessman
built to replace a single-car garage on Seaview Avenue Extension.
Mr. Mavro had issued the building permit for the new structure,
but revoked it six months later, based on advice from town counsel.
Mr. Mavro has since issued a demolition order for the building.
The matter is currently tied up in the appeals process.
More recently, Mr. Mavro came under fire for a building on Circuit
Avenue that was demolished illegally. Mr. Mavro told the selectmen
that the owner of that property tore the building down without his
knowledge and without any permits, but some town officials criticized
Mr. Mavro for failing to take action when he saw that work was being
done to the building prior to its demolition.
MVC releases results of 2004 traffic surveys
The Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC) yesterday released the
results of extensive traffic surveys conducted last year across
the Island. The results are based on counts conducted at 39 different
locations. At each location, traffic volume was collected for a
week, and volume was reported as the weekly average of the daily
traffic.
According to a MVC press release, the following are some highlights
of the results:
Beach Road near Five Corners had the highest traffic volume, with
an average of 22,265 vehicles per day during July. Other locations
with volume greater than 20,000 vehicles per day were Upper Main
Street, Edgartown, near Donaroma’s, and State Road, Tisbury,
below the Edgartown Road.
Although the peak hours varied for different locations, most had
a morning weekday peak from 11 am to noon and an afternoon peak
between 4 and 5 pm. On Saturday, the peak was from 11 am to noon.
Most roads in Oak Bluffs had their morning peak hour from 10 to
11 am. Vineyard traffic stays consistently at a pretty high level
between 11 am and 5 pm; this is different from most off-Island locations
where traffic during the morning and evening rush hours is much
greater than the rest of the day.
In down-Island towns, the Saturday daily traffic was generally higher
than weekday traffic whereas, up-Island, the reverse was true. Traffic
was lightest on Sunday.
The total summer traffic volume has increased about a third since
1990, for an average annual increase of about two percent, although
the change varied considerably from one road to the next. For example,
on Beach Road near the Lagoon Pond drawbridge, the increase was
only 0.3 percent per year, presumably because there was limited
capacity to handle any more traffic. On Edgartown–West Tisbury
Road east of Mashacket Road, the increase was greater than four
percent per year (23 percent since 1993).
Traffic in July and August is about three times greater than the
quietest month, February. The highest traffic levels at the two
permanent stations were recorded during the second week of August.
Three teens injured in car crash
Three teens were injured in a car crash at 2:10 a.m. Sunday morning
on Chase Road near West Tisbury Road in Edgartown.
The 17-year-old driver, Tara Reynolds of Edgartown, and two female,
juvenile passengers were traveling in a 1991 Volvo sedan, which
struck a tree. One girl went to the hospital before police officers
arrived. Ms. Reynolds and other passenger were transported from
the accident site. All three were treated and released.
After investigation, Ms. Reynolds was cited for operating without
a license, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, speeding, and
a minor transporting alcohol.
Although charged with operating without a license, Ms. Reynolds
holds a junior operator license. She is required to have a parent
or guardian in the car if she is driving between 12 am and 5 am.
Since the accident occurred at 2:10 a.m., she was deemed to be operating
a motor vehicle without being duly licensed. If a junior operator
is driving without a parent or guardian in the car during those
hours, it is a criminal offense punishable by a fine of not less
than $100 or more than $200.
Networking to help promote Island businesses
The Martha’s Vineyard Commission, in coordination with the
Southeastern Massachusetts Agricultural Partnership (SEMAP), will
hold a Business-to-Business Networking event on Wednesday, May 4,
from 3 to 5 pm at the Harbor View Hotel in Edgartown to promote
Island agricultural and aqua-cultural products.
The meeting is designed to bring together local restaurants, chefs,
caterers, retailers, and other purchasing agents with Island farmers
and shellfish and finfish dealers.
It will also provide an opportunity for participants to learn more
about the many quality crops and specialty food products produced
on Martha’s Vineyard. Sponsors hope that discussion between
growers and buyers will begin to identify the challenges of promoting
and providing locally grown products.
Registration is free to all businesses. To register, contact Christine
Flynn, Economic Development Planner, at the Martha’s Vineyard
Commission (508-693-3453) by Monday, May 2.
Bright light in the sky
Sunday evening, after a weekend with considerable overcast, skies
cleared here, so that Islanders could enjoy “a very bright
fireball” in the south or southeast sky over southern New England,
according to Kelly Beatty, the executive editor of Sky and Telescope
magazine.
Susan Schofield of the Dukes County Communications Center said that
eight Islanders called the center Sunday evening, most of them from
Oak Bluffs and Edgartown, and all reporting similarly that they
had seen a bright, streaking light racing across the sky.
The Associated Press, reporting on calls to emergency centers in
the Northeast from excited observers, speculated that “The
bright lights apparently came from the Lyrid meteor shower, which
was scheduled to be visible to the naked eye between April 20 and
April 25.” The AP attributed this judgment to Peter Judge,
spokesman for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency.
“We’re getting various descriptions of lights in the sky,”
Mr. Judge said. “Everything from green lights to planes going
down.”
David Stanwood, who lives off the Lambert’s Cove Road in West
Tisbury, observed the display, and on Tuesday afternoon he was still
astonished and delighted by the celestial event.
But this fireball probably wasn’t a part of the Lyrid meteor
shower, according to editor Beatty.
“The Lyrids,” he told The Times in an email reply to our
question, “get their name from the constellation Lyra, the
direction in the sky from which their trails all appear to radiate
as they fly through the atmosphere. But Lyra wasn’t above the
horizon yet [at about 7:45 pm Sunday]. Also, the Lyrids peaked on
the night of April 22, not the 24th. And finally, the Lyrids don’t
have a reputation for bright fireballs.”
What was it?
“All this tells me that Sunday evening’s fireball was
just a random piece of space debris, maybe the size of a golf ball,
streaking through Earth’s atmosphere at a shallow angle,”
Mr. Beatty explained. “Although at least one witness reports
seeing the meteor break apart in mid-flight, there’s no evidence
that any pieces reached the ground.”
Women¹s Health Network of VNA gets $25,000 grant
The Women’s Health Network, a program of the Vineyard Nursing
Association, has received a $25,000 one-year grant from the Massachusetts
Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc. This
is the second year that the Women’s Health Network has been
recognized and supported by one of the funding sources for the education
and elimination of breast cancer.
The Women’s Health Network, initially known as the Breast and
Cervical Cancer Initiative, is now celebrating ten years of service
to Island women. Since 1994, the Vineyard Nursing Association has
collaborated with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health
to establish the Women’s Health Network on Martha’s Vineyard
and Nantucket. Along with local clinical providers, the WHN has
provided mammograms, clinical breast exams, and Pap tests for thousands
of uninsured and under-insured women. These services are available
to women aged 40 to 64 who meet the income guidelines and who are
uninsured or have insurance that does not cover these services.
Women under the age of 40 who meet the income and insurance guidelines
are eligible if referred by a clinician when an abnormal clinical
result is found or if they or a close family member have a personal
history of breast and/or ovarian cancer.
Once enrolled in the Women’s Health Network, women are scheduled
for a mammogram, clinical breast exam, and Pap test. Women with
abnormal clinical findings are referred for diagnostic services,
which are paid for by the Women’s Health Network. Anyone diagnosed
with breast or cervical cancer, who has received services through
the Women’s Health Network, receives follow-up care by applying
for Mass Health Insurance through the Massachusetts Breast and Cervical
Cancer Treatment Program.
The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation is dedicated to fighting
breast cancer through education, research, screening, and treatment
programs. Founded in 1982, the organization is named in the memory
of the sister of Nancy Brinker, Susan, who died of breast cancer
in 1980 at age 36.
There is a tremendous need to reach women with information on breast
cancer, breast cancer early detection, and the resources available
to them,” Barbara Welch, director of development and communication
for VNA, wrote in a press statement announcing the award.
Although partially funded by the Massachusetts Department of Public
Health and the Centers for Disease Control, Ms. Welch explained
that the Vineyard Nursing Association raises more than 65 percent
of the money necessary to run the Women’s Health Network. For
more information about this program, contact the Women’s Health
Network at 508-693-6184 or e-mail WHN@vineyardnursing.org.
Corrections
Beth
Kramer insists that, although Biga Bakery does in fact turn out a
great array of breads and pastries as described in an April 7 Times
Calendar story on the café and bakery, she does not do all the work
single-handedly. ³ I have great baking help from Doreen Grant and
Kristen Fauteux,² says Beth. |
