News Briefs
Aquinnah tries again for quorum
Having failed once to close the books on fiscal 2009, Aquinnah tried again last night to achieve the quorum needed to convene a special town meeting (an update is available at mvtimes.com).
Prior to last night's meeting Aquinnah town clerk Carolyn Feltz appealed to voters to turn out. "Please make every effort to attend so that we can close FY09 and begin FY10 with our books in order," she said in an email message. "Your attendance would be greatly appreciated by all of us, employees, board and committee volunteer members, and those who generally attend and want to get business done rather than go home and have to come back another day."
The fiscal year closes on June 30.
Last night was Aquinnah's second attempt to hold a special town meeting. Despite previous appeals from Aquinnah town officials, too few voters attended on May 19 to form a quorum. The town needed 39 voters, but only 22 appeared.
Courthouse roof repairs underway
Work began this week on replacement of the Dukes County courthouse roof. Associate Roofing won the contract at $175,000, after a public bidding process, according to county manager Russell Smith. Michael Lynch, a seasonal resident of Chilmark, owns Associate Roofing, which is based in Braintree. The county manager credits state Sen. Robert O'Leary for earmarking money from the state budget for the roof repairs. He said additional funds came from the state's Division of Capital Asset Management.
The leaking roof has been a source of constant complaint from court personnel, dating back more than a decade. Leaking water has damaged ceilings, walls, and light fixtures over the years, and created dangerous working conditions, according to people who do business in the building. The roof is only about 15 years old. It began to fail shortly after it was installed. But county officials say the original warranty is void, because the county did not complete the bi-annual inspection of the roof required by the warranty. The historic courthouse was built in 1859, with large additions added in 1955.
Dukes County leases the building from the state, but according to a report issued by the Dukes County Charter Study Commission, there is no regular maintenance and repair schedule. The report said the county is responsible for maintenance, but is often at odds with the state over funding and has little control over the budget for upkeep of the courthouse.
Edgartown Dairy Queen bandit confesses to crime
The Edgartown Dairy Queen break-in was solved May 28. Zachary L. Gould, 25, a seasonal Oak Bluffs resident, went to the Edgartown Police station that morning, accompanied by his father and attorney Charles Morano. He admitted that he is the man a surveillance camera captured breaking into the popular ice cream shop early Saturday morning, May 23, Edgartown Officer Chris Dolby told The Times last week.
The Times posted the video on its website May 28, and published photos in the newspaper's print edition. Mr. Gould went to the Oak Bluffs Library Thursday morning and read the newspaper online.
"He called this morning after seeing your website," said officer Dolby on Thursday morning. "He said he was so intoxicated at the time that he didn't recall really even doing it, but once he saw the website this morning, he had fast recollection. He called an attorney, and turned himself in today at the station."
Mr. Gould is scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow, June 5, in Edgartown District Court on charges of breaking and entering and malicious destruction of property.
Mr. Morano did not respond to a message left on his office telephone Tuesday seeking comment.
Mr. Gould received his undergraduate degree in public policy and law from Trinity College. He is currently enrolled in law school. He is a former intern to Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut. Police thanked The Times for publishing the photos and video.
"It's good when it works out like this," Officer Dolby said. "There's no mystery, and it's all wrapped up. More people need to put video surveillance in their stores, as far as I'm concerned."
Swine flu turns up on Nantucket
Wednesday, the Department of Public Health (DPH) confirmed 61 additional H1N1 influenza (swine flu) cases in Massachusetts, including the first case on Nantucket.
The number of confirmed cases is now 734, according to a DPH press release. Six of the newly confirmed cases were hospitalized. The total cumulative number of hospitalizations is now 40, DPH reported.
Middlesex County has reported the largest number of cases, 256, as of June 2, followed by Suffolk County 245, and Norfolk County 77. Barnstable County has reported seven cases.
The hardest hit age group has been children. More than 327 cases were reported in children between the ages of six and 15 years of age.
Photo by Susan Safford
Oil spill response gets some practice
Members of the Tisbury Harbor department last week practiced how they would respond in order to contain an oil spill in Vineyard Haven Harbor. One goal of the drill was to practice using a specialized boom to close off Lagoon Pond, prime habitat for shellfish.
Richard Packard of the state Department of Environmental Protection's oil spill prevention and response program, and Elise Decola, a private contractor with Nuka Research of Plymouth, an environmental consulting firm that specializes in oil spill disasters, joined the Thursday morning drill.
The practice session provided local responders with an opportunity to roll out an oil spill emergency response trailer that DEP provided at no cost to the town for use in mitigating the impacts of a marine oil spill.
The 8- by 20-foot trailer contains thousands of feet of boom materials, floats and anchors, absorbent pads, storm drain plugs, life vests, and personal protection equipment.
Photo by Ralph Stewart
Lily Lubin buzzes back from National Spelling Bee
Lily Lubin, Martha's Vineyard's reigning spelling bee champion, held on through round three at the 2009 National Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. The bee took place at the Grand Hyatt Washington hotel.
In a phone call this week, Lily said she was nervous starting the preliminaries and misspelled her first word, "neurotic." That made her even more anxious on round three, and the word "galanterie" knocked her out of the running.
However, Lily learned she tied for 42nd place among the bee's 293 spellers. "I celebrated no studying with dinner and a movie, then went to bed happy to be there," she reported in her journal entry for May 27, which she emailed to The Times.
Lily, a seventh grader at Martha's Vineyard Public Charter School, represented the Island at the national bee as the winner of the 18th Annual Martha's Vineyard Schools Spelling Bee held at the regional high school on March 19.
As one of her prizes, the Martha's Vineyard Times, which sponsors the event, provided an expenses paid trip for her and her guardians, Amy and Doug Reece of Oak Bluffs, to attend the national spelling bee. The Times also underwrites the costs associated with the spelling bees in the Island elementary schools.
The national "Bee Week" began on May 24, culminating in the spelling bee on May 26-28. This year's competition included the highest number of spellers since the bee began in 1925.
On Tuesday, May 26, Lily and the other spellers all took the round one test. Words ranged from easier ones like "cubicle" to the more difficult, "onychorrhexis."
The National Scripps Spelling Bee is administered by the E. W. Scripps Co., and has 287 sponsors in the U.S. and around the globe. Lily, aged 12, said she enjoyed meeting a lot of new kids, including the 2009 winner, Kavya Shivashankar of Olathe, Kansas. This was Kavya's fourth time participating at the national bee, Lily noted.
When asked if she learned any good tips for future success at spelling bees, Lily said, "You can't try to memorize words - you have to really study them."
Of her first trip to Washington, D. C., Lily said she enjoyed visiting museums the most. Spellers also enjoyed bee week activities including a barbeque, party, and awards banquet.
To her credit, in addition to studying spelling words, Lily also worked on math while she was away.
"I am so grateful for this opportunity," Lily wrote in her journal entry on Friday, May 29. "Thank you MV Times. I will always remember this.
"P.S." she added, "Can I try next year?"
Chilmark seeks police officer, DAS opinion
Chilmark begins its search this week for a police department patrolman to replace Brian Cioffi who will succeed Timothy S. Rich as chief of police on July 1.
Selectmen authorized posting and advertising the job with a June 19 deadline.
Selectman Warren Doty advised the department to extend the deadline if necessary to ensure the best possible pool of candidates. "This is an important job. We want enough time to get the right person. If it takes longer, then that's what it takes," he said. The patrolman's job will be advertised in Island newspapers and on the Criminal Justice Information System website, a national information source for law enforcement professionals.
In other business, selectmen J.B. Riggs Parker received board approval to consult counsel to determine the town's exposure and opportunities related to a distributed antennae system (DAS) proposed to improve cell phone and emergency communications for the three up-Island towns. "If we turn (DAS) down what is our exposure? If we accept it, what is our leverage with carriers?" he asked.
Mr. Parker said a third public information meeting will be held Monday, June 22, at 6 pm at the Chilmark Community Center for residents of Chilmark, Aquinnah, and West Tisbury. American Tower Corp., proposed DAS vendor, will update the communities on testing and site locations for 47 proposed antennae in the three towns.
Selectmen agreed to write a letter to state legislators to express concern about proposed legislation that would overrule local decision-making with regard to the siting of large windmills in local communities.
Selectmen also thanked retiring Chilmark school principal Diane Gandy for her service. A tea party in her honor will be held on Friday, June 12, from 3 to 5 pm at the school.
Corrections
In a story published on May 28, "Drama department going places," a photo on page C6 should have been credited to Haley Koorse.
