Town Column : Oak Bluffs
By Megan Alley
Published: October 8, 2009
Now that the storms of the water crisis have subsided a bit, perhaps it is time to look at communication problems in order to avert a similar episode. Many people have approached me with some excellent ideas.
Among them are: informative signs at the town bulletin board at the post office and at Reliable Market, a pre-arranged signal to be sent from the fire horn/siren by the water towers, alert signs at the four corners by the Fire Station, and the best one - in my opinion - a notice could be posted on the bulletin board outside the Martha's Vineyard Regional High School. Whatever can be done, let's work together to get out vital information to the citizens as soon as possible.
The YMCA is offering charter memberships for families. The cost is $1,250 for whole households. For more details visit ymcamv.org.
The Oak Bluffs School still has open three-year member seats on the School Advisory Committee. If you are interested in filling one of these parent representative seats, please let the office know. The newest teacher representatives are Anne Davey and Deborah Hammett.
Barbara Hoyle has recently returned form the Annual Alumni Day for graduates of New England Deaconess Hospital School of Nursing. It was held at the Longwood Towers in Brookline. The speaker was Donna White, RN, an addiction specialist at Lemuel Shattuck Hospital. She spoke on compassion fatigue.
Barbara's friend Gretchen Kirk flew in from California for the occasion and she also visited her friend Carol Haskell in Norwood.
Wednesday, Oct. 14, at 10:30 am at the Oak Bluffs Library, the toddler story time for ages one and one half to three years will feature leaves in their stories. The subject will be the same at 11:30 am for preschool story time for ages three to five years.
My sister Joyce Wadsworth was here for two weeks from Paso Robles, Calif., visiting her daughter Lynn Rebello and her family. In spite of busy schedules, she and I, along with my sister Ann, did manage to have a bit of sister time while she was here.
The African Artists Community Development Project will hold its annual meeting on Friday, Oct. 23, at 10 am at Marsha Winsryg's house off New Lane in West Tisbury. AACDP began in 2004 as a small organization that imports fairly-traded African crafts and sends the profits to the Mama Bakhita Center for Disabled Children in Livingstone, Zambia. Now they also provide educational scholarships, medical grants, and small business loans to people related to the Mama Bakhita Center and the artisans. They are growing and need help in any area of this operation. If you are interested, please come. For information, call 508-693-4059.
Author John Hough Jr. will discuss his latest book, "Seen the Glory: A Novel of the Battle of Gettysburg," on Thursday, Oct. 15, from 6:30 to 7:30 pm at the library. The author grew up in Falmouth and now lives in West Tisbury. Hough is the author of four previous novels, including "The Last Summer," and three works of nonfiction.
We send birthday smiles on October 9 to Todd Rebello and Mabel McCarthy, special smiles to my grandson Benjamin Alley on the 10th and Anita Billings who shares that date, Joe deBettencourt on the 11th, Marty Nadler and Alexis Mories on the 13th, and Jen Combra on the 14th. Special wedding anniversary wishes to Donald and Hilda Mitchell who celebrate 57 years of marriage on October 8, and to Carol and Bink deBettencourt whose anniversary is on October 9.
In closing, I feel it is appropriate to include in my column the contents of an email that I received this week. When you read it perhaps you will understand the final word that I write at the ending of my column each week.
"Hello my name is Jason Canha, son of Domingo and Brenda Canha of Oak Bluffs, Mass. I've currently been stationed in Afghanistan for the past six months in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and I'm scheduled to return back to my family who are currently at Patrick Air Force Base in Cocoa Beach Florida. I would like to take this opportunity and thank my family and friends, especially my parents for their loving support while I've been away from my wife (Kim) and kids (Dominick and Krista) for the past six months. My time away from my family has been difficult, but the support I received from my family has made me strong and has allowed me to stay focused to complete my objectives while knowing I had support back home. I would like to say 'Thank You' to my Mom and Dad for their loving support, their endless letters and wonderful care packages for the troops. Mom and Dad, I'm coming home! I love you guys and can't wait to see you guys! Thanks, Special Agent Jason Canha."
Enjoy your week.
Peace.
