It turns out, 2009 was a wicked good news year
Published: December 31, 2009
It may seem as if Islanders have worried and debated the same few newsworthy developments throughout 2009. Not so. In fact, the news has been various and affecting, and Islanders, newsmakers and news readers alike, have been treated to a great deal that has been inspiring, appalling, puzzling, frightening, promising, and inconsequential perhaps, but fun. Following is a brief scroll through the months of our lives this year.
January 15
Oak Bluffs faces revenue shortfall
Oak Bluffs selectmen learned Tuesday that their town now expects to fall $336,607 short of its revenue projections at the end of the current fiscal year, on June 30, this year.
In their first meeting of the New Year, facing head-on a municipal byproduct of the national economic downturn, the selectmen got the sobering report from Paul Manzi, the town's finance director and treasurer.
(Jan. 22) At the Chilmark Library, Islanders watched President Barack Obama taking the oath of office on Tuesday.Inauguration Day was a time for celebration at many
Vineyard gatherings. Photo by M.C. Wallo
January 22
Kaleb Garde, three others indicted in heroin case
An Edgartown Superior Court Grand Jury has handed up indictments totaling 32 counts of heroin trafficking, heroin possession, dealing drugs near a school, and conspiracy to violate drug laws against Kaleb C. Garde, age 26, Roseline J. Gaspar, age 24, Garrett J. Gibson, age 24, and Alexander W. Carlson, age 22.
February 12
Martha's Vineyard MSPCA shelter closing a shocker
The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA) late last Thursday announced it would close the Katharine M. Foote memorial animal shelter in Edgartown in May, as well as two other mainland facilities, due to economic difficulties. The unexpected news left Island animal lovers reeling.
March 19
Aquinnah closes Indian oyster project
For several years shoreline property owners have complained that the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) has poorly managed its oyster aquaculture project and allowed plastic mesh bags and other material to litter Menemsha Pond.
Last week, following a public hearing, Aquinnah selectmen voted not to renew the tribe's ground lease and gave the tribe 60 days to clean its sprawling oyster farm, or return with a viable plan to continue the project.
March 26
Sharp fall in construction, small rise in hope
An analysis of building permits issued in Martha's Vineyard's most populous towns confirms with hard data just how severely the region's economic woes have hit the construction industry. By the end of 2007, the Vineyard construction boom was already tilting toward bust, but in 2008, new construction, especially single-family homes, slowed to a level that left contractors who once turned away lots of work suddenly scrambling to compete for scarce projects. Others turned to smaller jobs, such as renovations and home weatherization.
(April 16) Voters let town clerk Prudy Whiting know they have appreciated her long, good-natured tenure as town clerk. Ms. Whiting is not seeking reelection. Behind Ms. Whiting, town moderator Pat Gregory puts his hands together. April 16
In Oak Bluffs, it's all about yes. Back Wednesday.
Oak Bluffs voters approved a $24.1 million dollar operating budget and gave a green light to $770,000 worth of Community Preservation Act spending at their annual town meeting Tuesday night.
May 7
Tisbury officer files MCAD charge
The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) last week notified the town of Tisbury and the Tisbury Police department that it has begun an investigation into a complaint of sexual discrimination, harassment, and retaliation filed by Tisbury Police Officer Kelly R. Kershaw.
Ellis, Geddis sentenced in Capawock robbery
Expressing outrage at a crime he labeled violent and cowardly, Associate Justice Cornelius J. Moriarty II sentenced Michael Ellis, 21, to two years in the Barnstable County House of Correction and Brett Geddis, 18, to one year in the Dukes County House of Correction.
The sentencing hearing took place April 30, at Dukes County Superior Court in Edgartown. On April 6, the two men pled guilty to reduced charges in connection with a robbery last September of George Buckley, 79, a ticket taker at the Capawock Theatre in Vineyard Haven.
May 14
Tisbury chief assails officers and selectmen
Tisbury police chief John Cashin blistered members of his own department and criticized selectmen for their lack of support and management interference. He made his sharply worded comments in a telephone interview yesterday with The Martha's Vineyard Times, in reaction to rumors that he had resigned.
May 21
Tisbury police Chief John Cashin worked his last day Wednesday. Three months short of the end of the chief's three-year contract, selectmen and Mr. Cashin agreed to part.
(June 11) On Sunday Greg Skomal, a Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries biologist, and a team of volunteer assistants measured and dissected a 30-foot basking shark that washed up on Moshup Beach in Aquinnah on Saturday. The unusual sight attracted a crowd of onlookers. (Left to right: Mr. Skomal, Louis Hall, Justen Walker, Jeff Kneebone). Photo by Lisa VanderhoopJune 4
Donations match needs of animal shelter
The Animal Shelter of Martha's Vineyard is up and running, funded by $32,700 in donations since the group was formed two months ago.
"It's really gratifying," said Greg Orcutt, a member of the newly formed organization's board of directors.
June 18
RHS grad dies, senior charged in Thursday crash
A Martha's Vineyard Regional High School senior who was to graduate Sunday was severely injured and her passenger killed in a single-car accident on Edgartown-West Tisbury Road Thursday night, June 11.
Yesterday, family and friends buried Jena Pothier, 18, of Oak Bluffs, a 2008 regional high school graduate, following an emotional service attended by more than 300 family members, friends, schoolmates, and Islanders, all crowded into Our Lady Star of the Sea Church in Oak Bluffs.
Also yesterday, West Tisbury Police issued 12 motor vehicle citations to Kelly McCarron.
(July 2) Chief Tim Rich, right, led members of his department in the Pledge of Allegiance yesterday in a ceremony marking his retirement after 30 years and the installation of Brian Cioffi, second from right, as Chief Rich's successor. Photo by Ralph StewartJuly 2
Ocean Act plan defines areas for industry along Island shores
Massachusetts Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Ian Bowles yesterday released the nation's first draft comprehensive ocean management plan for public review and comment. A final version of the plan is due at the end of the year.
The draft plan would allow for small wind farms of 10 or fewer turbines off the immediate Vineyard coast and larger wind farms to be developed south and west of Nomans Land and west of Cuttyhunk. It will also extend the regulatory authority of the Martha's Vineyard Commission to certain ocean projects.
July 9
MVCS faces $400,000 gap for 2009-2010
Martha's Vineyard Community Services (MVCS) will cut staff salaries, benefits, and hours as part of a strategy meant to address a drop in revenue, 2009 and 2010 budget deficits totaling about $400,000, and uncertainty over future government reimbursements for a range of social programs.
"The Vineyard is not immune from what is going on in the rest of the country," Julia Burgess, MVCS executive director, told The Times in a telephone call yesterday.
July 23
It's official. Ending months of speculation, a White House spokesperson confirmed Friday that President Obama and his family will spend the last week of August vacationing on Martha's Vineyard.
August 13
Island Cup rivalry is in doubt
What! No Army-Navy game this year? Impossible! No USC versus UCLA? You must be kidding. No Harvard-Yale? Unthinkable! Amherst-Williams? Of course they will play.
Don't worry. All of those traditional rivalries are safely scheduled to occur this fall. The Martha's Vineyard-Nantucket game scheduled for Saturday, November 21, however, well that's another story the conclusion of which is by no means clear.
August 20
26-year-old Island man is dead of H1N1 influenza
A 26-year old Martha's Vineyard resident who died August 14 is the first confirmed H1N1-related death on the Island, and the 11th death in Massachusetts, according to state public health officials.
The man, Elton Barbosa of Oak Bluffs, died at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston after he was transported off the Island earlier last week. He was a native of Brazil and worked on the Island as a painter, according to several acquaintances.
Oak Bluffs facing $500,000 budget shorts
Just six weeks into fiscal year 2010, Oak Bluffs is facing a $500,000 budget deficit, a shortfall that will likely mean the layoff of five town employees and could lead to further reductions in school department personnel.
(August 27) President Obama gauged his next shot while playing golf at Farm Neck on Monday. Photo by Ruth McGortyAugust 27
President stays busy, mostly out of sight
A presidential vacation on Martha's Vineyard is not like any other vacation. It is free of airport waits, devoid of traffic delays, and there is never, ever a problem getting a reservation or a tee time. For President Barack Obama, the first few days of his week off included no public events, some golf, a dinner, some lunch with friends and a profile that could not have been lower.
(Oct. 1) Oak Bluffs firefighters vented the roof of the burning D'Arcy house to allow heat and dangerous gases to escape so firefighters could enter the building. The Monday fire destroyed the house. Photo by Steve Myrick
(Oct. 22) Derby bonito shore grand leader Michael Seeger celebrated after winning a new boat. Grand leaders in the boat division, William Pate (center) and Henry Fauteux, looked on. Moments later Will had his own reason to celebrate. Photo by Ralph Stewart 
(Nov. 25) Closed. And Garcia's, known as Back Alley's, is missed by up-Islanders. Photo by Ralph Stewart 
