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The
Martha's Vineyard Times is a weekly publication.
March 24 - March 30, 2005 Edition
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in Brief March 24, 2005 MVC gives the go ahead for Circuit Ave. rebuild At a meeting last week the Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC) approved plans to rebuild the historic building at 45 Circuit Avenue, which was torn down last month without any permits. The commissioners voted unanimously last Thursday night to approve the project, along with a short list of conditions. The MVC effectively gave the Oak Bluffs selectmen the authority to impose any restrictions on the construction project to mitigate any disruption to the surrounding residents and businesses. In an attempt to speed things along, the MVC also required that the owner must obtain a certificate of occupancy within 15 months of receiving a building permit. The commissioners also added an affordable housing component to their approval, requiring that the owner either contribute $1,783 to affordable housing, or to make one of the apartments in the new building a long-term affordable rental. The project calls for a 3,566-square-foot, three-story building with two retail stores and three year-round rental apartments to be built in a slightly smaller footprint than the original building. The original structure, which was built in the 1870s, was 2,980 square feet, two stories, and included one large retail space and one seasonal four-bedroom apartment. The Oak Bluffs historical commission has already approved the design for the new building, which closely resembles the original 1870s building. Gene Erez, the owner of the property, now faces a tight work schedule. He is fast-approaching a town bylaw that prohibits construction on Circuit Avenue after May 15. Mr. Erez said that he hopes to have most of the exterior of the building complete and the two retail spaces finished by the deadline. Hospital hires husband and wife as new docs For Tim Walsh, Martha’s Vineyard Hospital chief executive officer, the latest addition to the medical staff is something of a dream team: a husband and wife, both experienced doctors, who already own a house on Martha’s Vineyard. At a weekend meeting of the hospital board, Mr. Walsh announced that Dr. Gail O’Brien and Dr. Marc Shapiro will join the medical staff in July. Finding housing for the latest hires, an increasing problem for the hospital, will not be a problem because the couple are long-time seasonal homeowners in Oak Bluffs. Dr. O’Brien received her medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine and is board certified in internal medicine. She is currently the medical director of clinical Services for Rhode Island Hospital and is a clinical associate professor of medicine at Brown University School of Medicine. Dr. Shapiro also graduated from Tufts University School of Medicine. He is the director of the Rhode Island Hospital medical simulation center and is an assistant professor of medicine at Brown University and attending physician in emergency medicine in the postgraduate training program in emergency medicine. He is also the chairman of the Rhode Island Hospital patient safety committee and a site investigator for the Center for Safety in Emergency Care.
Derek Cimeno, Tisbury shellfish constable, was named the 2004 state shellfish officer of the year at the Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) quarterly meeting last week. Mr. Cimeno has worked for the town’s shellfish department for 15 years and has been shellfish constable for the last 10. He is the first constable on the Island to be named shellfish officer of the year. The DMF board of directors chose Mr. Cimeno from a pool of five finalists for the award. “I was flattered and honored that I won,” Mr. Cimeno said this week. Mr. Cimeno said with the support of other town and state officials, he has taken a proactive role in maintaining and improving the health and abundance of the shellfish in Tisbury waters. “A lot of people think about what is happening right now, today with shellfishing, but as stewards of the ponds we have to protect them for the future generations. That is our responsibility,” he said. Mr. Cimeno’s approach has paid off. While many of the state’s coastal communities continue to see declining numbers in their shellfish beds, Tisbury remains among the top shellfish producers in the state. “I didn’t realize it, but we have been the third largest producer of shellfish for several years, only behind Edgartown and Nantucket, which really have a lot more water than we do,” said Mr. Cimeno. In a press statement issued on Monday, John Bugbee, Tisbury town administrator, stated, “Tisbury’s shellfishing success is a tribute to Derek and his staff’s tireless commitment to preserving this rich and historic activity.”
State Representative Eric Turkington posed with Julia and Jackson Crocker outside the Martha’s Vineyard Boys and Girls Club in Edgartown last week during a brief presentation ceremony recognizing Mr. Turkington’s help in securing a $27,000 share of available state funds for Boys and Girls Clubs across Massachusetts. Club director Greg Rollins said the Boys and Girls Club was very appreciative of Mr. Turkington’s help. Bourne Bridge delays can be expected Painting of the Bourne Bridge over the Cape Cod Canal, resumed Monday morning. According to a press release issued by the Army Corps of Engineers, painting and rigging work that requires lane restrictions on the bridge will occur seven days a week through April and weekdays only in May. The hours of the lane restrictions will be 7 am to 5 pm daily in April. In May, lane restrictions will be in effect from 7 am to 5 pm Monday through Thursday, and 7 am to noon on Friday. During lane restrictions one lane in each direction will be open to traffic. No wide loads will be permitted over the bridge. The work is dependent on favorable weather conditions, so there will certainly be days with no traffic restrictions. Permanent Endowment Fund awards grants The Permanent Endowment Fund for Martha’s Vineyard this week distributed a total of $10,900 in grants to seven Island organizations. According to a press release, the endowment fund awarded grants to Habitat for Humanity to assist with laying of a house foundation; Island Elderly Housing for the purchase of kitchen equipment and a generator; Martha’s Vineyard Youth Hockey for a new computer system; Martha’s Vineyard Special Parents Association for the purchase of a filing cabinet; The Yard to assist with the construction of an ADA-compliant public restroom; Island Health Care to defray costs for low income and uninsured patients; and Vineyard Nursing Association to assist with a two-year contract for TeleMed services, which monitors chronically ill patients in their own homes. The Permanent Endowment Fund for Martha’s Vineyard, the Vineyard’s community foundation, was established in 1982 as a mechanism for people who love the Vineyard to make tax-deductible gifts that will strengthen the quality of Island life forever. Over the years, the Endowment has awarded over $1 million in scholarships and grants to Islanders in need, attempting to disburse their awards throughout the community to assist as many organizations as possible. For further information regarding the organization, contact Gail Gardner Craig at 508-627-3754. Essay contest ends next week The deadline for high school students submitting an essay for the African American Historical Essay contest sponsored by the Martha’s Vineyard Branch of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) is next Thursday, March 31. The contest aims to increase multi-cultural awareness among local high school students by encouraging them to write essays about notable events or individuals in African American history. The ASALH is offering cash prizes to first and second place winners in grades nine through 12. The 10- to 12-page essays will be judged on central idea, content, organization, style, documentation, research, and grammar. Winners will be announced in May. Entries should be mailed to P.O. Box 2182, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557. For more information, call 508-693-8714. Tisbury seeks volunteers The town of Tisbury needs volunteers to fill vacancies on town and regional committees, including the Vineyard Transit Authority, the library board of trustees, and the council on aging. Gravity car race is Sunday Gravity is their friend, and speed is the name of the game for competitors in this weekend’s gravity car race in Aquinnah. Spa Tharpe, event organizer, said the race will begin at 2 pm on Sunday, at the end of Moshup Trail, near the lighthouse. Anyone over the age of 18 can enter a car as long as it meets a number of vehicle requirements, including weight and size limitations. Mr. Tharpe said he did not know how many people planned to enter homemade racing contraptions in the race, but said yesterday that he was hoping for a good turnout. Asked what gave him the idea for a gravity car race, Mr. Tharpe said, “We just wanted something really fun after a long hard winter, and it is something I had thought about for a long time.” Mr. Tharpe said he has been working on a design for his own gravity car for years. While he said yesterday that he was “way behind the eight ball,” in actually building his racer, he was confident that it would be ready to perform in time for Sunday’s race. Mr. Tharpe said that in the event of rain, the race would be postponed to the following weekend. MVC lecture series is available on DVD Last summer the Martha’s Vineyard Commission sponsored a series of four forums titled, “Looking at the Vineyard with an Eye to the Future.” The event helped celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Island’s powerful land use and planning agency and provided an overview of four of the key issues facing Martha’s Vineyard, which will underpin the comprehensive Island-wide planning effort the MVC will undertake this fall. The proceedings are now available at www.mvcommission.org and at the town libraries. Video DVD’s of the following four forums are also available at the libraries: “Smart Growth: Where Should the Vineyard Grow?” “View From The Road: How Can We Preserve Our Rural Roadsides?” “Trends In The Trades: How Will Changes Affect Our Businesses and Jobs?” “Clams and Kayaks: How Can We Protect Our Coastal Ponds?” For more information, contact Susan Mercier at 508-693-3453, ext. 10, or mercier@mvcommission.org. Corrections The Read Across America event reported in the March 10 edition of The Times was held at the West Tisbury Public School library. |
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