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The Martha's Vineyard Times is a weekly publication.
April 14 - April 20, 2005 Edition
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News in Brief April 14, 2005 Leonard B. Athearn dead at 86 Leonard Baker Athearn, of Road to Great Neck, West Tisbury died Tuesday at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. He was 86. A memorial service will be held at a later date. A full obituary will appear in a future edition of The Times. Arrangements are under the care of the Chapman, Cole & Gleason Funeral Home, Edgartown–Vineyard Haven Road, Oak Bluffs. Visit www.ccgfuneralhome.com for online guest book and information. Tisbury firefighters quench small blaze on Main Street John Schilling, Tisbury fire chief, said the cause remains unknown of a small fire on a second story eave of the Atlantic Traders building on Main Street in Vineyard Haven last Thursday. Tisbury volunteer firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze shortly after receiving reports of smoke coming out of the building at about 2:30 pm on April 7. The building, which is the former location of the old Thrift Shop, received only minor damage. Chief Schilling said the fire ignited on a narrow ledge that runs along the face of the building between the first and second floors. He said firefighters found some burnt insulation but could not determine what caused the fire. Chief Schilling thanked the firefighters who turned out in force, as well as police and emergency personnel who responded to the scene. “We had a tremendous response from all the people involved. The police did an excellent job controlling the crowd and the traffic. EMS personnel were staged nearby in case they were needed. The State Police sealed off the end of Main Street, and Oak Bluffs firefighters responded to their station to be ready for mutual aid. Fortunately it turned out to be a minor event, and we didn’t need to call on those resources,” said Chief Schilling. Photo by Ralph Stewart Dukes County Savings Bank donates $50,000 to new hospital call system Christopher Wells (above, left), Dukes County Savings Bank president, hands a check for $50,000 to Tim Walsh, Martha’s Vineyard Hospital chief executive officer at a brief ceremony yesterday morning. The money will be used to provide a new patient call system as well as for some facility improvements, said Mr. Wells. The donation was made through the newly established Dukes County Savings Charitable Foundation. “We are excited and privileged to serve the Martha’s Vineyard community through our new foundation,” said Mr. Wells, “and giving back to the community is a vital component of our bank’s culture.” Hospital officials were equally pleased. “Martha’s Vineyard Hospital is delighted to be the recipient of a very generous gift of $50,000 from the Bank’s Foundation to purchase a new state of the art patient call bell system to replace the hospital’s current antiquated and failing system,” said hospital CEO Tim Walsh. Dukes County Savings Bank is one of the largest providers of financial services on Martha’s Vineyard with $275 million in assets at the end of fiscal year 2004 according to a press release. The bank provides its services through six retail branches and a trust office. SSA travel off for first quarter Wicked winter weather appears to have contributed to a decline in passenger and auto volumes on Steamship Authority vessels traveling between Woods Hole and the Vineyard. Passengers were off 6.3 percent for the first quarter, autos off 6.8 percent. For Nantucket, first-quarter passengers were up 6.7 percent, autos down 3.5 percent. For both islands, freight traffic (that is, trucks) is up, 8.1 percent for the Vineyard, 18.3 percent for the distant island. For the line as a whole, in dollar terms, passenger revenue was off 1.2 percent, autos 12.2 percent. Freight delivered 12.5 percent more revenue for the period, compared with 2004 results. Together, autos and passengers declined about $220,000, compared to a year ago, but freight increases, totaling $328,000 for the period, offset the decline and added a net of slightly more than $100,000. Town of Chilmark invites visitors to use new web site Chilmark has a new web site up and running that town officials expect will help residents and visitors to find town and Island information more easily. The web site, www.ci.chilmark.ma.us, is hosted by Virtual Town Hall, which specializes in providing web sites for municipalities. Riggs Parker, Chilmark selectman and a member of the committee that worked on the site, said, “I hope this site will give people a lot more information about what is going on in the various boards and committees plus save some telephone calls to the people who work in town hall.” According to Chuck Hodgkinson, Chilmark’s administrative jack-of-all-committees and web site architect, visitors to the site will find lots of useful information including meeting schedules, approved meeting minutes, summer information, and e-mail addresses for town departments. The warrant for the April 25 annual town meeting and the Middle Line Road project proposal are also posted on the site and zoning bylaws will soon follow. “It’s a pretty slick thing once you get the hang of it,” said Mr. Hodgkinson. File Photo by Ezra Blair Campground named a historic landmark Wesleyan Grove, the land owned by the Martha’s Vineyard Camp Meeting Association commonly known as the Oak Bluffs campground, was officially designated a national historic landmark last week. Secretary of the Interior Gale A. Norton announced the designation along with 23 other new historic landmarks on April 5. The campground joins less than 2,500 historic places nationwide that bear the distinction of a historic landmark. This week, Russell Dagnall, Camp Meeting Association president, said, “This is a great recognition for us. It’s a great honor.” Mr. Dagnall said that aside from the recognition, the designation would help the Camp Meeting Association obtain grants to maintain the campground. “It will be a valuable tool,” he said. The campground has been on the national register of historic places since 1979. In December 2002, the Camp Meeting Association applied for national historic landmark status. Mr. Dagnall said the application process was complicated and included a complete history of the campground from 1835 on, and an inventory of all 325 buildings on the 34 acres that the Camp Meeting Association owns. The campground was nominated as a potential landmark last spring. That fall, the National Park System Advisory Board recommended that the campground receive the special designation. The Secretary of the Interior agreed with the recommendation, and last week, under the Historic Sites Act of 1935, she designated the campground a historic landmark. A press release from the National Park Service, dated April 7, briefly explains each of the secretary’s 24 national historic landmark designations, describing the Oak Bluffs campground as a “prototype for the community form of permanent camp meetings and resorts that were common across the country after the Civil War.” The press release states, “Wesleyan Grove’s plan and many of its architectural characteristics were emulated by many other camp meetings in the United States. The district includes over 300 contributing resources within its 34-acre area.” The Oak Bluffs campground is the second landmark on the Island to receive national historic status. The other, also in Oak Bluffs, is the Flying Horses Carousel, which was designated a historic landmark in 1987. Golf teams wanted to tee off for a good cause Teams of golfers are invited to tee off next month in the fourth tournament to benefit the Look, Dolby, Rebello Scholarship Fund. The event will take place at Farm Neck Golf Club in Oak Bluffs. Steamship Authority employees started the popular tournament in memory of deceased co-workers. The tournament is run entirely by the employees and the money raised helps support two scholarships. This year’s tournament is dedicated in memory of Christian Manley, a 1998 graduate of Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School. Four-person teams will compete for bragging rights and prizes on Wednesday, May 4. A buffet for all players and an auction open to the public will follow the golf game. Kathleen Parsons, one of the tournament organizers, said more teams and prizes are welcome. The cost is $380 per team. For more information or to register by the April 28 deadline, call Ms. Parsons at 508-693-0367. Dr. George Feil dies at 85 Island physician Dr. George Feil, 85, of Edgartown, formerly of Vineyard Haven, died Wednesday after a long illness. A memorial service will be held on Sunday, April 17, at 2 pm at the First Congregational Church of West Tisbury. A full obituary will appear in next week’s edition of The Times. Arrangements are under the care of the Chapman, Cole & Gleason Funeral Home, Edgartown–Vineyard Haven Road, Oak Bluffs. Visit www.ccgfuneralhome.com for online guest book and information. Ned Robinson-Lynch Feted On Thursday night, March 31, Ned Robinson-Lynch celebrated his retirement from Martha’s Vineyard Community Services at a goodbye gathering held in his honor at the Agricultural Hall in West Tisbury. In the photo at right, Mr. Robinson-Lynch presents a motivational gift to his successor, Rick DeTucci. Mr. Robinson-Lynch, a West Tisbury resident, had headed Community Services for 16 years when he resigned on Feb. 3. His future plans include consulting work. Club will send two young Islanders to outdoor camp The Martha’s Vineyard Rod and Gun Club will pay expenses for two Island youngsters to attend MassWildlife’s Junior Conservation Camp this summer. The two-week session runs from Aug. 7 to Aug. 19 at the Chesterfield Scout Reservation in Chesterfield. The club will pay the $500 fee and travel expenses for two Islanders between the ages of 13 (as of July 1) and 17. Camp activities include forestry, soil conservation, wildlife management, archery, orienteering, and basic camping. A basic hunter education course and boating safety course is also part of the program. Would-be campers need to contact Rod and Gun Club member Karen Kukolich at 508-627-8556 no later than May 1. The camp scholarship program, and the upcoming spring Kids’ Trout Derby on Saturday, May 7, are just two of many programs supported by the club, located on Sengekontacket Pond in Edgartown. Become an MVTV producer Martha’s Vineyard Community Television (MVTV), the Island’s cable access television station, will hold a free orientation on Thursday, April 21 for aspiring producers and other Islanders curious about public access television. The course is scheduled from 3 to 4 pm at the MVTV station, located at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School, next to the athletic fields. The station orientation features a tour of the facilities, an overview of available services, and a sign up for upcoming video production and editing workshops. Upon completion of the orientation, attendees will have an opportunity to sign up as station members for the fee of $25 a year. For more information on MVTV, including program schedules, visit www.mvtv.org. To sign up for courses, call 508-696-9760. John Meade, a minister at the Apostolic House of Prayer, congratulates Pastor Buckley on her 15 years of service to the congregation. Pastor Buckley thanked A celebration of the ministry of the Rev. Marcia Buckley, for 15 years the pastor of the Apostolic House of Prayer, Oak Bluffs, took place at the Harbor View Hotel in Edgartown Saturday. John Meade, Nancy Barlosky, and Walter Collier, assisting ministers at the church, attended along with ministers from as far away as Delaware, Syracuse, N.Y., and Cumberland, R.I. Pastor Buckley was given a plaque commemorating her service to the church and other mementos of the occasion. Edgartown National Bank has new officer The Edgartown National Bank announced that Ellen Biskis is the bank’s new controller/assistant vice-president. Ms. Biskis was previously a business risk consultant with One Beacon Insurance in Boston and an auditor with the public accounting firm Price Waterhouse Coopers in New York City and Boston. She is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Corrections In a report published last week about the West Tisbury annual town meeting, we wrote that “the town report listed 2,063 residents in January of 1993, and town clerk Prudence Whiting currently counts 2,724, a growth of almost one-quarter.” The difference in the two figures is actually 32 percent, nearly a third. The wrong telephone number appeared in a news brief about a free state hunter education course that will be offered on-Island this month. The correct number for preregistering is 508-792-7434. Heather Kochin is the sole proprietor of Rainy Day, not the co-owner as stated in a story about teenaged jewelry maker Lilla Warren published in last week’s Times. Rainy Day is a shop on Main Street, Vineyard Haven.

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