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News
in Brief
May 12,
2005
SSA weathers weekend northeaster
A spring northeaster lashed Martha’s Vineyard over the weekend
with driving rain and high winds that gusted to more than 50 miles
per hour. Despite the weather, the Steamship Authority completed
most of its runs between the Island and Woods Hole, said boatline
officials.
The SSA was forced to cancel two runs Saturday evening, when an
85-foot sloop moored in Great Harbor just north of the ferry dock
in Woods Hole dragged its mooring and ended up in the boatline’s
main channel.
Vineyarders fared much better during the storm than Nantucketers,
who were without ferry service for much of the weekend.
The fact that the wind was blowing out of the north had much to
do with the ability of the SSA to continue running boats, said Greg
Gifford, SSA port captain. He explained that the Vineyard is fortunate
in that the fetch in a northerly wind, the distance of open water
between the mainland and Vineyard, is less than five miles.
By contrast a strong east wind blowing across the length of Nantucket
Sound, particularly when the tide is rising and flowing against
the wind, can generate sea conditions in which all boats are cancelled.
The decision to sail or not sail in rough weather is sometimes a
subject of passenger unhappiness. Mr. Gifford said the SSA does
its best to accommodate travelers and is aware of the disruptions
caused by any trip cancellation.
The safety of passengers is always the deciding factor. Ultimately,
the ferry captain makes the decision to cancel a trip.
Selectmen leave Chappy line where it is
The Edgartown selectmen announced last week that they will not move
the Chappaquiddick ferry line from Simpson’s Lane this summer.
The board made the announcement at a meeting of the Chappaquiddick
traffic study group on May 4. While the board decided not to move
the traffic staging area, they did agree to move large construction
vehicles waiting for the small ferry to Dock Street.
Parking for the Chappy ferry has been a contentious issue in recent
months. Residents of the Simpson’s Lane neighborhood have raised
concerns over blocked driveways, noise, and exhaust fumes from the
waiting vehicles. Chappaquiddick residents argued that moving the
ferry line would only shift the problem someplace else.
Earlier this year the selectmen had expressed interest in moving
the staging area to the Edgartown School, but that plan received
strong criticism from Chappy residents who attended a public hearing
on the matter in March.
While the selectmen said they would not move the staging area this
year, they said they would look into other solutions, including
increasing the access to Chappaquiddick from Norton Point Beach,
which is closed most of the summer to protect piping plover nests.
The selectmen said they would also look into providing over-night
parking stickers for Chappaquiddick residents to park at the Triangle,
to try and cut down on the number of vehicles traveling back and
forth on the small ferry.
H-2B amendment survives conference
Many Vineyard employers will be pleased to learn that the final
supplemental spending package passed by the House and Senate on
Tuesday includes an amendment which will allow more foreign workers
to return to the Vineyard this summer. President Bush was expected
to sign the $80-billion bill, which funds the war in Iraq and Afghanistan,
perhaps as early as yesterday.
The H-2B amendment, which was sponsored by Democratic senators Edward
Kennedy of Massachusetts and Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, eases
somewhat the new limits placed on H-2B visas, the category of visa
that allows foreign workers to come to the United States to fill
temporary employment shortages. A source of seasonal help in the
past, the number of H-2B visas was drastically reduced this year
because of fears of terrorism. The amendment would allow workers
who have worked here in previous years to return this summer and
in 2006.
Steve Schwadron, and aide to congressman William Delahunt, told
The Times that the congressman is pleased that the measure prevailed,
but he is uncertain whether the relevant agencies will act quickly
enough to apply it in time to help Vineyard businesses this summer.
“[The amendment] passed with wide bipartisan support in both
the house and senate. Now it’s up to the administration to
implement the will of congress by expediting the legislation quickly
so that it can do some good,” he said.
Housing authority sponsors homebuyer workshop
Prospective home buyers can learn about the intricacies of buying
a house at a homebuyer education workshop sponsored by the Dukes
County Regional Housing Authority on Monday, May 16.
Presenters will include attorney Marcia Cini of The Bank of Martha’s
Vineyard, and Jean Ogden and Phillipe Jordi of the Island Housing
Trust. Participation in the evening program will satisfy one of
the requirements of the Island Housing Trust for current and future
homeowner opportunities, according to a press release.
The workshop is from 5:30 to 8:30 pm at the Tisbury Senior Center.
Those interested in participating are asked to call 508-693-4419
and register by Friday.
Fire damages sauna at Island Co-Housing
West Tisbury firefighters were called to the Island Co-Housing complex
on Stoney Hill Road early Sunday morning to deal with a fire in
a 10-by-12 shed used as a sauna. With wind gusts approaching 52
miles per hour, it was a scary night for a fire.
Fire Chief Manuel Estrella said that residents began using the sauna,
which is fired by a wood stove, at about 7 pm on Saturday. The department
was called at 12:30 am and quickly extinguished the fire despite
the very high winds.
Chief Estrella said that it appears that the fire caught the structure
at a corner of the wood stove. He estimated the damage at about
25 percent of the building, which is still standing. The sauna is
near a pond and apart from the cluster of housing units at the complex.
The fire damaged no other buildings, and no one was hurt.
Mental health system is focus of Sunday forum
Sunday’s Health Care Forum, to start at 4 pm at the Martha’s
Vineyard Hebrew Center in Vineyard Haven, will focus on mental health
and addiction and the effectiveness of the Island’s mental
health system.
“People talk about, and the Martha’s Vineyard Health Report
confirms, the high rate of problem drinking and alcoholism on the
Island – nearly twice the national rate,” according to
a press statement released by organizers of the health care discussion
series. “Some people worry about the rate of drug abuse, and
certainly the police are concerned about its prevalence among Islanders
and visitors alike. Rates of depression and attempted suicides,
recently discussed by clinicians at a forum at the High School,
are alarmingly high.”
This forum is the fourth of six. Dr. Charles Silberstein, a psychiatrist
practicing on the Vineyard, will serve as moderator and facilitator
of Sunday’s discussion, as he has in previous forums. “We
have an opportunity to get a critical sense from community members
on some very difficult topics,” Dr. Silberstein said. “Many
people are either struggling themselves or know people who are in
some emotional pain. How effective are we in helping these people?”
Participants will include: Rick Beinecke, chairman of the Public
Management Department for the School of Management at Suffolk University,
where he is also senior faculty fellow at the Center for Innovation
and Change Leadership; Susan Curnan, professor at Brandeis University
and director of the Center for Youth and Communities at the Heller
School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis; Dr. David Gorenberg,
a psychiatrist practicing on Martha’s Vineyard; Susan Wasserman,
vice president of the Martha’s Vineyard Community Services
board of directors; Rick DeTucci, acting director of Martha’s
Vineyard Community Services and former program director for Island
Counseling Center at MVCS; Eric Adams, director of the YMCA Teen
Center; Hazel Teagan, R.N., lead substance abuse counselor at Martha’s
Vineyard Hospital; Dr. Tim Tsai, director of the Emergency Department
at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital; and Deborah Pigeon, a psychotherapist
in private practice who is a licensed marriage, family and mental
health counselor.
Corrections
A series of photographs of children visiting the Lagoon Pond herring
run, published on Page 22 in the May 5 issue of the Calendar section,
depicted children on a field trip from the Vineyard Montessori School
in Vineyard Haven.
In a news story published March 24 entitled “HUD review of IEH
calls for improved communication,” The Times miscounted the number
of Island Elderly Housing tenants. In 1993, there were 50 tenants;
today there are 135. |
