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Martha's Vineyard Times is a weekly publication.
July 21 - July 27, 2005 Edition
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in Brief July 21, 2005 Restrained by police, Oak Bluffs man dies en route to hospital An Oak Bluffs man died early Tuesday morning while en route to the hospital, after West Tisbury police found him unresponsive in his car on the side of the road. According to a West Tisbury police department press statement released yesterday afternoon, Leigh Carroll Jr., 35, of Oak Bluffs, suffered a heart attack shortly before 5 am on July 19, while being transported to the hospital. He was pronounced dead later that morning. According to the press release, police had received a report of a man asleep in his car by the side of the road. The on-duty officer responded to the scene and found Mr. Carroll asleep in the driver’s seat. The officer tried to wake Mr. Carroll, but was unsuccessful, so he called for an ambulance. When emergency medical technicians (EMT) arrived on the scene and attempted to move Mr. Carroll from the vehicle to a stretcher, Mr. Carroll “appeared to awaken and became extremely combative,” the press release stated. Officers placed restraints on Mr. Carroll to protect him and the EMTs, which is standard police procedure for a combative patient, according to the press statement. While en route to the hospital, Mr. Carroll suffered cardiac arrest, and he was pronounced dead at the hospital. According to the press release, “In keeping with normal protocol, the cause of death is under investigation.” Mr. Carroll, who was born and grew up on the Island, worked for Carroll’s Moving and Trucking in Vineyard Haven, the company owned by his father, Leigh Carroll, Sr. The Carroll family suffered another loss earlier this month when Randolph Leigh Carroll, 44, of Newton Upper Falls and formerly of Martha’s Vineyard, died on July 1 at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston after a long illness. Monster shark tournament hooks big crowds Like sharks to chum, hundreds of big game fishermen headed for the waters off Martha’s Vineyard to compete in last weekend’s annual Oak Bluffs Monster Shark Tournament. Even larger crowds crammed Oak Bluffs Harbor to view the monstrous catches. As in previous shark tournaments, Oak Bluffs Harbor was filled to capacity over the weekend. Both Tisbury and Edgartown also reported a number of spillover boats in their harbors. Oak Bluffs police said the weekend was busier than the long weekend over the Fourth of July holiday. “It was very busy. We had 131 calls for service, and all of the officers I spoke with said we were busier than the Fourth. We only had seven arrests, which was less, but we had a lot more calls,” said Lt. Timothy Williamson of the Oak Bluffs police department. Despite the large number of calls, Lt. Williamson said the weekend, including the shark tournament, went smoothly. “Overall, I think everything went well,” he said. “There were no unruly boats to speak of, which had been a problem last year. There were a lot of people but it went pretty smoothly.” One incident that stirred some excitement occurred when a pump motor at a septic pump station that services the bathrooms on the harbor and a number of surrounding homes, broke Saturday night, leaking sewage into an area adjacent to the harbor. The pump failure occurred just as the crowed of shark tournament spectators was at its peak. “It was a zoo down there at the beginning. It was all our officers could do to control the traffic, but they got it under control quickly,” said Lieutenant Williamson. Joe Alosso, Oak Bluffs wastewater plant superintendent, said about 10 gallons of septic water was spilled. He said the sewage was cleaned up with bleach, and the broken pump was replaced quickly. The board of health closed the bathrooms shortly after the incident, at about 7 pm. The bathrooms were reopened the following morning. Four teens charged in ferry bomb threat Nantucket police have arrested four teenagers for telephoning a false bomb threat to Hy-Line Cruises’ Nantucket ticket office that brought ferry service to a halt and stranded hundreds of people on the distant island, Sunday night. The teens are Brenden Reed, 17, from West Suffield, Conn.; Brett Williams, 17, from Bloomfield, Conn.; Daphne Bragg, 17, from Nantucket; and Vincent Veilleux, 16, from Nantucket. Police charged each of the teenagers with transmitting a false bomb threat, a felony that carries a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison. According to the Cape Cod Times, on Sunday night the four teenagers were brainstorming for ideas on how they could extend their weekend on Nantucket. At about 8 pm, Mr. Veilleux called Hy-Line Cruises’ ticket office and told the ticket agent not to let any ferries leave the Island because the boat would explode. The ticket agent immediately called local and state police as well as the U.S. Coast Guard. Thirty minutes later the harbor was closed to all ferry traffic. The plan had worked, the teens got another night on the island, but because the airport was socked in with fog, so did about 200 other people who were trying to get back to the mainland. Approximately 65 people were forced to use Nantucket High School as a shelter for the night. After extensive security sweeps, the Coast Guard reopened the harbor early Monday morning, and Hy-Line and the Steamship Authority (SSA) resumed ferry service. While police said the bomb threat was just a prank, the scare triggered tightened security measures on both the Nantucket and Vineyard ferry routes. Following Coast Guard rules, both the SSA and Hy-Line stepped up security screening for vehicles, passengers, and luggage. Chilmark selectmen worry about shrinking beach access A sign posted on Squibnocket Beach on the boundary line where the town beach ends and private property begins was a target of criticism by a Chilmark selectman at the Chilmark board of selectmen’s meeting Tuesday evening. The newly erected sign at the eastern end of the beach reads: “Boundary. Private property beyond this sign. Please do not trespass. Town of Chilmark.” The fact that the sign was erected by town officials has people in town upset, said one town official who asked not to be named. At the Chilmark selectmen’s meeting Tuesday, selectman Warren Doty expressed concern about a “shrinking beach.” The beach, which faces the Atlantic and is popular with surfers and fishermen, is open only to Chilmark residents. An electronic gate provides access to the road that leads to the exclusive Squibnocket Farm subdivision to the west. The western length of the beach is often littered with rocks and small boulders. But the eastern length provides a long sandy stroll until it reaches the aptly named Stonewall Beach. Mr. Doty said that Chilmark had lost access to a portion of beach where locals, including Mr. Doty, are accustomed to walk. The sign was erected by the town beach committee, at the request of abutting property owners who were concerned about people invading their privacy and clambering on the cliffs. Mr. Doty said that he spoke to the property owners, and they agreed to allow walking along the waterline of the beach and have the sign removed overnight from 5 pm to 9 am by the town beach guards. Selectman Doty said the board has an obligation to taxpayers to stop unnecessary beach restrictions. The board said they would confer with the beach committee regarding the future of the sign. Yesterday, Leslie Wice, chairman of the beach committee, said that the committee is working cooperatively with the property owners on a sign that would allow people to walk but ask that they not bring their belongings with them and sit down on the beach. In other business, Fire Chief David Norton asked the board to address a faulty sprinkler system in the Chilmark School that he attributed to inadequate maintenance by Fire Safety Systems (FSS). The board said they would push to include a measure in the September special town meeting which would allow eligible firefighters and emergency medical technicians (EMT) to purchase town group health insurance. West Tisbury has already adopted this provision. Martina Mastromonaco attended as the sole applicant for the Chilmark animal control officer’s job, a position formerly held by Michael Renahan, under the title dog officer. Ms. Mastromonaco expressed concern about the lack of a proper dog pound, vehicle, and uniform for the position. The board asked Ms. Mastromonaco to prepare an outline, with the help of Mr. Renahan, detailing her concerns surrounding the position. Selectmen dedicate chair to Elizabeth Suppes Elizabeth R. “Bizzy” Suppes tries out a new chair dedicated in honor of her service to the town of Tisbury. Behind her at Tuesday’s selectmen’s meeting is Meverell Good, who took part in the ceremony for his longtime friend and fellow committee member. Tisbury selectmen honored Elizabeth R. “Bizzy” Suppes Tuesday night for her many years of public service by dedicating a new oak Windsor chair in her name. “As a selectman, I always marvel at how many willing volunteers it takes to keep the town running smoothly, and never have an opportunity to thank them,” Ray LaPorte, chairman of the selectmen, remarked the next day. “Bizzy exemplifies the spirit of volunteerism at the municipal level, and I think so often those efforts go unheralded. At least for a few minutes last night, we could recognize her volunteer contributions to the town.” The Tisbury selectmen started the chair dedication program about six years ago, Mr. LaPorte said, and the cost of the chairs is covered by donations, often from family or friends. Ms. Suppes is the first non-selectman to receive the honor, her chair donated by her colleagues on the finance and advisory committee. One of those colleagues, Meverell Good, was on hand to take part in the chair dedication for his longtime friend, whom he met on a tennis court years ago. He reviewed her impressive history of town involvement, as a member of the personnel board (1969-1981), the arts council (1984-1988), the capital program committee (1992-2001), the future of town hall committee (1984-1985), and the finance and advisory committee (1988-2004). “I loved every minute of working on the committees,” Ms. Suppes recalled. She said she now finds herself wondering what to do on Thursday nights, since that was always her meeting night. On the back of the new chair, which will be used in town hall, is a plaque bearing Ms. Suppes’s name and history of service. She had the honor of being the first to sit in the chair, and she joked that she would like to take it home. Ms. Suppes served in the Womens’ Army Corps in World War II and achieved the rank of major. In 1946, she came to Martha’s Vineyard and ran an inn named “Sumner Hall” in East Chop. The following year, she operated a summer theater program, the Rice Playhouse. She moved to the Vineyard as a year-round resident in 1956. Ms. Suppes, who declares the town of Tisbury as “the best town on the Island and the best run,” lives near Lake Tashmoo. County approves fiscal ’06 budget With no debate and few questions, the Dukes County commissioners voted unanimously at a meeting last week to approve a balanced $4.45 million county operating budget for fiscal year 2006, which started July 1. The 2006 budget is $42,364 larger than last year, an increase of less than one percent. Before the budget goes to the state for final approval, the county finance advisory board must approve it. The advisory board, which includes one selectman from each of the six Island towns, is to meet on July 27 at 7 pm, following the regularly scheduled county meeting at 5 pm. Before voting on the budget, the advisory board must hold a public hearing. The hearing is scheduled for Aug. 8 at 7 pm at the Dukes County administration building next to the airport. The proposed budget is a slightly slimmer version than the one the county commissioners saw last month, which had an $11,200 shortfall. E. Winn Davis, county manager, trimmed several line items to balance the budget. Among the most significant cuts, $5,000 was taken out of the associate commissioners’ budget, reducing the total to $500 for the year. Mr. Davis said that the money had originally been included to help fund a health needs planning survey. However, Mr. Davis said the project recently received the necessary funding through a health services network grant. Another $5,000 came out of the natural resources department, and $1,000 was taken from the economic development budget. After the commissioners reviewed the 2006 budget, Mr. Davis turned his attention to the 2007 budget. He presented a timeline that would start the budget process sooner. He said he would like to have a budget ready to send to the state by March. The commissioners supported the idea. Lenny Jason, county commissioner from Chilmark, said he would also like to meet with the finance advisory board earlier in the process to “establish a direction.” Conservation restriction preserves pasture in West Tisbury Brendan O’Neil, executive director of the Vineyard Conservation Society (VCS) asked the West Tisbury selectmen last week to endorse the gift of a conservation restriction on 12.4 acres of property owned by Frederick Woods. The three selectmen agreed. The town planning board and conservation commission have also approved the restriction. Together with previous gifts from Mr. Woods’s cousin Jane Newhall and others, the present gift will create a corridor of green space running from the corner of Music Street and Middle Road, through the pastures that lie in back of the house lots on the north side of Music Street, to Parsonage Pond on State Road (near the corner of the Edgartown Road). In addition to the completion of a green belt, Mr. O’Neil cited as public benefits the preservation of agricultural land and the vista from the Middle Road end of Music Street down the pasture to the barn on the property. For many years the Whiting family has grazed sheep there. The restrictions permit all kinds of agricultural uses but prohibit subdivision of the property. The existing house may be not be expanded by more than 25 percent. In response to a question from selectman Glenn Hearn, Mr. O’Neil conceded that the gift provides the VCS only the opportunity for agricultural uses, not a requirement that the owner use it or lease it for those purposes. But, Mr. O’Neil pointed out, there is no indication that its long use as a pasture will change, and even if the property were permitted to go to trees and underbrush, 60 percent of the land is prime agricultural soils, which will forever make it attractive to agricultural uses. Though the restrictions do not provide for public access to the land, they do not prohibit it, and chairman Jeffrey “Skipper” Manter urged that the owners and the VCS consider a walking trail through the corridor. Tisbury selectmen approve $7,000 for new bridge study The Tisbury selectmen, at their meeting on Tuesday night, approved spending $7,000 to fund another engineering study of the Lagoon Pond drawbridge. The Lagoon Pond bridge committee recently requested $7,000 each from both the Tisbury and Oak Bluffs boards of selectmen to fund another bridge study. After much discussion, including comment from bridge committee members, the Tisbury selectmen voted unanimously to approve the expenditure. Approval of the remaining $7,000 by the Oak Bluffs selectmen is pending. Before voting yes, Ray LaPorte, chairman of the Tisbury selectmen, commented, “I am a big skeptic here. It may be $14,000 down the hole, but if we can finally end the discussion about the two-bridge plan, it may be money well spent.” A few years ago, MassHighway, the state agency responsible for bridge repairs, maintenance and replacement, funded its own study and recommended construction of a temporary bridge before building a permanent one. However, the drawbridge committee wants a new study that will not only make recommendations for repairs and replacement, but will also offer contingency plans if the current bridge fails. Fred LaPiana, who serves on the bridge committee and is the director of Tisbury’s department of public works, told the selectmen the committee lacks confidence in the state to deal rapidly with bridge failure, should it occur. Adding to Mr. LaPiana’s comments, Melinda Loberg, bridge committee chairman, noted, “We saw what could happen when the bridge failed in April, and we need to know what it will take to maintain the bridge to make sure it stays open. Although it required a minor repair, we did not have a person on Island to fix the part.” Tristan Israel, a Tisbury selectman and bridge committee member who advocated a new study several months ago, reminded his colleagues, “I haven’t supported the two-bridge plan from day one. It has gone from an estimated cost of $12 million to $24 million in two years. I think as the costs go up, it is less likely that the state will build the permanent bridge.” Noting that he was “not sold on the two-bridge solution,” selectman Tom Pachico said, “I always felt that the state pushed the temporary bridge down our throats.” He said he favors a new study in the hopes it might offer alternatives for shoring up the existing bridge while a permanent one is constructed. However, Steve Berlucchi, a county engineer and bridge committee member, argued that the 75-year-old bridge is “irreparable,” citing statistics from past inspections of the bridge going back to 1985. Seeking to discourage the selectmen from funding another study, he noted that he and 20 other structural engineers already have inspected the bridge. “Another study is not going to be worth the money,” Mr. Berlucchi warned. “MassHighway probably is not going to look twice at any new recommendations.” Following Mr. Berlucchi’s remarks, Mr. Pachico made a motion, which carried unanimously, to approve $7,000 as Tisbury’s contribution towards funding the study. Elizabeth M. Cary is dead Elizabeth Mason Cary died Sunday at Windermere Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. A memorial service will be held in St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, corner of North Summer and Winter Streets in Edgartown on Thursday July 28 at 11 am. The Rev. Robert D. Edmunds will officiate. Interment will be at the Church Memorial Garden. Donations in her memory may be made to Windermere, P.O. Box 1747, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557 or the Memorial Garden Fund of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, P.O. Box 1287 Edgartown, MA 02539. A complete obituary will appear in a later 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. Corrections Corrections In last week’s
editorial, we misspelled the name of legal counsel to the town of
Aquinnah. He is Ron Rappaport. |
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