News
in Brief
August 18,
2005
Edgartown pair charged
in heroin bust
As part of a drug investigation, and acting on a tip, Oak Bluffs and State Police arrested two Edgartown residents for possession of heroin after they drove off the ferry in Oak Bluffs at 10:15 am on Saturday.
Nelson Rivera, 46, and Holly Veges, 26, were arrested and charged with possession of heroin with intent to distribute, conspiracy to violate drug laws, and possession of hypodermic needles.
Lt. Timothy Williamson, of the Oak Bluffs police department said that police found 118 small bags of heroin valued at approximately $3,500 hidden in a rolled-up sock in a duffel bag.
Lieutenant Williamson said that police had received a tip that Mr. Rivera and Ms. Veges were returning to the Island from Worcester with the drugs. Based on the tip, police obtained a search warrant for both individuals and the 2003 Land Rover they were driving. Police also received a detaining warrant for Mr. Rivera who is on parole after serving time in prison for a murder in New York in the 1980s, Lieutenant Williamson said.
Mr. Rivera was held on $1,000 bail, but was not released because of his parole violation. Ms. Veges was released on personal recognizance on Monday. A pretrial conference is scheduled for Sept. 2.
144th Annual Agricultural Fair will be live on MVTV
Martha's Vineyard Community Television (MVTV), the Island's cable public access station, will broadcast live from the site of the 144th annual Martha's Vineyard Agricultural Society Livestock Show and Fair on Adelphia cable channel 14, from August 18 to 21.
For more information, call 508-696-9760 or go to www.mvtv.org.
Committee seek comment on drawbridge replacement
The Lagoon Pond drawbridge committee has scheduled a public meeting on August 25 to gather input on the design for the permanent replacement of the Lagoon Pond drawbridge.
MassHighway is in the process of selecting engineers to design the new bridge, and has asked the drawbridge committee to outline some of the details that the Island community wants incorporated into the design.
Before a permanent replacement is built, MassHighway plans to build a temporary bridge next to the existing bridge. When the temporary structure is complete, MassHighway will demolish the old bridge and replace it with a permanent structure.
In a press release issued this week, the drawbridge committee stressed that next week's public meeting is not an opportunity to discuss MassHighway's two-bridge solution.
ÅgThe issue of construction of a temporary bridge will not be discussed at this public meeting, which will focus exclusively on the design of the permanent bridge,Åh the press release stated.
The planning session, which will be co-hosted by Tisbury Waterways Inc., is scheduled to begin at 5:30 pm on Thursday, August 25, at the Tisbury Senior Center.
For more information, call the Martha's Vineyard Commission (MVC) at 508-693-3453.
Police recruit for junior police academy
The Oak Bluffs police department is recruiting children between the ages of nine and 13 to participate in the fourth annual Junior Police Academy this month.
The goal of the junior police academy is to increase self-esteem and build an understanding and respect for law enforcement.
The week-long program focuses on a number of aspects of law enforcement, including: arrest procedures, criminal law, mock crashes, building searches, and forensic science. A variety of daily activities and field trips are planned throughout the week.
The academy begins August 29 and continues until Sept. 2. The program runs from 9 am to 2 pm each day.
Anyone interested in attending the junior police academy can pick up an application packet at the Oak Bluffs police department located at one Ocean Avenue. The deadline for submitting applications is Tuesday, August 23, by 4 pm.
For more information, please contact Officer Carrie White, academy director, at 598-693-0750.
Changes proposed for
Stop and Shop parking
Tisbury town officials conferred last week on proposed designs for the Water Street parking lot with Joseph Penney, a senior development manager for Stop & Shop Supermarket Company.
The supermarket company agreed to fund part of the design and construction costs for reconfiguring the parking lot, which is owned by the town of Tisbury but serves the store, as well.
The selectmen viewed several plans, and narrowed the choices to two, including one by Henry Stephenson, a planning board member. Mr. Stephenson's plan rotates the parking spaces to make them perpendicular to Water Street. There would be one entrance in and one out, with three bays of parking spaces. A pedestrian walkway would be created along the side of the lot near the police department.
The other plan combines one proposed by Mr. Penney with suggestions made by the selectmen. It maintains the current parking lot layout, but adds an opening between the row nearest the store and the second row. This would allow cars to turn into the second row of parking without having to exit and cross Water Street to reenter, as they do now.
The meeting with Mr. Penney, held at the department of public works offices, was attended by the selectmen, Ray LaPorte, Tristan Israel and Tom Pachico, as well as Mr. Stephenson and Fred LaPiana, DPW director.
Mr. LaPorte emphasized that pedestrian safety is the number one concern, especially as people walk through the lot to get to Main Street. The selectmen also want to create a pedestrian-friendly walkway from Water Street through the parking lot up to Main Street.
Mr. Penney said the store's main goal is to maintain its loading and service area, which requires 14 feet of access, as well as to provide the maximum number of parking spaces to accommodate shoppers.
Mr. Stephenson will redraw his plan according to the parking lot's survey measurements, and both plans will be presented at a public hearing this fall.
Snake bites SSA crewman
An angry snake that eluded the crew aboard the Islander sank his fangs into Mike Kuhn, an ordinary seaman, who captured the large black snake 20 minutes before the ferry's 4:30 pm arrival yesterday.
Although Mr. Kuhn suffered two puncture wounds to his right hand, he assured the captain and crew he felt fine.
As a precaution, police officers and an ambulance crew stood by the dock for the boat's arrival. Mr. Kuhn walked unaided to the ambulance and was taken to the hospital as a precaution.
Tisbury police officers notified Gus Ben David, the Island's foremost reptile expert, who met them at the dock and identified the snake as a black racer. Mr. Ben David said the non-venomous snake is a member of one of the seven native species on Martha's Vineyard and the largest species found here. He plans to release the snake tomorrow.
Sean Burke, a Steamship Authority (SSA) pilot aboard the Islander, said that crewmen Mark Jardin and Jim Stovich first spotted the three- to four-foot black snake, about one inch in diameter, on the freight deck on the 1:15 pm trip out of Woods Hole.
"I don't know how he snuck on," mused Mr. Burke. "He
must have just slithered by." He speculated that the snake
may have hitched a ride aboard a farm trailer.
The crewmembers tried capturing the snake on the freight deck, but
he escaped into the engine room where Mark Suneson worked. "Snakes
give me the willies," admitted Mr. Suneson.
Knowing Mr. Kuhn had handled snakes before, he asked him to catch the snake and hoped they could release it unharmed on their return to Woods Hole.
However, the snake gave them the slip, and managed to remain on board for the 3:45 pm crossing back to the Island. This time, knowing the snake was swimming in the bilge water, Mr. Suneson removed a couple of bilge plates, just enough to allow Mr. Kuhn to climb into the hole and capture him. Some crewmembers stood by to put the snake into a large plastic garbage bag, but as they attempted to transfer him from the bag to a plastic bucket, he escaped again. Mr. Kuhn grabbed for him, and this time, the snake bit him. He assured everyone he was fine, but the captain followed SSA procedures, making sure he received medical attention.
As the ambulance drove away, one of the crewmembers was heard to
remark, "So much for Homeland Security!"
Karen MacKay signed copies of her -cartoon-filled 2005 calendar at Bunch of Grapes last fall.
Karen MacKay, with her husband Jack, outside Alley's General Store, which he manages. They were married in October last year.
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Karen MacKay, 39, was cartoonist and MV Times web site designer/manager
Karen S. MacKay died at her home in West Tisbury August 13, after two years living with cancer. She was 39.
Karen was the web administrator for the Martha's Vineyard Times, and also an award-winning cartoonist and a writer. In 2004, she published the Vineyard Wilderness Calendar 2005: 12 Months of Living Local on Processed Insights, illustrated with her drawings, each brilliantly illuminated by her gentle, quirky, prodding wit and warmed by her richly compassionate nature. For this sweetly blended mix of personal qualities, she was much loved by colleagues and friends, as well as more casual acquaintances.
Karen regarded herself with the same ironical glance she directed
at Vineyard life, or life in general. Of herself, she wrote in an
introduction to her calendar, entitled "What Really Happened...":
"I don't know how I got into this. One moment I was a realist
portrait painter and the next I was drawing E-Z Bake Ovens and space
trash. I drew my first cartoon in October 1988, when I was going
to school full-time at the Rochester Institute of Technology, working
part-time, renovating a farmhouse, rehabilitating two abandoned
horses, eating lots of pop tarts and generally lamenting my life.
My friend Jonathan Levitin suggested I might feel better after a
quick lunch at the Burger King Drive-thru. My burger had no buns.
That afternoon, I drew 'What Really Happened: the Burger With No
Buns', which was the first of a series I drew on large sheets of
paper I found thrown out in the RIT basement. When I showed these
to my illustration professor, Alan Singer, he said, 'These are the
most dangerous ideas you've had in a long time.' I'm still not sure
what he meant, but stay away from fast food."
Karen (MacDowell) MacKay, daughter of Kay and Ewald Schneider, grew up in Rochester, New York. She earned a bachelor of fine arts degree in illustration and painting and a degree in graphic design from the Rochester Institute of Technology, a master's degree in library science from the University of Buffalo, and a master of fine arts degree from Goddard College. She had also completed two years' work toward a doctor of philosophy degree in integrative technology and creativity at the Union Institute of Ohio.
Karen worked as a senior technical writer in California and at the Xerox Corporation in Rochester for several years. She was the assistant director of the Oak Bluffs Library for one year before joining The Times in February of 2003.
Karen is survived by her husband Jack MacKay, whom she married on October 15, 2004. Jack is manager of Alley's General Store in West Tisbury. He was at Karen's side when she died.
She is also survived by her parents and half-sisters Beth and Debbie. Along with the kind and capable Hospice volunteers, Karen's longtime friend Betsy Bevan assisted her and Jack at the end of her life.
A memorial service will be held on Martha's Vineyard in mid-September at a date to be announced. Donations in Karen's name may be made to Hospice of Martha's Vineyard, P.O. Box 2549, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557.
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