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Letters to the Editor
September 8, 2005
Some relief
To the Editor:
Thank you so much for publishing my letter in your paper.
I don't expect any results, but it certainly allowed me some relief with the anxiety we experienced. And you made it so easy. So much appreciated. I truly understand why my sister-in-law would not live anywhere but on Martha's Vineyard. My sincere thanks.
Linda Edge
Pocasset
Editor's note: The letter Ms. Edge refers to concerned the theft of her son's diabetes supplies.
Courage, love,
and thanks
To the Editor:
My dear wife Karen lost her battle with cancer on Saturday, August 13. She put up quite a fight. In fact, most people didn't even know she was sick. But I did. We tried everything to keep her here, but the universe had other plans.
A tremendous number of people helped us through this struggle, and they are simply too many to name. But a few stand out: Nancy Berger, Marjorie Lau, Catharine Coulter, Dr. Beth Herrick, the pilots of Angelflight, Margaret Logue, all of the people at The Martha's Vineyard Times, Karen's best friend Betsy Bevan, and the amazing nurses of Hospice. Without their support, this would have been much tougher.
Death is never easy, but we were fortunate to have such strong support from so many quarters. I thank you all. And mostly I thank Karen, who taught me everything I know about courage, and about love.
Jack MacKay
West Tisbury
Raiding the garden
To the Editor:
Certainly it has been 25 years since I cared about homegrown personally, and sure, I inhaled. Are you telling me that my tax dollars were spent on raiding gardens by running Blackhawk helicopters over private property on this Island? You're telling me that our law enforcement community has the excess time to squeeze by tomato plants, chives, and basil to pull out marijuana plants. Thank God they have nothing else to do than to raid a little old lady's back yard.
Don't respond, "It's illegal." At one point in our history so was alcohol. Now it's a taxable. Health issues: one word, tobacco. Future generations: tax it and put the money into our school systems.
How many dollars were spent that could have been directed to the kids in this community? How much time was spent in planning and execution that could have been spent developing relationships with high-risk teenagers?
My tax dollars paid for that raid, and I don't approve it, and how many people do?
Elizabeth Harrington
Edgartown
Storm ahead
To the Editor:
An average home on Nantucket now goes for $1.672 million. During some of the busiest summer weekends more than 250 private airplanes compete for spaces at the local airport. Approximately 400 service workers fly in every weekday from the mainland to do plumbing, gardening, construction, etc. According to a local Nantucket realtor, H. Flint Ranney, 82 percent of the houses on the island are owned by seasonal residents. One summer resident has been quoted as saying that Nantucket is equivalent to a castle with a moat around it.
According to Geraldine Fabrikant of the New York Times, in an article headlined "Old Nantucket Warily Meets the New," "...now that the hyper-rich have achieved a critical mass, property values have zoomed so high that the less-well-off are being forced to leave, and the island is becoming nature's ultimate gated community."
An owner of an 8,000 sq. foot waterfront home (after tearing down the previously existing home, of course) likes to boast to his friends that he spends only 12 days out of the year in his home on the island. Billionaires are buying million-dollar properties next to their already-existing trophy homes in order protect their waterviews and privacy.
Our beloved Vineyard is next. Perhaps this crisis is taking longer to reach us because we are a larger Island. Nantucket is 20 miles long and 3.5 miles wide; the Vineyard is 20 miles long and 5 miles wide. Whatever the reasons are, all I know is that time is running out, the clock is ticking and my heart is breaking. Sounds pretty dramatic, but I am speaking from my heart and soul. And I know I am not the only one who feels this way.
Danapel C. de Veer
Brighton
Maybe foxes
would help
To the Editor:
It occurs to me, as I complete a course of antibiotics for Lyme (a road I've been down before, sad to say), that the reintroduction of foxes to the Island might be an idea worth looking into.
The thinking is that, since a good portion of a fox's diet consists of mice and rabbits and these animals are known to play a central role in the spread of tick-borne diseases, the benefits could conceivably outweigh any detriments.
Obviously, questions of possible significant increase of rabies and threat potential to domestic poultry and other animals would be among those requiring good answers.
Just an idea, but one I thought worth airing.
Thomas Sullivan
Vineyard Haven
Many not
mentioned
To the Editor:
While I am always pleased to see positive media coverage of our Island preschool and child care options, I was disappointed that the article by Janet Hefler, MV times, September 1, didn't see fit to mention the numerous other preschool programs that have been serving this community for many years.
All the currently operating programs are licensed by the Massachusetts Office of Child Care Services and are voluntarily accredited by our national organization, The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). These programs – Early Childhood Programs at Community Services, Garden Gate Child Development Center, Grace Preschool, Island Children's School, Inc., Martha's Vineyard Hospital Child Care and Learning Center, Plum Hill Preschool, The Rainbow Place, and Vineyard Montessori School – provide a variety of philosophies and curriculums, giving Vineyard families a wide range of options for preschool care.
Additionally there are many family child-care providers who are affiliated with the Vineyard Affordable Child Care Project.
These dedicated and hard-working women care for young children all day, and many evenings of the year participate in professional development trainings and college courses. We have many fine providers and programs on the Vineyard; all deserve the recognition afforded the few mentioned in this article.
Kimberly Baumhofer
Director
Island ChildrenÅfs School, Inc.
Directing aid to poor and black
Katrina victims
To the Editor:
It is evident from the news coverage that an overwhelming number of poor people and black people have suffered and will continue to suffer the worst from the Katrina hurricane. The NAACP of Martha's Vineyard is urging its membership, as well as the Vineyard community, to make financial contributions to assist the thousands of families who have had their lives devastatingly altered due to this horrific disaster.
Collected checks will be sent to the Boston Civil Rights Foundation, who will send the donations directly to the Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama state conference presidents, who will be able to find the best way to distribute the money in a way to serve the needs of those in greatest need.
None of the money will be used for administrative purposes.
Please make tax-deductible checks payable to: "Boston Civil Rights Foundation" and mail to: MV/NAACP, P.O. Box 1513, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557. With heartfelt thanks,
Marie B. Allen
President NAACP of Martha's Vineyard
Government
for the rich
To the Editor:
A tsunami requires a seismic shift of tectonic plates. Most will incorrectly conclude that no geologic activity is responsible for the devastation in New Orleans and the Gulf coast. But they are tragically wrong.
The seismic shift that is responsible for the brutal treatment of American citizens on American soil by an indifferent American government began in 1980 with the election of Ronald Reagan.
During the Great Depression, the middle class had realized the inhumanity and excesses of allowing the rich to control the country. They forged a great alliance with the poor, the uneducated, the lost, and the immigrant to utilize government for the greater good – the amelioration of poverty and instability. But in 1980, the middle class abandoned the poor and aligned themselves with the rich. The middle class aspirations of joining the rich blinded them to the truth that it is easier to become poor than it is to become rich. They accepted as truth the grand deception known as "free markets": the deception that free markets are more egalitarian than regulated markets. But the truth is, there is no such thing as a free market. All markets are regulated.
In 1980, we played the game of self-deception and chose a market regulated for the benefit of the rich at the expense of the poor, and we called it "free" to make us feel good.
The election of Ronald Reagan began a 25-year destruction of the accomplishments of the New Deal, the social contract, and the sense of shared responsibility. Even the Democratic party abandoned the poor. This long progression of regression has lead us to George Bush and a federal government that is unwilling and unable to effectively intervene in the disaster in New Orleans; a federal government that cannot provide health care to 45 million American citizens; a federal government that wants to set the market "free" to destroy Social Security and the stability of our eldest citizens' lives; a federal government that refuses to tax the wealthiest of our citizens but is happy to tax the poor and the middle class to fund the adventurism of the rich; a federal government that marshals an army of the poor and disadvantaged to advance the interests of the rich; a federal government that turns away when faced with the awful truth about the death rate of our babies; a federal government of the rich, by the rich, and for the rich.
And we are responsible, we the middle class. We – the SUV-driving, cell-phone-hugging, internet-chatting middle class living in our gated communities, going to our private schools, self-absorbed in our ostentatious poses, envious and desirous of the rich – are responsible for offering the lottery ticket as a solution to poverty. It is our responsibility and now, because of Katrina, our great shame.
Katrina may not have been caused by a shift of the tectonic plates but the catastrophic abandonment of the poor by the middle class is responsible for the pain, suffering, and death of the poor in New Orleans. Now, we must break this unholy alliance with the rich; create a seismic shift in the political landscape and renew the best part of America – a government that values all its citizens; a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.
Government is not the problem; it's the people we elected to government, and it's our responsibility to throw them out.
Brian Hughes
Oak Bluffs
Ease voting rules
To the Editor:
The League of Women Voters urges state legislators to support the constitutional amendment which will come before the Constitutional Convention on September 14. The amendment would lift restrictions on absentee voting.
Massachusetts' current absentee ballot laws make voting even more difficult for the modern citizen. With young or old dependents keeping us at home and urgent business or personal crisis taking us out of town, or difficulty getting time off from work, so many voters report an inability to get to the polls despite their good intentions.
Why do we make the voting process cumbersome when we are striving for increased citizen participation in the electoral process and bemoan low voter turnout as a sign of civic apathy and disengagement? Voting is the key to a strong, functional representative democracy that is responsive and accountable to the people.
Currently, the Massachusetts constitution restricts absentee voting to people who will be absent from their city or town on election day, have a physical disability that prevents them from voting at the polling place, or cannot vote due to religious beliefs. Yet, in election 2004 there were a record number of requests for absentee ballots in Massachusetts. The current law is unenforceable.
Twenty-four states have unconditional absentee voting, allowing everyone who needs to cast their vote by absentee ballot to do so. Research indicates that voters in those states appreciate the flexibility absentee voting affords them; that election day workload decreased; and that no fraud was reported as a result.
Unconditional absentee voting does not mean a vote-by-mail election or changes in absentee voting procedures. People would still have to request an absentee ballot in writing and either vote in person at their local election office or by mail. This may necessitate increased resources for local election offices to handle absentee ballots, but isnÅft this a price worth paying for an inclusive democracy?
Barbara Peckham
President, League of Women Voters of MarthaÅfs Vineyard
A few pecks of salt
To the Editor:
When I was a chambermaid, I knew plenty about making beds, doing laundry, and troubleshooting vacuum cleaners. I knew which cleaning product to use on which bathroom fixture; I could clean a shower stall top to bottom without getting wet. In a pinch, I could take room reservations, provide answers to most frequently asked questions, and recommend sights to see and restaurants to eat at. If, however, a reporter had ever shoved a microphone in my face and asked me to discourse on the economics of hotel management, I would have made a fool of myself.
Likewise, Lieutenant Zachary Iscol (MV Times, August 18) is on firm ground when discussing his personal experiences in Iraq, but his comments on Iraqi politics, the Iraqi people, media coverage of the war, and U.S. policy in the region should be taken with a few pecks of salt.
Two tours of duty do not an expert make, any more than a few summers on Martha's Vineyard qualify a person to discuss what goes on in the winter. Most readers of The Martha's Vineyard Times have probably heard the story of the emperor's new clothes. Only one child dared say out loud that the emperor was parading down the boulevard in his undies. Of the other, presumably multitudinous spectators, either none noticed or none dared speak out. The version I heard doesn't say, but I think it's safe to assume that at least some of those silent observers were in uniform.
Does the story say what happened to the child? I can't recall. But it's a good guess that if it had taken place in the contemporary U.S. of A., and not in some unnamed empire far, far away, she or he would surely have been detained for questioning, and maybe even packed off to Guantanamo.
Susanna J. Sturgis
Tisbury
End the war now
To the Editor:
The personal attack on Cindy Sheehan that appeared in the Martha's Vineyard Times last week is shameful. This is typical of the way in which the Bush administration and its supporters have responded to criticism: ignore the content and launch a personal attack on the critic. This time they've gone too far. We won't be diverted from the simple question that Cindy Sheehan's act of witness raises: Why are we in Iraq?
This war has not done any good. It has killed tens of thousands of Iraqis and Americans, destroyed the economy and society of a country, put the Shiite allies of Iran in power, sharply curtailed the rights of women, created a climate of fear and terror, and made Iraq into a center for terrorist activity. In America, the war has diverted attention from Bush's agenda: enormous tax cuts for the wealthiest few, cutting back of social programs, deregulation of the economy, curtailment of civil liberties, assault on the environment, stifling of dissent, and the discrediting of the United Nations and all forms of international law.
We have to find ways to end the war now and begin to rebuild both Iraq and America. We need leaders who will tell us the truth and stop the lies and deceptions that have led us into this morass. Now, more than ever, when the leading Democratic politicians are ducking and covering in the hope that Bush will fall on his own, we need a leader with the courage of a Cindy Sheehan to stand up and say it: End the war now.
Steve Levine
Chilmark
What it takes
To the Editor:
It takes a community of caring people to raise funds for an organization that offers hope, comfort, and compassion to our Island families.
It takes a dedicated committee and over 100 volunteers who want to help because they've been touched by Hospice in some way. All these folks said an immediate "yes" when asked to help create an extraordinary evening.
It takes two businesses who underwrite all the food on the dinner buffet – Stop and Shop, and all the beverages – Our Market – for over 350 people.
It takes beautiful Farm Neck to generously share their grounds, Mia who shares her expertise and her patience, Sara Alwardt and her flower arrangers, and the very talented caterer, V Jamie Hamlin to create a feast for the pallet and eyes.
It takes Home Port's delicious clam chowder, raw bar shellfish from Paul Bagnall, Roy Scheffer, Sharon Gary, Edgartown Seafood, and Larsen's Fish Market, luscious desserts from Ellen Serusa, Patti Linn, Judy Mayhew, Jacquie Renear, Joann Ryan, and Paula Conover, with support from Philips Hardware to round out the scrumptious evening.
It takes Tilton Rental's incredible generosity and support, and the Sheriff's department's willingness to lend a huge hand.
It takes businesses who advertise in our program and who share their treasurers, artists who share their talents, and a total community who shares from their hearts, pockets, and time.
It takes a wonderful man, Trip Barnes, who makes people laugh as he asks them to dig deep into their pockets and bid.
It takes guys on Harleys who allow themselves to be auctioned off. It takes a teddy bear maker, a quilt maker, a Red Sox ambassador, any many many more.
It takes heart and you could see, feel and hear it on Monday night, August 8th when Farm Neck was filled with guests and volunteers, all coming together for Hospice and what Hospice means to our community.
Thank you to our incredible committee, John McClintock, Kevin Ryan, Sofia Anthony, Judy Williamson, Jacquie Renear, Judy Mayhew, Sara Alwardt, Joyce Balboni, Noel Bagnall, Ellen Richardson, Elaine Eugster, Susan Madeiras, Coreen DeBettencourt, Janet Willoughby , Terre Young, Ruth McGorty, Jean Powers, Debby Hilton, Rosemary Casey, Caroline Little, Sarah Connolly, and Ellen Serusa.
Thank you to every guest, volunteer and to all of the businesses who made the evening such a wonderful success. And thank you to the One who provided a perfect, warm starlit night. It was a wonderful evening for all.
Nancy Whipple and Melinda Loberg
Co-Chairmen
Hospice Summer Soiree
CouldnÅft have done it without you
To the Editor:
The following is a copy of a letter sent to Roy Hayes of the Chappaquiddick ferry service:
You really saved the day (or really many days). We canÅft thank you enough for your help getting Island students quickly between Edgartown and Chappaquiddick. For the first year ever (after 12 years), we didnÅft have any of the students participating in our education programs miss their bus home due to a long wait on the ferry line. By not spending time waiting in the ferry lines, our Island schoolchildren were able to spend more time learning about, and enjoying, our properties. We couldnÅft have done it without your help.
The Claire Saltonstall Education Program (CSEP) offers free environmental education programs to Island students from every school. More than 700 kids participate in our programs with more than 300 visiting Cape Poge, Wasque, and Mytoi. The programÅfs success depends on the help of community leaders like you.
Thanks again for helping us to give students and their teachers a stress-free visit to Chappaquiddick and all of its wonders.
Suzan Bellincampi
Director of Training and
Program Development
The Trustees of Reservations
Move the discharge
To the Editor:
I am pleased to inform your readers of the Letters to the Editor column that the fish and plants of Edgartown Great Pond will have their day before the Massachusetts Supreme Court this November, 2005.
The first hearing the fish and plants had occurred on Dec. 16, 1996 before Department of Environmental Protection, Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Palace. At that hearing Edgartown town counsel Ron Rappaport informed ALJ Palace that the town would not move the Edgartown Wastewater Facility to help the fish and plants of Edgartown Great Pond. At that time we (Friends and Fishers of Edgartown Great Pond) asked the town of Edgartown to simply move the discharge to a point that it would have no effect on the fish and plants of Edgartown Great Pond. Town counsel Rappaport stated that could not be accomplished.
At that point we embarked on a very long and costly fight for the fish and plants of Edgartown Great Pond. During this fight the fish and plants have received no newspaper coverage from either island newspaper. It is interesting to note that this case is important enough for the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to remove this case from the appeals court but not important enough for either paper to comment on it or write about this case. It is small wonder that apathy abounds on your Island, given the way both newspapers have covered the plight of fish and plants. Oh yes, there is always a plethora of articles about the plight of birds or dogs and cats, but the only articles on fish talk of overfishing, never any articles about how the humans control their daily perturbations or how this daily perturbation affects the fish and plants.
Hopefully, after this November, we can begin a process to bring back the fish and plants that once lived in Edgartown Great Pond and the other great ponds of the Cape and Islands. As we like to say, "Move the discharge, bring back the fishery."
Mike Picciandra
President
Friends & Fishers of
Edgartown Great Pond
A green event
To the Editor:
One of the more challenging aspects of the recent Vineyard Conservation Society's VCSFest was to make the event as "green" as possible from a waste-generated perspective. Our goals were to use materials that represented sustainable and renewable resources. After some coordination, we settled on a variety of biodegradable products that we felt would demonstrate that commitment. Most of our materials were obtained from Biocorp, Inc., a distributor of environmental products, but there are numerous others who carry similar product lines.
We used plates and cups manufactured from a fiber called bagasse (a by-product of the sugar cane industry). Although bearing a strong resemblance to plastic, the beverage cups were made of a blend of cornstarch, limestone, and cottonseed oil. Even the tableware at the event was fully compostable and made of a polymer extracted from wheat starch, called PLA (polylactic acid). We used some plates and napkins made by Seventh Generation from 100 percent post-consumer-recycled paper. These products also have the advantage of being readily composted.
Past industry efforts to make compostable products from renewable sources resulted in plastic-like materials that only shredded and broke into smaller pieces but did not fully decompose. These newer products will decompose into carbon dioxide and water in a properly managed compost pile which can sustain temperatures over 135 degrees.
Our event succeeded in demonstrating that the amounts of waste generated can be reduced, but it took some hard work. We had a crew of volunteers who monitored the disposal of every item and were responsible for the success of this effort. Betty, Nicole, Mark, Aimee, Anthony, Elizabeth, Dylan, and Nancy served not only as energetic recycling enforcers but also as educators during the event. Penny Uhlendorf handled the "after event" management by getting the recyclable plastics to the transfer station, the food scraps to farm animals, and the compostable materials to a local farmer who will complete that effort. She also compiled some data that was interesting. A total of 83 percent of the waste generated at VCSFest was recycled, composted, or reused – only 17 percent required disposal. Excluding the food preparation wastes, materials brought to the event or used to prepare menu items, the recycle rate climbs to 94 percent. The Sydney Olympics, in a planned initiative at reducing waste for their food services operations, achieved a 76 percent reduction, so we obviously did a great job.
Although the costs are a little higher than traditional food service materials, more widespread distribution of these products is beginning to occur. The availability of commercially viable compost operations would aid tremendously in increasing options for these products. There are opportunities here for merchants, caterers, and especially general household use. VCS will be looking at educational opportunities to assist in increasing the use of these products on MarthaÅfs Vineyard.
The Biocorp web site is www.Biocorpna.com 1-866-348-8348.
David Nash
Board member
Vineyard Conservation Society
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