Letters to the Editor
Posted October 26, 2006
A coach to be kept
To the Editor:
(This is a copy of a letter sent to Peg Regan, the principal, and Mike Joyce, the athletic director, of Martha's Vineyard Regional High School.
It has come to my attention and many of my former teammates that there is a movement to look into hiring a new coach for the MVRHS boys' lacrosse team, which would result in the firing of Peter Ferrini. As a member of the lacrosse team for all four years I attended the high school, I strongly disagree with the idea that the team needs to come under new leadership.
During my four years with Peter, he led our very young team to four state tournaments, including one trip all the way to the state championships. It was his discipline and knowledge of lacrosse that organized our team and brought us all the way to the finals that year. Coach Ferrini's love for this game, as well as the interest he has in seeing that this team succeeds, has brought this entire organization so far since he began it only eight years ago. As the founder of this high school team and one of the men responsible for bringing this sport to the Island, he deserves to continue to be a key part of this organization. Removing him from his current position would not only be an insult to him, but a disservice to the current class of high school lacrosse players.
Coach Ferrini also brings to the table two excellent assistant coaches with Mr. Greene and Mr. Kiersted. Both of these men mentored me and my teammates on and off of the field and were a valuable part of my improvement over the four years that I was with them. These two coaches are very loyal to Coach Ferrini, and although I cannot speak for them, getting rid of Peter would most likely result in the loss of all three of these great teachers.
Since I became a part of this organization my freshman year, I have seen this team go from a mediocre .500 team to coming within one goal of the state championship. The merits that the team has received in its first eight years are usually reserved for teams that have been around for decades. The success he has experienced over the past few seasons have even drawn attention from Division 1 schools, and Peter has personally helped several players, including my brother, to attend and play at these prestigious schools on a national level. The rapid growth and rising popularity of lacrosse on the Vineyard can largely be attributed to Peter's efforts.
Instead of being pushed out of the school, he should be commended for what he has accomplished in such a short time with such a young organization. Removing his presence from that field would certainly be a shock and a disappointment to all of the alumni of that team. Peter most definitely has my support and that of so many of the players that he has coached over the years. We all urge you to consider the success of this organization and the part that Peter has played in it.
Ben Brisson (Class of 2003)
Prescott, Arizona
New county
leadership needed
To the Editor:
The undersigned are citizens interested in good local government.
We have watched county proceedings, followed the move to elect a new charter study commission, and we have interviewed each of the candidates for the four open county commissioner seats.
Although we do not all endorse the same candidates for county commissioner, we are united in agreeing that new commissioners are needed.
Study of the current charter should produce strong new ideas for reform. The commissioners will sit together, ex officio, with the charter study commission. That endeavor needs open minds and new voices.
John Abrams, Tad Crawford, Mimi Davisson, Tip Kenyon, Jeff Kristal, Melinda Loberg, Margaret Logue, Patricia W. (Paddy) Moore, Ted Stanley, Susan Wasserman
Care and
understanding
To the Editor:
The family of the late Miss Dorothy Brickman extends our appreciation to the Martha's Vineyard Hospital, Windemere, and to Visiting Nurses for the excellent care and understanding shown to our aunt during the last difficult weeks.
We are indeed fortunate to have such facilities on our Island.
Larry and Robert Levine
Tisbury
Memories made
To the Editor:
On behalf of Edgartown Brownie Troop 792, I would like to express our appreciation to Lynne Whiting and the Martha's Vineyard Museum. The program you provided was a wonderful learning experience, and the girls enjoyed it. The Brownies will have great memories of this outing.
Kim Carlos
Brownie Troop 79
High cost of SSA mismanagement
To The Editor:
In a recent article Steamship Authority chief Wayne Lamson cited, among other things, increasing costs as a major cause for the new rates we will be seeing next season for steamship travel as well as parking in Woods Hole, Falmouth, and Hyannis. A good example of why there are these increased costs occurred Monday evening, Oct. 9. This was the last day of reservations-only for the long holiday weekend. I witnessed the freight vessel Governor arriving at Vineyard Haven at 10:15 pm with no vehicles, no passengers, and a full crew. The vessel departed at 11:00 pm with a mere 9 vehicles and no walk-on passengers.
I'm sure this is just a small part of the total picture as to why our rates will be forever increasing. This trip should never have been on the schedule and added only if all the other boats were completely sold out. We heard complaints all weekend long from travelers who wanted to bring their cars over and were told that they could get to the Island but could not get a reservation back to the mainland. It's a shame that such waste goes on at the management level of the SSA and easily gets passed on to the customers as a rate increase due to increased costs.
Ray Snell
Vineyard Haven
Surprising mix
To the Editor:
When the Game Room moved from its original home to its new home on Circuit Avenue in the spring, I was skeptical. Why did the game room need to be right in the middle of the bar scene?
My children are still too young to be asking if they can go to Circuit Avenue at night by themselves, but it won't be long. I worried about the kids hanging out at the game room right near all the clubs and bars. I made a point only to take the kids to game room during the day. Last Friday night, my husband and I took one of my daughters, my son, and his friend to Pomodoro for pizza, as we like to do frequently in the off-season. Pomodoro had a 45-minute wait for pizza, so I decided to take the boys up to the Game Room for a couple of games while we waited. Much to my dismay what we walked into wasn't a game room but a pool hall. Seasons had opened its inside doors to the game room, put up three pool tables and had the music blaring. There were about eight people who looked to be barely of drinking age playing pool, drinking beer and making out, things that are fine to do in a bar, but not a game room and not something I want my nine-year-old son to witness just yet.
Now, I don't know if the Atlantic Connection's liquor license carries over to the Game Room, but if it does they need to call it what it is, a pool hall. I find it disturbing that 16- and 17-year olds can go in there and play games while 21- and 22-year-olds can be in there drinking. Somehow the two don't mix.
Susan Dostal
Vineyard Haven
