The unmentionable odor that wafts from Ocean Park from time to time is being confronted by the town of Oak Bluffs. Whatever it is that is seeping to the surface, the state Department of Environmental Protection is not amused. Recently, wastewater commission chairman Hans von Steiger was quoted in the Gazette as saying, “Remember we are dealing with below-ground here. We can guess, but we don’t know what’s down there.”

ROOM FOR ALL

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

The Dark Side of the Island

We drove down the driveway, turned right so that we could see the front of the house one last time, and then the dam broke. The tears and the deep breaths and the attempt to control all well-intentioned behavior was for naught. The house looked so empty. The grounds were just beginning to look like winter with little foliage, and just by looking up and through the light of thewindows, you could tell it was empty . . . as in nothing left, no furniture, no lights, no paintings, no curtains, etc. It was time for us to keep moving.

Cinderella Legislators

In these long nights of December, lawmakers far away from the Vineyard are busy with what they call midnight regulation, changes that would affect our lives and livelihoods. President Bush calls it sprinting to the finish of his final term. He also calls it “working to enact a wide array of federal regulations, many of which would weaken government rules” — many involving the environment.

Zen and the Art of Splitting Wood

This is the time of year when the woodpile beckons. Stacked, split logs of nicely seasoned oak are the outdoor version of putting food by for the winter — like jars of canned summer tomatoes, or jam made with the frozen berries that were picked in July and August. If there is a fireplace or wood stove in the house, the woodpile is an integral element of life in the off-season.