News
It happened Halloween morning. Thirty youngsters picked up cans of blue spray paint and went downtown in broad daylight into Oak Bluffs to use them.
But the messages they painted on the streets weren’t graffiti. Plus, they had the full support of grownups.
The youngsters painted stenciled words next to storm drains under the supervision of Oak Bluffs shellfish constable David Grunden, as part of his broadening effort to raise public awareness about protecting coastal ponds.
“Don’t pollute, fish are cute” read one message.
A small and largely unknown group of Oak Bluffs neighbors are circulating a petition calling for the abolishment of the Cottage City Historic District, claiming that the historic district commission routinely violates homeowners’ property rights and is driving down property values.
The fuel assistance program of the South Shore Community Action Council began accepting applications Thursday, Nov. 1.
The council encourages those who did not receive an application and believe they may qualify to apply. Applications will be accepted through April 30, 2008.
Senior citizens on the Island may get in touch with their local councils on aging and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) for information on the program.
Marie Allen Honored
Marie B. Allen of Oak Bluffs has received the Soaring High President Award for exceptional service as president of the Martha’s Vineyard Branch NAACP. The award was presented at the NAACP New England Area Conference’s 69th annual meeting held on Oct. 13 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Natick. Mrs. Allen accepted the award in memory of Mandred Henry, past president of the Martha’s Vineyard Branch NAACP, and in recognition of Mrs. Vera Shorter for her many years of devotion to the Martha’s Vineyard Branch NAACP.
The Oak Bluffs Police Department will host its first Citizen’s Police Academy from late November through January. The academy will give Oak Bluffs residents the opportunity to observe the daily operations of their police department.
Officers will conduct training in their areas of expertise, allowing participants a practical view of policing and its complexity.
Red Sox fans from the Vineyard to Presque Isle, Me., celebrated a second World Series championship in four years this past Sunday as the hometown nine defeated the upstart but ultimately vulnerable Colorado Rockies in a four-game sweep of the fall classic.
It wasn’t long ago that Red Sox Nation was a Third World country ravaged each fall when the team coughed up division leads, faded from contention or endured painful postseason losses at the hands of villains with names like Bucky, Buckner and Boone.