PAY RAISE QUESTIONS

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

During a time where everyone is being asked to tighten their budgets, I find it interesting that the Oak Bluffs fire chief is asking for a $30,000 raise. Remember, this is not a full-time position. The department is still a volunteer department, meaning that the members receive yearly stipends, including the chief.

An important source of housing support on Martha’s Vineyard will be one focus of the next few weeks of town meeting discussion. Votes on funding for the coming fiscal year’s rental assistance program totaling $560,000 are spread across the Island’s six towns. So too are the 77 households who currently use rental subsidies to help maintain themselves and their families.

I’m the very model of the modern model citizen, although I’m not as beautiful a model as Heidi Klum, which explains why I have never been featured in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.

Still, I am proud and slightly flummoxed to say that I do not (as yet) have a criminal record. On the advice of my attorney, who is in jail, I can’t say anything else except that I am disappointed I wasn’t chosen to serve on a court case when I was called recently for jury duty.

From Gazette editions of April, 1985:

Spring Songs

Keep the Skate Park Open

The recommendation from an Oak Bluffs town insurance inspector on the skate park came out of the blue last week, catching everyone by surprise, including the nonprofit organization that operates the park across the road from the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School. Citing equipment safety hazards and liability concerns, the insurance inspector has recommended that the park be closed.