“Improvement” People

From Vineyard Gazette editions of March, 1984:

ANGELS AND EXPERTS

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

I write in direct response to last week’s letter written by Ebba Hierta, and would like to clarify the description of Hospice of Martha’s Vineyard as a “volunteer run” organization. We have a paid professional, experienced, licensed, trained and certified staff of registered nurses, social workers, a chaplain, a medical director, and administrators.

And yes, we do have volunteers.

Adopt a Solution

Options for the future of the Island’s animal shelter will be presented next week to the all-Island selectmen and to Dukes County officials. A dedicated group of animal control officers, selectmen and their representatives, veterinarians and others have been studying costs and different scenarios for the shelter since the MSPCA revealed they would cease operations here as of May 1.

Harbingers Ring in Spring

Luther Madison: 1924-2009

Luther Madison was Medicine Man to his people, the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), for decades until his death last Thursday. This role he inherited from his father Luther took to heart, not only in traditional and ceremonial ways but also in everyday acts of gentle healing that reached beyond the bounds of tribe and town.

A Light in the Gloom

President Obama this week presented his first budget in Washington, D.C., a spending plan crafted to address not only the nation’s economic crisis but also its yawning inequality. Here on the Vineyard — where we have as bipolar an economy as you’re likely to find — we were presented with good news about closer-to-home efforts to bridge the gaps between us.

Foremost of these was the announcement that construction will begin next month on a long-awaited community YMCA.