Julia Rappaport
An unpopular Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School budget reemerged last week after a staff member at the school superintendent’s office spotted that not enough votes had been cast to obtain the legally required two-thirds majority at a meeting in December.
The high school committee voted 7-1 to certify a revised $16.2 million budget last Thursday, but not before eliminating a controversial proposed facilities manager position.
The war was not yet over, but the Germans were on the retreat and General George Patton’s 94th Infantry Division was marching towards the Rhine River. The changing tides brought hope to America, besieged by years of war and renewed the strength of Allied soldiers ready to return home. But for Edward Cowley Jr. — Eddie Jr. to his parents and little sister back home in Buffalo, N.Y. — the impending victory meant one thing: a clean sheet of paper he could use to write his next letter.
The Dukes County Commission is between a rock and a hard place. Faced with a looming budget deficit for fiscal year 2009 and a financial advisory board which has refused to consider an unbalanced budget, the commission on Friday voted unanimously to slash funding by 50 per cent to two county programs and 100 per cent of another.
The commission will ask the six Island towns and the town of Gosnold to contribute the balance to continue the three programs — the Health Care Access program, the rodent control officer and the county engineer.
Most miracles happen when no one is watching.
This time of year, presents appear under trees, with no traces of soot under the chimney or footprints in the snow. Bundles of winter hats and scarves are donated anonymously to warm those in need. And, in a quiet corner of town, a man climbs up scaffolding he has rigged around a 24-foot Christmas tree to carefully and meticulously drape yet another string of white Christmas lights from its branches.
As of this week, Chilmark has taken a step to make its affordable housing more accessible.
In their regular meeting Tuesday night, Chilmark selectmen unanimously voted to adopt new implementation guidelines created by the Chilmark housing committee for homesite and rental properties in the town.
The Dukes County Commission will hold a special meeting at 9:30 this morning in an ongoing attempt to draft a balanced budget for the 2009 fiscal year.
On the table is a proposal to slash funding by 60 per cent to three county programs: the health care access program, the rodent control officer and the county engineer.