Waiting List for English Classes Is Long; Indicator of Intent to Stay

By CHRIS BURRELL

They are, said Jeanne Burke, the people who sustain the Island, the ones who ring up the groceries, paint the houses and tend the gardens.

They are also the ones knocking on Ms. Burke's door in staggering numbers, looking for a place in one of the six English classes taught through the Martha's Vineyard Adult Learning Partnership, where Ms. Burke is the director.

At Firemen's Muster, Duty Calls for Tisbury

By MARK ALAN LOVEWELL

West Tisbury volunteer firemen placed first at the Dukes County Firemen's Muster on Sunday. This was their third consecutive win. More than 200 people gathered at Waban Park in Oak Bluffs to cheer firemen from five Island towns and a visiting team from the town of Carver as they competed for top honors in the annual competition.

When the striped bass she caught was weighed in at Derby Headquarters in Edgartown on Wednesday night, the gathered crowd of 30 onlookers applauded, as they only do for serious Derby contenders. The computer driven scale read in blue letters: 40.52 pounds.

In these waters there is not a more celebrated fish than the coastal striped bass. Beginning Sunday, anglers in the Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby will begin their pursuit of bass, bluefish, Atlantic bonito and false albacore. They will fish along the Island's shoreline and in a variety of boats offshore.

Saturday's 26th annual George Moffett Race in Vineyard Sound was a tough sailing contest. A fleet of 64 sailboats started, but only 28 were able to finish. It wasn't that the weather was horrific. Hugh Schwarz, the co-organizer of the race, said that light winds were the challenge this year.

When the Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby begins this Sunday, there will be more prizes than ever before in the event's 58-year history. This year's contest is offering $300,000 in prizes over the course of the tournament, which runs three days longer than last year.