News
Despite the claimed end of the recession, the number of foreclosure proceedings on the Vineyard appears to be increasing, along with unemployment.
Analysis of the space taken up by foreclosure-related advertising in the Gazette shows that it took up more than twice the column inches in the December quarter of 2009, compared with the same period in 2008.
And Chris Wells, president of the Martha’s Vineyard Savings Bank, said this week he believed unemployment on the Island could be as high as 50 per cent over the next couple of months.
The Island Housing Trust has begun the application and selection process for the seven houses at 250 State Road in West Tisbury. Prospective homebuyers are required to attend a training session scheduled for Jan. 26 at 5:30 p.m. at the Howes House in West Tisbury.
Applications are available at the Dukes County Regional Housing Authority at 346 State Road in Vineyard Haven (behind Craig’s Bicycles, or online at ihtmv.org/application.shtml.
The sale price and maximum allowable income for each home are:
The Rev. Vincent G. (Chip) Seadale has been the rector at the St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Edgartown only since last November and already the 49-year-old and his wife, Colleen, have immersed themselves in Island life.
“The whole thing is a blessing. I am in a honeymoon. Everything here is wonderful. Colleen and I are happy here,” he said.
When Joseph Dockter, 35, interviewed for the position of pastor at the Vineyard Assembly of God in Tisbury late last August, he talked about the spiritual story of Rev. Thomas Mayhew, who brought Christianity to the Vineyard in the 1600s. It was an inspirational story for him, and he couldn’t help but draw a connection between the old story and the work he wanted to do on the Vineyard.
That conversation and interview on Monday, August 31, earned him the job. He was offered the position that night.
Tisbury Supports Haitian Relief
The earthquake in Haiti has mobilized a global effort to help alleviate the suffering of those affected by that disaster, and this Staurday, the Island is invited to help. Organizer Chris Bahara says, “It is last minute, we know, but the time is now, and on Saturday, we’ll make Martha’s Vineyard the place.”
If there’s one thing that Vineyarders know how to do, it’s throw a good party.
Even when the occasion for the party isn’t the most uplifting.