A former summer visitor to Chilmark plans to appeal a recent Middlesex Superior Court decision which favors the Chilmark selectmen’s right to manage their harbor and essentially keep him from spending more than 14 days a summer at a slip.

Paul DeJesus, an aggrieved owner of a 70-foot Hatteras yacht, told the Gazette yesterday he will appeal the Hon. Dennis J. Curran’s decision.

As the Chilmark shellfish department wraps up its first summer, efforts at spearheading restoration projects have been successful. Selectman Warren Doty, chairman of the board and liaison to the department, reported a low mortality rate among planted scallops and a very high production rate.

“It has been a very successful season,” he said.

To date, 100,000 scallop seed have been set to grow in an upweller, purchased by the town this spring and located in Menemsha, as well as in spat bags and pearl nets.

Poets Donald Nitchie, Jill Jupen and Clark Myers lead the lineup at the next, and possibly last, Outerland live poetry event of the year. Other poets, too, will have an opportunity to present their work, new or old, in an open reading segment.

The event is set for Thursday, Sept. 20, at 9 p.m. at Outerland at the Martha’s Vineyard Airport. There is no cover charge.

There is something evil and ugly lurking in the rules of the United States Croquet Association, and that is the rule that tournament matches should be played regardless of the weather — and this means rain.

It rained on the first day of the Edgartown Croquet Club’s tournament, with four matches being played in the morning and six played in the afternoon. A traditional courtside luncheon was served from Soigne, all according to the rules in the rain.

Renaissance House, a retreat for artists, celebrates its fifth year of survival with a benefit spoken word show on Friday, Sept. 21 at 8 p.m. at the Katharine Cornell Theatre, and the public is invited to read.

Vineyard Women’s Network

Hosts Meeting Next Week

The Martha’s Vineyard Women’s Network will hold its first meeting of the season on Sept. 25 at the Grill on Main in Edgartown on Tuesday, Sept. 25 from 7:30 to 9 a.m.

Jean DiGiovanna, founder of ThinkPeople, will explore the importance of goal setting as an approach to business planning. Ms. DiGiovanna will advise attendees on keeping their business “on the right track” with measurable and proven goal-setting tactics.