Child Cruelty Is Vexing Issue for Educators

By CHRIS BURRELL

When a social worker from Maine came to the Island last month for the second time in less than two years, he sat down with teenagers, listened to their worries and feelings and walked away with a disturbing impression: Vineyard kids, especially middle schoolers, are living in a world dominated by teasing and bullying.

For much of the work week, Emily Bramhall inhabits a world devoted to the creature comforts of the indoor world - stuffed pillows, luxurious bedsheets and cozy handknit sweaters sold at her store on Main street Vineyard Haven.

It was all the more shocking then to see Ms. Bramhall wearing a crash helmet and scrunched into the wooden cockpit of a vessel capable of reaching 60 miles per hour across the ice of a frozen pond.

Vineyard Varsity Teams Win Playoff Berths

By BRETT FERRY

Two varsity teams at the Martha's Vineyard Regional High School won key games on the road Wednesday, earning berths in tournament play.

The boys' hockey team secured a spot in the MIAA tournament by defeating Barnstable 4-2 in a comeback victory.

"This was a huge game for us," said coach Matt Mincone. "Definitely a tournament-type game."

Despite being outshot by the Vineyard 10-3, Barnstable led the game 2-1 at the end of the first period.

Land Bank Announces Two Purchases

By JULIA WELLS

Two purchases announced by the Martha's Vineyard Land Bank this week will protect a piece of fallow farmland in the town of Tisbury and a tree-lined ridge with an old brook running through it in the town of Aquinnah.

Advisory Committee Grapples with Two Massive House Plans

By MANDY LOCKE

The Edgartown Ponds Area Advisory Committee this week began its review of two new house proposals for the margins of Edgartown Great Pond - the latest in the steady stream of massive home projects hitting Edgartown these days.

Both 10,000-square-foot houses, if approved by the conservation commission, would occupy heavily wooded lots on the western side of Kanomika Neck - a narrow strip of land jutting into Edgartown Great Pond.

Report Details County Trouble

Dukes County Leaders Conclude Their Internal Probe Into Facts Surrounding Payments Made to Former County Manager

By JONATHAN BURKE

The Dukes County commissioners this week heard their two freshman members report that new personnel bylaws, stronger supervision and better record-keeping will be required if the county is to avoid another mess like the one surrounding the departure of county manager Carol Borer.