Vineyard roots run strong and deep and I never have imagined calling anywhere else on earth home. I grew up on the Island, but plenty of people grow up plenty of places. They move, they call other cities, other towns their own. What has always rooted me to Martha’s Vineyard is what roots so many people here — a community with a heart much larger than the Island’s 100 square miles would suggest.

Members of the Martha’s Vineyard Tactical Response Team are headed to Boston today to provide relief for those who responded to Monday’s bombings at the Boston Marathon.

Oak Bluffs Lt. Tim Williamson told the Gazette that he and other members of the tactical team were headed to Boston on Wednesday afternoon for a 12-hour shift, from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Two well-known Vineyard runners who participated in the Boston Marathon are safe and unharmed following the explosions at the finish line Monday afternoon that made instant international news. In a text message to the Gazette late Monday, Joe Schroeder said his wife and marathon runner Marylee Schroeder was safe. “All good and [we’re] out of Boston,” Mr. Schroeder said in his text message