Chris Burrell

Children Meet Racism on Tisbury Side Street

Two young girls from New Jersey got their first exposure to overt racism this week when they returned from a morning walk into downtown Vineyard Haven and found a racial slur spray-painted in letters two feet tall in the street by the house their family was renting at Clough Lane and Pine street.

Tisbury police are investigating the vandalism that happened Wednesday — possibly in broad daylight — and police chief John McCarthy is looking into whether the incident should be considered a hate crime.

 

 

 

Oak Bluffs Library Plans Are Studied; October Start Seen

By CHRIS BURRELL

Groundbreaking for construction of the Island's newest and largest library may begin sometime in October if bids - set to be opened less than a month from now - fall within the $3.2 million budget.

The roughly 15,000 square foot library will rise up behind town hall on Pacific avenue in Oak Bluffs, replacing the tiny quarters on Pennacook avenue.

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Teaching Assistant Positions at West Tisbury Are Under Threat as Budget Shortfalls Loom

By CHRIS BURRELL

Faced with a $400,000 shortfall in their budget, school leaders from the three up-Island towns are now planning to cut back the roster of teaching assistants at the West Tisbury School.

The Up-Island Regional School District committee will decide next Thursday whether to lay off three teaching assistants or reduce all assistants to a four-day work week.

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Oak Bluffs Selectmen to Check Moped Dealers' Record Books

By CHRIS BURRELL

In the years of controversy and political wrangling over the safety of mopeds on the Vineyard, dealers have kept close guard over one vital statistic: the actual number of mopeds they rent and set loose on Island roads.

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The Summer the Music Stopped: Local Venues See Crowds Thin

By CHRIS BURRELL

They're all tuned up and ready to rock and roll. There's only one problem. The dance floor's empty, and there are just three guys standing up against the wall waiting for the music.

Not even the band can avoid commenting on the dismal turnout: "It's a lonely night at the Ritz," says Bear, lead singer in Bear and Company.

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Staff and colleagues at the Martha's Vineyard Regional High School may have known for years about the actions of culinary arts teacher Peter J. Koines, arrested July 11 by Oak Bluffs police on charges that he stole school-owned kitchen supplies and diverted school funds to buy food for his own commercial kitchen.
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