PETERSON NAMED AIRPORT MANAGER OF THE YEAR Alfred (Al) Peterson has been named as the Boston area Airport Manager of the Year for 2006 by the Boston Area FAA Safety Team. In a letter received from the FAA Safety Team Manager, Jack Keenan, the Boston Flight Standards District office had this to say:

"This honor is truly deserved. Your reputation and dedication to safety are well known throughout New England and your integrity is without question."

Peterson will be honored at The Aviation Safety Group of Massachusetts Annual Awards Presentation Banquet on May 16 in Randolph, Mass.

Nantucket Memorial Airport is the second busiest airport in Massachusetts. Peterson has been Nantucket's Airport Manager since March, 2004 and has been involved with aviation for most of his life.

REINHARD GIVEN HOSPITALITY AWARD At last month's 20th annual Statewide Tourism Conference in Worcester, Mass., Selectman Allen Reinhard, who is the Middle Moors Ranger for the Nantucket Conservation Foundation, was presented with the Governor's Award for Hospitality and Tourism. He was chosen for the 16 years he has shared his knowledge of the environment and the island with visitors going on NCF nature walks, as well as for the 12 winters he has assisted at The Hy-Line helping tourists with various reservations and offering information about Nantucket.

"It's really quite an honor," said Reinhard. "When I got the call my first response was 'Are you sure you have the right person?' I thought it was quite an honor."

SMALL FRIENDS FUNDRAISER FOR NEW BUILDING SATURDAY In most cases these days, both mothers and fathers have to hold down jobs to meet the cost of family living. When very young children are involved it can be difficult to find quality care for them on a consistent basis while parents must be at work all week, all year.

That is where Small Friends on Nantucket plays a vital role. Founded in 1988, Small Friends is the only island daycare center that accepts infants as young as three months old and the only full-time, early education and care center operating 52 weeks a year. It achieved accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children in January 2005.

Now the organization is seeking community support to raise remaining funds needed to build a new facility where all its children may be housed under one roof and in a building featuring many new benefits. Currently at two locations - with infants and toddlers in space leased from Nantucket Cottage Hospital, and preschoolers at the donated former Patio J's restaurant that was once part of the Nobadeer Farm Road mini-golf course - Small Friends is in the midst of building a "green" facility it can call its permanent home and which is environmentally friendly and energy efficient.

On Sat., April 28, at 6 p.m., Small Friends will host Spring Down the House Event, an evening of dinner and dancing at the Chanticleer and the 'Sconset Casino. Dinner starts at 6 p.m. with dancing beginning at 7 p.m. All proceeds will go to the organization's Building Dreams Capital Campaign.

"We're looking forward to an exciting new project," Stephanie Hall, a member of the organization's special events committee, said of the facility planned for the Nobadeer Farm Road land where the pre-schoolers are currently located. "One of the reasons we're doing the fundraiser is to give people information about Small Friends and an opportunity to support the new facility."

Presently, Small Friends has an enrollment of seven infants, 23 toddlers and 14 pre-schoolers, with 13 teachers, assistant teachers and a permanent substitute teacher. The new building will allow the organization to serve an additional 20 babies and students. The plan, once the 6,600 square-foot building is completed, is to convert the temporary Nobadeer Farm Road structure into affordable housing for a staff member.

The new building, scheduled to open in September 2008, will contain pre-school and after-school classrooms, three toddler rooms, a special infant room, a group activities room, a commercial kitchen, administrative and staff areas, disabilitycompliant restrooms, a laundry room, a playground and an outdoor classroom and nature area. The total campaign goal is $3.5 million, with $1.7 million already raised toward the project.

SMALL FRIENDS TO HOST CHILD SAFETY AND AWARENESS DAY Small Friends on Nantucket is proud to host their first "Children's Safety and Wellness Day" for the community Sunday, May 20, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the 19 Nobadeer Farm Road Campus. Representatives will be on hand to present information on safety issues related to fire, car seat securement, buses, water and Internet use as well as dentistry and traumatic injury awareness, children's health, chiropractic care and Lyme disease prevention. Child I.D. kits provided. Please call 228- 6769 for more information or to volunteer.

HEALTH INSURANCE OPEN HOUSE AT NCH Nantucket Cottage Hospital's (NCH) Social Services Department invites uninsured Massachusetts residents to attend an Open House at NCH this Friday, April 27 to learn more about the health plan options and determine which program will best fit their specific needs. These new insurance plans - known as Commonwealth Care and Commonwealth Choice - are comprehensive insurance plans offered at an affordable price for individuals under 300 percent of the Federal Poverty Level ($30,636 annual income).

The Open House is from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. this Friday, April 27. To schedule an appointment or for information about the new plans, or information about any other public health insurance plans such as MassHealth, please

call 508-825-8256. I