SubscribeShopping PageAdvertisers IndexContact Us Print Edition RSS RSS Feed
Other News July 18, 2007
Search Archives

etcetera
1. A number of unspecified additional things; 2. pl. additional items, odds and ends

HOSPITAL BREAKS BIRTH RECORD FOR JUNE Though the expected total was shy by five babies, Nantucket Cottage Hospital still broke its record in June with 22 infants born in its maternity unit. Nancy Lucchini, the NCH maternity department manager, just returned from vacation and added the numbers, explaining that of the 27 babies anticipated last month, a couple of mothers delivered early at the end of May and a couple other moms moved away before their due dates.

"We basically had a kid a day and towards the end of the month we did two a day, and everything went well," said Lucchini.

The first June baby came on the 6th and was welcomed into a well-prepared environment stocked with supplies and staffed according to need. The hospital's previous record was 19 babies within a 30-day period. Lucchini said she heard hospitals on the mainland were also experiencing a boom last month.

"Things were just busy everywhere by the sound of it," she said.

NHA HIRES NEW MEMBERSHIP COORDINATOR The Nantucket Historical Association has hired Beth Moyer as assistant membership coordinator.

Born and raised outside Philadelphia, Moyer recently received an M.A. from the University of Washington in Seattle, where she also volunteered and worked at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture in the departments of public relations, development and registration. In addition, Moyer completed an internship at the Washington State History Museum in Tacoma in the development and marketing department. Prior to attending graduate school, Moyer lived in Brookline, Mass. and worked at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, where she also volunteered at the Paul Revere House Museum in Boston.

Moyer graduated with a major in archaeology/anthropology and a minor in applied mathematics from Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa. and attended Westtown School in Westtown, Pa.

NEW SHACK MANAGER HOPES TO OPERATE YEAR-ROUND You may have been among many bike riders, busy parents or kids who once lined up at the Shack at 63 Surfside Road to grab burgers, fries, hot dogs, grinders, salads, fried clams and beverages. The Shack closed at the end of the summer of 2005, but now its new co-owner, Philip Dickey, hopes the selectmen tonight will approve a victualler's license for him to reopen this summer and allow him to operate the business on a year-round basis.

The Shack, at the juncture of Surfside Road and Miacomet Avenue, was built and opened by Nate Thurston in 1972. Dickey and his partner, Keith Yankow, bought the business in March 2006 from Bart Gangemi and his partners and the property from Bill and Ann Barrett. After the purchase they discovered that the change of ownership triggered a need to install an employee restroom and handicap accessibility to the service window. All that is in the works, and Dickey hopes to open as soon as his Health Department inspections receive approval. He also wants to expand the menu to include morning coffee and light breakfast selections.

Dickey, an island resident since 1988 and familiar postal carrier, said the intention is to not only make the Shack handicap friendly, but to stay open all year and provide employment to someone who enjoys the food service industry.

"I'm looking for someone on Nantucket with a passion for food," he said. "I'd like to offer a Blue Plate Special on a daily menu. I can't believe that on a daily basis people have said, 'Get that place open.'"

Dickey, who will keep picnic tables on the property, plans to have The Shack open seven days a week from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. He has already received approvals from the Zoning Board of Appeals and Historic District Commission.

ISLAND AIRLINES RECEIVES NOISE ABATEMENT PLAUDIT Island Airlines has been named the recipient of the monthly early morning noise abatement incentive award for the month of June by the Nantucket Airport Commission. Island Airlines outperformed the field of air taxi airlines by posting an 89.19 percent compliance record for the month.

According to Jack Wheeler, environmental coordinator at Nantucket Memorial Airport, "The airport is quite happy with the results of this new competitive rewards program. Our airline pilots have really stepped up to the plate. Competition between our airlines has led to improvement over May's compliance percentages. June was the best month on record and the compliance rate of all airlines combined topped 85 percent."

The Nantucket Memorial Airport Commission introduced voluntary routes to mitigate aircraft noise several years ago. The air taxi companies that provide service to and from Nantucket have noted that compliance with these voluntary noise abatement routes takes extra time and uses extra fuel. In order to provide some incentives to these companies, the commission approved an incentive plan on a trial basis, beginning April 1, 2007 that will continue through November 30, 2007. If a company achieves an 85 percent overall compliance rate during the period from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m., then five percent of the landing fees for that company for the month will not be charged. If the results achieve the commission's objective, then consideration will be given to making the plan permanent or to expanding it to cover additional periods of the day. In addition to being presented with the monthly noise abatement trophy, Island Airlines will also receive a 5 percent discount on their June landing fees. I


Click ads below
for larger version