The Martha s Vineyard Times
Update: Island first responders start getting vaccine
Majority of Island first responders say they’ll get the shots.
Mark Bettencourt receiving post-vaccination instructions from a nurse at Martha s Vineyard Hospital Friday. Jeremy Driesen
Belle Dinning getting vaccinated by Laura Hilliard, RN. First responders were among the first Islanders to receive the shots against COVID-19. Jeremy Driesen
Belle Dinning in the post-vaccination holding area. Patients were asked to stay there for 15 minutes after their vaccination and before departing the hospital. Jeremy Driesen
Laura Hilliard, RN, awaits her next vaccination patient. Jeremy Driesen
Alex Schaeffer, Edgartown Fire Chief, arrives for his vaccination at Martha s Vineyard Hospital. Jeremy Driesen
The Martha s Vineyard Times
Bilzerian changes plea in snow chase case
Lawyer says Times portrayed his client as an ‘ax murderer’.
Eliot Bilzerian, right, is sworn in remotely before Edgartown District Court Judge Benjamin Barnes. His attorney, Martin Skip Tomassian sits to the left. screenshot
Eliot Bilzerian admitted to sufficient facts Friday morning in Edgartown District Court on charges stemming from a 2019 chase on snowy Vineyard roads across four towns. After waiving his right to a trial, Bilzerian was given a five-month continuance without a finding for failure to stop for police, and a five-month continuance without a finding for negligent operation of a motor vehicle.
The Martha s Vineyard Times
Search warrants result in three arrests
Three Tisbury residents were arrested Tuesday on drug charges, according to a press release from the Tisbury Police Department. The drug charges are the result of a two-month investigation that included the Cape Cod Drug Task Force, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, and Falmouth Police, the release states.
On Tuesday at 10:30 pm, two search warrants were executed. The first warrant was executed in Falmouth by the Cape Cod Task Force, DEA, Falmouth Police, and members of the Tisbury Police Department, on a vehicle registered to Janelle Berneche, 31, of Tisbury. In the vehicle was also Jason Mello, 32, of Tisbury. As a result of the search warrant on the vehicle, both Berneche and Mello were arrested for possession of a Class A substance suspected to be fentanyl, the release states.
The Martha s Vineyard Times
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Mike Alberice braves the cold after the Freezin’ for a Reason 5K at Long Point Wildlife Refuge. The race benefited veterans and the West Tisbury School Scholarship Fund. Lexi Pline
Gannon and Benjamin opened their doors to guests to celebrate the Vineyard Haven wooden boatbuilder s 40th anniversary. Lexi Pline
Brian Packish, who was Oak Bluffs selectmen chair at the time, read a prepared statement about then-Fire Chief John Rose and the controversy that swirled around him. Lexi Pline
Times staffers got together to bake pies, and this one, from reporter Brian Dowd, was a hit. Lexi Pline
The Martha s Vineyard Times
Fire engine crashes into cargo van
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A West Tisbury fire truck slammed into the back of a cargo van Tuesday on Edgartown-West Tisbury Road. There were no injuries. -Nicole Jackson
The crash caused a backup of traffic on Edgartown-West Tisbury Road. -Courtesy Kristian Strom
West Tisbury Fire Engine 721 rear-ended a cargo van Tuesday morning on Edgartown–West Tisbury Road. The cargo van was subsequently propelled into the back of an SUV. The fire truck was returning from an alarm call at about 9:45 am, according to West Tisbury Deputy Fire Chief Greg Pachico. Pachico said two vehicles were in the process of turning off Edgartown–West Tisbury Road when the accident occurred.