EXTRA...

Patrick, Kirk at odds over wind farm; Mashpee schools skim over Thanksgiving; The Mystery of displaced Ptown tombstone; Pilgrims, protesters hold competing parades in Plymouth

TODAY's quote: “While we’re disappointed by Senator Kirk’s letter, we’re not terribly concerned about it in the sense that we think there’s just about no chance that the Obama administration would act upon this request. They’ve made clear that offshore wind is a priority in terms of creating jobs, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and both of those issues are center stage.’’
- Mark Rodgers.

Patrick, Kirk at odds over Cape Wind - Governor urges Obama to back it

It was not clear whether Senator John Kerry, agreed with Kirk's request. All four Democrats running for Kirk's seat in the special election strongly support Cape Wind

The administration of Governor Deval Patrick, in a sharp disagreement with Patrick's handpicked Senate appointee, said yesterday that it would be a mistake for President Obama to grant US Senator Paul G. Kirk Jr.'s request to delay federal approval of the Cape Wind project.

In a letter to Obama earlier this month, Kirk, who has largely shied away from divisive issues during his two months in office, urged the Obama administration to hold off on a decision until a federal panel can devise comprehensive guidelines for development in the nation's waters. But officials from the Patrick administration said the governor strongly disagrees with Kirk's request and urges quick approval... Globe.   See an editorial on this subject here.
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Mashpee Schools Tread Lightly Around Thanksgiving Stories
Thanksgiving and the National Day of Mourning contrasts

"Personally, I want to give people that knowledge but also play it safe." - Shani Turner.

The dual history of Thanksgiving is especially relevant in the home of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, and teachers in the Mashpee schools navigate these controversial waters carefully, striking a balance between teaching the traditional origins and repercussions of the holiday and how many Native Americans view it.

"It's such a sensitive topic for younger ages," Shani Turner, director of the district's Indian Education Program, said. But even teachers in the Mashpee High and Middle schools are intimidated by the topic of English settlement of America and its impact on its indigenous people, she said. "A lot of people just don't know what to say."

Ms. Turner noted that the Indian education department itself has in the past only skimmed the surface of the subject... Mashpee Enterprise.
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PHOTO GALLERY:
National Day of Mourning

Supporters of the National Day of Mourning gather in Plymouth for their annual ceremonies. Old Colony Memorial.

VIDEO/PHOTO GALLERY:
Pilgrim Progress: Old tradition

The plodding steadiness of rain will wear down rock eventually. The plodding steadiness of the Separatists who dug in to Plimoth Plantation in 1620 is evident today in the thousands of Mayflower descendants who owe their lives to them. It's what gives Pilgrim Progress a somewhat eerie, mystical quality... Old Colony Memorial.

Mystery of displaced Provincetown tombstone deepens

More clues to the mystery of the broken tombstone found in a West End garden surfaced this week when Joseph Peters, of Provincetown, revealed that it was he who originally salvaged the stone from a pile of rubble at the old burn dump 25 years ago.

Peters is the former owner of the West End home where Gordon Peabody, founder of Safe Harbor and professional property cleaner in his spare time, picked up the tombstone two weeks ago. Peabody had been hired by a real estate broker to clear the garden of its myriad decorative stones and other ornaments and didn't realize one of the objects among them was a gravestone until he began sifting through the back of his pick-up a few days later... Provincetown Banner.