Editor:

In 1996, the Unitarian Universalist Meeting House congregation in Chatham took a gamble and bought our building on the hill at 819 Main St. We recently paid off our mortgage and are now mortgage-free! We want to take this opportunity to thank all who made this possible, including our dedicated members, volunteers, staff, supporters, and visitors, as well as anyone who has ever donated to or bought from the U.U. Thrift Shop.

This year, we welcomed our dynamic new minister, Rev. Chris McMahon, hosted a candidates' forum, a peaceful rally, and several art exhibits featuring immigrant stories, photographs, quilts and more, participated in the town-wide cleanup, and joined the town's H2O pledge program. Our solar credits defray our electric costs, and profits are donated locally.

If you have been wondering what is going on at the church on the hill, we invite you to visit our website www.uumh.net. Our July 27 service, "Introducing the Spirit of U.U. to You!" is especially for those who want to learn more.

Thanks to all who have made this milestone possible.

Danielle Jeanloz, president
Chatham UUMH Board of Trustees

Editor:

As a current resident of the big, bright city of Las Vegas, when I get the privilege of catching up with my mother, Susan Baran of Harwich, about small town news and what's going on in her neck of the woods, I am always elated to hear stories like this. She recently told me that as she was visiting Island Pond Cemetery where her late husband and Chronicle writer Jim Baran is buried, she noticed that a Chatham Police Department shield was placed at his grave site. She reached out to his dear friend, Wally Bicknell, who has adorned my late father's grave site with many badges of honor, including the newfound Chatham Police marker. On behalf of our family, I wanted to express the most sincere gratitude to Wally for decades of friendship, keeping in touch with my mom over all these years, and continuing to adorn our father's grave site in his honor. Many, many thanks as well to the Chatham Police Department where he served from 1982 to 1986, as well as the great writers and staff of his beloved Cape Cod Chronicle.

Jody Baran Morales
The Baran Family
Harwich

Editor:

In her June 19 letter, Mary Anderson states, “While everyone says that they are in favor of affordable housing in the abstract, the minute a specific site is proposed all of the same arguments come out, including traffic, density, impact on schools and ‘not in keeping with the community.’”

This statement erroneously conflates the proposed Pine Oaks Village 4 (POV4) megadevelopment and resident pushback with that of other housing developments on the Cape. The Pine Oaks group is seeking to build 242 rental units next to an industrial zone in a well-known dangerous area of North Harwich. For reference, here is a list of other developments being built on the Cape: Cape View Way in Bourne, 42 units; Province Post in Provincetown, 65 units; Lawrence Hill in Wellfleet, 46 units; Cloverleaf in Truro, 43 units; 107 Main in Orleans, 14 units; Pennrose in Orleans, 62 units; 456 Queen Anne in Harwich, 60 units; Eagle Pond in Dennis (with only access through Harwich), 79 units. None of these come close to the extreme density of the proposed POV4. POV4 would be five times the average size of these developments.

Ms. Anderson states that POV4 “probably will create a little more traffic,” “density is not a four-letter word,” and that “we do not have a traffic problem in Harwich,” all talking points that the Pine Oaks group has been gaslighting us with for years. In truth, an additional 2,000 vehicle trips per day is not “a little traffic.” In addition, POV4 would be one of three planned housing developments within three miles of each other in North Harwich. This kind of density is unprecedented on the Mid and Lower Cape. North Harwich would be the frog in the boiling pot as the traffic from these three developments increases over time to create a terrible traffic situation.

Also, it seems that Ms. Anderson has had a very different experience driving in Harwich than the residents of North Harwich. She is lucky to not have experienced the danger and frustration that we have. The traffic and safety issues are well documented in the resident letters re: POV4 on the town’s website, and were backed up in the comments by local law enforcement at the June 18 meeting.

It doesn’t matter if the Pine Oaks group are our “friends and neighbors” as they aggressively try to promote themselves, or crisis capitalists trying to build a cash cow. The result will be the same for Harwich. Please attend the traffic and safety meeting at 6:30 p.m. on July 9 at 204 Sisson Rd. to learn more about why we shouldn’t “welcome Mid Cape Church Homes’ Pine Oaks Village IV proposal.”

Sherri Stockdale
North Harwich

Editor:

I wanted to take a moment to thank Tim Wood and The Chronicle for covering the “No Kings” demonstration in Chatham on June 14. What an amazing experience! The solidarity and positive energy of the large crowd that participated was truly inspirational. I was fortunate to attend with my 80-year-old mother, Carol, and to see a photo of us on the front page of the Chronicle made our day! That was not the first demonstration that we have gone to together; from a young age she has taught me by example that we stand up for those who need us, that we treat others with compassion, and that we call out abuse of power in our government when we see it. I am extremely grateful to be her daughter and proud of all the good work she has done in her lifetime. 

Recently I have been thinking of the elected senators and representatives in Washington, all the Republicans and some Democrats as well. I watch as they turn a blind eye to the abuse of power, to mothers and students being abducted by masked men, and a president who seems intent to break our government into pieces for his own advantage depending on his mood each day. I wonder if these career politicians are concerned how history will view them years from now. When their children and grandchildren are old enough to understand how these politicians bowed down to the current president and his incompetent administration, will they be as proud of them as I am of my mother? I think not.

Marianne Lewis
Chatham

Editor:

It is obvious that the scribe of "Disgusted By Trump's Parade" (June 19) is not a Trump supporter, spending two paragraphs (of three) virulently criticizing the president for his having spent $45 million taxpayer dollars on the Army's 250th anniversary parade, not a birthday present to himself, as the writer alleges. Instead, the scribe continues, the monies spent should have been invested in the Biden Administration's pet projects, like NPR, USAID and Voice of America, to name just three, all bastions of liberal propaganda.

As a Navy captain — and, thank you, sir, for your service to our country — and a member of the military, in which parts of the parade were you "disgusted"? You didn't cite any specifics, aside from President Trump's execution of the anniversary parade. Were the battalions of men and women marching in uniform offensive? Or the replication of the Revolutionary War re-enacters' marching in formation? Or, God forbid, the might of our military hardware?

Would you turn your back on any military representation in the annual Fourth of July parade?

Hardly...so your screed was merely an attempt to voice your disgust at the president of the United States? But not the event itself? I wonder, would you have hurled invectives at Joe Biden for having so disastrously withdrawn from Afghanistan in 2021, leaving behind billions of taxpayer dollars' worth of military equipment and causing the deaths of 13 American troops? I wonder...

Charles Flynn
Ridgewood, N.J.