Editor:

I am writing to share a deeply upsetting and incredibly disrespectful experience I had recently while tending to my husband's grave at People's Cemetery, in the hope of alerting the community to this egregious behavior.

Because the hoses supplied by the town do not reach my husband's resting place, I must bring my own personal hose whenever I visit. Past hoses I have left there have been stolen, so I transport my own back and forth. During my recent visit, I attached my personal hose to the town's line and was in the middle of watering the plants at my husband's grave when the water pressure suddenly cut out.

When I walked back down to the faucet to see what had happened, I was shocked to find a man actively disconnecting my personal property. I immediately told him that I was in the middle of watering, but he completely ignored me and continued to rip my hose away. Even after I confronted him, he dismissed me entirely, claiming he was "in a hurry." This was a blatant lie, as he had been sitting idly in his car when I first arrived at the cemetery and had ample opportunity to water beforehand.

To be treated with such utter hostility and selfishness while tending to my husband's grave is profoundly violating. This man's behavior was not just discourteous; it was cruel, predatory and shameful. I am sharing this so the community is aware and in the hope that someone recognizes this individual and holds him accountable for his appalling lack of basic decency.

Beverly McCullough

Chatham

Editor:

In all the hubbub of the Fourth of July holiday, I neglected to get this thank you note together to all who made the June 20 gathering at the Chatham VFW so wonderful. David Olsen had a good idea that became a great one. It was nice to see so many faces from the past all in one place. The years just faded away and soon we were all laughing and chatting as if it were 1980 again! Big thanks to Lighthouse for making this happen. I also want to recognize and thank Nina Gargarin for the fabulous centerpieces, Shareen Davis and Ernie Eldredge’s tasty quahog chowder, Beth Meigs’ yummy cookies, David Veach and Naomi Turner’s delicious chocolate zucchini cake and the fried cod, pulled pork and mac and cheese wonderfully prepared by Jeremiah Reardon and the staff at Red River BBQ. Lighthouse put together a great band, too, and called it The Fubar Band: Richard Raymond, Dave Dohan, Rich Elliot-Grunes, Rikki Bates and David Olsen. I would also like to acknowledge Lynn and Steve of the VFW for their attention to detail, and Crystal for her bartending skills! George Payne, former co-owner of the Squire, was very pleased to see so many of his former customers. And the money raised for the Pals For Life Foundation was appreciated! For those who couldn't be there this year, we hope to make this an annual event.  

Amy F. Tagliaferri, Pals For Life

North Chatham 

Editor:

Many thanks for the support we received from the police department and others when my husband recently passed on Father’s Day. 

The police officers in our town are wonderful and my family thanks them again very much.

Lani Ebersold

Chatham

Editor:

I am writing in reference to recent letters concerning the Crowell Road intersection. For the first time in ages, four select board members agreed and were correct to vote against the urbanization of the Crowell Road intersection. Many of us spoke to several of the board members about this ridiculously planned intersection. Like Ms. Dykens, I live here as well. I have never had a problem at that intersection. There have been no reports of serious accidents there. If people would learn how to drive and be patient, maybe others would agree. To call it an “unsafe mess” is a joke. If you’re really that afraid, find another way to travel to town. There are several routes. 

What is it about folks that want to change the character of this town? Ms. Dykens said we turned down $5.13 million. Perhaps she doesn’t comprehend the fact that this is taxpayer’s money. We pay for this and we pay the salaries of MassDOT. We do not want this mess in our town. Ms. Dyken’s husband and his two former select board members voted for Pennrose, which will do nothing but destroy the character of West and South Chatham (if that is approved). One only has to re-read Ms. Gordon’s letter of last week. The development will not fit in with the character of Chatham. Now, you want to press the button and ruin downtown? No thank you. 

Many thanks to Mr. Metters, Mr. Nicastro, Ms. Potash and Mr. Smith for their wise decision.  

Judy Patterson

West Chatham

Editor:

I've been reading the recent stories and opinion pieces about e-bikes, and would like to offer some balanced perspective as I'm deeply concerned that all e-bikes are being demonized. I ride an e-bike, the kind that is simply a bicycle with added pedal assistance via a portable, rechargeable battery. It allows me to extend my rides to areas I wouldn't normally travel, e.g. hills and longer distances. I have seen more bikes like mine on the rail trail, and without exception have witnessed responsible and safe use by the riders.

However, I have witnessed the reckless and irresponsible use of motorized dirt bikes. They have wide tires and jacked-up frames. Electric dirt bikes are more motorcycle than e-bike and have no business on the rail trail. They are not made for leisurely bike rides and shouldn't ruin the joy of riding a simple e-bicycle for the rest of us.

Barbara Dominic

Brewster

Editor:

Lack of safety is the overriding concern for the groundswell of renewed interest in adding sidewalks along all well-traveled roadways, Stage Harbor Road being one of them. In 2015, a proposal for a sidewalk along this road was derailed by a lawsuit against the town of Chatham. The suit was successful because of an error in the previous 1997 road taking. In the lawsuit settlement, the following easement was added in the 2019 Order of Taking specifying permissible utility work — sewer, water and gas distribution, poles, guardrails, signage — and “existing sidewalk and curbing (repair, maintenance and replacement of existing sidewalks and curbs shown on the 2019 taking plans only).”  

This new Order of Taking effectively prevents extension of the existing Stage Harbor Road sidewalk, which terminates at the property adjacent to the Scout Hall going toward Bridge Street. It is dangerous from there on, where pedestrians might need to get off the road to avoid a potential accident, but there is no room to do so.

Can homeowners whose plantings have encroached onto roadside town property be compelled to move them onto their property? There must be a solution that would provide safer options for foot traffic, baby carriages and wheelchairs on this busy road. 

Deborah Aikman

Chatham

Editor:

I have had the honor and pleasure of being part of an amazing nonprofit, Behavioral Health Innovators, for almost a decade. I am responding to the excellent story in last week’s edition covering our PASS program, which works with schools and teens on the Cape providing a safety net for kids struggling with mental health and substance use issues. The brief, comprehensive, out-of-school intervention that PASS provides helps teens identify stressors and challenges, learn new skills and then provides them with support going forward. Our goal is to assist youth in creating physical, emotional and mental health goals and aspirations, so that their struggles do not become lifelong. Prevention and early intervention are so crucial and we are passionate about answering this critical need.

Sheila House, board chair

Behavioral Health Innovators

Harwich

Editor:
    How do Ron Bergstrom, Dan Gessen and I differ as candidates for Barnstable County Commissioner?
    One place to look is the Cape Cod Commission’s 2025 Regional Policy Plan — the county’s blueprint for guiding growth, resource protection and regional planning for years to come. While it doesn’t directly change local zoning, it strongly influences major development decisions and long-term planning across Cape Cod.
    Ron Bergstrom served as vice chair of the board of regional commissioners and the commissioners’ liaison to the Cape Cod Commission during the plan’s development. Dan Gessen served as deputy speaker of the assembly of delegates and has been active on housing policy. Yet after reviewing the public record, I found little evidence that either candidate publicly shaped the regional policy plan through formal comments or proposed policy changes.
    I took a different approach.
    I submitted formal comments challenging the plan’s assumptions about redevelopment in Hyannis. I questioned whether encouraging higher residential densities made sense before addressing drinking water availability, wastewater capacity and the Cape’s overall environmental carrying capacity.
    The commission responded directly to my comments. While it emphasized that the plan does not establish mandatory density targets, my larger concern remained: planning documents influence future decisions even when they don’t impose legal requirements.
    The questions I raised still deserve answers. Should water availability determine how much growth a community can support? Should wastewater infrastructure come before increased density? Should we establish Cape Cod’s environmental carrying capacity before encouraging more development?
    Those are the questions I will continue asking as your Barnstable County Commissioner. I believe good planning begins with protecting the resources that make Cape Cod worth calling home.
    All three of us are on the Sept. 1 Democratic ballot. 

Eric Schwaab
Hyannis

Editor:
    FIFA brought the World Cup competition to our country this year and it is the biggest gift they have ever given us. The United States was transformed and showed the world exactly who we are: warm, caring, compassionate and welcoming — not the “Ugly American” portrayed around the world. I saw an interview with a man from Germany who had been afraid to come here because he knew the country was full of guns and killing and he was afraid. He thought Americans were loud, impolite and had bad manners. He started crying and said he was so happy he came and would tell all his family and friends how wonderful the USA really is. My hope is that most visitors will leave feeling the same way.
    So folks, we represent all that is good in our country, and the man in the White House certainly does not in any way. That’s so important to remember. He is transforming our country into an autocracy every day and weak-kneed members of the Senate, afraid of him and any “punishment” he might place on them, do nothing to stop him. Judges around the country are starting to render decisions against him and even the Supreme Court found their backbone lately.
    The man in the White House has had ICE deport at least 800,000 people so far without any probable cause. He has put hundreds of thousands of Americans out of work with the help of Elon Musk, is closing the Department of Education and uses too many other illegal practices to mention. ICE is illegal and has to go. If you have black or tan faces you are not welcome here by the man in the White House, only if you have a white face.
    So, voters around our country, in November please correct the terrible situation we are in now and vote for representatives who will restore our country to the proud place where it should be.  

Gerry Di Gesu
Chatham

Editor:
    The speed of the second Trump administration’s failures would be remarkable if they were not foretold when he appointed a slew of incompetent sycophants to powerful government positions: Pete Hegseth to head the Department of Defense, Marco Rubio at the State Department, Howard Lutnick at the Commerce Department, and Markwayne Mullin at the Department of Homeland Security (replacing the disgraced Kristi Noem). What have these bumbling fools accomplished so far?
    Hegseth has led us into a war with Iran that would be best labeled a defeat for the U.S., that is, if the war had ended, which it hasn’t. Marco Rubio and the State Department have been unable to negotiate even a lasting ceasefire, never mind a peace negotiation that opens the Strait of Hormuz to trade, the status before Trump started the war. Under Lutnick, the Commerce Department has enforced an unprecedented rise in taxes in the form of tariffs, mostly paid by consumers in the form of higher prices. Markwayne Mullin, formerly owner of a plumbing business and congressman, has overseen the continued increase in ICE raids and expansion of privately-run detention centers. Since violent crime has continued dropping, he could claim some success, except that the deaths of detainees — some of them American citizens — and the abuses of ICE have led to a series of court cases, most of which the Trump Department of Justice has lost.
    These are just a few notable examples; the failures of the current administration are too numerous to list here. On the other hand, the second Trump administration has been one huge success for Donald Trump, who is over $2 billion richer since it began. I guess if you’re a big enough fan of Donald Trump, that’s enough.

Matthew Brown
Harwich