CHATHAM ─ In 1966, Chatham was a somewhat different place than it is today. The cost of gas was roughly 35 cents a gallon, and a new house might set you back about $25,000. But one thing that hasn't changed, according to Mark Sullivan, is the importance of lifeguards at area beaches. He ought to know, since he manned the chair at Harding's Beach in 1966 and '67. This week he returned to the sand to celebrate...

CHATHAM – William James would approve. The American psychologist and philosopher once famously wrote that, “Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” The 16 children who filled wagons with boxes of provisions as part of the fifth annual “Village Kids for Food Drive” wholeheartedly agree. “We’re out here really helping people,” says Andrew Dinnan, age 10. “Being part of that makes me feel great.” ...

CHATHAM — In the span of a few weeks, officials opened two new bridges in Chatham, one over the Mitchell River and the other crossing Muddy Creek. That's pretty big news for a town that, as of a few months ago, only had one automobile bridge. Both spans are winning high praise from the public, both received substantial outside funding, and both were completed on time. But that's where the similarities end. The...

CHATHAM – Beyond Main Street, just down the hill from the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen's Alliance headquarters, a dozen men and women worked in the morning sun Tuesday to make the dreams of four families come true. Foundations for four Habitat for Humanity of Cape Cod homes have been capped, and the volunteers were building retaining walls and preparing for a wall raising scheduled for next month. Next Tuesda...

Shark Week In Review During last Wednesday's shark population study trip, Dr. Greg Skomal of the state division of marine fisheries sighted a number of great white sharks and tagged two. The two sharks were tagged July 6, a 14-footer a half mile off Coast Guard Beach in Eastham and a 15-foot animal one-half mile off the south inlet in Chatham's South Beach, not far from the Shark Cove area. The sharks bec...

CHATHAM – After 25 years in the energy industry, Jason Nye was too young to retire when he and his wife Kathy moved their family to Truro last fall. A “self-professed gym rat,” he found the perfect transition in the Chatham Health and Swim Club, which the couple purchased last month. “It's something I know and enjoy,” he said of the fitness business. When he met owner Carol Penfield, they not only hit it off b...

CHATHAM — State and federal officials last week trumpeted a new statewide plan that gives communities more control when it comes to managing populations of threatened piping plovers. But when it comes to access to Chatham's stretch of North (Nauset) Beach by off-road vehicles, experts say not much has changed. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife released ...

CHATHAM – In March 2014, a local resident suffered serious injuries in a fight during a basketball game at the community center. In reviewing the center's security after the fact, it was discovered that one of the video monitoring cameras in the gym had at some point been hit by a basketball and was out of focus. The incident “really pointed out some of the limitations of the older system we had,” Park Directo...

CHATHAM—Honeybees are big in the tiny country of Slovenia. Known as the “Beekeeper of Europe,” Slovenia is unrivaled in its apiculture. Not only does the small nation boast an exceptionally high percentage of beekeepers — one in every 250 Slovenians is a beekeeper — the country is home to the Carniolan bee and some of the most famous names in beekeeping history. Among the most well known beekeeping aca...

CHATHAM – If voluntary water use restrictions don't curb increasing pumping from town wells, mandatory restrictions may not be far off. Public Works Director Tom Temple told selectmen last week that after a dip in water pumpage in May, usage shot up in June 14.6 percent higher than the same period last year. Wells were running 17 to 18 and a half hours a day, longer than the recommended 16 hours per day. “I...

CHATHAM – The Chatham Orpheum Theater will mark its 100 th anniversary Sunday at its annual “A Summer's Evening” fundraiser. The exact date of the theater's opening is uncertain; even the year is a bit of a question. There's evidence that it may have opened in 1915, after Captain A.H. Bearse bought Lowella F. Smith's home on Main Street and built a “first-class” theater with a seating capacity of 400 and “ele...

CHATHAM – Ahoy, maties. The Buccaneers have taken over the town's Fourth of July parade Monday. The Bridge Street Buccaneers, a neighborhood group making their debut in the parade, captured the Chatham Cup prize as the best overall entry out of more than 100 participants. That's the largest number of entries ever, according to Independence Day parade committee Chairman Brad Schiff. Officials also estimated ...