CHATHAM – The first time Sean Summers met Tim Roper was after Mr. Roper had zinged him in his satirical Crap Cod Chronicle. “I told him I thought it was funny, even if he did put me in a Speedo atop someone else's shoulders,” Summers said Monday. “We had a drink and were friends ever since.” A former selectman, Mr. Roper died at his Old Queen Anne Road home last weekend. He was 65. Although his wit could...

CHATHAM – Recent winter storms have sent waves crashing over low sections of South Beach, and in one particular location created a washover that officials say could lead to a new break in the barrier beach. Much of South Beach south of Lighthouse Beach is little more than strips of sand barely above high water. One spot about a half mile down the beach where the higher dunes give way to low, flat sand, just pa...

CHATHAM – There's no disputing Shareen Davis' lineage. A 13 th generation Nickerson and a 10 th generation Eldredge, she is descended from Mayflower passengers through her grandmother. She grew up in a fishing family, graduated from Chatham High School (Class of 1976), and for many years ran a trap fishing company with her husband Ernie Eldredge. After volunteering in local organizations and on town commi...

CHATHAM – The first time Sean Summers met Tim Roper was after Mr. Roper had zinged him in his satirical Crap Cod Chronicle. “I told him I thought it was funny, even if he did put me in a Speedo atop someone else's shoulders,” Summers said Monday. “We had a drink and were friends ever since.” A former selectman, Mr. Roper died at his Old Queen Anne Road home last weekend. He was 65. Although his wit could...

CHATHAM – Federal legislation to limit the western boundary of the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge to mean low water has been filed by Congressman William Keating. Keating had filed the legislation last fall, but had to re-file the bill with the new Congress. The bill remove the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's authority over 3,000 to 4,000 acres of submerged lands west of the refuge, over which the agency...

Two major storms lashed the area with heavy snow and high winds during the past week. After temperatures reached nearly 60 degrees Wednesday, about eight inches of snow fell on Thursday, canceling school and shutting down shops and municipal offices. While only a few inches of snow fell Monday, heavy winds created white-out conditions at times, and frigid temperatures made driving a challenge. Both storms caused ...

CHATHAM – With the dispute over the western boundary of the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge still unresolved, selectmen voted Tuesday to support continued funding of the fight for another year. Money put in place a few years back to fund a consultant to represent the town's interests in Washington, D.C. will run out in June, Director of Health and Natural Resources Dr. Robert Duncanson said. An infusion of an...

CHATHAM – Selectmen have begun digging down into the proposed fiscal 2018 budget, last week reviewing general government, debt and capital spending plans for the coming year. At $2.1 million, the capital budget is up $158,000 over the current year's capital spending, but for the first time since 2012, will be funded completely outside the tax rate. Finance Director Alix Heilala said the source of money for the...

Dogs are going to college and it's not a case of affirmative action run amok. The Cape Cod Commercial Fisherman's Alliance is spearheading a new program to get dogfish into university dining halls. A new “from boat to campus” version of a fish-to-table program is putting the fish on the tables of some of America's leading universities including Yale, UMass, and Ohio State. UMass has already ordered thousand...

CHATHAM – Drs. Michael and Margaret Tompsett were getting ready for a vacation in Cuba when they received a call from Lord Browne of Madingley. Michael Tompsett, he informed them, was to share the £1 million Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering for his work in digital imaging. “We basically took a day of shock, then unpacked our suitcase for Cuba and packed for London – unpacked swimsuits and packed rain coat...

The “heartwarming and inspiring” story of the 1952 rescue of 32 sailors from the Pendleton, the tanker that broke in two off Cape Cod during a vicious northeaster, represents Chatham’s community spirit at its finest, says Danielle Jeanloz, executive director of the Chatham Historical Society (CHS). “Rarely does a community have a chance to rally like that and have such success,” Jeanloz said Monday. The story ...

CHATHAM – Learn mindfulness, the philosophical underpinnings of Hinduism, flower arranging, gardening secrets, how to golf and all about the Cape's freshwater ponds in the spring Learning Series at the Eldredge Public Library. The series of more than 20 programs, which begin this month, is held at the Main Street library (with a few exceptions) and cost a mere $15 each, a true deal considering that many of the...