HARWICH — The state Architectural Access Board has denied a variance for elevators at the new dormitories being built at the former Stone Horse Motel in South Harwich. The issue was raised during the site plan review and special permit hearing for the redevelopment. Main Street Stone Horse, LLC is constructing a pair of two-story dormitories, each with 42 rooms to accommodate up to 180 seasonal workers, includ...

HARWICH — The planning board received a detailed presentation on the use of a district of critical planning concern to buy time to make zoning adjustments by Cape Cod Commission historic preservation staff member Sarah Korjeff last week. There has been a focus on using the tool to protect historic characteristics along what has become known as Captains’ Row, a section of Route 28 in West Harwich extending from...

HARWICH — Residents will be lining the streets to celebrate Harwich “Then and Now” as the Hometown Parade rolls along Route 28 in Harwich Port on Sunday in the annual chamber of commerce-sponsored event. “The town will be stepping out to Celebrate Harwich ‘Then and Now.’ Come line the streets and show your Harwich spirit,” Cyndi Williams, executive director of the chamber, said of one of events leading into th...

CHATHAM – This spring when Mollie Charest took to the pitcher's circle for the Monomoy softball team, she had a secret. She played most of her 2019 season with a sprained ankle and wrist, soldiering on when the Sharks made the playoffs. Recently she had another secret, one she's beyond excited to let out: Charest has committed to play Div. 1 softball for Manhattan College in New York. “I've been trying to g...

The Academy Playhouse returned to business earlier this summer with a production of “Disney’s Frozen, Jr.” Now, director Judy Hamer is taking a completely different theatrical turn with a unique and supremely enjoyable take on William Shakespeare’s timeless tragedy “Romeo and Juliet.” This weighty text, showcasing the power of love to overcome boundaries of society, family, and loyalty, is entrusted in th...

'The Tuna Goddess' Also Being Developed As A Film After a successful run at Cape Rep Theater in Brewster last summer, Harwich resident Jade Schuyler's original play “The Tuna Goddess” will be staged a bit farther inland, in West Springfield, beginning this week. The play opens the 23 rd season at the Majestic Theater on Sept. 5. Schuyler and her husband Paul are also developing a film of “The Tuna Goddess”...

Knitters Challenged To Make 'Yarn Haul' If you were to drive from Main Street, Chatham, to Gannett Road, Scituate, you could do the approximately 70-mile trip in about an hour and 25 minutes. However, when you take that drive during the Cape and South Shore “Yarn Haul” event between Sept. 12 and Sept. 15, we can guarantee that short ride will take a lot longer than 90 minutes. In fact, according to Ron Weis...

Selectmen Not Doing Their Job Editor: The United States can talk to the Taliban, but our selectmen won’t talk to its own citizens about skydiving. So as you reported last month, it’s off to court again—this time to the state Appeals Court in Boston. Citizens for a Safe Chatham Airport is bolstered by an impressive array of legal expertise for the hearing there. This makes the fifth time court proceedings...

“Where there is no vision, the people perish!” – Proverbs 29:18 There is not a definitive translation of this passage from the Hebrew nor are Biblical scholars at one in its interpretation, other than to say most get it wrong. Therefore, we are free to see what we want in the maxim and apply it as we see fit. After living here over 13 years, and as I begin my sixth year writing this column, it is time to as...

With any luck, Hurricane Dorian will skirt out to sea well south of Cape Cod. But the powerful storm is a reminder of the need to be prepared for emergencies. A few people among us remember the double-whammy of hurricanes that came 65 years ago in 1954. On Aug. 25, Carol came ashore at Old Saybrook, Conn., bringing winds of over 115 mph, downing thousands of trees and damaging many boats on the Cape. A week la...

Mosquitoes have always been an annoyance, swarming and biting during summer outings, particularly in the evening. But now they come with a greater threat: Eastern equine encephalitis, a serious illness that has been detected in mosquitoes on Cape Cod. Eastern equine encephalitis, also known as EEE, is a mosquito-borne illness that, while very rare in Massachusetts, is beginning to spike, particularly in Bristo...

ORLEANS — The selectmen and board of health will hold a joint public information session Sept. 10 at 5:30 p.m. about a proposed Pay As You Throw (PAYT) trash disposal plan that could start as early as June 1. Members want to hear what citizens have to say on the possible change. “If I were to make a motion tonight, it would include the words, 'Time is of the essence,'” health board member Sims McGrath said. ...

ORLEANS — The atrium at the entrance of Orleans Elementary School will be full of books and displays when students return to classes this week. One giant “book” was opened to two blank pages. “What will your story be this year?” literary specialist Martha Jenkins said students will be asked. “Children will be writing their own story of the school year.” Adding their stories to the “book” celebrates indivi...

CHATHAM – The town will drop a controversial plan to dredge a section of Chatham Harbor near the North Inlet that prompted a lawsuit and appeal to the state department of environmental protection. In a press release Friday, town officials said because of evolving shoaling conditions in that area, the limited amount of dredging being sought would be ineffective in providing a suitable navigational channel. Rath...

NORTH CHATHAM — A man was badly hurt following a mishap with a cannon Saturday afternoon. With ambulances committed to other four other rescues in Chatham at the time, an Orleans ambulance was dispatched at 12:42 p.m. to 2 Salt Pond Rd., North Chatham, the Gerald Milden residence, for a report of a man shot with a cannonball. Deputy Chatham Fire Chief David DePasquale was the first rescuer on scene, and s...