Winter is a great time to go beachcombing. High winds, high tides and rough seas churn up a lot of stuff and leave it on shore for the discriminating walker to find. What you find will vary with where you are on the Cape, so bring your sense of adventure, bundle up and don’t forget to bring your binoculars because you may find some pretty cool birds as well. If you’re really lucky you might spot a right whale...

Preschool Screening Chatham and Harwich elementary schools provide integrated preschool programs that are designed to meet the requirements of the special needs preschool population as well as other preschool children from the community.  Chatham Elementary School will conduct its annual early childhood screening, by appointment only, on Wednesday, March 18. Parents interested in having their child attend...

East Harwich - Raymond William Molyneux went west January 2, 2020. He was the loving husband of Jane (Gaugel) Molyneux for 72 wonderful years and devoted father to his five children: Lynn, James (Jim), Nancy, Patricia (Pat) and Jeffrey. He leaves behind six grandchildren and two great grandchildren as well as several doting nephews and a niece.             Before moving to East Harwich, Raymond lived in Dansvi...

Dorothy M. Freer, 91, of Ridgefield, Conn. passed away on  Friday, Jan. 17, 2020, at Liberty Commons in Chatham. She was the loving wife of the late Edward C. Freer Sr.      “Dot” was born in Danbury, Conn. on March 25, 1928; a daughter of the late Helen (Johnson) and Martin Coffey. She was one of five children: the late Elizabeth Christie, Katherine Bates, Martin “Sam” Coffey, and Joan Coffey.      A Ridgefie...

    WITHERBEE, Karen Leslie, (Hunt), 76, formerly of Chatham, passed away January 5, 2020 in her North Palm Beach, Fla. home.  Born March 15, 1943 to the late F. Richard Hunt and the late Marie Antoinette Bordeleau in Pittsfield.  Karen graduated from Westbrook College in 1963 with a degree in Liberal Arts.  In 1968 she married Glen L.Witherbee at St. Elizabeth’s Chapel in Sudbury.  Karen and Glen eventually made...

    Lorraine (Quesnel) Bolus spent 89 years bringing beauty to places and people who needed some.     Lorraine, who was born in Waterbury, Conn. and passed away January 12 in South Chatham surrounded by family, was an artist by nature and floral designer by trade. In her hands, a simple clutch of wildflowers and grasses would be quickly transformed into an award-worthy arrangement.     She showed others how to ...

CHATHAM – A variety of projects, ranging from salt marsh preservation to bike path mile markers, have been submitted for funding through the Community Preservation Act. Sixteen proposals, totaling $1,460,050, will be reviewed by the community preservation committee, which is charged with making recommendations on the projects to voters at the May 11 annual town meeting. According to Finance Director Alix He...

CHATHAM – Without intervention from town officials, one of the oldest houses in Chatham and a direct link to founder William Nickerson, could be lost. Historical Commission Chair Frank Messina appealed to selectmen last week to pull together a group of stakeholders to brainstorm ways around roadblocks that could lead to the demolition of the home at 68 Shell Dr. “It's not that we want to break the law, but ...

CHATHAM — The U.S. Coast Guard has extended the public comment period on a proposal to remove the “C” buoy, a key navigational aid marking the location of Chatham Harbor. Locals hope the move signals the agency's willingness to revisit or abandon the plan, which they say would endanger public safety. The Coast Guard had set a deadline of this week to receive public comments about the proposal to remove the lig...

CHATHAM – The historic Coast Guard boathouse that once sat on the shore of Stage Harbor is now the subject of a legal battle in the town of Hull. The 30-by-60-foot boathouse once sheltered the famous CG36500 motor lifeboat used to rescue the crew of the Pendleton on Feb. 18, 1952, still considered the greatest small boat rescue in Coast Guard history. Like the CG36500, which ended up under the ownership of the...

A Year Since Project Began CHATHAM — A year ago, when the town signed a contract with Sciaba Construction Corporation for the construction of a new fish pier observation deck, there didn't seem to be any reason the job wouldn't be done well before Memorial Day. That gave plenty of time for the pier and packing house to be ready for high season for commercial fishing, and for the deck to be ready for the annual...

HARWICH — For Lee Culver, wearing a Harwich Police Department badge for nearly 30 years wasn’t the sum of his service to the town he loved. It was just a start. Mr. Culver, who retired from the department in 2008, died Sunday morning at the age of 72 after what friends describe as a courageous battle with cancer. Though the disease was debilitating, Mr. Culver remained civically active as long as he was physic...

HARWICH — The affordable housing committee is looking to put its first housing project in place to demonstrate the abilities of the recently installed affordable housing trust to develop housing. The group received some good news from a due diligence assessment conducted by Bohler Engineering on behalf of the Massachusetts Housing Partnership. The company conducted an assessment of the 265 Sisson Rd. property,...

HARWICH — Selectman Donald Howell took out nomination papers to run for a fourth term on the board this past week. His term and that of Selectmen Chairman Larry Ballantine expire in May. Ballantine has said a couple of times on the past month he has not reached a decision yet on whether he will run for another term. Town spending and its impact on taxpayers is the major issue facing the community, Howell to...

HARWICH — The former fire station on Bank Street could be demolished in the near future. Selectmen last week instructed Interim Town Administrator Joseph Powers to take the steps necessary to begin the process. Powers said Selectman Michael MacAskill requested moving ahead with the demolition plans and a site visit was held with Town Engineer Griffin Ryder and Harbormaster John Rendon. The building has not bee...

HARWICH — The community preservation committee saw the need for a community playground adjacent to the Harwich Elementary School, but wrestled with funding the entire project when deliberating on how the town’s Community Preservation Act funds should be spent in the May town meeting. The committee ended up reducing the playground request from $641,035 to $500,000, and also reduced the affordable housing trust ...