CHATHAM – Staff and volunteers from the town's shellfish department braved frigid temperatures last week to make sure oysters grown in the town's upweller survive the winter. On the shores of Oyster Pond, legal-size oysters were culled from bags containing about 25,000 oysters. About 9,000 were placed in cages in the pond to overwinter, while the remaining oysters were distributed in waterways throughout the t...

CHATHAM — Remember your first job? Maybe it was mowing lawns, delivering newspapers or busing tables. For a variety of reasons, those early jobs can be dangerous ones. “Safety Matters,” a new program launched at Monomoy Middle School last week, aims to teach kids about workplace safety, maybe even before they get their first job. “Any workplace has potential hazards,” program presenter Jennifer Maclachlan...

CHATHAM — The rules are strict and the penalties for violators are stiff. But the regulations being finalized by the board of selectmen aim to ensure that the town's public water supply can continue to meet growing demand. Acting in their capacity as the town's water and sewer commissioners, selectmen last week held a public hearing on the draft regulations. They asked the water and sewer advisory committee to...

CHATHAM – A training session for selectmen and airport commissioners conducted by representatives of the Federal Aviation Administration has prompted questions from an outspoken opponent of skydiving at the town's airport. David Bixby, a member of the group that is suing the town to block the return of skydiving, questioned why the session was held behind closed doors and whether those attending violated the s...

CHATHAM — A Chatham man was cold and wet but uninjured after his boat capsized near the north inlet late Tuesday afternoon. Harbormaster Stuart Smith said the single man aboard the 22-foot center console boat, identified as fisherman Justin Pascarelli of Chatham, was in the area of the inlet when his boat rolled in the surf. Smith said Pascarelli waded to a nearby sand bar, and thanks to a waterproof cell ph...

CHATHAM – No matter who ends up owning the Eldredge Garage, the oldest building on the property, built about 120 years ago as a stable, will likely have to be torn down. Although determined to be historically significant, the building is in such poor condition that it is not salvageable, several people told the historic business district commission during a hearing last Wednesday. The best that could be hoped ...

CHATHAM – A proposal to demolish a 150-year-old home on Stage Harbor Road has rekindled a push to have the historic street placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The historical commission last week imposed an 18-month demolition delay on the Greek Revival house at 271 Stage Harbor Rd., and asked town staff to prepare documentation to submit to the Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC), the fir...

CHATHAM – Well before the sale begins, there's a line of people in the rear foyer at the First Congregational Church of Chatham early Saturday morning, waiting for the annual Cookie Express to start. Inside the church hall, volunteers buzz around long tables set in a big square, adding more cookies to the dozens of plates already piled high with every sort of holiday cookie imaginable: gingerbread men, sugar c...

Frigid temperatures didn't deter crowds from attending Chatham's 38 th annual Christmas by the Sea celebration last weekend. After a process from the community center to Sears Park, the town Christmas tree was lit to a chorus of seasonal carols, with oversight from Santa and Buddy the Elf. The celebration continued throughout the weekend with open houses, music and the annual historic inn tour. CLICK HERE FO...

CHATHAM – Landscapers doing a fall cleanup at the Atwood House Museum made a surprising discovery last Friday: a human skull. Thought to be more than 100 years old, the skull was found in the brush behind the Stage Harbor Road museum, which is owned by the Chatham Historical Society. “It generated a lot of excitement,” said museum Executive Director Danielle Jeanloz. Workers from Luciano's Landscaping di...

CHATHAM – The town's problematic online mooring permit renewal system is being scrapped. Instituted more than three years ago, the system had low use by mooring permit holders as well as technical issues that did not produce the functionality or savings in staff time that were anticipated, said Director of Natural Resources Robert Duncanson. “We just didn't see the efficiency we thought we would,” he said. ...

CHATHAM — Though there seems to be plenty of common ground when it comes to the landscaping and lighting needs for the new West Chatham Route 28 corridor, deep divisions remain about the underlying traffic plan. The board of selectmen heard a report from the planning board and historic business district commission last Tuesday about proposed landscaping and lighting options for the roadway, which is slated for...