CHATHAM — If you haven’t completed the U.S. Census yet, Selectmen Chairman Shareen Davis has 144 million reasons for you to do so. “It is important to fill out the census not for today but for the future,” she said. The town stands to lose $2,400 per resident who does not answer the census. In all, 6,000 year-round residents bring the town $14.4 million in federal funding annually, amounting to $144 million ...

CHATHAM – Seals have been a common sight in Aunt Lydia's Cove for years, popping their heads above the water and swimming about as they wait for a snack to tumble over the side of a fishing boat. But this summer it was different. Beginning in July, gray seals, sometimes numbering in the low hundreds, began hauling out on sand flats on the inside of Tern Island, opposite the fish pier. And instead of a few s...

CHATHAM – Form-based code, a method of zoning that, as the name suggestions, emphasizes form over use, may have gained some adherents Monday during a planning board forum on the West Chatham neighborhood center. Following the recommendations of the Cape Cod Commission, the planning board has been dabbling in form-based code as it considers zoning changes to the neighborhood center, the second of four along Rou...

A new wave of COVID-19 cases coinciding with the flu season is a nightmare scenario that officials are hoping to avoid by encouraging all residents to get flu vaccinations as soon as possible. “A dual outbreak of flu and COVID-19 will put a serious strain on our healthcare capacity,” State Senator Julian Cyr said. Gov. Charlie Baker called the need for people to get flu vaccinations “more important than eve...

CHATHAM — With peak summer visitor season in the rearview mirror, utility crews have returned to Route 28 in West Chatham to resume work on the roadway reconstruction project. Public Works Director Tom Temple told selectmen Tuesday that National Grid resumed work on Sept. 8 and aims to restore natural gas connections to 11 properties in the area by the end of the month. Verizon expects to complete its work b...

CHATHAM – Friends of Chatham Waterways (FCW) Water Watchers recently completed their 21st season of collecting water samples and data for Chatham's Coastal Water Nutrient Monitoring Program. From 15 sampling stations in Chatham, 42 volunteers used refractometers to measure water salinity, Secchi disks to measure water depth, dissolved oxygen meters to record water temperature and dissolved oxygen levels, an...

CHATHAM – For the past several months, anyone who wanted a marriage license had to pass papers to the town clerk through an open window. New committee members have been sworn in on the steps of the town offices. Dropping off or picking up of plans, permits, tax payments and other documents at the annex has been done via a drop box, like spies passing clandestine documents in the night. That ends this week, whe...

CHATHAM — A week after state officials designated Chatham a “higher risk community” and marked it red on its pandemic map, a decline in the daily case rate has put the town back into the lowest-risk category.  Now marked gray on the map, Chatham's case rate is now listed at 4.9 cases per 100,000 residents, down from 8.5.  The new designation was released Wednesday as part of the state's weekly public health repor...

CHATHAM – “Sadly, we're cranking away.” Stephen Daniel, co-founder of the Chatham Coronavirus Impact Fund, was speaking about the continuation of the fund begun in April to help local residents under financial stress due to the pandemic. While there was no big spike after enhanced unemployment benefits ran out, there also hasn't been a significant drop in the amount of assistance the fund has been providing. ...

Eldredge Garage Property Suggested As New Location CHATHAM – Ellen Briggs thinks it's not too much to ask to preserve what is thought to be the oldest house in town. She certainly doesn't want to see another piece of the town's heritage slip away. “The town has a history of doing that, and we'd like this not to happen,” she said. Protect Our Past, a preservation group Briggs founded a year ago, is circul...

CBI Closes After Server Tests Positive CHATHAM – A cluster of COVID-19 cases among members of the Chatham Squire staff has grown to seven. The Squire closed Aug. 30 after one person tested positive. It reopened Monday after cleaning, but closed again after subsequent testing of 15 staff members revealed three more positive cases. Three additional cases were identified by Visiting Nurse Association contact t...

CHATHAM — Selectmen have reluctantly called a special town meeting for Oct. 3 at 1 p.m. at Veterans Field, despite their concerns about holding a large public gathering during the pandemic. Required by law because it was forced by petition, the meeting will ask voters to consider creating a Main Street Theater Overlay District that will allow the redevelopment and restoration of the historic Monomoy Theatre. ...