CHATHAM – Despite Thursday's annual election having the highest number of contested races in several years, fund raising by candidates fell below the three previous elections. According to campaign finance reports filed last Wednesday, candidates raised a total of $9,873 this year. That's roughly half of last year's $19,601 total raised by two candidates running for a single seat on the board of selectmen. Thr...

CHATHAM — Friends and colleagues are remembering Jean Young as a no-nonsense leader, a truly tireless volunteer, and a tender advocate for people in need. The longtime health board member and community volunteer died last Tuesday after a battle with cancer. She was 72. The board of selectmen held a moment of silence in her honor Monday. “She was a very, very vital person to this town,” Chairman Cory Mette...

CHATHAM – The town is certainly blessed with more than its share of literary luminaries, from New York Times best-selling authors to award-winning children's book illustrators. Three local authors will give readers some insight into the creative process in a series of talks this month as part of the Eldredge Public Library's Learning Series. Children's book writer/illustrator and New Yorker cover artist Bob St...

CHATHAM — The five men seeking three seats on the board of selectmen met voters face-to-face in a candidates’ forum at the Eldredge Public Library Wednesday. Before a crowd of more than 120 people, they staked out their positions on conservation, sustainability and what constitutes good government. The session was sponsored by the Chatham Alliance for Preservation and Conservation, which has held similar forums...

CHATHAM — Selectmen are faulting U.S. Rep. William Keating, D–9th District, for not doing enough to promote his legislation to reverse the controversial land claim by the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge. Keating is defending his actions, saying he has done all he can to advance the bill in a Republican-controlled Congress. On Monday, the board of selectmen issued a “call to action” to citizens in the form o...

CHATHAM – If you've always wondered about those magnificent young men in their flying machines, here's your chance to learn more. Author and historian Mark Wilkins, former director and curator of the Atwood House Museum, knows all about the World War I “aces” who created a new form of warfare, aerial combat and in their day held a status not unlike modern-day rock stars. An author of books and articles on both...

CHATHAM – A number of questions critical to the town's future will face voters at next Monday's annual town meeting, including upgrading drinking water infrastructure, moving forward with a new senior center, protecting Nantucket Sound beaches and mechanisms to pay for benefits for retired town employees. Voters will also be asked to decide if they want to allow retail marijuana sales in town and whether or no...

CHATHAMPORT — It's the time of year for weeding, pruning and a fresh coat of paint, and last week, around 50 volunteers from CARE for the Cape and Islands converged on the Chatham Marconi Maritime Center for a spring spruce-up. Designed to provide service opportunities for visitors to the Cape, CARE is now in its fifth year, Executive Director Jill Talladay said. Among those taking part in the clean-up at th...

CHATHAM – The only thing certain about the fate of an iconic Shore Road home is that it will continue to exist in its present state for at least the next 18 months. After unanimously agreeing that the 91-year-old house, whose official address is 233 Seaview St., is historically significant, the commission voted Tuesday to impose an 18-month demolition delay on the structure. Owners Ronald and Ann Cami of San F...

CHATHAM – Toxic algae has closed several freshwater ponds on Cape Cod in recent years, including Harwich's Hinckley's Pond in 2009. So far Chatham's ponds have not been impacted, and a new testing program aims at providing a warning if that changes. Volunteers are being sought to help collect water quality samples from five ponds this summer. Testing for cyanobacteria – the organism that causes the blue-green ...

CHATHAM — Because of an apparent miscommunication, an article seeking to renew the Monomoy Regional School agreement was not included on Chatham's annual town meeting warrant and will have to wait until next year. Fortunately, the revised agreement doesn’t include any weighty changes, so the postponement doesn’t pose a problem, Superintendent of Schools Scott Carpenter said. At first, it seemed the revisi...

CHATHAM – After the 1987 break in North Beach, a long-range plan was developed in response to what was expected to be continued erosion south of Lighthouse Beach. But conditions changed – South Beach connected to the mainland and provided protection for the inner shoreline – and the plan was never fully implemented. That's just one reason no one was prepared for the devastating effect this past winter's four n...