CHATHAM – After several Stage Harbor Road property owners expressed skepticism about a National Historic Register District designation for the neighborhood, the historical commission plans to send a letter answering questions raised at an informational meeting Saturday and taking a straw poll to determine support for the designation. The Massachusetts Historical Commission has already determined that the Stage...

CHATHAM – Rebecca Catron regularly walks down Harding's Beach, past the parking lots toward the eastern tip of the beach. In July, she began noticing more and more dead birds on the beach and in the water, sometimes several within a few feet. “I was thinking gosh, this is not normal,” she said during a walk down the beach last week. “I'm used to seeing one or two dead birds, but this is extreme.” It turns o...

Every September, students and teachers returning to school deal with a whole host of changes and new challenges, from entering a new school to learning the names of new classmates and students. When the Monomoy School District begins classes next Tuesday, students, parents and teachers will face a much more fundamental change: new school day starting and ending times. “It's a big adjustment, on a lot of lev...

CHATHAM — For many years, you could almost locate the intersection of Main Street and Old Queen Anne Road in Chatham by smell. The odor of natural gas meant you were there. The low-grade leak in the pipes under the roadway was enough to cause a strong smell, but not enough to pose a public safety risk. Over the course of years, people reported the odor to the fire department and the gas company would investi...

CHATHAM — Think of them as retirement homes for American flags. As part of his Eagle Scout project, 17-year-old David Van Sickle of Chatham has made two drop boxes designed to receive old American flags awaiting proper disposal. “We were getting boxes of flags from the fire department,” he said. It's not clear how or why the practice started, but people have been bringing old flags to the firehouse for...

CHATHAM ─ Joan and Ed Lerner first started coming to Chatham Band concerts at Kate Gould Park roughly 60 years ago, so it only seemed fitting that for their 57 th wedding anniversary on Aug. 25 they settled into seats with a clear view of the Whit Tileston Bandstand. The Lerners weren't the only ones celebrating that night. The evening also marked the official celebration for the 85 th year of the red-and-...

CHATHAM — Expressing concern that important decisions might be made by as few as two members, Selectman Dean Nicastro is asking the conservation commission to change the way it votes. By unanimous vote, the board of selectmen decided to send a letter to Conservation Commission Chairman Michael Tompsett asking the commission to amend its regulations to require at least four votes to take action under the wetlan...

CHATHAM — In addition to being a former state environmental official and the current executive director for the Association to Preserve Cape Cod, Andrew Gottleib is a four-term Mashpee selectman. And he knows that if constituents don't speak out about an issue, it won't be a priority for his board. That's why in some towns, wastewater planning hasn't really moved the political needle, he said. “In many resp...

CHATHAM — Thanks to several well-timed rainstorms, the town's water system is keeping up with demand this summer. But officials say that, with another four weeks of summer left, it wouldn't take much more than another heat wave to stress the system beyond capacity. There are also predictions for a warmer-than-usual autumn ahead, Public Works Director Tom Temple told selectmen last week. Water and Sewer A...

CHATHAM – The sandwich board sign announcing the town's farmers market was a familiar and welcome sight to many of the fans of the weekly market. Distinctively hand-lettered by artist Greta Ribb, it conveyed the intensely local and down-to-earth nature of the market. So it's understandable that many, especially the market organizers, were heartbroken when the sign was stolen. And then, unexpectedly, they we...

CHATHAM – The proposed demolition of a home along Stage Harbor Road was halted by the historical commission last week, the second time in recent months the group has put a hold on plans to raze a historic structure in the neighborhood. The action comes as the commission prepares for a meeting Saturday of Stage Harbor Road property owners to discuss the creation of a National Historic Register District in the n...

CHATHAM ─ If it looked like there was a party happening at the Marconi Maritime Center in Chatham on Monday, well, there was. But instead of celebrating all things maritime, this time the museum was looking to the skies as they hosted a festive gathering in honor of the historic partial eclipse. Attendees not only were given special opaque viewing glasses with which to view the moon as it passed in front of ...