CHATHAM – Before her family boarded a charter boat for a day of fishing last Wednesday, 17-year-old Beth Fineberg rinsed her hands in the water off the float at the Ryder's Cove town landing. She'd seen seals swimming about 20 feet out and thought nothing of it. Then she felt a sharp pain in her hands. “It came up from under me and bit a couple of fingers,” she said. She immediately pulled her hands away from ...

CHATHAM – South Chatham residents will be happy to learn that they'll soon no longer have to worry about stains from high iron levels in water pumped from a town well in their neighborhood. In September, water from well number seven will begin flowing through the town's new water treatment plant, a $10 million facility designed to remove high levels of iron and manganese from drinking water. Currently, the pla...

Nearly four years ago, some friends out walking their dogs on Lighthouse Beach came across an outhouse that had been tossed up into the dunes during a storm. They righted it, propped a section of picket fence they found nearby against it, took some photos and went on their way. Over time they started to add more beach debris, eventually hauling some tools to the beach to make it more sturdy. “It started to ...

CHATHAM — The effort to modernize the town-owned trap dock on Stage Harbor received a $150,000 boost from the state Seaport Economic Council last Tuesday. Officials are finishing development of the conceptual plan for the facility, purchased by the town several years ago for $1.5 million. It is flanked on the east by town-owned land at the former Old Mill Boat Yard, where the harbormaster’s office is located...

CHATHAM — A thunderstorm moving through the area last Wednesday came with a new twist: an apparent funnel cloud. Jonathan Palino of Cape Kayaking was leading a group of paddlers in a tour of Nauset Marsh in Eastham, when, on his return trip, they spotted the cloud formation. Palino said he placed the funnel cloud quite far away, probably in a position in the Atlantic southeast of Chatham. “It formed and...

SOUTH CHATHAM — A tiny neighborhood playground, partially completed and left in a state of disrepair for more than a month, could soon be fixed up. In 2015, neighbors successfully lobbied for improvements at the South Chatham Park, located off Judy’s Lane, a 35,246-square-foot parcel that contains a tennis court, a small play area and room for one or two cars. They argued that the playground equipment, a lar...

CHATHAM — The conservation commission voted unanimously last week to issue emergency certification for dredging near the North Inlet to Chatham Harbor. The vote came after a hearing that was contentious at times. Minister’s Point property owner Gerald Milden told the commission that dredging in the harbor is responsible for erosion of his land and other properties. After Milden made a series of heated com...

CHATHAM – It's pretty obvious that this is New England Patriots country, especially during football season. Even now, however, that devotion can be seen in, of all things, bidding on the Sharks in the Park. One of the art exhibit's five-foot sharks that sports a Patriots theme has the highest bid of any of this year's 60 sharks. In fact, it has the highest bid of any shark in the history of the event. With ...

CHATHAM – Thanks to a wet winter and spring, groundwater levels earlier this summer were at record levels. Although water levels have dropped some during the course of the summer, groundwater remains as high or higher than seen in many years. While groundwater levels are measured by monitoring wells scattered throughout the Cape, anyone can see how high the aquifer is just by visiting a freshwater pond. “Po...

CHATHAM – Along the wall in the newly renovated children's alcove at the Eldredge Public Library are five framed drawings that prominently display the words “Play,” “Read,” “Sing,” “Talk” and “Write.” Those are all factors in promoting early literacy, experts say, and promoting all five is the goal of changes happening in the children and youth section of the historic Main Street library. With grant funding...

CHATHAM – Last Friday the team excavating William and Anne Busby Nickerson’s circa 1664 homestead in Chatham made an exciting discovery – a “ton” of “individual little kernels” of corn and “little beans” dated to the 17 th century. “It’s pretty unprecedented in New England archaeology,” says Craig Chartier, director of the Plymouth Archaeological Rediscovery Project, who is leading the dig. He does not know o...

Retired CG Commander Will Be New Emergency Manager CHATHAM — With peak hurricane season approaching, and with last winter’s severe winter storms still fresh in people’s memories, the town is answering questions about its state of disaster preparedness. Fire Chief Peter Connick told selectmen Monday that the town has hired John Kondratowicz, a retired Coast Guard captain and professor of emergency managem...