Since the start of the pandemic, and even today, there’s been conflicting information about which face masks are best to use. Some advocate high-filtration N95 masks, while others swear by cotton masks or gaiters. And last week, Dr. Anthony Fauci advocated doubling up on masks for additional protection. The only thing that’s not in dispute is that wearing face coverings remains absolutely essential in the fight a...

For Lindsay Garre Bierwirth, co-owner with her husband Fred of the North Chatham fitness center Chatham Works, stepping up during the coronavirus pandemic is a way to show her young daughters that in hard times, you have to help others. “In the darkest times, you shine the brightest light,” Bierwirth said during a telephone interview last week. For several months now Bierwirth has opened her gym at 323 Orleans...

Kay Slater, owner of True North Farm in Harwich, trotted out an entire herd of answers when asked what makes Pony Club special. After several tries, she finally settled on something unexpected. “I love that the testing is oral,” she responded. “Getting especially young girls to speak out loud confidently about what they know is life changing.” Pony Club provides a comprehensive horse education curriculu...

Monomoy Middle School Students Spread Kindness With Handmade Cards As part of monthly service challenges throughout the entire school, Monomoy Regional Middle School students created 1,185 cards throughout the month of November. This card drive was a school-wide effort, with all students making at least one card and most making many more. The cards will be distributed to elderly people on the Cape, shipped t...

It turns out that opals do not fare well when moved rapidly from indoor warmth to the outdoor cold of winter. They may even crack. It was 27 degrees one morning last week, so the staff of Forest Beach Designer-Goldsmith at 436 Main St. in Chatham did not include the opals on the outside display tables. “Everything else is hardy,” says Steve Wardle. The sensitivity of opals is one fun fact about gems that Wa...

Nine months ago when the coronavirus pandemic began, few could have predicted that medical experts would recommend that families not travel or get together during the holidays to avoid spreading the virus. “For nine months we’ve been seeing increasing isolation,” says Emily Mitchell, director of the Harwich Council on Aging. “There’s no worse time to be isolated than at the holidays.” “This is hard, this is...

HARWICH – Since 2006, Jodi Belson has been serving the women and families on Cape Cod. Now she's bringing her skills as a certified nurse midwife to Outer Cape Health Services, and Belson couldn't be happier. “I live on the Outer Cape,” Belson said. “This is my community. This is my home.” Prior to signing on with OCHS, Belson practiced in both private and hospital-based settings, most recently with Cape Co...

The Addison Art Gallery in Orleans is celebrating its 25th anniversary this November with an unusual twist: For one month it is donating to the nonprofits its clients choose when they buy an artwork. “Since the pandemic started, for months, we chose various nonprofits as recipients of the donations,” says gallery owner Helen Addison. “As I was trying to decide on the organizations to receive funds during Novem...

It’s no secret that most seniors want to remain at home as they age, but it’s important to make sure that home continues to be a safe place as the years pass. To that end, local fire departments and councils on aging are collaborating to provide home safety assessments, even during the pandemic. In Chatham, the assessments are part of a community risk reduction program, and residents or concerned family member...

When an approach to a challenge works, people tend to stick with it. When two different approaches to related challenges work, sometimes they create a harmony that enhances or even surpasses the benefit of either one alone. Such is the case with Yoga of 12-Step Recovery, also known as Y12SR, a donation-based program that offers 12-step recovery meetings combined with yoga. In combination, yoga and 12-step reco...

The Blue Economy’s Expedition Blue initiative will be showcased through four “front porch” waystations in Chatham — but the question remains where those waystations will be placed. During its meeting on Oct. 27, the parks and recreation commission is expected again to discuss possible sites for Expedition Blue’s eight-cubic-foot modular cube. The commission rejected Oyster Pond as a site for the cube during it...

Julie Witas, social services coordinator at the Harwich Council on Aging, has spent exactly half of her first year on the job working in challenging coronavirus pandemic circumstances. “Almost all services at the council on aging are done in person,” Witas said during a telephone interview last week. “It was a challenge to go remote, but we’ve done very well.” A major portion of the COA’s function lies in b...