SOUTH CHATHAM — For adolescents and teens who are addicted to alcohol or other drugs, functioning in a regular high school can be an insurmountable challenge. Though most people aren't aware of them, Massachusetts has five “recovery high schools” that help meet the special needs of youngsters struggling to break addiction. Local advocates are now asking whether it's time for the Cape to have its own recove...

CHATHAM – The town Christmas tree at Sears Park will light up Friday evening to kick off the 38 th annual Christmas by the Sea celebration. This marks the 38 th annual holiday celebration sponsored by the Chatham Merchants Association. “It's older than I am!” said merchants president Rebecca Voelkel. There are two new elements added to the festivities this year. The first commemorative “Chatham Christm...

The holiday season officially arrived courtesy of the Coast Guard, which ferried none other than Santa Claus himself to the Chatham Fish Pier on Saturday aboard the historic CG36500 Motor Lifeboat for a special visit with fans young and young at heart. SEE A GALLERY OF PHOTOS HERE

CHATHAM — Unbeknownst to most residents, several people have taken their own lives in the last two to three months in Chatham. In response, the Samaritans are starting a new support group at the Eldredge Library for loved ones left behind by suicide. “It's a community that's really in need right now,” said Stephanie Kelly, Executive Director of the Samaritans on Cape Cod and the Islands . The Samaritans, be...

Toys for older kids and teens are particularly needed, along with gift cards and monetary gifts. The toys will be distributed to local children in time for the holidays. Organizers say donations are lagging this year and contributions are needed right away. Vote early, vote often!

CHATHAM – Three and a half years years of work by Cynthia Wigren, executive director and co-founder of The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, paid off this fall when the Massachusetts Department of Transportation announced that the great white shark license plate sponsored by the non-profit group had reached the state's pre-order minimum. The new plates, with a design featuring a great white shark, two strip...

CHATHAM – Nearly two years after it dipped below 6,000, the town's official population figure has once again risen above that milestone, thanks to last month's presidential election. It's not unusual for voter registration to spike during a presidential election year, said Town Clerk Julie Smith. That in turn leads to an increase in the official count of the total number of residents in town, which is based bo...

Time-lapse images taken over a 30-year period by Landsat satellites, compiled by Google and released by Time Magazine, include a 10-second glimpse of three decades of evolution of Chatham's barrier beaches.  Chatham is among dozens of locations across the globe highlighted in the video, which was initially put together by NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey and then cleaned up and assembled into one video monta...

CHATHAM – There was an empty space at the community center, and George Gatzogiannis wanted to fill it. The space was on the wall right behind the front desk which Gatzogiannis, a building supervisor at the center, mans most weekdays, greeting visitors and signing in the folks who use the various facilities in the Main Street building. One of those people is local artist Steve Lyons. Gatzogiannis had tried t...

CHATHAM – How can the town encourage the reuse, rather than demolition, of commercial buildings in neighborhood centers, especially if they are historically significant? Incentives, the planning board was told recently, ranging from relief from dimensional requirements and density bonuses to reducing permit fees and tax breaks. As part of its ongoing review of recommendations for the Route 28 corridor conta...

CHATHAM – The town's First Night celebration is a survivor. As it heads into its 26 th year, the annual event has left New Year's Eve celebrations in other communities in the dust, and still reliably sells out its 7,500 admission buttons. Mounting First Night Chatham is a massive effort, however, that takes many hours of planning and help from hundreds of volunteers. “To put on something like this, it real...