CHATHAM — According to the insurance industry, Chatham is more fire-resistant than ever before. And that could translate to savings on home and commercial insurance premiums, though modest ones. The Insurance Service Office rates communities on a scale of one to 10, based on a host of factors that judge fire preparedness and suppression ability. Like most municipalities in the country, Chatham had been rated...

CHATHAM – A World War I-era grenade discovered Thursday at the Chatham Historical Society's Atwood House and Museum was found to contain no explosives and deemed safe for display. The grenade was found while museum officials were updating a recent exhibit on “Chatham in the Military.” It had apparently been stored in the museum's basement archives for decades. “The first thing we wanted to know was if it is...

CHATHAM – About a century ago, Chatham’s town historian William Smith wrote, “No more graceful act could be performed by the grateful descendants of the Pilgrims than to erect… at Chatham a simple monument to this unhonored, but most deserving, friend and protector of their forefathers.” Smith was referring to Squanto (also known as Tisquantum), perhaps the most famous Native American to greet the Pilgrims. Sq...

CHATHAM – A proposed capital improvement plan for the Chatham Municipal Airport calls for more than $7 million in expenditures through 2025, with almost all of the funding coming from the state and federal governments. Among the big-ticket items in the plan are the reconstruction of the airport's parallel taxiway, a new airport administration building, and an update of the airport's master plan. Most of the...

CHATHAM – On a recent Friday afternoon, airport commission member Tom Wilson was in his backyard when he saw what he described as a metal frame with wings flying overhead. The experimental aircraft, known as an ultralight, had taken off from the town's airport. There are no requirements that ultralights be registered or that pilots be licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration, and they are free to operat...

CHATHAM – While it's clear that the sharks that patrol the waters along the Cape's shore are here to stay – seasonally, at least – the sharks that visit Kate Gould Park every summer will not return after one more season. The popular Sharks in the Park art display, sponsored by the Chatham Merchants Association, will be held for the last time next May. In 2019 and beyond, the exhibit will continue, but instead ...

An early-autumn storm with tropical characteristics dumped around an inch-and-a-half of rain on the Lower Cape Sunday night into Monday, bringing strong winds that caused localized power outages. Harwich public works crews remove a fallen tree from Brooks Park, Harwich Center. ALAN POLLOCK PHOTO An official w...

CHATHAM — Though they previously voted to pursue a new traffic light scheme for the intersection of Crowell Road, Route 28 and Queen Anne Road, selectmen last week decided to allow public comment on other ideas, including a roundabout. The board voted on Aug. 15 to support traffic lights as the best approach to improving safety and traffic flow at the crossroads, but at a public meeting on Oct. 16, planners pr...

CHATHAM — By joint vote of the board of selectmen and the town's representatives to the Monomoy Regional School Committee, Jo-anne Sheehan was chosen Tuesday to fill a vacancy on the school board. The appointment is valid through May, when voters will choose a candidate to serve until May 2019. Sheehan, a West Chatham resident, retired in 2013 after a lengthy teaching career. Holding an undergraduate history...

CHATHAM – It isn't so much the view of the tower – which looks like a small missile or a very large model rocket – that bothers Tish Crowell. It's the possibility that her backyard could flood because a drainage swale was partially filled to accommodate the structure. “I can see it just going to come right here,” she said of stormwater runoff, looking at the yard of the Crowell Road home she shares with her hu...

CHATHAM – A recent Barnstable Superior Court decision narrows the scope of a lawsuit filed by Cape Cod Skydiving against the town, but allows the action to proceed on several counts, including breach of contract and civil rights violations. After an Oct. 5 hearing, Judge Cornelius Moriarty denied the town's motion to dismiss the $100,000 lawsuit filed by Skydive Cape Cod against the town in January but limited...

CHATHAM – The white shark swimming just off the shore of Nauset Beach was angry, but not at the 24-foot boat nearby. That wasn't the problem. The problem was an annoying bluefish that wouldn't stop harassing the shark. While the shark was peeved, those on board the Aleutian Dream marveled at the scene, including longtime shark researcher Greg Skomal. “It never gets old,” he said with a grin.     The...