Focus on...

Imagine this: You’re running a small business or non-profit and someone posts a devastating review online. What do you do? Your instinct might be to defend your business in front of the world, thus providing entertainment for anyone who reads that platform. Or do you keep quiet? Or is there a third way? As well as dealing with online complaints, you may find that branding your group and keeping up with toda...

Upcoming Activities At Local Councils On Aging

By: Cape Cod Chronicle

Chatham Council On Aging The following council on aging programs and events are scheduled during March. Most require registration. For more information, to register for a program, get help with Zoom or find out about transportation, contact the senior center at 508-945-5190. AARP tax aide income tax preparation assistance is scheduling appointments through mid April. Free federal and state income tax pr...

Cape Cod Tileworks Shifting Gears After 27 Years

By: William F. Galvin

HARWICH – The doors to the Cape Cod Tileworks shop are closed, but the tile and design work the company has performed from Main Street in Harwich Center for the past 27 years will continue. “ We bought this place with a handshake from Don Bates,” Lane Meehan said of the 1994 purchase of one of the Three Sisters historic Greek Revival structures in the village. Lane and Tom Meehan also purchased a...

Free Tax Preparation Available For Local Seniors

By: Debra Lawless

It’s that time of year again—tax season. Need help filing your taxes? The Chatham, Harwich and Orleans Councils on Aging (COA) can help. For those who are ages 50 and over and of low and moderate income, appointments are available with the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide services. The services are free. “This is very popular,” says Debbie Mayhew, Chatham COA department assistant. To be sure you are able to schedul...

We have all heard slogans such as “shop local” on Small Business Saturday, designated as the Saturday after Thanksgiving since 2010. Local businesses often hold sales on Small Business Saturday, or invite Santa in to greet shoppers. In 2021 shopping locally held an additional attraction: You could bring your purchases home with you, and not risk them not arriving by Christmas due to shipping backups. Many p...

Despite the ongoing pandemic and the cold of winter, seniors can still step forward to help people of all ages in our local communities by volunteering through the AmeriCorps Seniors RSVP of Cape and the Islands. The group is always looking for volunteers who must be over 55, says Stefanie Paventy, the local director of AmeriCorps Seniors RSVP, based in South Dennis. Currently, RSVP is collecting items that...

Health: Omicron Rampaging, Mask Rules Returning

By: Alan Pollock

CHATHAM — Driven by the hyper-contagious Omicron variant, COVID-19 numbers are spiking across the Lower Cape, the state and the nation. And with many of those testing positive having already received two or three doses of the vaccine, public health officials are getting back to basics, encouraging or requiring the use of masks indoors. Following the lead of Harwich last week (see related story), the Chatham Bo...

When Norman Katz, 84, was a young man straight out of Northeastern University, he was chosen to work in a clandestine position in the White House Continuity of Government Special Operations Division. In that capacity he was present during the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 and on the day of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination in November 1963. “I’m the last one left in the world from this whole ...

High school students experiencing mental health issues and substance use disorders often end up suspended from school as part of the school’s disciplinary process. But a different approach calls for targeted intervention for those students, rather than just sending them home. South Chatham-based Behavioral Health Innovators, Inc. (BHI) is the recipient of a $101,000 grant from the New York-based Peter and Eliza...

CHATHAM – When Vera Mazulis retired from her job in Hartford, Conn. in 1975, she and her husband Joseph bought the historic Bow Roof House at 59 Queen Anne Rd. as a “retirement gig.” Forty-six years later — longer than the length of many people’s entire careers — Vera, whose 97 th birthday is Nov. 21, is still running the guest house along with her son David and his family. Joseph died in 1982. The guest h...

Senior Page: Upcoming Events At Local Senior Centers

By: Staff Reports and Contributors

Chatham The Chatham Council on Aging is sponsoring the following events. To register or for help with Zoom, call 508-945-5190. The Homeless Prevention Council of Cape Cod will present a proactive housing planning session on Monday, Nov. 15. “Let’s Talk About Tomorrow” will be held via Zoom. The information session is designed to create awareness about senior housing on the Lower Cape, to encourage atte...

COVID Boosters: Who’s Eligible?

By: Alan Pollock

There seem to be new headlines every day describing which group of people are now eligible to receive which COVID-19 vaccine. Some people can now get booster shots, depending on their age, health and occupation. There is even talk now about a possible fourth shot for some people, even as public health officials work to get first doses into many arms. Let’s sort it out. Initial doses of the vaccine are currentl...