CHATHAM — George Goodspeed, Jr., one of the last of his generation of Chatham natives, is being remembered as an enthusiastic member of the Chatham Band, the longtime leader of the town’s cemetery commission, and a man with a strong sense of duty to the community he loved. He died last week at the age of 83, taking with him a unique knowledge of Chatham’s history. “He had a deep, deep love of the town,” fellow...

Knowing the exact location of white sharks off Cape Cod beaches is obviously important, both from a scientific and safety perspective. And that means the network of shark spotters – professional and amateur alike – plays a critical role. A new partnership between the North Chatham-based Atlantic White Shark Conservancy and the New England Aquarium aims to boost that network by encouraging more people to report...

CHATHAM — The select board is further refining the rules that will allow food trucks to operate in town this summer, including in parts of downtown Chatham. But where the trucks are allowed in public parking lots, there is a corresponding loss of precious parking spaces, something the board grappled with last week. The latest revision of the draft regulations for mobile food vendors specifies six pre-approved ...

CHATHAM – Building a house directly adjacent to the outfield at Veterans Field might not be the best idea, said former Chatham A's coach John Schiffner. “The home will be bombarded on a regular basis,” he said during a recent zoning board of appeals meeting. “There's going to be a lot of balls hitting that home.” Opposition to the proposal to build a single-family home near the field on the former Monomoy T...

CHATHAM – A new storage area for commercial fishing gear off Middle Road will begin small and grow if the need arises. At the May 14 annual town meeting, voters approved $200,000 to relocate the storage area from the airport property to a stretch of town land between the capped landfill and the wastewater treatment plant. That will be sufficient to clear the area, spread gravel, set up fencing and secure the a...

CHATHAM – Incumbent Jeffrey Dykens and newcomer J. Michael Schell won three-year terms on the select board at Thursday's annual town election. Schell, in his first run for public office, received the most votes with 760. Dykens followed closely with 721 while challenger Lynne Pleffner had 427 votes. Schell, retired mergers and acquisitions attorney, has been a full-time resident for six years but vacationed...

CHATHAM – The town offices will be closed for the rest of the month as a result of the power surge last month that damaged or destroyed a significant amount of the building's electronics. A power spike caused by an Eversource equipment failure April 27 shut down the 549 Main St. building and forced departments to relocate while repairs are being made. Currently the town clerk is operating out of the community ...

CHATHAM — With the pandemic waning – at least in terms of severe illnesses – plans are underway for the town’s family-friendly New Year’s Eve celebration. First Night Chatham once again plans to include performances at indoor venues, with more activities later in the evening. But it’s a lack of volunteers, not the pandemic, that’s keeping late-night activities off the schedule again this year. “Our intentio...

Other Measures To Help Combat Rising Cost Of Living Approved CHATHAM – Neither supporters of preserving town-owned land off Middle Road as open space nor those who wanted to use a portion of the property for affordable housing got what they wanted at Saturday's annual town meeting. Despite an emphasis during the meeting on helping local families meet the high cost of living in town, a proposal to use four o...

CHATHAM – Paid parking, a shuttle and incentives to get downtown employees to use outlying parking lots were among the possible approaches to the town's perennial summer parking problems discussed by chamber of commerce and Chatham Merchants Association members last week. About two dozen business owners and employees were present for the May 11 virtual discussion, which was called to provide feedback to a park...

But Wants Guarantee If Parcel Is Turned Over To Town CHATHAM – Repeatedly, top candidates offered jobs in the Monomoy Regional School District decline because they can't afford to live in the area. “The housing situation has changed in the last two years, creating a situation that really threatens the quality of the school district,” said Superintendent of Schools Scott Carpenter. “That puts us in a bind an...

CHATHAM – Two bylaws that tried to limit use of Chatham Municipal Airport went down to defeat at Saturday's annual town meeting. Airport supporters rallied to oppose the articles, which were submitted by petition. Both measures lost by a substantial margin, one on a voice vote and the other by a two-to-one margin in a hand count. The airport has been the subject of controversy since skydiving began there mo...