Following Shark Barrier Loss At Town Meeting CHATHAM — The message from voters at the annual town meeting was clear: Chatham shouldn’t be spending money on shark detection and mitigation at Oyster Pond Beach. But with swimming lessons starting up soon, selectmen are wondering what might still be done to improve safety for beachgoers. “Is there anything else we can do for Oyster Pond?” Selectman Peter Cocolis ...

CHATHAM – Voters in the annual election last Thursday approved borrowing $7.1 million for the next phase in the town's comprehensive wastewater management plan. The town is nine years into the 20-year first phase of the wastewater plan. Work previously completed or authorized, including last week’s approval, amounts to sewering about 20 to 25 percent of the town, according to Natural Resource Director Robert Dun...

CHATHAM — A week after town meeting voters rejected it, the proposal to build a new senior center could soon be making a comeback. A revised plan—likely on a different parcel of land—could be back before voters as early as this summer. “I think we all kind of agree generally we have to move ahead,” Selectman Peter Cocolis said Monday. “I believe that we need a new council on aging building.” Delaying the pro...

Named Mercy Otis Warren Cape Cod Woman Of The Year CHATHAM — Saddened by an act of violence at a women’s clinic in Brookline, Juliet Bernstein decided to organize a candlelight vigil in front of the Eldredge Public Library, and asked selectmen for permission to do so. When the board denied her request, Bernstein went ahead anyway, asserting her constitutional right and giving the town fathers a well-deserved...

In the past week or two, it’s been hard to drive even short distances without encountering a detour sign, traffic cones or road construction crews. But take heart: town officials say much of the work will be done by Memorial Day. It’s a fact of life on Cape Cod, Chatham Public Works Director Tom Temple said. Paving crews have to work in a narrow window of time between the onset of warm weather and Memorial Day...

CHATHAM – Save the date—June 29, at the Chatham VFW on George Ryder Road—for the Art of Charity's final swansong, really-and-truly-last-time event. Local food trucks, music and a limited but extremely selective silent auction will be the highlights of the evening, which will take place from 5 to 9 p.m. It's the Art of Charity Foundation's way of saying so long and thanks to the community, said President Otis Rus...

CHATHAM – Voters spent some $60 million at the annual town meeting, and while the major expenditures received coverage last week, there were numerous smaller appropriations that didn't make the news but nonetheless deserve attention. There were also several articles that were not acted upon, including changes to the Monomoy Regional School district agreement. Although the changes mostly involved removing referen...

CHATHAM – Voters in the annual election Thursday approved borrowing $7.1 million for the next phase in the town's wastewater management project. Incumbent Selectmen Peter Cocolis and Jeffrey Dykens ran unopposed and will serve three more years on the board. Incumbent School Committee member Joseph Auciello and housing authority member Alan Mowry also ran unopposed. Cocolis received the most votes at 334, with D...

CHATHAM – Within the Rolf E. Sylvan Gardens Conservation Area, there are hundreds of plant species, many of them left over from the days when Sylvan operated Lower Cape Nursery on the land. “There's just so much stuff in here,” said Cynthia “DooDee” Nowak, a landscaper who grew up and still lives nearby. “There's stuff programmed to bloom all the way through the fall.” Known for years for its lavish display...

CHATHAM – The board of health will hold a public hearing next month on a proposed regulation banning the sale of flavored tobacco and electronic cigarette products. The proposal was initially put before the board by Monomoy Regional High School students, who were particularly focused on e-cigarette, or vaping, products. The students conducted a survey at the school and found that 35 percent of students had tri...

CHATHAM — Town officials have mixed news when it comes to two projects they’d hoped to have complete before the Memorial Day weekend. While the Mitchell River drawbridge repairs were completed ahead of schedule, the construction of a new observation deck at the fish pier might not be. The contractor carrying out the work at the fish pier has requested a slight extension of the deadline for building the new o...

CHATHAM — By the slimmest of margins, voters Tuesday rejected a plan to seek a shark detection and deterrent system for Oyster Pond Beach. But they passed most other articles in the second and final night of the annual town meeting, and soundly approved a $325,000 plan to acquire property interests in the VFW to support renovations to its building. Voters approved several bans on consumer plastics, and decided ...