If there's one thing Cape Codders care about, it's water. Whether it's groundwater, which comes from our single-source aquifer, or the coastal waters that drive our economy—which the region will spend billions on to clean up toxic nutrient loading—clean water is as important as the air we breath. It's ironic, then, that levels of MTBE, a gasoline additive that may be carcinogenic in high concentrations, was de...

Complete Streets Not Needed Editor: Recently The Chronicle wrote about  Harwich moving forward with the Complete Streets Program under MassDOT requirements to pursue a sidewalk along Route 28 from Harwich Port to Saquatucket Harbor.  On this topic it was suggested that bike lanes be put along Hoyt Road because there would not be enough room on Route 28 for compliant sidewalks and a bike lane.  I drove Hoyt ...

If you’re not a mariner, you’re not apt to care about buoys. Here’s a worthy exception. The Coast Guard, which maintains large, offshore aids to navigation, has proposed removing the lighted whistle buoy “C” off the entrance to Chatham Harbor. Doing so would be a mistake. Landlubbers can think of the “C” buoy as a highway exit sign. The offshore waters are like a long, featureless highway, and in the dark o...

Support From Wonderful Community Editor: Sincere thanks to everyone for all your support especially during the many months before, and after the passing of Richard Clifford. Rich was my husband/best friend, a devoted father/grandfather, and a personable friend to all who knew him. Our family and I thank all those who touched our lives. Especially to Rich’s remarkable “Woodworker Buddies” to whom I ...

Buried in Chatham Town Manager Jill Goldsmith's budget summary delivered to selectmen Monday was this nugget: the average value of a home in Chatham, as calculated by the town's assessing department, is now $938,145. In 2000, that figure stood at $249,975; that's a 275 percent increase in less than two decades, a rate of appreciation that would make any investor envious; during that same period, the S&P 500 h...

Positive Progress On Senior Center Editor: The Jan. 4 special town meeting brought us one step closer to creating a viable new senior center. With the creative problem-solving skills of expert planners, a facility that meets the needs of seniors and fits the landscape can be designed. We cannot continue to criticize every site, thus never improving the situation for the intended population. Imagine the lone...

“You can’t always get what you want You can’t always get what you want But if you try sometime you find You get what you need.”   Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones wrote the song in 1969 and recorded it as part of the album “Let it Bleed.” The song was originally released as the B-side of “Honky Tonk Woman.” “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” became the much more popular side a...

Last week, William Marsh, owner of Eastward Companies, generously offered to donate the two lots at 1610 Main St. in West Chatham that officials have identified as a possible location for a new senior center. In talks leading up to Saturday's special town meeting, selectmen reportedly appealed to the long-time developer's sense of legacy; in a statement issued the day before the meeting, Marsh said the donation, ...

Voice Concerns To Coast Guard Editor: Calling all mariners, residents, anyone concerned or affected by the Coast Guards intention to remove “C” buoy from Chatham waters: The Coast Guard is accepting comments at email D01-SMB-DPWPublicComments@uscg.mil. The presence of the Coast Guard is very important to the town of Chatham. Don’t let them continue to downgrade our status. Your voice matters! Janice O'Co...

Tribute To Dancers And Pets Editor: I wanted to express my deepest gratitude to my beloved town of Chatham. After a year in the making creating a fundraiser at the Orpheum to benefit Monomoy Community Services, A Chance To Dance, and the MSPCA, I was able to raise $40,000. This was a result of the generosity of Chatham businesses and many residents of Chatham. I am particularly grateful to Rockland Trust fo...

The road to Chatham's special town meeting this Saturday has been a particularly long and tortured one. The main item on the agenda—authorizing selectmen to purchase land in West Chatham for a new senior center—was the result of a process that goes back years and includes the rejection at last May's annual town meeting of $6.6 million to build a new senior center on town-owned land on Middle Road. The new site is...

If autumn is my favorite season on Cape Cod, winter is the least welcome. Fall offers much that makes summer special without the traffic and crowds. Some places close but their offerings are soon replaced by the holiday activities that culminate in First Night. Autumn transitions us from the busyness of summer to the celebrations that bring our year to an end. Before I moved to Harwich I knew little of life...