HARWICH — The owner of the Resilient Family Farm off Chatham Road has filed a request with the state department of environmental protection for a superseding order after the conservation commission determined a previous owner's horse paddock was not exempt from the Wetland Protection Act and requires commission review. Farm owner Barry Viprino is contending the use of the paddock for horses establishes agricul...

HARWICH – The conservation commission will be doing battle in court over an enforcement order issued this past summer relating to an addition it estimates to be nine feet from a wetland. The commission issued the enforcement order after the work was done without a building permit. Conservation Administrator Amy Usowski said she was busy this past week preparing documents for the suit filed by the property owne...

DENNIS – Selectmen from Harwich, Dennis and Yarmouth heard a clear message from their wastewater consulting firm relating to the cost savings associated with building a tri-town wastewater treatment plant that would be located in Dennis. “It’s a watershed moment for the towns,” said David Young, vice president of CDM Smith, Inc., the wastewater consultant working with the three towns in developing comprehensiv...

 Strong Winds, High Seas Batter Lower Cape      CHATHAM — Though barely a flake of snow fell, Tuesday's strong storm downed scores of limbs and trees and tore up east-facing portions of the shoreline with high surf.  The afternoon high tide inundated low-lying coastal areas, flooded portions of Old Wharf Road in North Chatham and splashed over Route 28 in East Harwich and South Orleans. Winds...

HARWICH — Selectmen made clear their opposition to a petitioned article that would direct the town not to use its resources to enforce federal immigration laws unless police officers have a criminal warrant or evidence of probable cause of another crime. The petitioned article was filed by Harwich resident Elaine Dickerson, who said it is part of a Cape-wide initiative to put the concept before voters. The pet...

HARWICH — A proposal to establish a Cape Verdean Exhibit/Cultural Center, potentially in the Harwich Middle School, received strong support from selectmen Monday night. The proposal was put forward by Barbara Burgo and Jane Teixeira-Henry. Burgo worked as one of the curators in collaboration with the Harwich Historical Society in hosting So Sabi , a Cape Verdean exhibit at Brooks Academy in 2012. “During t...

HARWICH — Selectmen agreed Monday night to tiptoe through the funding of phase two of the comprehensive wastewater management plan, slated for the May annual town meeting. The board voted not to put forward a single request for $34 million to implement phase two, which calls for the design and construction of sewers in the Pleasant Bay watershed; payment to the town of Chatham for the purchase of treatment cap...

by William F. Galvin HARWICH — The appeals board was scheduled Wednesday evening to open a hearing on the Habitat for Humanity of Cape Cod application for a comprehensive permit for six single-family affordable homes and two market lots along Route 28 in West Harwich. The hearing will be opened by the appeals board and will be immediately continued to a later date, anticipated to be in late March or early...

HARWICH — With little more than two weeks left to take out nomination papers for this year's annual election, conservation commission member Rob Mador has declared his candidacy for one of the two seats on the board of selectmen. With incumbents Selectmen Peter Hughes and Angelo LaMantia stating they will not seek re-election, former selectman Larry Ballantine has taken out nomination papers for one seat. Mado...

HARWICH — When it comes to Social Security, there are some questions and problems that can't be answered by a website or a phone call. For those needing face-to-face help, a new resource is available in Harwich. The Social Security Administration is now offering assistance to recipients via video conferencing from the community center once a month. Harwich is the first video service site on Cape Cod and is par...

 HARWICH — In May, annual town meeting voters will decide a petition article that would direct the town not to use its resources to enforce federal immigration laws unless officers have a criminal warrant or evidence of probable cause of another crime. The petition article is part of a broader effort to pass the state Safe Communities Act, which is similar to the “sanctuary cities” initiatives elsewhere in t...

HARWICH — Grasping municipal finance can be like learning a foreign language. That's the sentiment of Carol Coppola, the town's prospective finance director/town accountant, who said she's eager to make the budgetary process easier for people to understand. By unanimous vote of selectmen Monday, and pending successful salary negotiations, Coppola will take the town's top finance job in about a month. Copp...