HARWICH — The Bob Murray Housing with Love Walk will be a virtual marathon this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is also driving a more than 200 percent increase in requests for emergency help for families across the Cape. For 28 years the Housing with Love Walk has been raising funds for a number of housing assistance organizations on the Cape and focusing on relocating families from motel units i...

HARWICH – Three Harwich residents who tested positive for COVID-19 have been linked to the July 12 party in Chatham that produced a cluster of 10 positive cases. In her weekly update Friday, Health Director Meggan Eldredge said a testing clinic for those who attended the party will be held next week. Specifics of time and place are not yet available. Chatham is holding a pop-up testing clinic Monday at the ...

HARWICH PORT— In an emergency order issued Tuesday, the board of health mandated that masks be worn in the heart of the village. The emergency order is based on an uptick in COVID-19 cases reported since Friday. Masks are required along Route 28 from Bank Street west to Lower County Road. The area is a small but busy section of the village with a lot of pedestrians, said Health Department Director Meggan Eldre...

HARWICH — The planning board is hoping to prepare at least some of the provisions necessary to implement the West Harwich District of Critical Planning Concern in time for adoption in the September annual town meeting. But last week Town Planner Charleen Greenhalgh told the board that it was unclear whether the board of selectmen will even be accepting additional articles for the meeting warrant. The planni...

HARWICH — A year ago, the fire department was dealing with a fuel tanker rollover that spilled 8,000 gallons of fuel near the entrance to the Star Market less than a half mile from the Sisson Road station. Last Saturday, the department was dealing with another rollover, but this time it was in department command. Approximately 100 people were on hand at the Robert A. Peterson Memorial Firehouse to wish 43-year...

HARWICH — Police say a man wanted for murder in Bridgeport, Conn., was hiding out in a home in the Headwaters neighborhood before he was apprehended last Thursday. The man was identified as 25-year-old Jefton Brown, who is charged in connection with the killing of a man whose body was found in East Lyme, Conn., on June 2. Deputy U.S. Marshal Neil Sullivan said Brown has ties to Harwich and was under surveill...

WEST HARWICH — The historic Chase Library has undergone some improvements thanks to a $10,000 matching grant provided by Foundation 1772 and Preservation Massachusetts. The grant assisted in funding repair, restoration and painting of the exterior of the 1911 library building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The non-profit, trustee-run public library is also seeking $15,000 in Comm...

While masks have become an important piece of equipment in the fight against COVID-19, Rick White knows one thing is still certain. “You don’t have to see the smile to know it’s there,” he said. White is a member of the Dennis-Harwich Lions Club, which recently embarked on a mission to make and supply masks, free of charge, to Cape Cod residents that need them. Through the Make-A-Mask Challenge, the Dennis-...

HARWICH — Selectmen put in place a hiring freeze early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Several town departments are now pushing to fill what they say are essential positions for the operation of the town. Interim Town Administrator Joseph Powers last week identified six positions department heads say are “critical hiring needs.” They included the social services coordinator at the council on aging; a part-time healt...

HARWICH — There will be a change in command at the fire department Saturday, with longtime firefighter and Fire Chief Norman Clarke, Jr. retiring after 43 years of service. “From a very young age it was my dream to be a firefighter,” Clarke wrote in a letter to selectmen when announcing his retirement several months ago. “That dream was realized on July 17, 1977 when Chief Charles Hall appointed me to the Harw...

HARWICH — The town administrator search committee submitted four names to selectmen Monday night as finalists for the town administrator position. Among those candidates is acting town administrator Joseph Powers, who has served as the interim town administrator since November. The other candidates are Kenneth Gray, who served as mayor of Amesbury for six years and has 20 years of experience in the private sec...

CHATHAM – David Alexander signed his first contract to teach in what was then the Chatham School District 20 years. Last week, he signed his latest contract, as the new assistant principal of Monomoy Regional High School. “In the same room, too,” he said. “I took that as a good omen.” Currently head of the school's history/social studies department, Alexander this week stepped into the position left open wh...