HARWICH — It's a changing world with a lot less tolerance and a lot more violence, and public safety officials have to make adjustments accordingly when responding to calls. That includes providing the proper safety armor for fire department personnel. “It's a far cry from when I started this job,” Deputy Fire Chief David LeBlanc said of some of the conditions fire personnel across the nation find themselves f...

HARWICH — The county dredge Codfish was scheduled to moved into the Allen Harbor channel this week to remove 8,000 cubic yards of sand. Harbormaster John Rendon said the sand will be used as nourishment for nearby public beaches. The Codfish just finished dredging the Saquatucket Harbor channel where material was placed on both public and private beaches in the area. The town received several bids from shorefr...

HARWICH — The herring migration got off to a late start this year in the Herring River, but in recent weeks it has proven to be strong. More than 800,000 fish have passed through the electronic fish counter in the ladder at Johnson's flume in West Harwich. Early April is traditionally when the anadromous fish begin their migration from ocean waters to headwater ponds to spawn. But there was little movement at ...

HARWICH — The town and local beachgoers received some good news this week: the closure of one-third of the Red River Beach parking area and beach due to nesting piping plovers will be scaled back. The town was required to close a portion of the parking lot and limit public access to the beach because of the presence of four piping plover chicks. Piping plovers are considered a locally threatened species and ar...

HARWICH — The Cape Cod Regional Technical High School building project will go before the planning board next Tuesday night for a site plan review special permit and a use special permit. Construction on the new 221,880-square-foot high school is expected to start in December. The conservation commission earlier this month issued a negative finding on a request for determination of applicability to remove the ...

HARWICH — Former selectman Peter Hughes will serve as the town's next representative to the Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates, filling the unexpired term of Selectman Ed McManus, who stepped down when he was elected selectman in May. The town had 30 days from the time it was notified of the vacancy by the clerk of the assembly to make an appointment or the decision would rest with the assembly. Selectmen...

HARWICH — Delphi Construction of Mashpee has begun the $6 million renovation and conversion of the former Thompson's Farm Market building across from Saquatucket Harbor into a new community health center for Outer Cape Health Services, Inc. Delphi Construction is presently renovating the first floor of the structure, also referred to as the Kennedy Building, which housed BackOffice Associates for a few years a...

HARWICH — An unfamiliar gong was penetrating the fog along Red River Beach last week. It was a sound familiar to mariners looking for the Chatham Roads Bell Buoy 3, the aid to navigation was close to 1.6 nautical miles off-station. The bell buoy was pulled from its station by ice in Nantucket Sound in January and the Coast Guard has made a couple of unsuccessful attempts to reset it. With the boating season un...

HARWICH — The success of the Treasure Chest, the town's swap shop that has always been open to residents and nonresidents alike, has become too much for volunteers to handle. Department of Public Works Director Lincoln Hooper said with the Dennis swap shop shutting down on a permanent basis, people from that town are bringing truckloads of items to the Treasure Chest, overwhelming volunteers and costing the to...

HARWICH PORT — A 62-year-old Harwich Port man died after being crushed by a car he was repairing. Police say Benito Reyes was working underneath the car in the parking lot behind 546 Main St. Friday morning when the scissor jack holding the car was knocked loose. Police received a 911 call shortly before 10:30 a.m., and the first officer on scene, Animal Control Officer Jack Burns, saw a group of citizens l...

HARWICH — The Cape Verdean Museum located in the Cultural Center will open its doors to the public on Friday with a goal of educating and expanding the knowledge of Cape Verdean culture. Southeastern Massachusetts has a large Cape Verdean population. Many inhabitants of the archipelago located about 400 miles off the West Coast of Africa came to Nantucket and New Bedford on whaling vessels several generations ...

HARWICH — It’s a painful topic to discuss, but one that can’t be kept a secret. The sexual abuse of children is a real problem on Cape Cod, and a group of students at Monomoy Regional High School is taking part in a unique partnership with Children’s Cove to raise awareness among their peers. The 13 sophomores have been meeting as Monomoy’s Teen TASK (Taking A Stand for Kids) Force since December, working...