ORLEANS — Anyone who hoped some of the town's conservation land could be used for a dog park has been barking up the wrong tree. Although dogs and their walkers are allowed on all 14 of the town's conservation properties, they were acquired under agreements that prohibit “active recreation,” Conservation Agent John Jannell told the conservation commission Sept. 25. That definition, he said, includes enclosed...

ORLEANS — The selectmen voted last week, unanimously in most cases, to support the articles on the Oct. 29 special town meeting warrant. They were united in opposition to a citizen-petitioned article that would ban marijuana retail sales, but gave it a prominent position on the warrant before two marijuana-related articles proposed by the planning board. That position was suggested at the outset of the selec...

ORLEANS — Capt. John J. Fitzgerald, like the rest of the men on the bow section of the ill-fated tanker Pendleton, never made it to safety aboard the famous Coast Guard rescue boat CG36500 in that blizzard in 1952. But more than 66 years later, his grandson Matt got to climb aboard, learning about the famous rescue and putting context to some of his own family history. “If I had to sum it up in one word I wo...

CHATHAM – After numerous delays, town officials have decided to scrap planned emergency dredging of shoals near the North Inlet in Chatham Harbor. In an email to selectmen Thursday, Town Manager Jill Goldsmith said part of the reason for the decision was the safety of the crew of the Barnstable County dredge. Authorized in August, the project was plagued by mechanical and computer delays with both the origi...

ORLEANS — There will be a third article dealing with marijuana at the Oct. 29 special town meeting. A proposed bylaw that would prohibit retail sale of marijuana was checked in at the selectmen's office Sept. 14, hours before the warrant closed. Steve Bornemeier, a former planning board member, and others gathered more than 150 signatures in support, more than the required 100; those have since been certified b...

August 28, 1932 – August 25, 2018             CHATHAM - Lorraine F. Nolan of South Chatham died on Aug. 25, 2018 at the South Dennis Healthcare facility after a five month stay.  Lorraine leaves her husband Donald A Nolan, three children, nine grandchildren and one great grandchild born Aug. 22, 2018.  A funeral mass will be celebrated at St Anthony’s R.C. Church, Hawthorne, New Jersey on Saturday, Sept. 22, 2...

              George Charles Baldwin, Jr., 80, died May 28, 2018 at Chestnut Woods in Saugus after a long illness. A celebration of life is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 29 at Chapins Restaurant on Taunton Road from 4-6 p.m.  George was born on February 12, 1938 in Montclair, N.J., son of the late Priscilla Ellis (Dunbar) Baldwin and George C. Baldwin, Sr.  He moved to his grandmother’s home in Harwich Port wi...

CHATHAM – It started as a sore throat that just wouldn't go away. The diagnosis of stage three cancer, with a 50-50 chance of survival, came in early August. The treatment West Chatham resident Mike Keeler is now receiving has left him requiring nearly round-the-clock care, said his wife, Wendy Sequin. A 52-year-old fishermen and landscaper who more recently helped out in the family business, Sequin Cleaning, ...

From Sharks in the Park to numerous shark-based businesses, Chatham and other communities embraced the arrival of the apex predators in Cape waters. But for years, people have wondered: What will happen when a fatal shark attack occurs? That happened last Saturday, when a 26-year-old Revere man was killed while boogie boarding off Newcomb Hollow Beach in Wellfleet. Shark merchandise, however, wasn't immediatel...

CHATHAM – Louis Guarracina loved fishing. If he wasn't with his family or working, it was likely he was on the waters off Chatham catching stripers or tuna. “He just loved fish,” said Peter Harris, CEO of HighRes Biosolutions, the company Mr. Guarracina co-founded in 2004. The conference rooms at the company's Beverly headquarters are all named for different species of fish, he said. Last Wednesday, Mr. Gua...

CHATHAM — A stroll around Chatham reveals lots of war memorials, including ones for World War II, Vietnam and Korea. But nowhere are the town’s Revolutionary War veterans honored. “We did have a Chatham presence before and during the revolution,” said selectmen Chairman Dean Nicastro, who asked the board to consider supporting the creation of a new memorial. Chatham never hosted a large battle and didn’t sen...

CHATHAMPORT — In helping shape the fledgling Monomoy Regional School District, former Superintendent Carolyn Cragin focused on improving education, building partnerships and enhancing the district’s long-term sustainability. As the new board president of the Chatham Marconi Maritime Center, her to-do list isn’t that different. Even though she retired as a public school administrator in 2013, Cragin hasn’t le...

CHATHAM — Despite a few setbacks, the paid parking operation at the former Eldredge Garage site did well this summer, providing some relief for motorists and a little revenue for the town. That was the message that Chatham Valet co-owner Miladin Terziyski told town officials late last month. While a committee is still mulling the best long-term uses for the property, this summer’s experiment showed that, par...

CHATHAM — Conflicts between people and seals are nothing new on the Lower Cape, where fishermen have long faulted them for depleting fish stocks and fouling the water. But with two recent cases of people being bitten by seals in Chatham – and naturally with last weekend’s fatal shark attack in Wellfleet – there are renewed calls to examine the issue. Chatham resident Elaine Gibbs asked the board of selectmen...

CHATHAM –Eastward Companies has purchased the former Bank of America property at 168 Old Harbor Rd. The Chatham-based development company is proposing to create two residential home lots on the site. The 42,356-square-foot parcel is located in a residential zone with a minimum lot size of 20,000 square feet. Eastward MBT LLC, the official entity that purchased the property, filed a two-lot definitive subdiv...