ORLEANS — Only one of the Nauset Regional School District’s seven schools increased its enrollment over last year’s, according to an Oct. 1 enrollment report reviewed by the Nauset Regional School Committee Oct. 8. Eastham Elementary’s gain of two students came as the other four elementary schools showed drops of 35 (Brewster’s Eddy), 24 (Orleans), 11 (Brewster’s Stony Brook), and three (Wellfleet). The midd...

Frances Louise Slavin Szmit August 14, 1939 – October 7, 2020     Spofford, New Hampshire – Frances Louise Slavin Szmit passed away peacefully on Oct. 7, 2020 after a brief but courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. Born in Lowell, Massachusetts, to John Slavin and Margaret (Carpenter) Slavin, Frances grew up in the Lowell-Chelmsford area and attended Notre Dame Academy in Tyngsboro. On May 2...

Where is Poppa? ask my grandchildren, Adam and Stella, now that my husband and their grandfather, Greg Meier, has passed away. I tell them he isn’t gone, he’s still with us in our hearts, in our memories, and in the love he gave us.      In the house, I see the chair he sat in, the kitchen where he cooked big dinners, the yard and trees he loved so much. I see the sofa where he liked to lie with his head in my l...

Chatham First In Mass. With This Requirement CHATHAM — Though it’s not required by state law, Chatham restaurants reporting positive cases of COVID-19 among staff, patrons or vendors must now notify the public by placing announcements near entrances and by posting the information on their websites or social media accounts. The emergency order passed by the board of health took effect last Thursday, and ap...

In-person early voting for the Nov. 3 presidential election begins this Saturday, Oct. 17 and continues daily through Oct. 30, and residents planning to vote absentee or through early mail-in should have their ballots in-hand any day now. Chatham residents' mail-in and absentee ballots arrived at the town clerk's office Oct. 8 and are now being sent out. The ballots can be returned via mail or left in the drop...

CHATHAM – Like everything else during the pandemic, Halloween is not likely to be the same this year and may, for some people, be a bit more spooky due to the coronavirus. While conceding that popular Halloween neighborhoods will probably go ahead and hold celebrations, officials are considering a town-sponsored event as an alternative to traditional trick-or-treating. “I'm thinking about the Elkanah neighborh...

CHATHAM – Work on the West Chatham Roadway project is well underway, with much of Route 28 between Barn Hill Road and George Ryder Road ground up and ready for resurfacing. Crews have also begun to clear the area where a new roundabout will be built at the George Ryder Road intersection. Another roundabout will be installed at the Barn Hill Road intersection. The work is expected to continue through the fall a...

CHATHAM — The fundamental idea behind the Chatham Ecumenical Council Helping Prevent Homelessness (CECH) is simple: The best way to fight homelessness is to prevent it from happening. Now in its 28 th year, the grassroots nonprofit focuses on helping families get through short-term financial crises so they can stay in their homes. “Our concern this year is that we have not seen an uptick in applications for ...

CHATHAM – A dozen Chatham Elementary School students and their teachers are in isolation after one tested positive for COVID-19. Superintendent of Schools Scott Carpenter said one classroom with a dozen students, a teacher and two teaching assistants was affected. He did not reveal the grade. At Tuesday's board of selectmen's meeting, Health and Natural Resources Director Robert Duncanson said the person who t...

Though each town on the Lower Cape has its own story to tell about the summer of 2020, on a regional level, COVID-19 appears to have done less economic harm than predicted. Robust visitor numbers from the Labor Day weekend clearly helped make up for a sluggish early summer. “We had a busier summer than I had initially expected,” said state State Sen. Julian Cyr, D – Truro, speaking for the Cape...

HARWICH — The golf committee is taking steps to eliminate the special annual rate categories it has established for members of Cranberry Valley Golf Course who live in Chatham, Eastham and Orleans, reducing the annual rate categories to just Harwich residents and non-residents. Presently there are three categories and four different annual rate fees. Harwich residents pay $810; Chatham residents $835; and East...

WEST HARWICH — When historian Duncan Berry heard the West Harwich Baptist Church was for sale, he worried that the history of the church might be lost, and along with it, the history of the village and his own family. He recently decided to share some of that history in a public tour of the church cemetery, poring over old names and all-but-forgotten stories. Suffering from low attendance worsen...

HARWICH – Habitat for Humanity Cape Cod has begun accepting applications for the six homes to be constructed on Murray Lane off Route 28 in West Harwich. The deadline for filing applications is Dec. 1. Habitat will be building four three-bedroom homes and two two-bedroom homes on land to the rear of 93 and 97 Route 28. This is a home ownership opportunity for individuals and families who earn about 65 percent ...

Major Owner Adds To His Harwich Port Property Portfolio HARWICH — Dr. Gravity’s Kite Shop building in the center of Harwich Port has been sold, and owner Peter Hurst is also planning to sell the kite shop business he has operated at the spot for the past 45 years. “It was just time,” Hurst said. The Dr. Gravity building is tightly packed on the lot and has an apartment above the shop. Hurst's family h...

HARWICH — The planning board last week approved site plan permits for the18-hole miniature golf course to be located next to Bud’s Go Karts on the corner of Route 28 and Sisson Road, but there remains an outstanding issue over the hours of operation. The attorney for the course developers said he'll return to the zoning board of appeals, which approved a variance for the project earlier this year, to get an in...