ORLEANS — Last week wasn't one of the finest hours for rescue lifeboat CG36500. What started as a private chat Aug. 22 between author Casey Sherman and leaders of the Orleans Historical Society, which owns the boat used to save 32 sailors from the wreck of the tanker Pendleton in 1952, sent the rumor mill spinning with speculation about the future relocation of the boat. Sherman contacted community members ...

HARWICH – Just as it said it would in June, the Conservation law Foundation has filed federal lawsuits against the Wychmere Harbor Club and the Wequassett Resort and Golf Club alleging the resorts are illegally discharging nitrogen into Wychmere Harbor and Pleasant Bay. The CLF says the facilities discharge from 45,000 to 80,000 gallons of sewage per day into leaching fields that allow nitrogen and other pollu...

CHATHAM – A plastic barrier system is being eyed to protect against flooding and perhaps combat erosion in the Little Beach neighborhood. Last Thursday representatives of Muscle Wall were at Outermost Harbor Marine to demonstrate possible uses of the four-foot-high polyethylene structures, which can be linked together to form a continuous wall. “We refer to it as giant Legos,” said Chaz Housley, general man...

ORLEANS — A private chat between leaders of the Orleans Historical Society and author Casey Sherman this morning (Aug. 22) led to questions about the future of the iconic CG36500 lifeboat that rescued 32 sailors from the sinking tanker Pendleton in 1952. Sherman, author of “The Finest Hours,” said he participated in a conference call with OHS President Kathleen McNeil and two others and was asked to “leverage ...

Dorothy “Dottie” Horne               Dorothy “Dottie” Horne died July 28, 2018 at the age of 97.  She was a resident of Vi at Bentley Village in Naples, Fla. Prior to living in Naples, she resided in Philadelphia, Pa., West Boylston and Chatham.  Born in 1921 to Dr. Harvey Schock and Hettie Myers Schock, Dottie grew up in Philadelphia, graduated from Friends Central School, Hood College, and received a grad...

Wallace L Beneville           Wallace L Beneville, 87, passed away peacefully on August 14, 2018 in Greenwich, Connecticut surrounded by his family.           He was born on July 26, 1931 in Union City, New Jersey. Wally graduated from Tenafly High School in 1948 and Rutgers University in 1952. A gifted athlete and a great competitor, he was a first team all-American lacrosse player at Rutgers and was named...

Melissa W. Maniscalco             It is with great sadness that the family of Melissa Weston Maniscalco of Middlefield, Conn. announces that their daughter and beloved wife of William Maniscalco passed away surrounded by her loving husband and parents on Wednesday, August 8, 2018 at the age of 49, after a long courageous battle against cancer.           Melissa, born April 12, 1969, will be lovingly reme...

     Preston Lee Smith, D.D.S, age 86 of Harwich, died at his home on August 19, 2018 with his loving family by his side. He is survived by his wife Sheila Whiddon Smith, two daughters Meredith and husband Charles Konner, Stephanie and husband Roger Greenwood, his sister Judith McCracken and husband Robert and their three daughters and families, sister-in- law Audrey Smith and her two daughters and son and their ...

  Sherill Ann (Geary) Duggan     Sherill Ann (Geary) Duggan died August 18, 2018 at her home in Harwich Port surrounded by family after a long illness. She was 80 years old.     Sherill was born July 1, 1938 in Leominster to Katharine and Donald Geary. She graduated from Leominster High School, attended Regis College, and earned certification to teach elementary school.  After graduating from Regis she taugh...

CHATHAM — If this summer’s humidity has you down, you’re not alone. Last weekend, the span of the Mitchell River drawbridge was kept in the lowered position because of continued problems related to swelling of bridge timbers during humid weather. Crews made the latest round of stopgap repairs Monday, and are hopeful that the $14 million bridge will remain operational until more extensive repairs can be made ...

CHATHAM – After a flurry of last-minute bidding, this year's Sharks in the Park online auction netted a total of $72,004, topping the $62,461 raised last year by more than 15 percent. The top shark went for $5,000, the highest ever, and nine went for more than $2,000. “It's definitely an all-time high,” organizer Janice Rogers said of the auction total. Bidding on the 60 shark sculptures, which have been...

CHATHAM — Once logistical details are worked out, crews will begin widening and deepening a critical channel providing access to Chatham Harbor, despite threats of a lawsuit from a shorefront property owner. In a special meeting last Wednesday, the board of selectmen authorized the county dredge to conduct the work, and a necessary permit was received from state officials later in the week. Together with the...

CHATHAM – Before her family boarded a charter boat for a day of fishing last Wednesday, 17-year-old Beth Fineberg rinsed her hands in the water off the float at the Ryder's Cove town landing. She'd seen seals swimming about 20 feet out and thought nothing of it. Then she felt a sharp pain in her hands. “It came up from under me and bit a couple of fingers,” she said. She immediately pulled her hands away from ...

CHATHAM – South Chatham residents will be happy to learn that they'll soon no longer have to worry about stains from high iron levels in water pumped from a town well in their neighborhood. In September, water from well number seven will begin flowing through the town's new water treatment plant, a $10 million facility designed to remove high levels of iron and manganese from drinking water. Currently, the pla...

Nearly four years ago, some friends out walking their dogs on Lighthouse Beach came across an outhouse that had been tossed up into the dunes during a storm. They righted it, propped a section of picket fence they found nearby against it, took some photos and went on their way. Over time they started to add more beach debris, eventually hauling some tools to the beach to make it more sturdy. “It started to ...