ORLEANS — When riders ask Orleans Cycle manager Barry Martin how to get to Chatham, he never suggests the direct route down Route 28. Martin puts the cyclists on the Cape Cod Rail Trail, which runs by his Main Street shop, for the 18-mile journey into Harwich and onto the spur that runs back into Chatham. In an interview last week, he said he's concerned about visitors who are “oblivious” to the reality that...

ORLEANS — You don't see a bill for the water you use in July and August until the following February. A lot can happen in that time, including leaks that send water into the ground unused after the town has paid for pumping, treating, and distributing it. In some cases, surprised homeowners are faced with bills for thousands of dollars. They ask for abatements, and more revenue is forfeited. The board of water a...

Preliminary survey results indicate that parents favor reconfiguration of the Monomoy Regional School District's two elementary schools in order to keep both viable as enrollment continues to decline. A majority of parents support creating “upper” and “lower” elementary schools, with students in pre-K through grade two attending Harwich Elementary School, and grade three and four students going to Chatham Elem...

CHATHAM — On the 99 th anniversary of Armistice Day, a grateful community gathered at the community center Saturday to thank the town's veterans. “What does it mean to be a veteran?” asked retired U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Robert Franz. For his part, his service left “an indelible imprint on the soul,” and as a veteran, he said he views life differently. When he sees news reports of American troops in...

CHATHAM – A thimble, a musket ball, 17 th and 18 th century pottery and ceramics, an ancient arrowhead and half – yes, half – of a pig skull. Those are just some of the items found by archaeologists sifting through soil excavated from underneath the floors of one of the town's oldest houses, the 1752 Atwood House on Stage Harbor Road, on Monday. How some of those objects came to be underneath the floorboa...

CHATHAM – Even if the Stage Harbor Road area is never officially designated a National Historic Register District, demolitions of historically significant homes along the roadway can still be referred to the Cape Cod Commission for regulatory review. Jon Idman, chief regulatory officer of the commission, said in an email to Community Development Director Kathleen Donovan that because the Massachusetts Historic...

CHATHAM – The Bradford pear tree removed from the front lawn of the Mayo House will return, in a different form, to benefit the Chatham Conservation Foundation. The Foundation, which owns the historic Main Street three-quarter Cape, removed the tree two weeks ago after being told by an arborist that its heavy canopy and shallow root system made it a potential hazard. After it was cut down, rather than chipping...

Selectmen Request 'Minimalist' Upgrade To Rt. 28-Crowell Rd. Corner CHATHAM – The board of selectmen voted Tuesday to ask its consultants to develop a scaled-back version of improvements at the Crowell Road-Route 28 intersection, minimizing lane width and extras like bike lanes as much as possible without compromising vehicle or pedestrian safety. Board members and many residents felt the initial proposal...

Runoff Overwhelms Old Stormwater System CHATHAM – It wasn't until 2004 that Dr. Neill S. Cowles noticed flooding in the parking lot of the Crowell Road optometry office he'd built in 1971. Runoff from Crowell Road began to flood the property's parking lot during heavy rains, sometimes three or four inches deep, but would usually drain quickly. It was clear the runoff was coming from the roadway, and he as...

HARWICH — While playing a high-tech treasure hunt game in Hawksnest State Park Friday, a father and his two young children uncovered a bag filled with heroin paraphernalia. Justin Tavano, a Chatham firefighter, was in the conservation land with his eight-year-old son and six-year-old daughter searching for a geocache, usually a small container filled with trinkets for the finder. But in the spot where the ca...

HARWICH — Should it meet the requirements, Harwich could become the fifth Cape Cod town to join the state's Green Communities program, earning cash for its energy conservation efforts. Town officials met last Tuesday with program representative Seth Pickering, who said Harwich could receive an initial grant of up to $160,000, plus additional funding opportunities, for meeting five key criteria. Town Admin...

HARWICH PORT — When renovations are complete, Saquatucket Harbor will be a major attraction for summer visitors. Town officials want to make sure that, for pedestrians coming from the nearby shopping district, it isn't an attractive nuisance. Coming from the village center, there are sidewalks along Route 28 from the Bank Street intersection to a point just beyond Snow Inn Road, but not quite to the popular ...

HARWICH ─ People in the Harwich area might be used to seeing Eric Beebe out for a run on the Rail Trail now and again as part of his commitment to wellness, but when he took to the trail on Oct. 15, it was for an entirely different reason. This time the run had a deeper purpose: to raise money for Children's Hospital in Boston, with which he has a special connection. “Four years ago my oldest son was diagnos...

HARWICH — The board of selectmen Monday unanimously endorsed the construction of a new East Harwich fire substation, even though the costs are likely to be about $2 million higher than expected. The $6,044,954 request will go before voters in May. Fire Chief Norman Clarke, Jr., said he takes responsibility for the fact that the project cost has jumped significantly since he pledged to hold the line at $4 mil...

HARWICH PORT — Painstakingly, one boatload at a time, a contractor has begun to dredge Saquatucket Harbor. The work began last week, and as of Monday morning, two scows filled with silty sand had been removed from the harbor, leaving about 22 loads to go. Working from a barge, crews use a large excavator fitted with a clamshell scoop to remove the dredged material, loading it on special barges. The work is m...

HARWICH ─ They knew the competition would be challenging, but when the Monomoy cheerleading squad headed to the regional competition in Franklin last weekend, they ignored the odds and gave it everything they had, impressing their fans and their coach. “It was extremely tough,” said coach Robbin Kelly. “I can't tell you how proud I am of their performance.” While most fans see the team on the sidelines an...