It wasn't surprising to learn that a white shark killed a seal in Chatham Harbor last week. It was bound to happen, since sharks tend to be present where their favorite prey is located, and there are plenty of seals in the harbor. What was a little surprising was the debate that was sparked when we shared photos of the predation on our Twitter and Facebook accounts. The images were bloody and graphic, and were...

Town Deserves Explanation Editor: When vacationing in your lovely town at the beginning of August, I read and watched on TV the discovery of a the body of a young man missing for nine months, found in a decommissioned USCG boat within sight of where he was last seen. I was shocked to see the cold response by the Police Chief of Chatham upon finding their missing person 100 feet from where he disappeared. I ...

Although the bugs were out, the show above was, as usual, thrilling. Windless on the Oyster Pond, its surface like glass – no, molten glass or perhaps liquid chrome – our boat, Tilikum, made a track slowly past the channel buoy. Oddly, a cloud of wood smoke met us there, drifting up from the marshes to the southwest. Before I recognized the smell, I looked at the motor to be sure that the extra oil I put in th...

ORLEANS — Impulse buying took over Main Street Friday and Saturday during the famed Sidewalk Sale. From Snow's to Friend's, prices were trimmed, reduced, and even slashed on everything from pocket flasks ($14.99 down to $10.99 at Snow's) to canna lilies ($14.99 to $9.99 at Snow's). Both sides of Main Street were packed with bargains and bargain-hunters. Nadine Broude of Brewster brought friends from Canada ...

ORLEANS — In 2003, Iraq felt the fire and fury of an American-led invasion. In 2017, on Cape Cod, Iraqi refugee families enjoyed the fun and friendliness of a Cape Cod weekend arranged by the Nauset Interfaith Association. On Friday, host families from Brewster, Eastham, Harwich, Orleans, and Yarmouth welcomed 18 refugees who have settled in the Worcester area at St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Harwich. They ...

ORLEANS — Tonight (Aug. 17) at 7, the board of selectmen and the finance committee will meet for a joint work session on wastewater issues, leading off with a workshop on a multi-variable matrix of options for funding a sewer and treatment system. The boards were to hear as well what sort of assurances bond counsel would require if the town uses state land at Route 6's Exit 12 for the system's primary dispo...

CHATHAM – Beaches along Chatham Harbor were closed Thursday afternoon after a fishermen saw a great white shark bite a seal in half off Andrew Harding's Lane Beach. Peter O'Neill was coming in through the 1987 inlet shortly after 3 p.m. after a day of fishing when he spotted a “giant pool of blood with the head of seal poking out” in the channel about 150 yards off the beach. The seal had already been bitte...

CHATHAM – Seventy years after the D-Day invasion, retired Army Colonel John Wessmiller had the opportunity to return to the place where, as a young officer, he escaped a run-in with German soldiers that destroyed his unit, bluffed his way back to Allied lines and was serious wounded by an enemy shell. By visiting the Normandy countryside where the experiences occurred as well as the graves of his fallen comrades,...

CHATHAM – For the fourth time, a shark has been stolen from the downtown Sharks in the Park exhibit. The shark taken early Saturday morning was returned and a suspect identified. A Chatham summer resident, who lives year-round in New Jersey, reportedly confessed to the theft, and police are waiting to determine if charges will be filed. On Saturday evening, another attempt was made to take one of the sharks...

CHATHAM – The town's ever-dynamic waterways, solid finances and upcoming projects topped the agenda at Tuesday's 71 st annual summer town meeting. The informal session held to educate seasonal residents was sponsored by the summer residents advisory committee, an official town committee that represents the interest of non-residents property owners, the only officially constituted committee of its kind on the ...

CHATHAM – Selectmen will hear an update next Tuesday on plans to upgrade the busy intersection at Route 28 and Crowell Road. Consultant Howard/Stein-Hudson (HSH) is seeking input in developing the pre-25 percent design concept for the project, and will present updated information on existing conditions and potential alternatives at the Aug. 15 meeting. The session will kick off a 30-day informal public comment...

CHATHAM — Visitors to Nauset Beach and two other area beaches last week observed something new in the sky, and it wasn't an aerial banner advertising beer or car insurance. It was a balloon, holding a high-tech camera designed to spot sharks. Representatives of the Florida-based firm Altametry were on the Lower Cape last week testing equipment that they hope could be part of a future system for detecting white...

CHATHAM — There's no reason to panic, but Chatham's signature summer event is officially in limbo. All five members of the Independence Day Parade Committee have stepped down. “They served our town very well, and they told us this was a strong possibility,” Board of Selectmen Chairman Cory Metters said last week. “If we don't have enough members to operate that committee, we might have to look at another ent...

CHATHAM — Even as loved ones gather today to remember Matthew Amsler as a friend, a son, a husband and a father, questions remain about how his remains went undetected for months, just feet from where he was last seen alive. On July 30, a crew from Coast Guard Station Chatham was practicing a law enforcement boarding on the retired CG44301, a rescue boat on display on the front lawn, when they found Amsler's...

HARWICH — The turnout was thin Monday night for the annual non-resident taxpayers meeting. Those in attendance learned about building and road projects on the horizon and the financial health of the town. Public access to Beach 22 off Shore Road in West Harwich continued to be a topic of discussion as it has for a number of years. Town Administrator Christopher Clark said the number one priority for beach nour...