Everyone has dreams. Even an orphan boy with no name as he’s thrown into the dark, stinky hold of a ship bound for an island ruled by a tyrannical king doomed to be a slave for the rest of his days, has a dream. He dreams of flying and the dream gives him hope and a drive to keep carrying on. This boy’s small measure of optimism collides with the remarkable Molly, an apprentice Starcatcher who has confidence and ...

Thirty-five years have passed since 1981, the year we all first heard of a terrible new disease: AIDS. Today, books and memoirs are being written about the early dark days of the epidemic before advances in drugs changed a diagnosis from a sure death sentence to a controllable condition. “When people write about gay history they write about Stonewall or gay marriage,” says Michael H. Ward of Chatham, author...

Chatham Elementary School Mrs. Cleary's class was the first fourth grade class to receive Chomper for filling up their SHARK tank, demonstrating great shark-like behavior by following directions, staying on task, being kind to others and working well with peers in small groups. This week Chomper has participated in multiplication sweets, estimation, reading groups with tall tales and understanding characters...

The Disney film “The Finest Hours” helped raise the profile of the U.S. Coast Guard, and Station Chatham in particular. What the rescue of the crew of the Pendleton showed modern audiences was the Coast Guard's tradition of selfless service and perseverance, a tradition that continues today. Over the years, that tradition has been, at times, a challenge to live up to, often because of conditions out of anyone'...

Help Save Monarch Butterflies Editor: I am writing to bring attention to the plight of the monarch butterfly, and if you enjoy them, how you can help. Monarch butterfly caterpillars can only eat milkweed and with the the loss of so many wild fields, the use of genetically engineered crop seed that has "Round-Up" in it, the common use of herbicides by farmers and homeowners, the beautiful monarch need our...

The weather’s soon going south, along with a great number of our thinner skinned neighbors. Jack Frost is paving the way for January’s Ice Queen and her minions, treating us to an unwelcome diet of snow and ice, turning our roads into pot-holed skating rinks and our cars into sad victims of the ensuing crashes. What if you never had to worry about getting into an accident again? Some of us may have that chance...

At age 102, Helen Krumpe's reputation precedes her. One person after another, after hearing that I intended to interview Krumpe, smiled and expressed their delight. “Oh, you are going to love Helen!” “She is a hoot!” “Oh, wait until you hear that sense of humor!” “I want to be Helen Krumpe when I grow up.” Krumpe seemed surprised and amused by the news that so many people express such enthusiastic affectio...

ORLEANS — By a margin of 2,733 to 1,359, voters approved spending $3.2 million to continue water quality projects through June 30. “It's almost two times the largest number of voters who ever voted to clean our waters,” Selectman Alan McClennen said. Selectmen Chairman Sims McGrath said he was “heartened that it's such a significant margin. That tells me people who did not go to town meeting are intereste...

ORLEANS — A glacier that moved through these parts took millennia to shape the Cape we know as home. These days, progress in creating the variety of homes Cape Codders need can seem glacial as well. Not everyone is lining up for another single-family home on an acre lot. In fact, some of the folks in those houses are looking to downsize into something more manageable as they enter their golden years. On the ...

Local voters backed Hillary Clinton in Tuesday's presidential election, sent William Keating back to Congress and elected a first-time candidate to the state senate. Truro Democrat Julian Cyr captured the Cape and Islands Senate seat being vacated by Dan Wolf, defeating Harwich resident Anthony Schiavi. Cyr managed to beat Republican Schiavi in his hometown of Harwich as well as in Orleans, but not in Chatham....

CHATHAM -- Work being done in the immediate vicinity of the dinghy float on the east side of the boat ramp at Old Mill Boatyard will make the float inaccessible beginning Monday, Nov. 7. The float will remain in place but the gangway will be removed, according to a statement from the town, to allow installation of a new bulkhead.  Dinghies which are not in use should be removed; owners are urged to coordinate ...

CHATHAM – Shellfish from Nantucket Sound are once again safe to eat. Not that they weren't to begin with. The state division of marine fisheries closed Nantucket Sound on Oct. 10, following closures in Mount Hope By and Buzzards Bay, due to a potentially toxic phytoplankton bloom. The type of algae in the bloom, pseudo nitzschia, can build up toxins in shellfish that can cause amnesic shellfish poisoning, w...

CHATHAM – Faced with millions of dollars worth of water-related infrastructure improvements, the town is implementing a waterways user fee to supplement funding of those projects. Officials made it clear at a hearing last week, however, that the anticipate revenue from the user fee will be “a drop in the bucket” and that the majority of the funding for the infrastructure upgrades will be paid through property ...

CHATHAM — Police and family members are continuing their search for a 24-year-old Chatham man missing since last Thursday, Oct. 27. As of Tuesday afternoon, efforts to locate Matthew J. Amsler had all come up short. He was last seen on foot in the area of the Lighthouse Beach parking lot, wearing a red plaid long sleeve shirt and hooded gray or green jacket, cuffed blue jeans and black shoes. He is five feet...

CHATHAM – Citizens will be able to get a close-up look at how the town's fire and rescue department operates at the first-ever Citizens Fire Academy. The eight-week program begins in January. Participants will have a chance to see first hand the day-to-day operations of the department, enhance their knowledge of its capabilities and better understand the demands on the department and its staff. “It's the fi...