Volunteer Water Watchers Program Has Benefited Town For 18 Years CHATHAM – Without the town's coastal water monitoring program, which depends on volunteer “water watchers,” it's unlikely that the town would be as advanced as it is in improving its coastal water quality. The work done by the water watchers, a program run in conjunction with the Friends of Chatham Waterways, would cost hundreds of thousands...

CHATHAM – The town's attempt to block a citizens group's lawsuit that seeks to prohibit skydiving at Chatham Municipal Airport has been denied by the state appeals court. “We're disappointed,” said Chairman of Selectmen Jeffrey Dykens. “We've tried to exhaust all legal avenues for dismissal of complaint” in order to avoid prolonged and potentially expensive litigation. Associate Justice Eric Neyman turned d...

When Chet Grocki of Chatham was in high school in the 1950s, he was sometimes called out of class to play Taps at a military funeral. Local men from his town in Connecticut were fighting and dying in the Korean War. As a trumpeter in the Connecticut All-State Band, Chet was in demand for this somber task. “It was the beginning of my awareness of the idea of military service—what it ultimately meant was peop...

CHATHAM – Selectmen voted Tuesday to call a special town meeting for Monday, Jan. 23 at 6:30 p.m. to ask voters if they want to purchase the Eldredge Garage property. A group of residents and business owners have a purchase and sales agreement with the Eldredge family and intend to assist them in getting the property ready for town acquisition, potentially to be used for public parking. The board also voted...

CHATHAM – On Jan. 1, single-use plastic bags will be a thing of the past in Chatham. The board of health, which passed the ban a year ago, issued a reminder last week that it will be implemented on the first day of the new year. “We wanted to let the public and the merchants know it's going into effect Jan. 1,” said Health Agent Judy Giorgio. “We want to make sure they're all prepared.” Health department...

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, Harwich and Orleans will each hold ceremonies marking Veterans Day on Friday, Nov. 11, beginning at 11 a.m. The Chatham ceremony will take place in the community center. In the past the ceremony has been held at the downtown rotary, but after last year's event was held in the community center due to weather, many people said they enjoyed the indoors setting better, said organizer Robert Franz. “Bei...

CHATHAM – When surf is breaking on the Chatham Bar and fishing boats are either on their way out of the harbor or coming back home, the Coast Guard has taken to positioning one of its near-shore lifeboats near the entrance channel. “We have not done this in previous months,” said Station Chatham Senior Chief Corbin Ross. Members of the commercial fleet requested the move, however, due to increased shoaling on ...

CHATHAM – Cape Cod is a great place to teach science. “We use our environment as much as we can,” said Monomoy Middle School seventh grade science teacher Melinda Forist. It's evident from her students' projects that the natural world is not just something they study in books; they do actual water quality testing, conduct energy efficiency audits and conduct experiments in the field designed to help endangered...

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...