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...

CHATHAM – Stakes showing the extent of the state-owned right-of-way along a portion of the Route 28-Crowell Road intersection have some worried that improvements there will be “massive.” “I guarantee people are going to be horrified by the amount of pavement that's going to go in,” said resident Elaine Gibbs. Only a portion of the right-of-way – on the east side of the intersection – was staked out by a hir...

CHATHAM – The first in a series of forums designed to open and improve communication lines in the town’s business community was held last Wednesday evening at the community center. Sponsored by the Chatham Merchants Association, the forum focused on three key areas of discussion, including what worked well for businesses during the past summer season, the challenges that exist and ways to address those concerns. ...

CHATHAM – The town and state will have to make changes to GPS antenna tower at the department of public works yard on Crowell Road. Last Thursday, the zoning board of appeals ruled that the town had erred in issuing a building permit for construction of the antenna in a drainage swale, which was partially filled to accommodate the structure and its base. Elizabeth and Robert Crowell, who own property immediate...

CHATHAM – Taxpayers won't pay a dime for two studies being conducted for the town by the Edward J. Collins Center for Public Management at UMass Boston. The cost of a classification and compensation study and a five-year capital improvement plan will be covered by Commonwealth Community Compact Best Practices grants. The town previously expected less funding for the projects. The capital improvement plan, w...

CHATHAM – Spread out at tables in the Monomoy Regional Middle School library, groups of three or four students engage in a lively discussion about how they're going to spend their money. Well, not exactly their money, but money earned through their business, Shark Tank Enterprises. “We are in the beginning stages of our business,” says Cherian Armstrong, the school's librarian and advisor to this club of 22...

CHATHAM – A World War I-era grenade discovered last Thursday at the Chatham Historical Society's Atwood House and Museum was found to contain no explosives and deemed safe for display. The grenade was found while museum officials were updating a recent exhibit on “Chatham in the Military.” It had apparently been stored in the museum's basement archives for decades. “The first thing we wanted to know was if ...

CHATHAM — According to the insurance industry, Chatham is more fire-resistant than ever before. And that could translate to savings on home and commercial insurance premiums, though modest ones. The Insurance Service Office rates communities on a scale of one to 10, based on a host of factors that judge fire preparedness and suppression ability. Like most municipalities in the country, Chatham had been rated...

CHATHAM – A World War I-era grenade discovered Thursday at the Chatham Historical Society's Atwood House and Museum was found to contain no explosives and deemed safe for display. The grenade was found while museum officials were updating a recent exhibit on “Chatham in the Military.” It had apparently been stored in the museum's basement archives for decades. “The first thing we wanted to know was if it is...

CHATHAM – About a century ago, Chatham’s town historian William Smith wrote, “No more graceful act could be performed by the grateful descendants of the Pilgrims than to erect… at Chatham a simple monument to this unhonored, but most deserving, friend and protector of their forefathers.” Smith was referring to Squanto (also known as Tisquantum), perhaps the most famous Native American to greet the Pilgrims. Sq...

CHATHAM – A proposed capital improvement plan for the Chatham Municipal Airport calls for more than $7 million in expenditures through 2025, with almost all of the funding coming from the state and federal governments. Among the big-ticket items in the plan are the reconstruction of the airport's parallel taxiway, a new airport administration building, and an update of the airport's master plan. Most of the...