CHATHAM — Until about a decade ago, Andrew Fitzgerald, Jr., was known to most of his family and friends only as a loving man with a keen wit, a retired sales engineer, a volunteer at his church and an avid football fan. And way back in his youth, he had been in the United States Coast Guard. What they didn’t know was Mr. Fitzgerald’s role in the greatest small boat rescue in Coast Guard history. He was th...

CHATHAM – Planning board members hope the public will provide feedback on a revised accessory dwelling unit (ADU) zoning bylaw amendment at two upcoming forums. The bylaw is designed to encourage more diverse housing choices by allowing year-round apartments in single-family homes. While the units will not have affordability restrictions, officials say allowing apartments in homes can help families meet the hi...

BARNSTABLE — In one of the final races to be decided on election night last Tuesday, Ronald Bergstrom of Chatham narrowly unseated County Commissioner Leo Cakounes of Harwich, shifting the balance of power in the county’s executive branch. “I went to bed at 11:30 and I turned off all our phones,” Bergstrom said. With one media outlet having declared the race for his opponent, Bergstrom resigned himself to a ...

CHATHAM – After several years of planning and at least two closures due to structural problems, the popular observation deck at the town-owned fish pier has gone out to bid for reconstruction. The project is expected to be finished by June 15, just as the busy summer season is ramping up. The fish pier is the town's most popular tourist attraction, drawing upwards of 200,000 people during summer, as many as...

CHATHAM – The town-owned Eldredge trap dock and the Stage Harbor Yacht Club pier, which have existed side by side for years, will be rebuilt separately and not as a single unit. Town and Yacht Club officials had held discussions aiming at reducing costs by reconstructing the two adjacent piers in tandem rather than as separate projects. But after seeing preliminary cost estimates for the town-proposed design, ...

Kimberly Amsden of North Chatham is a member of the executive council of the Susan F. Smith Center for Women’s Cancers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and is leading efforts to help eradicate breast and gynecologic cancers through education, advocacy, and fundraising. The executive council is a forum of nearly 40 women business and community leaders who are committed to helping find cures for women's cancers. ...

CHATHAM – About 200 residents, including nearly 40 veterans, gathered at the community center Sunday for a somber Veterans Day ceremony, which also marked the 100 th anniversary of the end of World War I. Master of Ceremonies Robert Franz recognized veterans in the crowd, those who served in the past as well as active service members. The experience of serving in the armed forces leaves an indelible imprint, ...

CHATHAM – If not for Chatham's unique coastal geology, our country might have a very different history. When the Pilgrims sighted land from the deck of the Mayflower on Nov. 9, 1620, it was the Nauset area that they saw, just north of Chatham. Heading south toward their original destination, they ran into Pollock Rip off Monomoy, and, sensing the danger that would drag many ships down over the coming centuries...

CHATHAM – With public safety their top priority, selectmen voted Monday to investigate ways to set up a net or other barrier around the swimming area at Oyster Pond Beach to keep out both seals and sharks. The step is a short-term measure the town can implement next summer in response to citizen concerns about the increasing number of seals and sharks in local waters, board members said. Actually reducing shar...

CHATHAM – Addressing low-lying points at Outermost Harbor Marine and the adjacent Starfish Lane condominiums will provide the most effective flood protection for Little Beach, a new storm tide pathways study concludes. “If you address those two, you've just tackled 78, 80 percent of your problem,” said the report's author, Mark Borrelli, a coastal geologist and director of the seafloor mapping program at the C...

CHATHAM — There's little disagreement that the town's trash transfer station and recycling center suffers from traffic congestion, odors, noise and general inefficiency. But the cost of fixing those problems is higher than expected; public works officials told selectmen last week that, using figures that are both very conservative and preliminary, the improvements could cost between $7.3 and $8.6 million. “T...

CHATHAM – The site of William and Anne Nickerson’s circa 1664 homestead proved so significant during a three-month archaeological excavation that the board of the Nickerson Family Association, Inc. (NFA) voted unanimously to extend the dig for an additional two months in 2019. A primary focus of next season will be to locate all of the outbuildings, including the barn and stables. “We have some tantalizing ...