Already endorsed by the Monomoy Regional School Committee, a plan to allow Head Start and the YMCA of Cape Cod to operate early childhood programs at Chatham and Harwich elementary schools has passed muster with selectmen in both towns. Superintendent of Schools Scott Carpenter said the lease of the classroom spaces must be finalized by the state education commissioner, but the new programs are expected to beg...

NORTH HARWICH — Maybe it was the disruption caused by the tornado, or perhaps people are starting to focus on back-to-school activities. Or maybe people are understandably focused on enjoying their Cape Cod summer vacations. But whatever the reason, donations had slowed to a trickle in our annual Helping Neighbors campaign to benefit the Family Pantry of Cape Cod. ...

HARWICH – Hundreds of members and supporters of the Harwich Conservation Trust turned out Monday night to delve into the 400-year history of the Pleasant Bay area as seen through records and artifacts uncovered at the 49-acre Kendrick farm. The effort is an ambitious five-year undertaking to merge archeological and historical research and uncover a generation-by-generation history not only of one family, but of t...

HARWICH — A blue-green algae bloom turned the waters of the West Reservoir in the Bell’s Neck Conservation Area bright green Monday. Town officials warned people not to swim or allow dogs to swim or drink water from the reservoir. “The whole West Reservoir is a murky blue-green,” Conservation Administrator Amy Usowski said after posting three warning notices along the shoreline where people might come in conta...

Peake: State May Provide Disaster Relief Money Municipal expenditures related to the July 23 tornado are not likely to reach the threshold required for federal reimbursement, local officials say. Qualifying expenditures in Harwich total $1,256,200, according to Town Administrator Christopher Clark, and slightly more than $438,000 in Chatham, according to Finance Director Alix Heilala. Yarmouth reported $4...

HARWICH — Sandy Robinson remembers well the day she was offered the job working in the administration/selectmen’s office in town hall 19 years ago. “Assistant town administrator Juell Buckwold called to offer me the job and I said my first grandchild is about to be born any minute,” Robinson responded. “Now she’s in her second year in college. It’s like a lifetime in the blink of an eye.” But, the executive...

HARWICH — Selectmen made it clear Monday night they support a referral of the Captains’ Row area of West Harwich to the Cape Cod Commission as a district of critical planning concern, but they held off requesting a pending a recommendation from the planning board. Residents of the area have come together in support of protecting the historic structures, many built by 19 th Century sea captains, along a stretc...

HARWICH — There is a new watercolor exhibit at the cultural center focusing on a dozen of the historic structures along Captains’ Row in West Harwich. There has been a major effort by residents of the West Harwich area to protect the historic character of the neighborhood, which was established by sea captains, ship builders and merchants. This summer the Harwich Historical Society has a Captains’ Row exhibit ...

HARWICH/COTUIT – After a stellar playoff run that earned them the East Division championship, the Harwich Mariners bid a bittersweet farewell to Cape Cod last weekend after falling in the finals to Cotuit. It was a summer of tenacity for the 2019 Mariners, who, after a bumpy start, found themselves battling their way out of the bottom of the East Division, doing so just in time to make the playoffs, where they...

CHATHAM – It's been almost 10 years since Chatham High School graduate Ken Owens died in a skydiving accident in Hawaii, and while the hole he left in his tight-knit family will never be filled, what helps is the support of loved ones and the annual Kenny Kup Ken Owens Memorial Soccer Jamboree, this year slated for Aug. 18 at Veterans Field. The 2019 event marks the 10 th Kenny Kup, an event Ken's parents, Da...

One of the best things about the Festival of the Arts presented by the Creative Arts Center (CAC) in Chatham, now in its 48th year, is that you can rely on finding both the things you loved at past fairs and something new among the 120 fine artisans and craftsmen. “It’s a nice mix of the familiar and the new,” says Angela Zoni Mault, the CAC’s executive director. The popular fair will run this summer from Frida...

With most plays, as far as the audience is concerned, what happens backstage stays backstage. After watching one of his own farces from the wings, English playwright Michael Frayn had an epiphany— the drama behind the drama could be very funny. The Cape Playhouse’s “Noises Off” hits the mark, maximizing Frayn’s organized bedlam and laugh-out-loud zaniness. The term “noises off” is a theatrical stage direction ca...

Embalmment and humor would seem like an unlikely pairing, but “Lenin’s Embalmers” is anything but lifeless. Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater’s production is the perfect combination of drama, political intrigue, and thought-provoking dark humor. The historical play opens in 1924, with Robin Haynes playing Lenin. He has been shot and proclaims that he wants “no graves, no monuments, and no shrines.” Tellingly, he a...

The dwindling of the school-age population in our area is a real concern; it is symptomatic of the failure to retain and attract young families. We all know the economic realities that contribute to the situation: the dearth of high-paying year-round jobs, the lack of affordable rental housing and the soaring price of homeownership. These are systemic, regional problems that Chatham, Harwich and Orleans cannot wh...

Park Is Meant For The Public Editor: Real estate has always touted the tag-line location, location, location, and while property value is affected by this, so is adjacent activity.  If you purchase property abutting or close to a public area, expect the public.  Because current or past use has been one way does not guarantee nothing will change in the future. It has always been my feeling that Chase Park...

August 15th, 1956 - August 4th, 2019 Chatham               Steven Jeffrey Turner, 62, died on August 4th, 2019 at Windsor Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing in S. Yarmouth from complications of COPD. Born in Braintree, Steven moved to Chatham in 1957 with his parents. He graduated from Chatham High School in 1974, and after an AFS exchange year to Denmark in 1974-75, he attended the University of Massach...