“Come gather ‘round people Wherever you roam And admit that the waters Around you have grown And accept it that soon You’ll be drenched to the bone For the times they are a-changin’”   Way back in 1964, Bob Dylan was a young self-styled folk singer from Minnesota. His voice was certainly not wonderful, nor was his personality on stage. But the words of his songs were incredible and those w...

Edward Crowell Collins             Edward Crowell Collins passed away on January 28, 2018. Ed was born in Hartford Connecticut on June 14, 1930 to Grace and Robert Collins. Ed is survived by his son William and his wife Susan, his son David and his partner Mary and his son Jay and his wife Jill.                Ed was a member of the United States Air Force for four years. He pursued his formal education at ...

                                        John B. ‘Jack’ Hynes Jr.             John B. “Jack” Hynes Jr.  passed away peacefully on February 13, 2018 after a long illness at the age of 88 at Linden Ponds in Hingham.  Jack first gained fame as one of Boston’s first television news anchors for a career that spanned 50 years. He was often referred to as “The Dean of Boston TV News” where he broadcasted from 1957 ...

                                                      George L. 'Butch' Snider III On Feb. 7, George succumbed to the cancer that he so courageously fought over the past nine months.  He leaves behind his father, George L. Snider Jr. and his mother, Sheila Snider, as well as his brother Tom, of Middlebury, Conn., and his sister, Katherine of New York (husband, George Schwimmer).  He also leaves a niece, Madele...

ORLEANS – The downtown sewer construction project will begin March 5 on Main Street at the entrance to Snow Library's parking lot, DPW/Natural Resources Director Tom Daley told selectmen last week. For two days, library patrons will have to park across the street or in the Nauset Regional Middle School lot above the library. Other changes are ahead for businesses in the downtown area. Daley said Police Lt. Kev...

ORLEANS — The marine and fresh water quality task force heard from the public Feb. 6 on its recommendation that polluted Uncle Harvey's Pond be treated with a mix of aluminum salts to reduce the negative effects of phosphorus there. “This has been a very careful process,” a woman in the audience told the committee. “Not everyone will like your conclusion, (but) it's more dangerous not to do anything... I'd l...

HARWICH — Robert Paul Properties and the Harwich Chamber of Commerce are teaming up to support the Family Pantry of Cape Cod, and the public is invited to pitch in. Rather than holding its Chamber-sponsored Business After Hours event at its office, the real estate agency is inviting area business leaders and members of the public to visit the Family Pantry's headquarters in North Harwich next Tuesday.  Attende...

CHATHAM — Chatham Bars Inn is inviting property owners to consider hosting a seasonal worker from another country this summer, and is holding an informational luncheon on Feb. 28. The event is being hosted by the Inn's human resources department, and will take place on Feb. 28 at 12:30 p.m. in the Stars Restaurant at Chatham Bars Inn.  A complimentary luncheon will be served after the brief informational sessi...

CHATHAM – If the town continues to sock away $150,000 a year toward its post-employment benefit (OPEB) liability, it will take more than 110 years to meet its full obligation of more than $16 million. Selectmen are eyeing a somewhat shorter timeline; they want to full fund the OPEB trust in 10 to 15 years, less if possible. To meet that goal, the board last week instructed staff to prepare town meeting arti...

CHATHAM – A zoning bylaw prohibiting retail marijuana shops may not go before town meeting this May. On a tie vote, the planning board last Tuesday failed to endorse the amendment, with several board members saying they saw it as overreach. “It doesn't have the serious consequences you're thinking it will have,” said board member Robert Wirtshafter. Selectmen will decide Tuesday if they will submit the z...

CHATHAM – For eight Monday evenings this summer, Main Street in downtown Chatham will be turned into Music Street. Similar to the long-running and successful Port Summer Nights in Harwich Port, Mondays on Main will feature bands, musicians and other entertainers performing in scattered locations from the rotary to the Chatham Wine Bar at 359 Main St. Local businesses will sponsor performers, and restaurants an...

CHATHAM — Seventy years ago tomorrow, the RCA wireless transmitter in South Chatham first crackled to life, sending messages around the globe. Its bank of 24 transmitters put out around 20,000 watts of power each, occasionally causing the lights in the village to flicker. It was those transmitters, rather than the more visible receiving station in Chathamport, that earned station WCC international renown. Th...

CHATHAM – Members of the community preservation committee have rejected a request for $400,000 toward construction of a new observation deck at the fish pier, saying it didn't qualify as a recreation project. Recreation is one of the four areas for which funds raised under the Community Preservation Act (CPA) can be spent. While the fish pier deck replacement was presented by the natural resources department a...

Constable Gives Primer On Shellfish Grow-out System by Tim Wood CHATHAM – A recent proposal to construct a new shellfish upweller on Stage Harbor raised an important question: Just what is an upweller? “I had folks who came up or called and wanted to know what's an upweller,” said Selectman Jeffrey Dykens. “Some of my mother's friends were saying 'What the heck's an upweller?'” At Dykens' request, ...

CHATHAM – Selectmen agreed Tuesday that a proposed bylaw that bans balloons should go before voters at the spring town meeting, but they sent the measure back to town counsel for some wordsmithing to clarify that the prohibition would not apply to balloons at birthday parties, weddings and other private functions. The board also decided to pull the plug on a bylaw governing street performers and buskers, sayin...

CHATHAM – While terns did well on the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge last summer – the refuge remains the largest common tern colony on the eastern seaboard – the number and nesting success of federally-endangered piping plovers fell below expectations. A total of 48.5 pairs of the small, sand-colored plovers nested on the refuge, a decrease from 52 pairs in 2016. Most (46 pairs) nested on South Monomoy, one...