CHATHAM — Saying they need additional time to consider a revised North (Nauset) beach management agreement with Orleans, Chatham selectmen last week said they will ask their counterparts in Orleans to extend the current agreement for another year. The two boards are set to meet jointly on April 24 at 7 p.m. at the Chatham Town Offices Annex on George Ryder Road to discuss the management of the barrier beach,...

CHATHAM – Firefighting can be a dangerous business. But aside from the obvious risk of bodily harm, there's another, more insidious risk that firefighters face: cancer. According to a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health study, 68 percent of firefighters are expected to develop cancer, compared to 22 percent of the general population. It's not just the smoke that firefighters are subjected to ...

Monomoy Regional High School department heads are asking for an apology from the school committee for the way several teachers were treated at the committee's March 23 meeting. At tonight's school committee meeting (Thursday, April 13), an executive session will be held to discuss the teachers' complaint. Along with the March 27 letter from the department heads, committee chairman Brian Widegren said h...

CHATHAM – Federal legislation to settle a disputed boundary at the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge has thrust the town town into the national political scene. “We're part of the national dialog now,” said Selectman Seth Taylor, who testified on the bill last week before a House of Representatives subcommittee in Washington, D.C. last Wednesday. “This is in play at a level where they're really ripping each oth...

HARWICH — “Harwich is bursting with flavor” is the theme of this year's Toast of Harwich, sponsored by the chamber of commerce. The event will roll once again through the streets of the town on Friday, May 5 with participants being transported to four hubs by trolleys. The trolley transportation aspect of the event was introduced last year as a way of taking people out into the community to experience differen...

HYANNIS — As they do each year, the local chapter of the American Red Cross presented medals for heroism Friday, and a number of the honorees were from the Lower Cape. Last July, Nauset Marine employee Olivia Underwood was cleaning a boat when she saw a sudden flash in a nearby boat. She rushed to find that a fire had ignited the clothes of her coworker, Joe Pires; without hesitating, she doused him with wat...

HARWICH — Habitat for Humanity of Cape Cod put forward a new ownership agreement to address site control issues raised by the appeals board last week, but ran into new concerns about whether rental units in the historic Judah Chase House were legally permitted. The nonprofit is seeking a comprehensive permit for an eight-lot subdivision that would provide six-affordable homes off Route 28 in West Harwich. Two ...

WEST HARWICH — A long shadow of sexual abuse came to light this week with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fall River settling eight sexual abuse cases against the late Rev. James Nickel, who served as a priest in Holy Trinity Church from 1972 to 1978. Seven of the eight boys sexually abused by Nickel were alter boys. Six of them served in Holy Trinity Church and one at Our Lady of Annunciation in Dennisport. The...

HARWICH — The state Department of Environmental Protection conducted an onsite hearing last week at the Resilient Family Farm off Chatham Road at the request of owner Barry Dino Viprino, who is asking the state to reverse a conservation commission ruling that the farm is not exempt from Wetland Protection Act provisions. The commission made the decision at a hearing in mid-February after determining the farm h...

HARWICH — With $5.7 million in tax liens sitting on the books, Treasurer/Tax Collector Amy Bullock has made the decision to sell the liabilities to a private investor. The sale could provide the town with a quick infusion of money. Bullock brought the idea to selectmen nearly a year ago, pointing out state law allows municipalities to sell tax liens to private investors. She said this week the town presently h...

SOUTH YARMOUTH ─ Though the D-Y Dolphins eked out a 3-2 victory on Monday against the Monomoy Sharks, the visiting Sharks certainly gave them a fight in the pitchers' duel. Mollie Charest added another 10 strikeouts to her ever-increasing count for the season as the Sharks held their own and then some against the non-league hosts. Monomoy hit the scoreboard first in the outing when Emma Thacher swung into...

HARWICH ─ Monomoy High has more than a dozen competitive sports throughout the school year, and though there are no fees for students who want to play, there are costs. To help defray those costs, the school's relatively new Monomoy Unified Booster Club is holding its first-ever mattress sale fundraiser in May. On May 7, those in the market for a new mattress, including area inns, are invited to visit the gy...

If you've been to a game at, or have driven past, the Monomoy Athletic Complex, you've seen the beginnings of what will eventually become the school's snack bar and restroom facility. When it's complete, it will provide a place for teams to earn much-needed money through food and memorabilia sales, and will offer fans a place to “go” in comfort. So let's get it finished. Work initially began on the structure l...

Monomoy Boys Lacrosse Celebrates First Varsity Win The Monomoy boys lacrosse team earned its first win as a varsity program this week, defeating Sturgis West 11-10 on the road on Monday. Connor Santoni scored four goals for the Sharks, while Rory Carpenter, Kyle Gabri, and Connor Deveau each netted two and Elijah Beasley scored one. Nick Malone had some strong saves in goal, while the defense was led b...

Chatham Elementary School Third Graders Study Water Table Ranger Barbara from the National Seashore taught the third graders about the water table, how pollution impacts our water, and how pollution can be cleaned up. The third graders had models in which they made ponds, added food coloring (for “pollution"), watched how the "pollution" drained into the water table, and then worked to clean up their mo...

You ’ d never know that off of Route 6A, down a dirt road about a half mile from the sign that gleams “ Cape Rep ” beside a big yellow house, a creative community is growing and alive within the restored theaters tucked behind the trees. But Director Maura Hanlon and her troupe of actors know exactly where to go to find creative respite three times a week. Cape Rep Young Compa...