ORLEANS – A town-wide flyover salute and a virtual “parade in place” will highlight this year's July 4 activities in town. Last year's July 4th parade was produced by a newly formed committee, taking over for the previous committee that stepped down after many years of dedicated service. The new committee was gearing up for an even more successful second year at the helm when COVID-19 struck, forcing shut-down...

ORLEANS — A new revolving fund will receive fees from courses run by the recreation department, but that bookkeeping change is just a bunny hop compared to the strides envisioned by the recreation advisory committee. They want to grow the town’s programs, and also find out what sort of community center Orleans would like to have. “We have an opportunity to influence the board of selectmen as they approach th...

ORLEANS — A tattoo studio, which would be the only one between Hyannis and Provincetown, may be coming to Main Street in the village center. Eastham native Sean Shea, a body artist with a bachelor of fine arts degree in illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design, hopes to open a “tattoo sanctuary filled with art, sculptures and a few plants” at 64 Main St., formerly the location of Mr. Ken’s Barber ...

CHATHAM – The two incumbent Monomoy Regional School Committee members beat back challenges to win new terms in Thursday's annual town election. Nancy Scott and Jacqueline Zibrat-Long were re-elected to new three-year terms, outdistancing Robert Hessler and Elizabeth Taylor. Scott was the top vote getter in the race with 366, one vote more than Zibrat-Long. Hessler received 201 votes and Taylor 174. A total ...

Betty E. Tavano, passed peacefully on June 11, 2020 at age 91.   She was the beloved wife of late Anthony W. Tavano and survived 8 of her 9 children, Betty Jane, Tony, Gary, Marie, Deborah, Ronald, Doreen, Holly, and late Matthew.  She leaves several grandchildren and great grandchildren.  A memorial will be held for her internment in Paxton, MA at a later date. Notes of comfort may be made to her family...

CHATHAM — A new shellfish upweller building and multi-purpose waterfront facility on Bridge Street will almost certainly cost more than the town anticipated several years ago. But to get closer to knowing exactly how much more, selectmen last week voted to spend another $200,000 in engineering funds. While critics of the project say the town should be reining in spending given the pandemic, supporters say a st...

CHATHAM – This year's Art in the Park exhibit will go forward with “pods” of decorated whales socially distanced for safety. About 50 five-foot whales will be spread throughout Kate Gould Park beginning on July 3. They will remain on display through Aug. 21. “It's a little bit of normalcy” on Main Street in a summer that has seen the cancellation of the July 4 parade and Friday night band concerts, said Sel...

It was certainly not a traditional last day of school. On Monday, dozens of Chatham Elementary School families, safely ensconced in their own vehicles, lined up for a “last day of school parade.” Led by School Resource Officer William Massey, students and their families drove past teachers who waved and cheered and said farewell to their students for the summer. The Chatham Fire Department sounded horns and hu...

CHATHAM – It appears as if the only way to enjoy a parade in town on July 4 this year will be virtually. While the town's Independence Day parade committee is continuing to collect contributions for a video honoring the July 4 holiday, plans to hold a boat parade in Chatham Harbor that were announced last week have been cancelled. Chatham Bars Inn put out a call to boaters to participate in a July 4 “Red, W...

CHATHAM – A second round of applications, with an increased assistance cap, has resulted in a surge of requests for help from the Chatham Coronavirus Impact Fund. Last week saw 33 applications approved and a total of $42,388 disbursed from the fund set up to help Chatham residents suffering economically because of the pandemic. Based on those numbers, “there's quite a lot of need out there,” said fund founder ...

Voters Quickly Approve Budget, Postpone Senior Center CHATHAM – In his three-plus decades as town moderator, William Litchfield acknowledged, he's sometimes been accused of being “out in left field.” “In fact, finally, tonight I am,” he said during Monday evening's annual town meeting, held in the outfield at Veterans Field. With 202 mostly masked voters social distanced across the field, the town held i...

HARWICH PORT — When large crowds of people came together on the Lower Cape recently to protest the murder of George Floyd, they did more than voice their outrage and solidarity; they heightened the risk of spreading COVID-19. To help control that risk, more than 1,200 people attended a pop-up testing clinic in Harwich Port last week. “We were a bit overwhelmed with the incredible response for testing in our th...

New Owners Mum On Future Plans HARWICH — A major site remediation plan is being planned for the former Handler’s Auto Parts property along Route 28 in Harwich Port as the new owners begin to redevelop the two-acre site located above the inner Allen Harbor marsh. Future plans for the site are still not clear, but a thorough site remediation for contaminated soils and remediation of disturbed areas was presen...

HARWICH — The cost of addressing the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have an impact on the town. This week selectmen wrestled with increasing disinfection services in public comfort station and agreed to add a seasonal COVID-19 code inspector to the health department. Interim Town Administrator Joseph Powers told selectmen Monday that the town was getting complaints over the weekend about bathroom facilities at...

EAST HARWICH — While they’ll be taking steps to keep themselves healthy during the pandemic, a group of dedicated volunteers will be protecting the health of local waterways once again this summer. This week, a coalition of groups led by the Pleasant Bay Alliance held a training session for volunteers who will be sampling local waterways several times this summer to help paint a picture of water quality trends...