HARWICH – The Harwich Conservation Trust (HCT) recently opened the walking trails at the Pleasant Bay Woodlands, nearly 50 rolling acres in East Harwich. For many years, HCT had been watching this top priority property, which in 2013 was the largest undeveloped tract in the entire 21,000-acre Pleasant Bay Watershed shared by Harwich, Chatham, Orleans, and Brewster. HCT led the $3.6 million effort to save ...

HARWICH — The Harwich Fund has provided a $4,300 grant to the Harwich Children’s Fund and a $535 grant to The Children’s Center. The focus of The Harwich Fund of The Cape Cod Foundation is to help non-profit agencies which serve youth, families and seniors in the Harwich community, because so many people and businesses have been adversely impacted by the pandemic, said Brian Scheld, chair of the fund’s advisor...

Winter sports have gotten the green light at Monomoy and Nauset Regional High Schools, though Monomoy's season will see a bit of a delay due to the school's recent closure in the wake of new cases of COVID-19 among students. Originally, winter sports were supposed to start with tryouts and practices on Dec. 14, but two positive cases at MRHS necessitated the closure of the school until after the holiday break....

As I sit before my screen, fingers hovering above the keys, myriad song lyrics ping-pong through my mind. One from Eminem about having one shot, one opportunity. One from “Hamilton” about not throwing away my shot. Even one from Sinatra about doing it my way. But the truth is, while I'm excited about my next chapter, turning the page is also bittersweet. A little more than five years ago, I arrived on the Lowe...

They start chattering long before the sun comes up. Their roost is outside my window and I know they are plotting the best ways to raid the feeders the minute the light rises in the sky. Down the street and across the way, another group is restlessly waiting, their whines a little more subtle in the dawn than they will be later in the morning. By the time the sun is up, my feeders are humming with...

Can you dance a classical ballet and still abide by all the COVID-19 protocols? The Reaching Heart School of Ballet in West Harwich was determined to give it a try for their headline production of a perennial Christmas favorite, “The Nutcracker.” The result is a fully costumed 90-minute virtual production complete with movie-like effects premiering online Christmas night. Like many ballet schools and compan...

The holidays are a time of transition, as families gather to celebrate and appreciate each other and the changes that have taken place in the past year. This year, the transitions are especially significant. It's not likely you can find anyone who hasn't had a major change in their life during the past year. Routines were upended, jobs were shifted – or, unfortunately for many, lost – schooling altered, and...

Chatham Turkey Trot Thanks Editor: Because of you, the first virtual Turkey Trot was a huge success. Even though the day was damp, we had many runners and walkers out on Thanksgiving morning. We thank all of you who sponsored us at a time when there are so many people who have been affected by the covid virus. This has been a strange year and we certainly appreciate the loving kindness our community has sha...

Monomoy Middle School Students Spread Kindness With Handmade Cards As part of monthly service challenges throughout the entire school, Monomoy Regional Middle School students created 1,185 cards throughout the month of November. This card drive was a school-wide effort, with all students making at least one card and most making many more. The cards will be distributed to elderly people on the Cape, shipped t...

ORLEANS — Pennrose LLC’s plan to create 62 units of mixed income and affordable housing at the former Cape Cod Five operations center underwent an informal review by the site plan review committee Dec. 16. There were compliments for the effort but some concerns as well. “This is an awesome project, very much welcomed by the fire department,” said Fire Inspector Greg Baker. “We’re looking forward to a large c...

ORLEANS — “Wastewater TP” doesn’t mean what you think it does. When consultants recommended this week that Orleans “consider reduction of wastewater TP as the most reliable approach to attain restoration of water quality in Crystal Lake,” they weren’t referring to toilet paper but to “total phosphorus” flowing from septic systems to the lake and creating phytoplankton blooms. That’s a big reason the state...

CHATHAM – Last week's coastal storm may have spared the area the heavy snow that fell elsewhere in the state, but the churning ocean took a toll on North Beach Island. The storm knocked down several substantial dunes and washed over a narrow section of the barrier island approximately opposite Chatham Bars Inn. “We've been watching that narrow section, fully expecting exactly what happened,” said Coastal Re...

A survey of parents of Chatham and Harwich elementary school students as well as elementary school staff shows that a majority prefers housing all Monomoy Regional School District elementary students in one building. A breakdown of the responses, however, shows that Chatham parents overwhelmingly want to retain the town's elementary school, either in its current configuration or through redistricting. In a sim...

Steven G. Didsbury of Centerville passed away at 68 on Dec. 7, 2020 at his home. He was born November 12, 1952 in Providence, R.I. and grew up in Rumford. He was a hard worker all his life, repairing foreign and domestic cars, worked as a plumber, was a crew member on a fishing boat, captained and maintained a yacht, and did building and dock construction. He also had artistic ability and liked to draw and pain...

Constance Margaret (O’Neil) Dadoly passed away on Saturday, December 5th at her home in Harwich, MA. Born in Dracut, MA 1/14/1935. Daughter of Francis J. and Giselle D. O’Neil. Over her long and joyous life, Connie lived in Dunstable, Chatham and Harwich, MA, Morristown, NJ, and Amherst, NH.     Connie is survived by her lifelong friend and husband of sixty two years, Nicholas Dadoly, her two sons, Stephen Dad...