CHATHAM – Each year for the past five years on the first sunny day in May, ideally a Monday, the folks at A Great Yarn hang knitted blankets in vibrant hues and intricate patterns from the sides of the building, but it’s not just a colorful treat for passersby. The annual “yarn bomb” celebrates another successful year of donating the handmade treasures to people facing homelessness. The yarn bombing began in 2...

Anyone in this part of Cape Cod who has lived through the past two months of the coronavirus pandemic might have felt comfortable in 1918 and 1919 when the Spanish Influenza closed Chatham schools and public buildings and sickened many residents. “Avoid unnecessary gathering.” “Avoid the cough and the sneeze. Wash the hands frequently and before putting them to the mouth.” Do these words sound familiar? Thi...

Have you ever wondered what the venerable gray shingle and red brick Chatham Bars Inn might look like if it were painted, say, hot fuchsia? Or what the pristine-white Chatham Wayside Inn might look like in purple with green instead of black shutters? And why should the Red Nun building be red with white trim, anyway? It might be pretty in pink. Now is your chance to find out how these colors would look on C...

Administration Promotes Slow Opening Editor: Your editorial of April 22 accuses the Trump administration of rushing to open the economy. Get people back to work. Ignoring the consequences of starting back too soon. This is not true.  At numerous press conferences the president stated that governors of states severely impacted by COVID-19 should proceed cautiously while other parts of the country that exp...

What we know about the summer right now: No Cape Cod Baseball League; no Barnstable County Fair; no Paw Palooza; no summer concerts at Nauset Beach; no Chatham Harbor Run; no Mashpee Powwow; no Figawi. What we don't know: What other summer events—band concerts, July 4 parades, arts festivals, fireworks, theater performances—will happen and which won't, whether beaches will be open or restricted, whether we'll ...

Some people are showing up in local emergency rooms after experiencing chest pains for many hours, or abdominal pains that have lasted for days. Over concerns about COVID-19, they’re ignoring symptoms that demand immediate attention, putting themselves at greater risk, experts say. “Waiting isn’t smart,” Cape Cod Healthcare CEO Michael Lauf said in a recent news conference. “We don’t want to see people adverse...

ORLEANS — The global pandemic wants a reservation for every other parking space at Nauset and Skaket beaches. Town officials have recommended to the park commissioners that, effective immediately, the beach lots “will be closed once at 50 percent capacity or less based on beachfront availability and discretion of the Natural Resources Manager,” according to an April 30 memo from Town Administrator John Kelly, ...

ORLEANS — In the midst of a pandemic, Principal Elaine Pender told the elementary school committee last week that she has many reasons to give thanks. There’s the feeding program run by cafeteria and lunch program director Susan Murray and “our amazing” Lisa Chappel, the cafeteria manager, who are “behind the scenes producing massive amounts of food every day” for pick-up by families and handing it out in all ...

HARWICH — Wingate of Harwich has reported that 48 residents and nine staff members have tested positive for COVID-19. The numbers were released based on extensive testing conducted last week by the National Guard. Three residents of the Headwaters Drive facility have died of coronavirus-related causes. On Monday, Michele Clark, administrator at the 135-bed facility, confirmed in an email that the mobile tes...

Jeffrey S. Driscoll, 63, passed away peacefully at home in East Harwich in the company of his loving wife Kathryn (Ronski) Driscoll and daughter Stacey Driscoll, after a long battle with ALS.                 Jeffrey was born in New London, Conn., on March 2, 1957, to the late Marie (Burvett) and Ronald Driscoll. He was a graduate of East Lyme High School in East Lyme, Conn.                 In 1994 he moved ...

Carol Anne McNeil   WEST HARWICH - Carol Anne (Paine) McNeil passed away peacefully on April 22nd at the Pleasant Bay Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Brewster from complications of MS and Alzheimer’s disease. Carol was born in Boston on July 16th, 1940. She is survived by her beloved husband of 35 years, Joe, as well as her two daughters, Debra (Debbie) Powers & fiancé James Akers, Elizabeth, Colo., Lisa...

Norman Leslie Jenkins Norman Leslie Jenkins, 91, of Hingham, passed away much too soon on April 22, 2020 after a short battle with COVID-19. Born in Taunton on March 13, 1929, he was preceded in death by his parents, Eleanor Hall and Russell Eustis Jenkins, and by elder brothers Russell, Edward, and Howard. He is survived by his loving wife of 65 years, Drusilla Fox, as well as daughters Kimberly Sterling (Dav...

Gertrude Elizabeth Howard Cronin (July 29, 1945 – April 2, 2020) Richard Terrence Cronin (August 30, 1941 – April 18, 2020) West Harwich - Trudi Cronin, 74, of West Harwich, born Gertrude Elizabeth Howard on July 29, 1945, died after a courageous fight from lymphoma on April 2, 2020. She was at home and surrounded by her adoring family, including husband Terry Cronin. Terry, 78, died two weeks later on Ap...

COVID-19 Prompts Deep Spending Cuts CHATHAM — Thanks to the pandemic, voters at the annual town meeting scheduled for June 22 will likely see some extreme social distancing, along with a warrant stripped down of big-ticket spending articles and a sobering town budget. Selectmen chose the new date for town meeting on Monday, but a provision is in place that allows the town moderator to postpone the session f...

CHATHAM — For Don St. Pierre, who turns 80 in August, digging ditches, climbing hills and bushwhacking through the puckerbrush isn't as easy as it used to be. He's stepping down as the town's herring warden after more than half a century of watching over the fish runs and their seasonal visitors. A Harwich native, St. Pierre started working on herring runs when he was a member of the sportfishing club Cape Cod...

CHATHAM – The COVID-19 pandemic is even impacting nesting shorebirds. Not the birds themselves, but the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge's annual shorebird monitoring program. Usually by this time of year, at least two staff members have arrived to begin preparing for a summer of watching over the tern nesting colony on South Monomoy as well as the piping plovers and other species that spend the spring and sum...