CHATHAM — With it becoming less likely that some sort of shark barrier will be ready in time for swimming season at Oyster Pond Beach, selectmen have asked the parks and recreation commission to consider moving swimming lessons to a freshwater pond this summer. “I don’t know if I’m overreacting or not,” said selectman Jeffrey Dykens, who proposed the move. “I’m using an abundance of caution.” The town iss...

SOUTH HARWICH — Ospreys have returned to the Cape for the spring, following their migration from South America, and are busy settling into nests that have been used year after year. But one pair, unable to return to its nest on a South Harwich utility pole, has been offered alternate housing arrangements. Osprey pairs have been nesting on the pole near 915 Route 28, near Handren Bros. Builders, for several y...

HARWICH — Weston and Sampson Engineering, Inc. will serve as the town's wastewater management and outreach coordinator, selectmen decided Monday night.  Selectmen have been considering such a position for several months due to the need for someone to communicate with and answer questions raised by citizens and work closely with town staff and the design engineers on the multi-million dollar wastewater project....

HARWICH – It was a room full of blues as police officers from near and far came to the Harwich Public Safety Facility on Sisson Road to observe the swearing-in ceremonies of officers ascending the chain of command. Following the retirement of Deputy Police Chief Thomas Gagnon on April 6 after 33 years of service to the department, Police Chief David Guillemette conducted an extensive promotional selection proc...

HARWICH — The ad hoc Harwich Port parking committee is recommending a two-hour parking limit in the public Schoolhouse Road parking lot in the center of the village. The group is also considering asking employees of village businesses to park at the former fire station on Bank Street and take a shuttle to Harwich Port. The group is planning to make its recommendations to the board of selectmen on Tuesday night...

HARWICH — A resident of Hawksnest Road in the Six Ponds District of East Harwich is seeking to have the town make improvements to that road and Round Cove Road, which lead into the Hawksnest Pond and Hawksnest State Park.  Area residents, however, objected to the request, saying the proposal would increase traffic and open up more land for development. Robert D. Fratus, Jr. has made some improvements to Haw...

HARWICH – The D-Y Dolphins might have scored the opening goal on Monday, but the game, and a big victory, belonged to the Sharks as the girls varsity lacrosse team played to a 12-4 win in non-league play. After the visiting Dolphins found the scoreboard first in the opening half, Monomoy went to work, with Aleidy Rodriguez offering an answer at 14:55 in the frame to tie the score 1-1. Seconds later a lightning...

HARWICH – If the opening games of the Monomoy girls varsity softball team are any indication, it's going to be a tough season—for their opponents. After trouncing Sturgis West in the Sharks home opener 33-0, Monomoy went on to defeat Rising Tide 17-0 in their second home game of the season. Starting pitcher Mollie Charest had eight strikeouts in three innings against Rising Tide, opening the game by retiring t...

How does an author write nearly 90 books? That’s an average of almost two each year, if you consider that Martin W. Sandler of Cotuit did not publish his first book until he was in his 30s. The answer is that, in addition to having loads of talent, Sandler writes for nine hours a day, seven days a week, in his office, which is on the second floor of his home. During an interview in his sunny living room las...

Chatham Elementary School Each month, students and staff at Chatham Elementary School come together to celebrate their collective successes, efforts, and community spirit, as part of the school’s PBIS program (Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports). These celebrations are called Proud To Be A Shark events, and the activities range from student performances to special guests. To honor National Poetr...

When I was a kid back in the '60s, my mother bought a set of humorous, supposedly motivational, posters she stuck up around the house. One had Uncle Sam pointing at my younger sister and me from the bathroom mirror telling us he wanted YOU to put the cap back on the toothpaste tube. He also pointedly wanted us to pick up our rooms.  There was a poster reminding us to put away our clothes and one telling us ...

As Chatham officials and others are discovering, protecting swimmers from a shark attack is a problematic proposition. There were no takers when the town asked for proposals on shark safety measures at Oyster Pond Beach. Proponents of a shark warning buoy pilot project, currently the subject of a Go Fund Me effort, have run into reluctance from some outer Cape towns, whose legal eagles warn that such a system cou...

This column STEMs from my need to advocate for art and creativity that does not necessarily involve numbers and engineering. As you may know, the acronym STEM translates to science, technology, engineering and math. Schools have gone bonkers in this educational direction. Presicent Obama stressed that since the U.S. was losing ground worldwide in these categories, and girls and minorities were being “left behind,...

Make Decision On Facts  Editor: I was disappointed to read of the Harwich Board of Selectmen balking at the idea of a plastic bottle ban. While the board conveyed the message that they thought it was a good and well-intentioned idea, they fell short of voting in favor of the ban for reasons of convenience and misinformation. They argued that the fire department uses plastic bottles to hydrate firefighters, our...

Beginning at the age of 15 during the Great Depression, for 38 years Vivien Oswell of Harwich retouched black and white negatives of high school students for a professional photographer. “All those years, I was studying faces,” she says. Crossed eyes, acne and scars—she fixed all of these blemishes with a needle-point pencil that she sharpened on sandpaper. “I worked on thousands of faces—it helped me to...

ORLEANS — The town's dredge advisory committee reviewed dredging and disposal options for opening up Nauset Estuary April 8, but members started off focusing on what to expect in the way of support from neighboring Eastham. The takeaway from the March 25 meeting of the two towns' boards, committee chairman Bill Amaru told his colleagues, “is that the town of Eastham is partly in and mostly out until they hav...