ORLEANS – The town's new affordable housing trust agreed to put dollars behind desires last week, earmarking $2,200 to help spur marketing for an affordable unit that could lose that designation otherwise. The board met Feb. 13 to address a two-bedroom condo at 18 West Rd., one of 11 units designated affordable at the 42-unit complex. The designated units are under a deed restriction that requires they be sold...

NORTH HARWICH —State police are trying to determine what caused a fatal truck accident on Route 6 early Saturday morning. At around 2:15 a.m., Massachusetts State Police troopers responded to the crash between Exit 9 and 10, and found an overturned tractor trailer cab. The driver, 46-year-old David Marceline of Harwich, was killed. A preliminary investigation by Trooper Gary Turgiss indicates that the cab, ...

CHATHAM – A survey to get public feedback about a number of shark mitigation strategies under consideration will feed into a study scheduled to begin next week. Officials from six Outer Cape towns met Wednesday in Wellfleet with the Woods Hole Group to discuss alternatives to address concerns about shark safety. Also participating in the meeting were the Cape Cod National Seashore, the Atlantic White Shark Con...

HARWICH - After eight months, the teachers in the Monomoy Regional School District have a ratified contract agreement. The announcement came during Tuesday night’s school committee meeting, the only local meeting not canceled due to inclement weather, with a unanimous vote of approval from the school committee affirming the agreement. The new agreement, which is retroactively effective July 1 and expires Ju...

Peter Paul Saunders was born on April 25, 1934 in Norwood to Katherine (Foss) and Paul Saunders. Graduated from Norwood High in 1952 and Northeastern University in 1957. He worked as an engineer in Baltimore, Md. first for the Martin Company then for AT&T. In 1967, he purchased the Sterling Manufacturing Co. in Mansfield and moved his family there and served as a selectman and on the board of directors for Ba...

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Donald Ellsworth Studley Jr. of Ocala Florida (formerly of Chatham) passed away peacefully surrounded by family and friends on Jan. 29, 2019 at 81 years old.  He leaves his wife Brenda Counsell Studley, his sister Sarah (Snow) Rivers, brother in-law Bill Rivers both of South Dennis. He also leaves a son Trey Studley and his wife Nicole of Maplewood, N.J.; former wife and lifelong friend Scarle...

CHATHAM – The community preservation committee has turned down the Chatham VFW Post's requests for funds to upgrade the heating system at its George Ryder Road facility. The $205,000 request doesn't adhere to Community Preservation Act guidelines for historic structures because it does not involve acquisition, preservation, rehabilitation or restoration. While a section of the building has been determined to b...

CHATHAM – For nearly a quarter of a century, Peter Saunders ran poetry workshops and taught writing classes here and in other Cape towns. He published a dozen books of poetry and became known as the town's unofficial poet laureate. “He always said there are no rules,” said John Poignand, who considered Mr. Saunders a mentor and friend. “He would not allow people to say bad things about their poetry. A good tea...

CHATHAM – Most special permit and other zoning regulations addressing land use apply to the property in question. For instance, a special permit granted by the zoning board of appeals applies to the subject property, no matter who the owner or how many times it's resold. The same goes for demolition delays imposed by the historical commission. That allows an owner who wants to sell a home that's been determine...

When a person is experiencing a mental health crisis, it can sometimes take hours to get professional help to the scene. Thanks to a grant from the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, Bay Cove Human Services will be providing additional staff to respond to after-hours crises between Hyannis and Provincetown. Under its contract with MassHealth, Bay Cove is required to provide emergency services ...

CHATHAM – A former finance committee member is urging the board of selectmen to “think outside the box” and impose a moratorium on tear downs to prevent developers from converting more affordable year-round housing to expensive summer homes. Doing so could provide more opportunities for families to remain in town and stem declining school enrollment, which is playing havoc with the budget process. Roslyn Colem...

CHATHAM – Is it time, once again, to look into building a municipal swimming pool? The parks and recreation commission thinks so. The last proposal for a town swimming pool was 15 years ago, when two pools were part of the first plan to renovate the Main Street School into a community center. The plan was voted down at the 2004 annual town meeting, with opposition to the pools, especially the cost, a major fac...

HARWICH — With the February sun streaming through the windows on a recent morning, John and Helen Beck sat together at a table at Rosewood Manor in Harwich Center, sipping ginger ale. After nearly 70 years as husband and wife, just being together is enough. Every time Helen visits her husband, he greets her the same way. “The first thing he says is, ‘I love you,’” she said. “She’s a good woman,” Joh...

HARWICH – When the news broke that Monomoy Regional High School senior Perry Comeau of Harwich had earned the Massachusetts Association of Superintendents Award for Academic Excellence, the congratulations started rolling in and haven't stopped, and rightly so. Comeau is one of the top students at MRHS and shows no sign of slowing down even as graduation rapidly approaches. The annual award is given to a high ...

HARWICH — With help from a health insurance windfall and a proposal to raise the local hotel-motel base tax from 4 to 6 percent, Town Administrator Christopher Clark has presented selectmen with a proposal for a balanced budget for fiscal 2020. Clark’s proposed $70,257,941 spending plan represents a 7.8 percent increase over the current year’s budget and aims to keep a similar level of service without the ne...