CHATHAM – The theme for this year's Independence Day parade will be “Chatham Honors You! Service Members Past, Present, Future.” Independence Day Parade committee chairman Justin Bohannon announced the theme at Monday’s selectmen meeting. The theme was submitted by Sam Foley, 9, in honor of his grandfathers who both live in Chatham and served in Korea and Vietnam. (Sam lives in England but spends his summ...

CHATHAM — Speaking to selectmen and the town manager Monday, finance committee Chairman Stephen Daniel praised town staff for producing a “good budget” for fiscal 2020. But he said his group has cautionary words on the proposed new council on aging and on school spending. Daniel observed that the operating budget, as first proposed, grew only 1.77 percent, a laudable proposal at a time when many costs are in...

CHATHAM – With the exception of hikes in New Hampshire's White Mountains, Curtis Collias has spent most of his life at sea level. But when the piney peaks of New England's north country weren't quite enough of a challenge, Collias set his sights eastward. Far east, all the way to Africa and the stunning Mount Kilimanjaro for a journey he won't soon forget. The idea to climb Africa's highest point and the world...

EAST HARWICH — There’s been a change of watch at Pleasant Bay Community Boating. The group’s first executive director, Charlie Sumner, is retiring after three years in office, and former YMCA Chief Development Officer Patrick “P.J.” Richardson is taking the helm. Richardson, a 48-year-old Centerville resident, has strong ties to the Lower Cape. His parents live in Orleans, and as a youngster he spent most su...

HARWICH — The recreation and youth commission is considering banning smoking on public beaches as well as all parks and recreational facilities in town. Before making a decision, however, the commission will get together with the board of health to determine if a wider ban would be better implemented under that board's jurisdiction. Recreation Director Eric Beebe told the commission last week that a lot of ...

HARWICH — The selectmen and finance committee got an up-close look at the proposed Monomoy Regional School District budget Monday night. The school district is seeking a total of $40,901,482, with Harwich being asked to contribute $26,754,276, close to a 4.5 percent increase over the current year. With student enrollment down by 58 since FY16, a reflection of the overall decline in school-age children in the d...

HARWICH — There is a trend in Massachusetts to change the title of executive boards in municipalities to more gender neutral terminology. Selectmen were asked to follow that trend on Monday night. Resident Amy Harris requested selectmen change the title of the executive board from “board of selectmen” to “select board.” She said 80 towns in the commonwealth have made the adjustment, including Brewster, Wellfle...

HARWICH — The town has received a petitioned article for the annual town meeting warrant seeking to rescind an article approved in 2016 which authorized selectmen to transfer the 2.25 acres at 276 Queen Anne Rd. to the cemetery commission to develop a pet crematory and cemetery. “I love this town, this is not personal, I'm just against the waste of this land,” lead petitioner Tom Birch said on Tuesday. Birch w...

HARWICH – If ever there was a week to defeat the Rams, this was it. Not only did the Patriots win their sixth Super Bowl, in Harwich on Monday night it was the Cape Tech Crusaders who bested the Upper Cape Tech Rams in a thrilling 59-55 victory. While the Crusaders might not get any rings as a result of the win, they certainly deserve bragging rights after their tireless performance, which included clawing bac...

HARWICH – The three sailboats resting upside down on the dock at Stage Harbor Yacht Club might appear to be no more than vessels awaiting the coming summer, but to the Monomoy Regional High School sailing program they are a symbol of generosity and of hope for a successful 2019 season. The three boats, Vanguard 420s, were donated recently to the sailing program by the Stage Harbor Yacht Club Sailing School. Ac...

When Kami Lyle of Harwich was trying to think herself into the character of Auntie Em in the upcoming production of “The Wizard of Oz,” she at first could not identify with the sometimes-grouchy aunt. “I was terrified of being Auntie Em because it’s the opposite of who I feel like in general,” Lyle said during a telephone interview last week. But when she gave it some thought, she realized she did know Aunt...

Cape Cod Tech Auto Tech News Auto technology students at Cape Cod Regional Technical High School in Harwich and Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical High School in Bourne were given a unique training opportunity recently thanks to Orleans Auto and its partnership with Federal Mogul’s Garage Gurus. About 50 students from each regional technical school studying to be auto technicians got a break from thei...

There’s a blaze in the fireplace of the south lounge at the Chatham Bars Inn. The decor is tasteful and boasts big comfy chairs and lots of wood. It’s quiet except for the murmur of low voices in conversation. There is a small portable bar which seems to be the focus of the room. About 15 people drift in, a waiter unobtrusively serves a cocktail or two, strangers greet one another. The mood is “casua...

Chatham police received several calls Monday from residents worried about a seal that had hauled itself up on the ice at Harding's Beach. Even though the animal was probably just resting – basking in the sun on an unusually warm winter day – the human instinct is to conclude that something is wrong; this is a marine mammal and it's out of the water. It must need help. While injured or sick seals sometimes do h...

Chatham Helps With Shoe box Project Editor: I am writing to thank Chatham residents for sharing the true meaning of Christmas with children in need this past holiday season. Because of the generosity of donors in Chatham and across the United States, Operation Christmas Child, a project of Samaritan’s Purse, collected more than 8.8 million shoe boxes in 2018. Combined with those collected from partnering...

There is no doubt – we are in the midst of the dark, cold, quiet season of winter. Our weather has become unpredictable. Two years before I moved here the Cape’s snowfall made the national news – my first winter nary a flake fell. January 2017 was so mild that the snowdrops were blooming in my yard before being covered by six weeks of snow. Wind and ice last year damaged trees and fences and shut down our power t...