CHATHAM — With summer underway and the downtown parking spaces already becoming more scarce, town officials are recruiting a private contractor to operate the town-owned Eldredge Garage lot this summer. The plan was recommended as a short-term approach until selectmen decide on the permanent use of the property. The board had previously decided to use the lot for a trial of paid municipal parking, with resid...

CHATHAM – Frustrated that the town's demolition delay bylaw hasn't discouraged more property owners from tearing down historic homes, preservationists are investigating a new tool to help save old houses, one that's more carrot than stick. State law provides local communities with the option of giving owners of old homes a one-time tax credit on the rehabilitation of historic homes. The local option, which mus...

CHATHAM – The popular Lighthouse Overlook looks a bit different these days, and the change also makes it a bit safer, according to officials. Along the fence on the west side of the road, in front of the Coast Guard Station, there's a brand new sidewalk. There's also a new sidewalk along the southern end of the overlook, in front of the Chatham Beach and Tennis Club. Both conform with Americans With Disabiliti...

CHATHAM — Access to health care isn’t just a fundamental human right. It’s essential for vibrant communities and a strong local economy. That’s the perspective of David and Gail Oppenheim, who recently donated $250,000 to Cape Cod Healthcare, and it’s why they’re challenging their neighbors to contribute as well. “It’s something we think benefits the Cape in so many ways,” Mr. Oppenheim said. The Oppen...

HARWICH — Former selectman Peter Hughes will serve as the town's next representative to the Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates, filling the unexpired term of Selectman Ed McManus, who stepped down when he was elected selectman in May. The town had 30 days from the time it was notified of the vacancy by the clerk of the assembly to make an appointment or the decision would rest with the assembly. Selectmen...

HARWICH — Delphi Construction of Mashpee has begun the $6 million renovation and conversion of the former Thompson's Farm Market building across from Saquatucket Harbor into a new community health center for Outer Cape Health Services, Inc. Delphi Construction is presently renovating the first floor of the structure, also referred to as the Kennedy Building, which housed BackOffice Associates for a few years a...

HARWICH — An unfamiliar gong was penetrating the fog along Red River Beach last week. It was a sound familiar to mariners looking for the Chatham Roads Bell Buoy 3, the aid to navigation was close to 1.6 nautical miles off-station. The bell buoy was pulled from its station by ice in Nantucket Sound in January and the Coast Guard has made a couple of unsuccessful attempts to reset it. With the boating season un...

HARWICH — The success of the Treasure Chest, the town's swap shop that has always been open to residents and nonresidents alike, has become too much for volunteers to handle. Department of Public Works Director Lincoln Hooper said with the Dennis swap shop shutting down on a permanent basis, people from that town are bringing truckloads of items to the Treasure Chest, overwhelming volunteers and costing the to...

HARWICH PORT — A 62-year-old Harwich Port man died after being crushed by a car he was repairing. Police say Benito Reyes was working underneath the car in the parking lot behind 546 Main St. Friday morning when the scissor jack holding the car was knocked loose. Police received a 911 call shortly before 10:30 a.m., and the first officer on scene, Animal Control Officer Jack Burns, saw a group of citizens l...

HARWICH – The sunset skies above Whitehouse Field were spectacular on Tuesday night, but all eyes were on the baseball field as fans watched with fingers crossed in the hopes their Harwich Mariners would come away with a win. Come away they did, playing to a 3-2 victory against Orleans in their season opener. Up until the fifth inning it was a scoreless pitcher's duel as Harwich starter Garrett Stallings went ...

HARWICH – After a tense 10-inning standoff in the first round of MIAA tournament action that ended in victory for the Monomoy girls softball team, the Sharks suffered a heartbreaking loss in the quarterfinals, bringing their stellar 2018 season to an end. Senior Emma Thacher was the hero of the team's June 7 game against Bellingham, a pitcher's duel that went into extra innings before Thacher stepped to the pl...

HARWICH – It was a tough end of the season for Monomoy baseball, which fell 3-1 to West Bridgewater in the June 7 Div. 4 South prelims at Whitehouse Field in Harwich. Monomoy did all it could in the seven-inning outing, but couldn't muster the hits needed to overtake their opponents. “It was a tough game,” said Steve Porter, filling in as coach for longtime head coach Steve Wilson, who was sidelined with il...

CHATHAM – In 1968 A gallon of gas would cost you roughly $.34 and a movie ticket about $1.50. The Detroit Tigers won the World Series, while “Green Tambourine” was a top 10 song on the radio. In the little fishing village of Chatham, a new eatery opened up on Main Street, its owners, Richard Costello and George Payne, hoping for success, little knowing that The Chatham Squire would become a local institution and ...

If you didn't know it was there, you might miss it. Only a small placard marks the Chatham Food Pantry, located off the parking lot and behind a discreet door in the basement of St. Christopher's Church on Main Street. Chatham residents Ted and Martha Miller, who have managed the pantry since 2010, know that this place is an essential stop for the more than 100 Chatham families who depend on it every two weeks fo...

In the old days, people ate herring. They’re impossibly bony and oily, but they helped make human existence possible on Cape Cod since the beginning of time. The Wampanoags and the European settlers who followed relied on them as a food source during long winters, and as a means of fertilizing crops in the springtime. But what have herring done for us lately? Plenty, it turns out. Atlantic herring and their...

'Hooked' On Parade Planning Editor: On behalf of the 2018 Chatham Independence Day Parade Committee I would like to sincerely thank the previous committee for all of their hard work and incredible organization. Brad Schiff, Danielle Jeanloz, John King, Stephanie Hamilton, and Jan Fields left us an incredibly detailed plan that made it very easy for us, as an entirely new committee, to pick up where they left ...