CHATHAM – Watching just the trailer for “I'll Push You,” a documentary that screens at the Chatham Orpheum Theater May 24, conveys the emotional depth of the experience Justin Skeesuck and Patrick Gray went through when they traveled the El Camino de Santiago in 2014. Filming the two friends' journey also changed the life of director Terry Parish. “When you're on the journey with them you are also a pilgrim of...

First, let’s state the obvious. The possibility of a school shooting on the Lower Cape, however remote, is terrifying. And it’s sickening that, in this age, we’re holding active shooter drills in our schools and training the nurses to apply tourniquets. But mass shootings happen, and ignoring that possibility is irresponsible. If you’re tempted to invoke the “it can’t happen here” perspective, know that you’re...

Club Helps Out Learning Program Editor: Once again, the Harwich Evening Women’s Club has come through for the families of the Monomoy Cooperative Learning Programs, a self-sustaining extended day program. Through their generous donation for the summer program, several families were able to receive financial assistance to attend the seven-week program. I would like to thank them on behalf of the families t...

Daffodils in the middle of May. But no tulips yet. I measure the march of spring by an immovable date on the calendar, specifically my birthday in the second week in May. The tulips should be up now. They are not. Sometimes they are passed. I cannot even find them. Meanwhile, daffodils are typically out around Easter. Whenever that is. They’re out then, in one fashion or another, in April. So now I am all s...

The Cape and Islands’ chapter of the Service Corps of Retired Executives, or SCORE, honored 20 small businesses in its annual awards breakfast last Thursday. Among the honorees were Puritan Clothing, Chatham Cookware, Brax Landing and Talking Threads Custom Embroidery. SCORE, whose volunteers provide free mentoring for entrepreneurs, small business owners and non-profits, presented their “Better Mousetrap” awa...

ORLEANS — Fifty years ago in this town, a mother whose son had aged out of special education services founded Nauset Workshop to provide opportunities for people with disabilities. This week, the organization, now known as Cape Abilities, announced its return to Orleans, having purchased the Universal Masonic Lodge as one of its centers for services. “It is a wonderful legacy that we are honored to continue,...

ORLEANS — Town meeting said no to a $75,000 survey of Beach Road that would have allowed further consideration of laying out the route to Nauset Beach as a public way, potentially building a “Safe Pedestrian Sidewalk” along it. On a voice vote, the petitioned article fell short of the required three-fourths majority. “Beach Road is bigger than the residents on Beach Road,” Katy Day told town meeting as she u...

HARWICH – A SWAT team converged on a Long Pond Drive home late Tuesday following a report of gunshots being fired, but the incident turned out to involve a backfiring motorcycle and several “highly intoxicated” occupants of the home. A 911 caller to the Massachusetts State Police at about 9:30 p.m. reported a domestic incident at the residence involving knives and a gun; the caller also reported that shots had...

HARWICH — Ed McManus squeaked past a serious challenge from political newcomer Thomas Sherry in Tuesday's annual election, winning a seat on the board of selectmen by just 21 votes. Sherry, asked Tuesday night if he was considering a recount, said he was not sure and would have to mull it over. “Right now I just want to thank the people who worked so hard for me,” he said. McManus received 901 votes with...

Retirement Funding, Library Improvements, Senior Center Study OK'd By Town Meeting CHATHAM – Environmental awareness triumphed over the decades-old tradition of brightly colored balloons decorating Kate Gould Park during summer Chatham Band concerts Monday, as annual town meeting voters approved a ban on the sale of inflated balloons beginning in September. Voters also embraced a bylaw banning marijuana est...

CHATHAM – Despite Thursday's annual election having the highest number of contested races in several years, fund raising by candidates fell below the three previous elections. According to campaign finance reports filed last Wednesday, candidates raised a total of $9,873 this year. That's roughly half of last year's $19,601 total raised by two candidates running for a single seat on the board of selectmen. Thr...

CHATHAM — Friends and colleagues are remembering Jean Young as a no-nonsense leader, a truly tireless volunteer, and a tender advocate for people in need. The longtime health board member and community volunteer died last Tuesday after a battle with cancer. She was 72. The board of selectmen held a moment of silence in her honor Monday. “She was a very, very vital person to this town,” Chairman Cory Mette...

CHATHAM – The town is certainly blessed with more than its share of literary luminaries, from New York Times best-selling authors to award-winning children's book illustrators. Three local authors will give readers some insight into the creative process in a series of talks this month as part of the Eldredge Public Library's Learning Series. Children's book writer/illustrator and New Yorker cover artist Bob St...

CHATHAM — The five men seeking three seats on the board of selectmen met voters face-to-face in a candidates’ forum at the Eldredge Public Library Wednesday. Before a crowd of more than 120 people, they staked out their positions on conservation, sustainability and what constitutes good government. The session was sponsored by the Chatham Alliance for Preservation and Conservation, which has held similar forums...