ORLEANS — The aftermath of a death by suicide can be immobilizing for family and friends. Some can't even talk about it, yet others believe they must. “In October of 2016, we lost our youngest son Jeremy to suicide,” said Dr. Kim Mead-Walters, who practices family medicine in Orleans. “He was 16, a junior at Nauset (Regional High School). Over the following six months, we spent a lot of time with our family,...

ORLEANS — Though researchers don’t have firm numbers from 2017, it’s becoming clear that the number of individual white sharks off Cape Cod is substantial. Scientists are preparing to start the final year of the five-year population study this summer. “There’s going to be a lot of sharks once this is all said and done,” shark researcher John Chisholm said. Chisholm is painstakingly reviewing thousands of und...

Almost as inevitable as taxes is the springtime return of red tide to the Nauset estuary. “It is a fairly annual occurrence,” Natural Resources Manager Nate Sears wrote in an email. “It happens more often than not.” On April 4, Nauset estuary and parts of other areas were closed to shellfishing until further notice. Testing revealed the presence of the algal blooms that can sometimes redden the water. As...

The Massachusetts Beach Buggy Association is asking the Orleans Board of Selectmen to renew talks with their counterparts in Chatham over the joint management of Nauset (North) Beach.   In a letter sent Monday, Association President Patrick Paquette said his group helped facilitate the unique habitat conservation program that would allow the barrier beach to be open to off-road vehicles, under careful supervis...

CHATHAM – Boaters anticipating accessing waters along the town's eastern coast by the usual routes this summer may have to change their expectations. “Delete last year's GPS” settings, Coastal Resources Director Ted Keon recommended. Even though they haven't had a chance to explore inlets, navigation channels and popular boating spots in detail because of the weather, officials say that the storms that play...

CHATHAM – Lisa Franz, executive director of the town's chamber of commerce for nearly a decade, has stepped down. Franz's resignation was effective last Friday, March 30. “I just thought it was time to move on,” she said in a phone interview Tuesday. She said the decision was hers, and while there's “ever a good time,” with most of the work for the upcoming season – completion of the 2018 chamber guide book...

CHATHAM — Attempting to answer concerns that the project would cause prolonged disruption, MassDOT officials say the West Chatham Route 28 reconstruction project will be complete within two calendar years, even accounting for a work moratorium during the busiest summer months. Following up on a March 22 meeting with town officials, MassDOT sent a letter to Selectmen Chairman Cory Metters last Thursday clarif...

Lisa Genova of Chatham hopes her new novel, “Every Note Played,” about a concert pianist who has recently been diagnosed with ALS, will help people empathize with those suffering from the disease. “ Story is such a powerful vehicle for empathy,” Genova said in an email interview last week. ALS is short for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and is sometimes called Lou Gehrig’s Disease after the famous New Yor...

CHATHAM – Two last-minute candidates, one of whom is a former selectman, have transformed this year's annual town election from what was an uncontested yawner into a potentially hot race. Last Thursday, the final day to secure a place on the May 17 ballot, Seth Taylor turned in nomination papers to run for the two three-year terms on the board, while Jamie Bassett turned in papers for the one-year unexpired te...

CHATHAM — The board of selectmen Monday softened plans to increase a variety of fees at the transfer station after a private trash hauling company indicated it had started taking its business to Harwich. Faced with a $90 per ton increase to dispose of single-stream recyclables, and a large penalty if recyclables are mixed in with trash, Tim Milley said his company, Milley Trucking, has begun bringing its tra...

HARWICH — Town meeting will be asked to authorize spending of the $1 million Seaport Economic Council grant awarded to the town for the landside construction project at Saquatucket Harbor, in addition to the $3 million originally approved, allowing inclusion of a snack shack in the project. If the grant funds are approved by town meeting voters, Town Administrator Christopher Clark said that will “give the gre...

HARWICH — The Compact of Cape Cod Conservation Trusts, working with the Harwich Conservation Trust, has purchased the 7.9-acre cranberry bog along Bank Street formerly owned by John and Paula Sennott. The purchase is instrumental to the Harwich Conservation Trust's ecological restoration plan for the Robert F. Smith Cold Brook Preserve, which the bog property abuts, giving the trust control of the water flow f...

HARWICH — The Massachusetts Senate has recognized the community contributions of Jimmy Marceline, adjourning its March 12 session in his memory. Mr. Marceline died on Jan., 28 at the age of 92. Mr. Marceline, a decorated veteran of World War II, dedicated his life to country and community. After returning home from war, where he suffered as a prisoner of war, Mr. Marceline spent the remainder of his life impro...

HARWICH — While funding and technical details relating to the design alterations of the Harwich Conservation Trust's Robert F. Smith Cold Brook Preserve are still being discussed, town officials, consultants, state and trust representatives are confident they are getting close to a final plan. “We're actually getting close and I can't think of a more exciting project to address the nitrogen issue,” said David ...

HARWICH — Increasing costs and the town's ability to fund spending requests was a major focus Monday night as selectmen put the finishing touches on article recommendations and the FY19 operating budget. Board of Selectmen Chairman Michael MacAskill pointed out that over the past nine years the budget has increased from $44 million to $65 million. The board's budget message issued last fall called for no more ...