HARWICH PORT — At an event newly named after President John F. Kennedy, Harwich Democrats Saturday honored local residents who embody civic and community involvement. The Harwich Ecumenical Council for Housing received the James Noonan Community Service Award, and resident Debra DeCosta was honored as the Mabel Canto Democrat of the Year. The Democratic town committee renamed its annual President's Day brunc...

HARWICH PORT — It's time for like-minded Americans of all political persuasions to come together to fight the president's attacks on institutions like the judiciary, the election system and the press. That was the message from Congressman William Keating, D–9 th District, who spoke before party faithfuls at the Land Ho Saturday. In the short time of the Trump administration, “the most fundamental American i...

HARWICH — While the debate continues about the future of the old Harwich Middle School building, something interesting is happening inside. Art. So far, eight artists and craftspeople have rented out classrooms for use as studio or workshop space, some on a monthly basis and some for only a few weeks. The auditorium has also been rented for a day by musicians, and for a week by the Cape Cod Lighthouse Chart...

HARWICH — Conceding that it lacks the authority to mandate a different color, the historic district and historical commission last week authorized the town's request to paint the exterior of the Brooks Free Library white. But some members worried that the ruling might whitewash a larger issue about how Community Preservation Act funds are used. A white paint job is favored by the board of selectmen and the b...

CHATHAM — A draft agreement governing the flow of millions of gallons of wastewater and millions of taxpayer dollars between Harwich and Chatham had its first review by selectmen last Thursday. The draft intermunicipal agreement is the product of two years of negotiations and more than a decade of discussions on the potential collaboration. A subcommittee comprised of two selectmen from each town and staff e...

HARWICH — The conservation commission ruled last week that Resilient Family Farm on Chatham Road needs to undergo their review when seeking permission to carry out work within the 100-foot buffer zone to wetlands. Farm Owner Barry Viprino had sought an agricultural exemption from commission review, but commissioners disagreed Wednesday, saying a previous horse boarding operation on the property doesn't qualify...

CHATHAM – A proposal to use $30,000 in community preservation funds to develop National Historic Register District nominations for two neighborhoods has run into a snag. Community preservation committee members questioned whether the proposal fit within the historic preservation function of the CPA, noting that it did not directly preserve an historic resource. There were two alternatives: one is to use the...

CHATHAM – Federal legislation to limit the western boundary of the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge to mean low water has been filed by Congressman William Keating. Keating filed the legislation last Thursday. The bill is the same as one filed last fall and seeks to clarify the United States government's interest in the area west of the refuge. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service asserted authority over 3,000 t...

CHATHAM – The first time Sean Summers met Tim Roper was after Mr. Roper had zinged him in his satirical Crap Cod Chronicle. “I told him I thought it was funny, even if he did put me in a Speedo atop someone else's shoulders,” Summers said Monday. “We had a drink and were friends ever since.” A former selectman, Mr. Roper died at his Old Queen Anne Road home last weekend. He was 65. Although his wit could...

CHATHAM – Recent winter storms have sent waves crashing over low sections of South Beach, and in one particular location created a washover that officials say could lead to a new break in the barrier beach. Much of South Beach south of Lighthouse Beach is little more than strips of sand barely above high water. One spot about a half mile down the beach where the higher dunes give way to low, flat sand, just pa...

CHATHAM – There's no disputing Shareen Davis' lineage. A 13 th generation Nickerson and a 10 th generation Eldredge, she is descended from Mayflower passengers through her grandmother. She grew up in a fishing family, graduated from Chatham High School (Class of 1976), and for many years ran a trap fishing company with her husband Ernie Eldredge. After volunteering in local organizations and on town commi...

CHATHAM – The first time Sean Summers met Tim Roper was after Mr. Roper had zinged him in his satirical Crap Cod Chronicle. “I told him I thought it was funny, even if he did put me in a Speedo atop someone else's shoulders,” Summers said Monday. “We had a drink and were friends ever since.” A former selectman, Mr. Roper died at his Old Queen Anne Road home last weekend. He was 65. Although his wit could...

CHATHAM – Federal legislation to limit the western boundary of the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge to mean low water has been filed by Congressman William Keating. Keating had filed the legislation last fall, but had to re-file the bill with the new Congress. The bill remove the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's authority over 3,000 to 4,000 acres of submerged lands west of the refuge, over which the agency...

ORLEANS — The Massachusetts School Building Authority smiled on the Nauset Public Schools this week, accepting for further consideration a plan to help pay for renovating 45-year-old Nauset High in Eastham. “We were chosen as one of 17 districts out of 87 to move forward,” Superintendent Tom Conrad said in an interview Feb. 17. “We are very excited and very happy.” Nauset applied last year as well but was...