Researchers tagged the first great white shark of the season today off Nauset Beach, and for the second time witnessed a shark eating a seal. The approximately 12 foot shark was tagged by Dr. Greg Skomal of the state division of marine fisheries during the twice-weekly population study trips along the coast sponsored by the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy. ...

For many visitors to Cape Cod in the summertime, the issue of hunger might be limited to finding the best place for fried clams or a lobster roll. But for more than a few year-rounders, it's about where their child's next meal is coming from. As they've done in years past, the “Food 4 Kids” program will be providing USDA-subsidized free lunches to children in Chatham and Harwich as part of a federal effort to ...

CHATHAM — Spanning more than the banks of the Mitchell River, the town's new drawbridge – opened with a ceremonial snip of a ribbon Monday – bridged the more daunting gulf between highway engineers and preservationists. The new Mitchell River bridge won't be complete until the fall, but was scheduled to open to auto traffic this Wednesday. Its hybrid design features a modern steel and concrete substructure ...

CHATHAM – A male great white shark named "Scratchy," tagged by researchers last year, was detected earlier this month by a receiver buoy off Monomoy, becoming the first of its species confirmed in these waters this season. And on Monday a team from the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries and the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy not only saw their first great white shark this summer, but witnessed it pre...

CHATHAM PORT – The passenger of a helicopter that crashed at the end of Crow's Pond last Friday remained in critical condition early this week. Pilot John Ryan, 48, of Scituate, and his passenger, Tyra Pacheco, 48, of Acushnet, were extricated from the wreckage at the edge of the tidal pond by rescue personnel shortly after the crash, which occurred around 12:45 p.m. Both were taken by ambulance to Hyannis, wh...

CHATHAM – There are those who like sharks, and those who really like sharks. And can't keep their hands off them. Once again, the Sharks in the Park have proven just too tempting. Video surveillance cameras recently captured someone attempting to steal one of the sharks from Kate Gould Park. Luckily, the five-foot painted fish, mounted on a long metal rod, was either too big or too unwieldy – or both – for ...

CHATHAM – The fight over the Monomoy Wildlife Refuge's western boundary is headed to Congress. Rep. William Keating told town officials last week that he would file a bill to limit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's authority to Monomoy's low water line. If approved, the legislation would end a two-year-long dispute over jurisdiction over some 3,000 acres of Nantucket Sound open water and sea bottom west of ...

CHATHAM – Former selectman and long-time service station operator Ben Goodspeed has been named as the marshal of this year's Independence Day parade. Goodspeed will lead off the parade riding in a 1954 Willys Jeep, according to Independence Day Parade Committee Chairman Brad Schiff. “Well over 90” parade entries have been received for the event, which attracts thousands of people to Main Street every year, ...

During WWI, the only known attack by the Germans on American soil took place on Nauset Beach in Orleans. July 21, 1918 dawned a “hot and hazy day,” author Jake Klim told a standing-room-only audience at the Atwood House Museum last Sunday. Klim now lives in North Bethesda, Md., where he works in television production. Growing up on Cape Cod, references to the events of that day in Orleans intrigued him. In 201...

After a hiatus, the James Baran Memorial Scholarship, sponsored by The Cape Cod Chronicle for Monomoy Dollars for Scholars in memory of longtime Chronicle columnist Jim Baran, is once again helping a student to reach her dreams. The student who has been awarded the $500 scholarship is Monomoy Regional High School graduate Hannah Thacher of Harwich, who will attend Husson University in Maine in the fall. Thac...

CHATHAM ─ On the table in front of James Hereford and Ruth Drake stands the state of Maine's highest peak, Mt. Katahdin. Nearby, on another table, stands the Empire State Building, and not too far from that, Seattle's renowned Space Needle. Glance around and the keen observer might also spot a Hawaiian volcano, a Floridian manatee, and the Colorado state flag. In fact, the entire cafeteria at Chatham Elementary...

HARWICH — A license plate recognition system is scheduled to replace disposal area stickers on July 1. The town has been running a pilot program for the past several months, using cameras to identify license plates on the vehicles of residents who have paid for disposal permits. Town Administrator Christopher Clark said this week the system is being fine-tuned in preparation for the July 1 start of the program...

HARWICH — A little cooperation goes a long way in the historic Campground section of town, a couple of homeowners found out this week. A month ago the homeowners were wrestling with the Historic District and Historical Commission over demolition of historic structures in the 11-acre site adjacent to Nantucket Sound. The commission issued two one-year demolition delays on structures in the Ocean Grove Campgroun...

HARWICH CENTER — Reconstruction of the historic A. Elmer Crowell Barn at the Brooks Academy site has been ongoing for two years, much longer than town officials had hoped. But there seems to be renewed optimism the work will be completed in the next couple of weeks. The barn was constructed in East Harwich in the late 1800s and was used as the workshop by world-renowned bird carver A. Elmer Crowell and his son...

HARWICH ─ There are many paths to success in life. Now, thanks to the students of Monomoy Regional High School's Alternative Learning Program (ALP), there is a new path at the school, one that leads to a quiet place of reflection, created for students by students. According to ALP student Greg Hastings, the motivation for creating the space was simple. “It looked like a prison,” Hastings said. “Kids said ...

HARWICH—Perhaps Plato got it right. Twenty-four centuries ago the Greek philosopher declared that, “The beginning is the most important part of any work, especially in the case of the young...” Educators and leadership within the Cape Cod Collaborative and the Dennis-Yarmouth and Monomoy Regional School Districts couldn’t agree more. The regional school districts, with the Cape Cod Collaborative, have partnere...