HARWICH — The threat of an oil spill in local waters is a serious environmental concern, and state, county and local officials trained together in the Herring River on Monday to contain a simulated plume of pollution. The daylong exercise was sponsored by the state Department of Environmental Protection and focused on training for Harwich and Dennis fire departments and harbormasters. But it also included Chat...

HARWICH — The water department is presently pumping more water from the aquifer than the state Department of Environmental Protection allows, and town officials are asking the state to grant permission for the town to increase its annual pumping volume. Water Department Superintendent Daniel Pelletier said they presently have permission to pump 786 million gallons per year and they are seeking to increase the ...

HARWICH — The Brooks Academy Museum and the Elmer Crowell Barn will open on Father's Day and admission will be free. There are several new exhibits for visitors to enjoy, including an art show titled, “The Exchange Building,” featuring art from local high school students. There are a lot of sights to see in the museum this year, including a new exhibit featuring “magic lanterns.” The exhibit is titled “Cape Co...

HYANNIS — Some see it as a dedicated revenue stream that could help Cape communities pay for wastewater infrastructure. Others say it's an unreasonable burden on homeowners just trying to meet mortgage payments and property taxes. There seemed little room for consensus in the SRO hearing room at Barnstable Town Hall June 10, when hundreds turned out to tell state legislators what they thought of plans to tax...

HARWICH ─ For the blue-clad graduates of Monomoy Regional High School, their June 4 commencement was all at once a look back at the past mixed with hopes for the future as speakers recalled the mile-long main hallway of Harwich High, where many started their journey as freshmen, and the transition to Monomoy while wishing their fellow graduates success going forward. Valedictorian Colleen Cronin called upon ...

HARWICH — The town's newly approved housing production plan recommends hiring a part-time housing coordinator to assist with addressing housing needs. Housing Committee Chairman Arthur Bodin was before selectmen Monday night seeking support for the position. Bodin said his committee fully supports hiring a coordinator, pointing out no current town staff position addresses the housing issue. The need to hire...

As they do each spring, students at Harwich Elementary enjoyed a fun field day last week. Organized by physical education teacher Kate Serafini, the event included a variety of outdoor activities with lots of laughs. Click here for a gallery of photos

HARWICH — Selectmen on Monday night provided a new charge for the Station 2 Renovation/Rehabilitation Committee, which will enter the architectural/engineering design phase for the East Harwich fire station over the next several months. The committee was working with an ad hoc group of town staff in shaping the renovation/rehabilitation plans for the 40-year-old station near the intersection of Routes 137 and ...

HARWICH — The tax lien auction planned for this Tuesday was delayed while the town does more ownership research work and allows the real estate and open space committee to vet the 122 parcels proposed for auction. “It's a delay, not a postponement,” Treasurer/Tax Collector Amy Bullock said after meeting with Town Administrator Christopher Clark last Wednesday, the day after selectmen voted 3-2 to support a mot...

PLEASANT LAKE — Having learned marketable skills that leave them well prepared for the world of work, the military or college, 137 seniors turned their tassels at Cape Cod Tech's commencement ceremony Saturday. Class President Allie Woollacott remembered arriving at the school four years ago as frightened freshmen trying to remember how to use lockers for the first time. “Here we are, four years later, still...

EAST HARWICH — Selectmen last week gave their approval for a license agreement to a private resident seeking to expand and place a new surface on Seth Whitefield Road (Hawksnest Road). The road, which provides access to Hawksnest State Park, is presently a nine-foot dirt road, and the abutter is seeking to widen it to 18 feet. The planning board heard the pitch from resident Robert Fratus, who said he made imp...

EAST HARWICH — Biology students from Monomoy Regional High School got waist-deep in science last week during a cooperative research project held at Pleasant Bay Community Boating. The teens collected marine life from the bay and its shoreline, taking tiny samples for DNA testing. Part of the “Bioblitz” project organized by Northeastern University's Ocean Genome Legacy Center, the effort aims to preserve a ge...