HARWICH — “Harwich is a beautiful community, a wonderful place to live and work,” Town Planner David Spitz said this week as he prepares to retire after more than seven years at the helm of the planning department. But he admitted his experience here has been equally frustrating and rewarding. Spitz will retire on July 8 and there will be some changes to the planning department once he is gone. Selectmen wer...

HARWICH — It doesn't take long for an artificial fish reef to turn barren ocean bottom into a thriving fish habitat. That was clear when the Cap'n Kid, a 50-foot party boat out of Saquatucket Harbor, began fishing over the reef created this spring 2.8 miles outside the harbor. The reef was created three months ago in partnership with the town of Harwich and the state Division of Marine Fisheries, using $146,00...

HARWICH PORT — Wednesday nights are going to be hopping in the 'Port this summer. The Harwich Chamber of Commerce has announced the lineups for Port Summer Nights, the weekly celebrations of art, dining, music and shopping, which start next Wednesday, July 6. “It looks great,” chamber Executive Director Jeremy Gingras said. “We've got eight weeks' of bands lined up and other activities.” Each Wednesday n...

ORLEANS — Harwich Selectman Jannell Brown has accepted nine months' pretrial probation in an assault case, admitting no wrongdoing and avoiding a trial by jury. Last November, Brown pleaded not guilty to an assault charge stemming from a domestic dispute with a man who is the father of one of her children. Under the agreement, Brown is ordered to have no contact with the alleged victim other than to arrange ch...

SOUTH HARWICH – Postponed once and canceled on another date, the auction of the mixed-use Sykes properties on Route 28 has been rescheduled for Friday. This time it will be an absolute auction, according to information provided by JJ Manning Auctioneers. “Selling individually and in the entirety with 815 Route 28 (adjacent 6,500-plus-square-foot mixed-use building) to the highest bidder, regardless of price,”...

ORLEANS — Harwich Selectman Jannell Brown has accepted nine months' pretrial probation in an assault case, admitting no wrongdoing and avoiding a trial by jury. Last November, Brown pleaded not guilty to an assault charge stemming from a domestic dispute with a man who is the father of one of her children. Under the agreement, Brown is ordered to have no contact with the alleged victim other than to arrange ch...

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...

HARWICH — The views along Lothrop Avenue will be changing over the next several months with the completion of a new ground-based water tank that will replace the 172-foot elevated storage tank that has projected above the tree line for more than 30 years. The new tank, which will hold one million gallons of water, will be a lot less conspicuous, rising up only 36 feet. The concrete tank, wrapped with an inner ...