HARWICH — NASA hopes to have the capabilities to send humans to Mars sometime in the 2030s, but if Matthew Kelley and classmates at Vanderbilt University have a say in the matter, it could happen sooner. Kelley, who recently graduated from Vanderbilt, grew up in Harwich and went to Harwich Elementary School and Chatham Middle School. While he was in middle school, his teacher, Karen Manning, recognized his int...

HARWICH – Anyone who thinks today’s high school students aren’t interested in the issues that affect their communities would have seen something different at Monomoy Regional High School last Tuesday night. Nearly 150 people showed up to hear a debate between the five candidates vying to replace retiring three-term Senator Dan Wolf, who represents the Cape and Islands district in the Massachussetts Senate. The...

HARWICH — The threat of rain did not deter an intrepid audience at the Memorial Day ceremony at Brooks Park on Monday morning, as residents came to hear Lt. Paul Doane, USN, a former four-term state senator of the Cape and Islands and active municipal volunteer. Doane focused on the importance of reflecting and honoring those Americans who died while in service to the nation. For many Americans, Memorial Day h...

HARWICH ─ When students should arrive at school each day has been a hot topic at a number of recent school committee meetings. Now, after a 4-2 vote, school start times will see a change in the Monomoy district in September 2017. The vote, taken during the May 25 school committee meeting, approved a motion to change the start times at Chatham and Harwich elementary schools to 7:45 a.m., and the start times a...

HARWICH — What does it take to restore a 158-year-old map that is an important resource for genealogists, a striking artifact in the Harwich Historical Society's collection, and a powerful link to local history? It takes the CPA, and a lot of TLC. Using Community Preservation Act funds, Bob Zaremba of Maps of Antiquity spent more than four months restoring the 1858 Walling map of Barnstable, Dukes and Nantu...

Both Monomoy Regional High School and Cape Cod Technical High School will hold commencement ceremonies this weekend. Cape Tech's graduation takes place on Saturday, June 4 at 2 p.m. at the school on Pleasant Lake Avenue in Harwich. Monomoy's second graduating class will receive their diplomas the next day, on Sunday, June 5, at 2 p.m. at the Oak Street school, under a tent on the school grounds. For the ...

HARWICH — It could be a couple of months before the state department of environmental protection rules on a superseding order of conditions request for the proposed shellfish nursery at the former Lucas fish house on the Herring River. That was the word from Mark N. Bartow, an environmental analyst with DEP's bureau of resource protection, when he conducted an onsite hearing last week. He explained the hearing...

HARWICH ─ The changing of the guard within the Monomoy School Committee hit a snag last week when not one but two votes for the vice chair resulted in a tie that will continue indefinitely until someone changes their vote. The tie ensued during the annual elections of officers, which take place each year after elections of new members. Sharon Stout nominated Karen Ryder for vice chair, praising her work ethi...

HARWICH PORT — More than two years ago the historic district and historical commission were having serious discussions about the need for establishing a historic district to preserve the eclectic character of the Ocean Grove Campground south of Route 28. The 11-acre area was home to the Spiritualist Movement of the late 1800s. The small lots and narrow streets initially provided room for tents for a few weeks ...

HARWICH — The town's shellfish laboratory on the Wychmere Harbor pier is getting a multi-dimensional rehabilitation. The lab has housed the town's shellfish nursery since 1994, growing out an estimated 34 million oysters, clams and softshell clams. The project is being funded with town and state Seaport Economic Council funds for the reconstruction of Wychmere Harbor pier, Natural Resources Department Director...

HARWICH — The Coast Guard is considering removing two aids-to-navigation in the federal channel leading into Saquatucket Harbor as a cost savings measure. The cost of maintaining the buoys exceeds navigational safety benefits, Coast Guard officials say. But Harbormaster John Rendon said the buoys have great value in protecting boaters as they enter the inside channel at Saquatucket Harbor, marking a shoal and ...

HARWICH — There could be changes coming to the planning department as town officials examine a move toward officially establishing the position of community development director and having the assistant town administrator serve in that capacity. Town Administrator Christopher Clark said the concept is part of due diligence deliberations given that eight-year veteran Town Planner David Spitz is retiring on July...