HARWICH — Danette Gonsalves said she was 13 years old when she started to hear the names of water commissioners and employees in the water department around her kitchen table. The intricacies of the department's operations became more familiar as she grew up. The flow of water department knowledge came early in her life because her father, Richard Hathaway, served for 21 years as a water commissioner. “At 1...

HARWICH — Harwich's loss will be Chatham's gain as two employees in the town's community development department have informed Town Administrator Christopher Clark they have taken jobs in Chatham. Clark announced this past week that town planner Aly Sabatino and building inspector Jay W. Briggs are leaving to take positions in Chatham. Briggs has already left; he started work on Monday as Chatham's building com...

HARWICH — The committee and volunteers who operate the Treasure Chest, the swap shop at the recycling center, are coming under new scrutiny following some public complaints. While town officials say better leadership should smooth out the problems, Selectman Jannell Brown last week floated the idea of shuttering the program. Brown, the board's liaison to the Treasure Chest committee, said most of the public ...

HARWICH — Christmas in Harwich continues to grow with the Chamber of Commerce adding several events to the three days of festivities planned in the community from Dec. 1-3. Among those events are a Festival of Trees, Rocking Christmas and a tree lighting ceremony and caroling in East Harwich. “Christmas in Harwich will be merry and bright with with tree tops glistening and excitement ringing throughout all of ...

HARWICH — The Saquatucket Harbor landside project got the approval of selectmen Monday night on a 4-to-1 vote. The project, while altered to some degree, will provide the essential improvements presented to voters when $3 million was approved in town meeting and the ballot box last spring. Selectmen agreed Monday night to enter into a contract agreement with Eastward Companies of Chatham for $2,649,633 to buil...

HARWICH — A message was sent to town officials Monday night that parents want their kids to have more access to the community center, instead of sending them to the Chatham Community Center. Selectman Jannell Brown said she has received many complaints about the community center not being open on Sundays and holidays. She cited a period of 10 days over last Christmas where the center was only open two-and-a-ha...

HARWICH — While playing a high-tech treasure hunt game in Hawksnest State Park Friday, a father and his two young children uncovered a bag filled with heroin paraphernalia. Justin Tavano, a Chatham firefighter, was in the conservation land with his eight-year-old son and six-year-old daughter searching for a geocache, usually a small container filled with trinkets for the finder. But in the spot where the ca...

HARWICH — Should it meet the requirements, Harwich could become the fifth Cape Cod town to join the state's Green Communities program, earning cash for its energy conservation efforts. Town officials met last Tuesday with program representative Seth Pickering, who said Harwich could receive an initial grant of up to $160,000, plus additional funding opportunities, for meeting five key criteria. Town Admin...

HARWICH PORT — When renovations are complete, Saquatucket Harbor will be a major attraction for summer visitors. Town officials want to make sure that, for pedestrians coming from the nearby shopping district, it isn't an attractive nuisance. Coming from the village center, there are sidewalks along Route 28 from the Bank Street intersection to a point just beyond Snow Inn Road, but not quite to the popular ...

HARWICH ─ People in the Harwich area might be used to seeing Eric Beebe out for a run on the Rail Trail now and again as part of his commitment to wellness, but when he took to the trail on Oct. 15, it was for an entirely different reason. This time the run had a deeper purpose: to raise money for Children's Hospital in Boston, with which he has a special connection. “Four years ago my oldest son was diagnos...

HARWICH — The board of selectmen Monday unanimously endorsed the construction of a new East Harwich fire substation, even though the costs are likely to be about $2 million higher than expected. The $6,044,954 request will go before voters in May. Fire Chief Norman Clarke, Jr., said he takes responsibility for the fact that the project cost has jumped significantly since he pledged to hold the line at $4 mil...

HARWICH PORT — Painstakingly, one boatload at a time, a contractor has begun to dredge Saquatucket Harbor. The work began last week, and as of Monday morning, two scows filled with silty sand had been removed from the harbor, leaving about 22 loads to go. Working from a barge, crews use a large excavator fitted with a clamshell scoop to remove the dredged material, loading it on special barges. The work is m...