CHATHAM — A week after state officials designated Chatham a “higher risk community” and marked it red on its pandemic map, a decline in the daily case rate has put the town back into the lowest-risk category.  Now marked gray on the map, Chatham's case rate is now listed at 4.9 cases per 100,000 residents, down from 8.5.  The new designation was released Wednesday as part of the state's weekly public health repor...

CHATHAM – “Sadly, we're cranking away.” Stephen Daniel, co-founder of the Chatham Coronavirus Impact Fund, was speaking about the continuation of the fund begun in April to help local residents under financial stress due to the pandemic. While there was no big spike after enhanced unemployment benefits ran out, there also hasn't been a significant drop in the amount of assistance the fund has been providing. ...

Eldredge Garage Property Suggested As New Location CHATHAM – Ellen Briggs thinks it's not too much to ask to preserve what is thought to be the oldest house in town. She certainly doesn't want to see another piece of the town's heritage slip away. “The town has a history of doing that, and we'd like this not to happen,” she said. Protect Our Past, a preservation group Briggs founded a year ago, is circul...

CBI Closes After Server Tests Positive CHATHAM – A cluster of COVID-19 cases among members of the Chatham Squire staff has grown to seven. The Squire closed Aug. 30 after one person tested positive. It reopened Monday after cleaning, but closed again after subsequent testing of 15 staff members revealed three more positive cases. Three additional cases were identified by Visiting Nurse Association contact t...

CHATHAM — Selectmen have reluctantly called a special town meeting for Oct. 3 at 1 p.m. at Veterans Field, despite their concerns about holding a large public gathering during the pandemic. Required by law because it was forced by petition, the meeting will ask voters to consider creating a Main Street Theater Overlay District that will allow the redevelopment and restoration of the historic Monomoy Theatre. ...

CHATHAM – The town recreation department and Monomoy Community Services are teaming up to help working families by sponsoring after-school programs for kids in kindergarten through grade seven. Having reliable daycare is critical for parents who work, a realization that led the two agencies to work together to adapt their usual after-school programs to suit the pandemic. Previously Monomoy Community Service...

WEST CHATHAM — When the Rocking Unicorn Nursery School opens its doors to students on Sept. 14, as it’s done for the last 40 years, there will still be loads of storybooks, art supplies and colorful toys. But there will also be masks, hand sanitizing stations and all sorts of special provisions to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Each morning, youngsters will line up on the socially-distanced footprin...

CHATHAM — As part of a $1.2 billion federal airport safety and infrastructure grant program, the Federal Aviation Administration is sending a $347,000 check to the Chatham Municipal Airport. The funds will be used to conduct an airport-related environmental study. The environmental assessment is designed to find environmental impacts that might result from the implementation of parts of the airport master pl...

Property Owners Likely To Appeal CHATHAM – More than a year after 62 trees were illegally cut down on a coastal bank overlooking the Mill Creek marsh, the conservation commission last week issued a final enforcement order requiring restoration of the area. It seems likely, however, that the property owners, Bryan and Maria Donohue, will appeal the order, following a contentious meeting last week during whic...

CHATHAM – The Chatham Squire, one of the town's most iconic restaurants, closed Sunday after a staf member tested positive for COVID-19. After briefly reopening Monday, the restaurant voluntarily closed again Tuesday after three more employees tested positive. Owner Todd Hearle said the iconic restaurant would remain closed until at least Thursday to allow additional deep cleaning and disinfecting. “We have...

One of the takeaways from a public meeting the Monomoy Regional School District held in 2018 to get input into its strategic planning process was that the 100 or so people in attendance weren't representative of the school population. “There was a strong majority of white faces in the room,” recalled Marc Smith, the district's director of curriculum. “Even with the work we'd done with outreach, we were mis...

CHATHAM – The owners of the Monomoy Theatre property say they have collected enough signatures to call a special town meeting and were expected to turn in petitions for certification this week. Greg Clark said he was waiting to collect a few remaining petitions before totaling the signatures. “We expect to have all of the original signatures together by Wednesday and file the paperwork by Thursday,” he wrot...