CHATHAM – The controversial West Chatham Roadway Design project along Route 28 is likely to be delayed by at least one year. The project to improve a 1,700-foot stretch of the highway between Barn Hill Road and George Ryder Road was originally included with state highway projects slated for construction for this year. Due to the time it will take to secure rights-of-way, however, the project is being moved to ...

CHATHAM — Two years ago, when 95-year-old retired U.S. Army Col. John Wessmiller of Chatham returned to Normandy to mark the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings, it seemed unlikely that he'd ever again endure the rigors of airline travel. Confined largely to a wheelchair and unable to move great distances without help, Chatham's storied World War II hero nonetheless had one more errand to run. Earlier this ...

CHATHAM – The Surfside Motor Inn on Holway Street may be one of the last of its kind. The rambling, 20-room inn is the sort of comfortable, homey place that people return to year after year, where folks who see each other once a year gather on the porch in the evening to catch up as the cool breeze drifts off nearby Chatham Harbor. It's also the sort of place that is rapidly disappearing due to development pre...

Much to the relief of motorists, the new bridge over Muddy Creek opened to traffic last Friday afternoon, bringing to fruition an important water quality project. On the surface, the new bridge appears to be a roadway improvement, but it was installed to provide better tidal flushing between Muddy Creek and Pleasant Bay. The new $6.5 million bridge includes a sidewalk for pedestrians and, for the first time in de...

CHATHAM – The Chatham Shark Center will open for the season this weekend. The 235 Orleans Rd. center showcases research into the region's great white shark population through exhibits and educational displays. It's new virtual reality experience will be up and running, according to Shark Education Director Marianne Long, allowing visitors to see what it's like to go on a night dive with sharks. Kids will be ab...

CHATHAM – The town will hold its annual Memorial Day ceremony on Monday, May 30, beginning at 10 a.m. A procession including members of the Chatham VFW, Coast Guard, town officials and local scouts will visit each of the town's five war memorials before concluding at the Veterans Memorial Traffic Circle (the downtown rotary). At each site, a brief ceremony will include the placement of a wreath, a rifle salute...

CHATHAM – The word for mariners navigating the three inlets on the town's east side this summer is simple: Caution. Harbormaster Stuart Smith recommends that boaters use the middle inlet – the oldest one, opposite Chatham Light – to access the Atlantic. Although more narrow than it was last year, the inlet remains the safest of the three that separate Chatham Harbor and the Southway from the open ocean. “It...

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CHATHAM – The following council on aging events are scheduled for June. To register for programs, arrange transportation or for more information, call 508-945-5190. Senior tax work off program enrollment meeting, June 1, 2 p.m. at the COA. A complete overview and guidelines are available at the COA or online at www.chathamcoa.com/forms . Disaster preparedness presentation, Wednesday, June 1, at 11 a.m. Lea...

CHATHAM — Perhaps more than most other human endeavors, ocean rowing tests the limits of marine engineering, human endurance and mental control. For a Virginia couple preparing to depart on a transatlantic row from Chatham, it will also be a test of their relationship. Cindy Way, 41, and James Caple, 47, are waiting for a window of favorable weather before departing Chatham – possibly as soon as this weekend. Th...

CHATHAM - Town officials traveled to the state house Monday to meet with Lt. Governor Karyn Polito in hopes of gaining support from the Baker administration for efforts to scale back the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's claims of jurisdiction over the waters west of the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge. Officials said Polito understood their concerns and would convey the town's position to Gov. Charlie Baker....

CHATHAM — Officials are still reviewing the data collected from a necropsy of a North Atlantic right whale calf found dead off Chatham on May 5, but it appears that the endangered animal was alive when it was struck and wounded by boat propellers. Federal officials are investigating the incident to determine which boats were in the area at the time and whether they might have been violating a federal law that l...