Commission: Neglect Contributed To Deterioration CHATHAM – The historical commission has agreed to lift a demolition delay on a Cockle Cove Road house that has deteriorated beyond repair. Commission members were critical of the lack of maintenance on the house at 26 Cockle Cove Rd., calling it a case of demolition by neglect. The administrator of the trust that owns the 1.1 acre property said the family has...

CHATHAM – On Monday, the first day in more than seven weeks that nonessential retail shops were allowed a limited opening, there was a light but steady stream of people downtown, and many businesses had thrown open doors and set up tables to provide curbside service. No one expected sales anywhere near the level of past Memorial Days, but many merchants saw it as a glimmer of hope in what has been a devastatin...

CHATHAM – A free “virtual” historic bus tour of the town will be held online Saturday, June 13 to mark History Weekend. The tour, sponsored by Historic Chatham, will run at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., and reservations are required as virtual seats are limited. Last year’s bus tour guide and history buff Ron Clark will return to provide commentary at key historic points in Chatham and discuss the fascinating history...

HARWICH PORT— Wednesday nights will be a little quieter and less crowded in the village this summer following the decision by the chamber of commerce board of directors to the cancel Port Summer Nights music festival. For the past 20 years there has been a street fair of music on every other Wednesday night in July and August. Initially Music In The Port was organized by Ron Remendino and Jennifer Chase, Chamb...

HARWICH — With a 17 percent decline in memberships, the golf committee is expressing concerns about the constraints placed on Cranberry Valley Golf Course as it reopens to the public. Last week committee members discussed expected revenue reductions given the closure of the course over the past few months. There were also concerns expressed about the state mandate to keep clubhouses closed, expand tee starting...

Jennifer Police is in for a busy summer and that’s just fine with her. On Tuesday the current assistant principal at Monomoy Regional High School was chosen to replace departing principal William Burkhead. She is set to step into her new job on July 1. Police was chosen from a pool of 12 applicants that was ultimately winnowed down to two finalists, who were then interviewed remotely, in keeping with COVID-19 ...

HARWICH — Selectmen voted Tuesday night to postpone the June 22 annual town meeting to Monday, Sept. 28. Under the town’s home rule charter, the annual town meeting is supposed to take place on the first Monday in May. After a state of emergency was declared by Gov. Charlie Baker in March — including a restriction limiting gatherings to no more than 10 people — selectmen voted to move the annual town meeting t...

Seven Acres Donated By The Tuttle Family HARWICH — Seven acres of wetlands, encompassing a major portion of the herring run in the Red River Marsh, has been donated to the Harwich Conservation Trust. The marsh and former cranberry bog known as the Oak Island Bog had been under the Tuttle family’s stewardship for 132 years. “The land is comprised of mostly salt marsh with some bordering upland in the Red Riv...

HARWICH — The affordable housing trust is working with Laura Shufelt, acting director of the Massachusetts Housing Partnership, on a plan to develop the 1.1 acre parcel adjacent to the Harwich Junior Theatre building on the corner of Sisson Road and Parallel Street. “This is the major thing to bring forward as tangible proof we’re doing something,” Affordable Housing Trust Chairman Donald Howell said at the op...

Senior year is supposed to be filled with memorable milestones, from celebratory events to spring sports. But for high school seniors across the country, including those at Monomoy Regional High School, cancellations have been many and have included the spring season. Over the next few  weeks,  we recognize the MRHS seniors who missed out on a final season. To see this feature, see page 30 of our May 28 elec...

Had enough of the quarantine blues? Chatham Drama Guild is cooking up the antidote to all of those quiet nights at home, and when the coast is clear and conditions are safe to avoid transmission of the COVID-19 virus, a welcome night of laughter is on the horizon, perhaps as soon as late July. Back in January, director Anna Marie Johansen, who was preparing to depart for Europe for the month of February, held ...

  The sun was only recently out of bed, her rays stretching low across the landscape in sheets of golden light. The path I chose for my morning walk was through the woods, around a pond, and the light on the new baby leaves was breathtaking. There was a mist of lacy lime green wherever I looked. Yellows and greens and pinks, oh my. An ovenbird called from the woods while a kingbird watched over t...

Back in August 1936, Walter Raushenbush accompanied his parents, Elizabeth and Paul Raushenbush, to the Chatham Theater on Main Street. They were not interested so much in the movie — at age eight, Walter had not yet seen a movie — as in the March of Time newsreel that would be shown before the main attraction. Someone had told them that Paul was featured in a newsreel, and they wanted to see him on the silver...

We get it, the messaging is getting a bit tedious. Wash your hands, maintain social distancing, stay home when you’re feeling ill, wear a mask. Three months into the pandemic, we’re so numb to those instructions that you could almost forget that they’re there to save our lives. So think about this. Following those rules might inoculate your checkbook. Given that so many local businesses rely on 10 weeks of ...

Impressed With Reed Editor: On June 23 I will vote for Andrea Reed for the Orleans select board. I ask that you join me in placing an extremely qualified and talented woman on the board to work for the future of Orleans, and the benefit of all of its citizens. I feel confident in this recommendation especially because I know that Andrea can be trusted always to act in the public good. She has the integri...

Monomoy Regional Middle School Third Quarter Honor Roll Students earning high honors and honors for the third quarter at Monomoy Regional Middle School are listed below. Grade 7 high honors: Anderson, Ashley; Barr, Justin; Bates, Lucy; Dujua, Jericah ; Elhilow, Jason; Hemeon, Claire; Hoye, Amy; Hyora, Finn; Jansen, Rowan; Jones, Maya; Khalil, Tamer; Krystofolski, Marek; Laramee, Ryan; Layton, Em...