CHATHAM — Construction of the new observation deck at the fish pier has missed its latest deadline for completion. The general contractor for the $1.6 million project, Sciaba Construction Corp., expected to have the job “substantially complete” by the end of January, Chief Financial Officer Michael Sheehan told The Chronicle last month. At their regular progress inspection Monday, railings had yet to be ins...

CHATHAM — The Chatham 365 Task Force and the town’s economic development committee have already identified steps the town can take to make itself a friendlier community for young families and other year-round residents. Now they’re seeking assurances that there’s a plan for implementing those ideas. On Monday, selectmen reviewed a list of recommendations it received from the task force in September and an anal...

CHATHAMPORT — In the past 18 years, volunteers have built the Chatham Marconi Maritime Center into a sought-after museum and a leader in STEM education in local schools. Now the nonprofit is hiring its first full-time executive director to help it achieve new growth. Kristen Clothier of Chatham, who starts in her new post on Monday, has an infectious enthusiasm for science education and history. Seated in her ...

CHATHAM – The airport committee has rejected establishing a citizens advisory committee for its ongoing master planning process. Instead, the commission voted 4-1 last Tuesday to continue its chapter-by-chapter review of the master plan and take public comments and questions at its regular meetings. “It behooves us to go through this process as expeditiously as possible,” said commission member Huntley Harr...

There might be some controversy regarding the outcome of the Iowa Caucus, but for the Monomoy Regional High School students that made the trip to see U.S. politics in action, it was an experience they won't soon forget. For the second time since the school's opening, history teacher John Dickson took 20 students from the sandy shores of Cape Cod to the snowy plains of Iowa where they had numerous opportunities...

CHATHAM – For the first time, Monomoy Regional School District officials are considering starting school before Labor Day this September. The new school year has traditionally begun the day after Labor Day, both in the Monomoy District and in the Chatham and Harwich schools before regionalization. This September, Labor Day falls on Sept. 7, as late in the year as possible. If school begins Tuesday, Sept. 8, it...

HARWICH — The appeals board approved a revised special permit for improvements to facilities at the Wychmere Beach Resort last week, despite opposition from neighbors. The board’s decision came one day after the planning board continued a hearing for the project in which applicant Wychmere Harbor Real Estate, LLC was seeking to amend the site plan special permit for a structure greater than 7,500 square feet. ...

HARWICH — The planning board held back on making a decision on a modification to a site plan permit for the first floor of the Harwich Port Commons building due to a dispute over beer and wine sales with abutter Joseph Della Morte of Cranberry Liquors. Attorney Andrew Singer made the presentation for the modification on behalf of 525 Camelot owners Paul and Diane Manning. The modification was a minor adjustmen...

HARWICH — The Royal Apartment presentation to the planning board has raised an interesting dynamic related to dwelling unit density in Harwich Center versus the need for additional workforce housing. The project presented to the board last week seeks to convert the former nursing home/assisted living facility and senior day care center on the corner of Bank and Parallel streets into a 26-unit apartment complex...

HARWICH — The planning board this past week approved a site plan review special permit to establish a large scale photovoltaic array at the Cranberry Valley Golf Course. There will actually be two locations where the arrays will be located. The larger one with 648 panels will be placed on a 1.26-acre parcel just north of the new cart barn running toward the municipal course’s maintenance facility. The other, c...

HARWICH – It was a senior-driven night for the Monomoy boys varsity basketball team as the Sharks not only celebrated the team's future graduates, but cheered as those upperclassmen played to a dominating 68-38 victory against the Sturgis Storm on Jan. 31. After the team's nine seniors were honored in a special pregame ceremony, along with the four seniors on the cheerleading squad, the Sharks got down to the ...

HARWICH – Monomoy's loss was Cape Cod Academy's gain and Cape Tech's downfall in girls basketball action as the Seahawks' Mac Balfore scored 13 of her game-high 22 points in a commanding fourth quarter on Monday in CCA's 46-26 victory against the Crusaders. It was a fairly competitive game until that final quarter in the Crusaders' Feb. 3 outing, but as CCA's Balfore, who once attended Monomoy High and played ...

HYANNIS – The Monomoy-Mashpee Monarchs scored first in their Feb. 1 game against the St. John Paul II Lions, but a punishing third period meant another tough loss for the struggling home team. The Monarchs fell 7-1 on Friday night, with their lone goal coming at 10:25 when Monomoy's Lucas Tambolleo found an opening and slapped the puck through, capitalizing on an assist from teammate Charlie Southworth. Tha...

HARWICH – Students from Sturgis East and West Public Charter Schools in Hyannis, including students from Chatham, will perform two one-act plays revolving around war and its effect on families at the Cape Cod Theatre Company/Harwich Junior Theatre this weekend. “Mother Courage and Her Children” by Bertolt Brecht will be co-directed by Diana Young, Sturgis East’s theater teacher. “Dark Road” by Laura Lundgren S...

It happens often, especially if you’re looking for it, a flash of movement or color. Perhaps you catch it in your peripheral vision or the blink of an eye. Nature can be tricky like that, a hint here, a clue there. When I walk to my car in the morning I often see a flash of gray and white as the resident mockingbird lets me know the overgrown, multiflora infested forsythia is his, not mine. Many birds and anim...

According to a Federal Aviation Administration advisory circular, one of the first tasks local officials should do when beginning the airport master planning process is to create a process for public involvement. The program should be proportional to the airport size, complexity of the plan and the issues involved. The purpose is to encourage information sharing and collaboration among stakeholders. “An effective...