ORLEANS — “Thank a veteran” has been a byword for many years. “Ask a veteran” is another step those who served wish people would consider. “Talk to a veteran sometime over coffee,” Selectmen Chair Jon Fuller, a retired senior chief petty officer, told his listeners at Veterans Square Saturday during the town's commemoration of Veterans Day. “Let them tell you of their experience.” In biting cold, the crow...

ORLEANS — With erosion eating away about 12 feet of Nauset Beach a year, next summer was to have been the last for Liam's restaurant on its familiar perch above the waves. The building, which is owned by the town, was to be torn down and Liam's relocated to a new structure farther back in the parking lot. But last week, the potential cost of that stopgap measure convinced the board of selectmen that Liam's s...

CHATHAM – Stakes showing the extent of the state-owned right-of-way along a portion of the Route 28-Crowell Road intersection have some worried that improvements there will be “massive.” “I guarantee people are going to be horrified by the amount of pavement that's going to go in,” said resident Elaine Gibbs. Only a portion of the right-of-way – on the east side of the intersection – was staked out by a hir...

CHATHAM – The first in a series of forums designed to open and improve communication lines in the town’s business community was held last Wednesday evening at the community center. Sponsored by the Chatham Merchants Association, the forum focused on three key areas of discussion, including what worked well for businesses during the past summer season, the challenges that exist and ways to address those concerns. ...

CHATHAM – The town and state will have to make changes to GPS antenna tower at the department of public works yard on Crowell Road. Last Thursday, the zoning board of appeals ruled that the town had erred in issuing a building permit for construction of the antenna in a drainage swale, which was partially filled to accommodate the structure and its base. Elizabeth and Robert Crowell, who own property immediate...

CHATHAM – Taxpayers won't pay a dime for two studies being conducted for the town by the Edward J. Collins Center for Public Management at UMass Boston. The cost of a classification and compensation study and a five-year capital improvement plan will be covered by Commonwealth Community Compact Best Practices grants. The town previously expected less funding for the projects. The capital improvement plan, w...

CHATHAM – Spread out at tables in the Monomoy Regional Middle School library, groups of three or four students engage in a lively discussion about how they're going to spend their money. Well, not exactly their money, but money earned through their business, Shark Tank Enterprises. “We are in the beginning stages of our business,” says Cherian Armstrong, the school's librarian and advisor to this club of 22...

CHATHAM – A World War I-era grenade discovered last Thursday at the Chatham Historical Society's Atwood House and Museum was found to contain no explosives and deemed safe for display. The grenade was found while museum officials were updating a recent exhibit on “Chatham in the Military.” It had apparently been stored in the museum's basement archives for decades. “The first thing we wanted to know was if ...

CHATHAM — According to the insurance industry, Chatham is more fire-resistant than ever before. And that could translate to savings on home and commercial insurance premiums, though modest ones. The Insurance Service Office rates communities on a scale of one to 10, based on a host of factors that judge fire preparedness and suppression ability. Like most municipalities in the country, Chatham had been rated...

Like communities across the nation, Lower Cape towns are planning their Veterans Day observances Saturday. All of the activities happen at 11 a.m., the 11 th hour of the 11 th day of the 11 th month, when the armistice was signed that ended World War I 99 years ago. In Chatham , the ceremony will take place inside the community center. Participants will include local members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars...

HARWICH — A decade ago town officials pursued an Adams Grant to develop a cultural and historic identity for Harwich Center that would spur economic growth. While that didn't come to fruition, there have been several initiatives over the past couple of decades that have been marginally successful in using town cultural assets to attract tourists. A new program may help realize those earlier visions. The tow...

HARWICH ─ If the electric bill at Monomoy Regional High School has gotten lower recently, folks can thank Aidan Kotoski, a high school junior with a passion for saving energy in the hopes of helping the planet. Through the Earth Club at MRHS, under the tutelage of advisor Sally Angiola and with a grant from the Harwich Garden Club, energy monitors were purchased and installed at several locations around the ...

HARWICH — Affordable and workforce housing has become a major focus of the board of selectmen and the planning board as the town considers establishing a housing trust and hiring a part-time housing coordinator. More than a month ago, selectmen raised the issue of tweaking the town's accessory apartment bylaw to make it easier for homeowners to provide a second housing unit on their property. One concern cente...

Addiction to heroin and other opiates reaches across all socioeconomic boundaries, but a new study claims that young men in the building trades on Cape Cod are five times more likely than others to overdose and die. The findings, presented in a study by the Barnstable County Department of Human Services issued last month, ultimately raises as many questions as it answers. Researchers don't know why, for inst...

HARWICH ─ It wasn't the way the Monomoy girls varsity soccer team wanted to cap their stellar 2017 season, but after giving it their all against their powerful Hull opponents, the Sharks came away with a 5-1 loss in the Div. 4 South quarterfinals “They were good,” said Monomoy coach Jenn Peterson. “They were a good team. I don't think we played particularly well. We couldn't match their intensity and I think...

HARWICH ─ The Monomoy football team has done it again. With their resounding 28-0 shutout of Mayflower Small champion Old Colony on Nov. 3, the 2017 squad has become the winningest in Monomoy history by earning a new record of 6-3 overall, surpassing their 2016 predecessors (5-5). “It was great to be able to bounce back and show what kind of team we really are,” said Monomoy head coach Brandon Perry, refe...