HARWICH — With a major focus on Harwich Center underway and town agencies looking at ways to revitalize the village, the new owner of the property at 718 Main St., a 25-unit apartment complex, has plans to upgrade the facilities. The complex, owned by 718 Main Street Realty Trust since 2001, was sold three weeks ago to 718 Main Realty LLC for $3,250,000. The property was purchased in 2001 for $1,535,000. The p...

HARWICH — The Board of Health has agreed to put forward a regulation or bylaw that will ban smoking on public beaches and other recreation department properties in town.  Recreation Director Eric Beebe made a pitch to the health board last week after the recreation and youth commission discussed banning smoking on public beaches more than a month ago, coming to the conclusion such a regulation should be implem...

HARWICH — With Deputy Police Chief Thomas Gagnon retiring in two weeks after 33 years of service, Selectmen on Monday night appointed Lt. Kevin Considine to become the next deputy police chief, effective April 7. Gagnon's retirement, scheduled for April 6, will create several vacancies in the chain of command in the police department. On Monday night, Police Chief David Guillimette put forward a series of reco...

PLEASANT LAKE — A teacher working with students on the grounds at Cape Cod Tech was injured this morning in an accident involving an all-terrain vehicle. Boston MedFlight was requested but was later cancelled; the victim taken to Cape Cod Hospital by ambulance. Cape Tech Superintendent Robert Sanborn said the person injured is a member of the school staff and that he suffered broken ribs.  The accident is unde...

HARWICH – The average temperature since January has hovered somewhere around the freezing mark for much of Cape Cod, but that hasn't stopped two intrepid area yoga instructors from plunging into the waters off local beaches each day. But they're not just diving in for the fun of it. Each dip is done in support of Yogis Unite for Recovery Build, coming this June to Monomoy Regional High School. Yoga instructor ...

HARWICH — The town is continuing to push for grant funding for a major sidewalk and crosswalk improvement project extending from the community center on Oak Street to the cultural center on Sisson Road. The town this week submitted a request for a $800,000 Community Development Block Grant from the state Department of Housing and Community Development. The town had sought an ADA Public Municipality Transition ...

HARWICH — The Harwich Center initiative committee will be taking a hiatus until next fall. The decision was made at a session at the end of February in which some committee members expressed both frustration with the process and a sense that other town committees are conducting parallel examinations of the same issues. Harwich Center resident Peter Antonellis asked if the committee was working in cooperatio...

HARWICH — A new proposal for a convenience store at the former gas station in Harwich Center has been filed with the historic district and historical commission. The proponent for the mixed-use development, Saumil Patel, withdrew plans in December after six months of debate relating to compliance with historic character in the village. At that time, Patel's attorney Howard C. Cahoon said they would be back wit...

HARWICH — The conservation commission wrestled with the town's farming heritage last week when considering whether to issue a new lease for the 11-acre Bell's Neck cranberry bogs. The commission ultimately decided to not issue a lease and instead develop a management plan for the property, located adjacent to the Herring River and Bell's Neck Reservoir, which would also consider allowing the bogs to naturalize. ...

HARWICH — The board of selectmen voted Monday night to remove an article seeking an increase in the local room occupancy tax from 4 to 6 percent from the May annual town meeting warrant. Town Administrator Christopher Clark told selectmen Monday night he was presenting a balanced budget to the finance committee, unless selectmen decided to make additional adjustments that evening. The budget presented by Clark...

HARWICH – In spite of a parent survey in which a majority of families said they were in favor of keeping the Spanish language program at Harwich and Chatham Elementary Schools, the Monomoy Regional School Committee voted last Thursday night in favor of doing away with the language instruction and bringing in a science/STEM initiative that committee members hope will better prepare students for the state MCAS test...

HARWICH – While some students spent February vacation catching up on homework and sleep, a group of 17 students from Monomoy Regional High School's Global Studies program ventured across the Atlantic Ocean for a life-changing service learning trip to Tanzania, where they went on safari, visited museums, and made lifelong connections with students from the SEGA Girls Secondary School. The first-of-its-kind sojo...