CHATHAM — When it comes to improving water quality along Chatham's shoreline, Martha Stone has never been afraid to wade right in to the reeds. Literally, sometimes. For her work developing septic regulations and planning documents, and for her efforts as a volunteer water quality monitor, Stone received the Captain's Award from the Friends of Chatham Waterways Monday evening. It's a fitting tribute from the...

CHATHAM – The town's sidewalks have long been a topic of discussion, alternately causing controversy and concern due to the absence of them in some locations and the poor condition of others. The topic came up again at last week's summer town meeting, eliciting a promise by one town official that a comprehensive plan to upgrade the town's sidewalks was in the works. Officials cautioned, however, that now al...

CHATHAM – The town is seeking to dismiss the lawsuit filed by Skydive Cape Cod, Inc., seeking $100,000 in damage for the company's inability to operate out of Chatham Airport for the past several years. Expressing concerns about safety, the town declined to renew Skydive Cape Cod's contract in 2013. The town was later ordered by the Federal Aviation Administration to issue a contract for skydive services at th...

CHATHAM – For the first time in its 55-year history, the Chatham Conservation Foundation, the Cape's oldest land trust, has hired a full-time director. Matt Cannon, who previously worked as the Foundation's part-time director of land stewardship, was named the organizations first executive director/land manager at its annual meeting earlier this month. Cannon had also worked part-time for the Harwich Conservat...

CHATHAM – Designs for an 1,800-square-foot building to house the town's shellfish upweller and a gangway and float system along the waterside of town-owned land at 90 Bridge St. will be refined after members of three waterways-related committees agreed that was the best option for use of the property. The upweller will sit on pilings above the water to the east of the property, parallel to the Mitchell River d...

CHATHAM – Liana Johnson stands at the back of her Ocean Port Lane property and points to the trees covering the slope that rises behind her home. Without assurances a buffer zone of trees will remain when that upland property is developed into a 14-lot subdivision, she's worried that her land could be damaged by runoff and erosion. Rain gardens and stormwater bio-retention areas shown on the plan for the proje...

CHATHAM – Beaches along Chatham Harbor were closed Thursday afternoon after a fishermen saw a great white shark bite a seal in half off Andrew Harding's Lane Beach. Peter O'Neill was coming in through the 1987 inlet shortly after 3 p.m. after a day of fishing when he spotted a “giant pool of blood with the head of seal poking out” in the channel about 150 yards off the beach. The seal had already been bitte...

CHATHAM – Seventy years after the D-Day invasion, retired Army Colonel John Wessmiller had the opportunity to return to the place where, as a young officer, he escaped a run-in with German soldiers that destroyed his unit, bluffed his way back to Allied lines and was serious wounded by an enemy shell. By visiting the Normandy countryside where the experiences occurred as well as the graves of his fallen comrades,...

CHATHAM – For the fourth time, a shark has been stolen from the downtown Sharks in the Park exhibit. The shark taken early Saturday morning was returned and a suspect identified. A Chatham summer resident, who lives year-round in New Jersey, reportedly confessed to the theft, and police are waiting to determine if charges will be filed. On Saturday evening, another attempt was made to take one of the sharks...

CHATHAM – The town's ever-dynamic waterways, solid finances and upcoming projects topped the agenda at Tuesday's 71 st annual summer town meeting. The informal session held to educate seasonal residents was sponsored by the summer residents advisory committee, an official town committee that represents the interest of non-residents property owners, the only officially constituted committee of its kind on the ...

CHATHAM – Selectmen will hear an update next Tuesday on plans to upgrade the busy intersection at Route 28 and Crowell Road. Consultant Howard/Stein-Hudson (HSH) is seeking input in developing the pre-25 percent design concept for the project, and will present updated information on existing conditions and potential alternatives at the Aug. 15 meeting. The session will kick off a 30-day informal public comment...

CHATHAM — Visitors to Nauset Beach and two other area beaches last week observed something new in the sky, and it wasn't an aerial banner advertising beer or car insurance. It was a balloon, holding a high-tech camera designed to spot sharks. Representatives of the Florida-based firm Altametry were on the Lower Cape last week testing equipment that they hope could be part of a future system for detecting white...