ORLEANS — What services are as basic to residents as the sea breezes they inhale just by living here? Which are the ones they should pay for each time they use them? Selectmen spent an evening Nov. 28 delving into the old question of which town services should be supported by all taxpayers and which by user fees, searching for a combination that would take the pressure off an annual operating budget that can...

ORLEANS — You'd hardly have known from the selectmen's discussion last week on raising revenues that a revenue committee created by town meeting spent many months looking at that very question. The committee had its differences with the board, and even with town meeting, which approved some of its initiatives and passed by others. John Laurino, chair of the now-defunct committee, watched the Nov. 28 selectme...

CHATHAM ─ Clad in tall hip waders and bright blue rubber gloves, Monomoy Middle School student Yoangel Rodriguez reached into a purple mesh bag and began scattering what looked like peanuts onto the flats at Mill Creek in Chatham. Rodriguez was really laying down quahog seeds that should come to maturity around the time the young man who planted them graduates high school. The bond between student and shellfish...

CHATHAM – For the first time in a decade, First Night revelers may welcome in the new year without the Countdown Cod. First Night officials were working this week on the logistics to include the illuminated cod in the midnight countdown after earlier deciding to forego the fish after its builder and owner moved out of town. This week, however, Richard Clifford said he'd be happy to provide the cod but could...

CHATHAM – “There's no such thing as just leaves and dirt.” That mantra, recited by Monomoy Regional Middle School science teacher Melinda Forist, was repeated by students recently as they dipped nets into the brackish water of a vernal pool located behind the school. The nets came up with leaves and dirt, for sure, but also contained a number of wriggling and squirming creatures. Students counted nine tadpo...

CHATHAM — Suffering a clear case of sticker shock, selectmen last week asked committees to scale back plans for a $4 million waterfront facility envisioned for 90 Bridge St. Answering a mandate by voters who purchased the land for future commercial and recreational marine uses, the town’s three water-related advisory committees worked with a consultant to find options for the small parcel next to the Mitchel...

CHATHAM — This year, good tidings will be coming to the children of Chatham courtesy of an actual one-horse open sleigh. And it’s a sleigh with a story. On Saturday, Dec. 9 from 1 to 4 p.m., visitors to the Chatham Historical Society’s Atwood House Museum will be able to see the fully-restored sleigh, which was rescued from the basement of the former Eldredge Garage before it was razed. Visitors are encourag...

CHATHAM – The town's annual Christmas celebration officially gets underway this Sunday when Santa Claus arrives at the Chatham Fish Pier. Santa will arrive in style, on the historic CG36500 motor lifeboat, featured in the book and film “The Finest Hours,” at 1:30 p.m. Dec. 3. He'll be escorted by members of the Chatham Coast Guard Station and greet children at the pier. After making his way through the crow...

CHATHAM — Selectmen agree that it’s probably time to consider hiking water rates to better maintain and expand the town’s water system. But they don't want to do so in a way that soaks low-income residents or small businesses. Meeting as water and sewer commissioners Tuesday, the board held a hearing on a complex proposal that would increase the amount customers pay for water, both to raise revenue for capital...

For the Family Pantry of Cape Cod, children hold a special place. From food and clothing distribution to Toy Day, Dec. 17, the Family Pantry isn’t ignoring the young ones who make up one-third of the pantry’s over 9,100 clients in Barnstable County. Already 1,200 children ages birth through 15 have signed up for Toy Day. (The final day for signups for children of current Family Pantry clients is Dec. 2.) ...

HARWICH — Former selectman Linda Cebula has filed two state Open Meeting Law complaints against the board of selectmen and its interview/nomination subcommittee. One relates to “specificity” of the agenda and the other challenges steps taken when revising an error in the date of a meeting. In her complaint Cebula cites the Nov. 13 meeting of the board of selectmen as providing “no indication that votes woul...

HARWICH — Danette Gonsalves said she was 13 years old when she started to hear the names of water commissioners and employees in the water department around her kitchen table. The intricacies of the department's operations became more familiar as she grew up. The flow of water department knowledge came early in her life because her father, Richard Hathaway, served for 21 years as a water commissioner. “At 1...

HARWICH — Harwich's loss will be Chatham's gain as two employees in the town's community development department have informed Town Administrator Christopher Clark they have taken jobs in Chatham. Clark announced this past week that town planner Aly Sabatino and building inspector Jay W. Briggs are leaving to take positions in Chatham. Briggs has already left; he started work on Monday as Chatham's building com...

KINGSTON ─ Scoring in a football game is about being in the right place at the right time, and the Monomoy football team capitalized on that in a chilly Thanksgiving thriller that saw the Sharks triumph against the Sacred Heart Saints 32-7 on the road. Connor Santoni got the scoring started for the visitors, putting himself in perfect position for a nice pass from quarterback Isaac Hart before racing 40 yard...

CHATHAM ─ Two alumni of the Chatham Anglers' baseball program were inducted into the Cape Cod Baseball League Hall of Fame on Nov. 18 in a traditional ceremony held at the Chatham Bars Inn. Joining the Hall in 2017 were 1984 infielder Joey Cora and 1985 heavy hitter Timothy McIntosh. Quick on base paths and a keen eye at the plate, Cora, an infielder from Vanderbilt, played a stellar season, primarily at ...

It's never easy being “that school.” You know, the one with the sports teams boasting records that elicit either pity or mockery. Until recently, Monomoy was that school. But thanks to the dedication of numerous student athletes, things are changing, and it's time to give yourselves a pat on the back. While this is certainly a shout out to each of the athletes that competed for and on Monomoy teams, I want to ...