WEST HARWICH — Close to 20 years ago, town officials received a complaint from a woman living in the Pinewood Village Condominiums that she and her daughter were experiencing skin rashes when washing with the development's private well water. The state Department of Environmental Protection was called in to take samples, which showed high levels of five compounds related to dry cleaning and metal de-greasing t...

HARWICH — Life has its twists and turns, but the beat goes on. That's a lesson that Michael Dunford knows well. He joined the Harwich Town Band at the age of about 12 in 1975, and went on to a successful career as a banker, professional drummer and record exec. On Tuesday, he'll be back in the bandstand, where it all started. Following the lead of his mother, who had played in an all-girl drum and bugle cor...

  HARWICH — Two men pleaded not guilty this week to charges connected with two separate burglary cases in West Harwich and Harwich Port. On Friday, police were called to the Bell's Neck Conservation Area to meet with a woman who said the back window of her truck had been broken and tools had been stolen. While there, officers received a second similar call from the conservation area, but this alleged vict...

HARWICH — The cost for using rooms at the community center may be going up an average of 15.3 percent based on a vote of the community center facilities committee. This is the first fee increase since 2011 and will require approval from selectmen. While the room use fees have remained unchanged since 2011, the cost of operating the building continues to rise, members of the committee emphasized in a public hea...

HARWICH — It has been almost 20 years since Pleasant Bay received its Area Of Critical Environmental Concern designation, a state action designed to protect the sensitive nature of the embayment. Two decades later the health of the bay can be largely attributed to the efforts of the Pleasant Bay Alliance. Carole Ridley, the Pleasant Bay Alliance coordinator, was before selectmen Monday night providing a histor...

HARWICH PORT— Change is coming to the center of the village with plans to develop Harwich Port Plaza in the location where Dino's Harwich Port Grille and several other shops previously served the community. The planning board has scheduled a pre-application conference on the new plans for July 12. The plans on file in the planning department show a mix of commercial and residential uses for the new 12,400-sq...

HARWICH — Approximately 40 people turned out Thursday afternoon at the Cranberry Valley Golf Course clubhouse for a farewell party for Town Planner David Spitz, who will retire on Friday. Spitz has been town planner for more than seven years and is well respected among his peers in the community development department in town hall. “It was a joy to work with him, he is a gentleman and a scholar,” Planning boar...

HARWICH — The other foot has fallen on the effort to rebuild the Lucas fishhouse on the Herring River and use the structure as a shellfish nursery. The abutting property owners have filed suit in Barnstable Superior Court challenging the conservation commission's approval of the project under the town's wetland protection bylaw. The property owners, Gwynne and David Daks of 18 Harbor Way, had previously filed ...

Housing advocate Bob Murray left some big sneakers to fill. He pounded the pavement – literally – for more than a dozen years, walking from Provincetown to Falmouth during a week each summer to raise funds for the Housing With Love Walk. Now, three years after Murray's death, the next generation of activists is lacing up to continue the tradition. As in past years, the nine partner organizations supported b...

HARWICH — “Harwich is a beautiful community, a wonderful place to live and work,” Town Planner David Spitz said this week as he prepares to retire after more than seven years at the helm of the planning department. But he admitted his experience here has been equally frustrating and rewarding. Spitz will retire on July 8 and there will be some changes to the planning department once he is gone. Selectmen wer...

HARWICH — It doesn't take long for an artificial fish reef to turn barren ocean bottom into a thriving fish habitat. That was clear when the Cap'n Kid, a 50-foot party boat out of Saquatucket Harbor, began fishing over the reef created this spring 2.8 miles outside the harbor. The reef was created three months ago in partnership with the town of Harwich and the state Division of Marine Fisheries, using $146,00...

HARWICH PORT — Wednesday nights are going to be hopping in the 'Port this summer. The Harwich Chamber of Commerce has announced the lineups for Port Summer Nights, the weekly celebrations of art, dining, music and shopping, which start next Wednesday, July 6. “It looks great,” chamber Executive Director Jeremy Gingras said. “We've got eight weeks' of bands lined up and other activities.” Each Wednesday n...