Buried in Chatham Town Manager Jill Goldsmith's budget summary delivered to selectmen Monday was this nugget: the average value of a home in Chatham, as calculated by the town's assessing department, is now $938,145. In 2000, that figure stood at $249,975; that's a 275 percent increase in less than two decades, a rate of appreciation that would make any investor envious; during that same period, the S&P 500 h...

Positive Progress On Senior Center Editor: The Jan. 4 special town meeting brought us one step closer to creating a viable new senior center. With the creative problem-solving skills of expert planners, a facility that meets the needs of seniors and fits the landscape can be designed. We cannot continue to criticize every site, thus never improving the situation for the intended population. Imagine the lone...

“You can’t always get what you want You can’t always get what you want But if you try sometime you find You get what you need.”   Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones wrote the song in 1969 and recorded it as part of the album “Let it Bleed.” The song was originally released as the B-side of “Honky Tonk Woman.” “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” became the much more popular side a...

Last week, William Marsh, owner of Eastward Companies, generously offered to donate the two lots at 1610 Main St. in West Chatham that officials have identified as a possible location for a new senior center. In talks leading up to Saturday's special town meeting, selectmen reportedly appealed to the long-time developer's sense of legacy; in a statement issued the day before the meeting, Marsh said the donation, ...

Voice Concerns To Coast Guard Editor: Calling all mariners, residents, anyone concerned or affected by the Coast Guards intention to remove “C” buoy from Chatham waters: The Coast Guard is accepting comments at email D01-SMB-DPWPublicComments@uscg.mil. The presence of the Coast Guard is very important to the town of Chatham. Don’t let them continue to downgrade our status. Your voice matters! Janice O'Co...

Tribute To Dancers And Pets Editor: I wanted to express my deepest gratitude to my beloved town of Chatham. After a year in the making creating a fundraiser at the Orpheum to benefit Monomoy Community Services, A Chance To Dance, and the MSPCA, I was able to raise $40,000. This was a result of the generosity of Chatham businesses and many residents of Chatham. I am particularly grateful to Rockland Trust fo...

The road to Chatham's special town meeting this Saturday has been a particularly long and tortured one. The main item on the agenda—authorizing selectmen to purchase land in West Chatham for a new senior center—was the result of a process that goes back years and includes the rejection at last May's annual town meeting of $6.6 million to build a new senior center on town-owned land on Middle Road. The new site is...

If autumn is my favorite season on Cape Cod, winter is the least welcome. Fall offers much that makes summer special without the traffic and crowds. Some places close but their offerings are soon replaced by the holiday activities that culminate in First Night. Autumn transitions us from the busyness of summer to the celebrations that bring our year to an end. Before I moved to Harwich I knew little of life...

We've just passed the longest night of the year, and the days will soon begin to lengthen. It seems a natural time to remember those who will no longer be with us as the old year—and, indeed, the old decade—passes and new light comes into our lives. Benjamin Nickerson had an incredible knowledge of Chatham and its history, and was instrumental in creating the Nickerson Family Association compound which now ser...

Save Historic Home  Editor: I recently learned that the oldest surviving residence in Chatham has been slated for demolition. At first I thought it was a joke or a rumor but recently I learned that it is true. Chatham’s historical commission has done all it can within its power to save the structure by imposing an 18-month demolition delay on the structure. However over a year has past and unless somebody s...

Current Senior Center An Embarrassment Editor: I visited the Chatham Council on Aging yesterday for the first time ever. I’ve never been in the building but have read and listened to the discussions about building a new senior center. I am a full-time homeowner living year round in Chatham. I was appalled at the inadequate conditions the COA is operating under at their Stony Hill location. It’s totally a...

(Sung to the tune of “Winter Wonderland.”) Backup alarms ring, are you listening? In the lane, pavement's blistering. A frustrating sight, We'll be late tonight, Driving through a Cape Cod detour land. Flagmen freeze, just like stones. Halting traffic, on their iPhones. They're backing up cars, Gazing at stars, Driving through a Cape Cod detour land. On the detour we can see the back lanes. And pret...