There was a sense this week that the Barnstable County Commissioners and the Assembly of Delegates would like to resolve their budget differences before the start of the new fiscal year on July 1, when contracts for information technology services with Harwich and Bourne are slated to begin. Despite pleas from assembly representatives from the two towns, as of early this week the situation has yet to be resolv...

HARWICH – The Barnstable County Commissioners voted unanimously on June 1 to approve an ordinance seeking a supplemental information technology appropriation of $120,437 to hire additional staff. Later that day Harwich representative Elizabeth Harder presented a similar ordinance before the county Assembly of Delegates. While the assembly didn't vote on Harder's ordinance, it's clear that the county executive bra...

The halls of local schools are largely empty this week after concerns about COVID-19, the virus that causes coronavirus, continue to impact communities at the local, state and national level. In an email to parents from Superintendent Dr. Scott Carpenter, the Monomoy Regional School District announced Saturday that schools would close as of March 16, likely through the end of the district’s April vacation, wit...

HARWICH — The effort to establish a Cape Cod Toy Library, a facility that fosters healthy child development through free play, remains alive, but in West Barnstable, not Harwich. It’s been a couple of years since Chatham resident Deb Willsea floated the idea of the Cape Cod Toy Library, based on a similar project she founded and which has been successful in Rochester, N.Y. Willsea sought to purchase the former...

CHATHAM – Alana Lojko wasn't sure about the snacks on the plate in front of her, an assortment that seemed to be something out of a horror film: Mexican-spiced mealworms, taco seasoned crickets, and sour cream and onion crickets. But rather than a freaky moment in a B-movie, the bugs were actual edibles, and could soon become a food staple, one with myriad benefits, according to scientists. Bringing the edible...

BARNSTABLE — In one of the final races to be decided on election night last Tuesday, Ronald Bergstrom of Chatham narrowly unseated County Commissioner Leo Cakounes of Harwich, shifting the balance of power in the county’s executive branch. “I went to bed at 11:30 and I turned off all our phones,” Bergstrom said. With one media outlet having declared the race for his opponent, Bergstrom resigned himself to a ...

HARWICH — There is one local election on the Nov. 6 state election ballot. Voters will be asked to chose Elizabeth Harder or Peter Hughes to serve as the town's representative to the Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates. Hughes presently holds the seat, having been appointed by the board of selectmen last June to fill the unexpired term created when Selectman Ed McManus decided to give up the post to run fo...

They're both held town elective office, they've both served on the county assembly, and they both want the available seat on the board of county commissioners. But that's where the similarities end between incumbent commissioner Leo Cakounes of Harwich and challenger Ron Bergstrom of Chatham. “I believe there's a huge separation on how we conduct ourselves as elected officials,” Cakounes said. “It's a clash...

HARWICH — Former selectman Peter Hughes will serve as the town's next representative to the Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates, filling the unexpired term of Selectman Ed McManus, who stepped down when he was elected selectman in May. The town had 30 days from the time it was notified of the vacancy by the clerk of the assembly to make an appointment or the decision would rest with the assembly. Selectmen...

HARWICH — Neither snow nor cold weather could keep AmeriCorps of Cape Cod staff members away from the heathlands of Thompson's Field Monday, where they worked with the town on a management program for the conservation area. Conservation Administrator Amy Usowski said AmeriCorps' fire corps was on loan from the Cape Cod National Seashore for four days this week to continue the Thompson's Field conservation mana...

Ninety years ago, Cape Cod became the first region in New England to establish a county health department. It had a variety of goals, including the installation of proper landfills for trash and the testing of all cows for tuberculosis. Ninety years later, the Barnstable County Department of Health and the Environment has new goals, but its public health mission is alive and well. The department began operatio...