CHATHAM — If the town doesn’t carefully prioritize spending on big-ticket items, it will be stretched thin when it comes time to borrow for upcoming phases of the multi-year, multi-million dollar wastewater project. That was the message delivered to selectmen by the summer residents’ advisory committee. Advisory committee Chairman Jill MacDonald said the committee supports a plan to prioritize large capital ...

CHATHAM — One-hundred-and-one years ago, 130 men were lost when the Coast Guard Cutter Tampa was torpedoed by a World War I German U-boat. This week, the family of one of those men finally received his Purple Heart. Coast Guard personnel are joined by police, firefighters and other supporters before Monday’s ceremony at Station Chatham. ...

When natural disasters or other emergencies happen, town officials are always in need of trained workers to help with a variety of tasks, from answering phones and helping with paperwork to directing traffic and staffing shelters. To that end, the towns of Brewster, Orleans, Chatham and Harwich are creating a new regional Community Emergency Response Team and will be offering the first training session shortly. ...

During the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, 18 years ago now, nearly 3,000 people died; 2,606 of those were killed at the World Trade Center in Manhattan. Of the dead, 746 lived in New Jersey, and 18 were from the small suburban town of Basking Ridge. Just 36 miles from New York City, Basking Ridge is an easy commute into the city by train. At the end of that nightmarish day of Sept. 11, parked cars remain...

CHATHAM – Almost a year after it was established, the Chatham 365 task force is preparing to bring a series of recommendations to the board of selectmen to address the group's goal of encouraging a diverse, sustainable, year-round population. The task force's proposals range from taxation and zoning changes to economic incentives, sharing beach stickers with Harwich, building a community pool and moving the an...

CHATHAM – To say the least, Tony Guthrie was disappointed that food trucks were not allowed downtown during this summer's Mondays on Main music nights. He feels having them there would have attracted more people and injected some fun into the event; instead, a few people were able to block food trucks by claiming they'd take customers away from downtown restaurants. “Not everybody wants to sit in a restaurant,...

CHATHAM — When it comes to providing emergency medical services, firefighters do what they can to help their patients make a complete recovery. But Chatham Firefighter Paramedic Michael Lopriore is going the extra mile—with a dog leash in his hand. Lopriore and his colleagues were repeatedly called to help a resident suffering from a severe medical condition. “It was kind of an ongoing thing. It was getti...

CHATHAM – The Chatham Merchants Association's Art in the Park exhibit ended last Friday, and while the auction of the painted and decorated Cape Cod and mermaid silhouettes did not bring in as much as Sharks in the Park did in previous years, the organizer are pleased with the final tally. “I think we did great, we really did well,” commented Susan Dimm, president of the merchants group. Online bids for the...

CHATHAM – Working under a directive from the board of selectmen, the planning board has begun investigating ways to limit the size and mass of new homes. Last week the board met with two members of the planning board in Truro, which recently enacted a residential house size bylaw. Chatham has no similar bylaw, although controlling the mass and size of residential construction is called for in the town's compre...

CHATHAM – For most of the summer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife staff and volunteers monitoring nesting shorebirds on South Monomoy Island have been living in the historic Monomoy Light keeper's house, which underwent a top-to-bottom renovation over the past few years. But on Aug. 7, everyone left the island as poor weather approached. When they returned a week later, they discovered evidence of vandalism to the 1849...

CHATHAM — At low tide, the depth of the entrance channel to Outermost Harbor is measured in inches, not feet. That’s good news for beachgoers who like to wade across without getting their knees wet, but it spells big trouble for Outermost Harbor Marine, whose customers can find their boats stuck at the dock until high tide. The owners of the marina have started an online petition seeking the town’s support...

CHATHAM — With most conflicts with commercial fishermen now resolved, the fish pier observation deck project is edging toward completion. The town is working with general contractor Sciaba Construction Corp. to finalize a change order that establishes a project completion date of Sept. 2. Health and Natural Resources Director Robert Duncanson showed selectmen photos Monday showing the progress of deck con...