CHATHAM – A former finance committee member is urging the board of selectmen to “think outside the box” and impose a moratorium on tear downs to prevent developers from converting more affordable year-round housing to expensive summer homes. Doing so could provide more opportunities for families to remain in town and stem declining school enrollment, which is playing havoc with the budget process. Roslyn Colem...

CHATHAM – Is it time, once again, to look into building a municipal swimming pool? The parks and recreation commission thinks so. The last proposal for a town swimming pool was 15 years ago, when two pools were part of the first plan to renovate the Main Street School into a community center. The plan was voted down at the 2004 annual town meeting, with opposition to the pools, especially the cost, a major fac...

Theater Supporters 'Remain Hopeful CHATHAM – They're not giving up, but supporters of the Monomoy Theatre are wondering what their next move will be now that the Main Street property is under agreement to be sold to another buyer. Exactly who that buyer is was still a mystery early this week. The buyer is not affiliated with the theater. Mary Ann Harwood, chairwoman of Monomoy Theatre, Inc., said that wh...

CHATHAM — A contractor has been hired, some of the preliminary utility work has been done, and the West Chatham roadway redesign project is expected to get underway in earnest this spring, officials say. The $4.2 million project includes the installation of roundabouts on Route 28 at Barn Hill Road and George Ryder Road, along with new sidewalks, crosswalks and a multi-use bike lane. A more controversial por...

CHATHAM – A short “listening session” last week kicked off the town's effort to square its waterways bylaws and regulations with state and federal rules. In a meeting that lasted less than half an hour, a handful of speakers raised several questions and made comments about the town's regulations, mostly focused on the contentious issue of moorings. Waterways officials and the town's waterways advisory commi...

CHATHAM – For the past 18 years, Eldredge Public Library Youth Services Director Tammy DePasquale has reached out to embrace children, from infants to teens, with a goal of fostering in them a love of reading and a passion for libraries. In December the Chatham Rotary Club reached out to her, awarding DePasquale their Person of the Year award for 2018. "It's our way of recognizing a member of the community who...

WELLFLEET — Surfers, swimmers and other beach users are demanding better safeguards against shark attacks. And they’re acknowledging that it might require some innovative technology, some taxpayer dollars, and a dose of grassroots political activism to get there. In an event organized by a loose coalition of surfers and other “watermen” who came together after last year’s fatal shark attack, more than 100 pe...

CHATHAM – Elementary school students received a lesson in kindness, patriotism, sacrifice and what it means to be a hero last Wednesday afternoon when a Yarmouth police deputy chief and officer, a Chatham author and a drug-sniffing police dog addressed an all-school assembly. “Do you know what a hero is?” author and photographer Kim Roderiques of Chatham asked the Chatham Elementary School students. “When ever...

CHATHAM – The theme for this year's Independence Day parade will be “Chatham Honors You! Service Members Past, Present, Future.” Independence Day Parade committee chairman Justin Bohannon announced the theme at Monday’s selectmen meeting. The theme was submitted by Sam Foley, 9, in honor of his grandfathers who both live in Chatham and served in Korea and Vietnam. (Sam lives in England but spends his summ...

CHATHAM — Speaking to selectmen and the town manager Monday, finance committee Chairman Stephen Daniel praised town staff for producing a “good budget” for fiscal 2020. But he said his group has cautionary words on the proposed new council on aging and on school spending. Daniel observed that the operating budget, as first proposed, grew only 1.77 percent, a laudable proposal at a time when many costs are in...

CHATHAM – With the exception of hikes in New Hampshire's White Mountains, Curtis Collias has spent most of his life at sea level. But when the piney peaks of New England's north country weren't quite enough of a challenge, Collias set his sights eastward. Far east, all the way to Africa and the stunning Mount Kilimanjaro for a journey he won't soon forget. The idea to climb Africa's highest point and the world...

CHATHAM – The Monomoy Theatre is under agreement to be sold, the firm listing the Main Street property confirmed Wednesday. The identity of the buyer remains a mystery, however. Slater Anderson of LandVest, a Boston real estate firm, said in an email that he could not disclose confidential terms of the agreement. The buyer is apparently not affiliated with the theater. Mary Ann Harwood, chairwoman of Monomo...