HARWICH - Maribel T. Johnson died December 27, 2021.  She was the daughter of Doris Dutcher Tucker and William Merrill Tucker of Belmont and Winchester respectively, and was born on January 17, 1933 in Arlington.  Maribel was raised in Westfield, N.J. and was happily a part of the continuously active graduate class of 1951.  She went on to attend and pursue an associate degree in Secretarial Science at Stetson Un...

Edith F. (Levenson) Rugg, 91, of Harwich Port and Bedminster, N.J. passed away on Dec. 30, 2021.  She was born in Providence, R.I.  The beloved daughter of Abraham and Florence (Warshaw) Levenson.  She is survived by her husband, Stuart, of 59 years.  Proud mother of Lisa (and Alan) Weinstock and Carol Rugg.  Grandmother of Ethan Weinstock.  Aunt to many nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, please make donatio...

John P. Keefe, MD, of Harwich, formerly of Lynnfield and Boston. Son of the late Patrick and Mary Keefe of Somerville. Father of John P. Keefe, Jr , Michael E. Keefe, MD, and the late Timothy F. Keefe. He was married for 58 years to his high school sweetheart, Barbara (Wilcox) Keefe.He was a graduate of Boston College and Georgetown University School of Medicine. He practiced radiology in Lawrence, Melrose, and P...

CHATHAM — In a move designed to support the select board’s priorities of human services and community sustainability, Town Manager Jill Goldsmith wants to reorganize certain departments and create an assistant town manager position. In a presentation to the select board Tuesday, Goldsmith showed a new organizational chart that features the position of assistant town manager – community services/development dep...

CHATHAM — Known for his quick wit, easy charm and willingness to go the extra mile for kids in need, Otis Russell died Friday at the age of 73 after a brief bout with cancer. Mr. Russell is remembered by many as the longtime night manager of the Chatham Squire and as half of the duo that hosted the annual Art of Charity art auction for more than a decade, raising more than a quarter million dollars for local...

Use Of Undersized Lots For Affordable Units Also Suggested CHATHAM – Keeping the focus on the critical need for affordable housing, town officials are continuing to pursue a number of strategies initiated last year as well as adopting several new approaches. The town's affordable housing trust committee has agreed to tap funds to analyze options for affordable housing at 127 Old Harbor Rd. The committee als...

CHATHAM – A conflict is brewing over the future use of town-owned property off Middle Road pitting the critical need for affordable housing against retaining limited open space and forest land. In June, town meeting voters declined to declare 19 acres on Middle Road surplus so that it a portion of it could be used for affordable or attainable housing. The select board had included the land in a multi-pronged s...

CHATHAM – After last October's nor'easter, resident Elaine Gibbs requested that the town keep the community center open overnight for residents who lost power, some for as long as four days. However, the building could only stay open until 9:30 p.m., when the last staff shift ended. Officials should make plans to keep the community center – which is fully accessible and has an emergency generator – open overni...

HARWICH – Back in November when the Family Pantry of Cape Cod and The Cape Cod Chronicle learned there was an anonymous donor willing to match up to $50,000 worth of donations, the two organizations set a lofty $100,000 goal for this holiday season’s Helping Neighbors campaign. The Cape Cod community rallied around that goal and came through in a big way. Helping Neighbors surpassed its $100,000 fundraising...

HARWICH – After serving the community for 30 years, Town Clerk Anita Doucette will retire at the end of her term in May. “It’s happening. I am not taking out my nomination papers,” Doucette said. “I love my town, my job, but I need to spend more of my time with my family. I have beautiful grandchildren and want to spend more time with them all.” Her tenure as keeper of the records for the municipality is th...

HARWICH — The Brooks Free Library’s collection of Rogers Group statues, which remain the source of one of the town’s great unsolved crimes, are back in the limelight. And this time it’s for a happy reason. At one time, the library had a collection of 69 of the valuable clay-and-plaster statuettes, which were created by artist John Rogers and mass produced by skilled craftsmen. They were found in the best parlo...

HARWICH – The board of health has implemented an emergency order mandating that masks to be worn in all town buildings. The board also issued a public advisory recommending masks be worn in all indoor public spaces. The board met on Dec. 28 and approved the emergency mask order for town buildings effective Thursday, Dec. 30. The advisory recommending masks in indoor public spaces was effective Dec. 29. The ...

HARWICH – The Harwich Fund has awarded a $1,000 grant to the Friends of Harwich Early Childhood Advisory Council for a virtual “science arts” discovery-based learning program for preschoolers. The council, in partnership with Cape Cod Children’s Place, will administer the grant. The grant was funded in part by a donation from the Guild of Harwich Arts to encourage arts in any form in the community. ...

NORTH EASTHAM – It doesn’t matter whether the team is loaded with upperclassmen or comprised of inexperienced youngsters, there are certain responsibilities that come with playing for the Nauset girls basketball program. One of those responsibilities is being a good teammate and a good opponent, even after losses or during other moments of adversity. “This is really going to sound corny, but if you’re going...

Monomoy Regional Middle and High School students won’t be bouncing basketballs, shooting hockey pucks or participating in cheerleading — at least not this week — MRHS athletic director Karen Guillemette confirmed Monday morning. Guillemette said the pause will include every athletic program regardless of level, sport or gender, in addition to the schools’ other extracurricular activities. She noted the decisio...

January seems to be a time of reflection and realigning our goals and aspirations. The older I get the more I realize less really is more. When you’re young that sounds counter intuitive, but as we age, we get it. So many things drop by the wayside over the years as we hone in and focus on the things that are really important, almost none of which are material. These last few COVID drenched years have been a c...