Local children from Chatham, Harwich and Orleans will be able to experience somewhat-normal activities this summer when all three towns resume their summer recreation programs after canceling the 2020 lineups due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “We’re so excited to move forward and give the kids some semblance of normalcy,” said Chatham Youth Service Coordinator Sharon Stark. Although COVID-19 remains a very real...

ORLEANS — Once you step onto the sand at the town’s Tonset Landing, it’s less than a stone’s throw to your left to two small signs reading “End of Town Property.” It’s a gentle reminder that the right to walk the tempting shoreline trail ahead derives from the kindness of the owners of the homes with the million-dollar views. The path passes the end of the Orleans Conservation Trust’s Woods Cove Conservation...

ORLEANS — “Pick up after yourself” is the command many of us heard in childhood. Some took it so seriously that they pick up after everyone else. The most many of us do when we see a can by the side of the road, if we even notice it, is to curse the miscreant who tossed it there. Others assume responsibility for fixing the problem. April and Earth Day bring a lot of the latter together for targeted clean-...

ORLEANS — The profiles of the five contenders for two retail marijuana licenses will become clearer next week as each conducts a virtual community outreach meeting. For dates and times, and the text of their responses to the town’s request for information, go to www.town.orleans.ma.us/home/news/schedule-and-requirements-for-community-outreach-meeting-for-retail-marijuana-dispensaries/. Since Sept. 4, b\well...

After a fulfilling career that included teaching, TV repair, service in the US Coast Guard, and 30 years as an emergency room physician, and after visiting all seven continents, all 50 states, and every MLB stadium, Ged Deering passed away peacefully at his Cape Cod home surrounded by family and his wife of 45 years.             Ged, who never missed a chance for an adventure – or a pun – died at sunrise on Ap...

CHATHAM – A proposal to ban the commercial sale of single-use plastic bottles will go before voters at the June 12 annual town meeting with the support of the select board. Last Tuesday, the board voted 3-1 to support the petition article, which was postponed from last year's annual session. The board also took positions on five other petition articles, all held over from last year, as well as two dozen reques...

CHATHAM – A significant amount of the cost of the town's sewer construction costs will be reimbursed through the Cape Cod and Islands Water Protect Fund. The first round of subsidies and grants awarded by the fund, established in 2018 as part of the expansion of the lodging and short-term rental tax, were announced last week. Twenty-five percent of the nearly $35 million Chatham has borrowed over the past deca...

CHATHAM – Is it worth an additional $60 a year in property taxes to retain the town's elementary school? The majority of the more than 50 people attending a virtual forum on the future of Chatham Elementary School last Thursday said they'd be willing to pay a bit more in property taxes to ensure the existence of a local elementary school. “Good education is expensive,” said resident Michael Westgate. “I thi...

CHATHAM – Two new initiatives in the ongoing effort to boost affordable and attainable housing may go before voters in June. The purchase of 2.44 acres in South Chatham is already included on the June 12 town meeting warrant, as is the designation of town-owned land on Middle Road for affordable and/or attainable housing. The select board has also endorsed an article for special legislation to allow the town t...

While all people over the age of 16 are now eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, and while case numbers are trending down again, officials are warning that even fully vaccinated people are still able to contract the disease. On Monday afternoon, Broad Reach Healthcare President and CEO Bill Bogdanovich notified residents and family members that a staff member at the Victorian assisted living center had test...

What will the world look like in 2033 when today’s kindergarten class graduates from high school? And what is the best way to prepare those students for the world of tomorrow? For the past two years or so, teachers and administrators at Chatham Elementary School (CES) have been studying and implementing a program called “deeper learning.” To further educate the community on deeper learning, on April 28 auth...

HARWICH – Tucked down a back hallway in the Harwich Cultural Center is a space where some of Cape Cod’s best and brightest congregate to share ideas. It’s a room where concepts become a reality, where likeminded individuals join forces to see their dreams take flight. The room, which was formerly used to teach home economics classes at the old Harwich Middle School before it was transformed into the cultural c...

HARWICH – The hybrid learning system in place at Monomoy Regional High School since school began in September will end on May 3. “We feel confident we can bring everybody back safely, as long as we maintain social distancing and masking,” said Principal Jennifer Police. The Monomoy Regional School District wants to be ahead of the ball when the state announces a return to full-time, in-person learning at hi...

EAST HARWICH — The complex, costly job of replacing the seasonal pier at Pleasant Bay Community Boating wasn’t just about getting rid of a narrow, rickety dock. It was about the organization’s core mission: making boating accessible to the public. By Memorial Day when it’s complete, the new pier will become the only wheelchair-accessible dock on the bay, and will open the world of sailing and paddling to peo...

HARWICH — The late Peggy Rose, who served the community for many years in many fashions, is being nominated for the 2021 Mercy Otis Warren Cape Cod Woman of the Year Award. The award is presented to a resident of Cape Cod who has demonstrated leadership in the community and made significant contributions while embracing the ideals of patriotism. The categories of contribution considered are the arts, education...