CHATHAM – Stickers promoting a right-wing hate group found affixed to downtown signs are being investigated by police as both vandalism and possible hate speech. On Monday, stickers for the group Patriot Front could be seen on the back of parking signs and on telephone poles. There were several versions of the sticker; one read “One Nation Against Invasion,” another “Revolution Is Tradition.” All contained ico...

WEST HARWICH — The historic Chase Library has undergone some improvements thanks to a $10,000 matching grant provided by Foundation 1772 and Preservation Massachusetts. The grant assisted in funding repair, restoration and painting of the exterior of the 1911 library building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The non-profit, trustee-run public library is also seeking $15,000 in Comm...

While masks have become an important piece of equipment in the fight against COVID-19, Rick White knows one thing is still certain. “You don’t have to see the smile to know it’s there,” he said. White is a member of the Dennis-Harwich Lions Club, which recently embarked on a mission to make and supply masks, free of charge, to Cape Cod residents that need them. Through the Make-A-Mask Challenge, the Dennis-...

HARWICH — Selectmen put in place a hiring freeze early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Several town departments are now pushing to fill what they say are essential positions for the operation of the town. Interim Town Administrator Joseph Powers last week identified six positions department heads say are “critical hiring needs.” They included the social services coordinator at the council on aging; a part-time healt...

HARWICH — There will be a change in command at the fire department Saturday, with longtime firefighter and Fire Chief Norman Clarke, Jr. retiring after 43 years of service. “From a very young age it was my dream to be a firefighter,” Clarke wrote in a letter to selectmen when announcing his retirement several months ago. “That dream was realized on July 17, 1977 when Chief Charles Hall appointed me to the Harw...

HARWICH — The town administrator search committee submitted four names to selectmen Monday night as finalists for the town administrator position. Among those candidates is acting town administrator Joseph Powers, who has served as the interim town administrator since November. The other candidates are Kenneth Gray, who served as mayor of Amesbury for six years and has 20 years of experience in the private sec...

CHATHAM – David Alexander signed his first contract to teach in what was then the Chatham School District 20 years. Last week, he signed his latest contract, as the new assistant principal of Monomoy Regional High School. “In the same room, too,” he said. “I took that as a good omen.” Currently head of the school's history/social studies department, Alexander this week stepped into the position left open wh...

CHATHAM – There was frustration in the dugout of the Lower Cape Senior Babe Ruth team on Monday night. Given their 10-4 loss to D-Y, that frustration was understandable. But there was also a prevailing sense of something else: gratitude at getting back on the ball field. The July 13 game at Veterans Field didn’t go as Lower Cape hoped, getting started with a tough opening inning in which enough damage was done...

For many, the open-air farmers markets of Chatham, Harwich, and Orleans are synonymous with the bounty and vibrancy of summer days. The hum of greetings and conversations floats above crates of fresh eggs, buckets of lavender and garden flowers, and rows of bright carrots, lettuce, and tomatoes.  This summer, local farmers markets look a little different, with spaces reconfigured to align with COVID-19 rules a...

Despite Late Pandemic Opening, It's A Busy Summer At The Atwood Museum CHATHAM — At long last, the Atwood Museum, Home of the Chatham Historical Society (CHS), has opened its doors to visitors on a reservation basis with exhibitions on topics as varied as the Pilgrims and the Wampanoags, women’s suffrage and the end of World War II. “We’ve got quite a lot of new stuff coming out this year,” says CHS Executi...

My daily walks have taken me to places that are full of blooms this week. There are multitudes of tame and lovely roses and hydrangeas, lilies and geraniums alongside homes and businesses. Some gardens are so full and lush I have to stop and see how many flowers I can name, just to have an excuse to linger a bit longer. My own gardens are full of blossoms and my vegetable garden is bursting with things getting re...

“Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!” Like the Wizard of Oz, the Trump administration is blustering, threatening and bullying states to fully open schools in the fall. Like the small, frightened man behind the curtain, they're trying to further their own interests through the art of distraction, threatening to take away federal funding if schools don't reopen. It's certainly true that until scho...

Honoring The Right Heroine Editor: I was pleased to learn that Ginny Locke is being honored as a 2020 Commonwealth Heroine by the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women. About 20 years ago, I attended a Crosby Mansion open house and subsequently signed on as a volunteer with The Friends of Crosby Mansion.  What a great group of people they are and I attribute their successful accomplishments in res...

HARWICH — Does a dairy intolerance stop you when you have a craving for ice cream? Well, Sweet Izzy has a vegan alternative that will soothe that weighty dilemma. The new business that began scooping homemade ice cream last weekend is dairy-free. “What we offer is gluten-conscious, soy-free and dairy-free,” owner Michael Doucette said of the new business located along Route 28 at the Trampoline Center, whic...

ORLEANS – As Maria DeOliveira stared into the hold behind the bow of the US Coast Guard vessel 36500 from its berth at Rock Harbor, she couldn’t hold back her quiet tears. It was aboard this very boat that her father, Aguinol B. DeOliveira, was rescued along with 31 fellow survivors of the famous Pendleton wreck in 1952. Until 2016, DeOliveira, who lives in Dorchester, had no idea the boat was still in existen...

ORLEANS — The Nauset school system has talked the talk, and many members even walked the walk at the well-attended June 5 march in support of Black Lives Matter. Last week, the regional school committee took another step by endorsing an anti-racism resolution being circulated by the Massachusetts Association of School Committees that seeks to ensure “that racist practices are eradicated, and diversity, equity a...