When approximately 1,000 demonstrators marched through Harwich Center June 6 to protest the death of George Floyd, standing behind the banner leading the crowd, which was held by the two high school students who initiated the event, was Harwich Police Chief David Guillemette. “I think it's important for police departments to send the message to the community that what occurred was unacceptable,” Guillemette sa...

CHATHAM – Carolyn Wass has wanted to vote in a political election for some time, and now, after becoming an American citizen, she can and couldn’t be more excited, even if the ceremony was far more understated than is typical due to the ongoing pandemic. Wass’s son was the first in the family to obtain US citizenship some time ago. His ceremony was held at Mechanics Hall in Worcester where he was one of at lea...

CHATHAM – The two incumbent Monomoy Regional School Committee members beat back two challengers to win new terms in Thursday's annual town election. Nancy Scott and Jacqueline Zibrat-Long were re-elected to new three-year terms, outdistancing Robert Hessler and Elizabeth Taylor. Scott received the most votes, 366, one vote more than Zibrat-Long. Hessler received 201 votes and Taylor 174. Scott said she was ...

CHATHAM – A woman wearing a face mask walked into a downtown restaurant and heard a quack. No, that's not the setup for a joke. It's what one local resident related happened to her last week, saying she felt ridiculed for wearing a mask, even though a board of health order makes face coverings mandatory downtown. Heading into the July 4 holiday weekend, the number of visitors to town is rising and officials...

HARWICH — The board of appeals has unanimously approved a variance for a trimmed-down proposal for a miniature golf course on the Emulous Hall Realty Trust property at the corner of Route 28 and Sisson Road. This is the second time proponents have sought to develop a miniature golf course on the property, which includes Bud’s Go Karts and an antiques store. In April, a previous proposal seeking a 36-hole cours...

Pandemic Means Huge Demand On Family Pantry The pandemic, and the economic uncertainty it brings, has forced more and more people to turn to the Family Pantry of Cape Cod for help putting food on the table. And thanks to the community’s incredible generosity in the last three months, the Pantry has been able to meet that demand, adapting to a drive-through pantry model for COVID-19 safety and expanding its mob...

HARWICH – It is a project more than 10 years and considerable effort in the making, and on June 25 the excitement among the small gathering of supporters and nature enthusiasts was palpable as the Harwich Conservation Trust’s Muddy Creek Headwaters Preserve was officially opened as a new and evolving trail. Located at 33 Church St., the property originally belonged to the Marini family, as Don Marini explained...

Responding to the alarming resurgence of COVID-19 in other parts of the country, Gov. Charlie Baker Tuesday let stand a requirement that out-of-state visitors must self-quarantine for 14 days. But he lifted that requirement for people visiting from elsewhere in New England, from New York or New Jersey. Local tourism officials say the change is not likely to have a great impact, since most of the visitors curre...

HARWICH — The council on aging, working with the Academic Public Health Volunteer Corps, will be reaching out to senior citizens to better understand their unmet needs. The COA has been functioning without a social services coordinator since April 24 when Susanna Keith resigned to take a new job closer to family in Maine. Because the town has a hiring freeze in place due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic...

HARWICH – After spending much of the spring isolated and indoors, folks are itching to get outside. Ted Baylis, president of Pleasant Bay Community Boating, suggests giving sailing a try, especially now that PBCB is officially open for the summer. “It’s been an ongoing process all spring,” Baylis said of plans for reopening. “Ever since the pandemic hit in March, we’ve been back and forth. Our board usually me...

Like many others I’ve been doing a lot of planting this spring. I’ve always had gardens but to be honest, they’ve been as full of weeds as anything else because I just haven’t had the time or energy to maintain them. That and the fact that I not so secretly love the butter ‘n eggs, chicory and Queen Anne’s lace that all think they own the place. Throw in some red clover, thistle, evening primrose, dock and pokebe...

The show must go on at The Academy Playhouse in Orleans, where social distancing can’t stop the power of performance. Starting Friday, July 3 at 3 p.m. The Playhouse will present its first ever free virtual musical via Zoom, “The Big One-Oh!” directed by Kevin Quill and J Williams. Six performances will take place: on Friday, July 3 at 3 p.m.; Saturday, July 4 at 10 a.m.; Sunday, July 5 at 5 p.m.; Friday, J...

Women Now Make Up Half Of The Town's Famous Musical Group Women were given the right to vote in the United States in August 1920 with the passage of the 19 th Amendment, but they weren’t given the right to join the Chatham Band until January 1982. Today, over a full generation later, women playing in the beloved band don’t raise an eyebrow, and in fact half of the Chatham Band’s 40 full-time members are no...

One needn’t look far beyond the daily headlines for reminders that the United States of America remains an imperfect union, a grand experiment in self-governance that has seen both triumphs and failures. But there are still plenty of reasons to fly the American flag with pride. We strongly object to the notion that those who fly Old Glory automatically subscribe to a set of beliefs or ideals, support a particu...

One-third. That's the approximate number of mail-in ballots received in last week's annual town election in Chatham. Orleans also received a hefty number of mail-in ballots in its election last week, so many that it briefly delayed the determination of the outcome. These were local elections, where the turn-out is minuscule compared to what is likely to be a heavy show by voters in the November presidential co...

U.S. History Good But Imperfect Story Editor: The original protests over George Floyd’s death have been appropriated and co-opted by various political groups. The tie that binds is a commitment to mob chaos and violence as either a paid or recreational enterprise. Their common goal seems to be to tear down every symbol of our American history, including statues, public buildings, and businesses, on the prem...