ORLEANS — In the midst of a pandemic, Principal Elaine Pender told the elementary school committee last week that she has many reasons to give thanks. There’s the feeding program run by cafeteria and lunch program director Susan Murray and “our amazing” Lisa Chappel, the cafeteria manager, who are “behind the scenes producing massive amounts of food every day” for pick-up by families and handing it out in all ...

HARWICH — Wingate of Harwich has reported that 48 residents and nine staff members have tested positive for COVID-19. The numbers were released based on extensive testing conducted last week by the National Guard. Three residents of the Headwaters Drive facility have died of coronavirus-related causes. On Monday, Michele Clark, administrator at the 135-bed facility, confirmed in an email that the mobile tes...

Jeffrey S. Driscoll, 63, passed away peacefully at home in East Harwich in the company of his loving wife Kathryn (Ronski) Driscoll and daughter Stacey Driscoll, after a long battle with ALS.                 Jeffrey was born in New London, Conn., on March 2, 1957, to the late Marie (Burvett) and Ronald Driscoll. He was a graduate of East Lyme High School in East Lyme, Conn.                 In 1994 he moved ...

Carol Anne McNeil   WEST HARWICH - Carol Anne (Paine) McNeil passed away peacefully on April 22nd at the Pleasant Bay Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Brewster from complications of MS and Alzheimer’s disease. Carol was born in Boston on July 16th, 1940. She is survived by her beloved husband of 35 years, Joe, as well as her two daughters, Debra (Debbie) Powers & fiancé James Akers, Elizabeth, Colo., Lisa...

Norman Leslie Jenkins Norman Leslie Jenkins, 91, of Hingham, passed away much too soon on April 22, 2020 after a short battle with COVID-19. Born in Taunton on March 13, 1929, he was preceded in death by his parents, Eleanor Hall and Russell Eustis Jenkins, and by elder brothers Russell, Edward, and Howard. He is survived by his loving wife of 65 years, Drusilla Fox, as well as daughters Kimberly Sterling (Dav...

Gertrude Elizabeth Howard Cronin (July 29, 1945 – April 2, 2020) Richard Terrence Cronin (August 30, 1941 – April 18, 2020) West Harwich - Trudi Cronin, 74, of West Harwich, born Gertrude Elizabeth Howard on July 29, 1945, died after a courageous fight from lymphoma on April 2, 2020. She was at home and surrounded by her adoring family, including husband Terry Cronin. Terry, 78, died two weeks later on Ap...

COVID-19 Prompts Deep Spending Cuts CHATHAM — Thanks to the pandemic, voters at the annual town meeting scheduled for June 22 will likely see some extreme social distancing, along with a warrant stripped down of big-ticket spending articles and a sobering town budget. Selectmen chose the new date for town meeting on Monday, but a provision is in place that allows the town moderator to postpone the session f...

CHATHAM — For Don St. Pierre, who turns 80 in August, digging ditches, climbing hills and bushwhacking through the puckerbrush isn't as easy as it used to be. He's stepping down as the town's herring warden after more than half a century of watching over the fish runs and their seasonal visitors. A Harwich native, St. Pierre started working on herring runs when he was a member of the sportfishing club Cape Cod...

CHATHAM – The COVID-19 pandemic is even impacting nesting shorebirds. Not the birds themselves, but the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge's annual shorebird monitoring program. Usually by this time of year, at least two staff members have arrived to begin preparing for a summer of watching over the tern nesting colony on South Monomoy as well as the piping plovers and other species that spend the spring and sum...

CHATHAM – Life has been “a battle” for Jennie Porter ever since being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis when she was in her 20s, according to her partner Andrew Davol. Earlier this year, however, complications from a particularly bad flare up of the gastrointestinal condition led to a blood clot in her brain and a massive stroke. “It was a one-in-million chance that a clot formed in her brain,” said Davol. ...

CHATHAM – Since it launched two weeks ago, the Chatham Coronavirus Impact Fund has received 16 applications for assistance, and all have been approved, according to founder Stephen Daniel. The applications represent 29 adults, 18 children and 15 seniors who received a total of $11,784 in assistance, with the average award $737. The money has helped residents pay electric and gas bills, rent, vehicle payments a...

Joseph Galatie texted his mom and said she had to get down to the dock quick. Galatie, 21, is a fisherman and worked at the Chatham Fish Pier for Red’s Best over the summer. He knows how irresistible fresh-caught fish can be, and when he heard a local captain was bringing in scallops, it was an opportunity not to be missed. When his mom, Sarah, grabbed her youngest son, Nicholas, 11, and got to Saquatucket ...

Stay-at-home Advisory, Business Closure Extended To May 18 The human toll of COVID-19 continues to grow, but key public health indicators hint that the virus emergency could be starting to level off on Cape Cod. “We’re starting to see that plateau start to happen,” Barnstable County Health and Environment Director Sean O’Brien said Tuesday. But at the town, county, state and federal level, public health off...

HARWICH – As the seniors of Monomoy Regional High School count down to their last days, so, too, is Principal William “Bill” Burkhead, who has been named the new superintendent of Scituate Public Schools, effective July 1. Burkhead shared the news with district families in a letter sent by email Tuesday. “In early January, 2014, I received a phone call from Superintendent Carpenter offering me the position ...

HARWICH — The former Handler's Auto Parts property along Route 28 in Harwich Port has been sold, but it will remain in the family. Jeffrey Handler announced on social media this past last weekend that the property was sold to himself and other members of the Handler family. What the future plans are for the property are not clear. “Not sure at this point,” Handler wrote on social media. “We need to do a lot...

HARWICH — Health Director Meggan Eldredge has received many calls from people urging the health board to put in place a regulation requiring the wearing of masks in public places. But while the board of made it clear last week that people should be wearing masks in public, it stopped short of issuing a mandate. Enforcement would be just too difficult, board members said. Board of Health Chair Pamela Howell ...