HARWICH — Driving across the Great Plains, 18-year-old Alexis Comeau of Harwich can look all around her and see wheat fields all the way to the horizon. On Sept. 9, she loaded up a customized van and embarked on a cross-country odyssey that's already broadened her perspective in other ways, too. Comeau has been planning the trip since she was 14 and dreaming of this kind of travel adventure for much longer. Ha...

Last year, Harwich residents Sarah and Steve Swain considered climbing aboard the 47-foot ketch Steve had restored and, along with their three children, accompanying friends on a months-long cruise along the Atlantic coast. They didn't end up going. “We just weren't ready,” recalled Sarah, a musician and founder and CEO of the Cape Wellness Collaborative. That turned out to be the right decision. Over the w...

HARWICH — The success of the Harwich Cultural Center in the former Harwich Middle School was evident Monday night when selectmen discussed some potential adjustments there. Community Center Director Carolyn Carey told selectmen there is a 21-person waiting list to access space in the facility. Carey said she is working with Facilities Maintenance Director Sean Libby to upgrade the three portable classrooms to ...

HARWICH — Voters will face two separate election ballots when they go to the polls on Tuesday, Oct. 24 for a special election that will determine whether a new school will be built to replace the aging Cape Cod Regional Technical High School. Selectmen voted Monday night to allow a separate, second election. Voters will first act on the Cape Tech school building question on one ballot. Then they will have to r...

HARWICH — The Harwich Cranberry Arts and Music Festival will be in full swing this weekend, with a crafts fair, the CranJam concert, business expo and fireworks all centered around the community center on Oak Street. The move from Brooks Park to the community center, across Oak Street from Monomoy Regional High School, will provide additional space for festival activities and more parking in the vicinity of th...

HARWICH — The was no smoke clouding the message from public safety officials here Monday night during a discussion with selectmen on whether to prohibit or allow the sale of recreational marijuana. “If we bring retail marijuana sales into this community it's going to get worse. It will have a negative impact on the youth of this community, the community itself and pubic safety,” Police Chief David Guillimette ...

 HARWICH — The Harwich Conservation Trust has named Neil and Anna Rasmussen as their 2017 Conservationists of the Year in recognition of their leadership and land-saving philanthropy. The Rasmussens are Concord residents with a home in East Harwich who over the past 13-years have provided inspiration, leadership and financial support for the efforts to protect multiple tracts totaling more than 108 acres of na...

HARWICH — The Harwich Hometown Parade will roll through Harwich Port on Sunday, filling Route 28 with floats, bands and performers to celebrate community spirit. This year's parade will begin at 11:30 a.m. at Freeman Street and run through the village, ending at Doane Road. Over the past couple of years the parade route was longer, running all the way to Harwich Center. It was shortened this year to keep peopl...

HARWICH — The state Department of Environmental Protection has issued a notice of noncompliance under the existing Chapter 91 license issued for the fish house on the Herring River. The notification cites excessive work conducted under the Wetland Protection Act Emergency Certification to shore up the building. After receiving a complaint of potential violations to the emergency certification issued by the con...

HARWICH — There has been a lot of discussion about farms in residential areas and their impacts on neighborhoods over the past year. The operation of a piggery in such a location now has the board of health weighing if such an facility is a “noisome trade” and whether there should be restrictions or even prohibitions on piggeries in town. The board has scheduled a public hearing Tuesday evening to solicit comm...

HARWICH PORT – By many accounts it was a great summer in the village. With several investment interests focusing on real estate, there's optimism about the future of the business community. The owner of eight key commercial properties between Bank and Sea streets said he sees a bright future for Harwich Port, one he'll continue to invest in. “I’m just trying to improve those couple of blocks and do what’s r...

HARWICH — The state Land Court has ruled that the First Congregational Church of Harwich is the owner of the historic Harwich Center Cemetery, holding title dating back to 1743. The decision means the church also owns the memorial garden, a subject of controversy with the town's cemetery commission. The ruling makes clear that the cemetery commission has no authority to order the church to disinter cremains in...