HARWICH – Major personnel changes have been made in the town clerk’s office in the past couple of weeks. Executive Assistant Phil Gaudet was laid off based on a union arbitration decision, shortly after which Town Clerk Anita Doucette moved up her retirement date and left the post she's occupied for the past 30 years. Gaudet had worked in the town clerk’s office for the past 16 months. He was terminated on Feb...

HARWICH – Selectmen on Monday night awarded the three-year food concession lease for the snack shack at Saquatucket Harbor to a New York City restaurant owner.  “We’re excited to be here and we’ll make it someplace you are proud and excited  about,” Becaf LLC, d/b/a Poco NYC owner Arthur Donowski told selectmen after the award was announced. Donowski and Sara Grizzle have operated restaurants in New York Ci...

HARWICH – The planning board is two members short, but tempers are flaring over efforts to fill one of the seats. Selectmen are being asked to consider a reduction in membership, foregoing the need for appointing additional members. At the selectmen’s Feb. 28 meeting, the board’s interview committee nominated Sandy McLardy for the planning board appointment. Selectmen Chairman Michael MacAskill took issue with...

HARWICH – A town meeting petitioned article seeking to ban hunting in the Bell’s Neck Conservation Area drew a lot of debate before the conservation commission last week. But the petition may face a setback in its goal, based on a legal opinion issued by Town Counsel John Giorgio. “To the extent that this article seeks to mandate that hunting not be allowed on the Bell’s Neck Conservation Area, it is not in pr...

HARWICH – The Toast of Harwich will return in April. The annual event that showcases local restaurants’ cuisine and sampling of wines and beverages was postponed for two years due to the pandemic. Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Cyndi Williams said the festive event will return to the Wequassett Resort and Golf Club on Friday, April 22, and there will be plenty of local restaurant participants and wine ...

EAST HARWICH – Paul Niles has dedicated the past 27 years to shaping a supportive and challenging learning environment for middle school students at the Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter School. At the end of the school year he will retire and make way for his successor. Niles was one of three teachers who founded the charter school in Orleans in 1995. After serving as interim director three or four times, he agreed...

HARWICH – Town Administrator Joseph Powers and Finance Director Carol Coppola have presented a $79,075,393 fiscal 2023 budget to selectmen, a 6.65 percent increase over the current year's spending. A request for $2,357,019 in the wastewater enterprise fund is responsible for a major portion of the budget increase. “The 2023 proposed budget is designed to sustain the town’s sound finances while addressing th...

HARWICH – The town received two bids for the snack shack lease at Saquatucket Harbor, but on Monday selectmen held off on making an award for the second week in a row. The bidders were Ashwood Food, the owners of Jake Rooney’s restaurant, and Becaf LLC, doing business as Poco NYC. Assistant Town Administrator Meggan Eldredge told selectmen last week she and Town Administrator Joseph Powers are recommending the...

HARWICH – About three dozen people packed into a room in the Brooks Free Library basement Thursday evening to attend a suicide awareness expert panel and forum that was open to the public. The forum, titled “Playing a Role in Suicide Awareness,” was organized and hosted by The Cape and Islands Suicide Prevention Coalition and other local suicide prevention organizations in response to recent news of two youth ...

HARWICH — The future use of the old Harwich Middle School will be deliberated by voters at the annual town meeting in May. A petitioned article has been filed seeking $75,000 to study the best possible re-use of the former school, including recommendations for making it financially self-sufficient. The former school building presently serves as the Harwich Cultural Center, providing studio space in 40 former c...

HARWICH — A lack of detailed communication about how affordable housing funds will be used is generating conflict between the affordable housing trust and the community preservation committee (CPC). While the CPC has recommended that the next town meeting approve $500,000 for the trust to increase affordable housing stock and $50,000 for a part-time housing coordinator, there has been much debate over the lack...

EAST HARWICH — Harwich residents and taxpayers will have exclusive use of a popular boat landing on Pleasant Bay this summer. The town has taken measures to prohibit the use of Round Cove landing along Pleasant Bay by non-residents from Memorial Day to Columbus Day. The new regulation is reflected in a change in the town’s Harbor Management Plan recommended by Harbormaster John Rendon, and approved by selectme...