HARWICH – As town officials discuss ways to expend the $1.27 million Harwich will receive from the federal American Rescue Plan Act, selectmen are increasingly recognizing the need to supplement health department staffing. Health Department Director Dr. Katie O’Neill sent a memo to selectmen and Town Administrator Joseph Powers two weeks ago describing the strain the pandemic is placing on her understaffed dep...

HARWICH – Representatives of the Massachusetts Housing Partnership conducted an onsite review of the proposed Chole’s Path 96-unit mixed housing development off Sisson Road on Tuesday. The review is the initial step in the state’s determination of the project's eligibility for a comprehensive permit. Kemah Apartments LLC is proposing the development on a 9.3-acre parcel at the rear of the town’s public s...

State officials have announced their yearly round of Firefighter Safety Equipment Grants, and Lower Cape fire departments received grants ranging from nearly $13,000 to more than $18,000. The funds pay for protective gear, rescue tools and safety equipment. Additionally, the Harwich Fire Department has received a special $55,000 grant from some private donors, funding special safety equipment which has already...

HARWICH – As Town Administrator Joseph Powers heads toward completion of his first year in the position, selectmen, in their annual evaluation of the executive, expressed satisfaction with his performance. Board members rated Powers’ performance since Feb. 21, when he was promoted from interim town administrator, as “satisfactory” to “highly satisfactory,” said Selectmen Chairman Michael MacAskill. Havin...

HARWICH – Adequate parking has always been an issue in Harwich Center, but the planning board has agreed to waive site plan review and parking requirements for one of the “Three Sisters” in the village. The three Greek Revival buildings housing The Seal Pub, Cape Cod Tileworks and Ruggies restaurant have long been referred to as the Three Sisters because of their similarity in design. The structures serve a...

HARWICH – Yellow rubber ducks have been sighted around town. This is not an invasion of a new avian species but a sign of a coming birthday celebration at the community center. The rubber ducks are an integral part of plans to celebrate the 22nd birthday of the Oak Street community center on Feb. 5, when a “Duck Toss” is planned, said Community Center Director Carolyn Carey. Why ducks? “ I...

HARWICH – More than a dozen people took to the cold waters at Bank Street Beach last Thursday to honor a woman lost to the opioid drug epidemic over a decade ago and to raise funds for Recoverybuild, a new alternative peer group counseling center for teens. The Winter Dip is a fundraising event held across the Cape for Recoverybuild, which has mentoring centers in Falmouth and Harwich in partnership with the D...

HARWICH - Over the previous 10 days, more than 150 COVID-19 cases were reported in town, Health Director Dr. Katie O’Neill told selectmen Monday night. Some 18 percent of the town’s workforce is unable to operate in person due to COVID, colds and the flu; even Town Administrator Joseph Powers reported that he has COVID. The strain of the pandemic is weighing heavily on the health department, O’Neill wrote in a...

HARWICH – Selectmen have approved the expanded use of the cultural center gymnasium for pickleball this winter, but the board also wants a cost analysis for the uses in the building completed by March 1. Recreation Director Eric Beebe was before the board a couple of weeks ago seeking to expand the pickleball program from three to five days a week. The program was being run on Mondays, Wednesdays and Friday fr...

HARWICH – As the town and the Harwich Conservation Trust begin planning for the ecological restoration of 44 acres in the Robert F. Smith Cold Brook Reserve next to the former fire station on Bank Street, the trust is looking for a staging area for felled trees that will be used for wildlife habitat as part of project. HCT Executive Director Michael Lach was before selectmen on Jan. 4 seeking permission to use...

HARWICH – Language changes to the Monomoy Regional School District agreement that would reduce budget inequity by having each town pay for its own elementary school gained the support of selectmen last week. Under the present agreement the town of Harwich is subsidizing the per student cost for the operation of the Chatham Elementary School. In the agreement, school budget contributions of both towns are based...

HARWICH – Back in November when the Family Pantry of Cape Cod and The Cape Cod Chronicle learned there was an anonymous donor willing to match up to $50,000 worth of donations, the two organizations set a lofty $100,000 goal for this holiday season’s Helping Neighbors campaign. The Cape Cod community rallied around that goal and came through in a big way. Helping Neighbors surpassed its $100,000 fundraising...