HARWICH – Since 2018, town meeting approved more than $1 million in Community Preservation Act funds for the affordable housing trust, yet the community preservation committee has no record of how the money was spent. The absence of an accounting of expenditures came to light Nov. 2 when Town Administrator Joseph Powers made presentations to the community preservation committee (CPC) on applications filed by t...

HARWICH – The Thompson’s Field Conservation Area was alive with fire and police personnel last Thursday as the Barnstable County Search and Rescue Team canvassed the 57-acre parcel during a day-long training drill. The training session included morning demonstrations on the use of drones and land navigation tools such as GPS and compasses. In the afternoon, teams searched the conservation area for volunteers s...

PLEASANT LAKE – The Harwich Conservation Trust has met its $800,000 fund-raising goal for the purchase of the Jenkins bogs and surrounding uplands across Pleasant Lake Avenue from Cape Cod Regional Technical High School. The trust is expected to close on the 31-acre parcel at the end of December. The parcel will serve as an integral part of the Hinckleys Pond-Herring River headwaters eco-restoration proj...

HARWICH – The town is looking at ways to make improvements to Harwich Center to benefit residents, merchants and cyclists, but exactly what improvements should be made is not clear. Town Administrator Joseph Powers made a presentation to the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) on Nov. 2 on the application the town has filed with the committee seeking $100,000 in Community Preservation Act funding for the im...

Back in 1962, Jake Brown, a self-described “ocean person,” and his wife Barbara purchased their first parcel of land in Harwich, a hillside between rolling woodland and Hinckleys Pond. Their new haven was not oceanfront property, but its location overlooking the freshwater pond captured the Browns’ imagination and their hearts. “I had always loved the ocean, and I admit I was hesitant at first, because a pond ...

HARWICH – The Route 137 bridge that runs over Route 6 will forever be linked to those who sacrificed to serve the Lower Cape community and the nation at large. The bridge was officially designated as the Hidden Wounds Memorial Bridge on Saturday afternoon during a dedication ceremony hosted by a group of Monomoy Regional High School students inside the MRHS auditorium. Various local and state representative...

HARWICH PORT – The strength of the Oct. 27 nor’easter shook more than a few wind chimes across the Cape. It also rattled the 3,000-pound bell that has hung in the Pilgrim Congregational Church belfry for the past 165 years. The hurricane-force winds that pounded the Cape shook loose a couple of rusted bolts, knocking the bell from a portion of its cradle and cutting into the belfry floor of the 1854 church.  ...

HARWICH – Town counsel has determined the town’s fertilizer and nutrient control regulation approved last January conflicts with the state statute that gives jurisdiction over the use and disposal of pesticides and fertilizers to the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources. “ Yes, the board of health will be voting to rescind the fertilizer regulation on Nov. 16 at their regularly scheduled m...

Named 2021 Massachusetts Realtor Of The Year HARWICH PORT — Richard Waystack, the newly minted Massachusetts Realtor of the Year, leans forward in his chair when he talks about his profession. Thirty-five years after he started selling real estate, Waystack now enjoys teaching people who are new to the industry, and his eyes light up when he talks about the key to the business. It’s the same mantra he li...

HARWICH — The idea of a bald eagle in flight, its dark wingspan and dramatic white head shining against a blue sky, conjures up many images. Fierce beauty. Natural grace. Freedom to soar among the clouds and majestic peaks of some remote mountain range. The bald eagle does not necessarily conjure up images of Harwich. That's exactly where many local photographers and bird aficionados have gathered, however, to...

HARWICH – The Harwich Fire Association and the Harwich Conservation Trust are collaborating on a plan for joint use of the former fire station on Bank Street. The association wants to restore the town’s first fire station, constructed in 1927, and use it to some degree as a museum. The trust sees the opportunity to develop an education center with offices and parking for the abutting 66-acre Robert F. Smith Co...

HARWICH – Three members of AmeriCorps Cape Cod are working directly with town departments and the Harwich Conservation Trust to enhance the community's quality of life, focusing primarily on environmental management, maintenance and education. The national AmeriCorps program was established in 1994 and is often referred to as the “domestic Peace Corps.” The AmeriCorps program in Barnstable County started 23 ye...