Part one of a two-part series on the new Cape Cod Tech school building. HARWICH – When the new 220,800-square-foot Cape Cod Regional Technical High School opened its doors last September in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, the students came, but the community kept its distance. The community is an integral partner with the educational activities that take place at Cape Tech, and welcoming the public b...

HARWICH — Monomoy Superintendent of Schools Scott Carpenter has unveiled a plan to allow students to return to classes safely next month, with more opportunities for in-person learning and a resumption of many activities that were suspended during the pandemic. But a provision of the plan that would require all students and staff to wear masks while indoors while the risk of community spread of COVID-19 remains...

HARWICH – A leaky roof is an enemy of books, as officials at the Chase Library in West Harwich are learning. The roof of the historic building is failing, and the library trustees are scurrying to put funding in place to install a new one. “Water damage is the worst thing that can happen to a library,” Patricia Tworek, president of the board of trustees of the library said on Monday. The trustees have kicked o...

HARWICH – Marna Bate has created an interesting way for residents, visitors and kids to discover Harwich. Her new book of photographs is also designed to serve as a scavenger hunt. “Scene In Harwich, A Scavenger Hunt Of Sorts” takes readers along back roads, side streets and the main thoroughfares of the community to identify the photographs contained within its pages. The scavenger hunt includes recreation fa...

HARWICH – The owners of the Port Restaurant and Bar has filed another Open Meeting Law complaint with the state Attorney General’s Office against the board of selectmen. The complaint alleges that Selectmen Chairman Michael MacAskill falsely stated the actions taken by the board in its executive session on July 26. Among the topics discussed in that session was “litigation strategy” related to emergency injunc...

HARWICH – Selectmen said Monday they want more local control over affordable housing projects. The board discussed affordable housing in general and the 96-unit Chloe’s Path project off Sisson Road in particular, and concluded that scattered affordable projects throughout the town are the best way to address the town's housing needs. “You drive around Harwich and you would be hard put to say that’s where th...

HARWICH – With the help of the Hinckleys Pond Association, the Harwich Conservation Trust is making headway in raising funds to purchase the 31-acre Jenkins bogs property adjacent to the pond. The association has contributed more than $40,000 toward the trust’s goal in donations small and large. “You don’t get to do things that mean something very often. But this is one of them,” association president Deb S...

Harwich Police Detective Sergeant Bob Brackett’s motivation to begin the Harwich Police Soccer Club in 2012 was to provide local boys and girls with an opportunity to play soccer in a re-imagined way. “Everybody plays soccer on grass on a field, 11-on-11. I wanted to come up with unique things that these kids will carry with them forever and they’ll remember back, which is why we started the futsal program ind...

NORTH HARWICH — The Family Pantry of Cape Cod helps provide many of our neighbors in need with nourishing food as well as access to clothing, fuel assistance and other resources. None of it would be possible without the hard work and dedication of the Pantry's 650 volunteers, who give their time and energy not only at the main Pantry location in North Harwich, but also in the Mobile Pantry, the Pantry location at...

HARWICH — The need for navigational safety outweighs the need for a new aquaculture operation in Nantucket Sound waters. That was the word from the board of selectmen, which rejected one request to locate a bay scallop farm in Nantucket Sound, while approving another request to grow scallops in the Herring River. Mark Kelleher of Kelpeher Farms has permission to grow kelp on two, 250-foot long lines offshore i...

HARWICH — In 1899, Caleb Chase gave the town $10,000 to establish a fund to assist the less fortunate members of the community. That contribution has grown and provided between $300,000 and $500,000 in assistance to community members over the years. Caleb Chase Fund Trustee Paul V. Doane made a presentation to selectmen last week on the status of the fund. It continues, 120 years later, to be a successful prog...

HARWICH — The hotel/motel and short- term rental tax may be heading for an increase from 4 to 6 percent. The selectmen have instructed Town Administrator Joseph Powers to draft an article reflecting the increase for the next town meeting. Last week, the board discussed the local option tax as it applied to short-term rentals. Powers informed selectmen that an increase would also apply to hotels and motels as w...