HARWICH – It has been well over two years since the affordable housing trust purchased the 13.3-acre Marceline property along Route 124 in Peasant Lake, and there have been a lot of rumblings about the lack of progress on developing affordable housing on the parcel. Last week, the trust began discussing concepts for moving forward with housing on the land. Housing Advocate Brianna Powell told trust members th...

HARWICH – The Children's Center is the longest-running community-based preschool in town, and it will be holding a "30th Birthday Celebration" on June 11 at 204 Sisson, the cultural center.  "We've been around a long time and think we're a gr "Children learn through play," Newberry-West said of the center's philosophy. "We're play-based and get them ready for kindergarten and elementary school." Its m...

HARWICH – The partnership between government and land trusts is essential for the protection of sensitive natural resources. The Harwich Conservation Trust and the Barnstable Land Trust came together May 19 to celebrate that relationship. Representatives from conservation trusts on the Mid and Lower Cape gathered at the Robert F. Smith Cold Brook Preserve along Bank Street to recognize the importance of their...

HARWICH – Affordable housing trust member Judith Underwood tendered her resignation on Friday, four days after she learned the select board had voted to replace her when her term expires on June 30. Underwood served on the trust since 2018. "It has come to my attention by citizens of Harwich, not by the (board of selectmen) that I am to be put off the trust come July 1," Underwood wrote in her resignatio...

HARWICH – The message from the select board Monday night was "find the money" to fix the "hope and go" intersection where Chatham Road meets Route 39, just east of Harwich Center. "Waiting for the next accident is not plausible," said Select Board Chair Michael MacAskill. "Find the money." Traffic safety committee member Linda Cebula said her committee has been talking about the need to address the inters...

HARWICH – Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is proposing a change in design for the sidewalk to be built along Route 28 from Saquatucket Harbor to Harwich Port. A segment of sidewalk will be added along the north side of the road from Outer Cape Health Services to Gorham Road. MassDOT agreed to the additional section to accommodate pedestrians in response to concerns from residents of the a...

HARWICH – There is little doubt The Family Pantry of Cape Cod, which operates facilities along Queen Anne Road, is a busy place. In 2022 The Family Pantry set records in attempting to address the growing food insecurity on Cape Cod, with a 44 percent increase in visits over the previous year. To date, the visits to the facilities in 2023 have increased by 40 percent over the previous year. The pantry provided...

HARWICH – It has been a long time in coming, but the selectmen on Monday night approved a consulting firm to work with the planning board and the local planning committee to update the town's local comprehensive plan.   In the annual town meeting in 2019, voters approved $200,000 for the consulting services. In a memo to the selectmen and Town Administrator Joseph Powers, Assistant Town Administrator Meggan E...

Three Votes Separate Howell, Piekarski HARWICH – Hometown candidate Jeffrey Handler scored big Tuesday night, garnering 1,376 votes to win a seat on the select board. But the margin between select board incumbent Donald Howell and challenger Peter Piekarski was much closer, with Howell pulling out a victory by three votes. In the race for the two three-year terms on the board, Handler received the highes...

HARWICH – Deputy Police Chief Kevin Considine has been selected as one of 100 police officers from around the world who will carry the "Flame of Hope" throughout Germany and into the 2023 Special Olympics World Games opening ceremony in Berlin in June. Considine has long been associated with the Special Olympics through the Law Enforcement Torch Run, which brings police officers from across the Cape together...

HARWICH – The creative energy surrounding Art Week received a boost last Friday when members of the Massachusetts Cultural Council came to town to designate two new cultural districts, which should help generate economic growth in the community.  Massachusetts Cultural Council Deputy Director David Slatery told the group of about 35 people at the grandstand in Brooks Park that the cultural district concept was...

  HARWICH – Pine Oaks Villages have been providing affordable housing to seniors for nearly 50 years, and the nonprofit organization has just announced plans for a major expansion, with potentially as many as 264 units of mixed income rental units in North Harwich. Pine Oaks Village Homes (POVH) has entered into agreements to purchase seven parcels of land totaling more than 29 acres near the intersection o...