In the final days of The Chronicle's “Helping Neighbors” campaign to benefit the Family Pantry, donations were surging in from groups, individuals and businesses. But several days before Christmas, it appeared the campaign would fall short of its $60,000 goal. “What we need here is a little holiday magic,” Chronicle Publisher Henry C. Hyora said Monday. “We're extending the campaign through New Year's Eve to g...

HARWICH — The board of selectmen approved the recommendation of Town Administrator Christopher Clark to appoint David Withrow as interim town accountant/finance director through March 31. Withrow will serve in the interim capacity while the town conducts a search for a new full-time town accountant/finance director to replace Andrew Gould, who announce his resignation a couple of weeks ago and will be taking a...

HARWICH — A second look is always a good idea when a golfer is about to make a putt. That turned out to also be the case for the town's golf committee. After a second look at facilities improvements at Cranberry Valley Golf Course, the group has come back with a broader scope of improvements and an estimated $400,000 in savings. A few years ago the committee retained the firm of Brown, Lindquist, Fenuccio a...

HARWICH — The real estate and open space committee is recommending that selectmen move forward with an appraisal and begin investigating the process for selling the former fire station property on Bank Street. The property currently houses the harbor department's workshop. Town Administrator Christopher Clark sent a memo to the committee in early November noting the planned infrastructure improvements at Saqua...

ORLEANS ─ The 2016-17 season is officially under way for the Furies girls varsity ice hockey team, and so far head coach Scott Rebello is pleased with their performances, which include an opening 9-2 victory against Stoughton, tough losses to Falmouth and Pembroke, and a hard-fought 1-1 tie against Bishop Fenwick. Most recently the Furies, a team comprised of players from Monomoy, Cape Cod Tech, and Nauset h...

HARWICH ─ The Monomoy boys varsity basketball team might have suffered two tough losses in their first week of the 2016-17 season, but a buzzer-beating win is serving as a reminder that the season is just getting started, and as senior captain Chris Mazulis said, “We already have a better record than we did last year.” That's the attitude the Sharks are trying to hang on to after weathering a 50-36 loss to S...

Perhaps my all time favorite line from Dr. Seuss's beloved holiday classic “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” is this: “How could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes, or bags.” This news sets the Grinch puzzling and puzzling until, well, his poor puzzler was sore. It certainly is something to think about, especially given our consumer-driven materialistic appr...

One year ago, The Force Awakened. The first new “Star Wars” film since George Lucas’ ill-conceived prequels arrived with mostly positive reviews. Though I loved seeing old characters like Han Solo and Princess (now General) Leia as well as the terrific new character Rey, the movie itself – for all its good intentions – felt a bit too familiar; too much a retelling of the original 1977 film. Happily that’s not...

It's not usual for folks to have a few oysters with their beer. But what about oysters in their beer? A couple of Harwich residents are brewing up a special batch of holiday stout with Chatham oysters as the special ingredient. Devil's Purse Brewing Company's new Intertidal Oyster Stout, which will debut at a tasting event at Chatham Bars Inn Dec. 29, is enhanced by oysters from the Chatham Shellfish Compan...

Thanks to your generosity and a last-minute surge in donations, the Chronicle's Helping Neighbors campaign has raised more than $39,755 for the Family Pantry of Cape Cod this year. We're proud and thankful for our readers who have contributed to the campaign, which helps the Pantry put food on the table for Cape Codders in need. But we won't gloss over the fact that, having set a $60,000 goal for this year's e...

Christmas At The Marconi Editor: We at Chatham Marconi Maritime Center delayed our usual seasonal hibernation to participate in Chatham’s Christmas Stroll weekend by decorating our “Hotel Nautilus” as it might have appeared at Christmas in the early 1900s.  We wish to thank the volunteers and supporters who generously gave their time and resources to make it possible.  Many visitors came to enjoy their hand...

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year With the kids jingle belling And everyone telling you be of good cheer It’s the most wonderful time of the year”  Andy Williams was right, Christmas and New Year’s in Chatham is the most wonderful time of the year. Christmas in Chatham, with families celebrating together, is terrific. And Chatham’s First Night is as good as it gets, anywhere. And since...

Chatham Elementary School Traffic And Pickup To be good neighbors to surrounding homes and residents, the school is reaching out to encourage local families to take advantage of bus ridership for school arrival and dismissal. The car "kiss and ride" pick up/drop off line is currently extending out of the parking lot and cars continue to line up quite a distance down Hitching Post Lane. This is causing t...

ORLEANS — We all want to be home for the holidays. But what if we can't remember where home is? For people with Alzheimer's Disease, the familiar becomes unfamiliar. They can walk out the front door and forget how to come back home. About 10 years ago, a local resident was reported missing. It wasn't known that he had Alzheimer's. Public safety personnel and volunteers began what turned into an 18-hour se...

ORLEANS — The town will ask the Nauset Regional School District to allow testing at the middle school to see whether its running track area can serve as a backup site for discharge of effluent – treated wastewater – from a proposed treatment plant for a downtown sewer system. Meeting Dec. 14 with AECOM staff and town consultant Mike Domenica, the board reviewed a list of nine sites ranging from the Overland ...