Letters To The Editor: Nov. 9, 2023

Thanks For A Successful Halloween

Editor:

To everyone who donated Halloween candy to the residents of the Elkanah, Nonantum and Konuhasset neighborhood, we say a big thank you.

Every Halloween many of us create displays and dress up to try to frighten the many children who flock to the neighborhood for the candy that is their reward for enduring this chilling experience. This year was no exception. It’s all in good fun, and we really don’t try to scare the kids…too much.

Thanks go out to the First Congregational Church of Chatham and Monomoy Community Services, as well as anyone else who dropped off candy, for helping with the “treats” while we handled the “tricks.” Special thanks go to the Chatham Police Department for their help in controlling traffic and making sure everyone was safe.

For the curious, one neighbor counted more than 500 trick or treaters; that’s more kids than live in Chatham! We look forward to carrying on this long tradition. And remember: Stay on the path!

Elkanah, Nonantum and Konuhasset residents

Chatham

Full Select Board Needed

Editor:

There is a vacant seat on the Harwich Select Board, a term set to expire in May. Don Howell’s motion to call for a special election to fill that position was not seconded. The select board opted not to fill the position. There is now a petition to call a special election to fill the empty position. The select board reasoned that the remaining time period of office is too short, the spring budgetary issues too complex, and the learning curve for a newbie too steep to have anyone effectively fill the remaining term. Perhaps…

If your car is not running on all cylinders, you fix it. You don’t say, “Oh well, I’ll wait til May to fix it.” Why only four select board members when there can be five people processing? Doesn’t it make sense to share the work? What’s wrong with a newbie “not knowing” and asking questions, not stuck in the “this is the way it is done” rut? Doesn’t that help clarify the work? The select board’s purpose is to represent the 12,000-plus residents of Harwich. We, the residents of Harwich, need a full board of five members to ensure competency and fairness.

Please participate and vote!

Patrick Otton

Harwich

A True Leader For The Town

Editor:

I would like to thank Dean Nicastro for his unwavering support of the Chatham Center for Active Living. Mr. Nicastro is a source of information and support to me as the chairperson and to the COA board. Dean has been able to navigate adroitly the challenges we have encountered. In so doing he has exhibited true leadership.

Patricia Burke, chairperson

Chatham COA Board of Directors.

No Excuse For Brutality

Editor:

In my opinion, no one on this earth can negotiate with these evil Hamas barbarians. I want previous letter writers to imagine in retrospect that the 1,400 Israeli people who were brutally murdered, along with 5,500 injured, actually included some of your family members, parents, grandparents, sons, daughters, and great-grandaughters. Hamas also took 245 hostages: babies, children, women, the elderly, and the disabled. They also raped women and beheaded innocent babies. The writers also failed to understand the history of all the negotiations over many years; Palestine rejected the two-state solution. The only answer to rid the world of these varmints is total extermination, which is the objective of the Israeli military. I’m proud that our country is providing all the munitions requested by Israel, along with aircraft carriers. God save Israel.

J. Coyle

Harwich

Small Planes Pollution A Threat

Editor:

In a recent article in the Washington Post (Oct. 18) the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) noted “…lead pollution from small planes threatens human health.” Known as an “endangerment finding,” the EPA reports that the science is clear: exposure to lead, even at microscopic levels, can cause irreversible and life-long health effects especially in children. Furthermore, the EPA has determined lead emitted from airplanes is a danger to public health.

I encourage everyone to read this article (wapo.st/3QmoSm0) or research more information on the dangers of lead levels around small airports.

Think about if it was your family exposed to these conditions. Then ask yourself why our town of Chatham would support any housing especially geared for young families near our small airport, knowingly putting humans, especially children, at risk and unnecessary danger.

Doesn’t the town of Chatham have an ethical and moral responsibility to protect its residents? Doesn’t common sense and one’s conscience dictate this is a bad idea?

What do you think? If you agree with me, please let our town officials know.

Carol E. Bliss

West Chatham

Questions Snow Inn Demo

Editor:

My father, who got his degree from the Culinary Institute of the Americas, cut his skills at the Snow Inn, where he also met my mother who was from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. This is too sad; he is still with us at age 95 and has many fond memories, including taking a boat to an island to have clam bakes, and also meeting many jazz musicians. Why is this happening?

Andrea Christ

Sillwater Lake, Nova Scotia

Appreciate Excellent Care

Editor:

Unfortunately, we recently had a medical emergency. Fortunately, the Chatham EMTs were very knowledgeable and professional. We cannot say enough about the excellent care given at Cape Cod Hospital. Every staff person — nurse, doctor, specialist, case worker — was competent, kind and outstanding. We are very lucky to have such a superb hospital here on Cape Cod.

Linda and Dave Nixon

Chatham