LATEST NEWS

ORLEANS – Christian Epps could have picked any animal, but he chose to be a raccoon, at least for a day. The Orleans Elementary School student was just one of many first graders who spent the last few months researching and preparing a presentation on their favorite animal as part of the school’s annual wax museum project.

BARNSTABLE—The town’s fire district on Wednesday night unanimously approved spending $1.2 million to design a fire station big enough to accommodate population growth over the next 50 years. Rather than remodel its Barnstable Village station again, the fire district will oversee the design of a building this summer,...

CHATHAM – Karl Fehrle, the 102-year-old member of the Chatham Band, will be the grand marshal in this year’s Independence Day parade. The Independence Day parade committee announced the choice this week. Fehrle, who will turn 103 years old in July, was the clear choice of all the nominations, the group said in an announcement. The group noted that he is a World War II veteran, volunteers in town and is known for his long tenure with the Chatham Band, where he plays a regular saxophone solo on “Over the Rainbow” during Friday night band concerts.

HARWICH – Trees were once again a matter of discussion on the second night of the annual town meeting. Voters turned down a tree preservation bylaw Monday, and on Tuesday night cutting down two trees which are buckling the sidewalk in front of Brooks Free Library became an issue.

The article adopting a new approach zone map for Chatham Airport, on the warrant of Monday’s annual town meeting in Chatham, seems a logical step in bringing the facility in line with current state and federal regulations and standards. The previous map dates from 1958; the fact that it hasn’t been updated until now is a head scratcher, since the Federal Aviation Administration-approved approach changed years ago. Previous airport commissions obviously fell down on the job. Replacing the map is an administrative correction that won’t change how aircraft take off and land at Chatham Airport, and will not change the types of planes that can use the facility (that’s governed by the length of the runway). The change will technically add about 360 full or partial properties to the approach zone, although those parcels were, as far as the FAA is concerned, there already. Those owners who may have trees on their properties that do or could intrude on airspace have already been notified, according to the commission. Approving the new map won’t change the current plan to remove trees within the vertical glide path; frankly, we’re stunned that anyone would oppose that, since it has a direct bearing on safety on the ground and in the air, which is, ostensibly, the chief concern of airport critics. Town meeting should approve the new map, and critics should bring their concerns about the vegetation removal process to the Cape Cod Commission, which will soon hold a hearing on the town’s referral.

HARWICH — Town meeting voters — by a narrow margin — decided they do not want a public swimming pool. The vote was 134 in favor of a petitioned article to affirm support for a public access swimming pool and facilities at the Harwich Community Center, with 166 people opposing the move. About...

ORLEANS, Mass. — It's the first of its kind dolphin hospital. The International Fund for Animal Welfare opened it in Orleans this past fall, as experts said there is a need for it. “We’ve known that we need this for six years,” said Brian Sharpe, the director of the...

The boys lacrosse teams on Cape Cod have some of the best talent in the state. Out of the four Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association State Finals games last season, Cape Cad had two teams play in the end with Falmouth (Div. 3) and Sandwich (Div. 4). This season is no different as 11...

BREWSTER – One thing they aren’t making more of on Cape Cod is land. When you want to build an affordable home, volunteer labor, materials and funding can be found, but it all starts with land, and that can be the most difficult ingredient to find. That’s why...

BREWSTER – Springtime was in full blossom last weekend at the 38th annual Brewster in Bloom celebration. The town’s signature event drew healthy crowds to the Brewster Band’s Spring Concert Friday, the Brew Run Saturday (see coverage, page 37), the arts and crafts fair, and the weekend’s centerpiece event: the Brewster in Bloom Parade. PHOTOS BY ALAN POLLOCK.

The Family Pantry of Cape Cod is preparing to host a grab-and-go food distribution event for families dealing with food insecurity. The May 19th Grab-And-Go will be held at the Barnstable High School East Parking Lot and Nauset Middle School Side Parking Lot from 10:00 a.m. until noon. Everyone is welcome and there is no registration required.

BREWSTER – On April 27, 236 volunteers helped make Brewster beautiful in the annual Beautify Brewster cleanup, just six days before the annual Brewster in Bloom weekend. The litter collection covered approximately 29 miles of roadways, 1.25 miles of beaches and two miles of the bike trail. A total of 1,170 pounds of litter was picked up and responsibly managed as recycling or trash.

Driving through Brewster lately it’s hard to avoid not thinking about “Spend Smart Spend Less.” I have spent considerable time thinking about public spending in Brewster over the last several years and I am not quite sure what that slogan is alluding to. A quick look at Open.gov available through the town website will bring the town budget into view. Where are we spending the bulk of the taxpayers’ dollars? In 2022 Brewster budgeted $20.1 million for its elementary, middle and high school expenses. That comprised just under 44 percent of the entire operating budget. The proposed fiscal 2025 budget provides $27 million for school related expenses, up 34 percent from 2022, absorbing 46.5 percent of the budget and requiring yet another override. Next year it will be considerably higher. This is occurring while our elementary, middle and high school student populations continue to dramatically decline. The Brewster elementary school student population has declined to the point that we have two half-filled school buildings. Our neighbor Orleans will not be able to tap the MSBA for support to build a replacement elementary school because their student population is too small. Harwich faced the same problem in 2013 when the MSBA declined their first proposal to build a new high school. In Brewster 60 percent of the voters approved of the plan to build a 905 student $180 million high school renovation which will house only 575 district students this year. This student population will continue to decline.