CapeCodToday Blog Chowder

Challenges in Truro murder case... Court backs town to oust landscaper.. Plover problem persists... Museum closes... MORE

Lower Cape news of the week
June 30, 2006

Judge to hear challenges in Truro murder case By Marilyn Miller/ mmiller@cnc.com

Christopher McCowen, 34, is scheduled to go on trial for the 2002 murder of Truro resident Christa Worthington, 46, on Oct. 30. But he’ll be in the Barnstable Superior Court before that, on July 5 and 6, when a number of motions filed by his attorney, Robert A. George of Boston, will be heard and ruled on. George hopes to get the judge to throw out all statements McCowen made to the State Police during the seven hours they interrogated him April 14, 2005, the day he was arrested. McCowen, who was Worthington’s trash collector, admitted at that time to being at Worthington’s house the night she was murdered. However, he claimed he was having consensual sex with her, and that a Wellfleet man who came to the house with him killed the fashion writer, after Worthington discovered the man stealing from her... [more]

Dirty work: Court backs town to oust landscaper By Marilyn Miller/ mmiller@cnc.com

EASTHAM - Here’s the dirt on Dirt Works: Mike Escher’s excavating business at the old Tilcon asphalt plant off Nauset Road is being put out of business by the town. Why? Because a Barnstable Superior Court judge issued a summary judgment in favor of the town four months ago, a judgment that has allowed the town to evict Escher and his business... [more]

Plover stalemate By Matthew Belson / and Bill Fonda/ Staff reporters Owners of off-road vehicles could be forgiven if they feel a little like a contestant on a game show who missed the mega-prize by one question. Only the consolation prize isn’t a toaster or food processor, but limited access to the beaches on the Outer Cape that have been closed to ORV traffic due to nesting piping plovers... [more]

What lies beneath By Steve Desroches/ sdesroch@cnc.com Several years ago Provincetown created a historic district to further ensure the preservation of the town’s varied and diverse architectural... [more]

Fire museum closes for summer By Matthew Belson/ mbelson@cnc.com

BREWSTER - Firefighting equipment aficionados and children with dreams of one day joining the ranks of the bravest will be disappointed to learn that the New England Fire and History Museum in Brewster will not be opening its doors this summer. "It’s been tougher and tougher to just operate on admission fees," said Noel Beyle, a member of the museum’s board of directors. The closure comes after the board agreed to search for additional funding sources and an inventory of the museum’s collections was overdue... [more]

Seuss inspires students create school garden By Bill Fonda/ bfonda@cnc.com Plant a new Truffula. Treat it with care. Give it clean water. And feed it fresh air. Grow a forest. Protect it from axes that hack. Then the Lorax... [more]

Apple takes root in East Harwich By Douglas Karlson/ dkarlson@cnc.com Though he always loved Apple computers, Steve Ide didn't plan to become an Apple dealer until about 3 1/2 years ago, when he walked into a computer... [more]

July Fourth celebrations start Saturday Fireworks, parades and concerts headline this year's July Fourth festivities on the Lower Cape. Fireworks lovers have their choice of two venues Saturday:... [more]

'Razzle Dazzle' benefits Chase building project Chase Library of West Harwich is holding a raffle this summer to raise money for the repair and maintenance of the library building, one of the historic... [more]

Engagement Fulcher-LeBlanc Mr. and Mrs. Paul Fulcher of Orleans have announced the engagement of their daughter, Vicki Lynn Fulcher, to Craig Michael LeBlanc,... [more]

No surprise: Property values climb 4 percent By Marilyn Miller/ mmiller@cnc.com Eastham has just completed the Fiscal Year 2007 triennial revaluation, as required by state law to achieve full and fair cash value assessments, and... [more]

Around Harwich Lightning scores a hit Whitehouse Field was struck by lightning over the weekend. The electronic scoreboard was damaged, and must be repaired. Not... [more]

Libraries to offer free downloads By Douglas Karlson/ dkarlson@cnc.com For people with a library card, downloading audio books is about to get a whole lot less expensive. It's going to be free, in fact. Starting next... [more]

Around Eastham Part-time taxpayers to meet July 8 The Eastham Part-time Residents Taxpayers Association will hold its annual meeting July 8 at the Elks Lodge on... [more]

Residents offer views for East Harwich By Douglas Karlson/ dkarlson@cnc.com Years ago, decisions about what towns should look like were left to politicians, according to Ken Buckland, a planning expert with the Cecil Group... [more]

Dennis ORV stickers are hot this summer By Nicole Muller/ nmuller@cnc.com Folks may have been turned away this season from the outer beach between Orleans and Chatham but some off-road vehicle drivers have discovered what... [more]

Lighthouse beach patrol moves forward By Matthew Belson/ mbelson@cnc.com A regular patrol of Lighthouse Beach will soon be in place for the start of the busy summer season. Chatham Harbormaster Stuart Smith told the board... [more]

Bergstrom says board violated Open Meeting Law By Matthew Belson/ mbelson@cnc.com Chatham Selectman Ronald Bergstrom had a hunch that when it came time for Maureen Vokey to be reappointed to the zoning board of appeals, she would... [more]

Longtime Brewster EMT honored By Matthew Belson/ mbelson@cnc.com A volunteer member of the Brewster Fire Department knows that an alert to respond to a fire or medical emergency can come at any time. "God knows... [more]

Around Chatham More for park and rec commission Responding to pressure from local parents, the board of selectmen voted to increase the number of seats on the Chatham... [more]

Around Brewster Town seeks volunteer for finance committee There is a vacancy on the finance committee and the town moderator is seeking Brewster citizens interested... [more]

Far from the madding crowd By Steve Desroches/ sdesroch@cnc.com Commercial Street is jammed. Provincetown's main thoroughfare is clogged with street performers, drag queens, artists with easels painting the harbor,... [more]

Cape Codders in Atlantic Challenge By Douglas Karlson/ dkarlson@cnc.com Members of the US team participating in the Atlantic Challenge, an international rowing and sailing contest, currently reside in tents on a deserted... [more]

Town asked to donate land for housing By Marilyn Miller/ mmiller@cnc.com A donation of $65,000 by a Wellfleet resident to Habitat for Humanity of Cape Cod may result in a Wellfleet family moving into their own home... [more]

Around Wareham Surf's up Sebastian Frawley, who owns Little Overhead Surf in Eastham, got the board approval Tuesday to offer surfing lessons at low tide during... [more]

Terrapins' tale finds a teller By Rich Eldred/ reldred@cnc.com A few years ago, Barbara Brennessel's life was centered on microscopes, peptides, fat cells and teaching her students at Wheaton College the intricacies... [more]

APCC to study feasibility of selling development rights By Bill Fonda/ bfonda@cnc.com Cape Codders concerned about wastewater would probably cringe at the thought of houses with cesspools atop a drinking water source. Yet this was the... [more]

Main Street music begins next week By Douglas Karlson/ dkarlson@cnc.com HARWICH - You don't need to go to Hyannis to make the street music scene this summer. Every other Wednesday night, the place to be is Main Street... [more]

Around Truro Wind turbines considered for town The Truro Board of Selectmen heard a presentation from Kristen Burke of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative... [more]

Harwich principal back in court By Douglas Karlson/ dkarlson@cnc.com Harwich school officials say the drunken driving arrest of high school principal Kevin Turner is their top priority, but they want to wait until the... [more]

Schools targeted top priority for FY07 By Steve Desroches/ sdesroch@cnc.com The Provincetown Board of Selectmen approved a list of town-wide policy goals for fiscal 2007, which begins July 1. Focusing on a more manageable... [more]

Around Provincetown State to town: Get with it State Department of Revenue Deputy Commissioner Gerald Perry gave board of selectmen chairwoman Cheryl Andrews a call to... [more]

'Woman of the Year' By Bill Fonda/ bfonda@cnc.com Bonnie Snow of Orleans has a corollary to the old expression "Behind every good man, there's a good woman." Snow's take is that behind every... [more]

Parking presents problems at town landings By Bill Fonda/ bfonda@cnc.com The basic laws of economics - namely, that of supply and demand - even apply to parking at Orleans' town landings. "We're just like every other... [more]

Around Orleans Rainey honored at meeting Before Wednesday's Orleans Board of Selectmen's meeting, the board held a moment of silence for Gail Rainey, who died earlier... [more]

Fire, police departments improve emergency plans By Bill Fonda/ bfonda@cnc.com It got pretty cold at Nauset Regional Middle School the day after the windstorm last Dec. 9 - as low as 55 degrees. The culprit was the school's computerized... [more]

Needles bill called public health measure By Joe Burns/ jburns@cnc.com Hoping to slow the spread of HIV and Hepatitis C, state legislators have approved legislation that would legalize the over-the-counter purchase of... [more]

Muddy Creek trails open By Douglas Karlson/ dkarlson@cnc.com HARWICH -Two years ago the Harwich Conservation Trust pulled off a coup. It bought 42 acres of land along Muddy Creek in East Harwich from the Shea... [more]

Read the rest of  The Cape Codder here, and comment below. 

Howard Dean coming to Provincetown

Democratic National Committee Chairman and former presidential candidate Howard Dean of Vermont is expected to attend a cocktail reception fundraiser for the Democratic Party on Wednesday, July 5 from 3-5 p.m. at Chester's Restaurant, 404 Commercial St., P'town.  Suggested donation, $100.

To RSVP, contact the DNC's Julie Tagen at tagenj@dnc.org or 202-863-7174.

(photo credit, usatoday.com)

House party tomorrow for state rep candidate Peake

... as in Democrat Sarah Peake of Provincetown, running in the Outer Cape's 4th Barnstable District, on Saturday July 1 at 5 p.m. at the home of P'town home of Pam French and Lyn Kratz.

Call the Peake campaign at 508-487-5694 for directions or other info.

(photo credit, Peake campaign)

Man-of-Wars close Vineyard beaches, 5 swimmers stung

The Vineyard Gazette  today boosts two stories which our cape newspapers missed;

Chilmark Beaches Closed Temporarily to Swimming

By RACHEL NAVA ROHR

Chilmark town beaches Lucy Vincent and Squibnocket remain closed to swimming after droves of Portuguese man-of-war began washing up on the southern shore of the Island Monday, stinging five swimmers within minutes at Lucy Vincent. Two of the swimmers were hospitalized and released for wounds from the jellyfish-like creatures.

 "Right after that happened, we decided to close swimming," assistant supervisor to Chilmark beaches Karyn Pietruska said. "Every morning since then, we've gone out to see how many there are."

Ms. Pietruska said the beaches will remain closed to swimming until the man-of-war, with their distinctive blue bubbles and their stinging tentacles, are no longer washing up. An offshore breeze will be necessary to push the creatures away, she said... (The photo is of Squibnocket Beach and Pond on the southwest corner of Martha's Vineyard)

Read the rest of this Gazette story here, and comment below. 

And that island's weekly examines a aspect of their resident's recent theft of rare maps;

Thefts of Rare Maps Shatter The Small World of Collectors

By JAMES KINSELLA

To the modern eye, the maps are wildly out of whack.

Continents are bunched together or simply absent. California usually is in the wrong place. Major rivers wander off into mysterious voids.

But these maps, drawn up to 400 years ago, are literal touchstones in the evolution of human culture.

"It's who we are, and where we've been," said Nicholas Basbanes of Oak Bluffs, an author who's written about people passionate about rare manuscripts. "It's our history"... (You can click the map to see it full-size.)

Read the rest of this Gazette story here, and comment below.

Double tragedy, Medicare fraud, MCAS improves, Selectmen squabble

Upper Cape Cod news of the week
June 29, 2006

Tragedy strikes family a second time By Robert Slager/ rslager@cnc.com A little angel has been whispering into Amy Johnson's ear every day since June 7. The voice of her little sister Kristen, forever frozen in time,... [more]

Public health overriding issue for needle sale supporters By Joe Burns/ jburns@cnc.com Hoping to slow the spread of HIV and Hepatitis C, state legislators have approved legislation that would legalize the over-the-counter purchase of... [more]

Community school appointments delayed By Silene Gordon/ sgordon@cnc.com The appointments to fill four vacancies on the Community School Executive Council have been put on hold until the next meeting of the Sandwich School... [more]

Autumnwood talks stalled By Silene Gordon/ sgordon@cnc.com After months of mediation attempts aimed at reaching a settlement in a Sandwich affordable housing project, another roadblock has emerged. "It's... [more]

Extreme measures help plovers survive By Rich Eldred/ reldred@cnc.com Yes Virginia, beach closures to protect piping plovers do seem to work. Take note of the accompanying chart of Massachusetts' plover population over... [more]

Sandwich man to pay in Medicaid fraud By Silene Gordon/ sgordon@cnc.com A Sandwich man was directed last week to pay restitution of $70,855 for making false statements to the Massachusetts Medicaid program. Arthur... [more]

MCAS improvement tops list for Sandwich schools By Silene Gordon/ sgordon@cnc.com Curriculum standards, technology upgrades and a social worker at the K-8 schools top the list of priorities for Sandwich schools if additional local... [more]

Oak Ridge School Fourth Term Honor Roll Grade 8 High Honors: Amanda Condon, Delaney Drake, Elizabeth Duffy, John Hendy, Katherine Lescarbeau, Emily Scichilone, Zachary Scott, Kristen Silverman,... [more]

UCC school notes Dean's list achievers Bryant University, Smithfield, R.I.: Christopher Lescarbeau, Kenneth Fraser, Joseph Davis and Danielle Antoine of Sandwich;... [more]

Bourne police notes The Bourne Police Department log indicates summer has arrived. Officers last week investigated a reported assault at Mud Cove, larceny from the Main... [more]

Arm wrestlers compete, set sights on nationals Rain put a damper on the Massachusetts State Arm Wrestling Championship Saturday at Smitty's Sports Pub on MacArthur Bouelvard, Pocasset. "The... [more]

CVS decision clarified, lawsuit called off By Paul Gately/ Pgately@cnc.com The Bourne Planning Board has clarified its decision on the CVS pharmacy project at Belmont Circle, amending a section on pedestrian safety at Head... [more]

Selectmen squabble over interim appointment By Paul Gately/ pgately@cnc.com Bourne selectmen on a tense 3-1 vote Tuesday night named Bourne Treasurer Linda Marzelli the town's interim finance director. But member Judith Conron... [more]

Carrara appointed deputy fire chief Bourne selectmen confirmed the appointment Tuesday night of Fire Lt. Joseph Carrara as a deputy chief. Carrara fills the position held by the late... [more]

Second graffiti incident leads to arrest By Paul Gately/ pgately@cnc.com The second graffiti incident in just over a week at the Aptucxet rail overpass has led to the arrest of Joseph Babcock, 18, of Waterhouse Road, Bourne. "Some... [more]

Around Bourne World War II-era ship to visit MMA The John Brown, a Liberty ship from World War II, will visit Massachusetts Maritime Academy in August. Such vessels... [more]

Movie house hopeful seeks help The curtain may yet go up again at the old Buzzards Bay Theater at the west end of Main Street where a preservation project seems to have gained some... [more]

Rain forces annual Strawberry Festival indoors For the first time in 30 years, it rained on the Bourne Historical Society's annual Aptucxet Strawberry Festival Saturday. No matter. The event went... [more]

Bourne landfill had banner year; town plans its future By Paul Gately/ pgately@cnc.com Bourne landfill operations will generate just shy of $14 million when the books close on this fiscal year, up from $7 million in 2004. The... [more]

BHS Class of '43 receives reunion 'aloha' message By Paul Gately/ pgately@cnc.com The Bourne High School Class of 1943 graduated from that old red-brick building at Cotuit Road when the outcome of World War II was seriously in doubt. Members... [more]

Dates set for school cost overrun votes Bourne selectmen Tuesday night called for a special Town Meeting Oct. 2 to consider the school building committee's $5 million request to cover... [more]

Gurnon joins think tank The president of Massachusetts Maritime Academy has joined the advisory council of a think tank at Columbia University dedicated to considering engineering... [more]

Health care provider faces theft charges By Paul Gately/ pgately@cnc.com Bourne police say a Plympton woman working as a home health care provider stole $125,000 to $300,000 from an elderly Falmouth man in her care... [more]

Is tide turning on tug removal? Demolition of the New York Central 16 tug landmark at Belmont Circle seemed imminent last week, but removal was delayed. Preservationists took heart... [more]

Celebrate the Fourth Fireworks are a big part of the Fourth of July on Cape Cod. There's plenty to do on the holiday that signals the start of another summer on Cape Cod. Sandwich... [more]

Bourne works on wind turbine bylaw By Paul Gately/ pgately@cnc.com The Bourne Planning Board will present a bylaw regulating industrial, commercial and residential wind turbines to the November Town Meeting. The primary... [more]

MMA field makeover gets trustee approval By Paul Gately/ pgately@cnc.com Optimism prevailed at the Harrington Building on the Massachusetts Maritime Academy campus last week. Doubts, however, were rising in Alumni Gym. The... [more]

MMA class includes 15 from Cape The Class of 2006 lifted anchor Saturday morning during torrential downpours and said goodbye to Massachusetts Maritime Academy. The class includes... [more]

Around Sandwich
HS start time pushed back Sandwich High School students will have an extra 19 minutes to get ready for school each morning, beginning in September,... [more]

Read the rest of the Upper Cape Codder here, and comment below. 

Amy A. Johnson needs help now

She remains in a coma in the ITC unit at  Brigham & Woman's Hospital
 In just 21 years, Amy touched the lives of so many around her

GOOD FRIEND of the East of Boston crew- Amy A. Johnson- was in a terrible car accident recently. I'll spare you the details, but she's at Brigham and Women's Hospital, suffering pretty badly.

She needs whatever you can offer her- prayers, donations, a good word with the right people.... every little bit helps.

Amy is about the world's sweetest kid, and if you frequented the Dunkin' Donuts on the Cranberry Highway in Wareham, you've probably seen her before. How many mornings of yours did she save with the timely application of coffee? Payback time, folks.

If you're loaded, throw a grand at her. Throw more... we're not stopping you. There is an Amy A. Johnson fund that you can hit off with a fat check, right at the well-located Rockland Trust on Cranberry Highway in Wareham... near the Wally and the Stop-n-Shop.

Don't be cheap. This could be your friend, your kid... you yourself. Drop some cashish.

If you're broke, stop by Sun On The Run (508 743-0700, across from Lindsay's) and dump a few pennies in the jar... go there today to see my $5, if you really like this column.

Read this story about Amy's little angel in this week's Upper Cape Codder

Tragedy strikes family a second time
By Robert Slager/ rslager@cnc.com

A little angel has been whispering into Amy Johnson's ear every day since June 7. The voice of her little sister Kristen, forever frozen in time, is pleading with her to fight a little bit longer.

"I know it's true," said Carol Henderson of Wareham, who lost one daughter to a car accident a decade ago and may now lose another. "Amy has injuries that you and I could not have survived."

Amy Johnson, who moved from Wareham to Bridgewater just a few weeks ago, lost control of her car in the early morning and slammed into a tree near Exit 2 on I-495, suffering massive internal injuries. She remains in a coma in the intensive care unit of Brigham and Woman's Hospital.

Carol was pregnant with Amy when her 3-year-old daughter Kristin suffered critical injuries in a car accident. Kristin fought to survive for seven more years.

"Amy used to tell me how she talks to Kristen every day," Carol said. "I know she's talking to her now."

In just 21 years, Amy touched the lives of so many around her. She attended Bourne High School, and worked for years at the Dunkin' Donut on Cranberry Highway in Wareham. She didn't have a best friend. Just about everybody was her best friend...

Read the rest of the story here.

A Summer Read: Weighing The Cost Of A College Education

By Greg O’Brien, Codfish Press

When the naughty boy fraternity Delta was finally kicked off campus in the 1978 National Lampoon classic “Animal House,” the impish “Bluto” Blutarsky, in the person of John Belushi, declared: “Seven years of college down the drain. Might as well join the…Peace Corps!”

Not a bad game plan, some are wondering today.

Consider this as you lounge on the beach this weekend, fish in Pleasant Bay or cruise to Nantucket: With the spring graduation of thousands of college seniors, many graduates and their parents—braced today with the debilitating cost of a college degree that often has extended the traditional four years to seven so students can work off some of the debt—are asking the question: Is there a better way?

Once the bloom is off the rose of graduation, the math is numbing for graduates and their parents. I feel the pain. My 22-year-old son, Brendan (a product of Nauset Regional High School) just graduated from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. I also have a daughter, Colleen, who is a junior at Elon University, a son, Conor, who will be a senior at Nauset next year, and a home equity line that is wheezing.

The average college graduate leaves school with almost $20,000 in student loans and $2,000 in credit card debt, notes the Chicago Tribune in a Sunday financial piece. And parents, who do not qualify for financial aid and have little tuition reserve, are often left with $50,000 or more in debt for each graduate. Ante up the cost of three or four kids and the sum gives new meaning to the term: mid life crisis.  

There is no relief in sight for the next generation. With the outlay of a college education expected to increase at five percent a year, the average annual cost of a private college in 15 years is pegged at $51,664. Factor five percent a year to the already nose bleed cost of sending a child to Harvard, MIT, Boston College or Boston University, and you’re bracing for an annual expense of $90,000 by 2017.

“(Higher) education is at a crisis point, the result of uncontrolled cost increases over the past 20 years that have greatly exceeded the rate of inflation or annual consumer price indexes,” the Houston Chronicle observes in an editorial. “Tuition forces parents to pull all-nighters, too,” adds Paul Daugherty in the Cincinnati Enquirer.

If something isn’t done soon to slow or defray the escalating cost of a college or graduate school education, low and moderate-income students and their families will be stranded on the bus. An estimated quarter million prospective students a year are now being shut out of the system because of tuition costs and other factors, according to The National Center of Pubic Policy and Higher Education.

There should be no higher a priority in our national agenda. The price of a college education is a non-partisan issue that requires the full attention of Democrats and Republicans in Congress. Otherwise, the national landscape one day will be littered with Bluto Blutarskys.

And that isn’t funny.

Ptown fall, Lightning strikes in Sandwich