 |
 |
| Including
the Villages: Hyannis, Centerville, Osterville, Marstons Mills,
Barnstable Village, West Barnstable |
Articles about Barnstable
|
The media got an early look at Barnstable’s $26 million youth recreation center and twin ice rinks this week and the operative word was “Wow!” So this is what $26 million looks like!
From the gleaming wood-plank floor of the cavernous basketball court and its upper level run-jog-walk track; to the white walls and ceilings of the chilly twin ice rinks imparting the illusion of a polar ice cap; to the airy game room with TV, billiard (pool) and ping-pong tables; to the cafe and carpeted halls, the subterranean rink-level corridors reminiscent of battleship passages flanked by office compartments and lockers; to the “warming room” for recreational skaters with its bright yellow, oval-shaped benches cozily surrounding a toe-warming fireplace, the community’s newest contribution to a higher recreational standard of living holds lofty promise.
After a brief welcome from a beaming Town Manager John Klimm, the town officials who will make the endeavor hum – David Curley, recreation director; Lynne Poyant, community services director; Amy Harwood, the facility’s new marketing manager; and John Juros, project manager for the town, conducted the tour of the Hyannis Youth & Community Center.
Little wonder town officials were eager to welcome the media to the 105,000-square-foot, multi-faceted fun and sports palace at the junction of Bassett Lane and Bearse’s Way – where the Kennedy Rink once stood. Compared to the old rink, it is a modern marvel.
But the shaping of brick and steel, mortar and glass into a seamless and sensible structure punctuated also by various meeting rooms to be used by town agencies when needed, a police substation office at the entrance replacing the one now at North Street and Barnstable Road, is only part of the story.
The programs prepared and still being devised by the Recreation Department for best use of the facility, the media were told, form the soul of the physical plant. “Every day from 3:30 to 5:30 we’ll have local school children here free of charge to enjoy this superb facility,” said Curley. He noted there are 2,500 youngsters living within a one-mile radius. Otherwise, older youth and adults can join up for $20 a year – less than half what a private fitness center, for example, charges for a month – to enjoy the facilities from 6 a.m. to near-midnight.
Curley said ice time is pretty much spoken for from “now until April,” by Barnstable’s high school and other groups such as the home-rink Cape Cod Cubs team of the International Junior Hockey League, a feeder to the NHL. These are promising fiscal signs that the town’s newest “enterprise account” will be able to hold its own financially - music to the taxpayers’ ears. The sale of advertising on the rink boards will also help the revenue stream, Harwood said, as will sales of enclosed skybox seats overlooking the main rink and of course the sale of ice time.
In addition, Harwood will be marketing space in the building – including on the ice and basketball courts, which can be covered with protective flooring to accommodate events like a home show.
It is an energy-efficient building, said Juros, that will, as the result of grants received and being sought, effect power savings via a 10Kw solar panel array on the south-facing rooftop and an eventual 15 Kw (or more) wind turbine already approved by the FAA and looking for a grant. He said the facility also has a co-generation system powered by natural gas, providing as a by-product of heat about half the building’s electrical power needs in addition to a more modern and cost-saving ice-making process.
“But it isn’t only about ice,” Poyant said. She noted, for example, that two downtown high schools - Pope John Paul II and Sturgis Charter Public - whose staffs and student bodies contribute to Main Street businesses and village culture, will be practicing and playing their home games in basketball and volleyball on the new court, a boon to those schools. The court (which can be divided into several smaller courts) also has seating for roughly 600 fans.
Speaking of businesses, Ardeo’s Restaurant, with an outlet just a few blocks away at Main and Sea streets, was winning bidder to operate the full-service café strategically placed between the two rinks with seating for 60 and prime view of the action below.
And as envisioned by town officials, Poyant said, the facility has been designed to serve as an anchor and aesthetic gateway to the retail district a couple blocks away where many restaurants and boutiques await visitors flowing into and out of the Hyannis Youth & Community Center. The building’s architectural touches, Juros noted, blend in with that of the newer developments on Main Street to impart a feeling of continuity and connection.
The grounds are as impressive as the building, albeit the landscaping is still a work in progress. But curving sidewalks and stone walls, the ample parking spaces with wide radius backing and white-light outdoor lighting along with a new roundabout for traffic safety at the front entrance (juncture of Bassett Lane and Bearse’s Way) adds garnish as well as safety.
The main lobby is expansive and flanked by a pro shop, a cultural resources room where parents and children can find help, the police office, and ticket office where the schedule of daily events will be posted on a monitor.
There are skate rentals, first-aid room and a number of security systems in and outdoors to provide safety and efficiency.
Written by Paul Gauvin
Hyannisport is getting back to normal
After the trucks have left town from all the new crews lined up on Irving Street after Senator Kennedy's funeral service now life goes back to normal. One week after the death of Senator Kennedy the village of Hyannis Port is tranquil and serene.
Gone are all the TV reporters each trying to get the story with trucks running nonstop and reporters knocking on doors for stories. Now people are walking down to the Post office, stopping to talk to a neighbor and listening to the waves down at the dock. What they are going to miss is Senator Kennedy out on the water and heaing the stories of him coming back to shore. That is all over now and some would like it back
It was difficult to watch the news coverage of the funeral. It seemed like it almost was not happening and the realization that the three Kennedy brothers were now gone was a little bit to handle. I thought it was remarkable of the people who lined the streets to see the limo go by and all the people at the Sagamore Bridge who had lined up for hours.
To see the office staff on the steps of the Capitol was impressive. And then watching the limos pull over the bride to Arlington was another impressive sight. In fact if you were watching the light was fading on the grave side ceremony and the cameras had to cut away to shots of a bugler and the Washington Monument that were lit at night.
Senator Kennedy was flawed but who amongst us are not flawed. He did a lot for the citizens of Massachusetts and for that we will miss him. I am sure all of his neighbors in Hyannisport are happy to get back to normal even though one of their own will live on in their hearts for years to come.
Written By Richard Talmage
A tour of a Haunted Barnstable
When the Autumn Wind howls and the Rising harvest moon casts an eerie glow over Cape Cod Bay's Great Marsh, what could be better than visiting the sites of real ghost stories along Barnstable Village's "haunted mile?" The Cape and Islands Paranormal Research Society (CAIPRS) runs nightly walking tours from April 16 through mid-November along historic Route 6A, bringing visitors to locations where 400 year old history have been made and numerous ghostly encounters have been reported.
"Barnstable is the most actively haunted town on Cape Cod," says CAIPRS founder Derek Bartlett. Route 6A is a ground zero for ghosts, with 89 reportedly haunted buildings located between Sandwich and Provincetown. Bartlett attributes this to the high concentration of hauntings to the area's long history connected to the sea, rife with turbulent political conflict, shipwrecks, pirates and people coming and going. The old bulidings haven't changed much, either, and it seems that some characters from the past simply don't want to leave.
Bartlett, who calls himself a "skeptical beleiver" in paranormal activity, says that CAIPRS explores the intersection betwwn folklore, reality, science, and history. The group gathers evidence by recording electonic voice phenomena (EVP ), analyzing night-shot photography, measuring variations in electromagnetic fields, and using other modern technology.
The Haunted and History Walking Tour is one of the most popular of CAIPRS offerings, running nightly (except Mondays and Fridays) at 7 pm. The tour, whcih meets at Barnstable's Sturgis Library, makes at least 8 shops to reputely haunted sites. But the paranormal is only one piece of the tour. Along the way, Bartlett points out other historic landmarks like the Cape's first savings bank, built in 1860, and the 17th- century home of the area's first resident gravestone carver.The first haunted location appears before the walk commences. Built in 1644 for Reverend John Lothrop, Sturgis Ligrary - the oldest building in the country that houses a public library - is believed to have a ghost lurking amongst the shelves. Whitness have said a figure alternately appears and vanishes throughout the library. In another recent encounter, a mother mother overhear her six-year-old daughter speaking at length with someone in a new section of the library. When she turned to admonish the girl for talking to strangers, she found no trace of "this nice man" her daughter said she was talkng to.
Mysteriour happenings have bedeviled the inhabitants and staff at The Barnstable Restaurant and Tavern, a short walk east on 6A and the next haunted stop on the tour. Built in 1799 as the Barnstable Inn, the present day restaurant and office complex had its share of mischief, perpetrated by a little girl with brown hair who looks to be from the turn of the century, often seen playing around the tables and opening file cabinets. Bartlett surmises that the apparition may have moved in with resturant items donated from the notoriously haunted Barnstable House. "Items can be possessed by spirits, " he says.
Moving on, our group stepped gingerly around Cobb's Hill Cemetary, a spooky locale with tombstones dating as far back as 1715. Here, one of the participants from our tour reported the evenings first ghost story. Michael Pimentel from Dighton, MA says he saw a vapourous figure near a stand of trees. The best way to describe it is to picture your shadow getting darker and then lighter," Pimentel says. "It was shifting. I said to myself ' I must be imagining this but my wife confirmed it."
Visitors on CAIPRS Ghost hunters Tour which runs Monday and Friday evenings, taking voice recordings and other sensory measurements. Bartlett says that Cobb's Hill has the second largest number of paranormal sightings in a cemetery on Cape Cod - he recalls seeing a dark and shadowy figure that appears periodically on the far hillside. Tour-goers have also made an audio recording of the voice of a your girl in the Davis family burial plot. Whether or not you find a ghost here, Cobbs Hill Cemetery provides a direct connection to old Cape Cod with Crockers, Davis, Bacons and Sturgises in abundance.
After walking through the history rich Old Jail and hearing about the stange occurances in the Crocker Tavern and Barnstable General Store, our group gathered outside the Superior Courthouse. Beyond the tales of the supernatural - CAIPRS has investigated the building three times. After receiving reports of paranormal sightings - Bartlett presents and engaging overview of the history that played out behind its walls.
The tour strolls to its finale at the Barnstable House, alternately known as "The House of 11 Ghosts." "I've had whole tour groups run away because of what they have seen through the house's windows", Bartlett says. The elegant 1716 edifice was one the home of Dr. Samuel Savage. The Barnstable House, Bartlett says, is the most actively haunted building on Cape Cod. And while our group didn't encounter ghosts, we heard a faint sound that resembled a women's voice. Perhaps it was the wind or a bird calling from the marsh, but it could have been teh effect of an intriguing evening of lively ghost stories nad an extiting glimpse into local history.
CAIPS offers an assortment of paranormal theme tours. For more information call 508-771-2725.
Written by Susan Spencer
Hyannis Golf Club
Hyannis Golf Club is located in the crosshairs of Route 132 and Exit 6 off the Mid-Cape Highway and is owned and operated by the town of Barnstable.
This course is built on bumpier terrain than most Cape courses, and it is essentially a golf course surrounded by woods. Here the golfer will find some of the best greens on the Cape.
The opening hole, at 370 yards, is the shortest of the four par 4s. Very good news, because it is followed by the No. 1 handicap hole made famous in a Titleist commercial. Hitting the fairway here is essential, because the second shot is played uphill to a large undulating green.
Unique to this course are back-to-back par 3s at Nos. 7 and 8, 160 yards and 211 yards respectively. Many a good score has been ruined by these two tough holes. The front nine ends with a terrific par-4 of 440-yards. Two solid shots are essential to make par.
No. 12 begins a run of five holes that take you up, down and around the quiet, woodsy back edge of this course, with two short par 4s and a monster 575-yard par 5 at 14 (the No. 2 handicap hole), and a tricky little par 3 at 15. It’s right around here that you realize you’ve been having a great time, loving the way the course plays.
No. 18 is the one hole that can send you home wondering what the heck happened out there. At 429 yards, this is a finishing hole with a bite. Not only is it always into the wind, it requires an accurate drive right center and a solid second shot into a well-guarded green.
From Golfoncapecod.com
|
|
