SOUTH YARMOUTH - Fire broke out at a house in South Yarmouth about 8:15 p.m. Monday evening. Firefighters arrived to find flames raging on the outside of 8 Flat Rock Road. Luckily everyone made it out of the home safely. Firefighters quickly knocked down the flames and then checked for any additional fire inside and ventilated heavy smoke from the structure. Fire officals called Yarmouth Police detectives and the State Fire Marshal to the scene to assist in the investigation of the cause of the fire. Officials on the scene were tight lipped when our reporter arrived. Update: A 16-year-old juvenile was arrested and charged with arson in connection with this incident. See update story here (click and scroll down). Photo courtesy of YFD
Single-car crash slows Route 6 traffic BARNSTABLE - A single-vehicle crash slowed traffic along Route 6 eastbound Monday evening.
The crash happened about 8:30 p.m. on the eastbound side between exits 6 and 7., when a Toyota Camry struck the guardrail.
The two occupants of the vehicle escaped injury.
State Police are investigating the crash which closed one lane until the vehicle was towed away.
Man airlifted after severing fingers in Cotuit
COTUIT - A man reportedly severed the thumb and a finger on one of his hands in an apparent construction accident in Cotuit Monday afternoon. Rescuers were called to 220 Crocker Neck Road about 3:30 p.m. The victim was then taken to Lowell Park and Medflighted to a Boston Hospital where surgeons hoped to be able to reattach the digits. Photo by Frank F. Paparo/CWN
Harwich Police week in review HARWICH - From Sunday January 24, 2010 to Sunday January 131, 2010 the Harwich Police Department responded to 317 calls for service. Below are the subjects who have been charged with crimes in connection with some of these calls. All suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Edward Clifford, 24, of South Harwich was arrested by Patrol Officer Derek Dutra and charged with Assault and Battery and Intimidation of a Witness. Mr. Clifford was arrested as the result of a Domestic Violence call.
Bradley Walker, 55, of South Harwich was arrested by Patrol Officer Neil Nolan on an outstanding warrant. Mr. Walker was arrested during a motor vehicle stop.
Angela Visceglio, 17, of Yarmouth was arrested by School Resource Officer Jonathan Mitchell and charged with Assault and Battery and Disturbing a School Assembly. Ms. Visceglio was arrested during a disturbance at Cape Cod Regional Technical High School.
James Rose, 38, of West Harwich was arrested by Patrol Officer Keith Kannally and charged with Assault with a Dangerous Weapon. Mr. Rose was arrested during a Domestic Violence call.
David Chase, 51, of South Harwich was arrested by Patrol Officer Aram Goshgarian on an outstanding warrant. Mr. Chase was arrested as the result of a disturbance at his apartment.
John Mcguire, 54, of East Harwich was arrested by Patrol Officer Amy Walinski and charged with Operating a Motor Vehicle with a Suspended Drivers License. Mr. Mcguire was arrested during a motor vehicle stop.
Matthew Berry, 28, of Harwich Center was arrested by Patrol Officer Paul Boorack and charged with Operating Under the Influence of Alcohol, Negligent Operation of a Motor Vehicle, and three other motor vehicle violations. Mr. Berry was arrested during a motor vehicle stop.
Trevor Shea, 24, of Brewster was arrested by Patrol Sergeant John Sullivan Jr. and charged with Operating Under the Influence of Alcohol (3rd Offense), Reckless Operation of a Motor Vehicle, Leaving the Scene of a Property Damage Crash, Disorderly Conduct, and two other motor vehicle violations. Mr. Shea was arrested during a motor vehicle crash in which he reportedly fled the scene.
Gerard Peckham, age 19, of Division Street, West Harwich was issued a criminal complaint by Patrol Officer Aram Goshgarian charging him with Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle, Reckless Operation of a Motor Vehicle, Leaving the Scene of a Property Damage Crash, and another motor vehicle violation. Mr. Peckham was charged in connection with a single vehicle crash in which his mother allegedly assisted him by driving him from the scene.
(No mugshot)
Brian Walsh, 69, of East Harwich was issued a criminal application by Patrol Officer Aram Goshgarian charging him with Operating Under the Influence of Alcohol (2nd Offense) and Negligent Operation of a Motor Vehicle. Mr. Walsh was cited as the result of a 4 vehicle crash that he caused in the parking lot of Stop and Shop. (see related story here) [click and scroll down]
(No mugshot) Release furnished by Harwich Police
Provincetown Police week in review PROVINCETOWN - From Monday January 25th 2010 to Sunday January 31st 2010 the Provincetown Police logged 390 calls for service. All parties are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Cole, Markel C, 26, ofProvincetown
01/28/10 Possession of Class D substance w/intent to distribute
01/28/10 Illegal possession of Class D. substance
01/28/10 Controlled substance in a school zone
01/28/10 Breaking and entering in the daytime with intent to commit a felony
01/28/10 Operating a motor vehicle without a license
(no mugshot)
Arrested by Provincetown Detective Monica Himes and Truro Investigator Sergeant David Perry, after a joint investigation. Release furnished by Provincetown Police
Ham operators test self-sufficiency
HYANNIS – In times of crisis and natural disasters, amateur radio – better known as Ham radio -- has historically been used as a means of emergency communication when wireline, cell phones and other conventional means of communications fail.
To test their systems and hone their capabilities, amateur radio operators from the Cape Cod and Islands District Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) conducted a test of their operational capabilities this past Saturday with a winter drill named “Operation Clear Ice”.
ARES District Emergency Coordinator Frank O’Laughlin created a scenario for this year’s winter drill that pictured Cape Cod crippled by an ice storm and lashed by the 70 mph winds of a nor’easter. Temperatures in the teens and a sharp northwest wind on the day of the drill lent credibility to the exercise.
In O’Laughlin’s vivid fictional depiction of the storm most of the Cape is coated with an inch and a quarter of ice while the Islands are contending with almost half an inch. The ice and the nor’easter’s winds have knocked out power to virtually the entire region and destroyed many parts of the electric grid.
Antennas on most repeaters -- including amateur radio and public safety -- have been heavily damaged or are unusable due to ice accretion. Cell systems have been severely impacted and service is out in most areas. The 800 MHz system for public safety is almost completely degraded as well.
The conditions described above are what ARES trains for says O’Laughlin. “It’s all about putting communications ‘boots on the ground’ -- operating outside to get expedient masts and antennas in place.”
Operation Clear Ice was conducted over a three-hour period on January 30, 2010. Teams fanned out to various locations and set up from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Actual operations ran from 10 a.m. to noon across the Cape and Islands. O’Laughlin says that the exercise was designed to test the ability of emergency shelters in Sandwich, Yarmouth, Harwich and Eastham to communicate with a centrally located expedient command station in Hyannis at the American Red Cross facility on South Street. It also tested those same abilities with hospital stations in Hyannis and Falmouth as well as ARES member home stations on the Cape and the Islands.
In addition to voice communications, the ARES teams communicated using “Winlink” -- a worldwide radio messaging system that mixes Internet and amateur radio technologies providing e-mail with attachments, position reporting, graphic and text weather bulletins, emergency/disaster relief communications and message relay.
A portable tower system built by Mark Avery of Dennis (photos at top and middle right) was employed in Hyannis to help with direct simplex FM operation. No existing repeaters were used in this exercise.
ARES teams also deployed high-frequency Near Vertical Incidence Skywave (NVIS) systems using horizontal antennas to blanket the region with signals that are immune to terrain features.
IN 2009 three field sites operated during the ARES drill. This year’s drill expanded to include two new sites – Nauset Regional High School in Eastham and Dennis Yarmouth (DY) Regional High School in South Yarmouth (where ARES member Gaynor Foster operated his self-built expedient station in the DY parking lot as shown in the photo at bottom right).
“Operation Clear Ice accomplished the mission goals of communications contact and training of our operators,” says O’Laughlin. “Some technical glitches occurred and are to be expected in a cold, harsh environment, but our redundant equipment supply doctrine allowed those issues to be overcome.”
Amateur radio communications are all about self-reliance says O’Laughlin: “They are effective not because of high technology, but because of our ability to set up operations without reliance on the existing infrastructure that supports most normal telecommunications.” Story and photos by Kevin Morley/CWN
Dr. Joy Browne
Coast to Coast with George Noory
BARNSTABLE
Edward Clifford, 24, of South Harwich was arrested by Patrol Officer Derek Dutra and charged with Assault and Battery and Intimidation of a Witness. Mr. Clifford was arrested as the result of a Domestic Violence call.
Bradley Walker, 55, of South Harwich was arrested by Patrol Officer Neil Nolan on an outstanding warrant. Mr. Walker was arrested during a motor vehicle stop. 
Angela Visceglio, 17, of Yarmouth was arrested by School Resource Officer Jonathan Mitchell and charged with Assault and Battery and Disturbing a School Assembly. Ms. Visceglio was arrested during a disturbance at Cape Cod Regional Technical High School.
James Rose, 38, of West Harwich was arrested by Patrol Officer Keith Kannally and charged with Assault with a Dangerous Weapon. Mr. Rose was arrested during a Domestic Violence call.
David Chase, 51, of South Harwich was arrested by Patrol Officer Aram Goshgarian on an outstanding warrant. Mr. Chase was arrested as the result of a disturbance at his apartment.
John Mcguire, 54, of East Harwich was arrested by Patrol Officer Amy Walinski and charged with Operating a Motor Vehicle with a Suspended Drivers License. Mr. Mcguire was arrested during a motor vehicle stop.
Matthew Berry, 28, of Harwich Center was arrested by Patrol Officer Paul Boorack and charged with Operating Under the Influence of Alcohol, Negligent Operation of a Motor Vehicle, and three other motor vehicle violations. Mr. Berry was arrested during a motor vehicle stop.
Trevor Shea, 24, of Brewster was arrested by Patrol Sergeant John Sullivan Jr. and charged with Operating Under the Influence of Alcohol (3rd Offense), Reckless Operation of a Motor Vehicle, Leaving the Scene of a Property Damage Crash, Disorderly Conduct, and two other motor vehicle violations. Mr. Shea was arrested during a motor vehicle crash in which he reportedly fled the scene.
HYANNIS – In times of crisis and natural disasters, amateur radio – better known as Ham radio -- has historically been used as a means of emergency communication when wireline, cell phones and other conventional means of communications fail.
Operation Clear Ice was conducted over a three-hour period on January 30, 2010. Teams fanned out to various locations and set up from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Actual operations ran from 10 a.m. to noon across the Cape and Islands. O’Laughlin says that the exercise was designed to test the ability of emergency shelters in Sandwich, Yarmouth, Harwich and Eastham to communicate with a centrally located expedient command station in Hyannis at the American Red Cross facility on South Street. It also tested those same abilities with hospital stations in Hyannis and Falmouth as well as ARES member home stations on the Cape and the Islands. 
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