Spring is officially here and what better way to celebrate the new season than by corralling together the most read stories on the Cape Cod Times website from the past week. Currently on the site we have a one-on-one interview with West Barnstable resident Dawn Capra, who had to have a partial amputation of her right leg after she was hit by a car at the Barnstable Transfer Station; an update on the new movie theater at the Cape Cod Mall; a look at why a Hyannis Main Street building plan failed to gain historic commission approval; and more.
On the Cape Cod Times sports page you can find coverage of high school wrestling matchups, track & field standouts, plus much more.
Here’s a look at the most popular stories on the Cape Cod Times website this week.
Barnstable teacher petitions for ‘Anti-Racist School System’
Martha Rockwell Swindler, an employee of Barnstable Public Schools, spoke about what she calls pervasive racism during a School Committee meeting.
“I am afraid of retribution. I fear that speaking the truth today will affect my job status, regardless of my past as a dedicated employee for over 30 years,” said Rockwell Swindler during the public comment session at the Feb. 6 meeting. “This is the climate of our district.”
On Jan. 29, Rockwell Swindler had launched “Petition to be an Anti-Racist School System” urging the public to sign if they are looking for accountability, equity, and justice in the district.
The document also calls for accountability for what Rockwell Swindler described as the “unjust firing” of Associate Principal Hope Taylor.
Click the story link to learn more about the petition Rockwell Swindler has created.
Centerville youth librarian says she was fired. Here’s what parents, library leaders say
About three dozen families recently protested in support of the Centerville Public Library’s former Youth Services Director, Megan McClelland.
On March 12, the library announced on social media that McClelland would no longer be working at the library.
Despite an outcry of support for McClelland and calls from the public to reinstate her, the library remains mum on her departure.
Click the story link to read more about what people had to say in support of McClelland.
Oldest Pearl Harbor survivor honored in Barnstable on 105th birthday
Freeman K. Johnson, the oldest living survivor of the Pearl Harbor attack, had his 105th birthday celebration Wednesday at the Barnstable Adult Community Center in Hyannis.
Johnson, who lives in Centerville, was a machinist first class working in a boiler room of the USS St. Louis at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, that infamous day, and also witnessed the Japanese surrender in 1945.
Diane Johnson described her father at 105 as “very agile and smart and a pistol.” He didn’t retire until he was 90 when he was working for Meals on Wheels.
Click the story link to read more about the birthday celebration and the life of Freeman K. Johnson.
Wampanoag chef Sherry Pocknett moves back to Mashpee, hopes to open new restaurant
James Beard Award-winning chef Sherry Pocknett is looking to teach Indigenous Wampanoag cooking or open an eatery in Mashpee.
Pocknett is the daughter of Mashpee Wampanoag Chief Vernon “Sly Fox” Pocknett, who died in 1999. She learned to hunt, fish, forage and cook with her family. She has been passing on those Eastern Native traditions for decades, as a caterer for many functions, including the annual Mashpee Wampanoag Powwow.
“I just moved back to Mashpee and I would love to open something there. It’s just a matter of finding something that’s reasonable that I can afford,” Pocknett said in a telephone interview.
Click the story link to read more about Pocknett’s plans and where you can see her on television.
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