ORLEANS – Off of Skaket Beach Road, there’s a 40-year old Cape house with a view of the marsh. It’s well maintained, Town Assessor Brad Hinote told the select board last week, but it’s “fairly basic” and has never been renovated. It could be yours for just north of a million dollars. In his update to the select board July 20, Hinote used the property as an example of what buyers can get in town for $1...

ORLEANS – How do town boards and committees invite new members and groom others into leadership roles? The select board hopes a new policy will help balance both needs. The board voted 5-0 July 20 to adopt a new policy that encourages more turnover on boards and committees and a better rotation of chairpersons. The policy comes after weeks of involved discussion among board members on how to get more people ac...

ORLEANS – You should know that the following is not a fairy tale, but rather a sea story. “A fairy tale begins ‘Once upon a time,’” said Orleans resident Jon Fuller, who in addition to four years of active duty with the US Navy later spent 27 years in the Naval Reserves. “A sea story begins with ‘This ain’t no lie.’” It’s an apt qualifier for the story of the USS Warrington (DD-843), the decommissioned Nava...

ORLEANS – The increased commercialization of short-term rentals in town has been identified as a growing concern by the select board. But just how big of a problem is it? That was the question posed by Planning Board Chair Debra Oakes during the select board's July 13 meeting. She said rentals have been a fact of life in Orleans at least as far back as when she moved to town in 1993. "The year-round populat...

ORLEANS – Talks on siting a new fire station on Orleans Elementary School land came to an impasse last week, leaving plans for the project up in the air. The town's fire rescue station feasibility study committee voted July 11 to endorse a plan to demolish the existing fire station on Eldredge Park Way and build a new station nearby on an acre of elementary school land. But the committee quickly rescinded its ...

ORLEANS – As the select board continues to look at ways to improve upon its existing noise bylaw, the board opted against removing a clause from the bylaw exempting establishments with liquor licenses. Town Administrator John Kelly said there has been discussion amongst the board about removing the clause and suggested an article could be drafted seeking to remove it for the special town meeting in October. Bu...

When Alan Carrier and his wife, Kate, bought the Viking Shores Motor Inn last summer, they put a lot of work into making sure the property was ready to accommodate guests. That included making the inn's website and online reservation system compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Despite this, the Eastham inn was served papers last month alleging that the website failed to meet the standards of the...

ORLEANS — As one marijuana retailer continues to make its way through local permitting, a second expects to begin the process this summer. Ember Gardens plans to open a retail facility at 41 Route 6A, hopefully in 2023, according to the company's CEO, Shane Hyde. The property, located across from the former Lobster Claw restaurant, sits along a stretch of Route 6A that town officials are eying for future ec...

ORLEANS – Three months out from October's special town meeting, the select board still has plenty of work ahead of it in crafting a short-term rental bylaw for voters' consideration. The board has been working with Town Counsel Michael Ford in recent months to craft a bylaw to better regulate the operation of short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods. Of particular concern is the increased commercializat...

ORLEANS – About a week after the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in which 19 students and two teachers were killed, Gussy McKusick came before the select board with a call to action. "I'm here tonight because I'm tired of crying myself to sleep," she said. "I am grieving about what happened in Uvalde, but now I'm frustrated and I'm angry." Encouraging the town to "think globally and act lo...

ORLEANS – Sitting on a tree-lined stretch of South Orleans Road near downtown, the French Cable Station Museum blends in with its quaint, small town surroundings...almost too well. The museum's unassuming look disguises its unique historical significance. The station, built in 1891, served as the end point for a telegraph cable that allowed communication between the United States and France. The existing build...

NORTH EASTHAM — Chris Ellsasser likes to take his meetings on the go. He prefers walking and talking with students and staff, an approach he says helps him and his assistant principals, Sean Fleming and Patrick Clark, stay on top of the busy world of education that bustles around them. "One of the philosophies I have is if you are present, things don't escalate," he said. "We probably each talk to a hundred pe...