ORLEANS — Over the last 14 years, the historic Northwest Schoolhouse between Namskaket and Rock Harbor roads has received around $350,000 in community preservation funds from the town. Paul Davies is among those who wants to invite townspeople inside to benefit from their investment in the building, also known as the Odd Fellows Hall. Although a public discussion May 20 at Snow Library on creating a “well-pl...

ORLEANS — Mefford Runyon and David Currier were elected to the board of selectmen Tuesday. Runyon pulled down 1,147 votes to Currier's 1,008. Erik Oliver, who earned 868 votes, said he'll try again. Turnout was 31 percent, with 1,797 ballots cast. Voters backed up several decisions made last week by town meeting, approving borrowing for the DPW/natural resources facility (1,212 to 499), for continued water q...

ORLEANS — Proponents of a new CVS at Skaket Corners swallowed a dose of strong medicine administered by the architectural review committee May 11. With the project under formal review, the board criticized its design, location on the site, height, overall mass, and lack of variety of materials. Stressing the prominence of the site as a gateway to Orleans, members said the building failed to reflect the chara...

ORLEANS — The unanimous opposition of the finance committee at town meeting last week helped scuttle a $510,000 appropriation for the vehicle and equipment maintenance stabilization fund, which fell 12 votes short of the two-thirds majority required. Voters rejected the committee's unanimous opposition to buying a new ambulance on a replacement schedule that's been followed for years. “I think town meeting s...

ORLEANS — Mefford Runyon and David Currier were elected to the board of selectmen Tuesday. Runyon pulled down 1,147 votes to Currier's 1,008. Erik Oliver, who earned 868 votes, said he'll try again. Turnout was 31 percent, with 1,797 ballots cast. Voters backed up several decisions made last week by town meeting, approving borrowing for the DPW/natural resources facility (1,212 to 499), for continued water q...

Orleans voters go to the polls Tuesday, May 16 to decide a three-person race for two three-year terms on the board of selectmen. Below, candidates David Currier, Erik Oliver and Mefford Runyon answer questions posted by The Chronicle. The polls at the senior center on Rock Harbor Road will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.   Name: David Currier Age: 39 Occupation : Self-employed, local business owner...

ORLEANS — Town meeting kept the water quality projects ball rolling May 8, but not without deflating it a bit. Voters – the turnout was 489 - agreed to spend $2,963,560 on work in the fiscal year starting July 1, but removed $730,900 planned to take the design of a wastewater collection system for Meetinghouse Pond to 25 percent completion. They supported the proposed new DPW and Natural Resources building t...

ORLEANS — Town meeting kept the water quality projects ball rolling Tuesday, but not without deflating it a bit. Voters agreed to spend $2,963,560 on work in the fiscal year starting July 1, removing $730,900 planned to take the design of a wastewater collection system for Meetinghouse Pond to 25 percent. They supported the proposed new DPW and natural resources building that will cost $13,575,000 and signed...

ORLEANS — Mike and Viviane Dufresne's dream of opening a restaurant in Orleans had turned into something of a nightmare. That's the word Mike used to describe the permitting process that gave them “nothing but trouble since February” when he spoke up at the Orleans Citizens forum candidate night April 26. Fighting to keep his emotions in check, Dufresne decried a time- and money-consuming system in which confli...

ORLEANS — Two of the three men sitting on the stage of the Nauset Regional Middle School auditorium April 26 will be sitting as selectmen after the May 16 election. That may have explained the robust turnout for the Orleans Citizens Forum's candidates night. “We all want the best for the town,” David Currier said in his opening statement. “We need to find things we can all agree on, get those done first, and...

ORLEANS — More than 500 Cape Codders experienced a sort of therapy session April 20 for what U.S. Sen. Ed Markey called “PTSD: Post Trump Stress Disorder.” Markey and U.S. Rep. Bill Keating took the stage in the Nauset Regional Middle School auditorium with a fighting spirit and insights into the political process, including the likely bipartisan rejection of many of the president's proposed budget cuts. The...

ORLEANS — At a moment when towns such as Chatham and Harwich are taking a regional approach to cleaning their waters, the Nauset Regional School Committee voted unanimously against allowing Orleans to explore discharging treated wastewater at the middle school recreation fields owned jointly by Brewster, Eastham, Orleans, and Wellfleet. The town, through its consultant AECOM, had made the request to investig...