EASTHAM – Court Watson took an art history class as a sophomore at Nauset Regional High School. But nothing he learned in the classroom could have prepared him for the things he saw in Rome up close. One of 17 Nauset High students who went on a trip to the ancient city over the school's February break, Watson, now a senior, recalled a visit to a museum in a house built upon layers of the city's past history. ...

ORLEANS – Annual town meeting is May 9, and there will be no shortage of articles for voters to work their way through. The select board on March 30 voted to place on the warrant and recommend a total of 85 articles, including 75 for the annual town meeting and an additional 10 for the warrant for special town meeting. The spring sessions are scheduled for 6 p.m. inside the Nauset Regional Middle School gymnas...

ORLEANS – If the Barley Neck Inn hopes to continue offering outdoor music this summer season, it may need more than just an outdoor entertainment license. Building Commissioner Thomas Evers has determined that the Beach Road establishment, which is located in a rural business district, first needs to apply for and receive a special permit from the zoning board of appeals to host outdoor music in order to apply...

ORLEANS – The deadline to return nomination papers to run in the May 17 annual town election came and went Tuesday, but there will be no contested races. Candidates could take out papers for election or re-election to the select board, board of health, Orleans School Committee, Nauset Regional School Committee, Snow Library Board of Trustees and the positions of town constable and town moderator. Incumbent ...

ORLEANS – Local officials hope a new outdoor entertainment license application will help the town steer clear of the complaints and confusion that frustrated some businesses and residents last year. The board's decision last spring to allow live outdoor music at the Barley Neck Inn led to a dispute between the Beach Road restaurant and some abutters who complained about noise and parking problems at the establ...

ORLEANS – A new town position and committee are being recommended to help steer economic development efforts downtown and in the area of Town Cove. Creating an economic development and tourism director position and corresponding committee was among several recommendations in a draft economic development plan presented to the planning board last week. The planning board has been working with Streetsense Cons...

ORLEANS – After almost 70 years, Orleans may soon have a new library. Steven Gass, who chairs the Snow Library's board of trustees, made his pitch to the select board March 23 to allocate north of $20 million in capital improvement spending over the next three fiscal years to build a new library. The trustees proposed spending $150,000 for a feasibility study in fiscal 2025, $1 million for a design contract in...

ORLEANS – About six years ago, Kevin Garrad found himself at a crossroads. A seasoned Special Forces captain on the verge of retirement, he wrestled not only with who he was, but also who he wanted to be moving forward. A native of Hertfordshire, England, Garrad moved with his family to the U.S. the day before the Sept. 11 attacks, and at just 17, joined the U.S. Army a month later. But after eight tours of du...

ORLEANS – Sewer rate projections were presented to the select board last week, but members questioned how those numbers will hold up once the town's new treatment plant and wastewater collection system is up and running. The 1,105 anticipated sewer users downtown are expected to begin tying into the system in September when the new plant on Overland Way goes online. Tom Daley, the town's public works director,...

ORLEANS — Patrick Clark's career as an educator started at Nauset Regional High School. Now almost 28 years later, he's been tapped as its next principal. School officials in Nauset didn't have to look far in selecting Clark, who was hired as an assistant principal at the high school in August. He will take the reins as principal effective July 1, the district announced in a press release last week. Clark w...

ORLEANS – An override request is heading to this spring's town election to offset the town's higher-than-anticipated contribution to the Nauset Regional School District budget for the coming fiscal year. Orleans has 27 additional students attending Nauset schools for the coming 2022-2023 school year. As a result, the town's share of the regional school budget is $627,032, or 2.3 percent, higher than what the t...

ORLEANS – A request for funding to restore the Orleans Community Center on Main Street will not go before town meeting voters this spring as hoped. But advocates behind the project aren't about to throw in the towel on plans for the historic building. "We are committed to making this happen," Alan McClennen, who chairs the town's community center renovation task force, told the select board March 16. McClen...