ORLEANS — Philip Scholomiti calls them “the flotsam and jetsam of our planet.” Writing to the board of health earlier this year, the Orleans resident said that flimsy single-use plastic bags “mar our highways, clog our storm drains, slowly leach their chemicals into the soil contaminating our food chain, and devastate the animals that inhabit our oceans, bays, and ponds.” Scholomiti called on the health b...

ORLEANS — The heavy lifting is right up front in the special town meeting warrant to be acted upon Oct. 16 at 6:30 p.m. at the Nauset Middle School gym. Article 1 asks for more than $3.6 million to begin construction of the downtown sewer collection system, Article 3 for a commitment of $94,000 to complete the Lonnie's Pond aquaculture experiment, and Article 4 for $75,000 for an independent review of the 25 perc...

ORLEANS — A state lawyer says that the Department of Transportation's intersection project on Main Street can't be changed to include construction of a sewer collection system, which could delay the sewer work well into the next decade. Later this month, town meeting and voters at a subsequent special election are scheduled to decide on spending $3.7 million for the sewer work. The plan was to have Lawrence-...

ORLEANS — In banking terms, Snow Library welcomes withdrawals but has suspended accepting deposits. With the Friends of Snow Library Room in the basement about to be renovated, there is no room to store donated books, audiobooks, CDs, DVDs, and the like. This Saturday, Oct. 7, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Friends will hold its last book sale of the year in hopes of reducing its stores further. Last week, M...

ORLEANS — A state lawyer says that the Department of Transportation's intersection project on Main Street can't be changed to include construction of a sewer collection system, which could delay the sewer work well into the next decade. Later this month, town meeting and voters at a subsequent special election are scheduled to decide on spending $3.7 million for the sewer work. The plan was to have Lawrence-...

ORLEANS — There's really nothing odd about the Odd Fellows. “It's a secret society with no secrets,” said Paul Davies, a former Noble Grand of the Orleans lodge. The Odd Fellows Hall, the tall building at the meeting of Namskaket and Rock Harbor roads, will host a Vintage Market Friday from noon to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. If you haven't been inside the former Northwest Schoolhouse, it's ...

ORLEANS — Decades ago, Massachusetts voters capped municipal budget increases at 2½ percent, plus new growth. With costs such as health benefits growing at three or four times that level, communities have looked to fees to make up some of the difference. “In 1990, the ability to raise revenues just by raising the tax rate stopped,” Selectman Alan McClennen said Sept. 20. “The whole idea of fees came up. Now ...

ORLEANS — The board of selectmen and the finance committee are on the same page heading into the Oct. 16 special town meeting, with favorable recommendations on water quality projects, HVAC upgrades to the elementary school, and other articles. But not all of last week's votes were unanimous. Majorities of both boards agreed that the town should spend $3.68 million to put in the core of the downtown sewer syst...

ORLEANS — The town of Chatham is willing to patrol its section of Nauset Beach, but it wants to share costs and revenues in a new arrangement with the town of Orleans. “We can't just ask our taxpayers to pay that cost,” Chatham Selectman Shareen Davis said at a meeting of the two boards Sept. 13. “We're trying to find the best-case scenario to offset costs.” Following the 2007 break in the barrier beach, ...

ORLEANS — For a while Saturday night, Mother Nature just didn't want summer to end. A heavy blanket of moist air descended on Nauset Beach, where thousands had lined up to face a towering stack of pallets destined to become a glorious bonfire. As Orleans DJ Tom Tuttle spun (appropriately) the long version of “Light My Fire” (“The time to hesitate is through”), the throngs waited patiently for the pyrotechnic...

ORLEANS — In comic books, secret identities are, well, secret. You're not supposed to let anyone know that you have super powers. This year, Orleans Elementary School has upended that expectation. From the moment kindergarten to fifth grade students walked through the doors last week, they have been encouraged to express their own super powers. Don't expect to see kindergartners flying faster than locomot...

ORLEANS — A 108-year-old tradition was renewed in Orleans Friday when Town Clerk Cynthia May awarded the Boston Post Cane to the oldest resident of the town, Sarah Harris. And the tradition is only a bit older than the honoree. Harris turned 103 in June. “I don't mind being old,” Harris quipped. From the comfort of her living room easy chair, she received the congratulations of Selectmen Jon Fuller and Alan...