ORLEANS — Capt. John J. Fitzgerald, like the rest of the men on the bow section of the ill-fated tanker Pendleton, never made it to safety aboard the famous Coast Guard rescue boat CG36500 in that blizzard in 1952. But more than 66 years later, his grandson Matt got to climb aboard, learning about the famous rescue and putting context to some of his own family history. “If I had to sum it up in one word I wo...

ORLEANS — There will be a third article dealing with marijuana at the Oct. 29 special town meeting. A proposed bylaw that would prohibit retail sale of marijuana was checked in at the selectmen's office Sept. 14, hours before the warrant closed. Steve Bornemeier, a former planning board member, and others gathered more than 150 signatures in support, more than the required 100; those have since been certified b...

ORLEANS — The planning board voted last week to maintain a maximum of three recreational marijuana retail establishments in a proposed zoning bylaw amendment. Other options included four, which would be half of the number of liquor stores in town, or eight, the latter as recommended by the board of selectmen. “I'd like to see us walk before we run,” said member Tom Johnson, an adamant advocate of the lower n...

ORLEANS — For some, the town's ship of state is hung up on a sandbar, unable to sail through the planning and permitting necessary to dredge the Nauset Estuary and allow commercial and pleasure craft to navigate more easily between Town Cove and Nauset Inlet. “There IS an emergency in Nauset Marsh,” Charles Carlson wrote to selectmen Kevin Galligan and Mefford Runyon Sept. 3. “Yet, to the best of my knowledge,...

ORLEANS — An international assemblage gathered at the French Cable Station Museum Sept. 6 to hail Le Direct, the first direct transatlantic telegraph connection. “It was a vital communication link,” said James Jefferies, president of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), before presenting the Milestone Achievement Award. In 1898, the cable was “the best available technology (and used) ...

ORLEANS — A day-long music festival Saturday will be bringing live music to Nauset Beach, for the benefit of Nauset Beach. The first-ever Cape Cod Roots and Blues Festival is a collaboration between musician Garrett Dutton, a.k.a. G. Love, and Mike McNamara of the Hog Island Beer Company, and promises a day filled with great music. General admission ticket sales sold out early, but sales may open again if or...

ORLEANS — Consultants have answered a key question by opining that the current Cape Cod Five Operations Center on West Road can probably be re-purposed as affordable apartments. But in answering that question, they’ve opened up countless others. CBI Consulting, LLC, of Boston and Bennett Environmental Associates, Inc., of Brewster submitted their findings to town officials late last month, Town Administrator...

ORLEANS — They're on a mission to celebrate the historic heritage of the town and encourage its preservation. They are the Orleans Historical Commission, and they'd appreciate an invitation to speak to your group about their mission. “Preservation really isn't about laws and regulations,” said commission chairman Ron Petersen. “It's about winning hearts and minds and establishing community norms that support...

ORLEANS — It's a pretty little stretch of sand on Cape Cod Bay, with a big parking lot close by. And you don't need a sticker to use it. The shoreline at Rock Harbor is one of the town's many waterside attractions popular with local residents and visitors alike. Balancing those demands has the board of selectmen contemplating some sort of resident parking sticker that could give priority to those who live he...

ORLEANS — Watching Garrett Loparto unload tub after tub from his lobster boat at Mill Pond landing last week, you might have thought that all was well in his world. Think again. Silting in the Nauset Estuary, which Loparto and other Orleans fishermen must navigate to reach the inlet to the ocean, is “why I have to fish out of a slow boat, so I can lift my motor out,” he said. “All the other guys have 32- to 35...

ORLEANS — Last week wasn't one of the finest hours for rescue lifeboat CG36500. What started as a private chat Aug. 22 between author Casey Sherman and leaders of the Orleans Historical Society, which owns the boat used to save 32 sailors from the wreck of the tanker Pendleton in 1952, sent the rumor mill spinning with speculation about the future relocation of the boat. Sherman contacted community members ...

ORLEANS — A private chat between leaders of the Orleans Historical Society and author Casey Sherman this morning (Aug. 22) led to questions about the future of the iconic CG36500 lifeboat that rescued 32 sailors from the sinking tanker Pendleton in 1952. Sherman, author of “The Finest Hours,” said he participated in a conference call with OHS President Kathleen McNeil and two others and was asked to “leverage ...