ORLEANS – Harry Truman famously complained about a “Do-Nothing Congress.” He would have loved the “Do-Everything Special Town Meeting” held Oct. 24. Acting as the town’s legislators, voters approved spending $3,228,200 through June 2017 on water quality improvement projects, $200,000 for engineering work on permits to dredge channels and rivers to increase tidal flow, and $20,000 to hire a land use consultant ...

ORLEANS — Voters at a special town meeting Monday night approved a $3.22M article to advance the town's efforts to protect water quality. The article reserves around $2.5 million for continued planning and engineering, and about $750,000 for implementing adaptive management measures and program management. The initiative passed on a 369 to 98 secret ballot vote, now goes before voters as a Proposition 2 ½ debt...

ORLEANS – Six months after benching him, the town returned Jon Fuller to the starting line-up Oct. 18. The former selectman, who lost an excruciatingly close race last spring, got 984 votes to 863 for Dave Currier, and will return to the board. “We did a lot more campaigning this time,” said Fuller, who related that he was at the senior center at 5 in the morning to put up his big sign. For him, the turning po...

ORLEANS — Libraries are supposed to be cozy, not crowded. Many think the time has come for a renovation/expansion of the town's much-used Snow Library. Built in 1954 after its original 1877 building across the way was destroyed by fire, 23 years passed before an expansion in 1977 and only 15 before the next augmentation, in 1992. It's been 24 years since the building's last growth spurt. Meanwhile, circul...

ORLEANS — In a display of collegiality, the finance committee eschewed the dais Oct. 13 and sat around a table with representatives of town consultant AECOM to parse a proposed nearly $3.3 million in water quality project spending. Voters will decide the fate of the package Oct. 24 at a special town meeting at 6:30 p.m. at Nauset Middle School; the committee is scheduled to meet there at 5:30 p.m. to vote its rec...

ORLEANS – Six months after benching him, the town returned Jon Fuller to the starting line-up Oct. 18. The former selectman, who lost an excruciatingly close race last spring, got 984 votes to 863 for Dave Currier, and will return to the board. “We did a lot more campaigning this time,” said Fuller, who related that he was at the senior center at 5 in the morning to put up his big sign. For him, the turning po...

ORLEANS — The Oct. 24 special town meeting warrant is small – just seven articles – but it calls for some big decisions. Should Orleans spend almost $3.3 million to continue progress on addressing water quality needs? Should it pay $20,000 to a land use consultant to make sure that the residential rezoning proposed for downtown will work within the town's bylaws? Should the town commit $200,000 to engineerin...

ORLEANS — The cycle of life has always fascinated Judy Scanlon. When she was a child here in summers, her parents took her to Skaket Beach, where she observed activity in tide pools. “They encouraged my inquisitive nature,” she said. Scanlon had something of an acquisitive nature as well. “Snake, turtle, I brought it home,” she said. “I had a flea and wanted to see what would happen if you freeze it. I p...

ORLEANS — A lot gets done quietly at the Orleans Senior Center. On a recent sunny afternoon, a group of painters worked on their canvasses, enjoying the camaraderie of shared studio space. Down the hall, adult day center clients were walking out onto a shady patio to continue their activities in the fresh air. At the front desk, a volunteer was answering a phone request for a ride to a medical appointment. ...

ORLEANS — Two men with deep roots in town who've also seen their share of the world are running for one open seat on the board of selectmen. On Oct. 18 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the senior center on Rock Harbor Road, voters will choose between board of health member Dave Currier and former (for the last five months) selectman Jon Fuller. Fuller: Don't Pass The Buck To The Next Generation ORLE...