ORLEANS — Sharks are becoming a fact of life in the waters off Cape Cod, and the town needs to alter its beach rescue operations. “The regularity of white sharks being in the vicinity of the beach justifies a new approach to ocean rescue,” Natural Resources Director Nate Sears told selectmen Aug. 23. “I no longer feel comfortable sending lifeguards a considerable distance offshore to rescue persons in distre...

ORLEANS — The word “decision”appeared three times on the selectmen's Aug. 17 agenda, but the only decision the four voting members could agree on was to hold another meeting to clear the air on the way forward with water quality remediation projects. Colleague David Currier remained sidelined due to a potential conflict of interest if he discusses or votes on the design of a wastewater collection system for ...

ORLEANS — On a day when 40,000 marched to Boston Common to protest hate speech, Cape Codders held a unity rally to show their support. “Love stops the hate,” the Rev. Sally Norris of Federated Church of Orleans told more than 125 people gathered in an arc before her on the village green Aug. 19. “Goodness stops the evil.” Norris and the Revs. Ken Campbell and Wesley Williams, co-chairs of the MLK Action T...

ORLEANS  —  Members of the "Martin Luther King Action Team" of the Nauset Interfaith Association will gather on the Village Green in Orleans on Saturday, August 19 at 1:30 PM to celebrate "Unity in Diversity." Organizers seek to acknowledge equal rights and justice among all members of the local community. "We repudiate the idea that our country or any part of our country belongs to any particular group of ...

ORLEANS — In 2003, Iraq felt the fire and fury of an American-led invasion. In 2017, on Cape Cod, Iraqi refugee families enjoyed the fun and friendliness of a Cape Cod weekend arranged by the Nauset Interfaith Association. On Friday, host families from Brewster, Eastham, Harwich, Orleans, and Yarmouth welcomed 18 refugees who have settled in the Worcester area at St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Harwich. They ...

ORLEANS — Tonight (Aug. 17) at 7, the board of selectmen and the finance committee will meet for a joint work session on wastewater issues, leading off with a workshop on a multi-variable matrix of options for funding a sewer and treatment system. The boards were to hear as well what sort of assurances bond counsel would require if the town uses state land at Route 6's Exit 12 for the system's primary dispo...

ORLEANS — Selectmen got an overview – and even an underview – of bicyclist and pedestrian safety issues in town when they met with Police Chief Scott MacDonald Aug. 2. The “underview” involved discussion of a potential Cape Cod Rail Trail tunnel under Main Street near Old Colony Way, a vexed intersection with many competing interests. Cyclists are required to hop off their bikes and cross streets as pedestri...

ORLEANS — You won't be breaking the law if you walk down the middle of Main Street between routes 28 and 6A next Wednesday night. If you don't believe us, you can ask all the police officers doing the same thing. From 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Aug. 16, that stretch will be closed for the annual Orleans Police Block Party, a downtown tradition since the town's bicentennial in 1997. “I think I have been to every...

ORLEANS — A baseball story is more than a play-by-play and a box score. It's a summertime ritual that enfolds more stories than you can imagine. Take last week's Cape Cod Baseball League game at Eldredge Park between the circuit's top two teams, the Orleans Firebirds and the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox. With just a week to go until the last regular-season contest on Aug. 3 (the Firebirds are in Chatham tonight t...

ORLEANS — Creating housing options that match the town's changing demographics is not impossible, a consultant told the planning board and affordable housing committee last week. Karen Sunnarborg, who's been working on a detailed housing study for Orleans, presented a clutch of short- and longer-term strategies at a public hearing July 25. “So much of this came out of the lively discussions and terrific conver...

ORLEANS — A local organization that keeps the town green has got the blues – but that's a good thing. On Aug. 7, blues artist G. Love will perform a benefit concert for the Orleans Conservation Trust at the Academy Playhouse. Given that fewer than 30 tickets remained as of Monday, we interrupt this story with ordering information: 508-255-1963 or web.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/976370 The show will help fund th...

ORLEANS — Town Administrator John Kelly's proposal to add ombudsman duties to the job description of his incoming assistant town administrator ran into a roadblock last week. With the impending retirement of Assistant Town Administrator Myra Suchenicz, Kelly told selectmen July 19, he had chosen Licensing Agent/Procurement Coordinator Liana Surdut for the job after advertising the position internally. In his...