ORLEANS — Efforts are underway to safely clean up exposed lead in a work area at the public works garage. But the select board wants to know why its membership wasn't properly informed of the issue. Select Board member Mark Mathison first raised questions about the lead in December. Former Town Administrator John Kelly confirmed the exposure, saying it came while staff were performing fire hydrant maintenance....

ORLEANS – Voters at the annual town meeting in May could be asked to support funding to design the town's next phase of sewer work. The latest phase would cover approximately 300 properties in the areas of Crystal Lake, Pilgrim Lake, Lonnie's Pond and Arey's Pond, as well as a portion of Meetinghouse Pond that was not covered in the second phase of sewering. A timetable laid out to the wastewater management...

ORLEANS – There's great enthusiasm in Orleans for elevating and building upon the town's recreation programming. But a draft study presented to the select board last week says the town lacks the resources and organization needed to do so. A lack of staffing, ineffective leadership, a questionable organizational structure and poor communication and collaboration were among the findings outlined in the organizat...

ORLEANS — Eight new farm plots have been identified for the next phase of agricultural expansion at Putnam Farm. The town's agricultural advisory committee and conservation commission each were presented with options earlier this month for laying out the fourth phase of farm plotting at the farm, which is located off Rock Harbor Road. The new plots will be 50 by 70 feet in size and will join 12 active commu...

ORLEANS – Tiffany Wood-Wright never had issues with her four children taking the bus to and from school, that is until recently. The East Orleans resident, who has children in the Nauset Public Schools including a first and fifth grader at Orleans Elementary School, said adjusted bus routes implemented in early December due to a lack of drivers have caused problems for her and other elementary school parents. ...

ORLEANS – According to the International Fund For Animal Welfare, Cape Cod is a hotspot for dolphin strandings. Now the agency plans to open a facility locally to better address the problem. The zoning board of appeals on Jan. 4 unanimously voted to approve a special permit for IFAW to open and operate a short-term critical intensive care facility at 115 Route 6A. The facility would operate out of the space fo...

ORLEANS – After some initial concerns about project cost and location, the select board has gotten behind plans to seek Community Preservation Act funding to support improvements to the Nauset Beach bandstand. The board indicated its intention to author a letter of support for the project at its Jan. 11 meeting. The board was expected to vote to draft the letter Wednesday. The application to the community p...

ORLEANS – The Orleans Fire Department is allowed to staff as many as five people per shift. More often than not, they get four. But Fire Chief Geof Deering reiterated to the select board recently that his department needs more staff. With seven fire personnel per shift, he said his department can avoid instances where the fire station is left unmanned, a scenario that's become more commonplace as the departmen...

ORLEANS – In December, the conservation commission received a financial donation from Orleans residents Marcie and Hardie Truesdale to be spent on future work at Putnam Farm. The commission on Dec. 20 decided to make quick work of the $15,000 donation, which will in part go toward permitting and designing the restoration of two wetlands on the farm located off Rock Harbor Road. "We think [the work at Putnam...

ORLEANS – The select board plans to make another run at adopting a registration bylaw, this time with a focus on all rentals in town. Voters at the special town meeting in October rejected a proposed registration bylaw for short-term rentals, but the select board on Jan. 4 stressed the importance of tracking rental activity in town. The select board is seeking to rein in what it sees as the overcommercializati...

BREWSTER — In November, conversation on the Facebook page "Orleans, Ma. Community Space" speculated about the future of what locals have colloquially come to call "the Pink Bridge." A post on the page, which also included video of a vehicle approaching the overpass along Freemans Way in Brewster running over Route 6, said the bridge would lose its identifiable pink colored steel as a result of an ongoing state...

EASTHAM – Ken Taber had a good career in the software industry when he and his wife, Erica, decided to pack up and move with their son to Eastham. They moved to the Cape to work at Hole In One, the Eastham and Orleans locations which were at the time owned by Erica's father. But they stopped short of fully committing to the relocation, opting to keep their house in South Windsor, Conn. "We thought 'Let's ju...

ORLEANS – The Centers for Culture and History in Orleans has another three months to utilize space in the town hall annex. After that, the town may have plans of its own for the building. Staff and board members at the CHO have been utilizing space in the annex since 2020 as renovations were made to the property's Meetinghouse. That has included multiple moves of the nonprofit's collections, which number more ...

ORLEANS – It remains to be seen what will ultimately be developed at the site of the former Governor Prence Inn. But the town does know about how much it will cost to clean up the site for future construction. Members of the select board and the affordable housing trust fund board were told Dec. 20 that the total cost for demolition, site restoration and the removal of hazardous materials at the 5.5-acre prope...

ORLEANS – After 38 years in Orleans, Ragg Time Ltd. on Main Street ended 2022 with its best year ever. For owner Jeanie Bessette, that's as good a note as any to go out on. On Saturday, Bessette will close up the women's apparel shop that she's run since 1984, opting to scale back and focus on her seasonal store in Wellfleet. "I've met some wonderful people," said Bessette, a Wellfleet resident. "They're re...

ORLEANS – Those property owners who still need to replace their above-ground fuel storage tanks now have until March 1 to do so, otherwise they will face daily fines. The daily fines of $250 were due to kick in this month. But the board of health on Dec. 15 voted to push back the date in which the health department will begin issuing fines until March 1 in an effort to give both staff in the fire and health de...