ORLEANS -- The Centers for Culture and History in Orleans, better known as the CHO, has long been an ambassador and safekeeper of town history. But the organization's staff and board of directors see the potential for it to be a broader community resource. With recent renovations to the CHO Meetinghouse and abutting Hurd Chapel, that refocused mission will soon be put into practice. "We're trying to transfo...

ORLEANS — In a small space in the back of the lower level of Hilltop Plaza, members of the Nauset Model Railroad Club busy themselves with some last-minute preparations. Elaborate tracks and layouts, each varying in size and design, fill the room. The largest layout, an elevated "O Gauge" track, occupied the attention of Jeff Bassett. A member of the club for more than 10 years, Bassett not only knows his trai...

ORLEANS — Efforts to secure necessary funding for a proposed affordable housing development at 107 Main St. are following separate but parallel tracks. Between an application submitted to the community preservation committee seeking $1 million for the project in the spring and an earmark seeking the same amount as part of the senate's ARPA bill, local and regional housing officials are confident that the funds...

WELLFLEET — After a three-year hiatus, the Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory Commission could be on track to begin meeting again. The commission, which provides input from Lower Cape towns on policies and programs in the National Seashore, has been dormant since its authorization expired in September 2018. Legislation is working its way through the U.S. Senate to reauthorize the commission, but whether or no...

ORLEANS - Heading into last month's special town meeting, select board members anticipated that one article in particular might stir up some discussion in the Nauset Regional Middle School Auditorium. The Orleans School Committee's request for $495,000 to fund a universal pre-kindergarten program in town was expected to draw some back and forth, especially given the cost, which was to be funded through a Propo...

ORLEANS -- After being held virtually in 2020, a celebrated holiday tradition returns next week to Orleans. The Orleans Chamber of Commerce will bring back its annual Santa Stampede as a live event on Dec. 4. The 5K and accompanying kids race were held virtually last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The stampede is the cornerstone of the chamber's Seaside Christmas festivities, which also include events s...

ORLEANS -- With town roadways facing an increased risk of flooding in the coming years, local officials are being asked to prioritize which stretches of road are most in need of protection. The Cape Cod Commission and Woods Hole Group presented findings of its analysis of the town's low-lying roads to Orleans officials Nov. 16. The presentation, which was held remotely via Zoom, was the first of several public...

ORLEANS – For members of the Nauset Regional School Committee, any discussion about using district land for a new fire station in Orleans is premature. That was the message Nov. 18 from committee members, who for the first time publicly addressed discussion that has been ongoing among town officials about possibly building the new station on three acres of land currently occupied by Nauset Regional Middle Scho...

ORLEANS -- The planned renovation of the Main Street community center promises to bring many improvements to the aging facility. But questions were raised last week about if and how the project will increase the functionality of the building. The select board on Nov. 17 voted 5-0 to endorse the placement of an article seeking community preservation funds for construction on the warrant for the annual town meet...

ORLEANS - Michael Mansfield might not be a household name, but for State Rep. Tim Whelan the nation's longest serving senate majority leader embodied what it was to be a veteran. From his time as a congressman and senator representing the state of Montana to his long tenure as U.S. Ambassador to Japan and his integral role in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Mansfield's credentials were many. But m...

ORLEANS -- The select board wants to find a way to lower betterment costs for users in the Meetinghouse Pond sewer area, but it remains to be seen if they can work out a plan in time for the annual town meeting this spring. Figures presented to the select board Nov. 10 show that Meetinghouse Pond users are currently slated to pay more than twice that of downtown users in betterments. Sewer use rules and reg...

ORLEANS -- The planning board wants industrially zoned areas in town to be considered as possible locations for dormitory-style workforce housing. The board believes that dormitory housing could be a way of creating more places to live for seasonal workers that local businesses depend on during the summer months. Businesses in Orleans and across the Cape and Islands were plagued this past summer by a lack of s...

ORLEANS - In Bob Long's memory, he's been driving on Nauset Beach since he could see over the dashboard. "I grew up out there," said Long, a Dennisport resident and Chatham native whose family has had a camp on the Chatham section of the beach for more than 70 years. Every year, Long and others look forward to the first Friday of November, the day that the low beach area traditionally opens up for users wit...

ORLEANS - Thanksgiving is still a week away, but inside the former Olympia Sports in Skaket Corners, it's already starting to feel a lot like Christmas. On an unseasonably warm late fall afternoon last week, a handful of volunteers busied themselves setting up decorations and organizing paperwork in anticipation of this year's Adopt-a-Family program. The annual holiday workshop, which is organized by the Homel...

ORLEANS -- For Geof Deering and his staff at the Orleans Fire Department, the Oct. 27 nor'easter, which left almost all of Orleans without power, made for an intense but memorable workweek. Over the course of three days, local officials and Eversource staff worked to restore power to almost the entire town. On Oct. 27, about 91 percent of Orleans residents and businesses were left without power due to the nor'...

Wreckage of a plane that was reported missing early last week has been located, but there is still little information about the man who was piloting the aircraft. State police divers, accompanied by Chatham and Harwich harbormaster personnel, located wreckage from the 1979 Piper Dakota aircraft early in the afternoon Nov. 4 about two miles east of Nauset Beach, Chatham Harbormaster Stuart Smith said. Four days...