ORLEANS — The Centers for Culture and History in Orleans (formerly the Orleans Historical Society) has ended plans to acquire the historic Captain Linnell House. Owners Bill and Shelly Conway have put their retirement plans on hold and are taking reservations for Christmas parties and weddings again. “Next year will be our 32 nd year,” Shelly Conway said in a phone interview Monday. “We’ve weathered a lot o...

ORLEANS — More than a century and a half after Henry David Thoreau of Concord stopped at Higgins’s tavern on his journey to Provincetown, Frank Durant of Salem spoke with a reporter at Ames Pizzeria before setting off to walk in the steps of the sage of Walden Pond. Like Thoreau, Durant is a man of many talents. He’s an actor and producer who studied storytelling at Harvard Divinity School with the one and o...

ORLEANS — Another voice has been added to the conversation about the best use of the town’s transfer station. This afternoon (Oct. 17), the board of health will review a report from Kari Parcell, the county’s municipal assistance coordinator, on how to increase recycling opportunities. After a recent public hearing at which opinions were mixed on a proposed change to single-stream recycling, the board decide...

ORLEANS — The animal control and regulation task force, which includes five members who own dogs and two who do not, want to hear from “constituencies that don’t have an actual seat at the table of the committee,” vice chair Karl Oakes said in an interview last week. For instance, “We don’t know to what extent being perceived as a dog-friendly town is important to the rental community,” he said. “If we chang...

ORLEANS — An override of the tax levy limit in the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2022, will be needed to maintain the current level of services, Town Administrator John Kelly told the board of selectmen Oct. 2. With declining revenue from the beaches and hotel/motel tax receipts being shifted to a stabilization fund to help pay wastewater costs, and anticipated higher costs for factors such as benefits and u...

ORLEANS — It’s not easy finding an affordable place to live on Cape Cod, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that increasing the town’s stock of affordable housing is not a simple task. Like homeowners pouncing on every possibility, the affordable housing committee and the affordable housing trust board have pursued a full portfolio of options: purchasing land on which Habitat for Humanity will build homes, paying...

ORLEANS — Sixteen adults with severe autism will start moving into their new homes at Cape Cod Village early next year. Before then, there’ll be a holiday party in the development’s community resource center to celebrate the opening of the $7 million development. Board members and founders Bob and Lauren Jones walked the property, bounded by the Mid-Cape Home Center, the Cape Cod Rail Trail, and a cranberry ...

ORLEANS — Chairman Ron Petersen admits that most people think of the historical commission as working to preserve the historic buildings of the town, and that’s a big part of its mandate. But in a talk last month hosted by the Orleans Conservation Trust, Petersen noted that the commission’s charge extends to historic landscapes as well. “We’re charged with preserving and developing the historic resources of ...

ORLEANS — It was a little too close for comfort for a surfer off Nauset Beach Friday morning, after a white shark passed within feet of his board. “The whole experience still feels utterly surreal,” said Devon Zimmerman of Brooklyn, N.Y., reflecting on the encounter. Zimmerman was near the center of Nauset Beach, by the administration building, and had just paddled out. “It couldn't have been more than five...

ORLEANS — The site plan review committee is on board with the final design for the town’s proposed wastewater treatment facility at Overland Way. Plans were approved last week subject to information in the final submittal. Tom Parece, senior program director for town consultant AECOM, said the site plan’s OK was one of “a myriad of permits” needed before the project is submitted for SRF (state revolving fund...

Editor’s note: This article was revised after its initial publication to include clarifying information. ORLEANS — The proposed renovation and expansion of Nauset Regional High School is such a big deal that even the idea of having Provincetown and Truro possibly join the four-town system is just part of the story. “This past year, we have been involved in negotiations” with the two outermost towns, Nau...

ORLEANS — Hundreds of people made the most of the last two days of summer this weekend, taking to ponds, beaches and nature trails for the 10th annual Celebrate Our Waters event. Newbies try their balance on stand-up paddleboards in Pilgrim Lake, thanks to an introduction by SUPfari Adventures. Organized by t...