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...

$38.1 Million Puts Project Back On Track The cost of renovating Nauset Regional High School ended up being significantly more than anticipated, but that didn’t keep district voters from supporting the additional cost Tuesday. Voters in the four Nauset towns of Orleans, Brewster, Eastham and Wellfleet each passed ballot questions during a district-wide election called to secure an additional $38.1 million in...

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...

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...

ORLEANS – As another year draws to a close in Orleans, there's once again plenty to look back upon. In 2022, regional issues such as affordable housing and wastewater remained front of mind for town officials and residents. There was also some administrative shuffling in the Nauset Public Schools and Orleans Town Hall, some post-nor'easter blowback for Eversource, controversy over Rock Harbor parking and ongoi...

ORLEANS – How do you measure a 26-year career? For Lynn Bruneau, chair emeritus of the finance committee, there are plenty of ways to gauge John Kelly's tenure as town administrator. Hired to the post in Nov. 1996, Kelly participated in his final select board meeting on Dec. 21. His last day in town hall before his retirement is Dec. 30. Speaking to the select board last week, Bruneau noted that when Kelly ...

ORLEANS – A recent study by the state Division of Marine Fisheries makes clear Rock Harbor's value as a commercial fishery. Local fishermen want to keep it that way, but they told the select board earlier this month that they need the town's help. Last summer, the state agency released "Port by Port: Profiles and Analysis of the Massachusetts Commercial Fishery" in cooperation with the Urban Harbors Institute ...