Meetings Ahead
Most meetings are being held in person, but some are still remote or virtual. Go to eastham-ma.gov/calendar-by-event-type/16 and click on the meeting you are interested in to learn about meeting locations and any remote options that may be offered.
Thursday, June 9
- Affordable Housing Trust, 9 a.m., Town Hall
- Nauset Regional School Committee, 6 p.m., virtual
- Cultural Council, 6:30 p.m., Town Hall
Tuesday, June 14
- Conservation Commission, 6 p.m.
Wednesday, June 15
- Open Space Committee, 3 p.m., Town Hall
- Planning Board, 5 p.m., Town Hall
- T-Time Development Committee, 5:30 p.m., Town Hall
Thursday, June 16
- Regional Management of Eastern Shoreline, 1 p.m., virtual
Conversation Starters
No Lifeguards or Swim Lessons
There will be no lifeguards at the town’s two beaches on Great Pond this summer. Nor will there be swimming lessons.
Both services have been cut for the second year in a row, due to the town’s inability to attract candidates for those jobs, said Christine Mickle, the recreation and beach director. The town had been trying to recruit 8 to 10 lifeguards, who also serve as swim instructors in Eastham.
“But we only got three applications, one dropped out, and two were 16 and this was their first job,” Mickle said. “We could not just put them up there in a chair” with no one to mentor them.
The $18- to $20-an-hour pay scale is not enough to attract guards, she added, when there are jobs paying the same or more that come with less responsibility.
The guards have also traditionally taught swimming at Wiley Park Beach. “Not having swim instructors — that is weighing on us even more,” Mickle said. “It is one of our most loved programs. There have been 200 kids signed up in the past.”
One bright spot is that there will be town-funded summer camp for 100 children, Mickle said. Last year, also due to lack of staff, the program was limited to 60 campers. —K.C. Myers
