Meetings Ahead
Go to eastham-ma.gov/calendar-by-event-type/16 and click on a particular meeting to read its agenda. That document will provide information about how to view and take part remotely.
Thursday, June 11
- Nauset Regional School Committee, 6 p.m.
Saturday, June 13
- Library Board of Trustees, 9 a.m.
Monday, June 15
- Elementary School Committee, 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday, June 17
- Planning Board, 5 p.m.
Conversation Starters
Upgrade for Seashore Septic
A design bid invitation is out for improvements to the septic system that services the Salt Pond Visitor Center at the Cape Cod National Seashore, the town’s director of health and environment reported.
“This is a milestone,” Jane Crowley told the board of health last month. “We’ve been working with them and hoping for that.”
The upgrade will provide “secondary and almost tertiary treatment,” she said, “really improving the effluent discharge before it gets into the groundwater. They hope to have the project in construction phase in the fall.”
Meanwhile, plans to address stormwater runoff from a Route 6 outfall and an area behind the elementary school are moving forward to the 10-percent design phase, with plans for a public meeting in the next few months.
“We’re looking at green infrastructure for both systems,” Crowley said. “We hope to implement this within the calendar year.”
Revenue Report Is Positive
During the pandemic, town employees “have been working the whole time,” Town Administrator Jacqui Beebe told the select board last month. “They’ve been doing inspections, handing out permits, doing everything you’d normally do, except for a couple of items.”
The result was an “excellent” revenue report for April, said Beebe, who also thanked “everyone for paying taxes. Tax revenues are where they should be.”
And Speaking of Revenue…
It’s time to secure a beach sticker. Go to eastham-ma.gov/home/news/beach-sticker-information-2020 for details and forms.
Don’t look for beach floats in the water this month. The popular platforms could be back later this summer if social distancing seems to be working.
Taps Tribute
The annual Memorial Day march of Eastham Elementary School fifth graders to Evergreen Cemetery couldn’t happen this year, but that didn’t stop class members Daniel Handville and Mason Smith from playing “Taps” on the Windmill Green under the direction of music teacher Chuck Hollander-Essig. Their tribute can be viewed on the town’s Facebook page. —Ed Maroney
Kindness, Recognized
Eastham resident and Nauset Regional High School sophomore Wyatt Falk received an award from Sharing Kindness. This local nonprofit raises suicide awareness and provides grief support especially for youth. It was founded in honor of Jeremy Walters, 16, of Orleans, who died by suicide in 2016 while a student at Nauset.
This year, Sharing Kindness recognizes students who have been observed throughout the year performing acts of kindness, generosity, and support to others, without seeking attention for their actions, according to Lisa Goodrich of Sharing Kindness. Each student so recognized receives $500.
Falk was nominated by his teacher, Addison Weeks, who wrote: “Wyatt has an upbeat and enthusiastic personality. His eagerness to work with any of his peers is heartwarming to witness.”
Hundreds Have Voted Already
Town Clerk Cindy Nicholson told the select board on June 8 that the town has sent out more than 4,000 applications and more than 850 ballots for the June 23 town election. At that point 272 ballots had been returned.
Early voting is being encouraged so that fewer people will come to town hall on June 23 to vote in person from noon to 6 p.m. On Monday, Nicholson told the select board that there will be sneeze guards and facial shields between ballot boxes. The town will reduce staffing on Election Day and have masks and hand sanitizer available outside the building.
When voters arrive, Nicholson said, they’ll be shown how to enter the building. She’s considering allowing a maximum of six at a time inside.
Also Monday, the board set Sept. 21 as the date for the annual town meeting and welcomed Rich Bienvenue, the new finance director and assistant town administrator.
They’ll Serve Again
The select board reappointed a number of committee members on June 8, including Carolyn McPherson to the affordable housing trust; Joanna Buffington, Denise Kopasz, and Dave Hobbs to the board of assessors; Sylvia Sullivan to the board of cemetery commissioners; Adele Blong to the board of health, Beverly Hobbs and Kopasz to the cable television license renewal advisory committee; and Karen Strauss and Charles Wagner to the conservation commission.
Also, Richard Ramon and Lucile Cashin to the council on aging board of directors; Brian LaValley to the cultural council; Thomas Gardner to the finance committee; Henry Lind and Janet Benjamins to the forest advisory committee; Kate Berg, Dilys Smith, and Felice Coral to the human services advisory committee; Frances Lewis and Buffington to the open space committee; and Robert Bruns to the zoning board of appeals. —Ryan Fitzgerald
