Orange Selectboard meetings to start at 5:30 p.m.

ORANGE — Selectboard meetings will now be held at 5:30 p.m.

Chair Tom Smith mentioned at the Jan. 3 meeting he has received comments from people who felt meetings were dragging on too late into the night when the meetings started at 6 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. He said he emailed all Selectboard members with an inquiry to poll their opinions about a time change and received little resistance.

All Selectboard meetings are held in the Town Hall meeting room at 6 Prospect St.

3 Orange town positions up for grabs

ORANGE — The town’s Board of Assessors plans to hold an interview for a new assessor on Jan. 8.

According to the state’s website, assessors are responsible for determining full and fair cash valuations and for classifying all property located within the community as of Jan. 1 each year.

The tax collector position must also be filled and Selectboard Chair Tom Smith said there are nine candidates.

Smith said during a Jan. 3 meeting that “there has not been a huge response” to a job listing for the building inspector position that Jeffrey Cooke soon plans to vacate.

“The problem seems to be the pay,” Smith said. He mentioned candidates want a $100,000 salary, news that prompted Selectboard member Richard Sheridan to cough out of shock.

Cooke announced last year he plans to retire on Feb. 29, but that date is negotiable.

Orange Merchants Group announces winner of lamppost-decorating contest

ORANGE — The Orange Merchants Group has announced the results of its sixth annual lamppost-decorating contest voting. The winner is Lamppost W, affectionately known as “the Barbie lamppost.”

The champion was announced at the town’s Starry Starry Night celebration on New Year’s Eve and Julie Davis, a member of the merchant group who oversaw the contest, mentioned it at the Selectboard’s Jan. 3 meeting. The winning lamppost, located at the main-streets intersection, was decorated by The Florist at Gelinas.

Davis said 722 votes were cast and “the Barbie lamppost” was the runaway winner. The winning lamppost sported a Christmas hat-wearing Malibu Barbie and a pink pool floatie. There were 20 decorated lampposts, with 18 in downtown Orange and two near the Orange boathouse. They were decorated the day after Thanksgiving, and people had until Dec. 29 to vote for their favorite. The decorators of each post were kept anonymous until voting ended.

Orange fire chief issues safety reminder

ORANGE — Citing three building fires in December, the fire chief took an opportunity to remind residents to exercise caution and proper fire safety measures.

In a statement read aloud by Selectboard Chair Tom Smith during the Jan. 3 meeting, James Young said the fires damaged four properties and resulted in injuries to one firefighter and two residents as well as the one resident’s death.

“I would also like to thank my staff for their continued hard work and dedication to service with nearly every member of the Fire Department leaving their friends and families on Christmas Day to help with a three-alarm fire,” his statement read. “Thanks also goes out to all town departments who have assisted the Fire Department during these busy last few weeks.”

COVID-19 test kits available in Wendell

WENDELL — The town’s Board of Health has purchased another batch of COVID-19 test kits.

The test kits will be available at the Good Neighbors Food Pantry, the Wendell Senior Center and the Wendell Free Library during their normal hours. You can get them at Good Neighbors even if you are not a registered member. There is a limited number of test kits, so people are asked to only take what they need.

The kits must be stored at temperatures between 37 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit. The tests are packaged two per box and have an expiration date of April 5, 2024.