Health Department urges six-step tick defense as summer activity ramps up
WAYLAND — The Wayland Health Department kicked off the summer season Monday with a public reminder about tick-borne illness prevention, while town and state investigators continued working to determine how a Maryland-plated pickup truck ended up submerged in Lake Cochituate over the weekend.
TOWN HALL The Health Department on Monday issued a summer safety advisory urging residents to take basic precautions against ticks as outdoor activity ramps up. The notice lays out six steps — including using EPA-registered repellents, wearing long sleeves and light colors in wooded or grassy areas, performing daily tick checks on people and pets, showering soon after coming indoors, treating clothing or gear with permethrin, and keeping yards trimmed — to lower the risk of Lyme disease and other tick-borne infections heading into the height of the season. The advisory was posted on the town website Monday morning and re-shared midafternoon.
The town also confirmed late Sunday that Wayland Police and mutual aid partners responded Saturday to a report of a vehicle submerged in Lake Cochituate. Acting Police Chief Mark Hebert said the call came in from a fisherman, and the investigation is now being led with assistance from the Massachusetts State Police dive team.
COMMUNITY & ARTS Vokes Players is teaming up with the Wayland 250 Committee and the Wayland High School theater department for a concert version of "1776 the Musical" at Wayland High School on Friday, June 12, and Saturday, June 13, both at 7:30 p.m. The production is being staged outside Vokes' regular season as part of the town's semiquincentennial programming. Vokes' next mainstage show, Joe DiPietro's "Over the River and Through the Woods," directed by David Berti, opens July 24 and runs through August 8.
The Wayland Museum & Historical Society is preparing a June 21 opening reception for "Little Liberties," a new exhibit tied to its Tracing Liberty series marking the nation's 250th anniversary. The next Walk, Wonder, and Discover nature walk is set for Sunday, June 28, at 9 a.m. at the Dudley Woods Trail, at Pond Drive and Doran Road.
The Council on Aging's June newsletter is out, and the COA is promoting its 1-Year Anniversary Celebration at the Community Center at 8 Andrew Ave., along with sign-ups for the 15th Annual Summer Concert Series. Details and dates are in the newsletter and weekly email.
ELSEWHERE IN THE NEWS "Vehicle Found Submerged In Lake Cochituate In Wayland" — Patch reports that a fisherman alerted police Saturday afternoon to the submerged pickup, prompting a response from Wayland officers and mutual aid partners, with state police taking on the underwater work (read it at https://patch.com/massachusetts/wayland/vehicle-found-submerged-lake-cochituate-wayland). The town's News Flash covered the same incident.
"Pickup truck found submerged in Lake Cochituate in Wayland" — MetroWest Daily News reports that the vehicle, a Nissan Frontier with Maryland plates, was unoccupied when divers reached it, and investigators say it has no apparent tie to anyone in Massachusetts so far (read it at https://www.metrowestdailynews.com/story/news/local/2026/06/08/pickup-truck-found-submerged-lake-cochituate-wayland-ma-state-police-investigate/90457637007/).
"A hidden Wayland hangout and a tiny South Natick sandwich shop are winning fans" — WCVB profiles the Dudley Chateau, a longtime neighborhood spot near Dudley Pond with roots going back to the 1920s, alongside a small South Natick lunch counter (read it at https://www.wcvb.com/article/wayland-dudley-chateau-south-natick-lunch-on-the-charles/71524335).
COMING UP - Friday, June 12 and Saturday, June 13, 7:30 p.m.: "1776 in Concert," Wayland High School, presented by Vokes Players, Wayland 250 and the WHS theater department. - Sunday, June 21: Opening reception for the "Little Liberties" exhibit at the Wayland Museum & Historical Society, 12 Cochituate Road. Free and open to all. - Sunday, June 28, 9 a.m.: Walk, Wonder, and Discover at the Dudley Woods Trail, Pond Drive and Doran Road.