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(11/21/06 5:00am)
In a town that prides itself on being environmentally conscious, issues of green and public space have been heavily debated.
Tonight the Carrboro Board of Aldermen will consider approving updates to the Recreation and Parks Comprehensive Master Plan.
The plan helps guide the Recreation and Parks Department in the development of land and facilities.
One significant update would involve more focus on connecting Carrboro's greenway trails to regional systems, such as the 22-mile American Tobacco Trail in Durham, Chatham and Wake counties.
(11/21/06 5:00am)
The Orange County Board of Commissioners met Monday night for a quarterly public hearing.
The meeting allowed the public to comment on a number of zoning amendments, as well as the Orange County Strategic Growth Plan.
Land amendments
The board considered rezoning a portion of land owned by Brian and Lydia Gilmour from commercial to strictly agricultural residential, preventing businesses from developing there.
According to county documents, the Gilmours have no intention of having a business on the land, which was zoned commercially when controlled by a previous owner.
(10/24/06 4:00am)
Volunteers of several organizations began a telethon Monday in an effort to increase voting in North Carolina.
Held in Carrboro and Raleigh, the phone bank is a joint effort between more than 25 statewide organizations, including Democracy North Carolina, Equality North Carolina and the Conservation Council of North Carolina.
For the next two weeks volunteers will call members of each organization who have not voted in the recent past in an effort to get them to the polls.
The groups involved will also send letters to members of their organizations and try to spread the word to 45,000 North Carolina residents this year.
The effort began in 2004 to encourage North Carolinians to vote in the presidential election, said Antony Khamala, organizer for Democracy North Carolina, a Carrboro-based equal rights organization.
"In 2004 we actually called over 20,000 people," Khamala said.
The Democracy North Carolina building in Carrboro houses many of the phone bank volunteers.
Khamala said that although the phone calls might seem intrusive, the effort is necessary.
"Phone banking is the second most effective way, next to knocking on doors, to get people's attention," Khamala said.
Carrie Clark, executive director of the Conservation Council, which works to improve the state environment, said that in 2004 each of the two places hosting the phone bank had seven to 15 volunteers working each night. This year volunteers have been tougher to find.
"It's been harder to get people stimulated about votes this year," Clark said.
People were still signing up to volunteer as of Monday night.
Volunteers who couldn't call from the official phones used their cell phones to spread the message.
Clark said the effort targets people who would be especially likely to vote if motivated because most of the people being called are already active volunteers in the participating organizations.
Ian Palmquist, executive director of Equality North Carolina, which works for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights, stressed that state offices are as important as those at the national level.
"We think it's very important that LGBT and allied communities are involved in this," Palmquist said.
"It's important that our voters are engaged this year."
Amy Smoker, a Chapel Hill resident and Democracy North Carolina volunteer, said she is giving up her time because she wants to improve participation in elections.
"I think we have a really bad voter participation rate," she said. "So I think it's a good idea to try to get the word out."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(10/18/06 4:00am)
For many students and Chapel Hill residents, the beginning of the weekend as celebrated at the Carolina Inn means food, drinks and live music.
But after Friday the laid-back ruckus will die down for a little while.
The last Fridays on the Front Porch, an event held by the inn every Friday during the summer, will be this week.
The event, which begins annually in late April, was started by the Carolina Inn in 2002 as a happy hour and has gained steam each year, said Mark Nelson, the inn's director of sales and marketing.
With chairs and tables spread across the front lawn, a $10 Southern food buffet and live bluegrass music, Fridays on the Front Porch lends itself to a laid-back atmosphere.
Nelson said the event caters to both travelers staying at the inn and event regulars.
Nelson also said it attracts about 200 to 300 people per week.
"I think with locals it's just kind of a nice thing to have in the afternoon," he said.
"I'd say about 75 percent of (the crowd) are locals."
The year's last event will be played by local bluegrass group and front porch regulars Big Fat Gap.
Robert Mitchener, Big Fat Gap's upright bass player, said the family atmosphere draws the group back.
"The 4- to 10-year-old set really tends to appreciate our music," he said.
"If kids don't like something, you know it."
Mitchener said the Friday gathering is a unique experience for the band.
"What makes the Carolina Inn series kind of neat is you can have a conversation with somebody. It's not like a regular performance," he said.
The group doesn't have any big finale planned for the season and instead will play a low-key wintertime set, he said.
Greenway Pedicabs, which began business earlier this year, has donated its services, offering free rides to the Old Well and back.
Pedicab driver Mike Shaljan said that despite working only for tips, Friday nights are his most enjoyable shift.
Pedicab rates usually run $1 per passenger per minute.
"The reception's been kind of mixed, but this is kind of prime time for pedicab season," Shaljan said.
Chapel Hill resident Andrew Hinson said that he appreciates the event's laid-back feel, but that he hopes it will keep a low-key charm.
"I think it's the best venue in Chapel Hill and the surrounding area," he said.
"We don't want it to become too popular, though."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(10/17/06 4:00am)
The Orange County Board of Commissioners will consider approving the final construction plans for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools' newest elementary school at its meeting tonight.
The commissioners meet at 7:30 p.m. at the Southern Human Services Center on Homestead Road.
If approved, city schools would be authorized to solicit bids for the construction of Elementary School No. 10, which will house 585 students.
"It is very important that we get this set up because it's very important that the school open," Orange County Commissioner Alice Gordon said.
"We need to get money to the school by the end of this year to let the schools know they can start building."
The school that is planned for development on the Twin Creeks park property off Eubanks Road would be the first project developed on the land. School board members and county officials also hope to develop soccer fields and a middle school on the property in the next five years.
The school will be modeled off of the same blueprint as Rashkis Elementary, said Donna Coffey, the county's budget director.
Rashkis was chosen as the model in part because it meets environmental standards set by the district.
The county has $12.8 million in debt issuance allocated to the school for the bidding process, but as much as $9 million more could be necessary in the future, Gordon said.
Those funds would be borrowed from a third party, if necessary.
Steve Scroggs, assistant superintendent for support services, said he intends to keep the school's development schedule tight in hopes of opening its doors to students in fall 2008.
"We're scheduled to put out bids in November, open bids in December . and then we award the contract in February and construction starts," Scroggs said.
If bad winter weather delays construction, Scroggs guaranteed the school would open in 2009.
He said the first talks about the new elementary school date as far back as five years ago.
Although the floor plan has been in the works for a while, assistant to the superintendent for community relations, Stephanie Knott said it's too early to name the new institution.
"The board would approve a naming process, that always includes a great deal of input," Knott said.
"With our most recent elementary schools . they've been named after people in the community who have made substantial contributions to the quality of education in our community."
Gordon said there is a good likelihood that the board will approve the final plans at tonight's meeting.
"I believe the commissioners know that it is necessary to get the bidding started."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(10/12/06 4:00am)
If Roxanne had a child she might have had a reason to turn on her red light today.
Each of Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools' nine elementary after-school programs will hold events today in honor of the national Lights On Afterschool program.
The program, which was started six years ago, asks parents with children enrolled in after-school programs to drive with their car lights on.
"It raises awareness of the important role that after-school programs play in providing a safe and engaging environment for children after school," said Mary Roberts, the after-school program director for city schools.
To celebrate the day, Ephesus, Seawell and Frank Porter Graham Elementary schools will each host a carnival event for parents and children.
The festivities will be held at various times between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. throughout the school system, Roberts said.
Deborah Gray-Ford, site director for the Frank Porter Graham after-school program, said the festival there was designed by the students.
"The children come up with booths, and each make a poster advertising their booth," Gray-Ford said.
She said festivities will include a cakewalk, bobbing for apples and ice cream cones.
Rashkis will recognize the day by cooking baked potatoes, site director Emilie Hughes said.
"The kids are excited because it's like a different day for them.," Hughes said. "Parents are happy we're doing something."
Scroggs elementary will use today's event to celebrate both Lights On Afterschool and the school's renewed acceptance into the National AfterSchool Association.
"It means that we have achieved the highest quality of programing," Scroggs site director Tricia Thompson said.
Thompson added that she thinks Lights On gives the after-school programs and their employees needed recognition.
"It does emphasize to our political and community leaders the importance of funding of after-school programs," she said.
Roberts said that seven of the nine county schools are accredited, and that the other two are in the process of accreditation.
Thompson said the day's after-school festivities would start with a small fair, including a basketball shoot out and "old school hip-hop" dancing to Motown tunes, followed by a ceremony dinner in the cafeteria.
"We pride ourselves on the safety and security of our children, she said. "We haven't lost one yet."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(10/10/06 4:00am)
It's official.
Bruce Thomas, also known as "The Dancing Man," will dance at Weaver Street Market once again.
On Monday managers of Carr Mill Mall and Weaver Street Market, as well as Carrboro officials, announced a new policy for use of the Weaver Street Market front lawn.
The policy, called the Carr Mill Mall Open Space Policy, now allows individuals to use the lawn for "informal artistic expression."
"When I got the message I felt appreciation, happiness - it was really a relief," Thomas said as he sat on the lawn.
The new policy also bans unauthorized performances with the intent to draw a crowd, designates specific areas of the lawn for smoking purposes and states that alternating nonprofits will host monthly events on the lawn.
The announcement concluded a three-month controversy that began when Thomas, a patron and ex-employee of the market, was asked to stop performing his mix of yoga and interpretive movements.
Although Thomas willingly complied the restriction on his use of the lawn called into question the private market's role as a community gathering space.
In August, Carr Mill Mall manager Nathan Milian and Weaver Street Market manager Ruffin Slater unveiled a policy dubbed "Live on the Lawn," which allowed anyone to sign up to use the lawn freely for a single hour per week.
That policy was met with contention by a number of Carrboro residents, many of whom wore "Footloose Bruce" T-shirts during three dance protests on the lawn.
In the meantime Carrboro Mayor Mark Chilton and Alderman Dan Coleman met with Slater, Milian and Thomas, as well as mall owner Paul Greenberg to find a resolution that might better please the community.
"I think what we have here is a plan that works well for everyone," Milian said at a news conference. "People can dance on the lawn now, people can strum a guitar."
Coleman and Chilton said they appreciated the compromise.
"I just think it's really important to Carr Mill Mall's customers to have an unusual and creative atmosphere around the mall," Chilton said.
Sammy Slade, a founding member of Carrboro Greenspace who helped organize the lawn protests, said he was pleased with the resolution.
"It sounds like a good thing, the power of people coming together," he said.
Thomas said he thought dancing after all the hubbub would be a new experience for him.
"It'll be the same, it'll be even better," he said. "To know the joy that my dancing has brought to other people fills me with happiness."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(09/26/06 4:00am)
ROUGEMONT - Members of Durham's The Summit Church sat outside the McKee CornField Maze on Saturday after their first run through.
Ice cream in hand, they discussed their experience in the crop field.
"It was something the kids really enjoyed, and it was just a cool experience," said Danny Franks, connections pastor for the church.
The McKee Maze, which opened for the season earlier this month, was created six years ago by one-time tobacco farmers David and Vickie McKee, who said they built it as a way to diversify the area and pull in a few extra dollars.
Vickie McKee, who designs a different maze each year, said her desire to shape the corn fields comes from her personal passion for art.
"I love art and painted oil paintings to help me through nursing school," she said.
The trail is set up as a game, with eight checkpoints scattered about. There is a different stamp at each checkpoint.
Any walker who can present a paper with all eight stamps on it is eligible for a $100 drawing at the end of the season.
"There's actually a group of UNC students who race to the checkpoints each year," said Gail Hughes, a neighbor and county employee who works the concessions booth in her spare time.
Franks said that his family didn't explore the whole trail, but that he'd be back to try again.
"We would have stayed longer, but the lure of PB&J and Maple View ice cream brought us out early," Franks said, motioning to his children.
This year's trail stretches almost four miles.
It is designed to resemble the outline of a leafless tree.
Vickie McKee based the design off the painting "Dixie Dawn" created by local artist Kenny Glenn.
Vickie McKee also added the outline of two wedding bands to the maze's design as a symbol of her son's wedding, which took place earlier this year.
"We really try to keep it very family oriented," she said.
Other notable maze designs have included the outline of the University's Old Well and bell tower in 2004 and a man with a plow in 2002 to celebrate the 250 year anniversary of Orange County.
Besides supporting county tourism, the McKees now are using their land to help keep parts of Orange County green and undeveloped.
Last week they agreed to sell the development rights to a 92-acre plot of land in the Bingham Township to Orange County, protecting it from commercial development.
"It was my dad's wish that the land not be built on or developed, so we're helping to fulfill that," Vickie McKee said.
While the McKees believe in preserving farm space, they've decided to keep the corn field land as a source of community entertainment.
The maze is open 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Fridays, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays and 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays until Oct. 31.
From Oct. 27 through Oct. 31 sections of the maze will take on a haunted macabre theme.
The Halloween atmosphere will be complete with a haunted woods tour and chain saw wielding maniacs.
But Hughes avers that the trail is family fun for all ages.
"The goal is to give you a fright."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(09/22/06 4:00am)
Local government officials came together Thursday and shared concerns about the safety standards of the Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant, located in Wake County.
The meeting was composed of members of the Chapel Hill Town Council, Carrboro Board of Alderman and Orange County Board of Commissioners.
Orange County Engineer Paul Thames began the discussion by giving a brief history of the plant. He informed officials that the plant had not met nationally imposed fire-safety standards for at least 14 years.
A report by the N.C. Waste Awareness & Reduction Network, stated that instead of protecting its hundreds of miles of cabling, the plant relies on workers to detect and put out fires.
Thames said Shearon Harris, owned by Progress Energy, is one of the most densely filled nuclear waste sites in the nation.
Thames added that although county officials had contacted the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission about the issue in the past, little was done to improve safety standards.
"They don't seem any closer to it than they've ever been," Thames said.
Officials said they fear the chance that a fire could one day lead to a meltdown of the plant, located less than 50 miles from Orange County.
This year the plant will apply for a renewed operating license and has plans to build two new reactors on the site, making now a prime time to deal with safety concerns, officials said.
Chapel Hill Mayor Pro Tem Bill Strom likened the federal response in this situation to the levee situation in New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina.
"They're literally playing with fire here," Strom said. "We're simply asking for the rules that exist to be enforced."
In 1999 Orange County attempted an "intervention," a legal trial process that takes almost 30 months.
Thames said the intervention failed because of a lack of expert testimony at the time.
Carrboro Alderman Dan Coleman suggested that county and town officials work together to assemble a board to keep a watch on Shearon Harris and work toward safety improvement.
He said he hopes such a committee can be formed in the next few weeks.
Commissioners Vice Chairman Stephen Halkiotis stressed that the board should continue to pursue the issue after he retires this fall.
"I just want to encourage all of you younger folks to hold course on this because it's really important," Halkiotis said.
Barry Jacobs, chairman of the commissioners, said he wants officials to work to expand the 10-mile evacuation radius. Jacobs said that in the event of a meltdown, a larger area would have to be evacuated.
Jacobs suggested that Orange County officials work with other county governments in a 50-mile radius of Shearon Harris to deal with the plant.
"If there's not some demand from local governments beyond a 10-mile radius to ask our state government to intervene, it's not going to happen."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(09/21/06 4:00am)
I was 11 years old when I first saw George Romero's 1978 classic, "Dawn of the Dead."
And I watched it seven times that day.
Now, due to a recent revival of the genre in movies, comic books and Gorillaz albums, a greater fan base than ever exists to worship the living-impaired, many of whom live their daily lives ordering C-grade zombie flicks on eBay.com and thinking up theoretical survival plans.
My friends and I, for example, plan to barricade ourselves behind the iron-barred door to the Skylight Exchange (it's the heaviest we could find).
So when our copy of Max Brooks' zombie novel "World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War" came across my desk, naturally I was stoked.
As the title might imply, Brooks, son of Mel, a writer for "Saturday Night Live" and the author of "The Zombie Survival Guide," tells his tale through interviews with fictional survivors who recount their personal thriller stories.
When read together, these firsthand accounts weave a loose plot about the rise and fall of the undead, but the novel essentially plays like a series of short stories.
The book's content is actually fairly innovative - which is saying a lot for this kind of material.
One of the best segments involves the chaos of thousands of people trying to escape the shores of India in a frantic attempt to board lifeboats while evading underwater ghouls.
The idea of an accidental zombie-heart transplant - that happens in the book - is pretty incredible, too.
But the short-story structure and hindsight availability of "World War Z" makes it difficult to get through.
This is a "history" of the zombie war, which means, or at least logically should mean, that the war is finished.
Therefore, not only is the safety of every character secured, but with no more than 10 pages devoted to a single personality, it makes each appearance hard to care about. Where's the suspense?
The matter-of-fact delivery of the stories doesn't make things any better.
There's plenty of room for satire in this arena, and I would expect nothing less from the son of the man who made "Blazing Saddles."
But except for broad jabs toward the emergency response timing of the U.S. government, Brooks misses a lot of wide-open chances.
Just once it would have been nice to read about a guy who beats a reanimated dog with a crutch - or something - but no such good times were to be had here.
Serious novels are fine, but come on.
This is zombie literature.
However, "World War Z" is not badly written and could go on the shelf as a quality war account if it wasn't, well, fake - and focused on the living dead.
So, as an objective reader suppressing my natural fanboy instincts, did I find this novel account of the Zombie War entertaining?
Yeah, I did.
But will anyone else?
To quote a punk from 1985's "Return of the Living Dead": "This is a way of life!"
Most people who adhere to the zombie lifestyle, or at least to watching movies on the topic, probably will pick up "World War Z" on principle and love it - on principle.
And normal folk?
Maybe not so much, although the audio book, featuring voice acting by John Turturro, Mark Hamill and Henry Rollins could turn more people on.
Though there's more substance than style, "World War Z" still is worth at least one good read through.
Contact the Diversions Editor at dive@unc.edu.
(09/18/06 4:00am)
You can get your kicks on Route 66, but if you prefer 24-hour real-time traffic updates Interstate 40 is the place to be.
A new addition to the N.C. Department of Transportation Web site, www.ncdot.org, now lets drivers view up-to-the-minute traffic patterns for a 27-mile stretch of I-40 starting in Chapel Hill.
The site tells the user how quickly traffic is moving.
The link can be found on the home page by clicking "travel information," and then "real-time travel information."
The link, which first appeared three weeks ago, displays the average speed of traffic clocked by 20 Doppler radar traffic sensors on I-40 between U.S. 15-501 and Lake Wheeler Road in Raleigh.
Also, by selecting a starting point and destination along I-40, a user can view his estimated driving time based on the distance of the drive and the volume of traffic.
Drive times are calculated based on the average speed of cars passing each sensor.
Site visitors can scroll over the sensor locations on an interactive map to see exactly what the average speed of traffic is at that spot.
For example, if 30 cars pass a sensor going 50 mph, the average speed will be shown as 50 mph.
But one car traveling 20 mph and another traveling 60 mph under the same sensor will display an average traffic-flow speed of 40 mph.
"But we rarely have a single car driving at 20 miles an hour," said Jo Ann Oerter, technology implementation and maintenance engineer for the DOT.
Oerter said the predictions typically would be more accurate because traffic patterns are rarely that extreme.
A user must have either Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox to view the link.
Oerter said the Web site's information technology team soon will work to make the link compatible with other browsers.
UNC senior Faye Santacroce said that she likes the idea, but that the site might go unused if not better publicized. "I think it's a good idea, but I don't know how much people will use it."
All of the information from the Web site soon will be available by dialing 511, a travel information system, Oerter said.
Santacroce was more optimistic about that prospect.
"People will love using their cell phones," she said.
Junior Laura Baker said she thought the link also would help people outside of Chapel Hill.
"I think it's definitely useful, especially to people who work in Raleigh," Baker said.
The radar traffic sensors were sold to the DOT by SpeedInfo, a company based out of California.
According to SpeedInfo's Web site, the company has installed the speed-monitoring detectors in other places, including Washington, D.C., New York City, Los Angeles and the stretch of Interstate 95 from the Virginia border to Durham.
There have been reports that the signals sent from the traffic sensors have caused dashboard radar detector alarms to go off, misleading some drivers into believing a state trooper is close by.
Oerter said that radar detectors using K-band signals would react to the speed sensors along the I-40 stretch, but that any other detectors would not.
"It's just a way we can help patrol speeding, I guess."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(09/15/06 4:00am)
The Orange County Board of Commissioners held a work session Thursday to discuss the county's debt and capital situation, as well as the board's goals and priorities for the remainder of 2006.
Discussing debt service
Continuing a discussion that started at an Aug. 31 board meeting, chairman Barry Jacobs began the work session by setting the topic of debt issuances as the meeting's number one priority.
"I don't care if it takes us more than two hours" Jacobs said.
(09/12/06 4:00am)
When Hillsborough-resident Chavis McPherson heard of the attacks on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, he thought he was the victim of a prank.
"I was laying bricks in Durham and quit as soon as I heard," McPherson said.
"I thought it was a big joke, I guess."
McPherson was one of more than 50 people who gathered Monday at the Old Orange County Courthouse in downtown Hillsborough for a remembrance ceremony hosted by the Orange County Board of Commissioners.
The ceremony also was held in commemoration of the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
The event began with a speech by board chairman Barry Jacobs.
"We're here for the victims of Sept. 11, for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, but we're also here for the people still suffering today," Jacobs said, referring to homeless citizens and other people in need.
After Jacobs' speech came words from John "Blackfeather" Jeffries, a Hillsborough resident and a descendent of the Occoneechee tribe.
His daughter, Vivette "Morning Star" Jeffries-Logan, also gave an Occoneechee "pony peace prayer."
"We're here to commemorate those who died. We're also here to commemorate those who lived," Jeffries said, walking away with tears in his eyes.
Copies of the U.S. Constitution and white candles were handed out and the U.S. flag was hung at half-staff.
The event ended with a trumpet performance of "Taps" by Hillsborough commissioner Eric Hallman.
Jayne Bomberg, an Orange County resident at the ceremony, said her two daughters were in Manhattan at the time of the terrorist attacks.
"She was getting ready to go to work and heard a plane over Fifth Avenue and said, 'My, that's low,'" Bomberg said of her daughter Joanna.
Other local officials who weren't at the county event said they too could vividly recall Sept. 11.
Carrboro Mayor Mark Chilton said he remembered driving to Hillsborough through particularly sunny weather that day in 2001.
"The contrast between that and the horrible events in New York was just terribly tremendous," Chilton said.
Chapel Hill Mayor Pro Tem Bill Strom said he thought a small aircraft hit the World Trade Center by mistake.
"I flipped on the TV and had the misfortune of seeing the second plane crash," Strom said.
Strom and Chilton both said they thought that local governments throughout the nation have since become more security-conscious and more focused on infrastructure.
Strom also said there is an increased focus on communication.
"I think that everyone has a more careful eye as to what's lurking out there."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(09/11/06 4:00am)
On Sunday members of Carrboro Greenspace, a local organization to help preserve and secure natural land for public use, held a festival to raise awareness of the threat of development to the property on 116 Old Pittsboro Rd.
The property, which stretches 10.5 acres and holds one residential house, an abandoned in-ground swimming pool, and acts as the operating space for the Recyclery bicycle organization, was recently put on the market by its California-based landowners, said members of Carrboro Greenspace.
The festival, called "Usufruct" after the Latin term referring to the right to enjoy the use of property, was held to educated the community about the area and promote the idea the land as a community-owned, rather than industrialized, area.
Michal Osterweil, member of Carrboro Greenspace and resident of the property, said that she felt the patch of land would promote a distinct feel for Carrboro which could potentially be lost through commercialization.
"I think one of the best ways to change the world today is to create pockets of the world you'd like to see," Osterweil said.
The gathering began at 3 p.m. and included homemade dishes, displays of paintings from local artists, discussions on the issue of greenspace, and a kung fu workshop, with music blaring from large speakers attached to one resident's laptop computer.
Chris Richmond, executive director of the Recyclery, said that he thought the cause was admirable.
"They're trying to introduce this space into the community and trying to be all inclusive," Richmond said.
An introductory tour was given by Osterweil and Carrboro local Peter Brayshaw, who said that the land , currently rented by Osterweil and her roommates and worth relatively $1.4 million, had recently been put up for sale by the land owners who reside in California.
Brayshaw said that Carrboro Greenspace, comprised of residents of the land, members of the Recyclery and other locals, hoped to raise enough money to pay the owners a deposit of $15,000 in the near future to keep the land from commercial development.
In a phone interview, Carrboro Mayor Mark Chilton said that he agreed to pledge $5,000 of his own money to the deposit, assuming that the organization raises the other $10,000 first.
Osterweil said that Carrboro Greenspace members had not made any agreements with town government, but that officials seemed generally supportive of the group.
Continuing the tour, Osterweil and Brayshaw gave plans for the land. Osterweil said the swimming pool, called the "Old Sparrow" pool, would be turned into an outdoor movie theater and discussion area.
Brayshaw said Carrboro Greenspace would donate the house for public use. "We basically just want the house to be a meeting space for the community."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(08/30/06 4:00am)
After three years of planning, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Orange is expected to begin serving the public this fall.
Abby Kimbrough, president of the clubs' Orange County board of directors, said the club will secure a lease in Chapel Hill within the next three weeks, although she wouldn't disclose an exact address.
"We have goals, and one of them is to open the club and start serving kids by the first of November," Kimbrough said.
Until then, the board will search for an executive director.
No one is being considered for the position yet, but Kimbrough said she'd prefer someone with previous club experience.
With a history dating back to the Civil War, the Boys & Girls Clubs of America has served the nation's youth through athletic and academic aid programs.
Children in the clubs work with volunteer counselors and often form lasting bonds.
The goal is to give students a place to go after school where they can develop character and leadership along with health and life skills.
The board of directors is aiming to raise $250,000 - a year's operating expenses- - before the club opens.
Like YMCA, the Boys & Girls Clubs aims to promote wellness for the nation's youth, but the club caters more to children with special needs.
The clubs often work with low-income families and families receiving public assistance.
"We serve kids ages 6 to 18," Kimbrough said. "We serve kids who need it the most."
The regional chapter will offer low-cost memberships, most likely $5 to $10 a year, to encourage more community members to join.
Because of the low fees, the club's operation will depend primarily on fundraisers.
Board members and community volunteers already have made face-to-face solicitations, written letters to organizations and held a fundraising basketball game.
Duane Hinshaw, the clubs' southeast regional service director, said that the clubs have been great partners with universities in the past, and that the new chapter would give UNC students a place to work and volunteer.
"Students usually like to work there, and I think it's a great opportunity for a great partnership," Hinshaw said.
A chapter can be created anywhere, but must meet certain standards to remain affiliated with the national clubs.
Chapters are expected to be open at least five days a week for at least four hours and are given an organizational evaluation before opening.
"We know that wherever a Boys & Girls Club operates, that they'll be changing and saving lives," Hinshaw said. "And we look forward to that happening in Chapel Hill."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(08/29/06 4:00am)
Melissa Radcliff, executive director of the Family Violence Prevention Center of Orange County, will step down Sept. 4 after more than a year at the position.
While Radcliff declined to comment about why she's leaving, Jeff Sterns, board president for the center, said it could have been for a number of reasons.
"It just seemed like it wasn't the best fit anymore," Sterns said.
The executive director's post entails reporting to the group's board of directors and leading fundraising and grant efforts, as well as providing the same support offered by other staff members.
Radcliff has worked at the center since it opened in 2001, originally contributing as a staff member.
The center is holding interviews for an interim director to fill the position for the next four to six months, Sterns said.
Sterns said he expects to make an offer to an interim within the next two weeks.
"I think any transition period is tough," Sterns said.
"Our main concern is that we have our staff trained and able to handle all client issues that come our way."
The prevention center was conceived by members of the Orange-Durham Coalition for Battered Women who thought that Orange County could use a program to itself.
In its five-year history, the center has helped 2,560 clients cope with about 9,000 incidents.
The center offers support groups and cell phones for emergency use. It also runs a 24-hour toll-free hot line. The hot line can be reached at 1-886-929-7122.
Phone donations can be dropped off in bins at Whole Foods Market on South Elliott Road. The donations are then delivered to the prevention center.
Despite losing its leader, the center has several upcoming events in the works.
The annual auction in September will celebrate the center's five-year anniversary and act as a launchpad for further fundraising events, Stern said.
The center also is organizing a special events calendar for October, which is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The calendar likely will include a fundraiser at Top of the Hill and an organized march for family peace.
Although she's leaving, Radcliff said she's excited about spreading the center's message through the events.
"It's a chance for us to do some outreach to let them know what's available."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(08/28/06 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Students always bring their pencils, paper and notebooks to class, but this year, students might also want to bring their harmonicas, guitars and recorders.
The Chapel Hill-Carrboro YMCA has joined forces with Amity United Methodist Church to offer an after-school music academy.
The program will include lessons on how to play instruments such as guitar, harmonica and rhythm and percussion instruments.
Sue Forrest, academy administrator for the music program, said she felt her program fulfilled the spirit aspect of YMCA's "mind, body, spirit" slogan, but the academy won't be Christian-based.
"It's going to be a wide range of music, anything from classical to pop. Anything you can think of, we're going to cover it," Forrest said.
The academy also will include a musical choir program and drama troupe that will give larger performances.
The troupe occasionally will perform for the church's 10 a.m. Sunday service. They also might be a part of the church's Christmas and Easter pageants.
The program is scheduled to begin Sept. 5. The cost will range from $45 to $100 a month.
Forrest said the academy is not limited to children already attending YMCA after-school sessions.
"We've been researching the area, and I think this is a pretty unique experience, as far as the music academy goes" Forrest said.
The sessions, each one 45 minutes long, will be held at the church, located at 825 N. Estes Drive, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Information about the YMCA's after-school programs is available at www.chcymca.org.
Other after-school options
(08/25/06 4:00am)
The wheels on Chapel Hill and Carrboro's new community bike program will be one step closer to turning Sunday when local organizations hold the Blue Bike Festival.
The Blue Bike program will give residents access to community bicycles to check out for a day and drop off at a number of hubs throughout town.
The bikes are expected to be available to the public in mid-September.
The program is sponsored by Students United for a Responsible Global Environment, The Legacy Center, an adult learning center, and The Recyclery, an organization that helps salvage and repair bikes.
Alison Carpenter, field coordinator for SURGE, said that several bike hubs were being discussed, including sites in park-and-ride lots and on campus. Plans for hubs at Carrboro's Open-Eye Caf
(08/25/06 4:00am)
UNC-Chapel Hill junior and SUV owner Matt Clark could save as much as $1047.24 per year on gas and parking using public transportation -- assuming he drives three miles a day for five days a week and pays $3 per gallon for gas.
So says a community cost and savings calculator available through the Triangle Transit Authority's newly revamped college-focused Web site redefinetravel.org.
The site was redesigned during the summer by N.C. State University senior Charlotte Hanks, in an effort to better reach student commuters.
"Before I redesigned it there was just a lot less content," Hanks said, also mentioning the site always had basic bus, bike and carpool information pages.
The site now includes more specific links that give instructions on how best to ride a bus, how to read a schedule and what North Carolina's bike laws are.
The site's visual design resembles a college student's planner, and Hanks said she added campus-specific pages to further draw student attention.
"There's a lot of potential there," Clark said. "Hopefully this will put everyone on the same page."
Clark said that he'd used the site before it was redesigned but that he'd had difficulty navigating it.
The UNC-CH campus page has information about how to ride the bus to shopping centers and other campuses and about University transportation.
It also includes information about different environmental groups in the area.
Despite the money he could save by taking the bus, Clark said bus riding has left a sour taste in his mouth at times.
"My first year here . I had a bus arrive more than an hour-and-a-half late," he said.
The Web site isn't the only thing the TTA is offering UNC-CH students.
Aug. 15 marked the start of the GoPass program, which allows commuting students who live more than two miles from campus free access to any TTA or Durham Area Transit buses for one year.
To obtain a pass students must register for the Commuter Alternative Program.
Passes can be obtained at the Department of Public Safety or by calling the transportation office at (919) 843-4414.
UNC-CH senior and car owner Jyoti Vasnani said she appreciated the GoPass effort. However, she said she still didn't want to be restricted to the times buses arrive at stops.
UNC-CH senior Kristen Mulgrew had a different opinion.
She said she thought the program and Web site ultimately would prove beneficial, especially to students living in Carrboro or apartments that are further from campus - such as the Verge on Old Chapel Hill Road.
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(08/24/06 4:00am)
At 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, customers at Weaver Street Market were sitting peacefully in the lawn's garden chairs, but a group of six patrons could be seen talking near the lawn's edge.
Minutes later Sammy Slade, a man wearing a "Footloose Bruce" T-shirt, stepped away from the group and motioned to the others.
"All right," he said. "Let's dance!"
By 6 p.m. enough people had joined the dancers to cover most of Weaver Street Market's lawn.
The movement came as a result of the "Live on the Lawn" policy set by Carr Mill Mall manager Nathan Milian and Weaver Street Market manager Ruffin Slater on Tuesday, which requires performers to sign up for one-hour slots to use the lawn once per week.
The policy will limit market patron and ex-employee Bruce Thomas.
In July mall management asked Thomas, known by many as "The Dancing Man" for his interpretive dance on the lawn, to stop dancing there.
A petition, which included the signature of Carrboro Mayor Mark Chilton, was circulated on Thomas' behalf.
"There's no real structure," Slade said during Wednesday's protest. Slade said the people dancing were customers who had run into each other in the market Tuesday.
Carrboro locals of all ages joined the crowd, such as Robena Meek and her toddler, Twyla.
"I wanted my daughter to experience her first civil disobedience," Meek said.
Members of the Rainbow ReSisters Radical Cheerleaders egged on the crowd, chanting "C-A-R-R-B-O-R-O, lets dance!"
"How can Bruce dance on the lawn when there's no lawn?" joked Dan Coleman, a member of the Carrboro Board of Aldermen, who went with his son, Misha.
Thomas, who was at Weaver Street but didn't participate in the protest, said in a phone interview that he welcomed anyone at the protest to meet him for a discussion Thursday at the Balanced Movement Studio.
ReSister member Mary Bratsch said that her group had planned a similar dance movement in two weeks but that she didn't mind participating earlier.
The protest grew more rambunctious when Donovan Zimmerman, co-founder of Paperhand Puppet Intervention, a performance group, began playing hand-drums.
"This is illegal!" jested Zimmerman to the crowd, which responded with lively "boo's."
Zimmerman's drumming was soon joined by others. One man made a makeshift drum out of a trash can with "Let's keep negotiating" written on it.
After that, Thomas addressed the crowd, saying, "Thank you so very much for all that you have given me."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.