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(11/24/09 5:38am)
North Carolina raises the second-most turkeys in the country, following Minnesota. More than five percent of the state’s agricultural revenue comes from turkeys and almost 25 percent comes from broilers — poultry, mostly turkeys and chickens, raised specifically for meat production.The mild climate in North Carolina is a key reason the turkey industry is so important. The turkeys’ shelters must be kept at a certain temperature, and because the state’s temperatures are never too extreme, it’s more economical to keep the temperatures stabilized here than elsewhere, said Herb Vanderberry, director of the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, agricultural statistics division. There has been a 6 percent decrease in turkey production in the last year because the cost of corn, and therefore feed, has gone up tremendously. The high production cost has prompted producers to cut back, Vanderberry said.
(11/16/09 5:43am)
To encourage first-generation and low-income high school seniors to apply to college, Gov. Bev Perdue has declared Nov. 16 to Nov. 20 “College Application Week.”
Students with financial need will see lower application fees and extra assistance from college counselors. University administrators said they hope it will prompt a rise in applications and a more diverse applicant pool.
More than 380 high schools will hold programs to help high school seniors apply to colleges and universities in the state using its Web site, according to a press release from the College Foundation of North Carolina.
CFNC and the Carolinas Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers are working together on the project.
Thirty of the 36 private post-secondary institutions in North Carolina have decided to waive normal application fees for students who submit applications during this week and demonstrate financial need.
The 16 UNC-system universities and the other six private institutions in the state will waive fees outside of this week as well.
None of the state’s 58 community colleges require an application fee this academic year, and several small private universities also have dropped their fee for 2009-10.
Archie Ervin, associate provost and director of diversity and multicultural affairs at UNC-Chapel Hill, said his office has been working to increase the number of first-generation students applying to the University for years.
“I do think that due to the governor emphasizing this week for first-generation and low-income students that there will be more entering the application process,” Ervin said.
“However, if you are a low- income student, UNC already has a practice in place that does this.”
The event was set for this week because it will encourage students to get their applications done before early admission deadlines in most state colleges and universities, said Ben Kittner, the market research and public relations manager for CFNC.
It also allows time for any lingering high school transcripts or late letters of recommendation, Kittner said.
“The purpose, really, is to encourage students to get their applications together, particularly low-income and nontraditional college students,” he said.
“We will have counselors and volunteers for the schools who participate, and now we are also going to have colleges who are going to waive their application fees.”
Zaire Miller McCoy, senior associate director of admissions at Elon University and a member of an executive committee organizing the event, said all parties in this effort were cooperating, and, overall, College Application Week faced minimal obstacles.
“In terms of obstacles, the biggest is whether or not the student is really prepared to submit their applications,” McCoy said.
“Do they have their essay prepared and ready to attach it to the application? Are they ready to fill out all the necessary pieces of it to submit to the school of their choice?”
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(10/30/09 3:30am)
H1N1 vaccines aren’t the only ones running out. This year, some N.C. counties are also finding it hard to keep stocked with the seasonal flu vaccine.Officials in county health departments attribute the increase in demand for the general flu vaccine to people taking extra precautions against H1N1. The general vaccine can lessen the risk of catching H1N1.The production of vaccines also might have slowed because private manufacturers have to produce both types of vaccines and are stretched thin, said Arlene Seña, medical director of the Durham County Health Department. Durham County is one of the counties that has run out of seasonal flu vaccines.“Several thousand were requested. We have been ordering the same amount for the past years,” Seña said.The county is waiting for the shipment of both seasonal and H1N1 vaccines from the state. It already used up its supply of seasonal vaccines manufactured by private companies.Wake County already received shipments of both vaccines from the state, said Sue Lynn Ledford, the community health director for Wake County Health Department.“We have a limited supply,” she said. “But we have, at this time, enough to cover our scheduled clinics.” Ledford said the demand for seasonal vaccines is higher, and it could be because of media coverage of H1N1. Anticipating this, the county ordered a higher number of vaccines than usual.“Because of the publicity, we knew that there was going to be a lot of information out there encouraging people to get vaccinated for H1N1,” she said.But Orange County has enough vaccines, both from the state and private manufacturers, to cover clinics that registered for vaccines early in August, said Donna King, director of health promotion and education services for the Orange County Health Department.The vaccines should last until Nov. 11, she said.The county also has three more clinics affiliated with senior centers that have not yet received vaccines.Getting those vaccines should help the supply hold out a little longer.“We do anticipate getting them,” King said. “We are waiting for them so that they may carry us through mid-November.”Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(10/27/09 4:59am)
Halloween stores near Chapel Hill expect this year’s sales to remain consistent with 2008 sales, despite students who say that the economy could affect how much they spend on their costumes this year. Bob Bridges, owner of Halloween and More at the Streets at Southpoint, said he expects costume sales to stay the same because rising gas prices and the presidential election will not be factors that keep people from shopping at his store.“People forget that last October we were in the throes of a recession. The news last Oct. 31 was not any better than this Oct. 31,” he said.But some students said they will be taking the economy into consideration when planning their costumes.“A lot of my friends have talked about trying to find ways that are cheaper, such as making their own costumes to save money,” said Emily Cosgrove, a senior sociology major. And even though the recession has shown signs of ending, the experience of the past year, students said, has made them much more conscious about how they spend their money.“I think people have become more money savvy,” said Kendra Miller, a sophomore chemistry major. “They are more willing to save their money to go to Halloween or spring break or Christmas break,” she said.Steven Schrenzel, manager of Time After Time, a vintage thrift store on West Franklin Street that sells costumes year-round, said sales are better this year than they were last year.“So far it’s been a little bit better,” he said “The reason being because we have been on that spot for 25 years, and it is pretty well known around the area.”Schrenzel says that Time After Time markets itself as having prices significantly lower than most other vintage shops, giving the store an edge on Halloween costume sales.“Compared to other vintage stores our prices are half of those from other stores,” he said, “So far, just going by the month of October, we have actually been busier this year than last year.“ Schrenzel said the store has had its share of ups and downs, but overall the store’s 25-year history has allowed them to maintain a fair amount of customers for Halloween. “In the past it has been kind of like a roller coaster,” he said “I would say, again, that given that we have been here so long that it stays for us fairly consistent,” he said.Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(10/02/09 5:16am)
N.C. Central University students waited in line with a penny in hand on Monday, thinking they needed to pay one cent to make sure their university bills were paid on time. The university increased the student activity fees by a penny after many had already paid their dues, leading to confusion on campus about when they’d have to pay.A letter sent by administrators in September informed students of the one-cent increase. But a rumor quickly spread that students would have to pay a $25 penalty for failing to pay the additional penny soon.The letter informed students that the estimated student activity fee, originally $104.02, was going to be increased by one cent after the university received approval from the Board of Governors on Aug. 26. The last day for payment was July 31, so students who paid their bills on time still owed a penny. “We sent the students a letter informing them that the student activity fee was off by one cent. The students assumed that they would have to pay a $25 fee for an unpaid balance,” said Cynthia Fobert, information and communications specialist at NCCU.Students who lined up to pay their pennies were turned away and told that it wasn’t necessary, Fobert said.In an attempt to clear up the confusion, Alan Robertson, vice chancellor of administration and finance at NCCU, wrote a letter of apology assuring students that the one-penny fee adjustment would be removed immediately.“There will be no fees or late adjustments associated with this adjustment. The administration takes great pride in maintaining a reputation for excellence, and you should never be troubled with such insignificant adjustments,” he said in the letter. Brian Kennedy, a member of the student government association, said there was some confusion, but the university responded quickly.“If it were true that we were really going to charge them for this unpaid balance of a penny then it would be a legitimate reason for protesting. As it is, this is actually not true,” Fobert said. Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(09/21/09 3:36am)
Although seeing students rolling on their skateboards to get to class is not uncommon at UNC, other universities in the state have banned the practice. But UNC School of the Arts student leaders are fighting back. Student Body President Daryl Wade is compiling a survey of different policies related to skateboarding at UNC-system schools in an attempt to reverse that ban.At UNCSA, if a student is seen with a skateboard, it is taken away, Wade said.“They tell the students that the reason for their policy is because it endangers their art,” he said.“I am in support of using it to get from point A to point B because I can understand if someone is more comfortable with it or if someone needs to get to a place faster, they should be allowed to,” Wade said. UNCSA’s policy states that the ban is in place because skateboarding can endanger the safety or health of members of the school community.At UNCSA, student injuries are a big concern because the students are mostly in fine arts programs, and an injury could prevent them from working.“We have had accidents on campus that have injured them, and this has prevented them from doing their art,” said Anne White, vice chancellor for student life.White said they’ve already had one student fall and break both of his arms while skating, preventing him from doing his artwork for six months.Students at UNCSA have tried to change this policy before, but their attempts have been unsuccessful. “So far they haven’t gotten very far in the last three years that I’ve been here,” he said. Appalachian State University is another UNC-system school that does not allow skateboarding, Wade said.However, ASU bans skateboarding due to a city ordinance. Local officials did not want campus to become the skating hub of Boone, Wade said he was told by the ASU Student Body President, Jonathan Meisner.UNC-Chapel Hill, N.C. State University, UNC-Wilmington and Winston-Salem State University are some of the state universities that allow skateboarding.WSSU Student Body President Whitney McCoy said skateboarding is not common at the university, but UNCW Student Body President Mark Blackwell said the students make the most of their freedom because the campus is flat and conducive to skateboarding.Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.