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(11/27/06 5:00am)
North Carolinians can gobble up their turkey this holiday season without a care while the rest of the country waits in line for slim pickings in the poultry section.
Hotter-than-usual summers in some parts of the country have made turkeys a little slimmer than what is typically desired of the entree.
The lack of the more favorable, plumper turkeys has driven up the price of the holiday favorite.
"It affects the market of supply and demand," said Steve Troxler, commissioner of the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
But North Carolina - the No. 2 turkey-raising state in the country - is not suffering, said Bob Ford, executive director of the N.C. Poultry Federation.
"I haven't heard about that here," Ford said. "I think we'll have plenty to go around. Price is up, but there's plenty of product.
North Carolina school districts, however, do have to deal with the shortage.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture usually buys surplus turkeys and donates them to schools for turkey lunches.
Troxler said that because prices were too high this year, the USDA did not purchase as many turkeys for school lunches.
"Any time there is a spike in the market, whether it's due to a price hike or shortage, it affects USDA's ability to do what Congress set out to do," Troxler said.
Joe Otranto, director of Orange County Schools' Child Nutrition program, said Congress created the nutrition program to make sure that children of families that are not able to have large holiday meals still could enjoy turkey and all the fixings at school.
"For some of our children, that will be the only Thanksgiving dinner that they will receive," Otranto said.
He added that because of the national shortage of turkeys, the USDA cannot deliver the birds for the holidays.
"Our requests for turkey products will be canceled or will be moved," he said, adding that Orange County will receive turkeys from the USDA after the holidays.
But the district found a way around the delay.
"We have to go to wholesale market to buy the turkeys," Otranto said.
Even though the self-supporting child nutrition program had to pay out of pocket for the turkeys, Otranto said that the Nov. 16 turkey lunch in county schools was a complete success.
"It was extremely well received," he said. "In some schools we had 100 percent participation."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(11/10/06 5:00am)
Stop, drop and roll isn't efficient fire safety when it comes to college students, firefighters who attended the national Campus Fire Forum 8 conference this week said.
The three-step plan might not be enough to save lives in a residence-hall fire.
Ten years ago Bonnie Woodruff lost her son, Ben Woodruff, to a fire in Phi Gamma Delta's fraternity house at UNC.
During her keynote address at the conference Thursday, Woodruff, a fire-safety advocate, said the death of her son and four other students could have been prevented by sprinklers.
She said that the fire spread too rapidly for everyone to escape, and that sprinklers would have contained the fire long enough for the students to escape. The cause of the fire was a carelessly discarded cigarette.
"Education is the answer," she said.
"If we use the opportunities we have today . we will be raising a new generation of people that will be informed and responsible for fire safety."
After Ben Woodruff's death all UNC fraternity and sorority houses were required to install automatic sprinkler systems within five years.
All houses complied by September 2001, Bonnie Woodruff said.
"I know that because of his death others have and will live," she said.
Woodruff added that not only should students take responsibility, but parents should ask more questions.
Forum director Ed Comeau said the forum has been an annual event since 1999.
The goals of the forum have changed according to the safety needs of college campuses across the nation.
To get the fire-safety message across to students, Comeau said the Center for Campus Fire Safety holds demonstrations on college campuses in which dorm-room models are set on fire.
Two dorm setups are used - one with an automatic sprinkler system and one without so students can see the effects.
"The more graphic and in-your-face, makes it the more memorable," Comeau said.
"Students today are bombarded with messages. We have to make ours stand out."
Gail Minger, board member for the Center of Campus Fire Safety, lost her son, Michael, in a campus arson fire at Murray State University in Kentucky in 1998.
Minger said most parents do not consider campus fire safety when their children move away to college.
"We just assume that safety is in place," she said.
A few universities have created their own fire departments specifically to serve the campus community and keep students safe.
The University of Alaska Fairbanks is one of the few universities in the country with its own fire department, said the school's fire chief, Edith Curry.
Curry said all of the department's firefighters are students who are fully trained and who also get paid.
The conference served as a way for departments to share ideas about the best methods for fire prevention and to see what has worked and what hasn't on other college campuses.
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(10/13/06 4:00am)
Bucking broncos and bulls will be drawing a crowd in Efland this weekend at the annual Efland Ruritan Rodeo show.
The Alltel Wireless East Coast World Champion All Classic show, produced by the Mid-Atlantic Professional Rodeo Association, will begin at 7:30 p.m. today and Saturday.
The gates of the Efland Ruritan Club will open at 6 p.m. for early arrivals.
Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for children ages 6 to 12, and $5 for children ages 3 to 5. Children under 3 get in free.
"It's a family-oriented event," said Gloria Kiker, a retired cowgirl.
She said there will be vendors at the rodeo selling food, Western apparel and pony rides for the children.
The seven-event show will last about two and a half hours, Kiker said.
Events include cowgirls' barrel racing and bareback bronco riding, as well as bull riding, calf roping and steer wrestling.
"It's good, clean, wholesome fun," she said.
Kiker added that rodeo is a pastime in her family.
"I grew up wanting to be a cowgirl, but now I'm retired," she said.
"My son, when he was 12, he said, 'I want to ride a bull,' and he's been riding for 18 years."
Association co-founder Roger Harris said that in addition to the show, there will be entertainers riding horses while standing on one foot, clowns, a mechanical bull and a tribute to the armed forces.
"It's a fun-filled event, cowboy-style," he said.
Harris started the association with his wife, Katherine Harris, in 1982 and has sponsored several champion cowboys, horses and bulls.
"We have the record for the most East Coast World Champion bucking horses and bulls," Harris said.
Crowd favorites appearing this weekend include barrel-racing cowgirl Holly Thomas, East Coast World Champion bareback bronco rider John Harvey and East Coast World Champion bull rider Chad Brinkley.
Harris said the company has had about 35 champion bucking horses and more than 40 champion bulls.
"Most people that are champions have had horse experience all their life, so they don't have to conquer staying on the horse like someone who is beginning," Harris said.
Some students said news of the rodeo hadn't reached them for different reasons.
Junior Crystal Essex attributed it to competing events.
"I think I'm going to the fair that weekend," she said.
Sophomore Gamron Hubbard said he's apprehensive about riding anything that bucks.
"If I see a horse rearing up before I get on, then I don't think I would get on," he said. "But it sounds like fun."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(09/29/06 4:00am)
Scarecrows might not have the brains to always scare those crows away from the garden, but they do symbolize the coming of the fall harvest in Hillsborough.
Tonight the Orange County Historical Museum and the Hillsborough Arts Council will sponsor the second annual Scarecrow Contest.
The contest is being held as part of the Hillsborough Last Friday celebration.
The celebration is held on the last Friday of every month from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. in Hillsborough's historic downtown.
The celebration brings downtown Hillsborough alive with arts and crafts, music, food, dancing, films and late-night shopping opportunities.
Orange County Museum Executive Director Jennifer Koach said the idea for the scarecrow contest branched off from a harvest-themed event held last year.
"We had a good response from the public," Koach said.
She said the winner of last year's eight entries was a turnip head scarecrow, made in honor of the new Hillsborough Turnip Patch Park, which is still under construction.
Koach said no prizes were given out last year, but the winner had the glory of knowing his scarecrow had won.
"This year there will be ribbons but no prizes," Koach said.
She added that the five entries for this Friday's contest are designed to look like real people.
After the contest, the scarecrows will remain on display on the courthouse front lawn.
"I think they'll be up about a week depending if it rains," Koach said.
Last minute entries for the contest can be entered at the museum until 1 p.m. today. There is no entry fee for the contest.
The Hillsborough Arts Council sponsors the Last Friday events from April through September.
Tonight will be the final Last Friday of the year sponsored by the council.
But Julia Williams, owner of Brick Alley Books in Hillsborough, said the merchants collectively sponsor the monthly events during the winter.
Catharine Callaway, co-owner of Callaway Jewelry Spiral Studios in Hillsborough, said the events are good for the community.
"It's just perfect for a little town like Hillsborough," Callaway said.
"There's not much to do at night in Hillsborough, so it's good to have something once a month."
Williams said she partakes in the festivities and enjoys the community event.
She added that the events attract a lot of people to Hillsborough's businesses.
"People bring their kids, their dogs and you can really see the community spirit," she said.
"It brings a lot of people here, and we're always really busy and get a great turnout on Last Fridays."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(09/19/06 4:00am)
A Yale University freshman says it was a Chapel Hill High School teacher who gave her the confidence she needs to succeed.
Yale University's admissions office sponsors the annual Yale Teaching Awards, honoring instructors from around the country who do just that.
Cynthia Ammons, an Advanced Placement statistics and technical math teacher, was nominated by Catherine Kastleman, one of her former students and a freshman at Yale, for the award.
"I think a lot of teachers go unrecognized for the amount of work they put in with their students," Kastleman said.
Kastleman said that math wasn't her favorite subject but that Ammons brought enthusiasm and energy to class.
"I'm someone that needs to ask a lot of questions, and I didn't really feel comfortable doing that in my other classes, but I asked a lot of questions in that class," Kastleman said.
Kastleman said Ammons made class fun, relating statistics to realistic situations.
She remembered a day when Ammons invited a former student who was a biostatistician from GlaxoSmithKline to talk to the class.
"It's my positive attitude and energy," Ammons said. "I'm very passionate about math, and I try to get my students active and involved."
Chapel Hill High Principal Karla Eanes said Ammons' dynamic personality and caring nature always gives students the encouraging push they need.
"She has high expectations of her students, and they live up to that expectation because they respect her so much," Eanes said.
Ammons said she considers her students to be her reason for teaching.
"My students are very inspiring to me," she said. "They're very energetic, and that makes me very energetic."
Ammons said she was surprised and flattered by Kastleman's nomination.
"For her to have such a high regard to take the time to nominate me, it was just really meaningful," she said.
Ammons said she was able to read Kastleman's nomination letter.
"It will inspire me to do my very best," she said.
Ammons said she plans to read the letter at the beginning of every school year so she can prepare herself to live up to the standard that has been set for her.
Ammons said she knew she wanted to be a teacher since third grade.
When her family moved to Texas, Ammons said she fell two years behind in reading.
She remembered her third-grade teacher staying with her after class to help her catch up.
From then on Ammons knew she wanted to teach, she said.
Kastleman said she remembers Ammons telling the story to her class.
"Another reason I liked her was her attitude about knowing what she wanted to do with her life."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(09/15/06 4:00am)
An idea blossomed in the mind of an anonymous donor about a year ago.
Rather than Franklin Street's visitors giving a dollar or spare change to panhandlers, the funds should go into a giving kiosk that donates money to charity, he thought.
He even had selected an artist to design it and drew a concept plan.
But in a Thursday meeting of the Giving Kiosk Task Force, assembled by the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership , members decided a kiosk might not be the most effective solution to the problem.
Task force members said even if the giving kiosk was successful, panhandlers still would beg and people still would give.
"People have to understand, 'Am I the right person to help this individual,' and most likely the answer is no," said Chris Moran, executive director of the Inter-Faith Council for Social Service.
Plans for the kiosk were well underway earlier this year, but when the partnership presented them to the council, it was directed to form a task force to consider the idea more thoroughly.
Task force members showed more preference for an educational process than for a kiosk.
Later actions dealing with panhandling could be put into effect once the public is better educated.
Liz Parham, executive director of the partnership, said that across the nation 10 to 60 percent of the general public gives money to panhandlers, but that 60 percent of students do.
With these facts in mind, members mentioned possibly having forums on campus and putting up fliers to educate students, but said education alone would not solve the problem.
"Knowledge has to connect into the action," said Missy Julian-Fox proprietor of Julian's clothing store. "People want their piece of Franklin Street, and there's no amount of money to move them."
Moran mentioned a well-known Franklin Street panhandler, with whom he has become personally acquainted.
"He's a well-known panhandler, lives in Hillsborough, in a house, but he knows people are going to give money to him," he said.
Panhandlers do not necessarily represent all those who are homeless and truly have no resources, said Lynn Blanchard, director of the UNC Center for Public Service.
"Panhandlers are the face of homelessness, and that's not homelessness," Blanchard said. "Those that really need help, (their) voices aren't heard."
Julian-Fox said that although people know there are alternative options out there for the homeless, donors still look in the eyes of a person in need and feel obligated to help.
"Students are confronted with hungry people asking for money, but the kitchen is downtown," she said. "There are other needs and breakfast, lunch and dinner is not one of them.
"You don't make the connection when that's what you're asked for, and that's what students need to understand."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(04/28/06 4:00am)
As the end of the semester approaches, students pack up either for the trip home or to wherever summer fun, or summer school, is found.
Move out days tend to generate a lot of waste, but everyone can clean up their act a little by donating unwanted items to charity and by recycling, officials say.
The University's Office of Waste Reduction and Recycling is setting up donation stations around campus this week.
Clothes, shoes, unused personal items, school supplies and textbooks all are welcome donations.
Furniture and small appliance donations also are being accepted at separate campus locations, said Jennifer Maxell, recycling coordinator for the office.
Maxell added that the collections will be donated to charities.
Items collected are donated to the PTA Thrift Shop, the Inter-Faith Council for Social Services and the Habitat for Humanity Hand-Me-Ups-store.
"The items are donated to us. We trash what's not sellable and put what is sellable on the floor, and at he end of the year the profits are distributed to Carrboro-Chapel Hill City schools," said Barbara Jessie-Black, executive director of the PTA Thrift Shop.
The office of waste reduction also has partnered with Campus Outreach for the past three years, using the textbook collections to sponsor fundraisers such as Books for Africa and Room to Read. This year will benefit Hurricane Katrina relief, Maxell said.
Those living off campus can donate as well. The Hand-Me-Ups-store accepts furniture, large appliances and household-good donations.
Donations to the habitat store can either be delivered to the location in Durham or picked up upon request, said Peggy Sanford, the store's manager.
Granville Towers has an arrangement with Orange County Solid Waste Management for move-out waste collection as well.
"We'd rather not describe it as waste," said solid waste planner Blair Pollock. "One man's trash is another man's treasure."
Bins will be placed in Granville residence halls next week, Pollock said.
The IFC and the thrift shop will sort through the collections for merchandise.
Donations help people of the community, as well as local charities, schools and reduce landfill waste, Pollock said.
"On a global scale, it conserves resources for everybody."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(04/21/06 4:00am)
Alumni of the past 50 years will be celebrating and making Hillsborough history this weekend at Cameron Park Elementary School.
In the honor of diversity, culture and community, Cameron Park will hold its 50th anniversary celebration to bring the community together and to help raise money to renovate the school's aging facilities. All are invited to participate.
"Our past is part of our future, and we want to celebrate that," said Susan Hallman, member of the Cameron Park unique assets committee.
The event will take place - weather permitting - from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. Saturday at the Hillsborough school located on St. Mary's Road.
"It's going great if we could just hold off on the rain," said Shelli Yearsly, a 50th celebration committee member.
The event is an effort to bring together volunteers, supporters and sponsors in the community to aid the school in its efforts to raise money for renovations.
Hallman said that honored guests will include Rep. David Price D-N.C., Rep. Bill Faison D-Orange, Hillsborough Mayor Tom Stevens, several local artists and authors and the school's first student, Bob Kennedy.
Hallman said the school has a picture of Kennedy walking into the school 50 years ago that will be on display in the school's lobby.
The school was built in the 1950s and has a very old-fashioned and plain design, Yearsly said.
"There has been a lot of work, literally tens and tens and tens of people helping," Yearsly said of the project, which has been an involved fundraising effort.
Children at the school raised $1,300 in a penny drive to raise money for the celebration and renovations.
Dave Clinton of MHA Works Architects made plans for the school's renovations for free, and now the school is raising more funds to carry out his design.
"Renderings have been received, and everyone is excited," Yearsly said.
Committee members are hoping to improve the school's safety features as well as aesthetic features.
"Our school has such a unique history not only with unique assets but also with the people," Yearsly said.
She added that at the event, supporters can purchase commemorative pavers - bricks engraved with the donor's name - that will be used in the renovation.
Those organizing the celebration also hope to accentuate the historical assets on the school's property.
These historical sites will be stops on a tour that will include the Great Trading Path, the Regulators' hanging site, Hughes Academy, the Cameron Park Arboretum, the Cameron Ice House and the home site of the N.C. Society of the Cincinnati.
The walking tour will include students reenacting historical events.
Hallman said that aside from the tour, there also will be games, food and live music from six local bands, including two middle school bands.
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(04/19/06 4:00am)
Activities featuring steers, pigs and billy goats will be cropping up on farms in Orange and nearby counties this weekend.
Earth Day, which falls on Saturday, will be acknowledged this weekend with the 11th annual Piedmont Farm Tour.
The tour was organized as a fundraiser for the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association.
Families can visit a variety of farms in Chatham, Orange, Alamance and Person counties.
Activities include learning about agriculture, shopping for produce and plants, strawberry picking, horseback riding lessons, product sampling and baby farm animal petting for the children.
The farms will be open to visitors from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Weaver Street Market has co-sponsored the tour with the association for 11 years to help people connect with the places where their food is produced.
"Our role is to educate people that if it comes from North Carolina, the money stays in North Carolina," said Cat Moleski, marketing director for Weaver Street Market.
Amy Eller, communications manager for the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, said produce is transported an average of 1,500 miles before being sold.
She added that with increasing gas prices, depending on food from so far away is economically inefficient.
"There's plenty of food grown right here, and we can get our food from just a few miles away," she said.
There are other benefits to the locally grown organic produce in-state, Eller said. Foods grown organically close to home are fresher, taste better and offer higher nutritional value.
Buttons, which are needed to participate, can be purchased for $30 at any of the 31 farms during the tour or in advance at Weaver Street Market and many other local establishments.
Last year the tour raised $14,000 and had 6,000 visitors.
Also in celebration of Earth Day and agriculture, there will be a junior livestock competition today and Thursday, in which youth will show livestock they have raised.
The Central Piedmont Junior Livestock Show will be held from 1 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. today and at 8:45 a.m. Thursday at the Central Carolina Holstein Barn in the Orange Grove Community southwest of Hillsborough.
"The project is to teach kids responsibility, hard work, and they learn a little bit about agriculture," said Karen McAdams, agricultural extension agent for Cooperative Extension Service which is hosting the event.
This will be the 61st annual show, in which young people ages 5 to 18 will show farm animals raised by either their 4-H group or their Future Farmers of America chapter.
Hogs, lambs and steers will be shown Wednesday, and goats and more steers will be on display Thursday.
Thursday events will be followed by a livestock auction, a dinner for the participants and an awards ceremony in which ribbons and trophies will be given, McAdams said.
McAdams said the event teaches participants confidence, leadership and altruism.
"A lot of these kids will not be farmers, but they have an appreciation for agriculture."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(04/17/06 4:00am)
Not everyone has the luxury of waking up every day and getting paid to do what they love.
Linda Fyle does.
The secretary and bookkeeper at Mary Scroggs Elementary School says she takes pride in what she does for a living, and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools has recognized her work, giving her the honor of district employee of the month for April.
Fyle has been in her post at Scroggs Elementary for eight years.
She also tutors after school and fills in for the school nurse from time to time.
Fyle said she was also teaching a sewing class at one point.
"Aside from all these duties, it's just the way she does them," Assistant Principal Grace Repass said of the reasons for honoring Fyle.
Repass added that Fyle is always patient when helping others even when she has to repeat herself several times.
"She does everything with a smile and is always willing to help people," she said.
Fyle considers her work ethic and positive attitude as reasons that helped her to land the employee of the month honor.
"I really like the students and staff and the families," she said.
"And I like working with numbers. But if it was just the numbers, I don't think I'd like it."
Fyle said the people surrounding her that make her job worthwhile.
She and the school administrators work together in the office, sometimes sharing roles and responsibilities, Fyle said.
Though they might not have much knowledge of Fyle's professional qualities, her students hold their tutor in high regard.
"We do math and reading, and when we do a good job, she's proud," said 9-year-old Moo Kho Paw, a third grader.
Paw said she has fun at Fyle's tutoring sessions, sharing an anecdote of a time that even her tutor didn't know the right answer.
"It was wrong, but Mrs. Fyle said it was right, that was the funny part," she said.
In addition to her professional achievements, Fyle said she is also proud of her three children and her marriage of 23 years.
And her children are just as active as their mother.
Her son, the oldest of her children, attends Charleston Southern University, double majors in business and physical education and also plays baseball in his spare time.
Fyle's oldest daughter is a senior at Chapel Hill High School and enjoys tennis and backpacking.
The youngest daughter is in eighth grade at Grey Culbreth Middle School and plays soccer.
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(04/10/06 4:00am)
Sanctuary is far from home for many individuals and families from around the world who are forced to flee persecution in their home countries.
Tito Craige, a history teacher at East Chapel Hill High School, takes pride in heading a program that helps Tar Heels and high school students bring aid and comfort to such refugees.
Craige is the president of the American Friends of Le College Cevenol, which aids refugees in Le Chambon, France, and he is in the process of selecting participants for the next trip this summer.
Le College Cevenol is a place where refugees wait for their asylum plea to obtain citizenship to be heard by a French judge.
"In France the government requires that all refugees live in a safe and secure place until their cases are heard by a judge," he said.
Many years ago villagers in Le Chambon saved the lives of 5,000 Jewish refugees fleeing the Nazi "Final Solution," in the largest community rescue in all of Europe.
"The College Cevenol has done so much to help other people. It's important to help them do what they're doing because they're doing such great things," said Hayley Davis, a freshman, who participated in the program last year.
Sixteen have been accepted into this year's program, and four are on the waiting list.
Craige sponsored a wine-tasting fundraiser at the West End Wine Bar on April 1, raising $8,500 for scholarships for work-study participants.
Craige, who went to high school at Le College Cevenol, said work groups have regularly visited the campus since the end of World War II.
The eligibility requirements for the scholarship, he said, include two years of French, an analytical essay and financial need.
Students can find applications at cevenolfriends.org and should e-mail them to Craige at etacraige@mindspring.com.
Upon acceptance into the program, which is sponsored by the AFCC, students will take on an active role both on-campus and with the refugees.
"In the morning we renovate, in the afternoon we have culinary art and French classes, and in the evening we cook together and take care of the kids so the parents can do what they want," Craige said.
Davis remembered picnics with the refugee families and playing with the children despite the difficulties of a language barrier. "We had to figure out what (refugee children) wanted to play, and they wanted to play freeze tag," she said.
Craige said the campus provides housing for refugees from 11 different countries including Rwanda, India, the providence of Kosovo, Uganda and Armenia.
Every French providence is required by law to provide community housing for refugees, he said.
Craige added that because there is no community for the refugees in the providence, Le College Cevenol provides barracks for them and is compensated by the government.
Refugees also receive a stipend for living expenses.
In Le Chambon, there is a strong tradition to achieve justice and peace, Craige said, adding that the school has historically striven to make its efforts international.
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(03/31/06 5:00am)
Little piggies and big piggies alike will gather at the barbecue pit Sunday in the hopes of going wee, wee, wee all the way to charity.
The Chapel Hill Police Department will host a fundraiser, "Pig-Out on the Green," from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m Sunday on the Southern Village Green, to support Special Olympics North Carolina.
Tickets to enjoy barbecue with all the fixings will be sold at Pazzo!, The Grill and Carolina Brewery for $10 each and $5 for children aged 12 and under.
(03/29/06 5:00am)
Shave your head and save a life.
That's the goal of the St. Baldrick's Day annual cancer fundraiser.
On St. Baldrick's Day - a name coined by the event creators - audiences normally pay to watch barbers shave volunteers' heads.
But when Chapel Hill firefighters participated in the event Thursday, they took the motto one step further.
"We raised more money at the event for eyebrows," said recently shaved firefighter David Sasser. "They don't normally shave those, but it was kind of a dare."
The fire department hosted the event and donated the proceeds to children's cancer research.
Sasser said about 80 people had their hair cut that day, including a 12-year-old girl who had her hair braided, cut and then shaved.
Participants donated their hair to make wigs for children who lost their hair while undergoing chemotherapy.
The fundraiser surpassed its goal of raising $1,000, with online donations alone accounting for almost $1,800.
Cash and check donations received at the event have not been counted yet, Sasser said.
The fundraiser is a national event that originated in 2000.
Three friends in New York turned their annual St. Patrick's Day get-together into the first St. Baldrick's Day fundraising event.
The friends decided to shave theirs for an audience to raise money for children's cancer research.
In the first year of its existence, the event raised more than $104,000, exceeding the modest $17,000 goal.
The altruism blossomed, and the homemade charity, which previously operated under the National Childhood Cancer Foundation, became the independent entity of the St. Baldrick's Foundation last year.
The majority of the foundation's funds go to the Children's Oncology Group, which consists of more than 2,000 experts from 230 leading children's cancer institutions in the U.S. and abroad.
Two generations ago, children's cancer almost always led to death, but with today's advancements, 77 percent of children with cancer survive, said Sophie Pragnell, the foundation's special events manager.
Cancer remains the leading cause of death by disease in children.
"I would challenge anybody else interested that wants to raise awareness for childhood cancer to be brave and go bald," Sasser said.
Those interested in starting a St. Baldrick's team in their community can register at www.stbaldricks.org to receive promotional materials and guidance, Pragnell said.
"We rely heavily on volunteers," she said.
The charitable movement is contagious, she said. "Once one person does it, everyone else wants to join in."
Pragnell said the oldest person recorded to have participated was a 72-year-old woman, and the youngest was a 6-year-old girl, who attended the event with her father and decided to follow in his footsteps.
"Our executive director is bald this year," Pragnell said. "I'll probably do it next year."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(03/27/06 5:00am)
Once upon a time, being the biggest loser in the school was nothing to be proud of.
Times have changed.
Some Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools' teachers are deflating the spare tire in a districtwide weight-loss competition in honor of National Nutritional Month.
Deborah Lederer-Hughes, an art teacher at Carrboro Elementary School, and other faculty members at the school started the effort, which began March 15 and will continue through May 3.
The competition now includes all 15 schools in the district and the central office, with a total of more than 300 participants, in the common goal of losing a combined 2,006 pounds before May 3, she said.
Lederer-Hughes said because of rising concern about student nutrition and health in the school system, which has some of the strictest nutrition and physical activity requirements in the state, teachers decided to take a look at themselves.
"As educators we need to be good modelers for our students," Stephanie Knott, a spokeswoman for city schools, said about the student's new guidelines.
Because of the new enforcements on students, teachers should be supportive and demonstrate healthier behavior, she said.
A lack of calcium and exercise, empty calories, carbonated and sugary drinks and generally unhealthy eating habits all present a problem for the health of young people today. "We have a restriction on the number of classroom parties, and they are limited to one," Knott said.
In addition, district schools have removed many soda and sports-drink vending machines.
Only 100 percent juices are sold, baked chips are chosen instead of fried, and sweets such as cookies and muffins are restricted to 200 calories maximum, Knott said.
The spirit of that health revolution also has spread to faculty.
Many snacks were removed from teachers lounge vending machines and replaced with healthier options.
Honey buns were removed completely, which upset a few faculty members, Lederer-Hughes said.
But that, too, has changed.
"Some of the complainers in the beginning like better what's in there now," she said.
Lederer-Hughes, who is in charge of the vending machines, loads the machines once a week.
The machines have been used more in the month and a half since the contents have been changed than during the previous six months, she said.
District Health Services Coordinator Stephanie Willis said that so long as weight loss is gradual and positive lifestyle changes are encouraged, there is no threat to society's health. "It's just that people are working to change their lifestyle and that's always healthy," she said.
Willis added that in such a competitive society, weight loss can only help reverse damages that already have been done.
"In our obese nation we have rising health care costs, emerging health costs from more children with type 2 diabetes, loss of productivity, and this generation will be the first to have shorter life spans than their parents."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(03/22/06 5:00am)
With an hour on the clock and a spread of chicken breast, rice, tortillas, bread, fruit, vegetables and spices, students chefs were forced to be creative Tuesday.
March is National Nutrition Month and celebrating this not-so-widely recognized occasion has become an annual event at East Chapel Hill High School.
Similar to the Food Network's show "Iron Chef," the second annual Iron Chef Competition featured five contestants, each with one hour to prepare two healthy dishes, which were then judged by a panel of critics.
Cafeteria manager Anne Hicks created the competition last year with Mark Rusin, event director and registered dietician of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools child nutritional services department to promote healthier food choices and preparation.
"We are now trying to use National Nutrition Month to promote healthy eating," Rusin said.
Hicks said the benefits of the contest are two-fold.
"It was also meant to teach children how to cook," Hicks said.
Reigning champion Ben Isaacs captured the title for the second year in a row.
Isaacs, a sophomore, wowed judges Tuesday with the pungent flavor and impressive presentation of his chicken dish, though he said he was not pleased with his work.
"I wasn't too happy about what I did with my other dish," he said as he prepared his second dish, a nutritious dessert of short cake topped with hot fruit and whipped cream.
The five contestants were chosen for having the top recipes entered in a schoolwide recipe contest.
One aspiring chef, Chanelle Hampton, also a sophomore, created a chicken and rice dish.
"I wanted to be a chef when I was little," she said. "You know how for Christmas you get the little hot dogs and kitchen sets? That's when I decided that I wanted to be a chef."
The contestants each were given a workspace in a section of the cafeteria, equipment and ingredients of which they had no previous knowledge.
The ingredients were limited to fresh, nutritious choices to inspire healthier eating habits among adolescents, said Beth Bell, East's foods and nutrition teacher and a judge for the competition.
"It shows them that you can have good food that tastes good," she said.
The contest was inspired by the growing national trend of obesity in adolescents.
This might be the first generation to have a shorter life expectancy than its parent generation because of poor nutritional habits, Rusin said.
According to the school district's Web site, 45 percent of adolescents in North Carolina are either overweight or obese due to severe lack of nutritional value in foods and excessive empty-calorie consumption.
Nutritional restrictions in the competition helped the students learn how to prepare foods for a balanced diet.
"I think the reversal is going to be a long process," Rusin said. "It's getting people to change they way they think about food."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(02/24/06 5:00am)
In colorful 1950s attire, high-school actors sang and danced under bright stage lights as they rehearsed two weeks ago.
Behind them the stage crew hurried to pull everything together
Now the students are bringing Broadway to Chapel Hill this weekend with a performance of the famous musical "Guys and Dolls" at East Chapel Hill High School.
The show, which opened Thursday, will run through Sunday in the high school's auditorium.
High-school students performing the famous Broadway show said they appreciate the learning experience, but for the most part they are just enjoying themselves as they perfect their craft.
"I'm just having fun doing what I like to do," said junior Stephen Greenslade, who played gangster Nathan Detroit, at the February rehearsal.
Greenslade's character once was played by actor and singer Frank Sinatra.
Sophomore Emily Oglesby plays leading lady Sgt. Sarah Brown.
Oglesby said that she is enjoying her time acting and learning, adding that she does not plan to pursue a professional career in theater.
"It's funny because every day they try to get you to be more in character, but you learn more about yourself," Oglesby said.
Drama teacher and play director Hope Hynes said auditions for the play were open to the public.
Auditions included singing a piece of music, learning choreography and acting out a scene.
Hynes emphasized the importance of listening and respecting the work of actors on stage, as well as the original writers of the piece.
"Acting is not thinking. It's re-enacting," she said.
Though students are enjoying acting, they said it is serious work.
Students will put on the performance with little outside help.
Hynes said even the stage crew is mostly students who are guided by professional technicians.
"I really like the experience of having all these people create their own little world on stage and conveying a message," said freshman Charlotte Pate, who has a silent part in the production.
The 1950s musical originally was written by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows but was based on the short story "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" by Damon Runyon.
The musical tells the story of a bet between two New York gamblers that one of them could not make the next woman he saw fall in love with him.
In the play, the character of Nathan Detroit organizes one of the oldest permanent floating crap games in the city.
Tickets for the show are $5 and can be purchased weekdays from 12:45 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. in the East Chapel Hill Caf
(02/24/06 5:00am)
Independence, 225 years in the making, will be celebrated in Hillsborough on Saturday with a historic re-enactment and a tour.
The Alliance for Historic Hillsborough will hold the sixth annual "Living History Day" to commemorate local Revolutionary War history.
The free celebration at the Orange County Visitors Center will feature replication of historic events, educating residents and spectators about Hillsborough's own war history.
During the Revolutionary War, Hillsborough was the site of bloodshed that pitted neighbors against one another in military attacks.
"I think it's important to bring awareness to the events that have shaped the community," said Jeffrey Durst, education and interpretation specialist for the alliance.
"It's important that the community know about it and that the visitors know about it."
The event is held every February to commemorate the week in February 1781 that British Gen. Charles Cornwallis set up camp in Hillsborough.
Other well-known figures from the war such as American generals Horatio Gates and Nathanael Greene are said to have headquartered in the town's inns and taverns.
While in Hillsborough, Cornwallis wrote a proclamation in search of Loyalist recruits, Durst said.
He added that turnout to hear Cornwallis' proclamation was poor because morale for American independence was much higher than the general expected.
There will be a reading of Cornwallis' proclamation at the celebration Saturday.
The event also will include re-enactors, who will act out the everyday life of soldiers, wives and children in a war camp.
Spectators will be able to view food preparation over campfires, sleeping quarters, musket firings and marching drills.
"It celebrates an important part of not only the history of Hillsborough and history of North Carolina but also the history of America," Hillsborough Mayor Tom Stevens said about the festivities.
Durst said this year's show will feature an exhibit about a British detached field hospital that has medical equipment and herbal medicines used during the war.
"Everybody benefits from it: young and old. It's particularly interesting for families," Durst said.
He added that he thinks learning about history this way is most beneficial to children who are being exposed to the history for the first time because they are having the next best experience to witnessing it firsthand.
Stevens expressed a similar sentiment. "It conveys history with a sense of authenticity, so it's not a storybook, and it's not Disney."
The alliance also will offer Revolutionary War guided tours offered at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday.
Tickets for the tours will be sold Saturday at the Orange County Visitors Center for $5.
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(02/22/06 5:00am)
Though she might spend most of her time behind the scenes, co-workers of retiring Orange County Board of Elections Director Carolyn Cates say her May departure surely will be noticed.
Cates, who announced her retirement Monday, said she intends to kick back, relax and enjoy all that she has accomplished during her three-plus decades in office.
"I'm still going to work part time, but I'm ready for some changes in my life," she said.
"I can't give it all the way up; it's been my life."
Despite her plans to work part time for the board, Cates has plans for the free time she soon will acquire, including a stained glass painting class, horseback riding lessons and a cruise to Alaska.
Cates has worked for the board of elections for 35 years, serving as director for eight years.
During her tenure on the board, the county has seen advancements in voting technology and voting education.
Real-time election results were made available on the Internet. Voter registration has increased from 15,000 to 94,000.
Improved voting technology has been implemented, with the newest crop of machines being readied for this November.
Cates' job consists of overseeing elections and candidates' campaigns as well as programming ballots and machines.
County personnel director Elaine Holmes said the process for selecting Cates' successor will consist of a series of interviews and background checks conducted by an assessment panel.
Cates' decision marks the second county department head to announce retirement plans in less than two weeks.
Orange County Manager John Link declared that he would leave his post after 18 years at a Feb. 9 Orange County Board of Commissioners meeting.
And in Chapel Hill's jurisdiction, Manager Cal Horton said last week that he would retire after 16 years on the job.
"It'll be a challenge, but Orange County is in a location that professionals want to work at, so I think we will have an impressive pool for any of these vacancies," Link said of filling the county positions.
But Link added that Cates has difficult shoes to fill. "She has a can-do attitude in getting ready for any election."
Cates said she is particularly proud of helping to implement one-stop voting on campus.
Students, University staff and residents are able to vote two weeks before election day at the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center, Carrboro Town Hall or the board's offices in Hillsborough.
As for the future of the board, Cates said, "It's time for some new ideas and some new energy in here."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(01/30/06 5:00am)
Tigers will celebrate their stripes at Cameron Park Elementary School, home of the tigers, this April at the school's 50th anniversary celebration.
The theme of the festivities is "a legacy of living history," highlighting the location of the school with its many historical memorials right on campus.
The event will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 22.
At the celebration there will be live musical performances by six professional bands, appearances by award-winning authors and artists, games, a ceremony including student performances, food and historic tours with re-enactments.
Stops along the historic tour will include: the Great Trading Path, the Regulators' hanging site, Hughes Academy, the Cameron Park Arboretum, the Cameron Ice House and the home site of the N.C. Society of the Cincinnati.
"We're working to promote and educate the community on these unique assets to the school," said Susan Hallman, a unique assets committee member.
In recognition of Hillsborough's rich history, each grade at the school will adopt a historical asset to study.
Among the projects are video presentations, pictorials and book reports, said Shelli Yearsly, a 50th celebration committee member.
"Some children will be presenting their projects at the celebration and may be re-enacting as well," Hallman said. "I think they are really excited about it. They're coming up with some really great ideas of things to do."
Yearsly praised the school's arboretum for its historical value.
"It's important for the kids (that) if you live in a place where you have all this history . (to) include that in the curriculum. It's not just in a storybook anymore," Yearsly said.
She said there are trees on the property that were planted by the original Cameron family that are more than 200 years old and not indigenous to the area - a great opportunity for a science lesson.
Hallman explained the history of the arboretum and the founding family.
"The Cameron family itself was very interested in non-native species of trees," Hallman said. "We really prize those trees. All of these things are things that the students really appreciate."
The bicentennial also marks the beginning of fundraising efforts for a streetscape project to improve the view of the school from Saint Mary's Road.
Fundraising for the project is still in the planning process, but Cameron Park students already have given the school "an important start," said Yearsly, raising about $1,280 in a schoolwide penny drive.
Yearsly said the celebration is designed for the whole community. Past students and staff are asked to register to be a part of the celebration. School memorabilia also is being collected.
"It's interesting how one school can bring a community together. We're looking for people that have built the legacy over the years," she said.
Interested volunteers or Cameron Park alumni who would like to register and attend the event can contact Yearsly at 732-7779 or Cameron Park Elementary, at 732-9326, for more information.
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(01/23/06 5:00am)
Despite denial by the Hillsborough Board of Adjustment, some residents still are hoping to see a Weaver Street Market come to the community.
But with the board one vote short of the needed four votes for a supermajority, it seems there will have to be some changes made to plans to put a market in the new Gateway Center on Churton Street.
But leaders stress that the vote doesn't signal an end to their effort.
"We have a lot of support among residents in Hillsborough," said Ruffin Slater, general manager of Weaver Street Market, adding that the company makes a point to respond to community desires. Hillsborough residents asked for a store a little closer to home, he added.
George Horton, who developed the plans for the Gateway Center, said his company is trying to figure out how to make that possible.
Horton said the board's decision is final, and the new Weaver Street Market only will be acceptable in a new location.
"We're either going to have to come up with a new plan or appeal the ruling to the courts," Horton added. "If we appeal it, the Town Board will have the final say-so."
The company will make a decision some time this week, Horton said.
But Paul Newton, a board member who voted against the plans, said he did not believe Horton's appeal would carry any weight in court. "A judge can only rule on whether we followed procedures correctly," he said.
In the beginning, the plans for the Gateway Center consisted of the three-story building with condominiums on the third floor, office space on the second and a restaurant and bank on the first, Newton said.
In December modifications were made to place Weaver Street Market on the first floor of the Gateway Center rather than the previously planned Southern States Building on Margaret Lane.
The adjustment board stands firm in its decision that the new store would violate town public safety ordinances.
Outdoor activities and festivals in the designated space added by the developer would create dangerous pedestrian and vehicular traffic, Newton said.
Engineers proposed solutions to the violations that would allow for the market to open, but not all of those precautions were implemented by the developer.
But Horton said he does not believe that safety is an issue.
Horton said the decision to deny Weaver Street access to the Gateway Center was a faulty judgement based on an "unfounded, unexperienced determination."
He added that even if the improvements were needed, they would be difficult to achieve.
The board has suggested that the market be moved to Margaret Lane, as previously intended, but Horton rejects this idea as well.
"Margaret Lane is a residential road," he said. "That would just play havoc with the people on Margaret Lane."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.