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(10/29/07 4:00am)
While campus sports teams practiced Saturday morning, area athletes were racing at the Chapel Hill Community Center.
The Chapel Hill Police Department held its first 5K Walk for the Gold event to raise money for the Law Enforcement Torch Run for the Special Olympics.
"The Torch Run has been around 25 years," officer Phil Smith said. "It's a way to raise money and awareness for Special Olympics."
Raleigh and Chapel Hill are the only two departments in the state having a Walk for the Gold. Other agencies plan to adopt the practice if these are successful.
Smith said each department in North Carolina has an opportunity to raise funds through different events.
The Chapel Hill Police Department holds events throughout the year, including a golf tournament, Pig Out on the Green and Tip-a-Cop.
"There's a friendly competition with each agency in the state," Smith said.
Last year, the department finished second, raising more than $76,000.
A majority of walkers consisted of Special Olympics athletes that participate in various sporting events throughout the year.
"My role is to try and bring athletes to the events so the community can see who they're supporting," said Colleen Lanigan, coordinator of Special Olympics for Orange County.
The funds support the summer games in Raleigh and help to pay for the athletes' medals, uniforms, housing and meals so families aren't burdened by costs.
The participants work year-round to prepare for the Olympics. They practice for their particular sport once a week and compete against other counties on a regular basis.
Special Olympics of Orange County boasts a variety of sports teams, each led by volunteer coaches. The season lasts between eight and 10 weeks.
Athletes can participate in soccer, cycling, golf, swimming and bocce during the fall season.
Athlete Anthony Stevenson, who participated in Walk for the Gold, said he likes many things about participating in the sporting events.
Stevenson listed "soccer, dances, getting along with people," as his favorite part of Special Olympics.
The department has been involved with the Torch Run for 14 years and aims to raise more than $80,000 for this year's Olympics.
For the next fundraiser, the department will sell shirts and hats for the Torch Run.
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(10/24/07 4:00am)
The newest addition to the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools district needs a name, and there's nothing elementary about it.
The board recently broke ground on the district's 10th elementary school and designated a naming committee at a meeting in September.
The board's Web site is accepting public name suggestions, and then the Elementary No. 10 naming committee will begin the process of naming the school. The school is scheduled to open in 2008 on Eubanks Road near the intersection with Old N.C. 86.
Board policy 9300 requires community input before the board can make a decision. Residents of the area are encouraged to submit suggestions on the Chapel Hill-Carrboro city school's Web site at www.chccs.k12.nc.us.
"The committee has not made any specific suggestions yet. There's a period of public input open until Halloween," said Stephanie Knott, spokeswoman for the school district.
The board will go through the list during its first December meeting, Knott said.
Residents have shown interest in Elementary No. 10 - 56 ideas have been submitted since the forum opened Friday.
So far, all schools in the city have been named after a person or by location, Knott said.
The location of Elementary No. 10, in the northwestern area of the district, has led to a variety of location-based name proposals such as Northwest, Chapel Hill West, North Chapel Hill and Eubanks Elementary.
The only requirements for the naming of a new school are that it is not easily confused with another city school's name and that it includes the type of school - in this case elementary - in the title.
The flexible rules have led to an abundance of out-of-the-ordinary proposed names such as Roy Williams, Carolina Drought and Harmony elementary.
Some contributors have taken their suggestions into deep consideration.
One Chapel Hill family is working to have the school named in the memory of its son, Staff Sgt. Misael Martinez, who was the first Hispanic Orange County resident to be killed in Iraq.
The family recently went to the Carrboro Board of Aldermen to gain support for its request.
"It made me cry because this family sacrificed so much, and they are such good people, but it is not the aldermen's decision-it's the school board's decision," Alderman Jacquie Gist said.
Martinez attended Orange County Schools throughout high school and served three tours of duty in Iraq before being killed by a roadside bomb.
"His name has been put into consideration; the district has received calls from people who are supporting him," Knott said.
But a decision has yet to be made, and only time will tell if Elementary No. 10 will honor a veteran, support a coach or serve an alternate purpose.
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(10/22/07 4:00am)
A September cookout held at an Orange County home left two children infected with E. coli. The children developed cases of stomach cramps and bloody diarrhea because of contaminated hamburger meat. The two have since recovered.
The American Chef's Selection hamburger meat was distributed by Cargill Meat Solutions, Inc. and purchased at a Durham Sam's Club. All Sam's Club locations in the country were to remove the product from their shelves by Oct. 5.
"We want our members to know we are doing all that we can to resolve this matter with our supplier and the appropriate agencies," stated a press release from Wal-Mart, which operates Sam's Club.
The Orange County Health Department inspected the incident after hearing about the children's symptoms.
Donna King, the health department's environmental health services division director, said the department made contact with the family who hosted the cookout and asked a variety of questions.
"We needed to find out about the cookout, then the hamburger, then go through and talk to individuals and ask 'Is anyone else sick? Who ate the meat? Is it being exposed?'" she said.
King said it was important to trace the E. coli from the cookout to find the original source and eliminate other causes of the contamination.
"If we find that source, we can do surveillance and case finding to recognize problem and make announcements to get rid of meat," King said.
But the health department does not expect to handle any other illnesses coming from the cookout. There is a two- to 10-day period in which the E. coli virus will affect an individual. After 10 days, the virus can do no harm.
Since the cookout was held almost a month ago, King said it is unlikely any more Orange County residents will be at risk.
The department is now concerned with people who purchased the meat and stored it in the freezer to use at a later date. They are asking all consumers to check their kitchen for American Chef's Selection products that are on the recall list.
"Recalls are very serious and when we have them we need to pay attention and be good consumers. We need to check our products and get rid of it," King said.
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(09/19/07 4:00am)
With the Hispanic population growing in Orange County - it increased 323.2 percent in a decade - the need for police officers to understand the culture and language has become a necessity.
El Centro Latino, a local nonprofit outreach group for Hispanics, recognized Chapel Hill police officer Charles Pardo for diligently working to build the bridges of communication in Orange County.
Pardo, from the Community Services Division, received the first-ever El Centro Latino award Sunday for his work coordinating Latino outreach ideas with both the Chapel Hill and Carrboro police departments.
"I was very humbled and appreciative," said Pardo, a native Spanish speaker who was born in New York but grew up in Puerto Rico.
"It was totally unexpected, but I know that I couldn't do the job by myself. It takes other agencies that are doing great work to provide the best services to the community."
Ben Balderas, the executive director of El Centro Latino, said the award was given to "recognize individuals who help the community."
Fellow officers and El Centro Latino leaders say Hispanics needing assistance regularly seek Pardo.
The organization chose Pardo because of his involvement with the Hispanic population, his participation in the Orange County Latino Issues Committee and his ability, Balderas said, to "connect the Latino community to the broader community."
Pardo will talk to Spanish-speaking victims and use his community contacts to help find suspects.
Though Pardo has seen success in his outreach programs, he said he believes that it is going to take a group effort to achieve the main goal - being able to communicate effectively with Hispanic crime victims.
"I am trying to break that (language) barrier and to be able to show them that law enforcement is your friend and also to serve everyone equally," he said.
Lt. Kevin Gunter, public information officer for the Chapel Hill Police Department, commended Pardo's efforts to serve the Spanish-speaking community, saying that he "is very thorough and patient when dealing with Latino victims."
Gunter also is aware of the difficulty in speech barriers. As an officer for 22 years, he has encountered numerous occasions in which language became an issue in law enforcement.
Gunter said he is attempting to keep the department aware of the expanding Hispanic population and to give officers the training to be able to handle any situation that might arise.
"We keep at least one bilingual officer on hand at all times, and we make sure that they are present when we are dealing with Latino victims," Gunter said.
Bilingual officers are in high demand, and all patrol officers are required to attend Spanish classes that center on police-related conversations.
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.