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(02/27/06 5:00am)
Each year during Black History Month a story goes untold because it is crumbled and buried in plots throughout Orange County.
Behind Winston Residence Hall lies the burial place of more than 200 blacks, some slaves, who were laid to rest in a segregated cemetery.
And on Margaret Lane in Hillsborough, a monument commemorates the burial place of an unknown number of slaves and other people of color.
A missing past
Deteriorating and absent headstones left holes in data about the county's black population when a survey of local cemeteries was conducted during the 1970s.
(02/20/06 5:00am)
"Closing the minority student achievement gap" has been the buzz phrase in Chapel Hill and Carrboro ever since it was declared the city school board's No. 1 priority in 2001.
The Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education put closing the gap at the top of its agenda again at its annual planning conference Thursday and Friday.
When Superintendent Neil Pedersen presented the district priorities from the 2006-07 strategic plan, the first one surely sounded familiar to those who attended the planning meeting last year - it was the same, word for word.
The first goal was to "close the achievement gap, by showing growth for all racial/ethnic groups of students, accelerating the rate of learning among the lowest performing students, and eliminating the racial predictability of student performance."
Despite having the same goal for five years running, school board members say they stand by their accomplishments.
School board Chairwoman Lisa Stuckey said she doesn't think the board stays locked in a specific set of goals.
She added that gradual progression is "the nature of education."
But not everyone says he believes appropriate progress is being made.
During the conference Thursday, school board member Jean Hamilton, who ran for election in November on a platform of reforming strategies to close the gap, said there have not been enough results from the strategies the board is employing to justify continued use.
"The gap isn't closing, so what have we done with the four or five years of a particular strategy with no results?" she asked.
Though the minority student achievement gap has not closed, the district has seen progress in the number of black and Latino students achieving proficiency.
School board vice chairwoman Jamezetta Bedford said Saturday that she is pleased with the progress students have made in terms of proficiency and that she thinks the district is starting to employ new methods that will close the gap further, especially at the high school level.
Bedford specifically cited aligning the curriculum between schools and developing professional learning communities.
School board member Ed Sechrest said Friday that he, too, is pleased with the progress that has been made.
Sechrest said the school board has been spending less and less of its budget each year on minority student achievement, adding that "people would like to see results overnight, but it's not going to happen."
As for getting the gap off the top spot on the agenda, Bedford said, "Student achievement will always be the top item, and we're shifting, so I hope that it won't always have to be that focus on minority student achievement."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(02/17/06 5:00am)
Solving the issue of school equity between the county's two school districts long has been an issue on the agenda for the Orange County Board of Commissioners.
The commissioners further discussed the problem at a work session Thursday afternoon.
After putting a proposal for a school merger to bed last week and with the resounding defeat in November of a referendum to implement a special district tax benefiting the Orange County Schools, commissioners were left to brainstorm alternative ways of bridging the gap.
At the session the commissioners each presented their responses to two "homework" questions posed at an earlier work session: What is your definition of equity, and what school programming aspects would you be most interested in having outside of the per-pupil allocation for school current expense?
Commissioners Moses Carey and Alice Gordon both said they were weary of providing funding beyond the equal per-pupil allocations given to each district because they said they thought it would give the public a false sense of how much say-so the commissioners have in school budgets.
Carey referred to a "fine line" that would be crossed if people thought the commissioners had the ability to veto or to approve each item on a school's budget individually.
Commissioner Valerie Foushee said by avoiding the line-item approval issue, the commissioners could give more money to the schools by establishing proper guidelines without specifically earmarking funds.
"I think there's a way to look at it without us exercising authority that we don't have," said Foushee, a former member of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education.
Foushee added that the guidelines should include the expectation that positions such as school resource officers would be paid for by the schools.
The lack of such noninstructional positions was identified in a March 2005 report by UNC School of Education professor Madeleine Grumet as an effect on county schools of funding inequity between the districts.
The report said that the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools' special district tax garnered the district about $12 million a year extra.
Although their perceptions of schools' needs varied, commissioners agreed that the equity issue boils down to money.
"When you talk about giving each child the opportunity to reach their full academic potential, you are talking about money," Carey said.
Commissioner Stephen Halkiotis proposed that school districts either be allowed to present their proposed budgets to the public to vote on or be granted taxing authority.
The first idea was dismissed by the other commissioners, but the board eventually agreed to ask the school boards if they want to tax their districts to fund the budgets.
Both school boards will be asked to give a response by early March.
The commissioners will discuss the equity issue further at their work session March 13.
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(02/13/06 5:00am)
After 18 years as the manager of Orange County, John Link announced Thursday that he will retire from the position Aug. 31.
Link said it just seemed like the right time to step down, and he will pursue a career outside of county government.
"I do plan to continue being productive for someone; I'm not going to be at home or playing golf all the time," he said Friday.
Link added that he is looking forward to a new venture somewhere else, but that he and his wife Ginger Link do not plan to leave the county.
In the meantime he said he will focus his energy for the next six months on putting together a budget for the county.
Link announced his retirement in a written statement at the Orange County Board of Commissioners meeting Thursday night.
Barry Jacobs, chairman of the board, said the commissioners don't know exactly how they will choose a replacement for their long-time manager.
He said they are "in the process of putting together a process."
Jacobs said the new manager ideally will start before August so they can receive on-the-job training from Link.
Jacobs also said filling Link's shoes might not be easy.
"It's not easy to replace someone like John who not only has done the job for a long time but is intelligent and compassionate and understands Orange County because he grew up here," Jacobs said.
His service and commitment to Orange County is admired by many of those who have worked with him.
Assistant county manager Rod Visser said Link's commitment to customer service put him a cut above of managers from other counties.
Visser said Link required all county employees to go above and beyond when trying to meet the needs of county residents.
He added that this attitude is, "inherent in the way Orange County goes about its business," and that the future county manager should feel a similar need to help county residents in their endeavors.
Though the commissioners have not put together a list of qualifications they are looking for, Jacobs did say, "(Link's) an even-tempered, good-hearted human being and ultimately that can't be discounted as an important trait."
When asked about his future plans, Link responded, "I have to admit I won't miss the 60-some night meetings that we have, and I'll enjoy being home more with my wife.
"Whatever I look for in the future won't have as many night meetings."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(02/10/06 5:00am)
Former Carrboro fire Chief Rodney Murray was sentenced Wednesday to 120 days in jail after pleading guilty to violating a domestic violence protective order filed by his ex-girlfriend, said Carolyn Winfrey, Durham assistant district attorney.
Winfrey said Murray was issued a 30-day active sentence, with 90 days suspended. Since he's already served 23 days, he will serve only seven more in the Durham County Jail.
Murray was arrested in late December on a slew of charges including stalking, driving under the influence and failing to heed police lights and sirens.
He is on medical leave due to a heart attack and announced last month that he will retire as fire chief in March after 12 years.
Before his sentencing Wednesday, Murray was being held in Durham on a $1 million bond.
Upon his release from jail, Winfrey said Murray will be required to enter Fellowship Hall in Greensboro, an alcohol and drug treatment center.
At Fellowship Hall he will receive intensive treatment for what his psychologist, Charles Cooper, called in court an "addiction to a person."
Murray also will receive an alcohol assessment, which Winfrey said likely will result in treatment.
After spending 30 days in the treatment facility, Murray will be released under the supervision of his psychologist.
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(01/30/06 5:00am)
High school students in both the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools and the Orange County Schools will say goodbye to the standard six-period school day this fall and make the switch to new, alternative schedules.
The Orange County Board of Education approved the change to block scheduling at its Jan. 23 meeting, and the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education gave the OK to a seven-period day at its meeting Nov. 17, with plans to switch to a hybrid block schedule in the fall of 2007.
Although city schools faced stiff opposition to the proposed changes, the county school board approved the new scheduling mechanism with relative ease.
"This has been in the minds of many Orange County educators for years, and now it seems as if the public is ready for it also," said Delores Simpson, a member of the county school board.
Simpson attributed the easy approval to the amount of effort the district put into learning about different types of alternative scheduling.
The county also hosted two information sessions for parents to learn about alternative scheduling, to express concerns and to ask district officials questions.
The assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, Rebecca Garland, said that after hearing the benefits of block scheduling, 81 percent of county high school teachers voted by secret ballot in favor of the change.
Garland said block scheduling will allow students to take more classes, which will help students who need to recover failed credits, as well as students looking to diversify their course loads.
"It allows them to have a personality and develop some interests," she said, noting that having a keen interest in a subject or activity often makes the difference in college acceptances.
Despite the benefits, the city school board had a much more difficult time convincing parents and teachers that now was the time to make the scheduling switch.
City school board chairwoman Lisa Stuckey said using the seven-period day for a year will provide a logical transition to the hybrid-block system the district plans to adopt for the 2007-08 school year.
She said it will allow teachers and administrators adequate time to prepare for the change and to adapt their teaching styles accordingly.
The assistant to the superintendent for community relations, Stephanie Knott, also cited the need to concentrate on achieving the district's year-long goals as a reason for delaying block scheduling.
"We felt if we implemented it at this point it was going to distract us from focusing on the high student achievement goals set by the board for '05-06," she said.
The seven-period day will add 15 minutes to the school day, creating room for seven, 50-minute periods.
With the hybrid block schedule, students will take four 100-minute classes each semester. Additionally, students will have the option to take certain classes as "skinnys," pairing two 50-minute classes together for the whole year.
A task force was assembled to decide if the county schools will use a standard or a hybrid-block schedule.
At last week's meeting, school board members indicated they would favor a hybrid system and school board vice chairman Al Hartkopf, who attended both parent information sessions, said he thought parents would prefer the hybrid system as well.
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(01/23/06 5:00am)
Unlike the owners of many chain stores, Bob and Joan Krueger, of Chapel Hill's Great Harvest Bread Co., are on a first-name basis with their customers.
That is why the decision to sell the business was especially difficult.
They are selling the store but stress that neither they nor Great Harvest are leaving Chapel Hill. They plan to continue to operate until a buyer is found, regardless of when that is.
The couple's decision to sell was prompted in large part by Joan Krueger's health. She suffered a stroke last year, and Bob Krueger said the stress of running a business is just too much.
"I can keep her out of the bakery, but I can't keep the bakery out of her head," he said.
The Kruegers are known for running a store with a special hometown feel even though it is part of a chain of stores. The store is famous for its breads, its creative recipes, and most of all its generous free slices.
"I kind of like it how it is," said Jayne Seebach, a Chapel Hill resident and a regular at Great Harvest. "I love getting my bread here, and I feel like I'm doing something for a local business."
The Kruegers are well-known not just for their work in the kitchen but also for their philanthropy in the community.
Bob Krueger said being a good business neighbor is very important to him and his wife.
The shelves of their store are filled with thank you cards and certificates of appreciation from groups ranging from the N.C. Children's Heart Center to the Women's Birth and Wellness Center.
The Kruegers also make contributions to the local schools. Every year they donate bread vouchers to children in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools who then sell the vouchers for $5 apiece to raise money for their schools' PTAs.
Giving back to the community, employee Liz Webb said, is part of Great Harvest's policy.
"Each Great Harvest has to be willing to donate to the community, and that will continue," she said, adding, "and the free slices."
Bob Krueger said that at any given time the store is donating a minimum of 20 loaves of bread a week to various groups and fundraisers.
"We rarely say no," is his motto when it comes to charitable giving.
And that hospitality does not go unnoticed.
Paul Kropp, a customer at Great Harvest said, "I just hope they can find someone who does as good of a job for the community as the current owners do."
Bob Krueger said the new owners must be devoted to more than just turning a profit.
As for the future, Bob Krueger said the possibilities are wide open.
"I'm 60 years young," he said, adding that he wouldn't mind putting on a suit and going to work again.
"It's like anything else," he said. "It's going to be a change, but I'm sure we'll get through it just fine."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(01/23/06 5:00am)
To meet growing needs, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools likely will construct a prototype of either Mel and Zora Rashkis Elementary School or Mary Scroggs Elementary School, bringing the district a 10th elementary school.
Corley Redfoot Zach Inc., the architects who designed both Scroggs and Rashkis, made a presentation to the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education on Thursday night comparing the benefits and shortcomings of the two schools.
(01/17/06 5:00am)
When Carrboro artist Ted Bleecker died in November, he left the gallery into which he had poured seven years of his life's work and energy.
And though the building's ownership will change hands as Fleet Feet Inc. makes it the new home of its corporate offices, some of Bleecker Street Studio & Gallery's features will be preserved.
The Main Street building was single-handedly designed and constructed in 2003 by Bleecker and was fashioned to be a work of art sculpted from wood, steel, block, glass and concrete.
The building has vaulted ceilings and is solar powered.
Fleet Feet President Jeff Phillips said the company was drawn to purchase the Bleecker building in December because of its uniqueness and its price.
"Unique and affordable office space for a small company is very difficult to find in Chapel Hill-Carrboro these days," he said.
Fleet Feet plans to keep the gallery portion of the building open, using the former studio space upstairs for its own offices. The studio area eventually will house 10 corporate employees.
The idea of keeping the gallery open resonated with Carrboro residents who have seen other local galleries struggle to stay in business this year.
Carrboro Board of Aldermen applicant Catherine DeVine, a former member of the Carrboro arts committee, said she was pleased with Fleet Feet's purchase of the space.
"I think it's a swell idea, because they plan to keep using it as a gallery, and I think Fleet Feet is a fine organization," she said.
Tom Raynor, chairman and chief executive officer of Fleet Feet, said keeping the gallery open was important in the company's decision to occupy that space.
"I think it's important that we reflect both the business side of Carrboro but also the diversity of Carrboro," he said.
"Certainly, the art community is one of the key elements of the personality of Carrboro."
Raynor said the company will offer gallery space free of charge to three artists at a time on a rotating schedule.
He also said the gallery will be open for special events and will continue to participate in monthly Carrboro art walks.
Raynor said he spoke to Bleecker before his death about his vision for the studio and that he was trying to stay true to that vision.
Phillips said involvement in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro community was important to the company.
"We're a small, community-oriented, community-based company," he said.
"We're not a lot different than the arts community."
Fleet Feet Inc. runs 67 Fleet Feet retail stores nationwide that sell athletic footwear, apparel and accessories for fitness sports.
When the company moves to its new location in April, it will be within eyesight of its retail store in Carr Mill Mall.
Corporate headquarters are currently located above Acme Food & Beverage Co. on East Main Street, which now is for sale.
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(01/13/06 5:00am)
Before the federal government recognized Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a national holiday, Chapel Hill was one step ahead in honoring the civil rights hero.
In the early 1980s, Chapel Hill Town Council member Bill Thorpe proposed the idea of celebrating King's birthday with a paid holiday.
Thorpe said the idea first was met with opposition but later was embraced by the council and the community.
"Once the leadership showed that that was the thing to do, the community accepted it," he said.
Since then, the community's Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration has continued to grow.
Each year there is an interfaith prayer breakfast early in the morning.
This year's breakfast begins at 8 a.m. at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel in Research Triangle Park on Monday. The event is first come, first serve; doors open at 7:15 a.m.
Later in the morning, a rally is held in front of the Franklin Street post office followed by a march to First Baptist Church on North Roberson Street - just down the road from the Hargraves Community Center where King visited in the 1960s.
The rally will be at 9:30 a.m. Monday outside the post office, and the church event will begin at 11 a.m.
At the church, a keynote speaker makes an address in honor of King.
This year's speaker - the Rev. William J. Barber II, the newly elected president of the N.C. conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, will speak about poverty and war.
Barber delivered the keynote speech last year and was so well-received he was asked to return.
The Rev. John Manley, the pastor at First Baptist, said he thinks having Barber speak again will be good because "he is the same man with more steam."
Al McSurely, a local civil rights lawyer and activist, noted similarities between Barber and King.
"People forget that Dr. King was a strong advocate of nonviolent approaches to solving problems," McSurely said. "He always thought that violence created more problems, and Dr. Barber is as close as we have today to someone of Dr. King's stature."
First Baptist has been hosting the celebration for 23 years, but the atmosphere has changed with the times.
McSurely remembers in the beginning that the event's attendees came almost exclusively from the black community.
Although he said the observance still predominantly attracts a black audience, more white people have begun coming in recent years.
The event at First Baptist is about honoring history, but to the black community it is also about combating modern challenges.
Manley said he thinks more people are attending in recognition of modern-day racism.
"I think we are seeing a re-energizing of the event," he said.
Thorpe said the holiday also has become more acceptable since it was first introduced in the 1980s.
But McSurely said the fight for civil rights didn't end with the establishment of the holiday.
"We've always done (the rally and march) to remind people that the struggle continues."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(01/12/06 5:00am)
For 53 years, Pace Gift Shop has been known as a place with unique charm, excellent personal service and those perfect little gifts for special occasions.
(10/10/05 4:00am)
The pleasant smell of empanadas filled the air as the music of a local band dimly played in the background and children playfully waded around in the nearby creek.
(09/29/05 4:00am)
After only nine months on the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education, Pam Hemminger wants to extend her stay.