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(11/20/07 5:00am)
Bright-leaved trees line the narrow and quiet Purefoy Drive.
But in the coming years, the street in the historic Rogers Road community might be getting louder.
The Chapel Hill Town Council approved a special use permit that will add 51 Habitat for Humanity homes to Purefoy Drive and dramatically change the last black neighborhood in Chapel Hill.
While community members say that they support affordable housing, they worry about the effects of the increased density on traffic and storm water management.
Karen Reid and her husband raised two children on Sandberg Lane, a gravel road off Purefoy.
"We moved out here because it was a nice, quiet place," she said. "I'm glad to see they got affordable housing, but it's really changing the dynamics of this neighborhood."
On Reid's land are nine chickens and an additional house, which still is being constructed after 12 years.
"When we built the house, we had no idea that the neighborhood would just explode," Reid said.
The Habitat development on 19.3 acres of land will be available only for families who make less than 50 percent of the median income.
Habitat of Orange Executive Director Susan Levy said interest already has been expressed in the proposed housing, though applications are not yet being accepted.
"It's a desirable community to live in," she said. "We want to get going because the need is great."
There are already several Habitat homes on Purefoy Drive. Barbara Hopkins lives with four family members in a Habitat home and has lived on Purefoy since 1973.
She sat next to her granddaughter Shenequa Brittian, 16, as she talked about the community. "We are a close neighborhood. Everyone knows everyone," Hopkins said.
She said that while she was worried about the impact of additional traffic on the narrow road, she had nothing bad to say about Habitat.
"Without it, nobody would have any place to stay because Chapel Hill is too expensive," she said.
The average home price in Orange County is about $350,000.
"If you're a regular working person, you do not have an opportunity to buy home in Chapel Hill or Carrboro," said Robert Dowling, executive director of the Orange Community Housing and Land Trust. "You can't even rent a house for the same price you can buy a house from Habitat."
Dowling praised the policy requiring that 15 percent of new developments be affordable housing but said the majority of it is condominiums.
"This Habitat development is clearly a rare opportunity for people to get single-family homes," he said.
All parties agreed at Monday's meeting that more affordable housing was necessary in Chapel Hill, but debate centered on the design of the storm water management system.
Neloa Jones, of the Rogers Road neighborhood, told the council the homes might be at risk for flooding
"I'm scratching my head trying to figure out how this design got approved," she said.
The development will bring many new residents to the old neighborhood and is likely to include a community garden and recreation area.
"I'm looking forward to some new neighbors," Hopkins said. "It's too quiet out there."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(11/15/07 5:00am)
The updated master plan for Jordan Lake will receive public comment today at a session held by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The listening session is the start of a 30-day public comment period on the updates, which address demand for more swimming beaches and trails, among other long-term concerns.
"People are concerned about water quality in the lake, and certainly right now they're concerned with the water quantity in the lake," said Carol Banaitis, who is on the Jordan Lake planning team of the Corps.
(11/13/07 5:00am)
When almost 1,000 dogs were confiscated from Horton's Pups in Hillsville, Va., East Coast animal shelters were asked to step up.
A small fraction of those dogs have arrived in varying conditions in Orange and Durham counties, while an employee at Horton's remains unapologetic.
Sarah Crawford, development director at the Animal Protection Society of Durham, said the 30 dogs they received were covered in feces and urine upon arrival Thursday.
The Animal Protection Society of Durham is located at 2117 E. Club Blvd.
Animal Protection Society staff bathed all of the dogs Friday.
"You could tell for some of them that it was their first bath," she said.
The dogs were confiscated after a Humane Society undercover investigation revealed that the kennel had more than twice the number of dogs that Horton's license permitted.
No one at the 23-year-old business, located just north of the North Carolina and Virginia border, knew about the license requirement, said kennel manager Timmy Bullion.
He said Horton's Pups lost about $750,000 from the bust of Yorkie, Maltese, Poodle, Shih Tzu and Lhaso apso breeds.
"We called it dognapping," he said. "They're making money off our dogs."
Neither the Orange nor Durham county shelter sells dogs for profit.
The kennel lists prices from $250 to $500. Bullion said they were allowed to keep about 200 dogs.
Bullion said the publicity from the bust has helped generate business.
"I think they would think that it would hurt us, but it has helped us," he said.
Even so, he said they are looking for an attorney.
Bullion said the dogs were kept about four per a 4-by-12-foot cage.
There are four employees plus the owner and his father to care for all of the dogs. Bullion said dogs were walked about once every three days and that cages were kept clean.
Jess Allison, Orange County shelter manager, said the 25 dogs that the shelter received seemed to be in good condition.
The Orange County shelter is located 1081 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
She said some are experiencing difficulty socializing and might not be put up for adoption.
"Most of them were kept in small kennels and received limited human contact," she said.
The first group of dogs from Virginia will be available for adoption as early as Thursday, Allison said.
APS of Durham received 15 adult dogs and 15 puppies, and Crawford said they have already received 300 applications for adoption.
"I think that people want to see them go to forever homes very quickly," she said.
Crawford said that none of the dogs are aggressive but that volunteers are working on socializing them with people and animals.
"Some are very, very social animals and just want to be held."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(10/30/07 4:00am)
When openly gay politician Ernie Fleming ran for Warren County commissioner last year, the local newspaper ran an editorial that warned of a "moral tsunami."
But that did not prevent Fleming from being elected.
For years, Joe Herzenberg was the only openly gay elected official in North Carolina, but after his Sunday death, many still follow the road he paved.
"(Herzenberg) pried that door open and kept that open by himself in order to keep alive the promise of full participation," Chapel Hill Town Council member Mark Kleinschmidt said. "He made it possible to get enough people that it's never going to close again."
In 1987 Herzenberg became the first openly gay elected official in the Carolinas, said Denis Dison, spokesman for Victory Fund, a national organization that helps get gay and lesbian candidates elected.
Now there are at least six gay elected officials in the state, including Kleinschmidt and Orange County Commissioner Mike Nelson.
Herzenberg died Sunday in Chapel Hill at age 66, but his impact extends beyond the town's borders.
Julia Boseman, D-New Hanover, was the first openly gay state senator in North Carolina, and openly gay people also have been elected in and Cabarrus County and Boone.
"We've seen people getting elected in areas that are not liberal bastions, and I think that's an indication that voters are willing to look beyond a voter's sexual orientation," said Ian Palmquist, executive director of Equality North Carolina.
Two gay candidates are running in 2008 for statewide office in North Carolina. Jim Neal is a candidate for the U.S. Senate, and John Arrowood is running for the Court of Appeals.
"Joe Herzenberg was an inspiration to everyone who is interested in making our society a better place to live," Neal stated in an e-mail. "He was one of those leaders who broke down barriers."
But openly gay candidates sometimes still have difficulty getting voters to look past sexual orientation.
Dison said 25 percent to 30 percent of voters will not vote for an openly gay candidate, according to a Victory Fund national survey.
"There are still a lot of people who will immediately discount you when they learn of your sexual orientation," Dison said. "The people you see who do get elected typically run perfect campaigns."
Still, the number of openly gay leaders continues to increase. Victory Fund is endorsing 71 gay candidates in 2007, including Carrboro alderman candidate Lydia Lavelle.
Lavelle received financial support from Herzenberg for her campaign.
Her partner, Alicia Stemper, said sexual orientation has not been an issue in the alderman race.
"That she is able to mention that she has a partner and raising children without worrying that it will pull the campaign off message is such a luxury," Stemper said.
Dison said that while some gay officials, work actively for equal rights, others show their colleagues that they are not the stereotype.
"Being out is perhaps the most powerful statement that anyone can make because it forces people to look at you for who you are," he said. "It changes hearts and minds."
Herzenberg encouraged Kleinschmidt to run for town council, and it became a ritual for interested candidates to speak to Herzenberg before filing.
"He is a model which I try to emulate," Kleinschmidt said. "I think that's true for most every politician in Chapel Hill, straight or gay."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(10/25/07 4:00am)
Junior Lynn Pudlo attended the Wednesday local candidate forum undecided about whom she will vote for in the Nov. 6 municipal elections.
After hearing more than two hours of candidate opinions, she came away with a list of favorites. "By coming here, that was my method of picking which candidates to vote for," she said.
Candidates for Chapel Hill and Carrboro leadership made their pitches at a Wilson Hall forum intended for students, though few were there to listen.
About 20 people attended the forum, which was sponsored by the town relations committee of student government.
Rea Grainger, chairman of the committee, said the forum was part of an effort to get "more student involvement in elections."
"I don't think the students realize the impact they have in the local community," he said.
All seven candidates for Chapel Hill Town Council and all but one of the six Carrboro Board of Aldermen candidates joined Carrboro Mayor Mark Chilton and Chapel Hill mayoral challenger Kevin Wolff at the forum.
The candidates emphasized their personal connections to UNC and sparred over Carolina North and homelessness.
Freshman Kendall Law asked the candidates if they would support activation policies that attempt to help the homeless become self-sufficient.
Law said he did not hear enough specifics to make a decision on his vote but was most impressed by Chapel Hill Town Council candidate Matt Czajkowski.
Law, who is from Denver, N.C., said he was going to talk to his hallmates about what he saw and encourage them to register to vote in Chapel Hill.
Both Law and Pudlo emphasized the importance of the candidates' positions on Carolina North.
Carrboro Alderman incumbent Dan Coleman said that he's worked on issues surrounding the Carolina North development since 1994.
"That's taken too long to develop what should be a positive program for our community," Wolff said of Carolina North. He promised to speed up the approval process.
But the sitting council members pointed out that they have yet to receive the plan.
Chapel Hill incumbent Bill Strom said that the concern of the council is how to deal with the density of the planned development.
"We're really concerned about the traffic. We're concerned about the environmental impact," he said.
Incumbent council member Jim Ward said that while town and University priorities are different, they often overlap. "We'll make sure the impacts of Carolina North will not be borne by the taxpayers."
Most of the candidates encouraged the audience to vote and participate in town politics.
Czajkowski pointed out that a small fraction of the students could change election results. "You guys could absolutely affect the course of this election," he said. "You have a very powerful voice."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(10/24/07 4:00am)
In the Chapel Hill Town Council race, incumbents are raking in the endorsements.
But local history has shown that these endorsements are not necessarily decisive in the election outcome.
This year both the N.C. Sierra Club and Hank Anderson Breakfast Club endorsed only incumbents for town council and mayor.
"It demonstrates to voters that I have lived up to my commitments and been true to the principles and policies that I was going to pursue as a council member," Mayor Pro Tem Bill Strom said.
Council member Jim Ward is receiving the Sierra Club's endorsement for the first time in his three council races. He said the endorsements are helpful but not necessary to win.
"It's a vote of confidence that you receive, so that feels good," he said.
Ward is not the only case in which endorsements have not reflected the final outcome.
Town Council candidate Will Raymond said he received several endorsements in his 2005 run, including the Sierra Club and The Independent Weekly, but still fell 600 votes shy of a seat on the council. "Obviously I had all the endorsements last time, but it didn't help," he said.
Seven candidates are vying for four open seats on the town council.
The three challengers in this year's election have found endorsements elusive.
"The safe bet is going to be the incumbent, but the right bet may be the challenger," Raymond said.
But Bernadette Pelissier, chairwoman of the Orange-Chatham Group Sierra Club, said the state chapter endorses only incumbents who have a strong history of supporting the environment.
The members of the local club make recommendations to the state chapter for endorsements in Chapel Hill and Carrboro based on interviews with each of the candidates and one forum in each town. The state chapter then requires a two-thirds vote in order to endorse the candidates, Pelissier said.
She said the endorsements play a big role in elections.
"(The voters) may not know about all the local issues, but they know that we do our homework," Pelissier said.
Bill Thorpe, Hank Anderson Breakfast Club chairman, said that he took three people to the polls Tuesday and that the club's endorsements served as the voters' guides.
He said the interview process and questionnaire given by the club hold candidates accountable.
"We're looking for the record in the past and then what they're going to do in the future," said Thorpe, a council member not up for re-election.
Council incumbent Cam Hill said he is doing a mailing this year that advertises his endorsements.
"(Some voters) don't have time or enough interest to actually follow so they just read that because they trust it," he said.
The endorsements might not have such impact on those who pay close attention to the issues of the race, such as 23-year Carrboro resident Heidi Perry.
Perry said she attended the forum of the League of Women Voters and watched the Sierra Club forum on television.
"I think the longer you've lived here, the more you make your own decision, and I've lived here a long time," she said.
In Carrboro both the Breakfast and Sierra clubs endorsed Mark Chilton for mayor and Joal Hall Broun, Dan Coleman and Lydia Lavelle for the Board of Aldermen.
Lavelle also received one of 71 endorsements from the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, a national organization that helps promote openly gay leaders, Victory spokesman Denis Dison said.
Chapel Hill Town Council candidate Penny Rich classified voters into two categories - those who pay attention to local issues and those who follow endorsements.
But she said Chapel Hill is a politically involved town with independent thinkers.
"People who like the way that I'm thinking, they're going to vote for me whether I'm endorsed by the Sierra Club or not," she said. "(The endorsements) are important, but they're not the live or let die about who gets elected."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(09/27/07 4:00am)
Downtown Chapel Hill has 3,123 parking spaces, but don't tell that to someone looking for a spot on the day of a football game.
The Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership Board of Directors is aiming to alleviate parking problems with a comprehensive study of downtown parking.
Proposals by parking consultants are due by Oct. 8, and the study likely will be finished by late January. The study will cost the partnership between $15,000 and $30,000.
Board member Dick Mann, UNC vice chancellor for finance and administration, said it is important to either increase parking opportunities or to make it clearer where and how to park.
"The perception is clearly that it's hard to find parking downtown," he said.
Liz Parham, executive director of the partnership, told the board at a meeting Wednesday that only about 1,000 of the downtown parking spaces are being used as public spaces.
She said that the study would look at how much people are paying for parking spaces, parking's effect on businesses and the management of parking areas.
Chapel Hill Town Council member Cam Hill served as chairman of the downtown parking citizens committee, which submitted its results to the council in February.
"The businesses complain that people don't want to go downtown because they can't find a place to park," Hill said.
Town officials conducted a 2004 study that only looked at parking on a normal day.
Parham said that parking should be a nonissue when businesses decide whether to locate in downtown Chapel Hill.
"We don't want them to choose another location because of an issue like parking," she said.
The partnership already is trying to make inroads to ease parking concerns on game days.
For the Sept. 1 James Madison University football game, 207 people rode the Tar Heel Express from two new stops at the P Lot and at 725 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Members of the board of directors said they believe that use will grow as more people learn about the new express buses, which run three hours before and after the game.
Board member Andrea Rohrbacher said she knows people who have been going to the games for 30 years who will not be quick to change where they park.
"It's going to take a while for them to even become aware of actions other than their routine," she said.
Hill said that town officials are trying to educate people on where to park daily in downtown Chapel Hill but that a perception of parking problems is an indicator of the area's popularity.
"What would be really bad is if people didn't think there was a parking problem downtown," he said.
Parking is one of the five main issues on which the partnership focuses.
The board of directors meeting Wednesday also included discussion of the Oct. 25 Project Homeless Connect at the Hargraves Community Center. The project is a one-day event where homeless people can receive services to help relieve their problems.
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(09/25/07 4:00am)
In the midst of a drought, Chapel Hill officials might soon be hoping for sunny days, given the town's new solar panels.
The Town Council voted Monday to allow the town manager to negotiate an agreement to sell power generated by solar panels to Duke Energy.
The panels, located on top of the South Columbia Street fire station, already have been installed and will be tested in the next few weeks.
"It's sort of a demonstration project," said Bill Terry, who will be leaving the position of sustainability and facilities manager after Friday.
"One of the philosophies of the town council is to lead by example."
In June 2006, the town of Chapel Hill resolved to reduce 60 percent of carbon emissions by 2050.
"To get to that goal, we are going to have to employ many different strategies to reduce our carbon emissions," council member Jim Ward said.
"Every rooftop of every building has the potential to be a location for additional solar panels."
Project Manager Forrest Heath Jr. said the panels will produce about 4.12 kilowatts per hour of daylight. He said that it would take about 25 years to break even on the $38,000 spent on this project.
NC GreenPower spokesman Jeff Brooks said that it will be the first public solar project through the organization.
"It's certainly exciting to see the growth which solar energy is experiencing today," he said.
GreenPower helps make solar power economically viable by paying the provider 18 cents per kilowatt hour. GreenPower supports alternative energy projects throughout the state.
Brooks said that although the materials are expensive, solar power is efficient and has little impact on the environment.
"We anticipate over the years to come that solar prices will become more competitive as more installers and manufacturers enter the industry," Brooks said.
Duke Energy buys 150 to 250 megawatts of its total output from alternative energy sources, including about 50 solar projects, said spokeswoman Mary Kathryn Green.
She said that although alternative energy is a small part of the 19,900 megawatt total output of the five-state corporation, it will become increasingly present in the future.
"Although it's a small number, it's a great thing for them to do," Green said. "Going forward, it's going to be very important as part of our resources."
The power generated from the fire station panels will enter the general power grid of Duke Energy.
And that might not be the end of town solar projects.
Heath said that if funding is located, the town might put solar panels on the new aquatic center on Northern Park Drive.
Hargraves Center already uses some solar energy, and the bus stop in front of Caribou Coffee on Franklin Street will be fitted with solar panels.
Ward said that solar power is a good option for Chapel Hill because it is "clean, green and renewable."
"In this part of the world, wind and water are not resources we have to harness," he said.
"We have lots of clear and sunny days."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(09/20/07 4:00am)
The Orange County Board of Commissioners decided Thursday to place a revenue-increasing referendum on the May 6, 2008 ballot.
Commissioners voted five to one to form a Local Revenue Advisory Group and to put a tax increase referendum in next year's primary election.
Board Vice-chairman Barry Jacobs said that the purpose of the referendum was to take the place of funds taken by the state.
"It's not that were putting icing on the cake; we're just trying to keep the cake in tact," he said.
"In fact, it's trying to fill what somebody cut out of the cake.
(09/18/07 4:00am)
Many used the word bittersweet to describe the Monday groundbreaking for the multiuse development East 54.
The Best Western University Inn closed Wednesday and will be replaced by East 54, which will include offices, retail, condominiums and a hotel.
About 150 development partners, employees and prospective buyers ate shrimp and grits and listened to UNC a cappella group the Loreleis as they mingled in the front yard of the 55-year-old inn.
"Even though this represents a piece of old Chapel Hill that's changing, it also represents a piece of old Chapel Hill that's being incorporated in this project," Mayor Kevin Foy said to the group.
"Chapel Hill has a long tradition of respect for the environment, respect for diversity, and so does this project."
The development will be 30 percent affordable housing and will meet sustainable design requirements.
Charles Nottingham managed the University Inn for 36 years, until 1986.
"We had people who just had a standing reservation," he said. "I really would like to think that we gave them nice service."
Nottingham said that although he is nostalgic, he is pleased with what is going on.
Project Manager Lee Perry, with East West Partners Management, said that the first buildings will be done by summer 2009.
And East 54 isn't the only new project that is helping to change the face of Chapel Hill.
Located just off Franklin Street, the Greenbridge development is breaking ground Oct. 8.
Greenbridge, a sustainable development planned for the historic Northside neighborhood, is set for occupancy by fall 2009 and will include 15 units of affordable housing.
The rest of the 98 residential units will cost between $350,000 and $1 million. Greenbridge partner Tim Toben said about half of the units have been sold.
Delores Bailey is the executive director of Empowerment Inc., a nonprofit organization that works for affordable housing, among other issues.
Empowerment owns the Midway Business Center on Graham Street - two doors down from Greenbridge's site.
"I see this as a great potential to really make a bridge between the community and the future," Bailey said.
But the change is not without emotion. She said she sat in her chair and watched the trees that were on the development site go down.
"In 10 years, a lot of this won't be here and it will only be a memory in someone's head," Bailey said.
"Progress is sad sometimes."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(09/13/07 4:00am)
Rogers Road resident Neloa Jones said Wednesday she wanted to make sure that the county commissioners would hear objections to a waste-transfer station on Eubanks Road.
(08/30/07 4:00am)
Volunteering with special-needs individuals is something sophomore Jen Forrest has always done.
At the eighth annual volunteer fair in the Pit on Wednesday, she signed up to help with the newly-formed Carolina Students for Special Olympics.
"I am able to connect with them," she said.
Forrest, whose 25-year-old brother is autistic, said that the kids she has worked with were very loving.
"When I was younger, I used to play the violin for them," she said.
Similar organizations were on hand to recruit students, a vital source of work for nonprofits in the community.
"This event is designed to get students engaged with community organizations," said Amy King, business manager for the Carolina Center for Public Service.
CCPS sponsored the fair along with the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce and The Chapel Hill News.
"It's a good chance for our members to come out and recruit volunteers," said Meg Branson, member relations specialist for the chamber. "Students offer a lot of the manpower that is necessary."
Branson estimated that more than 400 students attended the fair.
Freedom House, which has the only detoxification program in Orange County, had a table to recruit volunteers for office work.
"It's not very glamorous but it's necessary," said Joslyn Ogden, assistant to the executive director. "The volunteer fair is a unique opportunity for us to connect with students."
Jane Armstrong, volunteer coordinator for the Orange County Department on Aging, runs a program that pairs volunteers with senior citizens for weekly visits.
"A volunteer will help a senior, and a senior tends to help the volunteer as well," she said.
Armstrong said that one volunteer joined because she had a grandfather in Vermont whom she was unable to see often.
"She can't be up there, so she's visiting someone here," Armstrong said.
She said that all three students who signed up for the program at last year's volunteer fair still were involved.
Many students signed up for organizations that reflected previous service or future plans.
"It gives you a good example of the real world," freshman Claire Baker said.
Baker wants to be a teacher, so she signed up to volunteer for groups that work with kids.
"It's very refreshing," she said. "It makes me more optimistic about the world."
Sophomore Munashe Magarira was one of many students who walked around the fair with a stack of fliers in hand.
"This year I really want to get involved with volunteer activities," he said.
Junior Myles Wynn, co-chair for Big Buddy, said that there is usually a lot of interest early on.
"There tends to be a big rush at the beginning of the year," he said
But Wynn said that the number of mentors for Big Buddy, a student organization that pairs volunteers with 6- to 14-year-olds, stayed fairly constant at 150.
"With Big Buddy, we want to find people who are really serious about being a good mentor," he said.
Wynn said that he got involved with Big Buddy last year and worked with an 11-year-old.
"Being a mentor I think you really make a substantial impact on a child," he said. "It's a very rewarding experience."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(08/20/07 4:00am)
Chapel Hill officials plan to extend the downtown Bolin Creek Trail as part of a town effort to encourage active lifestyles.
The Chapel Hill Town Council approved in May a concept plan to add a 0.4-mile stretch of trail, additional parking, bathrooms and places for kids to play.
The trail will be extended to Umstead Park.
"We'll use it much more because it's going to be closer to our home," Pirgitte Espitia said as she watched her 4-year-old daughter Maya play with Mabukai, the family dog, in a grassy patch just off the cement trail Wednesday.
"This is one of the trails you see the most children on," Espitia said.
She said her family uses the pathway - which Maya calls "snake valley" for the multiple serpents they saw one day - two or three times each month. Espitia said that number is likely to increase when the trail is extended in the coming years.
Her husband, Juan Gonzalez Espitia, said he likes that the extension will connect more diverse communities to the existing trail.
"More working-class people will have access to it," he said.
The extension to the trail will pass under Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard near Hillsborough Street.
"It's going to be a difficult and expensive section," said Bill Webster, assistant director of Chapel Hill Parks and Recreation.
Webster said planning likely will take another year. Construction for the extension to Umstead Park will begin at the earliest in the fall of 2009 and will not be completed until 2010, Webster said.
"It will be easier for future sections," he said.
Webster said the trail eventually will extend to the northwest corner of town to encourage more "non-motorized vehicle transportation."
"At the same time, it's also a wonderful recreational amenity," he said.
The Bolin Creek Greenway is part of a townwide effort to promote active living.
"I don't think you can ever have enough," Pirgitte Espitia said. "That's one of the reasons we like living here so much."
The town emphasis on active living is an attraction to tourists and new residents, said Dale Chodorow, publications coordinator at the Chapel Hill-Orange County Visitor's Bureau.
"We get a lot of people in here who are interested in active recreation," Chodorow said.
At the bureau, Liz Hess, a resident of Salisbury, Md., who is thinking of taking continuing-education courses at UNC, asked for a downtown walking map to go with her pile of brochures.
The walking maps, part of the town's active-living program, were designed to help business owners encourage employees to stay physically active during their breaks.
"For me, it's going to make me more aware of what's going on," Hess said. "If I come here again, then I know where to walk."
The walking maps are available at various downtown restaurants, hotels and businesses. The map shows four walking loops of various lengths and includes a tour of the Michael Brown murals.
"It gives (visitors) an opportunity to walk downtown," Chodorow said.
"They really welcome having information like this."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
GET A MAP
Location: Chapel Hill Town Hall, Chapel Hill Parks and Recreation Department, Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership, Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce, Chapel Hill-Orange County Visitors Center.
Info: http://chapelhillparks.org/trails_map.php
(07/12/07 4:00am)
The teachers and students of Lincoln High School, Chapel Hill's black high school during segregation, attended the same churches and lived in the same community.
"It was the only African-American school in the area. To a certain degree, it's family," said James Atwater, class of 1949.
Atwater came from Washington D.C. to attend last weekend's reunion of the classes of 1931 to 1967 of Lincoln High, formerly named Orange County Training School.
Atwater said the reunion "takes on even more importance because the school no longer exists."
Alumni traveled from as far as California to put on their best suit or dress for a banquet and dance at the Sheraton Hotel. The Lincoln High Alumni Association also held a memorial service for classmates who have passed away at First Baptist Church, among other activities.
Reunion attendees reflected on unique experiences at the school and the teachers who guided them through their years in school.
"For many of them, it wasn't a nine to five or eight to three teaching job," Atwater said.
"I think it brought out the best in us."
Esther McCauley, president of the alumni association, said the school received used supplies from the all-white school, Chapel Hill High, but students managed to succeed in sports, academics and music because of help from their teachers.
"They encouraged us to do things that big schools did," McCauley said.
Rebecca Clark, 91, left the school in the middle of her twelfth grade year in 1931 to work in a University professor's house. She said the school did not have a library or science labs.
"Black kids have many things to participate in that they didn't have years ago," she said.
But Lincoln High had a campus newspaper, named The Echo, and an excellent football team and band, said Chapel Hill resident Bob Gilgor, who interviewed about 50 people for the Chapel Hill Museum's Lincoln High School exhibit.
Gilgor said that some teachers kept a bin of clothes in the back of the classroom.
"If children didn't have adequate clothing, they would give it to them," he said.
Veora Atwater, class of 1952, said students looked up to their teachers at Lincoln High in a way that does not happen often today.
"People don't really know their teachers now," Veora said.
"When we were going to school, they made sure we got a good education. They wanted to make sure we succeeded."
Veora has attended every Lincoln High reunion, which have been held almost every three years since 1973. Veora is married to Jim Atwater Jr., another alumnus.
"It's just a wonderful gathering," she said, interrupted by old classmates and friends greeting and kissing her. "We'll do it until we can't do it anymore."
"This was a village, now it's almost a city. Whether we like it or not, it's going to change," she said.
"I was proud to be a part of Lincoln High School."
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(06/28/07 4:00am)
CORRECTION: This article incorrectly states that the chairman of the market's Board of Directors is James Morgan. The person quoted in the story is Jacob Myers.
Every work day, Laurel Goldstein rides her bicycle five minutes to make the 4 a.m. shift at the Weaver Street Market in Carrboro.
Goldstein, a part-time pastry chef, worries about how she will get to work when her job moves to Hillsborough later this year.
"I don't know what's going to happen," she said.