Kathleen Wirth

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Local School Leaders Address Learning Disabilities Statistics

By Kathleen Wirth | March 18

In theory, the numbers say it all. According to the National Center for Learning Disabilities, 35 percent of children with learning disabilities drop out of school. Sixty percent of adults with severe literacy problems are found to have untreated learning disabilities. But in a school system with an average SAT score of 1,175 and 81 percent of its graduates going on to four-year colleges and universities, it might be hard to believe that these statistics could apply.

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Chapel Hill Office Space Vacancies on the Rise

By Kathleen Wirth | January 10

Triangle researchers say the crunch for office space in Orange County has turned into a surplus largely because of unused developments in Chapel Hill. Michael Williams, vice president of Karnes Research Company in Raleigh, said Orange County's office space vacancy rate in 2000 was a tight 0.8 percent, which has now spiked to more than 30 percent. "(The high vacancy rate) has a lot to do with all the development at Meadowmont," Williams said. "But, it's a common occurrence where developers build speculative office space. In the past it's always been high rents and tight vacancies."

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Housekeeper Arrested on Drug Charge

By Kathleen Wirth | September 28

Chapel Hill police arrested a UNC housekeeper early Thursday morning on one crack cocaine-related charge. Mario Schaffer, 26, of 225 Roberson St. was arrested and charged at 2:09 a.m. with one felony count of possession of crack cocaine with the intent to sell or deliver, reports state. University officials said they do not have a policy requiring the automatic job termination of people charged with crimes but that they plan to investigate the incident. Bill Burston, director of housekeeping, said employee arrests are handled on a case-by-case basis.

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OWASA Officials: Waste Spill Poses Little Threat

By Kathleen Wirth | September 17

More than 1,000 gallons of sewage water overflowed Wednesday when a manhole became blocked with debris, sending an estimated 300 gallons into nearby Battle Creek. But sewer officials say the spill, which was contained in less than an hour, did not pose a significant threat to the creek. Orange Water and Sewer Authority personnel responded to reports of an overflow at 2 p.m. on Sugarberry Road near North Fordham Boulevard. The OWASA staff recovered about 700 gallons of the spilt wastewater and pumped it back into the system.

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New Eateries Ready for Family Weekend

By Kathleen Wirth | September 14

Chapel Hill residents and Carolina Family Weekend visitors have many new reasons to be excited. Since April, 11 restaurants and shops have opened or have been slated to open for business, with the latest addition being Campenella's Cafe and Art Gallery located at 416 W. Franklin St. The gallery/coffee shop hybrid recently opened after about 2 1/2 months of demolition, remodeling and decoration for the 1,200 square foot location. "I started from scratch and basically demolished and redid everything myself," Campenella said.

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Muslims, Allies Unite To Fight Intolerance

By Kathleen Wirth | September 13

"Fuck the Arabs. Kill them all." Angry words shouted from a Franklin Street motorist disrupted a peace vigil outside the post office Wednesday, leaving participants dumfounded and devastated. "People are very emotionally volatile," said Dawn Peebles, a 1998 UNC graduate who attended the vigil, which was aimed at curbing retaliations after three terrorist attacks Tuesday. "There's a hysteria and it's completely irrational. It's really upsetting to hear things like that."

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Survey: Children With Different Needs Overlooked

By Kathleen Wirth | September 10

By Kathleen Wirth Assistant City Editor Despite the recognition given to Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, the results of an educational survey have sparked some concern that the system could be overlooking special-needs students. At Thursday night's Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education meeting, school officials presented the Exceptional Education Resource Services Survey.

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Suspect Identified in Break-Ins

By Kathleen Wirth | September 5

Police officials say they have identified a suspect in the recent string of break-ins at four local businesses. Police arrested David Craig, 37, of 100 W. Rosemary St., in connection to an Aug. 19 break-in at the Carolina Brewery, located at 460 W.

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Crash Injures Biker On Raleigh Road

By Kathleen Wirth | September 4

A Chapel Hill man was flung 7 feet in the air after his bicycle collided with a vehicle Friday. John Farley, 24, of 806-A Old Mill Road suffered minor abrasions and injuries to his shoulder, right wrist and forehead in the accident that happened on Raleigh Road. Police reports state that Farley was riding his bike on the sidewalk when Will Stanley, 26, of 3109 Five Fork Road pulled out of the Chapel Hill Friends Meeting Place driveway, located at 531 Raleigh Road. Stanley pulled his vehicle out further onto the sidewalk because nearby shrubs obstructed his view of the road, reports

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Police: Recent Break-ins May Be Related

By Kathleen Wirth | August 31

Money was stolen from two out of four local businesses that have been broken into in the last three days. Police officials say a string of break-ins at Chapel Hill businesses during a period of just more than 24 hours could be connected. Chapel Hill police spokeswoman Jane Cousins said the perpetrators of four break-ins, two of which included robberies, all gained entry to local businesses by smashing a door or window. "This is obviously a problem," Cousins said. "We're certainly looking at them as being related."