MELODY GUYTON

News

College fair unites area high schools

By MELODY GUYTON | September 30

In a span of less than three hours, students from all across the county visited colleges from all across the country - without leaving Chapel Hill. The students, mostly juniors and seniors at high schools in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City and Orange County school districts, flooded the Smith Center's lobby Thursday night to partake in a fair of about 125 universities and colleges. This year's fair was, for the first time, a collaborative effort by the county's two school districts, which previously hosted their own fairs.

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K-12 teacher assistants ful?ll many duties

By MELODY GUYTON | April 28

Nancy Bierman, a third-grade teacher’s assistant at McDougle Elementary School, sits outside watching students chase one another around the playground. The classroom’s teacher remains inside helping other students with their work. “Without an assistant, right now my teacher would be out here watching the kids instead of giving students extra help,” Bierman said.

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Locals go green on Earth Day

By MELODY GUYTON | April 25

Orange County was painted green this weekend as Earth Day’s 35th anniversary brought about a flurry of activity. Two local events held in honor of the national holiday were the Earth Action Fest on Sunday, consisting of a march down Franklin Street and an activities fair at the Lincoln Center on Merritt Mill Road, and the Piedmont Farm Tour, which gave attendees the chance to visit 30 local small farms all weekend. Many organizers and attendees said such programs are needed to raise environmental awareness.

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Classroom volunteers are recognized, honored

By MELODY GUYTON | April 21

It’s a given that young students’ success depends on the contributions of teachers, administrators and parents. But a group some might call education’s unsung heroes — volunteers — play just as important a role in the classroom. Those individuals are being recognized for their work in the next few days as part of National Volunteer Week. “It really does take the whole community to raise successful, confident, educated students,” said Anne D’Annunzio, spokeswoman for Orange County Schools.

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Teens lead Bobcats anthem

By MELODY GUYTON | April 18

The chance to sing at a professional sporting event is a lifelong dream for many performers. And for about 40 local middle schoolers, a chance to live their dreams came early. Eighth-grade members of Julie Covach’s chorus classes at McDougle Middle School performed “The Star-Spangled Banner” before the Charlotte Bobcats game against the New York Knicks in Charlotte on Saturday. Chorus member Nicole Graham said performing at the game was a great experience.

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Teens smash smoking habits

By MELODY GUYTON | April 14

With a final blow to a brightly colored piñata, a pungent smell filled the air as hundreds of cigarette butts scattered to the ground. The butts — collected from local high school campuses — were meant to represent the problem of teenage smoking, an issue that some area students are working to combat. Wednesday’s piñata-smashers were celebrating Kick Butts Day at Chapel Hill High School.

News

Request targets the homeless

By MELODY GUYTON | March 24

Advocates for the homeless asked local leaders Wednesday to set aside money in next fiscal year’s budget to fund a 10-year plan to end homelessness — an action that would put the efforts one step closer toward local implementation. The Partnership to End Homelessness in Orange County asked the Town Council to appropriate a place holder in its 2005-06 budget to fund the initiative until the group presents a formal budget request in April.

News

School boards join forces

By MELODY GUYTON | March 10

In a joint session of the two local school boards Wednesday, most members seemed pleased with progress in collaboration efforts between the city and county districts. Orange County Schools Superintendent Shirley Carraway and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Superintendent Neil Pedersen updated the boards on progress made by the School Collaboration Work Group. Leaders created the group — comprising county government and school officials — to facilitate collaboration between the two districts as an alternative to merger.

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Officials tackle statistics, issues of area homelessness

By MELODY GUYTON | February 28

Two-hundred thirty -- it's the number of homeless people counted in Orange County on the night of Jan. 6, a number that some homeless aid workers say is an underestimation of the true extent of the problem. Perhaps more startling is that 30 percent of those counted were labeled "chronically homeless" -- a label given to those who have a disability and have been homeless for more than a year. That percentage is three times the national average.

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School program to prevent Gang activity

By MELODY GUYTON | February 24

To most, Orange County seems far removed from the gang-related problems that face many urban areas. But a rising awareness of gang presence in the area has some people concerned — something that Lt. Larry Faucette of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office attempted to address Wednesday. Faucette spoke at the county’s Southern Human Services Center as part of a series of brown-bag lunch seminars, sponsored each month by the Healthy Carolinians of Orange County.