By Steve Peha

Dear Board Members,

On Election Day, I made an effort to speak with at least one supporter of each candidate running for the school board. Each time I met a supporter, I asked, “What will your candidate do to make our schools better?” Every person I spoke to assured me that his or her candidate was committed, not just to serving on the board, but to taking bold and decisive action to improve our schools. I believe this to be true as well of those board members who are currently serving their terms. More »

By Nan Warshaw and Alex Maiolo

In January 2008, Drew Glackin, multi-instrumentalist and bassist for the Bloodshot Records’ band The Silos, died at 44 of an extremely treatable disease because, like so many working musicians, he couldn’t afford (or thought he couldn’t afford) health insurance.

To ease the financial burden on his family, Drew’s band mates and peers did what they could: They organized and performed at a handful of benefit shows that honored Drew’s memory and raised a bit of money. More recently, More »

I believe Donna Bell is the best choice for Chapel Hill Town Council. Why should she be there? I’ve had the pleasure of getting to appreciate Donna, as we are both on the town council-appointed Sustainable Community Visioning Task Force. Since May, we have been seeking to develop an effective vision of what we believe our town should be for the future. As we struggle with the large challenges of More »

By Beth Mechum, Staff Writer

Once the grounds for protests, conflicts and general distrust between residents and owners, Abbey Court Apartments in Carrboro is now home to a thriving after-school program and budding trust for a community.

In July of last year, the mostly Hispanic residents of Abbey Court were at odds with management over what they perceived as the unfair and excessive towing of cars from the premises. Residents said their cars were being towed without just cause, while the property managers, the Tar Heel Companies, contended that cars were being towed because they had no permits – permits the residents say they didn’t have access to. More »

There will be an arts and craft open house sponsored by the Carrboro Civic Club this Saturday from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. the event will include breakfast and lunch, a bake sale, homemade arts and crafts and a raffle. The Carrboro Civic Club is located at 10 Bim St. For more information, call 942-1618.

ChathamArts’ 100 Mile Film Series presents the documentary Love Lived on Death Row by local filmmaker Linda Booker on Tuesday, Nov. 24 at 7 p.m. at the Fearrington Village Barn in Pittsboro. Booker will be in attendance for a post-screening Q&A. A theatrical reading of “For Strong Women,” a poem by award-winning author Marge Piercy, will be presented prior to the film on behalf of women who have survived violence or loss.

Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for students at the door.

The state playoffs for football begin Friday, Nov. 13.

In 2-A, Carrboro (4-7) will play at East Bladen (11-0).

In 3-A, Chapel Hill (5-6) will play at West Brunswick (7-3).

Cross Country Results

Women’s 2-A
Carrboro won the 2-A women’s team title with 45 points, while Newport Croatan was second with 88 and North Lincoln third with 125, followed by Salisbury (140) and Black Mountain Charles D. Owen (162). More »

By John Holt, Correspondent

From Alexandria, Va. to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, to Baltimore, Md., Matt Rum has grown and exceled in each spot. A Chapel Hill resident from 1995 to 2005, Rum attended McDougle elementary and middle schools before moving to Baltimore. He now has earned a full scholarship and will play basketball at William & Mary this fall.

Rum never envisioned himself leaving Chapel Hill. “I hated that decision at the time. I didn’t want anything to do with it,” Rum said. “I had to move into an all-boy’s Catholic school … That was a big change. School was a lot tougher there and everything got a little harder.” More »

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This Friday, Rev. Robert Campbell will travel to the White House to tell the story of his Rogers-Eubanks roads community to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson and Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. More »

By Taylor Sisk, Staff Writer

Though the Orange County Board of Commissioners isn’t scheduled to vote on the county’s future solid-waste disposal options until its Dec. 8 meeting, commissioners heard plenty about one of those options at Tuesday night’s meeting. More »

By Beth Mechum, Staff Writer

About 10 Carrboro citizens, led by local attorney Dickson Phillips, voiced some concerns about the proposed Bolin Creek Greenway concept plan at the Greenways Commission meeting Monday night.

Most of the issues dealt with the proposed plan of a creekside route instead of an upland forest route or a route along already-existing roads.

A 10-foot paved greenway is proposed, and some nearby residents said they were concerned about nature preservation. More »

By Beth Mechum, Staff Writer

As was decided at an August Carrboro Board of Aldermen meeting, newly elected Sammy Slade was sworn in Tuesday night at Carrboro Town Hall to finish the remaining few weeks of the seat John Herrera resigned. He will be sworn in again in early December to officially begin his term.

Slade’s first order of business as an alderman was to join the board’s unanimous decision to reject the bid received for the N.C. 54 and W. Main Street bus shelter installation project and authorizing a re-bid of the project. There are not sufficient funds to cover the project at the present time and Carrboro officials must find a source of money for the project before the Dec. 31 deadline. More »

There will be a Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education meeting tonight (Thursday) at 7 p.m. at Chapel Hill Town Hall. The primary focus of the meeting will be a discussion of Phoenix Academy High School’s accountability model and approval for calendars for the next two school years.

The Chapel Hill High School drama department will present Dracula this Thursday through Saturday. All shows begin at 7:30 p.m.

Dracula is a Victorian novel that challenges the beliefs and consequences of modernity, female sexual expression and Christian salvation. Through terrifying images of blood, science, superstition and ritual, Bram Stoker creates a haunting tale of aggression, mysticism and love. The production is rated PG-13.

Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for students under 18. Ticket orders may be emailed to hanesboxoffice@gmail.com

Smith Middle School’s theme for its ninth annual celebration of Global Connections, held as part of International Education Week, is “Compassion: Your Compass to guide you … Your Passion to drive you.” There will be a Cultural Exhibit tonight (Thursday) from 7 to 9 p.m. at the school and the International Café that will host area restaurants from Mexico to Korea.

Also in the main hall, local service organizations, including Ronald McDonald House and St. Andrew’s Society, will have exhibits and sign-up sheets for any families willing to volunteer on Saturday, Dec. 5. That evening, all participants will gather in the Smith cafeteria for hot pancakes before setting out to volunteer.

Young at a refugee camp near Khe Sanh, 1968.

Old men lust after war; young men court it. It’s the same impulse born of opposite origins – that of those who needn’t fear having to actually encounter war and those who wish to. In that nexus lies what Perry Deane Young refers to as the “peculiar obscenity” of war.

That may be putting too fine a point on it. But it does seem to be what Young suggests when he talks about war. More »

By Beth Mechum, Staff Writer

Carrboro and Sakina are similar, and very different.

Sakina is a small village on the outskirts of Arusha, Tanzania. Carrboro is a small town on the outskirts of Chapel Hill. More »

By Valarie Schwartz

This story needs to be heard — really — I wish you could hear this story. As I climbed the steep steps to the second floor of the Ballet School of Chapel Hill, I could hear it — the sounds of the North Carolina Youth Tap Ensemble (NCYTE) calling me into the studio. The percussive sound of metal tapping on a wooden floor rates up there with rain on a tin roof in my book.

The 33 young people of NCYTE (they pronounce it “insight”) auditioned to become part of the troupe, and their dedication and ability determines when and if they get to tour when their agent books them gigs like the one coming up in Chicago this summer, or the one in California (Ojai and Torrance) next winter, or the one they took two years ago to China. Since it began in 1983, NCYTE has been all over, including Germany, Mexico, Russia and many points in between. More »