Braxton Foushee is back in action. He rejoined the OWASA board as Carrboro’s representative last month. Photo by Kirk Ross

By Taylor Sisk
Staff Writer

Once – when there was no Caribou Café, nothing in the way of a sandwich that wraps, and certainly no luxury boutique hotel – Braxton Foushee sat down at Colonial Drug to be served.

Chapel Hill was even then a bit more progressive than the majority of the South, and a young black man’s money was readily accepted in a Franklin Street business such as Colonial. But that young man’s subsequent presence certainly was not. Order to go and be gone – that was the nature of it when Foushee and others instead sat to be served. It was February 1960. For nearly a half century, Foushee has continued to live a life in service to his community.
More »

Giant 200-year-old Persimmon tree on UNC campus’ Polk Place

By Ken Moore

“Wow, how about that Persimmon flower!”

“I don’t see any flower!”

“There it is, right there in that little angle, where the leaf is attached to the stem.”
“All I see is a little green thing!”

“Yeah; that’s it! A tiny little green flower. How many tiny little green flowers do you ever get to see? Is that cool, or what!!!”

More »

New turn lanes are being added now, but Smith Level Road is in for even more changes under a new widening plan. Photo by Kirk Ross

By Kirk Ross
Staff Writer

Roundabout proposed near Carrboro High

After years of difficulties reaching an agreement, the Town of Carrboro and the state Department of Transportation have a new draft and a tentative agreement on the widening of Smith Level Road.

The project, which now has a price tag of $5.2 million, was first proposed in 1990. The new design includes widening the road from the Morgan Creek bridge to BPW Club Road to four lanes with a center median, bike lanes and sidewalks. The road would then narrow to three lanes with a center turn lane to Culbreth Road, narrow again from that point to two lanes with a center turn lane to a roundabout at Rock Haven Road, then narrow down to its current two-lane configuration.

More »

By Taylor Sisk
Staff Writer

Local elected officials are concerned with the recent announcement of a restructuring of services for mental health, developmental disability and substance abuse in Orange, Person and Chatham counties. The Orange-Person-Chatham (OPC) Area Program – the local government agency tasked with providing oversight and management of these services – has announced that a private service provider with whom it contracts, Caring Family Network, plans to restructure its offices in both Orange and Chatham counties, and that the move will have an effect on service capacity.

More »

By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer

Three local teenagers were charged last week with several counts of gang-related vandalism in the southeast section of Alamance County.

According to the Alamance County Sheriff’s Department, investigation of the incidents indicated a possible ongoing conflict between alleged gang members from Carrboro and Alamance County.

More »

Carlo Petrini, founder of the Slow Food Movement 

It’s being billed as a farm-to-fork event, but next week’s outing at Chapel Hill Creamery west of Carrboro is no ordinary late-spring picnic.

On Tuesday, nearly two dozen local chefs are teaming up with innovative farmers from throughout the area to provide direct, tangible and highly edible examples of the connection between agriculture and the dinner table.

More »

By Kirk Ross
Staff Writer

Taking a second look at OWASA’s proposed rate hikes Tuesday night, members of the Carrboro Board of Aldermen said they’d like to see even higher rates for people using the most to keep rates lower for those trying to conserve.

With a growing system and major projects looming, the utility’s board of directors is studying a plan to increase water rates by an average 6.25 percent and sewer rates by 13.75 percent, along with a large increase in its one-time hookup fees for new users.

More »

By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer

The Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday approved an update to the county’s Master Aging Plan, which includes a new initiative to build aging-friendly communities throughout the county.

The plan, which is for 2007-2011, includes the new initiative, a bill of rights for older persons and a requirement that the commissioners address the plan’s objectives in the context of other county needs and priorities.

More »

The university will host another  round of community meetings about Carolina North on Tuesday, May 29.

The meetings will begin at 3:30 p.m. in Room 2603 of the School of Governmen.

Presentations will be repeated at 5:30 p.m. in the same location. Parking is available in the N.C. 54 visitor’s lot and the Rams Head deck.

University representatives will present two revised conceptual drawings with possible approaches to issues including open space, pedestrian and vehicular circulation, utilities, and land use on the UNC-owned property.

For more information visit carolinanorth.unc.edu.

Pease joins OWASA board

Chapel Hill Planning Board member Gene Pease joined the OWASA Board of Directors last week.

Pease, who is president and CEO of Durham-based Capital Analytics, was appointed by the Chapel Hill Town Council. Pease is president of the Chapel Hill Library Foundation and has served as chair of the Chapel Hill Citizens Budget Committee and vice-chair of the Horace Williams Citizens Committee.

He has a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Southern California as well as a Bachelor of Fine Arts in architecture from the University of Cincinnati.

More »

Chapel Hill High School graduation will be held June 9 at 2 p.m. at the Dean Smith Center on the UNC campus. Graduating seniors must arrive by 1 p.m. the day of graduation and must attend rehearsal on June 8 at 8:30 a.m. at the Smith Center.

East Chapel Hill High School graduation will be held June 9 at 9 a.m. at the Smith Center. Graduating seniors must arrive by 8:15 a.m. the day of graduation and must attend rehearsal on June 8 at 11:45 a.m. at the Smith Center.

More »

By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer

Two sheep, four goats, one cow and two llamas, recently purchased by McDougle Elementary School, will soon find homes with needy families around the world.

With more than $1,500 raised by McDougle Elementary students during the month of April, the animals will be donated to families through the Heifer International Foundation.

More »

Board of Education member receives award from NAACP

Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education member Elizabeth Carter received the NAACP Community Service Award at the Chapel Hill-Carrboro branch’s annual banquet on Saturday.

Carter was honored at the banquet at the Carrboro Century Center for her service as an advocate for children during her 14 years on the school board. A long-time area resident, Carter is one of the few school board members who was a student in Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools.
More »