New center a buzz of activity since opening

Joan Hiskey, center, participates in a strength and mobility class for seniors at the newly opened senior center on Homestead Road. Photo by Isaac Sandlin

By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer

Over the past few months, county seniors have been quietly settling into their new senior center, which has quickly become a hot spot for the area’s older population.

The Robert and Pearl Seymour Center for Seniors has been open since May, and while it still has that new-car smell, it’s already a second home for its regular visitors.

On a recent Thursday morning, the center is scattered with people. A group of older men sit near the entrance watching the activities around them, rehashing the week’s happenings. One is wearing UNC attire head-to-toe, while another dons suspenders and a fedora.

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By Kirk Ross
Staff Writer

Carrboro Alderman John Herrera announced Wednesday that he’s joining Orange County commissioners Moses Carey and Mike Nelson in the race to succeed Sen. Ellie Kinnaird.

But Kinnaird, who has made it no secret that she is interested in seeing a woman replace her, said Wednesday afternoon that she is not ruling out another run if she can’t find one.

Kinnaird said she has met with several candidates considering the race, including Carey, Nelson and Herrera. While she’s told them she intends to step down, Kinnaird said she has added the caveat that she wants to see a woman run for her seat and would support a woman candidate as long as the candidate “represents the values of the people of Orange and Person counties.”

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By Kirk Ross
Staff Writer

A confrontation with a cross-country race volunteer at Hank Anderson Park Wednesday evening resulted in misdemeanor charges of assault with a deadly weapon against Carrboro Board of Alderman Dan Coleman.

Coleman allegedly bumped his car into the legs of Amanda Kotecki, who was holding traffic back at a crosswalk while cross-country runners passed through the park’s parking lot at about 5:30 p.m.
Witnesses said that Coleman, who was taking his son to a baseball practice at the park, was upset that traffic was being held up. He attempted to pass through the crosswalk, but was stopped by Kotecki.

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By Kirk Ross
Staff Writer

The Carrboro Board of Aldermen gave final approval to The Alberta project, a 46,360-square-foot residential and commercial project slated for the corner of Roberson Street and Sweet Bay Place.

At its meeting Tuesday night at Town Hall, the board voted unanimously to give the four-story project a go-ahead after the town and developer Carr Mill Investment Limited Partnership agreed to a final set of conditions regarding public sidewalks.

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By Valarie Schwartz 

The drought has started making me droop.

By the time you read this, maybe we will have had rain. Rain might save some withering plants, push the dirt around on our cars and settle the dust on the roads, but it comes too late for many things, and will be no more than the proverbial drop in the bucket for our reservoirs.

There’s more to the drought than our gardens, trees and water supply. The critters need water as well, and if the ones you’ve observed have been as creative as the ones in my neighborhood, then you too may be wondering how to cope.

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A variety of plants — from flowering annuals and perennials to kitchen herbs, tomatoes, peppers and even a few stalks of corn — are easily grown on a sunny deck or patio. Photo by Ken Moore 

By Ken Moore 

Fall is for planting, a time when one can get a spade into the soil and we have ample rainfall. Not this year. While we home gardeners lament our situation, let’s all pray to whatever spirits we honor for our local farmers who are hard pressed to begin those fall crops we so take for granted every September through December at our Carrboro Farmers’ Market.

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By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer

More Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools met state standards for growth this year than last year, according to the 2007 ABCs report released last week.

All district schools met state standards for expected growth, which is measured by tracking students’ scores on state reading and math exams. In 2006, Frank Porter Graham Elementary was the only district school to fail to meet expected growth standards.

Twelve district schools – all but Frank Porter Graham Elementary, Estes Hills Elementary and Culbreth Middle – earned “high growth” standards, denoting that a school has exceeded a growth standard set for its students. Six schools met high growth in 2006.

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Update: This article has been updated (Friday evening, Sept. 14, 2007) to clarify that the university has submitted a letter asking for expedited review of a Special Use Permit for the project.

University officials have submitted a letter to the town saying they’ll ask Chapel Hill for expedited review of its special use permit for an 80,000-square-foot Innovation Center on a site off Municipal Drive near the Horace Williams Airport.

The building would be the first in for the proposed Carolina North project, which university planners say could include more than 2.5 million square feet of construction over the next 15 years.

The university is working on a 15-year plan and a 50-year master plan for roughly a quarter of the nearly 1,000 acres in and around the airport property.

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The Chatham County Board of Commissioners has scheduled a series of information sessions on the proposed 0.4 percent land transfer tax, which is on the ballot this November. The board has scheduled five community meetings;

Thursday, Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. at North Chatham School, 3380 Lystra Road; Thursday, Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. at the Western Senior Center, 112 Village Lake Road, Siler City; Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. at the Chatham Central High School auditorium, 14950 NC Highway 902 West, Bear Creek; Thursday, Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. at Liberty Chapel United Church of Christ Old US 1, Moncure; Thursday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. at the Eastern Chatham Senior Center, 365 Highway 87 North, Pittsboro.

Joint alcohol operation
Thursday, September 6, the Chapel Hill Police Department, Carrboro Police Department and the North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement Agency conducted a joint alcohol enforcement campaign. Officers visited bars, restaurants and retail stores in Chapel Hill and Carrboro.

Two establishments — Monterrey Mexican Restaurant in Chapel Hill and Han Dee Hugos 70 in Carrboro — were cited for selling alcoholic beverages to underage customers. Thirty-six people were cited, with a total of 51 charges.

This operation was part of the Chapel Hill Police Department’s ongoing effort to address underage drinking and other alcohol-related violations.

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Free composting demonstration
The Community Center Learning Garden will host its semiannual composting demonstration on Saturday, September 15 from 10 to 11:30 a.m.

Learn about composting outdoors with manufactured or homemade bins and indoor composting with worms.

The demonstration is free and open to the public with no registration required. The Orange County Solid Waste Management Department and the Chapel Hill Parks and Recreation Department sponsor the event.

The demonstration will be located behind the Community Center Learning Garden on Estes Drive in Chapel Hill, behind the rose garden.

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Talbdeen McClain rounds the corner in a run against Orange High. Photo courtesy of Kim Ringeisen

By Taylor Sisk and Kirk Ross
Staff Sports Writers

The Carrboro High School football Jaguars took a giant leap forward this past Friday night, scoring early and ending the first quarter tied with the Orange High School Panthers 13-13. Though finding themselves at the losing end of a 80-19 final score at Hillsborough’s Auman Stadium, the Jags nonetheless came out with plenty for which to be encouraged.

Carrboro is now 0-4 overall and 0-4 in the Mid-State 2A/1A conference. Orange moved to 2-2 and 1-0 in the conference.

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Field Hockey
The Chapel Hill High Lady Tigers defeated the East Chapel Hill Lady Wildcats at home Monday in a thrilling match. ECCHS scored in the first half and CHHS’s Taylor Wahrenbrock scored in the second.

Two overtimes went scoreless before a penalty shootout. Liz Passannante scored the final goal while Tiger goalkeeper Alyssa Stefanadis blocked all of East’s penalty strokes. The CHHS JV team also won, defeating the JV Wildcats 3-0.

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Above, first-seed Jaguar tennis player Julia Holt returns a backhand during the Jaguars’ match with Raleigh Charter High School last Thursday at Carrboro High School.   More »

Frank Heath

I was not present last Saturday for UNC’s thrill-a-minute 34-31 loss to East Carolina, but I can imagine Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium in Greenville must have been a pretty loud and frenetic place, packed to the gills with 40,000 screaming Pirates fans.

That’s because the last time North Carolina lost to ECU, I had the singular privilege of spending the afternoon on a fishing boat with one of the Pirates’ more vociferous — and perhaps typical — supporters.

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