The League of Women Voters will sponsor an election forum for Chapel Hill mayor and town council candidates Oct. 1 at 7 p.m. at Chapel Hill Town Hall.

On Sept. 19, the Fair Trial Initiative presented Greenville attorney Ernest “Buddy” Conner with its first J. Kirk Osborn Award, recognizing excellence in public service, mentoring and outstanding advocacy on behalf of indigent men and women. Osborn was the chair-elect of the Fair Trial Initiative’s board of directors at the time of his death in March.

Conner was recognized for exemplifying Osborn’s outstanding mentorship and courtroom skills. Conner and Osborn represented one of three Duke students charged in last year’s well-publicized sexual assault case in Durham.

Stuart Taylor – a columnist for the National Journal, a contributing editor at Newsweek and co-author of an upcoming book on the Duke case – spoke at the awards ceremony, held at the Carolina Club on the UNC campus.

The Carrboro Board of Aldermen approved a conditional use permit for two commercial buildings at 608 Highway 54 West. The request from Bud Matthews Service, Inc. would allow an upfit of an existing 3,200-square-foot building and the construction of an additional 3,000-square-foot prefab metal structure.

At the request of the town’s attorney and police chief, the Carrboro Board of Aldermen last week repealed its curfew law.

Attorney Michael Brough asked that the rule be dropped after determining that the ordinance was flawed.

Police Chief Carolyn Hutchison asked Brough to take a look at the law after reading about challenges to curfew laws. Federal case law requires that curfew laws be narrowly tailored and based on a record of juvenile crime after dark. Hutchison noted that the town does not have a significant problem with juvenile violence and the department does not currently make arrests for curfew violations.

A fox found in Orange County tested positive for rabies on Monday at the State Laboratory of Public Health.

The fox was found dead in a Chapel Hill resident’s yard near Old N.C. 86 and New Hope Church Road last week. The resident could not rule out the possibility of contact between the fox and her dogs. Although the dogs were current on their rabies vaccinations, they had to receive rabies booster shots, which is required within 72 hours of suspected rabies exposure.

So far this year, Orange County Animal Services has received 16 positive rabies tests. Public health officials believe the state is on the upside of a raccoon rabies cycle. If any possible exposure to a raccoon or bat is suspected, contact Animal Control at 245-2075 or call 911.

On September 29, the League of Women Voters of Orange, Durham and Chatham counties will be sponsoring  a public forum titled “Health Care for Everyone: How Do We Get There?” Learn about political obstacles to health reform, options in health care reform, legislative activities, how to advocate for reform and more. Featured speakers will be State Rep. Verla Insko, chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services and the Mental Health Reform Committee; Jonathan Oberlander, associate professor of Social Medicine and Health Policy and Administration at UNC-CH; and Adam Searing, project director of the North Carolina Health Access Coalition at the NC Justice Center. The forum will take place from 9:00 a.m. till noon at the UNC School of Social Work auditorium, 301 Pittsboro St. For more information contact Evelin Brinich at brinich@email.unc.edu.

As it sets out on a capital campaign for a new facility, the ArtsCenter will host a community forum titled, “Expand Your Center…Come Dream with Us,” on Sunday, Oct. 21 from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Feedback, fellowship and a discussion of the future are on tap.

ArtsCenter staff will be on hand to share ideas, potential plans, updates and projections, but input from the community will be strongly encouraged in brainstorming and break-out sessions. For more information, visit www.artscenterlive.org

Chapel Hill High
Field Hockey

(via Lew Borman)
CHHS girls field hockey racked up another victory tonight. This time against the Mt. Tabor Spartans (Winston Salem.) Coached by Diego Caballero, the Lady Tigers won 2-0. Sophomore Alexis Hebert scored in the first half and senior Taylor Wahrenbrock knocked in a goal in the second half. Assists by Grace Krafte and Barbara Parks. Goalie Alyssa Stefanadis had 5 saves for CHHS.

Earlier the CHHS JV team faced off against Carrboro’s Jaguar field hockey team. CHHS JV won 3-0.

More »

By Emily Buehler
Correspondent

If you’ve never been walking on the Occoneechee-Orange Speedway, you’re not just missing out on a peaceful, shady walk through a quiet pine forest. You’re also missing a chunk of local history: The flat main trail, part of the original race track, passes by the concrete grandstand, where you can almost hear the ghosts of spectators cheering as the cars fly past. The winding forest trail, behind the grandstand, passes by the crumbling concessions stand, the ticket booth, and the outhouse, cleverly marked with a toilet seat in the trees.

The speedway was built in 1947, just in time for the inaugural season of NASCAR. It was one of eight initial tracks and is the only one remaining. For readers not up on their state history, stock car racing (like NASCAR) has its roots in bootlegging during Prohibition. Bootleggers altered their cars to make them lightweight and fast, able to outrun the authorities. The cars had to handle well, since they often drove on winding mountain roads. When Prohibition was repealed in 1933, drivers still “ran” illegal, untaxed moonshine.

More »

UNC News Services

A new, rare species of Boneset or Thoroughwort (genus Eupatorium) has been discovered growing in Carolina bays and similar wet depressions in North and South Carolina. The distinctive Bay Boneset (Eupatorium paludicola) was described by botanist Richard LeBlond, an associate with the University of North Carolina Herbarium, in the botanical journal Rhodora (Vol. 109, No. 938), published Aug. 22.

Bay Boneset has been identified from eight sites in the Carolina Coastal Plain. The species name, paludicola, is Latin for “a dweller in marshes.” Bay Boneset favors isolated wet depressions with fluctuating water levels, and several of the sites are clay-based Carolina bays with perched water tables. The habitats are typically flooded in winter and spring, and sometimes well into summer. These conditions favor wildflowers, grasses and sedges that are able to take advantage of an often short growing season, and discourage most shrubs and trees.

“This new species shows, once again, that North Carolina and the Southeast are teeming with plant diversity,” said Peter White, director of the North Carolina Botanical Garden, of which the UNC Herbarium is a part. “New species are not just in the tropics. Our long evolutionary history, uninterrupted by glacial ice, and our tremendous habitat diversity means that there is much more to be explored and discovered.”

Specimens of the new Boneset were deposited in the UNC Herbarium’s collection, joining more than 1,000 other plant specimens collected by LeBlond.

Carnivore Preservation Trust (CPT) will hold a Burrito Bash on October 2nd in partnership with the General Store Café in Pittsboro. Tickets will be sold at the door that evening. Tickets will be $15 and entitle the bearer to one of General Store Café’s burritos with chips and salsa. William Burton will be providing music for the evening.

CPT will also be holding a silent auction, with over 50 items to choose from. All proceeds from the Burrito Bash will go to CPT to help care for the cats.

Carnivore Preservation Trust is a nonprofit located in Pittsboro. CPT provides rescue and sanctuary for certain species of carnivores, primarily in the cat family.  For tour times and information, visit www.cptigers.org or call 542-4684.

Photographers Juan Pons and Mike Dunn will share their passion for nature with visitors to the Nature Art Gallery at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh from Oct. 5th through Nov. 25th in an exhibit: “Glimpses of Nature.” Nature-lovers can meet the photographers at a reception on Oct. 5th from 6 p.m.-9 p.m. The Museum is located on Bicentennial Plaza in downtown Raleigh between the Capitol and the Legislature Building, at the corner of Jones and Salisbury streets.

Gardeners are invited to join the Carrboro Community Garden Coalition for Saturday workdays in the community garden at Martin Luther King Jr. Park, 1120 Hillsborough Rd., Carrboro.  Learn, share or just enjoy the garden. Free. All welcome. Every Saturday, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.  Contact ccgc@riseup.net, 647-9633, or visit www.carrborogarden.org for more details.

Gourmet Magazine has recognized The Fearrington House as one of America’s Best Farm-To-Table Restaurants for Romantic and Special Occasion dining.  The feature, in Gourmet’s October issue, highlights restaurants, hotels, and inns whose chefs are taking locally sourced ingredients in new and exciting directions.

On October 4, cities across the United States will convene dialogues to discuss global warming causes, impacts and solutions. Chapel Hill’s event is coordinated by the Town of Chapel Hill, the Foundation for a Sustainable Community of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce and the International Council of Local Environmental Initiatives.

The meeting is free and open to the public. Registration starts at 5:30 p.m. at the Chapel Hill Public Library. Participants include David Bonk, Town of Chapel Hill long-range transportation coordinator; Kevin C. Foy, Chapel Hill mayor, Verla Insko, North Carolina House of Representatives; Tom Jensen, North Carolina Sierra Club; Cindy Pollock Shea, director of the UNC Sustainability Office; and Dr. Anne Waple of NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center.