A true hero
Florence Soltys was the kind of person that gave you some hope for this world. You’d walk away after a conversation with her with the feeling that some of what we all fear as we grow older might someday get fixed.

She was one of those people you knew got up every day with a mind to change what was not right. There was a distinct grit in her voice, and when the phone rang and you heard that voice on the other end of the line you knew two things: (1) it was Florence calling and (2) it was important.

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By Jack Carley
Staff Writer

Environmentally conscious Carrboro took one more step toward sustainability when Carrboro Solar Works installed a photovoltaic solar array at the Pacifica Cohousing development.

The array, resting atop the development’s shared Common House, generates about 5,000 watts of electricity monthly while batteries store power in the event of a blackout.

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The Orange County Partnership for Young Children is recruiting families to help nurture community gardens in town. The first garden is located at Martin Luther King Jr. Park. The second will start at Carrboro Elementary in spring of 2008. Applications are available on the website, www.orangesmartstart.org.

The Carrboro Growing Healthy Kids project aims to help kids eat healthy and exercise to combat childhood obesity.

The Chatham and Orange County Solar and Green Homes Tour is Saturday, October 6. The tour features nine sites, including Pacifica, a sustainable neighborhood. Technologies include energy efficiency, passive and active solar, co-housing, high-efficiency HVAC and water heating systems, Energy Star and System Vision certifications and more.

The kickoff event for this tour will be hosted by the Triangle US Green Building Council at Pacifica Common House, 130 Hanna Street in Carrboro from 9 a.m.-12 p.m.  A full listing of sites, including maps and directions, can be picked up at this location. The cost of the tour is  $15 per carload, $10 per individual or $5.00 for all North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association members.

The community organizer is Students United for a Responsible Global Environment (SURGE). All event questions can be emailed to alison@surgenetwork.org

The Haw River Watch Project will host a stream ecology and monitoring event on the Haw River at the Haw River State Park in Browns Summit on Sunday.

River Watch Project coordinator Cynthia Crossen will teach participants how to measure a stream’s water quality by identifying the number and type of water bugs and doing simple chemical tests.

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18th Annual Haw River Learning Celebration — A volunteer-run nature science event for area 4th graders. Through Oct. 12 at 3 sites on the Haw River. We need people to come for a day, camp for a week (camping crew has the most fun!), provide a meal for the crew and more. No experience necessary. All you need is to enjoy nature & kids and have a good disposition. For more info, contact Aakara Weigand at 542-5790, info@hawriver.org, or visit http://hawriver.org.

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By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer

Chapel Hill-Carrboro’s Blue Ribbon Mentor-Advocate program could use a few good men.

The program, which matches fourth-graders with mentors, needs male volunteers. BRMA fall training begins October 11, and thus far only women have signed up to become mentors.

“We really need some male mentors,” said program coordinator Graig Meyer. “We always do.

“We have a very difficult time recruiting men.”

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The naming committee for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools’ 10th elementary school is accepting suggestions for the name of the school.

Residents can submit nominations for names at www.chccs.k12.nc.us under the “Name this School” section until October 31.

The school is under construction at the Twin Creeks Education Park near the intersection of Dromoland Road and Eubanks Road.

The annual Walk and Race for Education will take place on October 20th. Thousands of students, parents and staff are expected to participate. Students will collect pledges to raise money for their schools, and individual teams or clubs will work to generate funds for their specific groups or projects. Schools typically raise $2,000 to $12,000 each from the event.

The 5K Race for Education begins at 9 a.m. at McCorkle Place. Maps and registration are available from www.chccs.k12.nc.us/psf. The Walk begins at 3 p.m. near Morehead Planetarium. Shuttles will run from Phillips and Culbreth middle schools beginning at 1:30 p.m. to transport walkers downtown. Participants will walk along Franklin Street, turn down Merritt Mill Road and end at the Lincoln Center to celebrate.

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Carrboro High School has been nominated for the Gold Medal Building of America Award in the Carolinas and will be featured in the 2008 Real Estate and Construction Review.

The magazine presents the award to honor the region’s most innovative, unique and challenging projects.

In addition, the school is one of only two in North Carolina to earn Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification.

Magazine staff will visit the school in November and the publication is expected to be completed by February.

Several singers from McDougle Middle School, East Chapel Hill High School and United Church of Chapel Hill participated in the inaugural Male Vocal Arts Symposium recently in Greensboro.

Ninety-five singers from middle schools, high schools, colleges, universities, churches and community choirs across the state formed a choir to perform at the symposium.

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The East Chapel Hill High School Speech and Debate Team finished fifth out of more than 130 teams at the Wake Forest University Speech and Debate Tournament, September 14-16.

Several students won individual awards in different categories of the competition. Amit Rao finished third in congress; Ted Lee finished seventh in original oratory and humorous interpretation; William Terry finished tenth in impromptu speaking; Laura West finished tenth in humorous interpretation; and Mohit Sahoo finished eighth in Lincoln-Douglas debate.

Both Rao and Sahoo qualified to compete in the Tournament of Champions at the University of Kentucky later this year.

The Carrboro High School women’s ensemble, chamber choir and string orchestra will perform at the Carrboro High Arts Department’s inaugural concert on October 14.
The groups will perform a wide variety of music, from gentle lullabies from the British countryside to high-speed ragas from India and Brazilian dance music. The concert will be held at 3 p.m. at the Culbreth Middle School Auditorium.

The group has requested a donation of $5 for adults and $3 for students to cover concert costs.

Photo by Maciek Krzysztoforski

Team Captain Will Powell protects the ball from a Jordan-Matthews Jet. The Jaguars won their match Saturday 2-1.

McDougle Middle
Cross Country

(via Danae Whitaker)
Scoring for the Mustangs yesterday, Mitch McLeod placed first, Brendan Neville placed 5th, Connor Templeton placed 6th, Grant Cabell placed 10th and Taylor Wilt placed 11th.

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Florence Gray Soltys, 72, of Chapel Hill died Thursday, September 27, 2007. She was born in Cocke County, Tennessee, the daughter of the late O.G. and Addie Gray. She is survived by her husband, Dr. John J. Soltys, two daughters, Rebecca Soltys Jones and Addie Gray. She also is survived by her brother, Glenn Gray, and her sisters, Druann Gregg and Carolyn Gray Spence, and her nieces and nephews.

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