The Orange County Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday voted unanimously to pursue a passenger rail service stop in Hillsborough.

The Hillsborough Train Stop Citizen’s Group had requested that the board formally seek passenger rail service for Hillsborough. The group presented a petition with 366 signatures asking AMTRAK, the Special Transit Advisory Committee, the NC Department of Transportation, North Carolina Railroad, Orange County Government, Hillsborough Town Government, Triangle Transit Authority and other agencies to work together toward establishing a train stop in Hillsborough.

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A raccoon and a skunk found in Orange County last week tested positive for rabies at the State Laboratory of Public Health.

The raccoon was found dead in a yard near Mill Creek Road and High Rock Road in Mebane after the resident discovered that one of his two dogs’ ears was bleeding. 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.

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Chatham County is banning all outdoor watering with county-supplied water, including the use of drip irrigation. The ban is effective October 29.

The upgraded restrictions apply primarily to northeastern county users served by Jordan Lake. Chatham users served by Siler City water follow seperate restrictions. The county’s restrictions do not apply to Cary’s water users who live in Chatham County, but Cary is also banning nearly all outdoor watering as of Nov. 1.

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The Carolina Farm Stewardship Association will hold its 22nd Sustainable Agriculture Conference from November 9-11. The weekend will include exhibits, farm tours, meals, social events and more. Ongoing events include a seed exchange and a silent auction. Workshops will address such topics as “How to start an organic farm” and “Weeds: Good, Bad and Invasive.” It will be held at the Durham Marriott, 201 Foster Street. Full information can be found at www.carolinafarmstewards.org/sac07/index.html.

To help people learn more about water conservation using the principles and practices of Sustainable Landscaping, OWASA is sponsoring a series of public workshops.
The last of the workshops will be held Tuesday. Sustainable Landscaping (Management): October 30 10-11:30 a.m. or 7-8:30 p.m.

The workshops will be in the Community Room on the lower floor of the OWASA Administration Building, 400 Jones Ferry Road, Carrboro.

The workshop is free but pre-registration is required. For more information contact Paula Thomas, OWASA Sustainability Administrator, 537-4230 pthomas@owasa.org

UNC will hold a Campus Sustainability Day event on Friday, October 26 at the James M. Johnston Center in Graham Memorial, on Franklin Street. Attendees can expect refreshments and the opportunity to try out a Segway people mover.

At 9 a.m., Chancellor James Moeser will be presented with this year’s campus sustainability report. At noon, State Senator Janet Cowell will speak on green legislation in North Carolina. The event will last from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

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Orange County will hold an informational workshop entitled “Dealing with the Drought” for well water users in rural areas tonight (Thursday) at 7.

Speakers will present an update and forecast on the drought situation, information about wells and water production in Piedmont North Carolina geology, how to use sustainable landscaping practices and other basic tips on conserving ground water.

The workshop will be held at the Orange Grove Volunteer Fire Department on Orange Grove Road in Bingham Township. For more information, contact David Stancil, Environment and Resource Conservation director, at 245-2590 or dstancil@co.orange.nc.us.

The Carrboro Farmers’ Market will open an hour later for the rest of the season due to the cold. The market will now open at 8 a.m. instead of 7. The change is effective Saturday, November  3rd. This week’s market (October 27) will still open at 7.

The Dispute Settlement Center is hosting a wine tasting at The Franklin Hotel on Tuesday, November 13, 2007 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Participants may sample 20 fine wines selected by A Southern Season complemented by hors d’oeuvres donated by various local restaurants.

Tickets are $30 each or $50 for two and can be purchased at www.disputesettlement.org or reserved through the Center by calling Julie at 929-8800, ext 10 or jpotts@disputesettlement.org. Tickets will also be available at the event.

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People of Faith Against the Death Penalty next week will present awards to the United Church of Chapel Hill and Chapel Hill resident David Work for their efforts to abolish the death penalty.

Work will receive the group’s community service award, while United Church will received the faith in action award at the organization’s banquet on November 3.

Work served as executive director of the NC Board of Pharmacy for 30 years, and raised concerns about the chemicals used in lethal injections.

United Church has hosted meetings of PFADP and led efforts to abolish the death penalty.

Orange County Animal Services will offer low-cost rabies vaccination clinics in Chapel Hill and Hillsborough on Saturday.

The clinics will be held from 1 to 2 p.m. at the Orange County Animal Shelter on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Chapel Hill and at the Government Center Annex on South Cameron Street in Hillsborough.

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Special Events

“Meditations to Pacify & Clear the Mind” - Half day meditation retreat. Gen Kelsang Tilopa guides participants in meditations that make the mind free from day to day distractions & concerns. Sat, Oct 27, 10am-1pm. $30. Kosala Mahayana Buddhist Center, 605 W Main St, Ste 206, Carrboro. 967-1861, meditationinchapelhill.org.

Southern Ice – Acclaimed international flute soloist, recording artist and photographer highlights his trip to Antarctica in this visual, musical, and narrative presentation. Sun, Oct 28 at the Seymour Center, 3pm. 2551 Homestead Rd, Chapel Hill. For more info, contact Susan at sstrobel@nc.rr.com.

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By Lee Smith

Writer Lee Smith celebrated the life of her son, the late Josh Seay, when she addressed the Caramore Community and friends at their Client Achievement Celebration last year. She spoke of Josh’s debilitating mental illness and early attempts to find stability. The support of his family and professionals and his participation in Caramore’s residential and vocational programs ultimately led to a more satisfied, productive life marked by his pride in being a “working man.”

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month. The Caramore Community, on Smith Level Rd. in Carrboro, has served the interests of the mentally ill since 1976. — Peter Kramer

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By Kirk Ross

Deal with it
The question is no longer whether the state can deal with a gay candidate running for high federal office. Jim Neal, who announced his run for Senate last month, spent an hour last weekend on BlueNC answering questions about policy, politics and the Senate race. He also plainly and directly answered the question about whether he was gay. His reply went like this:

Subject line: Gay

Text: I am indeed. No secret and no big deal to me — I wouldn’t be running if I didn’t think otherwise.

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The Governor’s challenge —and yours

This may come as a surprise, but elsewhere in this country there are large metropolitan areas existing in relatively arid climates that are not witnessing an almost daily chiding from elected officials, columnists and community leaders about their squanderous use of water.

Here, though, we are experiencing said chiding and rightly so. We haven’t yet thoroughly learned the lessons of 2002, nor fully processed the warnings that our climate is shifting and some parts of this land are destined to be drier and warmer than we’re used to.
Gov. Mike Easley has asked the entire state to try to cut its water use in half — a laudable goal, but one that’s sure to flummox a culture based on the idea that the stuff is relatively limitless and that a lush, green lawn is a God-given right.

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