By Ken Moore

For 20 years, the holiday greenery that has adorned the columns of Carrboro’s Town Hall has been the result of the time and creativity of members of the Carrboro Community Garden Club.

Now, this group of gardeners is not your typical garden club organization. It does not belong to a Garden Club Council. It does not collect dues. A hat is passed around if the group needs a few dollars. It does not have any official elected officers, though several individuals voluntarily perform essential functions to keep the group loosely organized. Members meet monthly at members’ homes, where they enjoy walking about one another’s gardens, discovering new plants and gardening ideas. All learn from members freely sharing growing wisdoms and experiences. These monthly gatherings have also become a rather serendipitous gourmet feast of members sharing food and treats. There are meeting agendas, but they are frequently altered on the spot to meet the immediate interests of the members. Typically everyone enjoys talking at once and, amazingly, some rather remarkable things get planned and executed.

The group has three ongoing projects in the Carrboro community.

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Zaffron leaves, Lavelle signs on, joins Broun, Coleman, Chilton as new town board sworn in

By Kirk Ross
Staff Writer

It was a night punctuated by friendly words of advice and farewells offered with laughs and sentimental tears as 12-year incumbent Alex Zaffron bid his colleagues good-bye and a newly constituted Carrboro Board of Aldermen took up the town business.

In his last meeting at Town Hall Tuesday night, Zaffron, who chose not to run for another term, gave a nod to friends and supporters and detailed the evolution of town policy during his 12 years on the board. He often credited the work of prior board members, some of whom were in attendance to see him off.

He said the town’s efforts to ensure that affordable housing would grow along with the town gave him a sense of pride about his time on the board.

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Photo by Isaac Sandlin

Hawbridge combines science, art to teach about the Haw

By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer

Tucked away in Saxapahaw’s River Mill Village along the banks of the Haw River, the Hawbridge School offers high school students a different sort of education, with the opportunity to spend time learning in and around the river.

After a move to River Mill Village a few years ago, the public charter school, formerly known as New Century Charter High School, changed its mission to focus on environmental science and the arts.
The school — which was previously housed in several locations around Chapel Hill, including a church basement, the Chelsea Theater, the old White Cross school building and the Sheraton Hotel club room — is small, with only 85 students in grades 9-12 and 12 faculty members.

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By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer

Chapel Hill-Carrboro school board member Liz Carter draws her 13-year career on the board to a close tonight (Thursday). Carter, who was appointed to the board in 1994, did not run for re-election this year.

She plans to stay busy, taking care of three girls she hopes to adopt this year and working as a youth council coordinator for the Town of Chapel Hill.

During her tenure on the board, Carter has been an advocate for children of color and has emphasized the need to close the minority achievement gap.

She has enjoyed her work on the board, but would like to spend more time with her family now.
Carter is replaced by newcomer Mia Burroughs, who will be sworn in at tonight’s meeting.

As she was wrapping up her final business on the board, Carter took time to answer a few questions from The Citizen.

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By Valarie Schwartz

There may be a delicious, downright decadent way to not gain weight: Mid-morning hot chocolate followed by a piece of (preferably dark) chocolate in the afternoon or evening.

If I’d met Bob Droog before he opened up his luscious Chocolaterie Stam in Chapel Hill North this past March, perhaps my suspicions could be proven. But I’m willing to put it to my own test.

My experiment started in early November during a meeting at a local coffee café. Having given up coffee and caffeinated tea in January, the chill in the air that morning tempted me to order hot chocolate.
It was around 2:30 when I realized I hadn’t had lunch and after 3 before I felt hungry. A small, healthy snack satisfied me until dinner.

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By Kirk Ross
Staff Writer

A morning break-in at Southern Rail last week led to a strange sequence of events after one suspect was discovered not far away with a basket full of steaks, ribs and wine and another attempted to buy a power cord for a stolen laptop at the PTA Thrift Shop but was convinced to call the owner instead.

Carrboro police responded to a call at Weaver Street Market after Carr Mill security guard James Latta confronted a man for urinating in public behind the store.

According to a Carrboro police report the man, Andres Indacochea, threatened to beat Latta and returned to a bench on the Weaver Street lawn where Latta observed a black bag with several bottles of wine and a white ice bucket filled with packages of meat.

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The Board of County Commissioners on Monday considered a possible gas recovery project at the Orange County Landfill as a way of reducing greenhouse gas.

Several private companies have recently approached the county hoping to develop a plan to trap landfill gas, primarily methane.

UNC is also interested in contracting with the county to recover the gas, but county and university officials have not yet been able to discuss the university’s proposal.

County staff had recommended that the board request proposals from both private firms and UNC, but university officials refused to bid against private firms.

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By Emily Burns
Carrboro Commons Writer

More than two dozen residents escaped unharmed as fire swept through J Building at Ashbrook Apartments, 601 Jones Ferry Road in Carrboro, at about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, November 28. The cause is under investigation.

Deputy Chief Trey Mayo of the Carrboro Fire-Rescue Department hopes that investigations underway by the fire department, the State Bureau of Investigation and the insurer will find the cause.
Mayo noted that investigators have determined where in the building the fire started, but not what caused it.

Three minor injuries were sustained by responders.

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The Foundation for a Sustainable Community will honor UNC, Carrboro, Chapel Hill and Orange County uniformed service officers and community heroes at the Salute to Community Heroes tonight (Thursday) from 5:30-7:30 at the Carrboro Century Center. Participants should arrive by 5:15 p.m.

The event is free and open to the public. To RSVP, contact Meg at the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce at 967-7075, ext. 21, or mbranson@carolinachamber.org. Refreshments will be provided by Whole Foods Market.

Plastic bags cannot be recycled in Orange County, and cause serious problems with recycling collections.

Plastic bags jam compacting equipment which hurts productivity and increases the risk of employee injury and equipment damage. Residents should not place plastic bags in curbside bins, recycling carts at apartment complexes or at drop-off sites. Clean, dry and empty plastic bags can be recycled at most local grocery stores.

Five Orange County volunteers recently received the North Carolina Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service 2007 Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service. The award honors people who have shown concern and compassion for their neighbors through volunteer service.

The volunteers include: Ana Prothro, Duke Hospice; Carol Gunn, Orange County Animal Services; JoAnn Pitz, Duke Hospice; John Mathivet, Orange County Habitat for Humanity; and  Berneta Lemon, Orange County Disability Awareness Council.

The Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, in partnership with the Orange County Department of Social Services, will hold a toy drive at Borders Books on Fordham Boulevard on Saturday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. All toys collected will go to Orange County children in need through the first annual Orange County Toy Chest. The Toy Chest is a holiday store in which eligible parents can select 2-3 new toys per child to supplement their holiday.

OWASA is hosting a workshop in which attendees can construct their own rain barrels made from recycled materials. The workshop is Wednesday, Dec. 12 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at the OWASA Community Room at 400 Jones Ferry Road in Carrboro.

Materials and instruction will be provided for the assembly of one or more rain barrels. The cost is $30 for the materials for one barrel. Class size is limited, so registration and pre-payment are required. To register, contact Marsha Fearrington at 537-4275 or via email at mfearrington@owasa.org

By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer

The Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education will tonight (Thursday) consider possible names for the district’s tenth elementary school.

The school is under construction on the corner of Eubanks and Dromoland roads and is expected to open in the fall of 2008.

The district’s school naming committee collected public input through an online survey throughout the month of October and received 83 suggested names from 194 people. Morris Grove Elementary was the most suggested name, with 71 votes, followed by Eubanks Elementary, which was suggested by 13 respondents.

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Thirteen Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools teachers from eight schools achieved their National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification during the 2006-07 cycle. The recipients were announced on Tuesday as part of National Board Certification Day.

The teachers are: Ginger Brooks, Seawell Elementary; Briana Corke, Carrboro Elementary; Denise Cowan, Seawell Elementary; Al Donaldson, Carrboro High School; Mamie Hall, Culbreth Middle School; Natalie Holm, Carrboro High School; Stephanie King, Seawell Elementary; Megan Lambert, East Chapel Hill High School; Claire Nelson, Rashkis Elementary; Ghada Ouri-Ramadan, Estes Hills Elementary; Janet Ploghoft, McDougle Elementary; Linwood Randolph, Carrboro High School; and Lucy Wilks, East Chapel Hill High School.

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