In January
The Carrboro Board of Aldermen approved plans to create a Greenways Commission.
A winter storm settled in and closed the schools for a day.
Promising he’ll push through ethics reforms, Joe Hackney, a Chatham County native and longtime representative of Chatham and Orange counties, was elected speaker of the North Carolina House.
The ArtsCenter held a community meeting to discuss ways to leverage the area’s arts.
Carrboro High School offiicials chose jaguars over clams, worms, locomotives, rainbows and other suggestions for the mascot of the new school. Purple, black and white are chosen as the official colors.
The Orange County Board of Commissioners formally adopted a resolution saying the county will not participate in a federal program authorizing local law enforcement to detain and investigate immigration violations.
In February
The Carolina North Leadership Advisory Committee delivered its report to Chancellor James Moeser.
The Squirrel Nut Zippers and the dBs held reunion shows at Cat’s Cradle.
Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools officials held a series of redirecting hearings
Chatham County schools agreed to a redistricting plan.
UNC named a new dorm after George Moses Horton, a Chatham County slave known for his poetry.
In March
After complaints by residents in the area, the loud chirping crosswalk sound at Main and Greensboro streets is turned down.
Sima Fallahi, a longtime resident of the area and native of Iran, was released from federal custody. She is threatened with deportation.
Carr Mill Mall owners erected a prominent set of signs with “good neighbor†rules on the Weaver Street Market lawn. The signs are revised and moved after complaints.
Loco Pops opened at The Courtyard on Franklin Street.
The Red Hen opened on Weaver Street.
Town fire crews were kept busy by a rash of five unrelated house fires within a week.
To allow time for plans for the town’s northwestern area to be revised, the Chapel Hill Town Council imposed a development moratorium on the area.
Giles Blunden won the North Carolina Sustainability Energy Leadership Award.
GlassHalfFull opened on Greensboro Street.
The Carrboro Citizen, the first full-sized printed newspaper to bear the town’s name, began publication on March 21. Among other items, the first issue featured a story on the opening of the farmers’ market, plans for a development moratorium and a protest against war in Iraq.
The board of aldermen approved a six-month moratorium (later agreed to, as required, by the Orange County Board of Commissioners) to allow time to craft a development plan for the northern reaches of town. The moratorium expired in October, but the plan has yet to be finished.
In April
The General Assembly of North Carolina passed a joint resolution “expressing the PROFOUND REGRET of the North Carolina general assembly for the history of wrongs inflicted upon black citizens by means of slavery, exploitation, and legalized racial segregation and calling on all citizens to take part in acts of racial reconciliation.â€
Jon & Kate plus 8, a show about Jon and Kate Gosselin and their 2-year old sextuplets produced by Carrboro-based Advanced Medical Productions for the Discovery Health Channel (Channel 35 in Carrboro and Chapel Hill) premiered.
General Store Café in Pittsboro announced a major expansion.
Rep. Bill Faison filed a bill that would reverse the annexation of the Highlands neighborhood. The bill, opposed by other members of the county legislative delegation, later failed to get a hearing in committee.
Carrboro Animal Control officer Robert Nekoranec responded to a call about a “fox that looked confused†and spotted what was likely a coyote near the intersection of Hillsborough Road and North Greensboro Street. The animal bolted from the sound of nearby lawnmowers.
Monday, April 16 was clear but not calm, as wind gusts of more than 50 miles per hour downed trees and knocked out power to 10,000 Orange County residents.
Former Carrboro resident Jamie Bishop was killed along with 31 others in a shooting rampage at Virginia Tech.
Good weather and growing interest boosted turnout at the annual Piedmont Farm Tour.
In May
The Robert and Pearl Seymour Senior Center opened on Homestead Road. The new center is 25,000 square feet and cost $6.15 million.
Smoke from the wildfires in South Georgia caused a slight haze and distinct smoke smell throughout town.
A group of workers at Weaver Street Market asked the cooperative to reconsider plans to move the bulk of its food preparations to a new facility in Hillsborough. The co-op’s board of directors later decided to move ahead with the plan.
The Roberson Place bike path opened. The new path runs from the intersection of Wesley and Eugene streets to Purple Leaf Place.
Dozens of local farmers and chefs teamed up for a Slow Food picnic at Chapel Hill Cremery. Featured speaker was Carlo Petrini, founder of Slow Food International.
After extensive testing and analysis, UNC and OWASA tracked down the source of elevated lead levels in drinking water in recently renovated buildings on campus.
Residents rallied around efforts to save a 200-year-old holly tree on the site of the new northern fire station on Homestead Road.
Ephesus Elementary School principal Susan Wells was named principal of Culbreth Middle School.
After nearly a week on the run, Bill Clinton, a local pet emu, was caught by Carrboro Animal Control and died after reportedly injuring himself during capture.
A community-painted mural on the side of Jade Palace next door to the Carrboro Police Station was painted over by a crew of homeless men who said they were hired for the job by former Broad Street Coffee Roasters owner Larry Hayes. Hayes reportedly fled the scene when he saw police talking to the men and has not been seen since.
After more than a decade of on-again-off-again negotiations, The Town of Carrboro and the state Department of Transportation reached a tentative agreement on plans for the widening of Smith Level Road.
After 32 years with the Carrboro Police, Bob Murdaugh — aka Officer Bob — retired.
In June
At a legislative hearing on the impact of closing Horace Williams airport, UNC officials confirmed they would support plans to re-open a search for an alternative site to Horace Williams and Raleigh Durham International.
In his presentation at a joint hearing of key House and Senate appropriations subcommittees, Kevin Fitzgerald, UNC’s top lobbyist, told legislators that the school would support another look to see if an alternative exists to Horace Williams.
Tom McCarthy, Chapel Hill’s newly appointed police chief, failed a physical and was not able to assume the job. The town later appointed Brian Curran, a veteran of the force, as chief.
Carrboro Massage Therapy opens on Ashe Street.
The first of five major projects in downtown Carrboro won approval from the town’s board of aldermen. The new project is a five-story, 48,000-square-foot building and pedestrian plaza on the site now occupied by Archer Graphics and is the first phase of Main Street Partners overall plan to redevelop most of the southern side of East Main St. from the railroad tracks to the building now occupied by Performance Bicycle Shop.
The Carrboro Board of Aldermen adopted a $19.6 million budget, raising the town tax rate roughly 3 cents to 65.37 cents per $100 valuation. The cost of the new northern fire station and sidewalk installations are major expansion items in the budget.
The board of commissioners voted to increase county property taxes by 4.7 cents and the Chapel Hill-Carrboro special district tax by 1.5 cents as part of the $173.6 million fiscal year 2007-08 budget.
Quincy Bowen, a 15-year-old Smith Middle School student, was killed in a drive-by shooting at a Durham apartment complex. He was trying to get his 2-year-old cousin off the porch to safety when he was struck by a bullet.
In July
Lt. Col. Jeff McCracken, deputy director of the Department of Public Safety at UNC, was named the university’s director of public safety and chief of police.
The ArtsCenter’s Summer Youth Performing Arts Conservatory and PlayMakers Repertory Company combined for a performance of Oliver!.
Carolina Brewery opened its 9,000-square-foot restaurant and brewpub in Pittsboro.
The Dispute Settlement Center in Carrboro held a reception to honor Tan Schwab, who along with Beth Okun and the late Charlotte Adams founded the center in the early ‘70s.
After a slow start, a last-minute flurry of filing assured a contested election for nearly all of Orange County’s municipal races.
Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan pays a visit to town.
The Inter-Faith Council for Social Service announced it fired an employee for allegedly stealing money from the agency’s crisis intervention fund.
UNC trustees got their first official look at plans for Carolina North and a site change for a new Innovations Center that will make it the project’s first building.
After serving for two decades as a member of the board of commissioners, Moses Carey announced he’ll run for the N.C. Senate.
More than 200 residents turned out for a public hearing on the massive Pittsboro Place development in Pittsboro.
Construction begins on Southern Community Park near Southern Village.
In August
Mebane fiddler Joe Thompson and his late brother Odell were recognized by the state Legislature after the legendary keeper of the flame of black string music is awarded a National Heritage Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts.
An intense heat wave pushed temperatures into the 100s for several days running.
The State Division of Forest Resources issued a ban on open burning for all 100 counties of North Carolina. The ban was to continue until further notice.
The Orange County board of elections worked out a plan to set up an early voting site in downtown Chapel Hill after renovations made unusable the usual site at Morehead Plantarium.
OWASA, UNC and Chatham County and Orange County leaders met to discuss a possible regional water effort, shared use of parks and expanding public transit in the fast-growing region along the U.S. 15-501 corridor from Pittsboro to Chapel Hill.
Chapel Hill Transit’s new 60-foot-long articulated buses, which can bend around turns and carry almost double the number of passengers, made their debut.
After 22 years, The Book Cellar closed in Carr Mill Mall.
The Really Really Free Market received some help from SURGE, who agreed to sponsor the first Saturday of the month free markets. The agreement allowed the market to continue to distribute food, heading off a confrontation with the town, which said the group was not insured to do so.
With required work on a traffic light still needing to be completed, the opening of Carrboro High School came down to the wire — but the school opened on time, with a grand ceremony that filled the new gymnasium.
Harrington Bank opened its Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. location.
Two opposing groups appealed to the Board of County Commissioners for control of the Hillsborough Farmers’ Market. The market will open in the county’s new Public Market House in Hillsborough in March. The groups are now in mediation.
Fugitive Chapel Hill attorney John McCormick was arrested late at night in a city park in Phoenix. He was returned for arraignment in Hillsborough.
In September
Surviving members of the Navy B-1 Band, who helped to break down the U.S. Navy’s color barrier, were given the key to Chapel Hill. The band, which was based at the Hargraves Center because UNC would not allow them to bunk on campus, was also honored at a halftime ceremony at Kenan Stadium.
The board of commissioners voted to put a real estate transfer tax referendum on the ballot next May, rather than in November.
In celebration of United Nations International Peace Day, September 21, members of Triangle Yoga participated in the Global Mala Project. A “mala†is a set of 108 prayer beads used in meditation, primarily in India and Tibet.
University officials submitted a letter to the Town of Chapel Hill asking for expedited review of a 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.
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.
A confrontation with a cross-country race volunteer at Hank Anderson Park resulted in misdemeanor charges of assault with a deadly weapon against Carrboro Board of Alderman Dan Coleman. Coleman and meet volunteer Amanda Kotecki later reach a mediated agreement. Charges were dropped and Coleman issued an apology.
The largest cookie ever baked in Orange County was prepared on the Weaver Street Market lawn as part of a fundraiser for the ArtsCenter.
Candidates for board of alderman made the rounds of neighborhoods and line up for election forums.
The newly formed Rogers-Eubanks Coalition to End Environmental Racism asked for and received permission to address the Orange County Assembly of Governments. Speaking for the coalition, Neloa Jones asked that the county reverse the decision to place a waste transfer station at the Orange County Landfill.
UNC Chancellor James Moeser announced he’ll retire at the end of the 2007-08 academic year. A committee formed to find his replcement later reviewed an initial list of 100 candidates.
The Carrboro Music Festival celebrated its 10th year with more than 160 acts at 22 venues around town.
In October
The town reviewed the Shoppes at Jones Ferry, a 7.7-acre development with rows of stores and a 52,000-square-foot Harris Teeter as the anchor tenant. Nearby residents lined up to tell officials it would worsen an already bad traffic situation in their neighborhood.
Six people were treated for non-life-threatening gunshot wounds after an early-morning shooting at Visions Night Club on East Rosemary Street in Chapel Hill. The club closed for good soon after.
Sen. Ellie Kinnaird announced she’ll seek re-election. The six-term senator and mayor of Carrboro from 1987-95 had considered retiring, but decided not to do so when she could not recruit another woman to run.
Less than 48 hours after the board of aldermen approved the Shoppes at Jones Ferry with only an emergency entrance on Barnes Street, the developer notified the town that the project would not move forward.
Jim Neal, a Chapel Hill investment banker, announced he’s running for U.S. Senate.
With potential for new facilities ahead, the ArtsCenter organized an afternoon charrette to gather community ideas on how best to build a bigger and better center for the arts.
Track star Marion Jones pleaded guilty to obstruction charges and admited steroid use.
Fire swept through building G of the Highland Hills apartment complex. Several people were injured escaping the blaze, which took the life of Gloria Ines Suarez, a research associate at the UNC Medical School and a leader in the Latino community.
After more than 20 years, the Flying Burrito closed. The new owner said he’d try to reopen early next year.
Scooters, Inc. on Main Street opened.
County staff completed the first phase of the county comprehensive plan update, which will guide Orange County planning through 2030. The plan had not been updated since 1981.
Joe Herzenberg — longtime Chapel Hill Town Council member, Democratic Party stalwart, Greenways champion and an astute historian of local politics — died from complications of diabetes.
A slow, steady rain provided some short-term relief from the drought.
The Carrboro High School band prepared to lead thousands of walkers down Franklin Street at Saturday’s Walk for Education fundraiser. It was the first time they had participated in the walk.
Orange County declared a stage-two water shortage, tightening watering restrictions and the allowable use per day per households.
Concerned about speeding and the increasing use of their street as a cut-through, Oak Avenue residents won approval from the town for a speed table.
In November
Following a request from neighbors and the police, the town passed a narrowly-tailored anti-lingering ordinance to prevent the corner of Davie and Jones Ferry roads, which serves as a day laborer pick up spot, from being a hangout after hours.
The board of commissioners voted to reopen the search for a waste transfer station site, citing social justice reasons and outcry from the community.
Only about 15 percent of the registered voters turned out for municipal elections.
Fitch Lumber, one of the oldest family-run businesses in Orange County, celebrated its 100th year with a festival and warehouse sale.
A corroded pipe that ran from Wendy’s to the sewer line underneath Greensboro Street leaked thousands of gallons of sewage that found its way into storm drains. The company quickly replaced its drains and installed a containment system on Old Pittsboro Road until the residual was flushed out.
Marty Ravelette died from injuries in an automobile accident near Graham.
The Carrboro Farmers’ Market announced it would go to a year-round schedule beginning January 5, the first Saturday of 2008.
From January until March, the market will be open from 9 a.m. to noon, then resumes regular hours, 7 a.m. to noon, starting March 15.
An ammonia truck overturned on U.S. 64 closing the highway for 24 hours.
Carrboro resident and UNC researcher Darrel Stafford, whose work has led to breakthroughs in the study of coagulation and its regulation, was among nine individuals presented with the North Carolina Award, the state’s highest civilian honor.
More than two dozen residents escaped unharmed as fire swept through J Building at Ashbrook Apartments on Jones Ferry Road in Carrboro. The cause is under investigation.
In December
Orange County finance director Ken Chavious – a county employee for nearly 30 years – retired December 1. Chavious served as finance director since 1989.
A morning break-in at Southern Rail 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 was arrested after attempting to buy a power cord for a stolen laptop at the PTA Thrift Shop.
Alex Zaffron said his farewell to the board of aldermen, reminding his former colleagues still in office of the special qualities of the town and requesting that they “not blow it.â€
Lydia Lavelle was sworn in as a member of the board of aldermen along with Dan Coleman and Joal Hall Broun. Mark Chilton took the oath as mayor.
Danielle Iredale, who lost her seeing eye dog, Inka, in an early morning hit and run at a bus stop on BPW Club Rd. in October 2006, was awarded $500,000 in civil damages by a jury in Hillsborough.
Barbara Clark, a Pittsboro housekeeper, was accused of fatally beating two women who had employed her, after a confrontation about theft.
Town officials confirmed that the developer of the Shoppes at Jones Ferry is taking the town to court to get full access to Barnes Street reinstated in the plan.
Clearing started, but the developer hadn’t submitted plans for what’s going to happen on a large parcel of land on the Orange-Chatham County line that was once considered for a Wal-Mart and a Lowes Home Improvement Center.
The board of commissioners agreed to consider a proposal by UNC to use county landfill gas to power the university’s Carolina North development. Commissioners and county officials said they would like to launch a possible gas-recovery project at the landfill as a way of reducing greenhouse gases.
UNC scientist Oliver Smithees traveled to Oslo to receive his Nobel Prize.
Nice weather led to a large turnout for the annual holiday parade.