The Parent-Teacher-Student Associations of Carrboro, Chapel Hill and East Chapel Hill High Schools will sponsor a Parenting Healthy Teenagers Forum on February 4 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Chapel Hill High School Hanes Auditorium. More »

After a “State of the Water Supply” meeting last week at Chapel Hill Town Hall, members of the Orange Water and Sewer Authority’s board of directors heard a series of sharply worded comments about proposed changes to water-restriction rules.

Owners and managers of local nurseries and landscapers said the rules would adversely affect local plant growers and sellers and may force some of them to shut down. More »

UNC is hosting events to raise awareness of Climate Change as part of a nationwide effort called “Focus the Nation.” Today (Thursday), more than 75 professors at UNC are participating in a national teach-in that involves more than 1,000 colleges and will integrate global warming education into the day’s curriculum. The student union is hosting a carnival featuring performances, booths and speakers. More information at focusthenation.org

The 10th Annual Orange County Agricultural Summit will be held Feb. 12, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Orange Enterprises Building on Valley Forge Road in Hillsborough.

The summit will provide agricultural producers in Orange County and surrounding counties with information regarding strategies for preserving their farms during a time of agricultural transition. More »

The third Eno River Confluence will be held at the Hillsborough Exchange Club at 1:30 p.m. on Friday.

The meeting, which will bring together parties interested in the preservation and protection of the Eno River and its watershed, will focus on the drought status, Eno capacity use issues and reports, future plans and more. County staff will present at the meeting, which is expected to conclude by 4:45 p.m.
The first two Eno River Confluences were held April 11 and Oct. 26, 2006.

The Chatham County Democratic Women will sponsor an event entitled “Water and Growth in Chatham County” on Sunday, Feb. 10 at 3 p.m. in the multipurpose room of the Central Carolina Community College in Pittsboro. More »

Special Events

• Hawbridge School open house - on February 9 from 2-4 p.m. Inviting all prospective students and families to attend. The school emphasizes  environmental sciences and the arts. The open house will include a meeting with current teachers and students and a glimpse at student artwork. More information at www.hawbridge school.org or 336-376-1122 More »

The Blue Ribbon Mentor-Advocate Program and the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History will co-sponsor a performance of the off-Broadway play Platanos and Collard Greens on March 1. More »

The Orange County Share Your Holiday and Toy Chest programs supported more than 2,500 children and families this past Christmas.

Through the Share Your Holiday program, the Orange County Department of Social Services paired 313 community sponsors with children or families and provided gifts to 514 children and elderly or disabled adults in the county. More »

Laura McIver Boggess, 25, of Carrboro, N.C. has been accepted into the Peace Corps.

Boggess departed for Guatemala on Jan. 9 to begin pre-service training as an environmental education Peace Corps Volunteer.

After graduation in April, Boggess will work with rural schools to integrate conservation and environmental awareness into the curriculum. More »

A few things to keep in mind

As has been reported, a formal complaint has been filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency alleging a pattern of environmental racism on the part of local governments in the matter of the Rogers-Eubanks neighborhood. Such a complaint is serious business and should be thoroughly and properly addressed.

The review of this complaint and the process for resolving the dispute will take time and move at a federal pace. At the same time, the community has to move forward in a number of areas to settle questions about the future of the landfill, our solid-waste strategy and, most specifically, the siting of a waste transfer station. More »

In your “Town’s taco trucks in jeopardy” article on Jan. 24 article, Mayor Mark Chilton and Board of Aldermen member Jacquie Gist [said they] don’t understand why a complaint was filed against trucks selling prepared food from parking lots.

Gist writes, “I am worried by the real possibility that hard working entrepreneurs who are adding to our community could be put out of business and have their livelihood threatened. It is un-American and certainly un-Carrboro. If Carrboro cannot offer a welcoming home to immigrants trying to achieve the American Dream, then maybe I don’t know Carrboro as well as I think I do.” More »

Editor’s note: following is an open letter to the board of county commissioners.

Congratulations for reversing your earlier decision to unilaterally select the Eubanks Road area as the site for the new waste transfer station. That change of heart was a step in the right direction.

You are now embarking on a critical phase in the history of Orange County — the selection of the next waste-handling site. The future of this system is in your hands. The history of environmental racism regarding this issue is well established. It is time for you to break this cycle. More »

Robert Dickson

Our family’s Honduran holiday vacation was feeling like anything but a holiday.

Our bags had first been reported as late, then later, then stolen from the truck on which they had been sent from San Pedro Sula to La Ceiba. “Hijacked” was the term used. And I had contracted the Honduran version of the two-step. More »

(via Mike Harris)

We got ‘em! Culbreth 60 - McDougle 51.

McDougle had not lost a game all year and did not lose a game all year last year as 7th graders. This was their last regular season game. They were playing at home with a chance to complete an undefeated two years. Culbreth, behind the outstanding play of Denzel Ingram, did not allow that to happen. More »