At least two students have been summoned to appear in court and hear charges in connection with a fight at Carrboro High School on Jan. 17.

According to the Carrboro Police Department, Joseph Keith Stifler, 17, of 2701 Homestead Rd., has been charged with public affray and ethnic intimidation. Lamont Powell, 16, of 201 Westbrook Dr., has been charged with public affray. More »

The Fearrington House Country Inn has been awarded, for the ninth year in a row, a Five-Star rating from Mobil Travel Guide. Forty-one hotels in the country have been rated at five stars and The Fearrington House is the only one in North Carolina. The 32 rooms in the hotel underwent renovations in 2007.

Playground Peacemaker, Cafeteria Champions among awards given

Carrboro Elementary School students and teachers present special classroom awards, including Hallway Heroes, Cafeteria Champions, Playground Peacemakers and Cleanest Classroom, as part of the school’s Second Quarter Awards assembly on January 18. Photo courtesy of Carrboro Elementary

Students in grades K-2 met in the school’s auditorium to recognize both individual and class-wide special achievements during the second quarter of the school year. An assembly for students in grades 3-5 followed.

Individual awards were given to students who exhibited the character trait of kindness, as well as to students who reached personal educational achievement goals.

In addition, one student from grades K-2 and two students from grades 3-5 were recognized as Presidential Fitness Award winners. More »

Ten Phillips Middle School students placed in the Central District Bandmasters Association auditions on Jan. 5 at Southwest Guilford Middle School.

In the Symphonic Band division, four students placed, including Li Zhang, sixth-chair clarinet; Anna Quercia-Thomas, tenth-chair clarinet; Justin Morrell, fourth-chair trumpet; and Jon Aycock, third-chair euphonium. More »

The Culbreth Middle School Sixth Grade Quiz Bowl Team placed third in the North Carolina Knowledge Master Open last week.

Team members include Pranshu Bhardaw, Tom Clark, Varun Dalmia, Will Dozier, Anna Merritt, Calvin Wagner and Katie Wilson.

The team competed against representatives from more than 330 schools from  around the state.

The Phillips Middle School Winter Orchestra Concert will be held tonight (Thursday) at 7:30 in the Phillips Auditorium.

All sixth, seventh and eighth-grade string students will perform in the concert, led by orchestra director Ann Daaleman.

The concert is open to the public.

The Drug and Alcohol Awareness Team and the Chapel Hill Police Department will sponsor a series of workshops on parent education awareness of teen alcohol and drug issues. More »

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 »