By Kirk Ross
Staff Writer

Although the contenders on the national portion of the ticket are already campaigning, the 2008 state primary season officially starts Monday with the opening of the three-week filing period.

Candidates can file at the Orange County Board of Elections office in Hillsborough from noon on Monday, Feb. 11 till noon February 29.

The primary will see a full ballot, with national presidential and congressional races and state races — including governor, lieutenant governor and council of state as well as legislative contests — judicial races and the first districts contest for Orange County Board of Commissioners. Also on May 6, voters will select three members for the nonpartisan Orange County Schools Board of Education.

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By Kirk Ross
Staff Writer

Chapel Hill-Carrboro school board Chair Pam Hemminger and Orange County Planning Board member Bernadette Pelissier say they plan to file soon for the May Democratic primary for Orange County commissioner. They’ll join incumbent commissioner Valerie Foushee who has indicated previously she’ll seek another term.

Filing season starts Monday at noon and Hemminger, who sought a seat on the board in 2004, said she plans to get started early. She said she wants to run because of her concern for how the county will handle growth.

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Sturdily built nest of a clever bird architect. Photo by Ken Moore.

By Ken Moore

The familiar signs of spring for most of us are already evident. Crocuses and Japanese Apricot, Prunus Mume, are in flower and daffodils are showing flower buds. But these are foreigners, long ago established in our cultivated gardens. True signs of spring are the deepening stem colors and swelling flower and leaf buds in the wilds of nature’s garden. This past weekend, four of us enjoyed discovering some of these spring signals along Bolin Creek trails in the university’s Carolina North Preserve (Horace Williams Tract).

Following are descriptions of some early-spring signals. But first I must digress to share what we saw while crossing a field. We spied a really beautiful tiny lichen-encrusted bird nest situated about ten feet above us on a lateral limb of a small Hackberry tree, Celtis laevigata. We thought the architect to be a hummingbird. The nest appeared so sturdy we could imagine it being used a second season. We’ll return in late spring to investigate. What a clever bird to site the nest in this particular Hackberry: the trunk and lower limbs are abnormal with numerous thorny, twisted twig growths emerging from the characteristic warty bark. It presents a very unappealing climb for predators.

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By Kirk Ross
Staff Writer

Don’t call it a reprieve, more like a pause in the action, but for operators of Carrboro’s taco trucks there was good news Tuesday night from the Carrboro Board of Aldermen.

At the close of the board of aldermen meeting at Town Hall, Mayor Mark Chilton asked the town’s planning and zoning staff to review the ordinance that the trucks were found in violation of and offer up potential solutions to keep the trucks in operation.

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Seeing Double? These houses, which are home to the Red Hen and Provence are two of many built by Thomas Lloyd. Photo by Kirk Ross.

By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer

Old mill houses are scattered throughout downtown Carrboro. And while probably few passing by notice, dozens of them are almost exactly the same, built by mill owner Thomas Lloyd around the turn of the 20th century.

Like these mill houses, many Carrboro buildings – both residential and commercial – were built long ago, during Carrboro’s era as a mill town; but over the years, they’ve become difficult to spot.

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Chapel Hill High School science teacher Rob Greenberg, center, guides students (left to right) Jess Hitt, Natalie Archer, Louisa Sloan and Andrew Hertzberg through their project for the Celebration of Earth and Sky this Sunday at Carrboro Century Center. Photo by Valarie Schwartz.

By Valarie Schwartz

As much as any other knowledge, high school students seek to know who they are and where they want their next steps in life to take them.

Teachers like Rob Greenberg, who teaches Earth and environmental science at Chapel Hill High School, help them explore beyond typical parameters, and with the “Celebration of Earth and Sky” exhibit at Carrboro Century Center from 2 to 6 p.m. on Sunday, community members can also participate in the opening of young minds toward new realms.

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By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer

The Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education tonight (Thursday) is expected to approve a recommendation to support the recent ruling that requires North Carolina Community Colleges to admit undocumented individuals who meet admission requirements.

The North Carolina Community College System in November directed all community colleges to begin admitting undocumented individuals, who must pay out-of-state tuition. According to school officials, the board is considering supporting the ruling because Chapel Hill-Carrboro students are affected by the decision and could be negatively impacted if the General Assembly were to consider legislation overriding the decision.

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With supporters, some carrying signs, lining the back wall of the room, members of the Rogers-Eubanks roads community urged the Board of County Commissioners at Tuesday night’s commission meeting to remove Eubanks Road from consideration as the site of a proposed solid-waste transfer station.

But the commissioners said that because of an administrative complaint filed by members of the community with the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Civil Rights they would take no action on the request at this time. The complaint was filed against the board of commissioners and a number of other local and state administrative bodies.

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The Orange County Animal Services Department has taken in 10 cats from a Hendersonville adoption facility that was recently shut down.

A district court ordered the All Creatures Great and Small facility to close and make immediate improvements and to release 350 animals to other animal rescue and shelter organizations.
Most of the cats taken in by Orange County are on public display and are ready for adoption.

A raccoon found in Chapel Hill tested positive for rabies last week at the State Laboratory of Public Health.

The raccoon was found dead in the yard of a home in the vicinity of Albert and Dairyland roads. The resident found the raccoon after discovering blood on one of her three dogs.

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Homeowners who live in the Northside and Pine Knolls neighborhoods can receive no-interest, forgivable loans to repair their houses through the Town of Chapel Hill’s Comprehensive Housing Rehabilitation Program. EmPOWERment, Inc. will host an information session on the program on Wednesday, February 13th from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. at the Pine Knolls Community Center, 107 Johnson St. Continental breakfast will be provided. Jamie Rohe, community development planner with the town, will give a presentation and answer questions about the program.

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The Orange County Animal Services Department will offer four low-cost rabies vaccination clinics during February.

The vaccination fee is $5 and must be paid in cash. To receive a three-year vaccination, bring your pet’s most recent vaccination certificate. Dogs must be on leashes and cats must be in carriers. Animals that might be nervous or unsettled should be kept in a vehicle for their vaccinations.
Clinic times and locations include:

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Galleries and businesses throughout Carrboro, Chapel Hill and Southern Village will open their doors for those in search of art.

Event times and openings vary from place to place, but 6 to 8 p.m. is the standard time for most places.
Among the shows featured this month is “Because We’re Still Here and Moving: Mapping a World of Black History in Our Own Backyard” — a photo exhibit and interactive installation at the ArtsCenter. The show features current photos and scrapbook memories from residents of the historic black neighborhoods and a newly produced walking map of the community. The reception is from 6 to 8 p.m.
A complete listing of galleries and exhibits can be found on MILL, The Carrboro Citizen’s arts and entertainment blog at

www.carrborocitizen.com/mill

Carrboro High Swimming and Diving
(via Carrboro High website)

Our Swimmers & Divers competed in the 1A/2A state meet this past weekend. The competition was tough, with over 700 student-athletes representing 76 of the 89 1A/2A schools in North Carolina. Our Jaguar Swimmers & Divers stepped up to the competition and finished our first season with a bang. Both the men’s and women’s swim teams placed 3rd over all. The men scored a total of 168 points and the women finished with 151 points.

We had a number of incredible races in both individual and relay events. In the Prelims session, there were 26 new best times and we had 16 swimmers qualify for Finals.

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Liz Holman (10) of the Carrboro Lady Jaguars varsity ignores a horde of Lady Bulldogs and takes her shot during the Wednesday, Jan. 30 game against the Durham School of the Arts.

Photo by Georg T Gordon.