By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer

The Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday approved a plan for the county’s interim management of the farmers’ market at the new Public Market House in Hillsborough.

In August, two opposing groups appealed to the board for control of the Hillsborough Farmers’ Market and have since split into separate markets. Both markets asked to administer the farmers’ market at the new Public Market House, but the commissioners, expressing aversion at being forced to choose between the two groups, decided the county would run the market for an interim period.

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Our story last week incorrectly reported the stormwater mitigation cost estimate for a potential town-leased parking lot behind the KFC on East Main Street. The cost is estimated to be between $100,000 and $200,000.

The cyclists’ life

Thank you so much for the picture and caption highlighting recent autos hitting bicyclists. As a daily commuter to work through Carrboro and Chapel Hill, I am aware that we bikers can be hard to see and seem annoying to car drivers. But, it can be annoying to us bikers to have to avoid deadly obstacles in our bike lanes everyday, including cars, buses, broken glass and other debris. I just wanted to remind people that not only are we as bicyclists conserving energy and helping reduce carbon emissions, but we are actively making your car commute faster and easier by eliminating the number of cars on the road. So perhaps instead of honking angrily at us and veering into the bike lanes, you could give us a friendly wave and remember we are all just trying to get to where we are going, just like you.

Thanks.

Ben Davis
Carrboro

By Isabel Geffner

The recent attention given to the Report to the Joint Education Legislative Oversight Committee on the Annual Report on Dropout Events and Rates in North Carolina has brought into clear focus many of the challenges that lie ahead of us for addressing the needs of our state’s most at-risk youth. Too many of our young people are turning away from school too early, and their futures may be compromised unless we do something now.

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By Elaine Mejia

Recently, a North Carolina judge ruled against Wal-Mart in the giant retailer’s lawsuit against the state of North Carolina. In 2005, the state sent Wal-Mart a bill claiming that the retailer owed $33.5 million in back taxes. Wal-Mart paid up (probably to avoid heavy interest penalties later on) but then sued in state court in 2006 to have the money returned.

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As a community
There was a frustrating inevitability to the failure of the state’s effort to farm out the care of its citizens with developmental disabilities and those in need of mental health care to the free market. The signs of an impending collapse were there and became even clearer over the past year as the leadership of the state system moved on and more and more providers said they could not continue under new payment rates set by the state.

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By Kirk Ross
Staff Writer

In an otherwise quiet week of candidate filings, the race for an open judicial seat for Orange and Chatham counties expanded to three names.

Assistant District Attorney Lamar F. Proctor Jr. of Efland added his name to those seeking to succeed District Court Judge Patricia Devine, who has indicated she will not seek another term. Already signed on for the Democratic primary are Page Vernon, a Chatham County lawyer and former assistant district attorney, and Chapel Hill attorney Glenn Gerding. The judicial seat is one of three on ballot this year in District 15B, which covers Orange and Chatham counties. Incumbent judges Beverly Scarlett and Chuck Anderson, who have filed for re-election, have not drawn a primary challenger.

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Carrboro Elementary School students Will Atkinson, Caroline Baker and Rick Davis dance at a ‘50s sock hop to celebrate the school’s 50th anniversary. Photo by Isaac Sandlin.

Carrboro Elementary School students got a taste of what it would have been like to grow up in the 1950s at a sock hop Friday afternoon.

The school’s auditorium was packed with hundreds of smiling students clad in poodle skirts and colorful scarves, saddle shoes and bobby socks, and leather jackets and rolled-up jeans.

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Courtney Mills of Ephesus Elementary has been named the winner of the best classroom website by the North Carolina Association for Educational Communications and Technology.

Mills will receive her award March 14 at the NCAECT conference in Concord.

To view Mills’ website, visit www2.chccs.k12.nc.us/cmills.

Students in the Chapel Hill High School Theater Arts program will present “A Night of One-Acts” tonight (Thursday) at 7:30 in Hanes Theater at Chapel Hill High.

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The 2008 Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Battle of the Books will be held March 7 from 9 to 11:30 a.m. in the Culbreth Middle School auditorium.

The district’s four middle schools will compete for the right to represent the district at the Piedmont Regional competition later this spring.

Battle of the Books is an exciting showcase of the reading talents of Chapel Hill-Carrboro students.

Students from Smith Middle School participated today (Thursday) in the fifth annual Megaconference Jr. global event.

Megaconference Jr. is a project designed to give students in elementary and secondary schools around the world the opportunity to communicate, collaborate and contribute to each other’s learning in real time, using advanced multi-point video conferencing technology.

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J.P.’s Caps for Courage and the Johanna Minta Yearbook Fund will sponsor a silent auction at Top of the Hill on Tuesday, from 5 to 9:30 p.m.

In addition, Top of the Hill will donate $1 for each of the daily special beers sold that day.

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Blue Ribbon Mentor-Advocate is seeking 20-25 volunteers to begin mentoring students in March.

BRMA is a nationally recognized program aimed at helping African-American and Latino students reach their full academic, physical, social and emotional potential.

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Middle College High School at Durham Technical Community College is accepting applications for the 2008-09 school year.

Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools students who are at least 16 and have achieved junior year status can attend Middle College.

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