Tiny speedwells blooming now in local yards. Photo by Ken Moore.

I’m lucky to live where neighbors have not legislated against hanging laundry out to air dry. In addition to saving electricity and having sun-fresh clothes, I soak up some natural Vitamin D and have the opportunity to enjoy the late February blooming yard.

Many of you have a blooming yard, but you may move over it too quickly to enjoy the diversity of flowers scattered there. But if you have one of those deliberate lawns of turf grass — severely maintained with fertilizers, herbicides and copious amounts of water — you will not have a blooming yard.

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Maggi Grace, in her Carrboro studio, has truly found her way in the world. Photo by Valarie Schwartz.

By Valarie Schwartz

When, in the summer of 2004, Maggi Grace learned that the life of her uninsured partner of one year depended upon heart surgery that would cost $200,000, she responded with both reactions to the fight-or-flight response.

When fighting with the medical community didn’t work (her logical approach resulted in cold negative responses), she quickly moved to Plan B provided by her eldest son, Bryan, then a medical student at Stanford University — she looked to India.

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By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer

County residents were both strongly opposed to and in support of the proposed Buckhorn Village development at a packed Board of County Commissioners public hearing Monday night.

Several residents who live close to the site of the planned development, which is near I-85 and Buckhorn Road at the site of the Buckhorn Flea Market, said they were concerned the development would drive up their property taxes and they wouldn’t be able to sell their homes.

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Photo by Kirk Ross.

Students, most of them from Cissy O’Neal’s ninth grade social studies class at McDougle Middle School, took up the temporary roles of mayor, members of the board of aldermen and concerned citizens offering their opinions to the board at the annual Town Hall Day for Teens Monday at Town Hall. Wendell Rogers, the recreation supervisor with the town’s Recreation and Parks Department, who helped organize the event, said he was impressed with the amount of thought and preparation the young people put into the meeting. More »

Roberson Square viewed from Carr Street. Rendering courtesy of David Ripperton.

By Kirk Ross
Staff Writer

After a long negotiation over parking, a five-story condominium, office and retail project on South Greensboro street won approval Tuesday night from the Carrboro Board of Aldermen.

Construction could begin as early as this summer for the 91,575-square-foot Roberson Square project on the site of the old Andrews-Riggsbee hardware store.

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By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer

Chapel Hill High School Principal Jackie Ellis said school officials are investigating a cheating incident that students say involved a stolen master key and that dates back several years.

Four Chapel Hill High School students will be suspended and receive zeros on mid-term exams as a result of an incident in which a student took pictures of exam answers on a camera phone and emailed them to other students. While investigating the incident, Ellis said students told officials about a master key to the school that was stolen a number of years ago.

“When one cheating incident was uncovered, a tip led to others with master keys,” Ellis said. School officials do not know the last time students used the key, but the cheating incident was discovered last week.

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Madeline Smith jokes with fellow Covenant Place tenant Bettie Graham as Smith’s 100th birthday celebration starts up. Photo by Kirk Ross.

By Kirk Ross
Staff Writer

Madeline Clara Smith spent the first part of her 100th birthday in a way any of us would have it.

“I’ve been on the phone all morning,” she said in a voice that was surprisingly strong and unmistakably that of a true Mainer.

As the calls from family members kept rolling in, the Lewiston, Maine native spent that time on the phone in the comfy confines of her Covenant Place apartment, where she keeps an impressive variety of houseplants.

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The US Census Bureau is hiring census workers for Chatham County. About 300 workers are needed in the next three weeks and can earn from $13.75 to $15.25 per hour. Most of the available positions are part-time and temporary. Potential workers must take a basic skills test and agree to work about 20 hours a week. English and Spanish speakers are needed. For more information call 1-866-673-2008. The hearing impaired can call (704) 344-6114.

Today (Thursday) a company hired by OWASA will repave part of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Chapel Hill where OWASA recently repaired a water main. The work is expected to last from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. but weather and other factors may affect the schedule. Only one lane will be closed at a time, but drivers are encouraged to use alternate routes. There is also expected to be some noise and dust created by the work.

At its meeting tonight (Thursday), the OWASA board will discuss declaring a Stage Three Water Shortage, which would include additional restrictions and surcharges for water use. The meeting is at 7 p.m. at the Chapel Hill Town Hall and will be televised on local cable channel 18. Water reserves have steadily dwindled since last summer. Recent rainfall has not significantly raised lake levels and the current supply would last about five or six more months without further rainfall. OWASA staff recommended that the Stage Three Shortage be declared if lakes were at less than 45 percent capacity at the end of the month. They stand at about 40 percent now.

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The Chapel Hill Police Department on Monday charged 17-year-old David Earl Ellis Jr. with attempted first-degree murder in the shooting of a 16-year-old victim.

Ellis is accused of shooting the victim on Johnson Street on Monday evening. He is being held in the Orange County jail under a $200,000 secured bond and appeared in court in Hillsborough on Tuesday.

Orange County will hold an informational workshop about ways to cope with the drought for well water users in rural areas on March 5 at 7 p.m. at Stanback Middle School in Hillsborough.

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Orange County School Board member Dennis Whitling resigned last week following his arrest several days prior.

Whitling, 52, was charged with embezzlement, false pretense, obstruction of justice and corporate malfeasance. He had served on the school board for almost four years.

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It’s the time of year when musical students come together to show what they can do. Chapel Hill-Carrboro school concerts coming up:

•  The Carrboro High School Orchestra and Chorus Concert will be held on Sunday at 3 p.m. at Culbreth Middle School. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for students and free for Carrboro High students.

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William Spagnardi, principal fellows intern at Seawell Elementary School, has been named assistant principal of Morris Grove Elementary.

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