Beth Mechum
Staff Writer

An atmosphere of success has taken hold on the Carrboro High School campus.

The field hockey team now plays more competitively with both East Chapel Hill and Chapel Hill, the women’s golf team helped start a high school women’s golf league in the area and the men’s soccer team beat conference rival Cedar Ridge for the first time ever.

Students, teachers and parents walked the halls and fields of Carrboro High School three years ago not knowing what was ahead. It was tough going in the beginning, and it’s still no easy ride. But with cohesion, camaraderie and a sense of community from all, things just keep getting better. More »

Kirk Ross
Staff Writer

CHAPEL HILL — Town leaders will take a hard look at library funding and the consequences of a proposed expansion of the Chapel Hill Public Library at the Town Council’s retreat this weekend.

After looking at the impact of the project during its regular meeting Monday night at Town Hall, council members said that while they support the project, the long-term costs and their effect on the town budget warrant more conversation. More »

RECENTLY . . .
BY VALARIE SCHWARTZ

The cellophane packages look innocent enough with their little Carolina blue ribbons. First-time buyers naively pluck them from shelves and take them home with no inkling of the pleasures to be elicited while eating them; or the pangs when they’re depleted.

This is the story of how a mother and son working together turned the “Southern part of heaven” into the home of Chapel Hill Toffee — to die for. More »

Rich Fowler
Staff Writer

Warmer weather may be on the horizon, but don’t expect that to translate into a hot housing market. Uncertainty about the economy is one reason the market is tepid. Another is that the number of foreclosures continues to be high and new data on the types of filings points to a rise among traditionally safer borrowers. More »

By Beth Mechum
Staff Writer

The Carrboro Board of Aldermen held its public hearings for January Tuesday night at the Carrboro Town Hall.

First up was a request to revise outdoor lighting standards. Shannon Brummett, a regional property manager with General Services Corp., was there to enquire about the light-pole regulation. He said he preferred one 25-foot light pole on his properties in Carrboro as opposed to the 15-foot poles the plan now calls for. More »

Frank Heath

Heels halt skid, tame the ’pack

The UNC men’s basketball Tar Heels received big-time contributions from nearly everyone who saw court time on Tuesday night at the RBC Center, bringing home a 77-63 victory over the N.C. State Wolfpack, and breaking a three-game losing streak.
It was midway through the second half, though, before the Heels took off. More »

We’ve seen this movie before – just last year, in fact – the one where the towns of southern Orange and the board of county commissioners square off over library funding.

Chapel Hill, whose library is open to all residents of Orange County, has long sought an increase in county support, which has fallen over the past 15 years from 20 percent of the library’s budget to 11 percent. Over the same time, the library has grown to become the state’s busiest. More »

This weekend, there’s a strong likelihood that snow and ice will fall from the sky. This usually leads to a town-wide demonstration of poor driving skills and a run on bread and milk.

Please take your time, don’t slam on the brakes and if you go into a skid remember to turn in the direction of the skid. (It’s kind of counterintuitive but it works like a champ.)

In the event of utterly rotten weather, The Citizen will post periodic updates on our MILL blog (carrborocitizen.com/mill).

For closings and other information, we recommend tuning into WCHL 1360.

Sammy Slade

After the failure of the U.N. Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen, actions to resolve climate change in the U.S. are in reverse. Factors contributing to this lack of positive action include congress’ reluctance, before the mid-term elections, to engage in another battle, which is likely to be as drawn-out as the health care reform process has been. Now with the loss of a filibuster-proof Democrat Senate last week along with the Supreme Court’s decision striking restrictions on corporate influence in politics, the outlook is even starker for climate change legislation (and much else!). More »

Chris Fitzsimon

Developer and prominent political fundraiser Lanny Wilson resigned from the State Board of Transportation Thursday, saying in a letter to Gov. Beverly Perdue that he wanted to “avoid any further unnecessary distractions” that would hurt Perdue’s efforts to reform the board. More »

I would think everyone who wants a solid and sustainable future for Carr-boro would support an expansion and diversification of the local economy. This discussion, in its latest incarnation, has state Sen. Ellie Kinnaird advocating for a Carrboro Costco and some local entrepreneurs and citizens decrying the desire for such a thing here. More »

Elementary Dance Education Academy, located in Saxapahaw, and Kat’s Ballroom Dance Classes, based in Orange County, are joining together to celebrate Valentine’s Day with an introduction to ballroom dancing for the younger set.

The dance will take place Feb. 13 at 6 p.m. at the Elementary Dance Education studio in the Saxapahaw Rivermill. A limited number of tickets are available for purchase by contacting the studio at 601-1282. Tickets are $20.

Registration is open for the 2010 Carrboro Classic Duathlon on Saturday, April 3.

Early-bird fee registration to save $25 ends Feb. 15. Early-bird fees are $40 for the Super Sprint Duathlon and $60 for the Long Course Duathlon.

To register, visit sportoften.com/onlineRegistration/waiverTo.cfm?pEventId=5616

The Occoneechee Council of the Boy Scouts of America has announced that 414 young men earned their Eagle Scout Award in 2009. That is a 9 percent increase over 2008’s total of 380. Earning the rank of Eagle is scouting’s highest achievement.

This year, Boy Scouts of America is celebrating its 100th anniversary and more young men than ever are earning the rank of Eagle Scout. The National Council average for young men achieving Eagle Scout is 5 percent; the Occoneechee Council average is 6.4 percent.

To achieve the rank, a scout must earn 21 merit badges, including 12 that are required. He also must design a Leadership Service Project and lead his fellow scouts in carrying out that project.

Public Health officials are urging residents to get vaccinated against the flu. H1N1 is still the predominant strain circulating in North Carolina but seasonal flu is emerging and usually lasts until late March. Free H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccines are available five days a week through the Orange County Health Department. No appointment is necessary.

Walk-in clinic schedules are: Chapel Hill office, 2501 Homestead Road, Monday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Thursday, 2 to
6 p.m.; and Friday, 12:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Hillsborough office, 300 W. Tryon Street, Tuesday, 2 to
6 p.m. and Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

For more flu information, visit co.orange.nc.us/health. For specific health-related questions, call the nurse line at 605-2051 or email questions to flu@co.orange.nc.us