By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer

This past year saw more than the usual degree of change for Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools, with new schools, school board elections and shifts in principals.

While some changes were a loss to the district – the retirement of longtime board member Liz Carter and the death of tireless schools advocate and board veteran Mary Scroggs – change also brought fresh ideas and improvements. More »

In January
The Carrboro Board of Aldermen approved plans to create a Greenways Commission.

A winter storm settled in and closed the schools for a day.

Promising he’ll push through ethics reforms, Joe Hackney, a Chatham County native and longtime representative of Chatham and Orange counties, was elected speaker of the North Carolina House.

The ArtsCenter held a community meeting to discuss ways to leverage the area’s arts. More »

Alfred Henry Baumhover, 85, who was known within Carrboro’s Webbwood community as “Sir Alfred” because he was knighted by Queen Juliana of the Netherlands in 1955, died Feb. 21.

Former Carrboro city attorney and district court judge Lowry Matthews Betts, 76, died July 9, having practiced law in North Carolina for more than 50 years. More »

Contested elections
Things were looking dull in this year’s municipal elections — at least that’s what some folks thought. But the idea that no one should have an unchallenged stroll to re-election was at least some of the impetus behind a number of those who decided to seek public office. The result was a lot more discussion and give-and-take. If you were paying attention, you learned a lot. If you weren’t, it was at least entertaining. More »