Thursday, July 2, 2009

GREENSBORO � Four people have been arrested and charged in connection with a home invasion robbery June 22 in southern Guilford County...

The home�s occupants were tied up and left in another room while the suspects rummaged through the home and fled, according to arrest warrants.

Charged were: Oscar Fredrick Herbert III, 23 of 702 Tucker St. in Burlington; Tamahai Denise Dunnavant, 25, of 67 Coble Boys Drive in Siler City; and Kenneth Brock Headen, 18, and Jacquin Kente Headen, 30, both of 407 East 9th St. in Siler City.
http://www.news-record.com/content/2009/07/02/article/4_charged_in_home_home_invasion_robbery

Not good.

This topic has been moved to North Carolina.

http://chatham-county-nc.com/bulletinboard/index.php?topic=13986.0

There are many individuals who have few marketable skills and who also live in an area with fewer and fewer jobs, especially in the unskilled labor market. Reading this story today really personalized how difficult things have become for them. His observations about the relative degree of difficulty in his current job, compared to his work in the Siler City chicken processing plant are noteworthy, too. I can only admire this man's persistence and realize that I will keep him in mind every time I see one of these "sign men", especially during this blisteringly hot weather.

(In another thread a reference was made to our new billboard message on 15-501. If you have constructive input on the downtown districts for Chatham's municipalities I encourage you to get involved with the planning and land use issues that will shape the future of these areas. NCDOT's campaign to change the status of US-64 from Raleigh to Charlotte is but one example.)

Voller Realty & Construction, Ltd. has leased and utilized the billboard in question from its owner for many years. In the past we have advertised Chartham Forest and Wilkinson Creek.  We have also subleased the billboard space for use by various campaigns over the past four year with the most recent use being the mixed beverage referendum.  Usually after a campaign has ended we revert to the default billboard message underneath the temporary campaign sign, which for the past few years has been Wilkinson Creek.  Unfortunately the contractor mistakenly removed the Wilkinson Creek billboard when he removed the temporary message. His error gave us an opening to design and install a message that we have had in the works for a while: BUY LOCAL

During a charity auction at the General Store Cafe last year we purchased a beautiful drawing of downtown Pittsboro by local artist Martha Danek. Lesley subsequently adapted the drawing to the billboard message you now see on 15-501. (Lesley requested and received permission from the artist for the use of the image and the artist reviewed the final image for the billboard before installation.)

We hope to use the billboard message as one facet for a Pittsboro/Chatham County "Buy Local" campaign that can be utilized by any group and/or merchant promoting the area---such as the new "Everything Chatham" campaign.

It is our goal to bring these disparate groups together and share marketing and promotional expenses to promote Pittsboro and Chatham County via the billboard and other forms of outreach.

As for the language of the sign, preserving what is valued about historic Pittsboro is sensible as we grow responsibly in the 21st century.  Had resources been available in the distant past we may have been able to preserve more of the historic homes and properties in town. Unfortunately, many of these buildings only survive in books, oral history and in the collective memory of the families who have been in Pittsboro for generations.

It has been my stance as the Mayor that ultimately it is not a question of  "if" we grow, but rather how we grow. A component of how we grow is the support of local commerce and the preservation and investment in our historic downtown district. Let's work together to support our local businesses and  enhance our downtown districts in Goldston, Pittsboro, and Siler City.

Best Regards,
Mayor Randolph Voller

I seen it today for the first time along side the road.  Preserve Pittsboro 

In this week's newspaper, I see where ISP Minerals is still interested in building a quarry in Chatham County.

My feelings on this are very mixed... On the one hand, the jobs that its coming would bring to the county are badly needed and welcome. I am ALL for the influx/creation of jobs for the county.

On the other hand, the type of business and its ecological ramifications - the very real and likely potential for serious airborne, groundwater and noise pollutants - not to mention the probable ruination of a local business (winery), have me wanting to try to help stop the whole thing for good.

I was thinking that the last time this all got revved up, someone purchased land that made the site they had chosen impossible to access. Is this the case?

Has anyone heard who will be throwing their hat in the ring for Siler City Municipal Election's? I keep hoping that we will get some new faces in there.

This topic has been moved to North Carolina.

http://chatham-county-nc.com/bulletinboard/index.php?topic=13923.0

SILER CITY � Chatham Hospital is being primed for expansion just a year after the keys were turned on a new, $26 million hospital building.

Construction will begin this fall on a 27,000-square-foot medical office building near the hospital, which was purchased by UNC Health Care in 2008. The structure will house doctors� offices and conference rooms, along with the hospital�s physical therapy department, cardiac rehabilitation center, diabetes wellness education center and billing operations.
http://triangle.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2009/06/29/story4.html

The partnership with UNC is the best thing which has happened to Chatham
Hospital.

Chatlist will be on a limited schedule for the next few days

Because of health issues with my mom, I have had to take a few days to help my in making caregiver arrangements. How long it will take depends in part on how quickly she recuperates.

As a result the chatlist will go out on a limited schedule. Any chatlist sponsors that miss dates can get a credit for another day or get a refund. It shouldn't be too bad since we were already planning to take a few days off for the Fourth of July weekend.

I will also have limited time to peruse the bbs for next few days.

All I ask is that those of you who would like to, please say a prayer for my mom (Helen Galin) that she gets better and add her to your prayer lists. (This is a non-denominational request)