Pig out on the green
The Chapel Hill Police Department will host the annual “Pig Out on the Green†barbecue fundraiser on Sunday to benefit Special Olympics of North Carolina.
The fundraiser, which will take place on the green at Southern Village, will run from 2-6 p.m. Tickets to the benefit are $10 and include barbecue “and all the fixins’,†according to the police department.
The event will also feature the Rhythm Brothers band, as well as a silent auction with items including a basketball signed by UNC men’s basketball coach Roy Williams, a football signed by UNC football coach Butch Davis and a Brian Vickers NASCAR racing helmet.
Carrbon challenge
Carrboro Mayor Mark Chilton is challenging area residents to reduce their carbon dioxide production by 20 percent over the next six months.
Chilton is collaborating with the UNC Institute for the Environment in the Mayor’s Carbon Challenge, in which participants will receive free tools to analyze their household energy usage and carbon dioxide output. According to Chilton, the carbon dioxide audit and consultation with the Institute for the Environment will enable participants to determine different cost-effective changes that could help them reduce their carbon footprint.
To sign up for the mayor’s challenge, email Chilton at mark [AT] markchilton.org.
Town to host forum
The Town of Carrboro is hosting a public meeting on plans for the town’s northern regions, Saturday, April 21 at the McDougle cafetorium.
The meeting lasts from 8:15 a.m. to noon with registration starting at 7:45.
Residents interested in hearing or sharing ideas on the future of the town’s northern study area are invited to attend.
Cindy Sheehan coming to UNC
War protester Cindy Sheehan, whose son Casey was killed in Iraq, and Sami Rasouli, an Iraqi-American who founded the Muslim Peacemakers Teams, will hold a rally at The Pit on the university campus at 7 p.m.
The event is sponsored by Students for a Democratic Society, Grassroots Impeachment Movement, Progressive Democrats of America Fourth Congressional District and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.
Tethering meeting
The Orange County Tethering Committee will hold a public meeting on Monday to hear public input regarding changing the county’s animal ordinance to limit or restrict tethering.
The county allows tethering under certain conditions, but is considering changing the ordinance. Changes would affect the way residents could legally contain their animals and would apply to all unincorporated areas of the county.
The tethering committee was created by the Board of County Commissioners to work with the Animal Services Advisory Board to determine if changes should be made to the tethering laws under the county’s animal ordinances.
The meeting is scheduled from 7-9 p.m. at the F. Gordon Battle Courtroom at 106 E. Margaret Lane in Hillsborough. For more information, contact Lisa Smith with Animal Services at 245-2075 or lsmith@co.orange.nc.us.
Carolina North meeting
The second in a series of information meeting on Carolina North will be held April 26 at the Friday Center. The meeting begins at 3:30 p.m.
University representatives will present revised conceptual drawings with possible approaches to issues, including open space, pedestrian and vehicular circulation, utilities and land use on the UNC-owned property.
Officials plan to follow the same format for these community meetings that they used when the series kicked off in March. Attendees will have opportunities to ask questions and share comments. After a brief presentation, attendees can discuss the plans and programs with UNC staff in small groups. The feedback will continue to support the university’s efforts to develop a concept plan for Carolina North.
Comments from the community in March influenced the ideas that will be shown this month. All of those comments have also been posted to the Carolina North website, http://carolinanorth.unc.edu, along with materials shown at those sessions. More community meetings are planned in May and June. Details will be announced later.
Plants with Purpose exhibit opens
A new exhibit exploring how the botanical world affects our lives in many ways opened Monday, April 16 at the UNC Health Sciences Library.
The exhibit, “Plants with a Purpose,†was curated by Anne Wood Humphries. It examines the impact of plants from three perspectives:
• The Sam W. Hitt medicinal plant garden.
The library’s own medicinal plant garden is dedicated to the memory of Sam Hitt, who directed the library from 1976 to 1986 and was an avid gardener.
• Horticultural therapy and wellness through gardening.
Since 1978, the horticultural therapy program at the North Carolina Botanical Garden has helped its clients face injury, mental illness, dementia and many other issues through specific treatment programs built around the activities of gardening.
• Medicinal plants — nature’s pharmacy.
The medicinal properties of plants, current practices in herbal medicine and special herbal prints from the library’s rare book collections are highlighted.