Low-cost rabies clinic
Orange County Animal Services will offer low-cost rabies vaccination clinics July 19 and 26.
The first clinic will be held July 19 from 6-7 p.m. at Pathway Elementary School in Hillsborough, and the second will be held July 26 from 6-7 p.m. at Efland Cheeks Elementary School in Efland.
Rabies vaccinations will be offered for $5 at the clinic. Payment must be made in cash.
If possible, pet owners should bring their pet’s most recent vaccination certificate. Dogs must be on leashes and cats must be in carriers.
For more information, call 245-2075 or visit www.co.orange.nc.us/animalservices/rabies.asp.
So far this year, Orange County has had 12 cases of rabies, including one dog. Under North Carolina law, if a pet is not current on its rabies vaccination and comes into contact with a rabid animal, the pet must be quarantined for six months or destroyed. In addition, dogs or cats with current rabies vaccinations must receive a booster shot with 72 hours of any exposure to rabies.
GAO to investigate NRC
Rep. David Price announced last week that the General Accounting Office had accepted his request for an investigation of fire safety standards enforcement by the Nuclear Regualtory Commission.
Price made the request in May after meeting this spring with local elected officials who are concerned about fire safety at the Harris Nuclear Plant near Jordan Lake on the Wake/Chatham border.
The fire safety issue has been a key issue raised by the North Caromina Waste Awareness and Reduction Network, an energy watchdog group, which held a briefing in March on the NRC’s record of enforcement of fire safety codes. Among other charges, NCWARN representatives claim that materials used in fire protection at the Harris plant and at other nuclear plants are unsafe, but that regulatory officials routinely overlook the problem.
Carolina North meeting
UNC will hold another community meeting on Carolina North to present to the public plans the university will put before its Board of Trustees at their July 26 meeting.
The comunity meeting will be held at 4 p.m. in Room 2603 of the School of Government’s Knapp-Sanders Building. Parking is available in the N.C. 54 visitor’s lot and the Rams Head deck.
Jack Evans, executive director of Carolina North, and other university representatives will present a draft conceptual drawing and an overview of potential first areas of development on the UNC-owned property. The presentation will include comments and feedback from the trustees about the plan.
UNC program wins grant
A UNC-based program aimed at improving the quality of preventive medical care given at primary care practices has been awarded a grant to expand the program.
The program, called Improving Performance in Practice (IPIP), will receive nearly $250,000 from the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust to add 10 new primary care practices that serve low-income individuals. The goal is to dramatically improve preventive care provided in primary care practices.
Improving Performance in Practice (IPIP) is a national program led by the boards and specialty societies of family medicine, internal medicine and pediatrics and funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. North Carolina is one of two demonstration states.