Small fire set in bathroom at CHHS
A small fire was set in a restroom toilet paper dispenser at Chapel Hill High School last Thursday.
All students were evacuated and no one was injured. School officials are investigating the incident to identify the individual or individuals responsible for setting the fire.
According to school officials, most of the damage caused by the fire was to the restroom in the school’s C Building, where the fire was started. In addition, there was minor smoke damage to the hallway next to the bathroom.
Students returned to class shortly after the evacuation. Those with classes located in the C Building, which is used for cultural arts courses, were relocated until the smoke was cleared from the building and the Chapel Hill Fire Department deemed it safe for students to return.
Parents received automated emergency phone calls and emails about the fire from the district. Estimates of the damage caused by the fire are not yet available.
Laughing Turtle to host fundraiser
The Laughing Turtle will host a fundraiser for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Public School Foundation on September 20 from 7-9 p.m.
Wine and cheese will be served and 20 percent of the proceeds will be donated to the foundation.
The Laughing Turtle sells apparel, gifts and interior designs and is located at 149 East Franklin Street. For more information, visit www.thelaughingturtle.com.
Rhodes named new OCS superintendent
The Orange County Schools Board of Education voted unanimously on Tuesday to appoint Durham Public Schools administrator Patrick Rhodes as superintendent.
Rhodes, who serves as assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction for Durham Public Schools, succeeds Shirley Carraway, who will retire October 1. He will begin his work as OCS superintendent in mid-October.
Rhodes is no stranger to Orange County Schools – he served as principal, assistant principal, science teacher and basketball coach at Orange High School for nine years before leaving the district in 1999. In Durham, Rhodes was executive director of high schools and principal of Riverside High School before becoming assistant superintendent.
Rhodes lives in Chapel Hill with his wife, Kathleen, who is a French and Spanish teacher at East Chapel Hill High School. He has three sons, who are 19, 22 and 24, and has lived in Orange County for 25 years.