Thanks to Red Cross
On Friday evening, the Red Cross had a booth at Last Friday in Hillsborough. They smiled and offered disaster readiness information as they chatted with folks enjoying the cool fall weather and free entertainment. About 30 hours later, I watched as some of the same faces were assisting victims of the Highland Hills Apartment fire in Carrboro. In the destruction, individuals considered themselves lucky to have escaped with nothing more than the clothes on their backs.
Pray that you never need the Red Cross and thank those who volunteer when you do.
David Hunt
New Hope firefighter
Dangerous precedent
As a long time resident of the Piedmont, Carrboro has always been the community in the area that exemplified just that, community. When I made the decision to move into Carrboro three months ago, it was that sense of community that motivated me. The Farmer’s Market. Weaver Street Market. The Really Really Free Market. The abundance of locally owned and sustained enterprise. The bustle of Saturday mornings as friends went off to meet each other at Padgett Station, Panzanella, Elmo’s or Open Eye Cafe.
However, the Board of Aldermen made it clear last Tuesday that it is not community that is of importance to them. Rather than making an effort to foster a sense of community, they provisionally approved the application for the Shoppes at Jones Ferry. These steps not only threatened an historic Carrboro neighborhood (whose many residents were essentially disregarded by the Board as it deliberated), but the entire Carrboro community as well. As we continue to allow large retailers to hoard commercially zoned property around Carrboro, we threaten the very things that make Carrboro truly unique. To even consider allowing Harris Teeter to operate two stores in such a close proximity is absurd.
Even if this project does not move forward, I believe that the Board will regret this decision, as it has set a dangerous precendent for future developments. As the public spoke, there was certainly a sense of doubt about the project. The fact that the Board tried so hard to put together a piecemeal approval is only further evidence that the intentions of the Board are not primarily motivated by the residents of Carrboro whose interests they were elected to represent.
Adam Swain
Carrboro
Supporting Burroughs
I am writing in support of Mia Burroughs for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro School Board. Mia has been a strong advocate for children during her years of service to the public schools through the SGC, classroom volunteer work, the YMCA and other nonprofit organizations serving youth in our community. Mia is compassionate, well informed, a great listener and consensus builder. She has two children in the school system and is committed to children of all abilities. She is not a one-issue candidate and is looking for an opportunity to improve service delivery to all children. Please consider giving Mia your vote!
Janice Ryan
Chapel Hill
I am writing to express my enthusiastic support for the candidacy of Mia Burroughs for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School Board. Mia’s personal experience as a volunteer at the classroom, school and district level, combined with her professional experience in nonprofit youth programs, makes her a uniquely qualified addition to the school board. Mia’s knowledge of policymaking at both the county and state levels and her emphasis on good and open communication with other policymakers and all interested constituents will make her an effective advocate for the school district and its needs, including during the school budgeting process.
Mia is committed to the achievement of every student, at every level, and to preventing any student from slipping through the cracks regardless of where they fall on the academic continuum.
The school district has already benefited from Mia’s passion for education and our children in her roles as a parent and volunteer. I urge all voters to allow her to continue to make a difference in the district as a member of the school board.
Catharine Cummer
Chapel Hill
I am writing to encourage others in the CHCCS district to support Mia Burroughs in her bid for the school board. I met Mia during the recent budget discussions and was impressed by her knowledge and fair assessment of the budget situation. Her enthusiasm for finding a solution was contagious and inspired me to get involved in the process myself. That’s the kind of leader I want to see on our school board. I plan on voting for Mia Burroughs and hope other folks in search of solutions will do the same.
Allison Wiener
Chapel Hill
Supporting Bill Strom
The [Chapel Hill] Town Council is going to be dealing with many issues in the near future and paramount among them is negotiating with the university for the best resolution of Carolina North’s impact on the community. The mayor and many others have shown that they have a handle on the basic problems, and Bill Strom has proven to be an outstanding negotiator. Strom is strong in his position with the appropriate balance and fairness needed to protect the town as it comes to terms with the inevitable growing pains that Carolina North will bring to us.
Let’s continue with Bill Strom on the town council for mutually beneficial resolution of Carolina North’s impact on our town.
Ray and Pat Carpenter
I am writing to endorse Bill Strom and Sally Greene for reelection to [Chapel Hill] Town Council. They have both shown themselves to be responsive elected officials.
When there was an issue with an unnecessary road extension in my neighborhood, Bill and Sally were both responsive in listening to the concerns of me and my neighbors. The final outcome was a decision that emphasized biking and walking over putting more cars on the road. This is exactly the kind of thing we value in Chapel Hill.
Bill and Sally have been strong neighborhood advocates. Please join me in voting to give them another four years on the council.
Jon DeHart
Chapel Hill
Updated version – ignore previous message:
How do we know if the Carrboro alderman candidates will represent the interests of the town and not just their neighborhoods? There is an excellent test case for the candidates from the Highlands neighborhood, Brian Voyce, Katrina Ryan and Sharon Cook. Claymore Road runs directly through the Highlands, and two developments are planned adjacent to the Highland where Claymore ends. To provide access and connectivity, it has been proposed that Claymore be continued to connect with Reynard and Tallyho Roads to the north. Voyce and Ryan have publicly expressed their strong opposition to opening up Claymore to vehicular traffic, citing the narrow roadway, lack of sidewalks and safety of children.
Claymore is essentially a cul-de-sac now, so opening it up to traffic could adversely affect their neighborhood. But if Claymore stays closed where would all the new traffic go? The only other option is Reynard and Tallyho. These roads are also narrow and new residents would travel much further than the route through Claymore (for a video comparison see http://millboro.com/roads).
As a member of the Transportation Advisory Board, I have heard from Tallyho residents who would like to open up both Claymore and Reynard/Tallyho, so that the traffic burden is shared between both neighborhoods. If these developments go forward, would Voyce, Ryan or Cook support opening up Claymore Road to avoiding pushing all the burden on to their neighbors to the north? Would they consider traffic calming measures on Claymore to mitigate the impact? How would they balance their own interests with the town as a whole?
Okay, I’ll bite. I don’t really think that the spirit of connectivity is enhanced by having two connectors that essentially feed exactly the same point on Rogers Rd, furthermore, the planning board voted last Thursday to ask UNC to connect Carolina Commons to Camden, against UNC’s desire for a cul de sac at the end of Caymore. Camden is better in terms of diversifying connectivity ( because it adds a north south connector to compliment Tally Ho’s east west connector from Colleton Crossing), but somewhat undesirable because it requires building a road in Carrboro’s designated conservation areas, and well inside the 100 year flood plain.
The real issue at hand is the fact that Colleton Crossing is just to much density to put at the end of a minor, state-owned road.
I would not support a Colleton Crossing CUP which had more than 20 homes, since currently there is no 2nd connector. The Carolina Commons project is behind Colleton in progress, so the most prudent course of action would be to limit the number of residences at Colleton Crossing and include a provision that the developer will be liable for a minimum of 5 years if any Tally Ho residents septic system fails.
Like Pacifica, the developer should be required to upgrade the roads to include sidewalks etc. bringing Tally Ho up to connector rd status, likewise UNC should be required to upgrade Claymore if they desire to connect with more density than the surrounding neighorhood roads are equipped to handle.
For the record, traffic calming is not an option in the annexed neighborhoods, as DOT owns our roads, and does not provide traffic calming measures. There are no plans for Carrboro to annex the roads until at least 2012 per Chuck Edwards at NCDOT.