Web Run

CCCC moves forward with building program
[May 3, 2005] Central Carolina Community College expects to break ground in the fall for its new West Harnett Center, located in the Western Harnett Industrial Park on N.C. 87. Wayne Robinson, the college's vice president for administrative services, gave an update last week on the status of all of the college's construction projects at the board of trustees' spring meeting. By WEB RUN - Sanford Herald

Festival will revolve around old Bynum Bridge
[May 3, 2005] The old Bynum Bridge has been closed to cars for several years, but Saturday it will be a hub of activity during the 16th annual Haw River Festival. And Bynum Beach will be aflurry with kids' canoe rides and river monitoring. That means music, puppets, food and kids playing with chalk, paint and pH tests. By WEB RUN - N&O

Chatham letting in smaller projects
[May 1, 2005] Small developments, which are less scrutinized and sometimes poorly planned, are quickly seeping through the system, they say. And there's been an ongoing rush of them that, taken together, far exceed the size of the county's four largest developments. Planning board records show that the board has approved 6,500 lots in the last 25 years. Of those, about two-thirds were developments with fewer than 100 homes on several acres. By WEB RUN - Herald-Sun

Chatham artist cuts inroads with youngsters at festival
[Apr. 30, 2005] It was difficult to tell, really, whether it was the children or the grown-ups who were having the most fun pretending to be Chatham County's famous folk artist, Clyde Jones. With pieces of plywood cut out by Jones himself, visitors at ClydeFest dabbed on thick coats of paint to recreate some of Jones' well-known fish, snake or butterfly paintings. By WEB RUN - Herald-Sun

Population up in Chatham County, rest of Triangle
[Apr. 27, 2005] The area's fastest increase is occurring in Chatham County, which the Census Bureau estimates grew by 15.6 percent in the 51 months since it last conducted a full-fledged population count. Bureau analysts think 57,023 people are now living in Chatham County, compared to the 49,329 who were living there in the spring of 2000. Chatham County gained residents from Orange, Durham and Wake counties, and saw a substantial influx of out-of-staters. By WEB RUN - Herald-Sun

School impact fee change catches some unawares
[Apr. 19, 2005] Howard Kuster wants to place two mobile homes on his Gulf property, but he said after being surprised by a more expensive school impact fee that started Friday, he can't afford to finish the project. With a 10-day gap before the one-time fees were to increase from $1,500 to $2,900 per home, some people like Kuster say they didn't find out about the higher price until it was too late, and that the rules were confusing. Commissioners decided April 4 to raise the one-time fee for any home given a building permit starting April 15. By WEB RUN - Herald-Sun

Chatham backs $1.54M to start 4 school projects
[Apr. 19, 2005] The Chatham County commissioners agreed Monday to put up $1.54 million to start four new school projects in the next several years. The money, which will come from a $4 million pool of school impact fees the county has amassed, will be used for engineering plans and environmental impact studies. The school board will use the money to start immediately on additions to the cafeteria at Jordan-Matthews High School -- set to open by the next school year -- and a new elementary school in Siler City -- scheduled to open by fall 2006. A new middle school in northeast Chatham is planned to open in 2007, and part of Horton Middle School is set for renovations. By WEB RUN - Herald-Sun

Chatham extends impact fee hike
[Apr. 19, 2005] Two weeks after almost doubling the schools impact fee that Chatham County charges to build a new home, the county commissioners voted Monday to do the same for apartment buildings. Commissioners unanimously voted to raise the impact fee for building new multi-unit residential buildings to $950 per unit -- almost double the previous $500. The new fee will take effect for building permit applications received after 5 p.m. April 29. Builders who get their applications in earlier will pay the less expensive fee. By WEB RUN - N&O

Boom in golf course construction changes Chatham
[Apr. 10, 2005] Time was, if you wanted to get in a full 18 holes of golf in Chatham County, you had to play the same nine twice. Or drive about 30 miles between the front side and the back. And it still wasn't a sure thing, unless you happened to be a member at the Siler City Country Club or knew someone who was. It was the 1960s, and the Siler City club and the public Twin Lakes golf course in northern Chatham were the only game in the county. Each had nine holes. By WEB RUN - Herald-Sun

Chatham slashes proposed spending
[Mar. 29, 2005] The Chatham County Commissioners Monday slashed millions of dollars worth of school improvements from their spending priorities, including a new high school and three new high school auxiliary gyms. Faced with $153 million in county needs, commissioners heeded state officials' advice to lower their debt burden and chop their capital improvement project spending to $65 million. On their chopping block: A nearly $104 million hunk of Board of Education requests. By WEB RUN - Herald-Sun

Chatham board excited about business park opportunities
[Mar. 24, 2005] The Chatham County Board of Commissioners has given its approval to begin the design and permitting for the Chatham County Business/Industrial Park, located at a Siler City site behind Wal-Mart. The expected cost of the park project is $5,328,598 - which includes $3,724,571 for Phase I and $1,604,027 for Phase 2. The costs include the water system, sewer system and roadway estimates for both phases of the project. Already, the board has agreed to sell 30.39 acres of property for $375,000 so that a new Chatham Hospital could be built in Siler City. By WEB RUN - Sanford Herald

Chatham board to look at school, judicial needs
[Mar. 24, 2005] Commissioners held discussions on capital projects at Monday's work session, prior to its regular meeting. Discussions centered on school needs, a new Department of Social Services facility, a judicial facility, utility improvements, the business/industrial park and community college needs. Commissioners learned through a letter to Commission Chairman Bunkey Morgan from Central Carolina Community College President Matt Garrett that the N.C. Department of Labor, Division of Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) has fined the college $3,800 and given until March 31 to correct the problem of asbestos tiles and lead paint at CCCC's Siler City campus. By WEB RUN - Sanford Herald

Runaway found in Chatham
[Mar. 18, 2005] Police canceled an Amber Alert for a 14-year-old California girl when she walked into the Siler City Police Department late Thursday night with the man she met on the Internet and said she was OK. Delia Marquez, 14, had last been seen getting into a red 1997 Pontiac Firebird outside her school in Vallejo, Calif., with two men Monday. According to Maj. Bill Harman of the Siler City police, Luis Duarte had been corresponding with the girl for about a month and picked her up at school. The girl had told a friend, and a police investigation led to North Carolina. Marquez and Duarte came in to the Siler City Police Department around 11:40 p.m. Thursday. By WEB RUN - N&O

County seeks tax allies
[Mar. 17, 2005] Some Chatham County commissioners will try to win a local business group's support for more taxing power today, despite being told earlier this week that they will face opposition at the state level. Commissioners Mike Cross and Patrick Barnes will meet with the Chatham County United Chamber of Commerce board this afternoon in Siler City. They're seeking the chamber's support to pursue legislative approval for a land-transfer tax, which would let the county collect money on almost all land transactions. State Rep. Joe Hackney, who represents Chatham, Orange and Moore counties, told the commissioners that getting approval would be difficult. By WEB RUN - N&O