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Witness: Racist tape shouldn't have been released
[Mar. 4, 2005] A controversial tape recording of a Chatham County high school principal using racial epithets should never have been given to the sheriff's office because it was a confidential school personnel matter, according to the Board of Education member who brought the tape to the board. Ronald Collins, a member of the Chatham County school board, testified Friday during a civil lawsuit brought by former deputy Dan Phillips against former Chatham County Sheriff Ike Gray. Phillips claims Gray wrongfully fired him because he knew too much about racism at a high school and because he took an informant who knew about marijuana stolen from the sheriff's office to the FBI. By WEB RUN - Herald-Sun

Amberly will increase Chatham tax base
[Mar. 4, 2005] Cary - Next month, developers will begin building the first houses in Amberly, a 1,000-acre community with three times as many homes as Chapel Hill's Southern Village and twice as many as planned for Chatham County's Briar Chapel. The development on the border of Chatham and Wake counties will have up to 5,000 homes. The Chatham County side, at nearly 520 acres, will include about 300 houses and the largest retirement community in North Carolina. When complete, Amberly could pump $2.65 million in property taxes into Chatham County annually. By WEB RUN - Herald-Sun

Chatham could get juvenile detention facility
[Mar. 4, 2005] Siler City - Chatham could become one of five counties in the state to house a new type of juvenile detention facility that acts as a small, secured school with close ties to the surrounding community. The Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is awaiting legislative approval for the centers, which would replace the state's five youth development centers. The first phase of the plan plunks 32-bed facilities into Chatham, Guilford, Edgecombe and Lenoir counties, and a 96-bed facility in Cabarrus County. The Chatham County Commissioners have agreed to donate 10 acres of land for the facility in Siler City, where U.S. 64 and U.S. 421 meet. The state-operated center in Chatham is expected to generate 62 jobs. By WEB RUN - Herald-Sun

Tears flow at trial against ex-sheriff
[Mar. 4, 2005] Pittsboro - After former chief deputy Randy Keck tearfully apologized to the citizens of Chatham County about mistakes he said he made while in charge of 5,000 pounds of marijuana that had been stolen, a former detective in his unit took the stand Thursday and called him a liar. The two men testified during the civil lawsuit of Dan Phillips, who is suing former Chatham County Sheriff Ike Gray. Phillips, a former deputy under Gray, is suing Gray alleging that Gray wrongfully fired him Jan. 18, 2001, for being a whistleblower about racism in the school system and about marijuana that had been stolen from the landfill. By WEB RUN - Herald-Sun

Lawyers paint stark contrasts of ex-deputy
[Mar. 3, 2005] Opening arguments Tuesday in the wrongful termination lawsuit filed against a former Chatham County sheriff painted polar opposite pictures of the man who claims he was unjustly let go. Former Sgt. Dan Phillips' attorney, Al McSurely, told a Chatham County Superior Court jury that Phillips was a hero who sacrificed his career for the sake of making right the wrongdoing of school and sheriff's officials. McSurely said Phillips was fired as punishment for coming forward with the truth. But Mark A. Davis, former Sheriff Ike Gray's attorney, said the case is not about retaliation. He said Phillips was fired for insubordination, for being disrespectful to Gray and threatening him with a lawsuit. By WEB RUN - N&O

Pittsboro OKs shopping area
[Mar. 3, 2005] Pittsboro board members have approved a shopping area set to house a Lowe's home improvement store and a grocery store off U.S. 15-501. The board unanimously approved Bellemont Station, which would eat up 34 acres in the southeast wedge of U.S. 15-501 and the U.S. 64 Bypass. Its entrance would line up with the entrance to Powell Place, a 1,000-home development the board recently approved. A traffic signal would be installed at the intersection. The shopping center would include a drugstore and several retail shops, according to plans, and a bank and small office complex may be added in the future. Pittsboro is set to more than double in size in the coming years, with the 1,546-home River Oaks community approved by the board in December and Powell Place under construction. By WEB RUN - Herald-Sun

Lawyer claims conspiracy in Chatham suit
[Mar. 3, 2005] Pittsboro - On day two of a hearing in the wrongful termination lawsuit against a former Chatham County sheriff, the jury spent almost as much time out of court as in it, while attorney Al McSurely tried to convince the judge to let him argue a countywide conspiracy theory to explain why his client was fired. McSurely represents former Sgt. Dan Phillips, who is suing former Sheriff Ike Gray for firing him in 2001. Phillips says he was fired in retaliation for prompting an FBI probe into the theft of about 1,000 pounds of marijuana evidence that had been stolen in September 2000. He says he was also fired for exposing racism in the Chatham County schools by making a tape recording of former high school principal William "Buddy" Fowler using racial slurs. Gray has said he fired Phillips for insubordination. McSurely tried to paint for a Chatham County Superior Court jury a picture of a county cloaked in secrecy about its racist underpinnings. By WEB RUN - N&O

Ex-sheriff defends firing of his deputy
[Mar. 3, 2005] Pittsboro - Former Chatham County Sheriff Ike Gray testified Wednesday that he fired one of his deputies, Dan Phillips, for insubordination, not in retaliation. Phillips has filed a civil lawsuit against Gray claiming the former sheriff wrongfully fired him because he was a whistleblower, focusing attention on racism at a Chatham County high school and helping reveal information to the FBI about marijuana that had been stolen from the county landfill, where the sheriff's office had buried it. Gray fired Phillips on Jan. 18, 2001, about two months after Gray took office as sheriff. By WEB RUN - Herald-Sun

Amberly to be built at last
[Mar. 3, 2005] Cary - Amberly has been many things on its way to being born. At one time, it was to be a community with an 18-hole course designed by golf great Jack Nicklaus. At another time, there were to be about 1,500 homes. Amberly will now be one of the largest planned communities in Wake County, covering 1,000 acres and spilling over into Chatham County. There will be more than 5,000 homes, and it will feature more than 300,000 square feet of commercial and office space. By WEB RUN - N&O

Heard it through the grapevine
[Mar. 3, 2005] When Guy Loeffler decided to open a winery he knew he needed an angle. Because there were already plenty of good, affordable wines on the market, the Apex resident needed something that would set him apart from the crowd. So Loeffler purchased 20 acres of land on a hilltop just outside of Siler City with a beautiful view of Hickory Mountain miles in the distance. He then built a 4,000-square foot building designed specifically to enhance customers’ wine-tasting experiences. When Horizon Cellars opened in late January after more than two years of planning and hard work, Loeffler knew he made the right decision. By WEB RUN - Apex Herald
Also: Horizon Cellars

Chatham tackling school funding woes
[Mar. 2, 2005] Chatham County commissioners will soon tackle how to pay for a $103.7 million request from the school board for three new schools, among other items. The board is petitioning for a new elementary school in Siler City and a high school and a middle school, although locations for those are still not settled. The board also wants to renovate the fifth- and sixth-grade buildings at Horton Middle School in Pittsboro and build three auxiliary gyms at three of the high schools. The request totals about $89.7 million under current costs. By WEB RUN - Herald-Sun

Wine enthusiast broadens horizons
[Mar. 2, 2005] Interesting how some things come full circle. That’s how Guy Loeffler, who’s launched one of North Carolina’s newest wineries near Siler City, sees it. There he is, at the N.C. Wine Grower’s Association annual meeting in Greensboro on a recent weekend, making his debut. There he is, networking with peers and wine wannabes, anxious to show his stuff. In a hotel banquet room where North Carolina’s top wineries have set out their wares to compare and contrast, brag and rag, Loeffler is looking to see where his table of freshly minted wines has been stationed. Exactly nowhere. Horizon Cellars, Loeffler sees, is completely off the, well, horizon. By WEB RUN - News-Record

Chatham schools, commissioners work together
[Mar. 1, 2005] "This is a very historical day for Chatham County." That's how resident Greg Solomon described a joint meeting earlier this week of the Chatham County boards of commissioners and education. And that's when the school board asked county commissioners for approximately $90 million for needed school projects. Allan Zimmerman, chairman of the school board, said it was the first time in his two years on the board that "we've sit down with them in this manner and talked with them." By WEB RUN - Sanford Herald

Chatham schools eye $90 million for projects
[Mar. 1, 2005] The Chatham County Board of Education has asked county commissioners for approximately $90 million for needed school projects. No action was taken on the matter following Monday's meeting at the superior courtroom of the county courthouse. The projects include three new schools - a new K-5 school at Siler City, and a new middle and high school in northeast Chatham County. Also, new construction for auxiliary gyms would occur at the county's three high schools; a cafeteria/kitchen addition at Jordan-Matthews High School in Siler City and a multipurpose room at Moncure Elementary would also be in the works. By WEB RUN - Sanford Herald