Web Run

Talking turkey means 'heritage' for conservancy
[Nov. 26, 2007] No ordinary turkey will be on Teresa Fischer's dinner table this afternoon. She'll be serving two birds she raised on her Chatham County farm, both black Spanish turkeys, a "heritage" breed. American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, a Pittsboro organization, has been working quietly with farmers such as Fischer for 30 years to preserve the genetic diversity of the nation's farm animals, including turkeys. By WEB RUN - N&O

Northwood’s charge ends at Henderson
[Nov. 26, 2007] Pittsboro Northwood got off to a blazing start against host Southern Vance in the third round of the state 2-AA football playoffs Friday night, scoring a touchdown on the opening possession of the game. Unfortunately for the Chargers, it was about the best news they would have all night. By WEB RUN - Chapel Hill News

Current drought worst in NC history
[Nov. 9, 2007] The local Army Corps of Engineers monitors Jordan's lake levels closely, since the water from Jordan flows into the Cape Fear River. The good news is that the levels at Lake Jordan are not expected to drop much through the end of the year. Water control manager Daniel Emerson said, "The five inches that we received at B. Everett Jordan the 25th of October really helped the outlook of the drought." By WEB RUN - WWAY3

Pittsboro voter registration probe called off
[Nov. 2, 2007] The executive director of the State Board of Elections says a Pittsboro couple is no longer being investigated for trying to register to vote in town when they did not live there. Gary Bartlett says he had an investigator "ask questions" and "make a visit" to 224 East St., the address where Lyle Estill and Tami Schwerin said they were living. But the couple live in a home in Moncure. By WEB RUN - N&O

Voters' registration at issue
[Oct. 31, 2007] The State Board of Elections is investigating two Pittsboro business leaders who tried to register to vote without living in town. Don Wright, general counsel for the State Board of Elections, would not comment on the case involving Lyle Estill and wife Tami Schwerin because it is an ongoing criminal investigation. The district attorney could charge the couple with perjury, he said. Estill and his wife both signed their names under a section of the registration form that says, "I attest under penalty of perjury that I have been resident at the address listed above, and will have resided at that address for 30 days before the next election." By WEB RUN - N&O

Piedmont Biofuels founder tries to register in Pittsboro, but is denied
[Oct. 29, 2007] Lyle Estill and his wife Tami Schwerin, both well-known figures in Pittsboro, tried to register to vote in the town, even though they live in Moncure. The election is next Tuesday. Dawn Stumpf, director of Chatham's elections, investigated whether they really lived at 224 East Street. Stumpf learned the couple was not living there, so the board of elections denied their request. By WEB RUN - N&O

Pittsboro renews development ban
[Oct. 25, 2007] The Pittsboro Town Board unanimously approved a new moratorium on subdivisions and nonresidential development Monday night. The two-year moratorium, which applies to the town and its planning area outside town limits, replaces a similar moratorium that expired last week. By WEB RUN - N&O

Erosion officer has muddy job
[Oct. 23, 2007] Every day, Jim Willis laces up his WearGuard boots, dons a white hard hat and hops in his county-issued Jeep Liberty to look for mud. More than 15,000 new homes have been approved for construction over the next decade in booming Chatham County. It's Willis' job to make sure developers are keeping their construction site dirt from spilling into the county's waterways. By WEB RUN - N&O

Pittsboro tiff is over street fair booths
[Oct. 17, 2007] A woman backing one of the mayor's challengers and working with a group to defeat the county's land transfer tax says she was denied booths at a monthly street fair because of politics. The organizer of Pittsboro's First Sunday, however, says she didn't deny the requests. A final decision on the group's request has not been made, Leslie Fesperman said, and she is not sure individual candidates can have booths at the event.

Bar suspends Chatham County attorney
[Sep. 25, 2007] The State Bar on Monday suspended Chatham County's new attorney, prohibiting him from practicing law. According to State Bar officials, Kevin Whiteheart failed to pay $200 in fines for not reporting his continuing legal education hours on time. An attorney who has been suspended by the State Bar may not practice law. By WEB RUN - N&O

Trash panel pushes Chatham county
[Sep. 5, 2007] Chatham County officials need to start talking trash. That's what the county's Solid Waste Advisory Committee told the Board of Commissioners. Right now Chatham has no long-term solid waste disposal plan because the county has put off the committee's recommendations for decades. Among its recommendations, McSween said, the committee says the county should consider building its own landfill. By WEB RUN - N&O

Pittsboro narrows town manager candidates to two
[Aug. 11, 2007] Pittsboro town commissioners discussed the status of the search for a new town manager during a closed session, and Mayor Randy Voller says the candidate pool is now down to two. Former Town Manager Sam Misenheimer was fired in February after he was charged with resisting arrest during a traffic stop. In light of that experience, Pittsboro hired Chapel Hill-based executive search firm Smither and Associates to screen approximately 40 applicants for the job. Appointment of a new town manager requires only a vote of commissioners and no public hearing,

Pedestrian hit by two cars dies
[Jul. 2, 2007] A Pittsboro man walking home early Sunday morning died after being struck by two passing vehicles, according to the State Highway Patrol. James William Small, 53, of Sols Place, was walking north on N.C. 87 about 12:15 a.m. when a car going in the same direction hit him, according to the State Highway Patrol. That car then hit a utility pole, and a second car driving behind it also ran into Small. By WEB RUN - N&O

Tapes of closed Chatham sessions are murky
[Jun. 30, 2007] Taped minutes from five closed meetings the Chatham County commissioners held to discuss a development moratorium are often hard to understand, and three of the edited tapes last less than five minutes. In an interview Friday, commissioners' Chairman Carl Thompson said the board went into closed session because it was told to do so by its attorney. By WEB RUN - N&O