Web Run

UNC Hospitals taking over as Chatham preps $26M facility
[Jun. 28, 2006] University of North Carolina Hospitals will be taking over the management of Chatham Hospital this fall, just as the Siler City hospital prepares to break ground on a new $26 million facility. Chatham's board of directors last year weighed whether to spend $12 million to overhaul the hospital's operating rooms and bring its facilities up to code or start from scratch. It opted for the latter, citing a variety of problems with the existing 56-year-old structure and its location. By WEB RUN - Triangle Business Journal

Soft rain spares Chatham County any major flooding
[Jun. 28, 2006] Rain drops fell with a gentle pitter, patter Tuesday afternoon. They soaked sidewalks, filled puddles, and forced drivers to use their windshield wipers. But more important is what the droplets did not do. "We appreciate rain," said Chatham County Manager Charlie Horne, "but thankfully there's been no flooding." By WEB RUN - News14

Pittsboro development tabled
[Jun. 28, 2006] Mayor Randy Voller had to break a tie when the town's Board of Commissioners split over whether to send designs for Pittsboro Commons to the Planning Board. The American Asset Corp., the firm behind Raleigh's sweeping Brier Creek development, wants to build a grocery store-anchored shopping center at U.S. 15-501 and U.S. 64. By WEB RUN - N&O

Eyesore's days may be numbered
[Jun. 27, 2006] Wild, waist-high weeds and Queen Anne's Lace have overtaken much of the Five Oaks Mobile Home Park. So has talk that the ramshackle trailer park will be leveled to make room for Pittsboro's next shopping center. A major developer wants the Pittsboro Board of Commissioners to rezone 50 acres the trailers sit on -- across from Northwood High School at U.S. 15/501 and U.S. 64 -- from residential to commercial use to build a 191,500-square-foot, grocery-store-anchored shopping center called Pittsboro Commons. By WEB RUN - N&O

Pittsboro questions water plan
[Jun. 26, 2006] A recent decision by the county to spend more than $32 million on water has Pittsboro town officials asking why they were left out of planning. Although the county currently meets its residents' water demands, an influx of new developments over the next 10 years could exceed the current capacity. After exploring several options, the county recently approved a budget that included $5 million for the first stage of installing infrastructure to bring in water from Harnett County. By WEB RUN - Herald-Sun

Chatham big box store plan surfaces
[Jun. 9, 2006] A proposal for a big box retail store in a planned development in northern Chatham has nearby residents claiming they were misled by the developer and saying they'll rescind their endorsement of the project. When M. Travis Blake first pitched the idea of Williams Corners -- a 500,000-square-foot, mixed-use development off U.S. 15-501 and Lystra Road -- residents in adjoining neighborhoods helped him persuade the Chatham County Commissioners to give their approval. Now Blake is saying a Target or a Kohl's might be among the tenants when the development opens in late 2007. By WEB RUN - Herald-Sun

Cary council turns duet into solo
[Jun. 9, 2006] The joint gathering of the Chatham County commissioners and the Cary Town Council was a little less joint than most people expected. The Cary Town Council didn't show. Members of the Cary planning staff, who did attend, said the council was in a work session that had been scheduled long ago. The missing council, however, did not stop more than 300 residents from roving the school's gym to look at large maps of the area between Chatham County's Jordan Lake and the town of Cary, which is on the other side of the Wake County line. By WEB RUN - N&O

Parent: Chatham school's locker rooms in disrepair
[May 20, 2006] Students at Northwood High School avoid taking showers in the locker rooms because they are in disrepair and dirty, according to parent Meg Miller. She says the school's field house, which houses locker rooms for visiting sports teams, also needs to be remodeled. And despite Northwood's maintenance issues, Miller said, school administrators give money to the county's other two high schools for remodeling while Northwood goes without. By WEB RUN - N&O

Official responds to ACLU on prayer
[Apr. 24, 2006] The chairman of the Chatham County commissioners would not say Friday whether he would comply with the ACLU's request to stop invoking Jesus Christ's name in prayers at government meetings. "[W]hen it is my turn to pray, I will use my personal judgment just like my fellow commissioners will," Bunkey Morgan wrote in a letter responding to the civil liberties group. Morgan also blamed political opponents for causing a stir over the board's sectarian prayers. By WEB RUN - N&O

Early voters get wrong ballot
[Apr. 19, 2006] When Gene Brooks went to vote Tuesday he saw a few things on the ballot that shouldn't have been there: the names of Rep. David Price and his opponents in the race for the Democratic nomination in Congressional District Four. Brooks lives in District Two, and shouldn't have been allowed to pick a nominee for the District Four race, but elections officials say a screw-up with the voting equipment caused Brooks -- and about 60 others -- to receive the wrong ballot. By WEB RUN - Herald-Sun

Chatham will get 3rd one-stop site
[Apr. 14, 2006] It took less than 10 minutes Thursday for the state Board of Elections to approve a third one-stop voting location in Chatham County. Wake and Durham counties each have only one early voting site, but state board members said they felt the population in Chatham County was so spread out that a third site was warranted. By WEB RUN - Herald-Sun

Chatham board member is behind on taxes
[Apr. 12, 2006] Chatham County will start garnishing the stipend of a county elections board member who owes thousands of dollars in overdue taxes. Ernest H. Dark owes $3,803.51 for his 2005 property and vehicle taxes, said Vicki McConnell, the county's finance director. By WEB RUN - N&O

State permits controlled burn, despite brush-fire warnings
[Mar. 16, 2006] At a time when residents across the state have been urged not to burn debris because of windy and dry conditions that could spark brush fires, the state gave a local contractor approval for a controlled burn Thursday. The controlled burn, administered by a contractor for Progress Energy, covered a little more than 200 acres on the Chatham County side of Harris Lake -- about a mile away from any residences or structures. By WEB RUN - WRAL-TV

Precinct merger seen as move to control votes
[Mar. 16, 2006] A recent precinct merger has doubled the number of voters in some precincts and left some wondering if the county is intentionally trying to disenfranchise voters. Citing problems with several locations, the Board of Elections recently voted to merge eight precincts into half that number. By WEB RUN - Herald-Sun