Web Run

Chatham pulls money for nonprofit
[Jul. 10, 2005] Administrators from Orange and Chatham counties have drawn opposing conclusions from the same audit report about whether they should continue subsidizing a local nonprofit group. Chatham County's fiscal 2005-06 budget didn't allocate any money to the nonprofit -- Joint Orange-Chatham Community Action Inc., JOCCA for short -- because officials aren't convinced the organization is financially viable. The nonprofit had sought $33,638 from Chatham County. By WEB RUN - Herald-Sun

N.C. resident realizes what it means to be 'Southern'
[Jul. 7, 2005] Cecilia Budd Grimes knows what it means to be a Southerner. Grimes lives in Siler City, not far from the place where she was raised. A Duke University graduate and former teacher, Grimes says "y'all" and "bless your heart" with a sincere Southern twang, and she loves collards, Coca-Cola, barbecue and all things Southern. A lot of it, Grimes will tell you, she took for granted - as most of us Southerners do. By WEB RUN - New Bern Sun-Journal

Man faces charges in rape attempt
[Jul. 7, 2005] Chapel Hill, NC - Police charged a Chatham County man with attempted second-degree rape and sexual battery Wednesday after he allegedly attacked a woman who asked him for directions. Police charged Antonio Demetrius Burnette, 40, of 624 Hamlet Chapel Road, Pittsboro. A magistrate set his bond at $50,000, and he was being held in the Orange County Jail. By WEB RUN - Herald-Sun

Sharing his adopted nation
[Jul. 4, 2005] Jose Cardoza's decision to become an American citizen 18 years ago came down to basic economics. Cardoza, a native of El Salvador, needed to replace his lost residency card. "The woman at the immigration office said, 'Do you know math?' I said yes," Cardoza said. "She said, 'The green card application is $125, and the citizenship application is $70.' " By WEB RUN - N&O

School chief's gators quit biting
[Jul. 2, 2005] Larry Mabe has been superintendent of the Chatham system, which has 15 schools and 7,300 students, since 1994. He came to the district in 1974 as the principal of J.S. Waters School in Goldston. In 1979, he became the principal of Northwood High School, and in 1984, he moved to the central office. He retired after more than 30 years in the Chatham County Schools, and a decade -- sometimes marked by controversy -- as superintendent. By WEB RUN - Herald-Sun

A new home for Habitat
[Jul. 1, 2005] Chatham Habitat for Humanity’s Home Stores are getting a new home of their own this week. On Tuesday, the housing ministry will celebrate the grand openings of its relocated Home Store and Home Store Too. The original Home Store, which sells household goods, furniture and appliances, will move from its space at 467 West St. into a new, 7,200-square foot building just behind it. By WEB RUN - Chapel Hill News

Business takes turn for worse
[Jul. 1, 2005] Local business owners along the U.S. 15-501 highway from Chapel Hill to Pittsboro say the prolonged construction, now almost 18 months past its original deadline, has hit their bottom lines hard. The widening of 12.7 miles to a four-lane divided highway began in February 2001 and was supposed to be finished by December 2003. By WEB RUN - N&O

Tip leads to arrest of alleged molester
[Jun. 30, 2005] An anonymous tip sparked a month-long investigation that led to the arrest of a 60-year-old Pittsboro man, who is charged with taking indecent liberties with young girls 19 times over the course of five decades. The Orange County Sheriff's Office has charged Larry Edward Blalock of 2076 Jones Ferry Road in Pittsboro with incidents that involved girls between the ages of 9 and 14. By WEB RUN - Herald-Sun

Retail center planned at border of Chatham, Orange counties
[Jun. 26, 2005] A Sanford company is working with state and Chatham County regulators to prepare for the construction of a big new retail center along U.S. 15-501 at the border of Chatham and Orange counties. Officials with the N.C. Department of Transportation confirmed that they've been talking with the Lee-Moore Oil Co. about driveway connections for the retail center, which would occupy a 62.9-acre tract on the east side of U.S. 15-501 in the Starpoint area. By WEB RUN - Herald-Sun

Larry Mabe handing over reins in Chatham
[Jun. 5, 2005] After 38 years in the business, Mabe will retire at the end of this month as superintendent of the Chatham County school system. While he has been a teacher at Hoke and Pinecrest high schools and an assistant principal at Fike High School in Wilson, Mabe has spent the bulk of his career in Chatham County. First, he was principal of J.S. Waters School from 1974-79 and of Northwood High School from 1979-84. He then became secondary supervisor for 10 years before succeeding Perry Harrison as superintendent in 1994. By WEB RUN - Sanford Herald

Koch likes his first visit to Triangle
[Jun. 2, 2005] Local residents might be seeing more of a Big Apple legend: former New York mayor Ed Koch. The loquacious politician-philosopher made his first visit to North Carolina on Saturday, talking about everything from children's literature to international politics during an appearance at the Fearrington Barn. But he swore the stop won't be his last. A lifelong bachelor, Koch, 80, spends most holidays with close friends Bruce and Mary Barron, who recently moved to the neo-rustic community in northern Chatham County. By WEB RUN - Chapel Hill News

Toll Brothers boosts profit 135%
[Jun. 1, 2005] Toll Brothers Inc. more than doubled its second quarter profit thanks for the most part to an increase in home sale prices. Pennsylvania-based Toll Brothers' net income of $170 million, or $2.01 a share, was a 135 percent increase over its profit of $72.4 million, or 89 cents a share, posted during the second quarter of 2004. The company is planning to develop 1,500 homes on a 773-acre parcel in Pittsboro. By WEB RUN - Triangle Business Journal

Guide is wrong on schools system
[May 4, 2005] A Triangle real estate guide's faulty listings say children living in Chatham County's most upscale subdivision attend Chapel Hill's public schools. The May issue of Triangle New Home Guide lists basic information for Governors Club, a gated community in northern Chatham County with homes selling for as much as $3 million. But although houses there sit near Chapel Hill, and even have Chapel Hill mailing addresses, they don't feed into the town's highly desired school system. Governors Club is in the Chatham County school district By WEB RUN - N&O

The buzz about beekeeping
[May 4, 2005] Twenty white boxes dot the back yard of Michael Almond's Pittsboro home. Inside each one, thousands of honeybees scurry over combs clotted with nectar, wax and eggs. In Chatham and surrounding counties, this backyard décor is becoming more common as a growing number of people are finding there's more to bees than getting stung. This year, Chatham started a beekeeping school that drew 60 people. In all, 81 residents have applied for a new state program that offers free starter beekeeping supplies. By WEB RUN - Herald-Sun