Chatlist Chatters

Why volunteer
[Feb. 22, 2008] Having volunteered with a variety of organizations and causes for the past 2 years, helping others usually is the theme during the year-end holiday season. What about the remaining year, though? There are ample opportunities to volunteer that help a multitude of others. By Lorie Barker

Pittsboro van pool - Green and easy on the wallet
[Feb. 22, 2008] Pittsboro, NC - This is my periodic plug for the Pittsboro vanpool to UNC. The TTA vans are clean and roomy. You may have seen one in the Food Lion parking lot from time to time. On weekdays, riders leave the Pittsboro Baptist Church parking lot at 6:45 a.m. and on the other end of the day we leave the university and hospital area 4:30-ish. By Claire Kane

The report card
[Feb. 20, 2008] I attended the State of the County meeting Monday night. The highlights of Commission Chair George Lucier's presentation struck me in four ways; 1) we in Chatham County have been way behind the eight ball in positioning ourselves for our future, and 2) we now have a Board of Commissioners that fully understands where we are and what it takes to succeed, 3) this board, all five of them, are willing to make the difficult choices in order to piece together the action steps of success, and 4) progress is being made. By Larry Hicks

Pittsboro Place got us by the Mardi Gras balls
[Feb. 18, 2008] I wrote about the Mardi Gras Ball here on the Chatlist and how much I enjoyed it. However, it was only later that I discovered that it was in part sponsored by Pittsboro Place Partners. In case you don't know or haven't heard, they are the mega-corp that plans to build a shopping center on Highway 64 East that will be larger than the town. By Ollie Waddell

Let the politics begin
[Feb. 18, 2008] Okay parents, hide your children from the chat list for three months because the political season has begun: With a money solicitation from Mike Cross in the mail, it's time to debate the merits of one person or another to represent us. By Mark Barroso

Mike Cross and the 2008 campaign
[Feb. 18, 2008] As is apparent from postings to the chatlist, like the recent one by Mark Barroso, emails many have received, bulletin board postings, etc., the leadership of the Chatham Coaltion has decided not to support Mike Cross for re-election in 2008. By Mike Fox

Thanks to the men and women of the Chatham Sheriff's department
[Feb. 6, 2008] I very rarely ever read this chatlist because so many people simply complain and who wants to hear negativism all the time. But when I do and you put down our deputies and sheriff this gets under my skin because these fine men and women are risking their lives for us. One of these fine men is my husband. By Sherri Stubbs

Money for schools
[Feb. 4, 2008] Our school system is badly broken. We are creating test takers and not creators and learners. By "our", I mean the country. Search for things locally to expand your own children's learning experience because that time is fleeting. By Meg Miller

An education alternative in Pittsboro
[Feb. 4, 2008] I would also like to take this opportunity to share my experiences when I visited My Neighborhood School. I first heard about Donna Bianco from a friend who said she had met a teacher who shares the same vision that I have about children. I could not wait to meet her. By Nona "Amena" Mensah

I found an education alternative in Pittsboro
[Feb. 3, 2008] My name is Rita, and I am the parent of a 13 year-old boy. My son had some learning difficulties, and thus, I have spent years battling the public school system. Of course, the first and only diagnosis a therapist would "label" him with was ADHD Inattentive type (he wasn't busy, just a daydreamer..). He continued to fall further and further behind in school and became so frustrated that he literally gave up. By Rita Marley-McKenzie

Too much stuff
[Jan. 25, 2008] I have been helping some folks move "stuff" to the "convenience centers" for awhile now and have found much of that matter to be absurdly wasted or simply useless to begin with. I try to reuse and remake myself. By Dan Cahoon

Internet access in rural Chatham country
[Jan. 3, 2008] I am writing this because I found an internet access alternative this year with which I have been very pleased. I dial up through my mobile phone, and get much faster service than the pitifully slow land line dial-up. By Maclyn

Too many different phone books
[Jan. 3, 2008] Is it me, or are we being inundated with phone books left at our mailboxes? I have received four in the last several weeks and many people tend to "forget" to pick theirs up and they turn into trash alongside the road. By Jo Anne

Chatham needs a focused and dedicated effort to promote jobs
[Dec. 19, 2007] Chatham county boasts a poverty level under 5 %. However, Siler City has 14.7 %! Such a disparity is disgracing. It would appear that the new residents in the east abide by the old social and political east-west division in Chatham, forgetting that we have a part of the county which needs attention and economic development. By Tom Glendinning