Pittsboro Journal

Chatham County water customers can pay their water bills at any Walmart location for a small service fee, according to Michelle Ballard, customer service manager for Chatham County Utilities.

It’s hard to believe that community leaders elected and appointed to promote educational excellence would sabotage the students they’re supposed to serve, but that’s precisely what Chatham County school officials and the Board of Education have done.

My experiences with multiple providers has always lead me back to Verizon. They may lack the EyePhones, but they make up for it in coverage. I'm currently on a Blackberry Curve i picked up at our local Radio Shack. It's not a good idea. Not trying to bash the local Radio Shack but Sprint, the service they sell, is horrible in even downtown Pittsboro.

The family of former University of North Carolina head men's basketball coach Dean Smith issued a statement on Saturday, detailing their father's mental and physical condition.

The 2010 Meet The Pack Day has been set for Saturday, August 14 at Carter-Finley Stadium from 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. This is a great opportunity for Wolfpack fans to meet and receive autographs of their favorite NC State football players and coaches.

The summer is a very important time for college football teams as student-athletes spend the offseason running, lifting weights and training for the upcoming season while also balancing classes, jobs and internships. For the second straight day, members of the Blue Devil gridiron squad came together for another community service event, this time staying on their own campus. The entire Duke football team spent Monday morning cleaning up the grounds of Duke University and their home venue, Wallace Wade Stadium.

More than 100 members of the Duke football program spent over two hours visiting the children and families at the Durham Rescue Mission on Sunday afternoon. Head coach David Cutcliffe was joined by the Blue Devil players to enjoy a warm day with the families at the Good Samaritan Inn on East Knox Street.

Consumer Reports provides a list of useful smart-phone apps for drivers, tested for the major smart-phone platforms, in the August issue of the magazine. Some of the apps are free. The full list is available in the August issue of Consumer Reports. The reports are also available to subscribers of www.ConsumerReports.org.

Duke head football coach David Cutcliffe announced on July 2 that former Blue Devil wide receiver and team captain Jomar Wright has returned to his alma mater to serve as a graduate assistant coach. Wright will work with Duke’s defensive unit.

Here is a followup to the school board meeting held on June 21.

I was not able to stay for the whole commissioner's meeting on June 21. Based on the discussion, and the very good questions asked by the commissioners, they were in favor of refreshing the high school laptops, but not, at this time, in favor of the iPads at the middle school. The proposal on the agenda, iPads for all 6-8 teachers and grade 8 students, was different than the oral presentation by Dr. McCoy, which was 660 iPads that might be given to 8th graders, or maybe 6th graders, or maybe kept as class sets on carts - we're not really sure how we're going to use them but we want flexibility.

Thirteen new state park rangers received commissions as law enforcement officers on July 1, according to the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation. The rangers were sworn in by Superior Court Judge Gary E. Trawick at a special ceremony in Raleigh. Michael Lee Annas and James Lee Trostle at Jordan Lake State Recreation Area received commissions.

When the 2009-2010 budget was passed last year, George Lucier stated: "When recession struck, Chatham County immediately froze hiring for many positions as well as increases." He went on to announce that the pay-for-performance salary increases earned by county employees would not be paid.

A unique new writing contest organized by a local writer and a Chapel Hill-based literary magazine has named the winners of the inaugural competition. The Laine Cunningham Novel Awards are given for unpublished novels in any genre. The prizes include cash and signed books donated by various authors. The third place prize, a library, is being awarded to Ruth Moose of Pittsboro, NC.

While walking this morning, I circled the courthouse, Dunlap Building, Recreation Department, and Public Works, the purpose of an Obesity Director (OD) became clear. If I exercise to keep in shape and lose weight, maybe the OD can recommend how Chatham government can lose weight. Or, possibly, the OD can quit thereby saving approximately $ 70,000 per year in the budget and serve as a good example for the other positions created by our fearless leaders. When I served in the military, the Officer of the Day commanded respect. Here the OD holds a non-defensible position.

Chatham County deputies received the tip they needed in a series of ATV larcenies when they arrested a Sanford man in June. On April 23, a Yamaha four wheeler valued at $1,200 was reported stolen from the residence of Eddie Fields of Bear Creek; and on the same day Ronnie Cox, another Bear Creek resident, reported his Honda four wheeler stolen that was valued at $2,500.

Here's a summary of June 17 - 30, 2010's felonious and serious arrests by the Chatham County Sheriff's department.

Chatham Transit Network has future plans to improve transportation services for Siler City residents so that more of them have more reliable transportation to more places. Residents are invited to a public forum on Tuesday, July 13, at the Western Senior Center in Siler City from 3-4:30 pm to get information on the proposed shuttle service in Siler City and provide feedback.

The Chatham County Council on Aging has received donations from Progress Energy and Duke Energy to supply electric box fans to low income older adults and adults with disabilities. As the summer temperatures rise, the fans can make a substantial difference in the health and well-being of Chatham’s residents.

On June 21, the Chatham County Board of Commissioners approved an $84,401,967 general fund county budget for 2010-11. The board approved a tax rate of 62.19 cents, which is a 1.97 cent increase. The tax impact on a home valued at $200,000 is $39 per year.