The Chatham County Council on Aging invites you to enjoy an evening of fine food, beverages, silent auction and entertainment at its 17th Annual Taste of Chatham Banquet slated for Sunday, October 3, from 4-7 pm at the Carolina Meadows Auditorium. Deborah Holt, producer and correspondent for UNC-TV, will serve as mistress of ceremonies.

Chatham County seeks applicants to fill a vacancy on its Green Building and Sustainable Energy (GBASE) Advisory Board. Applicants must be Chatham residents with a background or interest in green building or sustainable energy and have until Wednesday, September 15th, at 5 pm to apply for appointment to the board.

Chatham County invites residents to a community meeting on Wednesday, September 8, at 7 pm at the Moncure Fire Station to learn more about a plan proposed by a partnership of four towns in western Wake County to construct a regional wastewater treatment facility. The plan involves a discharge line that would cut through a section of southeastern Chatham County.

"We wish he would stay just a little longer. But it was three great years and we wish him well as he takes on an even bigger assignment." That is what folks at Davidson College said last year when Stephan Curry opted out of his senior year and a chance for one more year with the Wildcat basketball team.

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The problem with vegetable gardens is they have no respect for my schedules. Just about the time I’m ready for some beaching relaxation, my tomatoes overpowered their supports and dove to the ground. Within a day, the tomato hornworms made it almost impossible to find any tomato leaves among the weeds. When I got back from vacation it was even harder to find anything! And the peas which had been forming pods were now drying on the vine.

As Election Day approaches, we will be inundated with news about the candidates running for office in North Carolina. News coverage for local races such as school board and county commissioner is not as readily available. For this reason, it is incumbent on each of us to do our own homework in order to make an informed decision.

On Saturday, August 21, local youth camped out to support Bonlee School. The “Cardboard Campout” was an opportunity for local youth to come together to support Bonlee School’s new FUEL UP Program.

I am glad to see that Bunkey’s opposition respects the first amendment so vigorously. When the Chatham Coalition rants and floods the chatlist, media, blogs, surveys and polls everything is fine. Another point of view and the debate becomes limited to approved dictums.

It’s funny! When certain people express their opinions, there is immediately a call for them to be banned. Yet, when other people rant and rave like lunatics, no one says a word!

The Northwood Marching Charger Band is working diligently in preparation to present Amusements, its 2010 competition program. Commissioned for the Chargers by director Eugene Cottrell, the three-movement work (Carnival, Clown, and Coaster) was composed by Brad Pearson, with drill by Eric Salas, percussion by Amy Savage, and color guard choreography by Allen Wiley.

Here's a summary of July 2 - 29, 2010's felonious and serious arrests by the Chatham County Sheriff's department.

The Chatham County Sheriff’s Office has taken Johnny Cliffton “Cliff” Fogleman, 624 Bowers Store Road, into custody after an extensive search in the Silk Hope area on Friday afternoon.

The Pittsboro Memorial Library will be closed starting Monday, August 30, to move into the new Chatham Community Library on the Pittsboro campus of Central Carolina Community College. The new library will open on September 13.

Although you may still see my name on the ballot this fall, I have withdrawn from the Chatham School Board election due to an exciting and very time consuming life change: I've accepted the Staff Attorney position at UNC School of Law's Center for Civil Rights. This new position involves litigation and collaboration with community groups and organizations to ensure fair access to quality public education for all children.

Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corporation brought its legendary doughnuts and coffee to Chapel Hill with the opening of its newest Neighborhood Shop. More than 150 people waited outside 157 E. Franklin St. in the dark until the the shop opened and the "Hot Now" light went on at 6 a.m. Wednesday, August 25.

The Chatham County Parks and Recreation department is sponsoring several special events this fall.

On June 21, 2010 the Chatham County Commissioners told me there were not enough funds to honor the employee's pay increases promised on the PFP Agreements for the FY2008/2009 work period. During the period in question property values increased from $7.4 billion to $8.6 billion. The property tax income increased $4.8 million and the commissioners increased many fees. The county's fund balance, savings account, increased by $695,000 this last year even after having to make up budget cuts by the General Assembly. So there was enough revenue to meet the county's obligations.

For anyone that’s interested in the US 64 proposal I strongly recommend going to the NC DOT website to view all the details about the plan, not just the talking points that Chatham Citizens for Effective Communities (CCEC) and our current Board of Commissioners have been promoting lately. I was very disappointed to see that CCEC did not list the North Carolina Department of Transportation web site in their links for more information although it was mentioned in one of their bulletins at least.

Last month two articles have appeared in The Chatham Record newspaper regarding complaints that “music” being played at Pittsboro’s City Tap Bar and Restaurant is too loud. Local residents complained to Pittsboro city fathers to do something about it. Well, lots of luck local residents. History of such situations has you on the losing end. Walnut Creek Raleigh, Shakori Hills, Sports Arena - they are still going strong and still making life miserable for residents unfortunate enough to be living near by.

The DOT presentation on the Superstreet concept to the planning board was complete. The timeline is twenty to thirty years for implementation of Superstreet, with long range option to change to a limited access highway, like US 421 to Greensboro. A necessary and needed improvement. The NCDOT has always been proactive in soliciting public input. Thorough traffic counts are done continuously. For the Pittsboro by-pass project, meetings were held years in advance. One of our former commissioners sat on the highway project board at DOT. What a great highway and relief for Pittsboro traffic it has been. Newcomers do not realize that around half the traffic during weekdays and nights was heavy trucks negotiating the circle, limited to traveling through Pittsboro.