Date: Tue, 6 Dec 2011 15:48:33 -0500
From: Gene Galin
Subject: Walmart Coming To Chatham County on 15-501 near Orange County line

Chapel Hill Town Manager Roger Stancil says that “plans for a new Walmart had been filed with Chatham County, right over the line, which I think would make it very convenient for people to leave Chapel Hill, shop in Chatham County and then come back and live here.”
 
Orange County economic development director Steve Brantley says the average Walmart generates about $70 million in retail sales.
 
“The significant property tax and retail sales tax from that Walmart will be supported, probably in large part, by Orange County shoppers,” Brantley says.
 
The Walmart currently in Hillsborough pays $200,000 in county property taxes each year, and produces about 10 percent of Orange County’s annual sales tax revenue.

Read the entire story at http://www.chapelboro.com/Walmart-Coming-To-Chatham-County/11663162

Chatham Online BBS discussion at http://chatham-county-nc.com/bulletinboard/index.php/topic,24679.0.html

Date: Sat, 8 Oct 2011 11:47:49 -0400
From: Melissa Delbridge
Subject: Saving Downtown Pittsboro

I’ve lived in Pittsboro for less than a year and don’t pretend to understand all of the problems that are resulting in complaints about and closings of local downtown businesses. We’ve established that some people have had unpleasant experiences in local restaurants. We know that downtown merchants are struggling in this economy. At least two businesses have announced closings in the past few weeks. Attractive buildings, new and old, that should be bustling with customers, stand empty.. In the center of our town, our historic courthouse stands, still fenced and window-boarded, a mute witness to this sorrow.

 Hard times? Undeniable. The economy is bad just about everywhere. We can either throw up our hands and shake our heads and shuffle on down the road to Chapel Hill to do business while our town dries up or we can try to identify what we can do to help.

 What impact would it have if every Chatlist reader who lives in Pittsboro spent $40 a month in a downtown business? What if all of us made a little more effort to see if we could find a way to keep  our business in Chatham County?  To do our Christmas shopping downtown? What would happen if we started talking about things we all have to drive to another county to do? Maybe we could start to figure out what kinds of businesses can thrive in Pittsboro.  The Small Business Center at CCCC offers courses, programs, and resources to help beginning entrepreneurs.

I don’t know. It’s a pretty fall morning and I’m talking off the top of my head. I’m just wondering who has ideas about how to fix the problems.  Are downtown rents too high? What services do we all wish we could find in Pittsboro? If you see a local business struggling, do you complain or do you offer your ideas on strategies that would help?

 I’m no expert, but I do believe in the power of good people thinking and acting to bring about change. What are the best ways for us to get together and help one another through these difficult economic times?

Date: Sat, 14 May 2011 06:47:45 -0400
From: Phyllis Thomas
Subject: Figs

I got a fig bush at SpringMeadows on Highway 54 about halfway between Chapel Hill and Graham two years ago.  It had a few figs that year, and an abundance last year.  Figs are already setting on it now.

Spring Meadow, although not a Chatham business, is a wonderful place to buy plants.  The owner is an Alamance boy who graduated from NC State with a degree in Horticulture, so he can answer all your plant questions.

Phyllis Thomas

Date: Thu, 30 Sep 2010 19:16:40 +1000
From: Michael Kirkman
Subject: Re: Chatham Chatlist #3840

I am presently not in Chatham Co. but my heart is still there and I will be returning at an undetermined time.

When I return, I would like to see that things are as usual.  A great place to live with many good neighbors.  I do not think there needs to be any radical changes in the way things operate as far as the government goes except keep our identity which means don’t let Cary, Durham, and Chapel Hill influence what is going on as in development.  I do not really understand  this Tea Party thing that is being thrown around in the Chatlist except that it does not have a place in Chatham County.  As I have said before, we just need to live within our means.  I really don’t think our local government is out of control. I just think there are some people that do not want to pay taxes to make things work.

What’s better chaos and bad services or having schools, fire dept., police, etc,  Sorry I do not understand.  I will make sure to get my absentee ballot.

Date: Wed, 14 Jul 2010 16:08:11 EDT
From: Ed Williams
Subject: Chatham County on the side of the lawbreakers

I found a list of “sanctuary cities” in the US – those in  which the chief of police or the city council forbids the police to ask  about the immigration status of anyone who is detained for some other offense.  The list includes Chatham County, as well as Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Charlotte,  Durham, Raleigh and Winston-Salem.

Quite a list of jurisdictions taking the side  of the lawbreakers against their law-abiding citizens. I suppose that some  will say we should be proud that our county is standing up for the basic human right to immigrate to the US, legally or  “undocumentedly”.

Date: Tue, 08 Sep 2009 23:28:18 -0400
From: Randy E.
Subject: Voller says to give up your child’s meal to pay for Pittsboro Magic Bus

It is sad to see that the Chatham Coalition and Pittsboro Together’s candidate for Pttsboro mayor thinks your child needs to pass on a meal to pay for the Pittsboro magic bus.

On the Chatham Online Bulletin Board at http://chatham-county-nc.com/bulletinboard/index.php/topic,14756.15.html
Randy Voller states that “it would appear that a valuable piece of transit infrastructure was purchased for less than a “happy meal”.”

So what the Randy V is basically saying is that he wants to take food away from children so that his friend Dee Reid Starkweather can ride the magic bus for free. Because that’s what it boils down too.
See “Taxpayers to spend $360,000 to save Jeffrey Starkweather’s wife $3,500/year” at http://chatham-county-nc.com/bulletinboard/index.php/topic,14807.0.html and
“Now Starkweather’s wife claims taxpayers are saving her $5,000/year” at http://chatham-county-nc.com/bulletinboard/index.php/topic,14839.0.html

The truth is that the “magic” bus that runs between Pittsboro and Chapel Hill with only a couple dozen riders a day was not purchased for the less than a happy meal, it was purchased for 360,000 dollars or about 180,000 happy meals.

As someone else on the bulletin board said “I want my $2.00 back so I can buy my kid a Happy Meal. At least someone in my family will use it.”

The choice is simply. Feed 180,000 meals to the hungry children, poor and elderly of Chatham County or spend it on a near empty bus running up and down 15-501 from Pittsboro to Chapel Hill.

Randy E.

Date: Sat, 11 Apr 2009 13:32:13 +0000
From: Bill
Subject: THANKS FOR THE REPLIES….

…..and have already found a ‘silent’ investor/partner who is ready to come aboard when the time is ready to expand. The expansion will involve getting another new 12 passenger van, for larger group tours, and another Ford Flex for RDU runs and smaller group tours, six, the same amount as can do now.

For now, RDU runs are covered and as always am open for groups of six, when and where, your choice! We are also looking at ‘possibly’ doing a 30 passenger mini-van run to and from Chapel Hill several times per day, a work shuttle in the morning and pick up in the afternoon, and one or two trips to and from Chapel Hill during the day, also with a stop at Fearrington Village, since the bus proposal, which everyone thought was a done deal, was “nixed” about a month ago??

This will be the most costly phase of expanding, thus again, “possibly” is the key word here.
The investor is interested in driving some, but not as a full time driver like myself, so driver(s) will be needed in the future, at least one other person including myself, as I enjoy driving myself, talking to RDU clients about their trips literally all over the world, and so another driver would need to enjoy the same, yet know when to be mum if the passenger(s) is tired or if talking among themselves if several aboard. I will post again when need a driver or drivers!
Tally Ho & Happy Easter!
Bill, www.PittsboroTrekExpress.com

Date: Sun, 5 Apr 2009 17:52:07 -0400
From: Gene Galin
Subject: Natives, newcomers spar over county – Story about Chatlist in Herald Sun newspaper

Natives, newcomers spar over county
BY BETH VELLIQUETTE : The Herald-Sun

Native vs. newcomer. Local vs. outsider.

In Chatham County, there’s a group of people who have been writing online on the Chatham Chatlist who have been going round and round for nearly a month about whether natives have a special claim to the county, if newcomers are ruining it and who has the right to call it “home.”

The Chatlist is a widely used and viewed electronic bulletin board that is a first-alert to the pulse of the community. It carries inquiries for everything from handyman services to dog training classes, from fundraising announcements to government notices and, on occasions such as the most recent spate of filings, lively discussions of cultural and social differences of opinion.

Maybe it started when a person with the online moniker chadrodeo wrote on March 11. “From a life time? chathamite I have a suggestion.Take all the Chapel Hill and Carrboro liberals out?of Chatham and turn it back 2 a nice town.If u want it 2 be like Chapel Hill Carrboro Or Cary? Go back home!Leave our town”.This is my town”as?Montgomery Gentry ?says.”

Not the greatest typist, but Chadrodeo got his point across and raised the hackles of other writers who responded with opposing viewpoints, explanations of how natives feel about newcomers, newcomers’ explanations about how they feel about natives, a few insults thrown back and forth and a couple of pleas of “can’t we all just get along?”

Read the entire story at
http://heraldsun.southernheadlines.com/chatham/13-1135579.cfm?

Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 08:23:52 -0500
From: Lesley Landis
Subject: Pittsboro/Chapel Hill Bus Service

by Tim Keim

Getting around in Chatham County without a car is difficult. With little employment to anchor Pittsboro residents to their home turf, folks scatter in all directions every morning to earn their daily bread. About 13% of the workforce at UNC and UNC Hospital travel the 15-501 corridor to reach Chapel Hill. Some carpool, but most jump into their shiny metal boxes solo and inefficiently burn hydrocarbons  to get to work. But a ticket to ride may soon replace the solitary commute.

Chatham County (CC), The Town of Pittsboro (PBO), Chatham Transit Network (CTN), and Chapel Hill Transit are close to commencing express bus service from Pittsboro to Chapel Hill and back three times a day. But the local mass transit process hasn’t been without its fits and starts; and financial details between Pittsboro and Chatham County remain unresolved.

In August 2004, two Siler City grassroots groups, Mujeres Mejorando El Futuro (Women Improving the Future) and Voices for Action (VOA), issued a transportation draft proposal that stemmed from a survey they conducted of 368 subjects about travel needs. Both groups were trained in data collection techniques by UNC Chapel Hill. Their proposal was written in painstaking detail with suggested routes, times and frequency. Some of the route recommendations were implemented by Chatham Transit, but communication to the community and execution of the new routes was poorly handled and the plan failed.

Chatham Transit Network (CTN) now has a new executive director and advisory board. Board member, Marcia Perritt, happily relates that CTN hopes to revive the work done by Mujeres and VOA for the routes in Siler City. Additionally Ms. Perritt mentioned that new Executive Director, Dale Olbrich, is in consultation with Chapel Hill Transit to determine the need for a feeder route from Siler City to Pittsboro.

Eventually, County Commissioner Tom Vanderbeck and Pittsboro Mayor Randy Voller, chairman of the Regional Planning Organization, want to extend service through Siler to Lee County and along the Hwy. 64 passage as well.

With so much energy and good will among the team members, what could possibly prevent this plan from success? Of course, you know it’s going to come down to the money.

Half the cost for the eighteen month experiment will come from a federal grant. Negotiations between Pittsboro’s Town Board and Chatham County Commissioners will settle the disposition of the $176,356 balance. This figure doesn’t include the estimated fares contributed by riders, which are proposed to be $3.00 dollars one way or an unlimited pass for $65.00 a month. The current negotiations have Pittsboro kicking in about a quarter to a third of the cost and the county two-thirds to three-quarters.

Chatham County Commissioner Sally Kost, who is “totally committed to mass transit for Chatham”, did some number crunching and estimated that if only 103 people per day rode the bus paying the $65.00 monthly fare, Pittsboro would contribute about $1,000 a month to the enterprise. That assumes Pittsboro’s share at 25%.

Because of Pittsboro’s commendable frugality, an adequate surplus of municipal funds exist to make this investment.

From what I can gather, a favorable consensus has developed on the county commission, but the thrifty Pittsboro Town Board is hesitating. PBO Commissioner Gene Brooks admits that the county “has made a generous offer,” but he hasn’t made up his mind yet. Mr. Brooks says that there’s been “surprisingly little discussion about the proposed service”.  Commissioner Chris Walker told me, “I’m not opposed to mass transit, but you’re talking to a conservative banker. I’m not in favor subsidizing transit now. If it’s not a necessary function, now is not the time to do it”. Fellow PBO Commissioners Pamela Baldwin and Clinton Bryan echoed Mr. Walker.

It is inconceivable to me that local elected representatives would allow such an opportunity to slip through their fingers.

“This is a very limited financial exposure” as Dale Olbrich, Executive Director of CTN points out. Furthermore, Olbrich argues the case that “this service will make jobs in Chapel Hill accessible to Chatham citizens without cars, thus acting as an economic stimulus”. Besides, any party can pull out of the agreement with a 90 day notice.

I would think a federal grant to pay half the cost would be eagerly seized.

Gasoline is sure to eclipse its most recent pinnacle in the near future, so this is the perfect time to get mass transit working for Chatham County. The bus would also reduce air pollution in Chatham by taking a significant number of cars off the road. This is a win win situation across the board.

This transit proposal has wide support from the public and potential partners all over the region. If Pittsboro and Chatham County are unable to summon the will and cooperation to invest in our transportation infrastructure future, we will be less able to participate in the thriving economic intercourse of the greater North Carolina Piedmont. We’ll consign ourselves to a backwater, bedroom community status that will leave us limping into limitation rather than striding confidently into prosperity.

*****

To voice your opinion, citizens may speak at the beginning of the Pittsboro Town Board Meeting during the portion of the agenda called “Citizens Matters” at the Pittsboro Town Board Meeting at Town Hall on Monday, March 9th at 7pm.  More info: http://www.pittsboronc.org Or write: Mayor Randy Voller, randy@voller.org, Town Manager Bill Terry, wgterry@nc.rr.com; or Mayor Protem, Pam Baldwin, pamela_baldwin@dentistry.unc.edu

Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2009 09:54:05 -0500
From: Alexa Dixon
Subject: UNC Nursing Students need your help!

Hello to Chatham County,

My name is Alexa Dixon and I am a nursing student completing a Public Health Nursing rotation in Chatham County.  Together, some of my fellow nursing students and I are performing a community assessment of food accessibility in Siler City.

We have created a survey that is posted on Survey Monkey and I will provide the link below.  For those of you that live, shop, and eat in Siler City, we would really appreciate it if you
would take the time to complete the survey. Feel free to contact me via email if you have any additional comments or concerns. Thank you.

English:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=quVqGOxfahLnbwGwIj0iog_3d_3d

Spanish:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=jHT5hAhIDteuCFiRsBcrlA_3d_3d

Alexa Dixon
UNC Nursing Student