Chatham County, NC Blogs

Newland Communities has just launched its new website for Briar Chapel, which ties very nicely into the “Path to Nature” advertising campaign they launched a few months ago. Along with the utility and landscaping work along 15-501, this is yet another sign that things are progressing towards the opening of their information center during the Green Home Tour in May. Stay tuned to this blog for more details.

Now is the time to let me know if you are interested in moving to Briar Chapel. By doing so, I can help builders gauge demand, and provide input on what buyers are looking for in terms of size and price.

he created a closet…

Voila…okay, not NEARLY that easy!

Friends and loved ones, never, ever, ever take your closets for granted! Our old (ancient really, 130+ years) farmhouse is just over 3,000 square feet (including the basement). There is not one closet original to the house. The previous owner made attempts (lame as they were) to create closets. My miracle-worker of a dad has come in behind this guy and done what he could to give us three closets (well, sort of). One is a true closet with plenty of room and shelves that my dad added. The one in the “little bedroom” is, well, little and has been taken over by my husband and his work uniforms. The third is in our bedroom (seen above) and has been/is an architectural nightmare. We’ve done all we can to it and I simply have to be grateful for what it is and live with it! Note - there are no linen closets or hall closets for guests (or my own) coats, etc. Did I mention to you to be grateful for the closets in your house?!

Mr. Pat loves the coolness in the flower bed under the Camilla bush.

A pan full of pansies…

[ March 26, 2008; 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm. ] State Senator Kay Hagan, Democratic candidate for the United States Senate spoke on Wednesday evening in the multipurpose room of the Central Carolina Community College in Pittsboro. She is running against Republican incumbent senator Elizabeth Dole.

County Commissioners Mike Cross and George Lucier along with Chatham County Democratic Party chairman Karl Kachergis were at the event. [...]

I can’t say for sure but this may be the last of the race pics I share. These are from first thing in the morning, pre-dawn, as we were all stretching and making our way to our respective corrals and bracing ourselves against the wind, cold and rain. Poor little Bran was right out there with us taking pictures, giving back pats and words of encouragement and carrying Michael’s dry gear bag that weighed more than she does! As I’m sitting here chuckling at the memory of Brandi Lee that morning, I can’t help but have a full heart - Bran has been, either begrudgingly or very willingly, right by my side during EVERY crazy adventure I’ve participated in. We were, in every sense of the word, partners. Bran, you will never know the depth of my love for you…my cup runneth over.


Here we are just trying to stay warm, do a few last minute stretches and get our minds right. Judging by this picture, I’m a little more excited at this point than Mike is.

In this picture, however, it looks like the tables have turned. Mike’s psyched and ready to go and I look like “what the heck was I thinking…this sounded like a good idea 3 months ago”!

Wow, It’s been a week and I still wake up shaking my head at our accomplishment. But I’m done sharing it with you all. That’s it. The memory is safely tucked away deep in my heart but I know that whenever I doubt my ability as a wife, a mother, a daughter, a woman, I can retrieve this memory and know that “I am better than I think and not yet what I expect to be”.

Mark your calendars! The 3rd Annual Green Home Tour will be held on May 3, 2008 (10 am to 6 pm) and May 4, 2008 (Noon to 6 pm). Including several Briar Chapel entries, there are currently 42 homes on this year’s tour. Stay tuned for more details.

On Tuesday, March 18th, immediately following the Curriculum Fair (6:00-7:30 pm) at Northwood High School, there was a
2008 Chatham County School Board Candidates Forum in the multimedia room.
All five candidates from Districts 1 (Norman Clark’s seat) and 2 (Holly Duncan’s seat) attended the event.
The hostess of the event was NW PTSA president Beverly Sizemore.

We were [...]

First, a great big thank you to those of you who’ve sent congratulations to Mike and me via email. Please know how much we appreciate the ” ‘atta boys” from those we love!

I had a few more pics I wanted to share with you. This first one is of Mike and me in the finishers tent on the beach. Yuengling was the major sponsor of this event and put together an extremely nice venue for us. The tent was a GREAT place to go in and warm up - WOW, was it cold and WINDY that day! (Mike forgot his Under Armor Cold Gear beannie and gloves…at the last minute, he accepted Brandi’s offer to wear hers - a $1.00 special at Target! Ha! For those of you who don’t know my sweet Bran, she’s itty-bitty; just over 5 feet tall with little feet and tiny hands! I’m sure I’ll need to replace Bran’s gloves - there’s no way they’ll fit her now!).
And here’s Michael after crossing the finish line and doning his winners medal! Is that a look of disbelief on his face or what?! That and the sweat was frozen on his face so he couldn’t really move! Ha, I just noticed…that’s “thug JC” standing behind Mike (blue cap and sweatshirt)! Not really… well, yes that’s really JC, our son-in-law, but he’s not a thug…he just looks like one at marathon races!

I am so proud of Michael. He’s battled anemia (low hemoglobin/serverely low iron in his blood)throughout this whole training time yet he rose to the occassion. Also, Mike’s not a little guy. As real runners like to say “he’s a big block”! Regardless, he met his goal and helped push me to meet mine (and heaven knows I’m not built to run either!!!!).

Lastly, please bear with me while I bathe in this accomplishment for a bit longer. As other pictures come in it is my intent to post them here again and maybe again… We’re simply in awe of this experience.

*I placed #4,101 overall; I was #255 out of 342 women in my age division (40-44 years old); and I was #2,101 out of 2,933 women total - hey, I wasn’t last people!!!

Yesterday I had the BEST day. My friend Mike picked me up at 10:30 and we drove out to this little town called Pittsboro and had brunch at the General Store. [...]

In January 1995, the Citizens’ Commission on Planning for Enrollment Growth submitted a report, “Bursting at the Seams,” to the Chancellor of the New York City Board of Education, Ramon C. Cortines. Although the report address “urban” school overcrowding, it appears that the observations would also apply to “non-urban” schools.

THE IMPACT OF SCHOOL OVERCROWDING
http://www.ericdigests.org/1996-1/overcrowding.htm
Research on [...]

[ March 15, 2008; 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. ] The Chatham County Parks and Recreation Department’s 6th annual egg hunt was an egg-citing success. Groups of kids swarmed the field at the Central Carolina Community College in search of Easter eggs.

You can view a video clip of one of the younger groups on their hunt (taken at much risk to my own safety)

I also [...]

[ March 18, 2008; 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm. ] The Pittsboro Elementary School, along with the school PTA, will host a lasagna dinner and science discovery night on Tuesday, March 18, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Students will show their science kit projects to their families. In addition, organizers have invited guests from some different science areas to set up exhibits for informal “show and tell” [...]

[ March 18, 2008; 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm. ] The Pittsboro Elementary School, along with the school PTA, will host a lasagna dinner and science discovery night on Tuesday, March 18, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Students will show their science kit projects to their families. In addition, organizers have invited guests from some different science areas to set up exhibits for informal “show and tell” [...]

[ April 5, 2008; 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. ] The Human Resources Department of Chatham County Schools will host a teacher job fair on Saturday, April 5, at Horton Middle School from 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Horton is located at 79 Horton Road in Pittsboro. Appointments are not necessary. Attendees should bring a copy of their resumes.

Chatham County Schools has a hiring incentive package that [...]

Like most high school seniors, Jordan-Matthews student Jakelin Bonilla has a big decision to make — where to attend college. But her choice between NC State and UNC-Chapel Hill has just gotten tougher, since she recently was notified that she has been awarded major scholarships at both schools.
Bonilla has been chosen as both a Park [...]

Progress on the new Woods Charter School in Briar Chapel continues. In the photo below, you will see that curbing and sidewalks are being installed. Work is also being done on the inside in order to get the school ready for occupancy in the Fall.

At a recent meeting of Chatham’s BOE, the Board discussed several options to relieve overcrowding at the North Chatham School. In addition to installing additional mobile classroom pods and re-assigning students to another school, they discussed the possibility of leasing the current Woods Charter School facility at Cole Park plaza to house some of the North Chatham students. It is scheduled to be vacated by July 1st. A decision will be made at the next meeting on 3/17/08.

Many believe this problem would have been resolved sooner had the new middle school that is planned for Briar Chapel been built on time in 2009 (construction has been delayed until 2010).

Northwood ran through their first dress rehearsal of their spring musical “Grease”. Recognized a lot of familiar faces from last year’s production of “Beauty and the Beast”. I had the opportunity to get some photos along with some video clips of the musical numbers. You can view the musical pieces from the first half performance [...]

The Board of Education voted to speak with Corley, Redfoot & Zach (CRZ) architectural firm to negotiate a contract for the new high school on Jack Bennett Road.
Below are some video clips of the discussions -

Note: The video clip below touches on the unsafe road conditions on Jack Bennett Road.