County residents are turning out in strong numbers for early voting on the countywide referendum on liquor by the drink, to be held May 5.

The early voting site at the Board of Elections office in Pittsboro had about 425 ballots cast by noon on Tuesday. Early voting began on Thursday.

"There is a little more turnout than I thought there would be," said Board of Elections Supervisor Dawn Stumpf. "Most people wait until the last week of early voting."

The referendum, which would allow mixed alcoholic beverages to be sold in bars and restaurants, is drawing support from many business owners.

The Chatham Chamber of Commerce last week came out in support of the measure for economic reasons.

According to a statement, "the Chatham Chamber of Commerce Board of
Directors is in favor of passing the mixed drink referendum. The Board feels the proposed economic benefits associated with approval are in keeping with the Chamber’s mission of promoting
the economic vitality and prosperity of the county."

Robert Poitras, owner of Carolina Brewery in Pittsboro, also supports it.

"I have customers every single day that are shocked that we don’t have liquor by the drink," he said. "I have customers who tell me that they drive to Apex and Chapel Hill because they have liquor by the drink and we don’t here. I think we are losing substantial revenues."

Jeffrey Starkweather, campaign advisor for Positive Revenue Options (PRO), a group that supports liquor by the drink, said this is primarily and economic issue.

Anyone who happened by the courthouse in Pittsboro last Thursday likely heard the message loud and clear: Leave our property alone.

Roughly 20 members of Chatham Conservative Voice (CCV) gathered outside the courthouse, some hauling buckets filled with dirt from their own homes, in an effort to draw support in their fight against Chatham County’s proposed Major Corridor Ordinance.

"We wanted people to know that this is our dirt; our land," Heather Johnson of the CCV said.

CCV members scattered along the perimeter of the courthouse circle, waving signs that read ""Don’t take our property rights," and "Keep your ordinance off my land."

Passersby were greeted with chants of "Don’t tell me what to do with my land."

"The ordinance doesn’t make sense. There’s no use for it," CCV member Bret Kelly said.

"Right now, the way they have things zoned, it takes a special use permit to get anything done. Coupled with the land use plan, there’s absolutely no reason to have this ordinance," Kelly said.

The rally was conducted just prior to a public forum inside the courthouse hosted by the CCV which focused on the issues of the corridor ordinance.

There are not many reliable statistics on tick-borne diseases in the state of North Carolina, or Chatham County for that matter.

But it is common knowledge that there are a lot of ticks here in the county and they are making at least a few people very sick.

Pittsboro Town Commissioner Gene Brooks is one who thinks the danger needs more attention.

He said a friend of his recently died, partially as a result of a tick bite. The friend had health problems but Lyme Disease weakened him causing an early death.

He said a resident of Chatham Forest in Pittsboro told him at least five people in that subdivision alone had been infected with tick-borne diseases.

"I’ve had quite a few people tell me they or their family member had a bout with it," he said.

The most common reported tick-borne disease (TBD) in North Carolina is Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF), although Lyme Disease is the most common nationally.

The states with the highest incidences of RMSF are North Carolina and Oklahoma; these two states combined accounted for 35% of the total number of U.S. cases reported to the National Center for Disease Control during 1993 through 1996.

Most tick infections cause similar initial symptoms –often flu-like with fever, aches, and pains. A rash may or may not develop.

more- See Thursday, April 16,  2009 edition

The state Department of Transportation (DOT) is working on long- and short-term plans for improving traffic flow on a portion of US 64 in eastern Chatham County, though aspects of the proposal concern members of the county Board of Commissioners.

In a Monday afternoon meeting with commissioners, David Wasserman of the DOT reviewed the proposed alternatives (which will also be reviewed at a public forum on April 28 from 5 to 8 p.m. at Horton Middle School).

The plan, Wasserman said, is based on input from Chatham County residents gathered at previous public input sessions and county planning staff.

The DOT has no funding for the plan, which is estimated to cost approximately $140 million to complete.

The plan calls for updated interchanges along US 64, upgrading portions of the road to a freeway and lessening the number of highway access points. It also calls for service roads and a pedestrian path.

"We do sort of see the purpose of this but it does create a dilemma for us," said board chair George Lucier.

At issue, commissioners say, is how the plan could restrict development along the US 64 corridor from the beginning of the by-pass near Pittsboro east to the Wake County line.

Commissioner Sally Kost noted that the DOT plan could impact development along the corridor even though the DOT plan isn’t likely to be implemented for 15 or 20 years.

She also questioned the value of the proposed highway changes.

"All this basically does is get people through Chatham County faster," she said.

Wasserman countered that it gets motorists "to Chatham County faster."

Commissioners are also concerned about the potential impact of the plan on development of business – such as one restaurant already approved on US 64 in Wilsonville, though county planning staff said property owners on the corridor are aware of the DOT plan.

more- See Thursday, April 23,  2009 edition