More than 7,500 students and nearly 1,200 staff members within Chatham County schools kicked off the first day of the school year on Monday with very few problems, school officials said.

"Everything has gone wonderfully smooth," Beverly Browne, J.S. Waters principal said.

"We may have had a few little kinks, but everything has worked out well," she added.

Chad Morgan, assistant principal of Silk Hope, said that the first day went off without a hitch.

"With the hard work and preparation of the teachers, it all pays off," he said.

Mitch Stensland, Chatham Central principal, also credits the teachers as the reason of the successful first day.

"It was well organized and I can’t thank the staff enough," Stensland said.

Stensland said that he did receive some complaints from students about having homework on the first day, to which he added, "I was very pleased about that."

Charles Aiken, on his first day as the new principal at North Chatham said, "It’s been fantastic. I couldn’t ask for a better day."

A modified bus route initiated by the county schools this year presented very few concerns on Monday, according to school officials.

In fact, other than the usual issues with bus routes, there were no problems with traffic congestion, officials said.

"It was probably the best start we’ve had in years," Beth McCullough, Chatham County Schools public information officer, said of the traffic situation.

There was some initial concern, according to officials, that the loss of jobs in the area could affect attendance numbers within the schools.

But most schools reported very few problems with first-day attendance, according to preliminary numbers.

"The number [of absent students] were much lower than we even anticipated," McCullough said.

Daniel Haithcox, SAGE Academy principal said that every student expected to attend was present on Monday.

"[Attendance] has been pretty good," Aiken said.

‘We’ve had some people leave that we didn’t know about," Aiken said. "But we’ve also registered some new students. So it’s pretty much evened out."

School officials are now hoping the remainder of the school year will go equally as smooth as the first day did.

"We had a real good year last year," Haithcox said. "And we anticipate on having an even better one this year."

more- See Thursday, August 28,  2008 paper: Vol 88, No.3

The Chatham County Board of Education on Monday appointed a temporary liaison between board members and the county Board of Commissioners.

Deb McManus, a two-term board member, agreed to act as liaison for a six-month period, until a replacement is found.

The board’s liaison, as defined by Vice-Chair Norman Clark, is a contact person for the Board of Commissioners, who attends and reports on meetings, specifically those concerning the Board of Education.

"I would be happy to be the person available for the commissioners to contact," McManus said.

"If they have questions or need information I will seek out that information for them," she continued.

McManus asked that her position as liaison be temporary.

"After the new board comes on, with the new board members and they get acclimated, I would like to revisit this," McManus said.

McManus will be replacing Gerald Totten, who stepped down as liaison in early August.

more- See Thursday, August 28,  2008 paper: Vol 88, No.38

Several Chatham County residents turned out last Thursday to offer suggestions on what should be included in the future Northwest Park site near Silk Hope.

The Chatham County Parks and Recreation Department invited visitors to observe the 118-acre property, and once home to Camp Maranatha Springs, from 8am to 7pm on August 21st.

Consultants from McGill Associates, who are aiding with the park project, were on hand to listen to suggestions. The consultants also prepared a special presentation at 7pm on Thursday that recapped the ideas suggested by the community to those in attendance.

more- See Thursday, August 28,  2008 paper: Vol 88, No.38

Monday was the first day of school for Chatham County students. No more mornings of sleeping late, that is, until the weekend. Above, Siler City Elementary student McKinley Rodgers walks to class carrying supplies and her lunchbox on Monday morning. McKinley is beginning second grade this year and along with about 700 more students started the ‘08-2009 school year.

Unemployment rates increased in 97 of North Carolina’s 100 counties in July, according to statistics released last week by the state’s Employment Security Commission.

Chatham County experienced a rate increase of 0.3 percent, rising from June’s 5.5 percent unemployment to 5.8 percent in July.

"North Carolina had a large increase in the labor force throughout many of the state’s counties during July, however unemployment also rose," said ESC Chairman Harry E. Payne Jr. "Much of the increase is attributed to the significant number of people entering and re-entering the labor force, which could be a sign that workers believe jobs are out there and they are actively looking. We were encouraged by the large number of workers, 31,435, who found employment in July."

For the third consecutive month, all 14 metropolitan statistical areas experienced an unemployment rate increase.

Forty-five counties were at or below the state’s unadjusted unemployment rate of 6.8 percent, which increased from 6.2 percent in June.