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©2001-2005 The Chatham News Publishing Co., Inc. - All Rights Reserved

 Siler City, North Carolina  (919)663-3232   

County mails tax bills

Chatham County residents can expect to receive their 2005 county tax bills any day now, according to county tax administrator Kim Horton.

The earlier mailing date should give taxpayers more time to prepare and budget for payment by the due date, January 5, 2006.

The tax rate is 59.7 cents per $100 valuation.

  Last year’s tax rate was 64.64 cents per $100 valuation.

  Chatham County recently completed a revaluation of real property. The revenue neutral tax rate (the tax rate needed to generate the same amount of property tax revenue had revaluation not occurred) is 55.7 cents per $100 valuation.

  The additional four cents will be used to pay for capital projects approved by the Board of Commissioners, including:

• A new elementary school in Siler City.

•  A new middle school in northeast Chatham County.

• A new, larger cafeteria for Jordan-Matthews High School.

• Renovations to Horton Middle School.

• Phase I improvements for the County’s business park in Siler City.

• A new Community College Job Training Center in Siler City (to be located within the County’s business park).

• A new building for the Pittsboro campus of Central Carolina Community College (CCCC).

• An expansion of the Social Services building.

• A new Judicial Facility.

• A joint CCCC/County Library.

  Upon receiving their bills, taxpayers should carefully review them and notify the Tax Office of any problems as soon as possible, Horton urges.

  The county allows an exemption from the solid waste fee when a dwelling is uninhabitable or has been vacant for more than two years. To be eligible for the exemption, taxpayers must file an application with the Tax Office by January 5, 2006. Fees will not be waived for applications received after this deadline. Taxpayers will also find an inset in their bills with information about the County’s Waste Management program.

more- See Thursday, Aug 11 paper: Vol 85, No. 37

YMCA makes Chatham County debut with Pittsboro location

By Cara Rotondaro

The Chatham YMCA in Pittsboro opened its doors Monday, August 1, and crowds were quickly flocking to see the new facility and sign up for memberships.

“It’s been busy,” said director Bruce Murray.

The fitness center currently has a variety of “great exercise machines,” said Murray, including a full Cybex circuit training set, elliptical machines, arc trainers, recumbent bikes, and a free weight room.

And that’s just the beginning.  The Chatham YMCA will offer more programs, classes and services as the center grows.

The staff plans on adding fitness classes, like kickboxing and step aerobics among others, to the lineup in the fall. All classes will be free to members.

Youth programs will hopefully be added as well in 2006, said Murray.

more- See Thursday, Aug 11 paper: Vol 85, No. 37

Four county schools earn highest honors in state ABC testing

By Bob Wachs

Four Chatham County schools have earned the highest designation available from the state in the most recent ABC accountability test results, based on the 2004-05 academic year.

Those four, which all achieved the status of “Honor School of Excellence,” are Bonlee, North Chatham, Perry Harrison and Silk Hope.

“Our students, staff, families and the community have created a strong team to propel our students up the ladder of academic success,” school superintendent Ann Hart said. “We can never overstress the value of all our support each year as our schools work to meet the ever increasing state and federal standards.”

A school achieves “Honor School of Excellence” status when at least 90 per cent of its students test at or above Level III of a possible Level IV in reading and math. The mark of four schools earning that distinction falls one short of last year’s tally when the same four schools along with Bennett School all were “Honor Schools of Excellence.”

The irony of the test results is that even though Bennett School did not repeat as an “Honor School of Excellence,” it led the county schools in student performance composite with a score of 94.8 per cent. An additional irony is that Bennett School also passed the federal “No Child Left Behind” standards – known as “Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) – as did 10 other county schools.

Bennett was also joined by two other schools – Moncure and Siler City Elementary – in meeting AYP standards but not meeting state ABC criteria.

In addition to having at least 90 per cent of its students at Level III or higher, schools earn status as “Honor Schools of Excellence by making high or expected growth and by meeting the federal AYP standards.

Four Chatham County schools earned the designation of “School of Distinction.” That honor comes when 80 to 89 per cent of students test at or above Level III and the schools make expected or high growth. Those four are Chatham Central High School, Chatham Middle School, Horton Middle School and JS Waters School. Last year Chatham Central became the first county high school to earn the “School of Distinction” rating.

more- See Thursday, Aug 11 paper: Vol 85, No. 37

The Chatham News

is Published Every Thursday by The Chatham News Publishing Co, Inc at

303 West Raleigh Street, Siler City, NC 27344, (919)663-3232

Alan D. Resch Editor-Publisher

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