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Drought may expose artifacts but laws say they
belong to government
By Angela Delp
Dry
conditions this year have caused water to recede from the shorelines
or Jordan Lake, potentially exposing not only long-lost watches and
rings but cultural artifacts as well.
While most
people would think nothing of pocketing pieces of broken pottery,
arrowheads and other items from past cultures, doing so can leave
you with a hefty fine and possible jail time.
Federal and
state laws prohibit the removal of archaeological materials from
public lands such as state parks and protected lands.
According to
R.C. Duckson, assistant operations manager at Jordan Lake, most
people likely don’t know this.
"While it is
illegal to pilfer these artifacts, park rangers can’t stakeout the
shore lines and wait for people to pick up something," he said.
He said the
statute includes removal of rocks and plants from the park as well.
"Because
these things are on public lands, they are public property," he
said.
Duckson added
that walking lake shores with metal detectors to look for lost
jewelry is frowned upon.
"We don’t
discourage people from going out there and looking for things
they’ve lost," he said. "But people are not allowed to take their
metal detectors and go out looking for anything they can find."
Anyone who
removes an item valued from zero to $100 will be charged a $100
fine. Those who take items valued at more than $100 will have a
mandatory appearance in federal court.
"It’s hard to
judge the value of these ancient artifacts," he said. "One arrowhead
probably falls within the $100 fine range while an entire collection
of them would result in the court appearance."
Duckson said
the regulation is outlined in Title 36 of the U.S. Code Federal
Regulations.
"The
regulation concerns the unauthorized defacement, removal and
alteration of these items," he said.
He added that copies of not
only this regulation but all regulations pertaining to Jordan Lake
can be obtained at the lake’s offices.
more-
See Thursday,
January 3, 2008
paper:
Vol 88, No.5
County residents look to new year as they resolve
to make changes
By Spencie Love
Celebrating
the New Year is one of the oldest of all holidays and apparently
goes back to the earliest civilizations we know of. In 2000 B.C. the
Babylonians celebrated the new year on Match 23, and held elaborate
festivities for 11 days.
The Romans
originally celebrated the New Year on March 25, much like the
Babylonians.
It made
logical, agricultural sense: late March marked the end of winter and
the beginning of spring, a time for planting new crops.
However,
after different Roman emperors over several centuries changed the
date to suit their whims, the Roman Senate, in 153 B.C., somewhat
arbitrarily declared January 1 to be the beginning of the new year.
Several Roman
emperors continued to move the date around until Julius Caesar
established the Julian Calendar and set January 1st
as the official start of the year, synchronizing the calendar named
after him with the sun.
The early
Catholic Church vigorously opposed New Year celebrations as wild
pagan events and continued to do so through the Middle Ages.
Somehow, after centuries of neglect, New Year’s celebrations were
revived by Western nations about 400 years ago.
Ever since, New Year’s Day
has continued the early Babylonian tradition of people making New
Year resolutions. (Oddly enough, the early Babylonians’ most popular
resolution was to return borrowed farm equipment!)
more-
See Thursday,
January 3, 2008
paper:
Vol 88, No.5
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Siler City on voluntary water restrictions
By Angela Delp
Thanks to
weekend rainfall, Siler City’s immediate water woes have ended for
the time being.
The rain also
raised the water level at Jordan Lake.
Approximately
two inches of rain fell over the weekend, raising Siler City’s
reservoir water levels out of mandatory conservation range and back
to voluntary measure range.
Town manager
Joel Brower said Monday that the Rocky River Reservoir is three
feet, six inches below full. On Friday, the reservoir was more than
seven feet below full.
"We have
gained three feet and seven inches since Saturday," he said. "We are
confident our reservoir will continue to go up a little."
He said Mayor
Charles Turner planned to place Siler City water customers back on
voluntary restrictions.
"The rain we
have received is a blessing, not just for Siler City but across the
state," he said. "I know everyone would welcome more rain."
The rainfall
was also welcomed at Jordan Lake.
Assistant
operations manager at Jordan Lake, R.C. Duckson, said Monday the
lake is currently 212.67 feet, or three and one-third feet below
full.
"We recorded
2.2 inches of rain at the dam Sunday," he said. "This raised the
levels nine-tenths of a foot since Friday."
He added he
is unsure how much water was received at the watershed.
"The
watershed is really more important because that water runs into the
lake, whereas rain at the lake is likely to run off," he said.
Duckson added
that the Haw River is "running healthily."
"We are
keeping a 6.5-inch gate setting and have been keeping it for about
three months," he said. "We are taking in about 3,000 cubic feet per
second and putting out about 200 cubit feet per second."
He said many
people are saying this is the lowest the lake has ever been.
"It isn’t," he said. "We are
actually in good shape but could use more rain."
more-
See Thursday,
January 3, 2008
paper:
Vol 88, No.5
Looking back at the year gone by
Drought, tragic deaths were dominate stories of
2007
A Staff Report
Drought was –
and continues to be – the dominant story of 2007, a year that
brought news both good and bad in Chatham County.
Some of the
good news included another good year for the Relay for Life
fundraiser. In 2007, Chatham County residents joined forces for the
third year in a row to make the Pittsboro and West Chatham Relay for
Life the top fundraisers in its population category.
Good news
also included the opening of Virginia Cross Elementary School in
Siler City, the county’s newest public school, which was welcomed
with a warm reception late in the year.
Goldston,
Chatham County’s youngest municipality, celebrated a momentous
occasion with the 100 th
anniversary of its incorporation. A big party was held in early fall
to celebrate the centennial event.
But there was
bad news, too, including tragic loss of life. Within the span of
only a few days this fall, several young people died in a fire and
in automobile accidents. The shocking murders of two elderly
residents of the Galloway Ridge retirement community shocked the
community.
What follows
is a recap of some of 2007’s memorable stories.
Ongoing
drought
For most of
2007, Chatham County as well as most of North Carolina was held
firmly in the grip of drought.
Chatham
County enacted water restrictions and conservation efforts to help
cope with the dry conditions.
In May, the
county began voluntary water conservation.
The
restrictions first applied only to the northeastern part of the
county because that area is served by the county’s water treatment
plant and other areas are serviced by other local governments.
Roy Lowder,
director of Chatham County’s utilities department, said the goal was
to start conservation measures early in case dry weather continued.
Unfortunately, dry conditions didn’t abate.
In October,
the county asked customers using Siler City water to abide by the
town’s restrictions when Siler City received reports of a car wash
in Bennett operating with no alternate water source.
While it has been dry
everywhere, Siler City particularly felt the sting of drought as the
town’s reservoir diminished.
more-
See Thursday,
January 3, 2008
paper:
Vol 88, No.5
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