Commissioners wield ax on county building needs

By Randall Rigsbee

County commissioners on Monday trimmed a list of capital improvement projects, excising several million dollars worth of proposed spending and paring priorities down to what one commissioner called an “absolute minimum.”

Commissioners are also considering increasing the current school impact fee to pay for a new elementary school in Siler City, a new middle school in northeast Chatham, and a new Jordan-Matthews High School cafeteria.

The three school needs topped commissioners’ capital needs list after board members met Monday to prioritize the spending projects.

Last week, county manager Charlie Horne and county finance officer Vicki McConnell met with the director of the Debt Management section of the state treasurer’s office  and learned that Chatham County can only afford $65 million in new debt.

Commissioners met Monday to trim the county’s list of $153 million in capital improvement needs, eliminating from the list a new high school and three auxiliary gyms..

Topping the list are the Siler City elementary school ($17,130,000), a northeast Chatham middle school ($18,540,000),  and a Jordan-Matthews cafeteria ($5,340,000), which commissioners said could be paid for by impact fees through Certificates of Participation (COPs).

more- See Thursday, March 31 paper: Vol 85, No.18

Suspects still on loose after manhunt in county

By Cara Rotondaro

Two suspects charged with armed robberies at two convenience stores in Marlboro County, South Carolina last week were still on the loose Tuesday morning after a car chase through Chatham County early Sunday morning.

A black Nissan pickup-truck that the suspects had stolen from the Bonlee area was discovered Monday morning in Rowland, but deputies believe the suspects are no longer in the area.  

The third suspect, William Oscar Baker, 21, of Rowland, was apprehended by authorities in a wooded area about two miles south of Bonlee on Sunday.  

 According to police reports, two stores were robbed in South Carolina on Wednesday night.

The three suspects carjacked a van from a women getting gas at the second location and fled the scene.

The vehicle was next seen in Chatham County.

Major Gary Blankenship said Deputy Darren Yarborough saw a green mini-van going about 100 miles per hour heading south on 421 at about 3 a.m. Sunday morning, about two miles north of Siler City.

Deputies chased the vehicle for about 10 miles until it crashed into a utility pole on Elmer Moore Road in Bonlee.

more- See Thursday, March 31 paper: Vol 85, No.18

County to assist town with sewer capacity

By Randall Rigsbee

Chatham County commissioners voted unanimously Monday to assist Pittsboro in its efforts to resolve the town’s sewage capacity limitations by allocating up to $300,000 over the next five years to help the town pay for a new spray field.

Pittsboro town manager David Hughes met with county commissioners Monday to discuss the town’s sewage limitations.

“The town is running out of sewer capacity and has been for a while,” Hughes said.

The town’s current sewage flow is approximately 400,000 gallons per day. The town has a permitted capacity of 750,000 gallons per day.

With approved developments, Pittsboro will be at 90 percent of capacity. The state imposes a moratorium on new development above the 90 percent capacity mark.

more- See Thursday, March 31 paper: Vol 85, No.18