By Angela Delp

Pittsboro manager Bill Terry sought guidance Monday night from Commissioners for a new set of water/sewer rates.

  Although any change in rates is probably several months away, the Commissioners did offer three suggestions.

  They recommended keeping rates low for the lowest-use customers, those who utilize less than 2000 gallons per month.

  Commissioners also wanted Terry to find a tiered system to make the highest users pay more. The current system is the reverse, providing discounts on water above a certain usage level.

   The Commissioners rejected an idea for equaling rates between in-town and out-of-town users, a plan that would have significantly increased the rates for in-town customers.

   Terry said he will take the Commissioners recommendations and design a proposal for the Town’s coming fiscal year.

  He said he will find a rate that makes the utility self-sufficient. In the past the Town has been using access fees and capital recovery fees collected from builders to make up shortfalls in the operating accounts. But he said that money should be reserved for maintenance and upgrades to the facilities.

The Pittsboro Town Board moved to approve several projects on Monday night.

The Board gave final approval to a special use permit for a 15-unit Habitat for Humanity planned unit subdivision on East Cornwallis Street.

Half the homes will be sold to Habitat families earning 25-50 percent of area median income, and half to market-rate buyers earning 80 percent of the median or less.

The Board decided in a 2-1 vote that the Town had sufficient wastewater capacity for the Chatham Oak development. The development was not subject to the Town’s building moratorium because its application had been submitted before the moratorium took effect.

Commissioner Clinton Bryan cast the only dissenting vote, concerned that the approval would be unfair to others who had been waiting in line longer for wastewater capacity.

   But Town Manager Bill Terry said the houses would not use all of the 3600 gallon per day allotment, and the actual usage would amount to less than one half of one percent of the Town’s actual capacity.

The motion passed with two conditions: that the Town will annex the property and that landscape buffering will be planted between the project and the property of Catherine Foushee.

Construction on the homes could start as early as this fall. Completing all the homes could take as long as two years, said Chatham County Habitat for Humanity Executive Director Amy Powell.

The Board also gave final approval to a site plan for a new Sustainable Technologies classroom building at Central Carolina Community College.

The vote came after David Monroe said the NCDOT had refused to change the design of an intersection where the CCCC drive connects to N.C. 87.

Commissioners said they still considered the design of the interchange to be unsafe and would draft a letter to the NCDOT urging them to reconsider the design.

The Board also approved a rezoning of a property at 157 West Street from residential to commercial. The property, owned by Allen Baddour, will eventually be used by Larry and Karen Webster who want to live and operate the business Larry’s Cheesecakes from there.

Emerson was uncertain on Tuesday how long negations between the two companies might continue.

"They’re hoping to bring it to consummation as quickly as possible," he said.

The two companies met in negations for seven hours on Monday, said Emerson.

Also, if the purchase goes through, IIG plans to upgrade the local plant over a 12-week period, making the plant more efficient for water conservation and sewage disposal.

"It will be a state-of-the-art facility when they’re done with it," said Emerson.

Siler City officials welcomed the positive news, particularly after the stunning announcement in March that Pilgrim’s Pride planned to shut down its operation at 602 South Chatham Avenue in Siler City in late May or early June, resulting in the loss of more than 800 local jobs.

Pilgrim’s Pride officials also said the feed mill and hatchery in Staley would close. The hatchery on West Raleigh Street in Siler City will remain open because it is associated with the company’s Lee County operation.

Pilgrim’s Pride cited rising feed costs as a primary reason for the decision.

"Our Company and industry are struggling to cope with unprecedented increases in feed-ingredient costs this year due largely to the U.S. government’s ill-advised policy of providing generous federal subsidies to corn-based ethanol blenders," said Clint Rivers, president and chief executive officer of Pilgrim’s Pride, in March. "The cost burden is already enormous, and it’s growing even larger."

Siler City officials said this week that the loss of Pilgrim’s Pride was a blow for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that, according to Emerson, the company has been a "good corporate citizen."

"Pilgrim’s Pride has been good for us," agreed Mayor Turner. "They’ve always worked with the town really well, always been very cooperative with us."

Not only has Pilgrim’s Pride been important to the town‘s coffers, including purchasing $100,000 worth of water monthly, the employees have been good contributors to the community in a number of ways, Turner said.

He cited, for example, "the tremendous amount of money" Pilgrim’s Pride employees have raised for Relay for Life.

"We’re appreciative of all our industry here in Siler City," the mayor said.

Brower said he recently spoke with Rivers in a lengthy telephone conversation and the Pilgrim’s Pride CEO was sympathetic to Siler City and the economic blow it faces when the company closes.

"We had a good conversation," said Brower. "We talked about small towns and how important these revenues are to Siler City. He was sympathetic to our plight."

Brower said Rivers indicted in that conversation that Pilgrim’s Pride was willing to negotiate with IIG.

"I thought that was very positive," said Brower.

Mayor Turner agreed.

"I’m so glad that Pilgrim’s Pride is considering selling," he said.

At least two contingents of Chatham citizens braved the crowds and heard Barack Obama speak Monday night to 17,000 people at the Dean Dome in Chapel Hill.

Karl Kachergis, chair of the Chatham Democratic Party, led one group and helped get tickets for at least 13 people, including Chatham resident Carole Bell and a Durham friend of hers, Cori Princell.

Kachergis and eight other Chatham residents caravanned to Chapel Hill together and parked their cars at a friend’s house within walking distance of the Dean Dome at about 6:30 p.m. They trekked through the woods in the rain and then waited four hours to listen to Obama as the Dean Dome slowly filled up.

Chatham County Commissioner Carl Thompson arrived at the Obama rally around 7 p.m. with his wife Mechelle, his daughter Carla, his sister Reval McClain from Bear Creek, his cousin Ray Hanner and Hanner’s wife, Phyliss,and Delcenia Turner from Gulf , second vice-chair of the Chatham Democratic Party.

Kachergis commented, "I’m simply looking for a candidate who can light a fire in the American people. I believe Obama is the candidate who can. He does a good job of not letting himself get caught on all the barbs of the talking heads."

Kachergis added, "I believe there’s a lot of excitement in Obama’s campaign and so far I’ve found his people very friendly and hard-working."

Among Kachergis’s contingent were Cedric Lee, third vice-chair of the Chatham Democratic Party, a recent UNC-G graduate currently working at State Employee’s Credit Union in Siler City; Daisy Womble, a social worker in Pittsboro (who is Carl Thompson’s sister), Womble’s 14-year-old daughter, Lauren; Erica Wilson, a 23-year-old N.C. State graduate currently working for a Siler City dentist and applying to medical school; Laurie Thompson, a North Chatham resident for the past 20 years and her two children, Andy, 19, a student at Florida State University and her daughter Holly, a 16-year-old Northwood student.

more- See Thursday, May 1,  2008 paper: Vol 88, No.21

Ashley Pyrtle, an 18-year-old senior at Jordan Matthews High School who tragically died Saturday in a two-car accident in Siler City, was clearly an exceptional young woman, loved and valued by those who knew her.

She was on the honor roll throughout high school and planned to attend Appalachian State University and pursue a career as a pharmacist.

At Jordan-Matthews, she was active in the Health Occupations Program (HOSA) and was a stellar athlete on the Cross Country team from freshman year on.

Her coach, Mark Dillon, said that Pyrtle "had a spirit you just couldn’t match.

"When she started out as a ninth grader, she wasn’t a naturally talented runner as some are," he continued. "What she had was sheer dedication and determination. She became one of the top 10 runners in the Yadkin Valley Conference. She became the number three runner in the conference for her time running 3.1 miles."

Dillon said Pyrtle invested the same zeal into her academic studies.

"She was a constant learner. She’d always work hardest on the things that didn’t come easily. She did it with a smile and a wonderful sense of humor that would lighten the mood of everyone around her."

Dillon added, "She was naturally pretty but she carried herself in such a way that her personality just lit up the room. She came across as stunningly beautiful. There wasn’t anyone she didn’t get along with."

According to Jordan-Matthews Principal Norma Boone, Pyrtle served as a peer tutor in math and computer classes and was "well-liked by everyone who knew her."

Beth McCullough, Chatham County Schools Public Relations director, said Pyrtle was both beautiful and hard-working. She was employed at the Siler City Country Club’s restaurant in recent months.

Grief counselors were available for both students and staff at Jordan-Matthews on Monday and Tuesday. Pyrtle’s funeral was held Wednesday afternoon at Oakley Baptist Church in Siler City.