Siler City, North Carolina
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Pittsboro name most prominent on county web sight By Randall Rigsbee Chatham County’s charms may be unique to the region, but the name isn’t and local tourism officials say that to avoid confusion with Chatham County, Ga. and Chatham, Mass., the Pittsboro-Siler City Convention and Visitor’s Bureau’s official web address doesn’t even mention Chatham. While there hasn’t been a groundswell of opposition to that name, there has been some. Jane Wrenn, executive director of the Chatham County United Chamber of Commerce said in an interview last week that representatives of two Siler City-based businesses contacted her recently with concern about the Web address. Wrenn took those concerns to Neha Shah, director of travel and tourism for the Pittsboro-Siler City Convention and Visitors Bureau, which is responsible for marketing Chatham County and chose the Web address. In an interview last week, Shah said the address is in no way meant to exclude any portion of Chatham County, but is instead intended to distinguish the local Web presence from the other Chathams and to make the Chatham County, NC Web site more “user-friendly” to its customers, which include visitors, media and film scouts.
Crime rate rises in Chatham By Cara Rotondaro The crime rate in Chatham County increased slightly from 2002 to 2003, according to the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) Uniform Crime Report for 2003. The crime index, or average number of crimes committed per 100,000 people, went up for Chatham County, versus the index number for the state, which went down. The 2003 crime index rate was 3,542 in Chatham County, compared to a crime index of 3,449 in 2002. The statewide crime index rate for 2003 was reported by the SBI as 4,675.4, compared to a rate of 4,792.6 in 2002. The crime index, according to the report, includes the number of murders, rapes, robberies, aggravated assaults, burglaries, larcenies and motor vehicle thefts. The index crime rate number can be confusing, agree Sheriff Richard Webster and Major Gary Blankenship of the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office. While index crime rates for the county went down – 1,286 were reported in 2002 and 1,253 reported in 2003 - numbers in Siler City and Pittsboro went up, thus raising the overall index crime rate. Siler City’s index crime rate was reported by the SBI as going up 27 percent, and Pittsboro’s by 86 percent. The numbers may sound alarming, said Blankenship, but the reasons they are so high is because population numbers in the municipalities are smaller than in the county, thus reflecting higher percentages.
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Jeff Davis photo A fine seat to rest on . . . What's a seat at the annual Pumpkin Festival without a lot of pumpkins? Jake Marlowe found out that he could have the best of both...a good resting spot along with quite a few pumpkins nearby. Jake was on hand at the annual Hart's Pumpkin Festival this past weekend, having a good time, and looking over the pumpkin selection. It won't be long till these pumpkins will either be turned into jack-o-lanterns...or pumpkin pie. Pumpkins take center stage at event By Melissa Ledgerwood There was something for the whole family at Hart’s 11th annual Pumpkin Festival near Goldston last weekend. Jeff Crissman of the Harpers Crossroads area said he didn’t know who wanted to go to the festival more, him or his three-year-old son. The Crissmans, consisting of Jeff, his wife Amy, their son Evan and 17-month-old daughter Anna Grace, spent Saturday morning enjoying the entertainment, attractions and activities at the Pumpkin Festival. “We’ve been here since it opened,” Jeff said around noon. The husband and father of two said he couldn’t believe the number of families with small children that were rolling in around lunchtime. “My kids were tired after two hours,” he continued. In addition to pony rides, dunking booth, rock climbing wall, pumpkin slingshot, mechanical bull and pumpkin putt-putt, families enjoyed a wide variety of music and a clogging exhibition by Southern Express of Marshville. Performers included comedian Jerry Carroll, the Cagle Family of Efland, featuring 11-year-old banjo player Levi Austin of Brush Creek and Chatham County’s own Mitzi Brooks and Gospel Grass. The three-day event offered displays of heritage crafts, molasses making, cornmeal grinding and sawmilling. Professional lumberjacks competed in four events—the underhand chop, two-man crosscut, standing block chop and modified chainsaw.
County DSS to double child protective workers By Randall Rigsbee The Chatham County Department of Social Services will soon more than double the number of child protective services social workers it employs, though at no cost the county taxpayers. “This is all federal and state money,” according to county DSS director John Tanner. “It’s an exceptionally good deal.” Chatham County currently employs eight social workers who handle child protective services cases. The General Assembly has approved $5 million for additional social workers in North Carolina counties. Of that, Chatham County will receive $541,000, enough to add an additional nine social workers for child protective services, according to Tanner. The additional employees are badly needed, Tanner said. Each current social worker has been handling an average load of around 25 cases. “That’s a very high case load,” Tanner said.
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The Chatham News
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