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School chief
search nears end
By Spencie Love
Chatham
School Board members will soon finalize the lengthy process of
choosing a new superintendent to oversee Chatham County‘s public
schools.
According to
School Board Chair Kathie Russell, it’s possible the board will
announce their chosen candidate as early as next week.
With the help
of Alison Schafer of the North Carolina School Boards Assoication (NCSBA)
in Raleigh, Chatham School Board members initially considered a pool
of approximately 30 candidates.
They met in
several closed sessions and ultimately selected seven candidates to
interview.
The entire
board participated and interviewed each of the seven candidates for
two-hours each at a hotel in Cary over a weekend in early March.
Russell
commented that all seven candidates were "excellent, well qualified
and very capable."
She said that
all seven answered a set of prepared questions and all were asked to
do a presentation about how they would solve a particular problem.
"We got some
wonderful ideas from the candidates," Russell said. "It’s been a.
great, very interesting process for us as a board."
Three
candidates (at most) were chosen for second (final) interviews,
which are now close to completion, said Russell.
School board
members as a group took each final candidate and his or her spouse
out to dinner and discussed more personal issues, such as was he or
she a good fit for the job, in terms of family, living arrangements,
and other personal considerations.
Chatham’s new
school superintendent is scheduled to begin work on July 1.
Interim
superintendent David Bryant said he will "return to retirement" once
the new superintendent has officially started.
He said the
board will expect him to meet with the new superintendent to brief
him or her on the current status of the Chatham schools.
Bryant has
served as interim superintendent for the county school system since
the retirement last year of Dr. Ann Hart.
more- See Thursday,
April 3, 2008
paper:
Vol 88, No.17
One-stop
voting begins April 17
By Bill Willcox
One Stop
Early Voting for the May 6 primary election will begin April 17 and
end May 3.
Voters can
cast their ballots 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10
a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday at the Board of Elections office at 984
Thompson Street, suite E1.
There are two
other One Stop voting sites in the county: Chatham Downs on U.S. Hwy
15-501 near the Harris Teeter, and the Earl Fitts Community Center
at 111 South Third Street in Siler City.
These two voting sites will
be open 10-7 weekdays and 10-3 on Saturday.
more- See Thursday,
April 3, 2008
paper:
Vol 88, No.17
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Authorities
ready if crime increases with bad economy
By Angela Delp
Recent and
impending job losses related to recent plant closings could also
affect Siler City’s crime rate.
Siler City
Police Chief Gary Tyson, in an interview on Monday, said that while
his research has found no correlation between a loss of jobs and an
increase in crime, the police department is "ready for whatever."
Added Tyson,
"I’m not saying it couldn’t happen, though. I do think that if this
is the case, our community-based policing will benefit us."
In an effort
to integrate Siler City police officers with town citizens, Tyson
urged officers to get out of their cruisers and into the community
when he became chief last year.
Officers
began doing things such as community projects and foot patrols.
"I think this
has helped us to develop a partnership with the community," he said.
"We’ve also got a lot of citizens who are willing to look out for
each other."
Tyson stressed the importance
of programs such as the neighborhood watch program, the church watch
program and the vacation watch, in which out of town homeowners can
ask the police department to check on their homes while they’re
absent.
more- See Thursday,
April 3, 2008
paper:
Vol 88, No.17
Local water
supplies healthy after abundant rainfall here
By Angela Delp
Thanks to
recent rainfall, water supplies in this formerly drought-ridden
county are flowing in abundance.
Chatham
County utilities manager Roy Lowder said Tuesday that the county’s
water supply is in "the best shape it has been in in years."
The recent
rain has only strengthened the supply in Jordan Lake.
"Jordan Lake
was full before the recent rainfall and we’re still full," Lowder
said. "The lake is probably fuller now than it’s ever been."
He added,
however, that the county is still on water restrictions, "for
conservation purposes. The southeast and southwest parts of the
county are on voluntary restrictions and expected to remain on them
year ‘round."
Lowder
explained new restrictions for northern Chatham.
Neighborhoods
such as Governor’s Club, Fearrington Village, Carolina Meadows and
Big Woods Subdivisions will be permitted to water lawns only two
days weekly.
The residents
will only be permitted to use one inch of water for their landscapes
each week.
Pittsboro
town manager Bill Terry, in an interview on Tuesday, said the town’s
water supply is "doing just fine."
"We’ve been
quite lucky during the drought and afterward," Terry said.
"Pittsboro’s water supply was never in trouble."
He explained
this is because most towns take their water from reservoirs, while
Pittsboro’s water supply is served by the Haw River.
"Reservoir
levels tend to fluctuate with the drought and rainfall but water
levels in the river are steadier," Terry said. "We did enact
mandatory and voluntary restrictions in support of our neighbors,
who were struggling."
He said the
town remains on voluntary restrictions.
"Although the river is
running high, we want folks to be conscious of how much water they
are using," he said. "We want to encourage citizens to conserve."
more- See Thursday,
March 27, 2008
paper:
Vol 88, No.16
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