A glimmer of community support and hope can be seen sifting through the smoldering ashes of a Pittsboro family’s home.

"I went outside and looked," said Pam Reeves, of 410 Guthrie Road in Pittsboro. "There was nothing I could do but call the fire department."

Reeves and her 3-year-old son, Keith, had fallen asleep Christmas Eve at her father’s house next door, when a neighbor’s knocking at 1:30 a.m. woke her, she said.

Reeves had just left a 12-hour shift in the dietary department of Hill Forest in Goldston before going to her father’s house to prepare a Christmas meal for him.

After cooking, Reeves and her son fell asleep on her father’s couch.

"For some reason, I stayed right here," she said. "I’m glad me and Keith didn’t go back home."

The house that Reeves had lived in since 1982 was "totaled," she said. The Christmas presents that she had bought only days before were lost. Keepsakes, pictures, and other irreplaceable objects representing memories from her life are never to be seen again.

"Gone, gone, gone," said Reeves.

After Pittsboro and Bonlee fire departments initially responded to the call, Reeves and her son went to her sister’s house, also close by, to try to rest for the remainder of the night.

Reeves woke from coughing soon after, and worried that what was left of her home had begun to burn again, she looked at the smoldering remains only to find more flames.

Fire ravaged the residence of Steven Coates early December 26.

The house located at 521 Silverberry Lane, Pittsboro was totaled, said Mark Riggsbee, North Chatham Fire Department Chief.

"It was a total destruction – contents and structure," he said.

Though the 1,500 square feet house was destroyed, there were no injuries, said Riggsbee.

The fire started early the day after Christmas.

"We got the call at 7:51 a.m.," he said.

more- See Thursday, January 4 paper: Vol 87, No. 5

Four Chatham County buildings are a little closer to renovation, thanks to action Tuesday by the Chatham County commissioners.

Commissioners voted to accept the low bid for the renovations of the Dunlap Building, the Law Enforcement Center, the Soil and Water Office and the Siler City Health Clinic.

The price tag for the renovation is $1.075 million, and the successful bid went to Crest Construction Services of Greensboro. The bid included a contingency of $114,000 to be set aside for unforeseen expenses related to the project.

Hobbs Architects of Pittsboro submitted the certified bid tabulations, and the board voted unanimously to accept the bids, which were under the county’s budgeted amount.

The bid was $19,000 below the county’s budgeted amount and $5,000 below the budgeted contingency amount.

The bulk of the renovations will take place in the Dunlap Building, which is the home of the planning department, environmental health and the permitting offices.

Approximately 1,000 of the 1,900 square feet will be renovated in the building, said Taylor Hobbs, of Hobbs Architecture.

Hobb discussed some of the specifics of the plan and some of the difficulties. "One of the tricks," he said, "this building has to remain operational throughout the renovation." The renovation will therefore be done in a few phases.

One major change will be the entrance, which will be moved toward the middle of the building. Another change will be increasing the size of the lobby. Minor changes include replacing the carpeting, ceiling tiles and paint.