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Hospital, state
facility poised
to open soon
By Angela Delp
A sign on US
64 near the Siler City Wal-Mart advises motorists that Chatham
County’s new business park is poised to open soon.
What was, not
many years ago, once pasture land is quickly shaping up as the
county’s Central Carolina Business Park, home of the new Chatham
Hospital, a state juvenile justice center, and Central Carolina
Community College’s Siler City campus.
Construction
on two of the three entities at the new business park is rapidly
progressing, officials say.
Both the
Juvenile Justice Center and the new Chatham Hospital building are
due to open this year.
Central
Carolina Community College’s new campus, which will replace the
college’s current Siler City facility, is still in its beginning
stages.
Central
Carolina Community College’s new facility is "still in the design
and development phase," said CCCC’s construction manager Donnie
Lowder, who is working with Hobbs and Hobbs Architects of Siler
City.
"Right now,
the architects are analyzing what programs will be in the building,"
he said. "They do this so they can determine our space needs and
organize the space to meet those needs."
The next step
in the process for CCCC is creating the final drawings, which have
to be approved by the state and local governments.
"Once that
happens, we’ll advertise bidding so contractors can put out bids on
the project," he said.
Central
Carolina Community College’s replacement facility will be
approximately 23,000 square feet and will consist of two stories.
"We have not
decided all of the programs that will be located in the new
building," Lowder said. "Most of the programs now housed in the
Henry Siler School will be moved to the new location."
The Henry
Siler School currently houses literacy programs, Arts Incubator
programs, English as the Second Language and some basic skills
programs.
Lowder added
the school does not have a completion date in mind.
"Until
construction begins, we really can’t predict that," he said.
Work on
Chatham Hospital’s replacement facility is due for completion in
July or August, hospital officials said last Thursday.
Chatham
Hospital Chief Executive Officer Carol Straight gave a tour for
employees at the hospital’s new site last week.
She said
construction on the new hospital is now more than 75 percent
complete.
"They are
paving parking lots, are installing flooring, lights, kitchen
equipment and ceiling grids," she said.
"In some
areas," Straight added, "paint is finished."
She also said
the new hospital’s sidewalks have been poured and all the windows,
curbs and gutters have been installed.
more- See Thursday,
March 13, 2008
paper:
Vol 88, No.15
Knight
launches bid for board seat
By Bill Willcox
A new
candidate is collecting signatures and planning to run as an
Independent for the County Commissioner District 2 seat held by Mike
Cross.
Bob Knight
joins Democrats Cross, Jeffrey Starkweather, Armentha Davis and
RepublicanAndy Wilkie, who have already filed to run.
In order to
be placed on the ballot in November, Knight must collect 1,500
signatures of registered Chatham County voters by June. He said he
already has 1,100 signatures and should have no problem meeting the
deadline.
He said he is
running for commissioner to represent the everyday person.
"I believe I
represent all of the citizens of Chatham County, not just the ones
who come out to protest or support pet projects," he said. "I have
seen the everyday person, the one who pays taxes promptly and
genuinely cares about the county, throw up his hands in despair and
disgust because he sees his needs are not being met."
He is
critical of the current commissioners.
"Our current
Board of Commissioners spends money recklessly and has a huge
appetite for wants instead of needs," he said. "They have created
county jobs that should not exist, while doing things to discourage
good paying jobs."
He said the
current BOC fought hard to impose the land transfer tax and intends
to put it on the ballot in the future, even though it was soundly
defeated.
He said
commissioners voted to give themselves a $3,000 raise.
He said the board’s actions
are putting a heavy tax burden on people, especially seniors and
working class people who earn lower wages, and this at a time when
people are losing their homes, gas and food prices are rising and
economic conditions are deteriorating.
more- See Thursday,
March 13, 2008
paper:
Vol 88, No.15
As textile
plant closes, industry eyes former Joan Fabrics site
By
Angela Delp
Joan Fabrics,
Siler City’s last remaining textile plant, closed last Thursday,
leaving approximately 80 people without jobs.
Although the
plant has been closed one week, interested investors are anxious to
occupy the 380,000 square foot building.
An
undisclosed business from the Northern United States visited the
site Thursday, Mayor Charles Turner said Monday.
"This was a
combined effort from the NC Department of Commerce, the Chatham
County Economic Development Corporation and the Town of Siler City,"
he said.
Turner
explained that a commercial real estate firm which Siler City is
working with contacted the town because an industry was interested
in the Joan Fabrics facility.
"This
industry was from the Northern US and is very interested in
relocating to North Carolina," he said. "They have also visited
Oxford and Burlington."
Turner added the industry’s
officials arrived by helicopter to tour the facility.
more- See Thursday,
March 13, 2008
paper:
Vol 88, No.15
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Wind, rain
pelt county
By Angela Delp
A
thunderstorm last week brought high winds and rainfall to Chatham
County, leaving numerous downed trees and damaged power lines in its
wake.
Jonathan
Blaes, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service’s Raleigh
office, said a severe thunderstorm struck Chatham County last
Tuesday, March 4, between 9:30 and 11 p.m.
"There were a
few scattered storms earlier in the day," he said. "While those
storms were powerful, the evening storm caused the most damage."
Blaes said
most areas of Chatham County experienced wind with speeds between 40
and 50 miles per hour. In a few areas, however, wind speeds were
even higher, averaging between 50 and 60 miles per hour.
"We had a
handful of reports involving downed trees," he said. "Siler City and
Pittsboro were among hardest hit areas."
He added
rainfall from the storm totaled an inch or slightly more Tuesday
evening.
"There was a
belt through the county that received close to two inches," he said.
He explained
that the belt included Southwest Chatham, Pittsboro and Siler City
and parts of east Chatham.
"The county
also experienced one inch of rain Friday [March 7]," he said.
Although no
rain fell in Chatham County over the past weekend, high winds
persisted.
Blaes said
wind speeds Saturday afternoon and evening, March 8, averaged 40 to
45 miles per hour.
"In thunderstorms, you
usually have two or three big wind gusts," he said. "Saturday, the
gusts were on and off much of the afternoon."
He added that
wind gusts higher than 50 miles per hour usually cause damage.
"This is when
you will see arching power lines and trees falling," he said.
Chatham Emergency Operations
director Tony Tucker said dispatchers received several calls last
Tuesday concerning fire alarm activations and downed trees in parts
of the county.
more- See Thursday,
March 13, 2008
paper:
Vol 88, No.15
Jeff Davis photo
Practice drill . . .
Silk Hope students line the halls with heads
covered in a tornado drill at the school last Wednesday. Schools
around the county, as well as the state, partipated in the severe
weather drill, practicing on what to do, and where to go, in case of
an emergency.
Preparation is
key to survival
By Randall Rigsbee
Silk Hope
School seventh graders Eli Teague and C.J. Talbott are young, but
they’re old hands when it comes to knowing what to do if severe
weather threatens.
Eli and C.J.,
along with their classmates, have participated every year in the
tornado drill conducted in each of the county’s schools during
Severe Weather Awareness Week, which was observed March 2 to 8.
"It’s
important to have the drills so if a tornado really does happen
everybody knows what to do," Eli said.
The drill –
conducted last Wednesday afternoon — is simple but, as Eli noted, a
vital component in helping students be prepared.
Notified over
the school’s public announcement system by assistant principal Chad
Morgan that the drill was beginning, students in the K-7 school
quietly and orderly moved from their classrooms to interior
hallways.
There, they
knelt face-down against the walls clutching their hands over their
heads.
"You put your
hands up over your head in case there’s broken glass flying," C.J.
explained.
C.J. and her
classmate Eli are not only well-schooled in what to do if a tornado
or other dangerous weather looms, they put their knowledge to use
when, as fourth graders, bad weather really did occur.
"Somebody had
seen a tornado in the area," Eli recalled, "and we had to go out in
the halls for safety."
Fortunately
then, as during last week’s drill, all went smoothly and illustrated
the value of last week’s exercise.
"Just like
with any drill, it’s important that the students know what to do in
case there’s an emergency, that they know where to go, and know to
stay calm," assistant principal Morgan said.
"They did a
great job," he added. "The drill went very smooth."
Heidi Matthews, a teacher’s
assistant in Christa Morgan’s second grade class at Silk Hope, said
the drill culminated a focus this week in class on severe weather.
"They’ve been
reading ‘Scholastic News’ and looking at pictures of severe weather
and talking about what to do in case there’s an emergency," Matthews
said. "We try to talk about the weather a lot. It’s important that
the kids be aware of the weather."
The timing
was good, too. The night before the drill was conducted, Chatham and
other area counties weathered a night of strong winds and rain.
While the
rough weather earlier last week didn’t cause any major problems in
Chatham County, having a plan in place in case weather does pose
problems is what the week of awareness, observed statewide, is all
about.
In North Carolina last year,
the National Weather Service issued 42 tornado warnings and recorded
12 tornadoes.
more- See Thursday,
March 13, 2008
paper:
Vol 88, No.15
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