CHAPEL HILL – Two local middle school students will be celebrated on national television Thursday for winning the 2013 National School Scrabble Championship.

Kevin Bowerman—a rising freshman who will attend Chapel Hill High—and Raymond Gao—a rising freshman set to attend East Chapel Hill—will appear on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Thursday at 11:35 p.m. on ABC.

The 8th graders of Smith Middle School took down 87 other students from across the country in a two day event. Part of the prize for winning the tournament is to battle Kimmel in scrabble on his show.

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You’re invited to listen to and provide input on the Town of Chapel Hill’s Morgan Creek Trail Improvement Project Thursday night.

Town staff members will open with a brief presentation and will then open the floor for questions and discussions.

The nearly $1.5 million project began in late April and is scheduled to conclude by November 30 of this year. It’s adding 1,200 linear feet of trail with two bridges and an underpass of Culbreth Road.

One major portion of the construction includes closing the eastern portion of Culbreth Road from June 8 to August 25 to install the pedestrian tunnel.

Thursday’s public information meeting begins at 7:00 p.m. at Culbreth Middle School.

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Three local elementary school principals spent the last year refining their leadership skills through the Distinguished Leadership Program (DLP).

Morris Grove’s Amy Rickard, Glenwood’s Darlene Ryan, and Estes Hills’ Drew Ware recently completed the year-long program which uses a non-traditional professional development model that is aligned to the performance evaluation standards adopted by the State Board of Education.

The program is provided by the NC Principals and Assistant Principal’s Association in partnership with the NC Department of Public Instruction and UNC-LearnNC.