The official renaming and dedication ceremony for the Jerry M. Passmore Center is set for Thursday.
Thursday’s dedication is being co-sponsored by Orange County and The Friends of the Jerry M. Passmore Center.
The Orange County Commissioners voted in March to rename the center in honor of Jerry Passmore after it was formerly known as the Central Orange Senior Center.
Passmore was the director of the Orange County Department on Aging from 1977 to 2010. During that time, he developed and implemented two five-year master aging plans, which were the first of their kind in North Carolina.
The dedication ceremony is set to get underway at 10:30 Thursday morning at 103 Meadowlands Drive in Hillsborough.
http://chapelboro.com/news/news-around-town/dedication-ceremony-for-jerry-m-passmore-senior-center-set-for-thursdayThe North Carolina Department of Transportation is replacing the bridge carrying Moorefields Road over a section of Rocky Run Creek just southwest of Hillsborough. The road will be closed for 90 days.
The work began on Monday and is expected to be finished by December 24.
Local traffic will have access to homes and businesses on either end of Mooresfields Road. But no traffic will be able to pass the closure points on either side of the bridge. A detour has been set up on Dimmocks Mill Road, Thoroughbred Lane and S.R. 1135.
This project is part of the department’s plan to improve the state’s bridges.
Real-time information can be found on the Traveler Services section of the NCDOT website or on the NCDOT Twitter.
http://chapelboro.com/news/traffic/detour-established-while-orange-county-bridge-replacedThe gas shortage that has been impacting much of North Carolina over the last few days has made its way into our community.
Drivers were sitting in their vehicles at stations that still had bags over the pumps at the Cruizers in Chapel Hill North on Tuesday morning. The reason they felt it was worth the wait was the large truck making a gasoline deposit.
The gas shortage at BP on Martin Luther King Blvd in Chapel Hill. (Photo by Jeffrey Clayton)
GasBuddy has also launched a gas availability tracker, which is based on user submissions.
If you see locations throughout the day that are not listed above but have gas or are now out of gas, please call the WCHL newsroom at (919) 967-8363 or tweet us @WCHLchapelboro.
Look who's here! The @CITGO on #NC86 in @HillsboroughGov has gas! @WCHLChapelboro #GasCrisis2016 pic.twitter.com/ZOaj3PiwJL
— Ran Northam (@ransvoice) September 20, 2016
Governor Pat McCrory has issued a state of emergency over the shortage, which was caused by a leak in a pipeline in Alabama.
Attorney General Roy Cooper is asking North Carolinians to report concerns over price gouging to the AG’s Office. Reports are that there are currently more than 600 reports of possible price gouging.
Price gouging law in effect for gas: what it means for NC consumers: https://t.co/hi98KS482a
— NC Attorney General (@NCAGO) September 19, 2016
Local officials are urging residents to use public transit during this time. An e-mail from town manager Roger Stancil to town leadership said that the town has enough fuel to last 16-20 days during normal operations and that a gasoline delivery was received specifically for transit operations on Saturday. Stancil estimated that would last around 30 days.
The Associated Press is reporting that the pipeline company has repaired the leak and that it expects to restart the main gasoline line on Wednesday.
http://chapelboro.com/featured/gas-shortage-causing-long-lines-and-angst-for-motoristsHog Day is returning this year as Orange County’s largest and longest-running festival, according to the festival’s website.
The 34th Hog Day Festival is returning to the Riverpark in downtown Hillsborough and kicking off at six o’clock Friday evening. The main festivities will take place on Saturday from 10 o’clock in the morning until five o’clock in the evening. Music will be provided by local bands and the BBQ cook-ff contest will be a cornerstone of the event. Organizers say there will also be arts and craft vendors on site.
The inaugural Hog Day 5K is a new event this year and will use the Riverwalk Greenway between eight and 10 o’clock Saturday morning.
Due to the festival, town officials are warning motorists and residents to expect heavier-than-usual traffic in the downtown area. East Margaret Lane will be closed between Court and South Cameron Streets from eight o’clock Saturday morning until six o’clock in the evening, according to the town.
Parking information for the event can be found here.
Hog Day is put on by the Optimist Club of Orange County. There is no admission fee but items will be for sale from arts and craft vendors. BBQ sandwiches will be available for purchase as well.
Proceeds from the event will go to help children’s programs and services in the county, according to the optimist club.
More information is available at the Hillsborough Hog Day website.
You can listen to the interview with Criag Lloyd from the Optimist Club of Orange County about Hillsborough Hog Day below:
http://chapelboro.com/news/news-around-town/hog-day-kicks-off-friday-nightHillsborough Police are warning residents to lock their vehicles after a string of targeted break-ins.
Police say several unlocked vehicles have been broken into in several areas of town.
Authorities are asking citizens to not leave their vehicles unlocked and to not leave valuable items in visible locations.
There were recently suspects charged with committing similar crimes in Mebane and Hillsborough Police are investigating whether there is any connection. The suspects arrested in the Mebane break-ins were from Chapel Hill, Durham and Graham, according to police.
http://chapelboro.com/news/crime/hillsborough-police-investigating-multiple-car-break-insA case of shoplifting at the Home Depot in Hillsborough led to the arrest of a man on fraud charges.
Hillsborough Police say officers were originally called to the home improvement store on Hampton Pointe Boulevard on a shoplifting call. Authorities were then notified of potential fraud.
Police say 31-year-old Luis Miguel Hernandez-Castillo, of Fort Lee, New Jersey, was at the store trying to purchase digital thermostats with a stolen credit card number. Hernandez-Castillo told officers he was buying lumber for his house in New Jersey, according to officials. But police say that digital thermostats from Home Depot locations in North Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana and South Carolina were all located in his vehicle.
Police say Hernandez-Castillo have been arrested for obtaining property by false pretense from the multiple stores. He is currently being held in the Orange County Jail under a $100,000 bond, according to authorities. An investigation is continuing.
http://chapelboro.com/news/crime/hillsborough-shoplifting-leads-to-multi-state-fraud-investigationLocal music lovers: this weekend, plan to spend a lot of time in Hillsborough.
The weekend begins on Friday with the monthly Last Fridays event. From 6:30-9:30, enjoy music from Todd Johnson and the Revolvers on the old courthouse lawn, plus more music, art, crafts and food along the sidewalks and special events at shops, restaurants, churches and galleries throughout downtown. On Sunday, the Hillsborough Chamber of Commerce hosts the second round of “Sundays in Hillsborough,” featuring horse-drawn carriage and train rides from 1-4 pm and music on the lawn from the Mason Lovette Acoustic Experience from 2-5 pm. (“Sundays in Hillsborough” runs every week through the end of October.)
But the highlight of the weekend comes in between: on Saturday, August 27, head to downtown Hillsborough for the River Park Concert, an annual, all-day free music event for the whole family. The day begins with a young musicians’ workshop at 11 am (ages 4-10) and yoga for all ages at 11:15 – then live music begins at noon and runs until 7:30. Mel Melton & the Wicked Mojos get things started at noon, followed by the Piedmont Regulators, Raising Caine, Coleslaw, Joe Tullos & the Bold Chorus, and Dr. Bacon.
The band Coleslaw dropped in on Aaron Keck on WCHL last week and played some live songs off their album “Last on Board.”
For more info and a full concert schedule, visit RiverParkConcert.org.
http://chapelboro.com/news/arts/river-park-concert-music-in-hillsboroughA decades-old ornamental street tree in downtown Hillsborough has been vandalized and police want your help tracking down those who did it.
Officials say the approximately 25-foot-tall crepe myrtle, which stands on the west side of Churton Street between Tryon and King Streets, was vandalized by an unknown person.
Police say the suspect sawed through the tree’s bark around the entire base of the trunk, drilled holes into the trunk and applied herbicide. Officials say it appears the vandal or vandals intended to kill the tree.
Police believe the vandalism occurred in “one or more incidents over the past two weeks.”
The tree is valued at $25,000 due to its size and age.
Town officials say trees growing in rights-of-way are town property and cannot be removed or pruned without explicit permission from the Hillsborough Tree Board.
Anyone with information regarding the vandalism is asked to contact Hillsborough Police Sergeant Chip White at (919) 732-9381, extension 34.
More information about the street trees can be found by calling staff for the Hillsborough Tree Board at (919) 732-1270, extension 74.
http://chapelboro.com/featured/police-seeking-information-after-vandals-damage-historic-hillsborough-treeThe Hillsborough Police Department Substation parking lot will be temporarily closed beginning this Thursday for tree removal and paving work.
The parking lot, located on 502 Rainey Ave., will remain closed for approximately two weeks depending on the weather.
The parking lot will be open on August 20, however, only for additional parking for the Fairview Live Community Event.
http://chapelboro.com/news/news-around-town/hillsborough-police-department-parking-lot-temporarily-closedSeveral areas of Hillsborough will experience brief power outages at the end of the week, due to repairs of electrical infrastructure.
Duke Energy will be repairing failing infrastructure on Thursday and Friday. The repairs will take place between 11:00-11:30 Thursday night and 4:30-5:00 Friday morning. The outages will be rescheduled for Friday and Saturday should there be weather delays. Officials say customers who will be affected by the outages will be called before they occur.
The affected neighborhood is located near Orange High School and northern Hillsborough, bordered by NC-86. A complete list of the areas affected is available on the town of Hillsborough website here.
http://chapelboro.com/news/news-around-town/areas-of-hillsborough-to-experience-brief-power-outages
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