North Carolina ranks 34th in the nation for overall child well-being, according to the 2014 KIDS COUNT Data Book. However, Orange County may be just a little bit ahead of the state all together signs of better times approaching.
“Orange County historically has done a little better on a lot of the indicators than [the rest of] the state, partly because we have a lot more programs than some of the low-wealth counties,” says Nancy Coston, the director of Orange County Department of Social Services. “We also are lucky that we live in a community that is very committed to our families.”
The KIDS COUNT Data Book is a product of the Annie E. Casey Foundation that examines 16 measures of child well-being in four categories: economic well-being, education, health, family and community.
North Carolina was one of the worst ranked states for economic well-being at 38 and performed only slightly better for family and community at 36.
The Tar Heel State was ranked at 32 in the health category and received its highest marks for education at 28.
In terms of what needs improvement, Coston says that poverty’s impact on children is something that will always have a lasting affect.
“That’s one of the things that has been really hard to help families with,” Coston stated, “Especially since around 2008, when the recession affected so many. A lot of our families have not been able to rebound from that. One of the problems is, with lower income families, the economic situation can affect them—it’s much harsher than it is for other families in terms of the impact. And the children feel that—they know that they live in a situation where they cannot have the things that other children have.”
A positive aspect to come of these poverty statistics is that the Orange County government is listening, according to Coston.
“Orange County Commissioners recently have started wanting to have additional conversations about our families living in poverty, and we’ve also seen that in some of the towns where they’re trying to address the housing and other needs of low income families. We know that children need to feel secure in their housing; they need to have no food insecurities, which we know that many of our families experience. So finding ways to make sure that all of that can be mitigated is one of the most important things that we can do here in our community.”
With all of this in mind, is Orange County currently on the rise or the decline?
Coston says she believes that, in terms of economics, the former is happening.
“We are starting to see the availability of jobs picking up, so hopefully, that impact will affect some of our low-income families,” Coston stated.
“We’ve been focusing a lot on employment of the parents, making sure their skills are marketable so that those families can get back in the work force because that is an important step for them and for their children, because we do know that children with working parents tend to do better than children without families who are working. So as the economy improves, hopefully some of that will impact.”
Coston also says there’s another positive trend happening in the form of health indicators that have improved recently in the state with Orange County as one of the leaders.
“I think it will be interesting to see, in the towns and the county, what approaches we can come up with that emphasize ways to help our children who are living in less-than-perfect situations,” Coston stated.
http://chapelboro.com/news/health/oc-ahead-state-overall-child-well/Congratulations to the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau, just awarded accreditation status from the Destination Marketing Accreditation Program.
The Orange County Visitors Bureau first received accreditation in 2010; it’s one of only 150 Convention and Visitors Bureaus in the U.S. to receive that honor.
It’s been more than a year since the big flood of 2013, and Town Hall is still undergoing renovations – but progress is being made, and on August 11 the Town of Chapel Hill is expecting to open some new offices.
Starting on Monday, August 11, the town’s Development Services Division and Revenue Office will be open on the ground floor of Town Hall, with the Business Management Department on the second floor. Cashiering will remain at University Square until August 8, then move back to Town Hall after that.
The renovations are being done in part to repair flood damage, but also to improve customer service. Council Chambers is scheduled to be reopen by September.
In order to reduce the level of algae in Jordan Lake, state officials are installing thirty-six solar-powered water circulators called SolarBees in the lake this month.
Installation began on July 21; it’s expected to take about two weeks. Twelve of the “SolarBees” will be placed in the southern part of the lake by the Haw River; the other 24 will be placed in the northern part of the lake by Morgan Creek.
http://chapelboro.com/news/news-around-time/choc-visitors-bureau-accredited-ch-town-hall-reopening-solarbees/Now that the primaries are done, it’s time to start planning for the general election in November – and that means figuring out where to locate early voting sites.
The Orange County Board of Elections is holding a public meeting on Tuesday, July 22, to hear from the public on the hours and locations for the 2014 general election. Head to the meet and let officials know where you want to see early-voting sites – and when you want them open.
The meeting will take place at 11:15 a.m. Tuesday at the Board of Elections office at 208 S. Cameron Street in Hillsborough.
If you’re looking to do good in your community, consider volunteering for the Compass Center for Women and Families.
The Compass Center is accepting applications now for people interested in working their 24-hour domestic violence hotline, being First Responders for individuals who walk into the center’s office, or being Community Educators and representing the Compass Center at events and presentations around town.
For more information, you can email resources@compassctr.org – or visit them online at CompassCTR.org for more details.
http://chapelboro.com/news/news-around-time/orange-county-early-voting-meeting-compass-center-volunteers/Early voting is closed for Orange County’s next sheriff as 298 residents cast their ballots on Friday, and 282 voted on Saturday taking the total to 1,519 for early voting.
Saturday, Orange County Commissioner Mark Dorosin told WCHL that he organized about 100 citizens to join him in voting early, and led the caravan from Chapel Hill to Hillsborough.
Charles Blackwood and David Caldwell are in the runoff for the position after the two were separated by just more than 60 votes in the May 6 Primary. Since neither received more than 40 percent of the vote, the second-place finisher—Caldwell—was able to call for the runoff.
Only the Board of Elections Headquarters took votes in the early voting process because of the historically low turnout for runoffs. However, all 44 precincts open on Election Day, Tuesday, from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Candidate Profiles
http://chapelboro.com/news/election/early-voting-sheriff-concludes/Voting numbers remained flat Thursday as 156 Orange County residents cast their ballots early for the next sheriff.
Charles Blackwood and David Caldwell are in a runoff for the position after the two were separated by just more than 60 votes in the May 6 Primary. Since neither received more than 40 percent of the vote, the second-place finisher—Caldwell—was able to call for the runoff.
Only the Board of Elections Headquarters is taking votes in the early voting process because of the historically low turnout for runoffs. All 44 precincts will be open on Election Day, July 15.
The polls open each day this week from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. and on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Election Day is July 15, and all the polls open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
The Orange County Board of Elections is located at 208 South Cameron Street in Hillsborough next to Orange County Financial Services.
http://chapelboro.com/news/election/early-voting-thursday-check/Early voting numbers continued their downward trend on day three with 141 people casting their ballots for Orange County Sheriff.
Charles Blackwood and David Caldwell are in a runoff for the position after the two were separated by just more than 60 votes in the May 6 Primary. Since neither received more than 40 percent of the vote, the second-place finisher—Caldwell—was able to call for the runoff.
Only the Board of Elections Headquarters is taking votes in the early voting process because of the historically low turnout for runoffs. All 44 precincts will be open on Election Day, July 15.
The polls open each day this week from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. and on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Election Day is July 15, and all the polls open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
The Orange County Board of Elections is located at 208 South Cameron Street in Hillsborough next to Orange County Financial Services.
http://chapelboro.com/news/election/141-vote-early-sheriff-tuesday/The second day of early voting saw a dip, but nearly 200 people cast their ballots for Orange County’s next sheriff.
Charles Blackwood
Charles Blackwood and David Caldwell are in a runoff for the position. Because no Republicans filed before the May 6 Primary, one of those men will take the place of Lindy Pendergrass, who has served in that role for 32 years.
Only the Board of Elections Headquarters is taking votes in the early voting process because of the historically low turnout for runoffs. All 44 precincts will be open on Election Day, July 15.
David Caldwell
The polls open each day this week from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. and on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Election Day is July 15, and all the polls open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
The Orange County Board of Elections is located at 208 South Cameron Street in Hillsborough next to Orange County Financial Services.
A prosecutor says he has dismissed a felony fraud charge against a former North Carolina professor linked to a scandal involving academics and athletics.
In a statement Thursday, Orange County district attorney Jim Woodall said he dropped the charge after Julius Nyang’oro cooperated with the criminal investigation and an independent probe into fraud in the department where Nyang’oro served as chairman.
A grand jury indicted Nyang’oro in December for obtaining property by false pretenses. He was charged with receiving $12,000 to teach a summer 2011 lecture class that did not meet. The class, filled with football players, was treated as an independent study requiring a research paper.
Former U.S. Justice Department official Kenneth Wainstein is leading the independent probe into the formerly named African and Afro-American Studies department.
http://chapelboro.com/news/unc/fraud-charge-nyangoro-dropped/Early voting for Orange County’s next sheriff begins Thursday, but you have to travel to Hillsborough to make your pick.
Charles Blackwood and David Caldwell are competing in the second primary—or runoff—election to succeed 32-year sheriff Lindy Pendergrass. Neither candidate received 40 percent of the vote, so second-place finisher, Caldwell, requested the runoff.
Only one location will be open for the runoff election: the Orange County Board of Elections headquarters in Hillsborough. Director Tracy Reams says that’s the way it’s always done for early voting, since turnout for a runoff is historically low.
All 44 precincts will be open on Election Day, July 15; the polls open at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m.
Early voting begins Thursday from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.; the polls are closed Friday for the July 4 holiday; next Monday through Friday, the polls are open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; and Saturday, July 12, the polls are open from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.
For more information on the runoff election for Orange County Sheriff, click here.
http://chapelboro.com/news/election/sheriff-runoff-early-voting-begins-thursday/Director of the Chapel Hill-Orange County Visitors Bureau, Laurie Paolicelli, wants vacationers to know about what the county has to offer this summer. WalletHub recently released their analysis of the top 20 best “staycation” spots in the U.S. for 2014. On the list this year was two North Carolina cities: Raleigh and Winston-Salem.
While Orange County did not make the list, Paolicelli has a few reasons as to why it should.
“There is live music here almost every night. You have Friday’s on the Front Porch, Downtown Chapel Hill offering their music series at the Exhale Public Sculpture at 140-West,” says Paolicelli. “Weaver Street Lawn in Carrboro is always packed with everything from hula hooping, to food, to live music all summer long.”
Paolicelli also discusses the summer opportunities offered for younger residents of Orange County.
“You also have a real rise in kid’s activity, from the ArtsCenter’s summer drop-in classes, to events like the Venus flytrap exhibits and walks at the botanical garden,” states Paolicelli. Paolicelli also mentions the Ackland Museum is also holding their own events this summer to check out.
Paolicelli is encouraged and excited about the growth of Orange County and the many great events that are to come this summer. The live music events that took place last Friday indicate that staying in the area this summer might be the best choice.
“Wow, last Friday is a great example of just how many people are flooding Hillsborough for the music, for the art, and for the food. We have new restaurants opening up here what seems like almost weekly. DSI Comedy is operating all summer long to take advantage of 10 thousand summer school students on campus,” says Paolicelli. “We are not the sleepy towns we used to be.”
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