Police seek suspect in RBC robbery attempt
An unidentified black male attempted to rob the RBC Centura Bank at 300 Weaver St. at 9:45 a.m. on Wednesday.
According to police reports, the suspect showed the teller a black handgun, but the teller did not give him any money and he left the bank on foot. The suspect is still at large.
Witnesses described the suspect as having a dark complexion, approximately 180 pounds, medium build, between 5 feet 11 inches and 6 feet tall, in his 30s, with long corn rows or braids and a mustache. He was wearing a hooded grey sweatshirt with a logo on the back and dark colored pants.
Anyone with information related to the attempted robbery should contact Investigator Horton at the Carrboro Police Department at (919)918-7397 or (919)918-7408.
Discussion at Stone Center on race and environment
This coming Monday and Tuesday, April 2-3, the UNC Institute of African American Research will convene a “Race and the Environment†conference at the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History.
Says program coordinator Demetria Howard-Watkins: “The conference will provide a forum for scholars to examine environmental dilemmas through racial contexts, to the extent that minority communities bear a disproportionate burden.â€
Issues discussed on Monday will include toxic waste, deforestation, hog farming, activism and water quality. The environmental impact of Hurricane Katrina will be Tuesday’s topic, with sessions on “Post-Katrina Environmental Concerns†and “Fissures in New Orleans Rebuilding Efforts†and a screening of Spike Lee’s When the Levees Broke.
Pre-registration is encouraged. For more information, contact Demetria Howard-Watkins at dhwatkins@unc.edu or 962-0977.
Composting smart and easy
This Saturday morning, March 31, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., a free composting demonstration will be held at the Community Center Compost Demonstration Site behind the rose garden on Estes Drive. It’s sponsored by the Orange County Solid Waste Management Department and the Chapel Hill Parks and Rec. Department; no registration is required.
Then, the following Saturday, April 7, come on out to the Eubanks Road park-and-ride lot from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., where Orange County will be hosting its 7th Annual Outdoor Compost Bin Sale. The sale will feature home composters – easy-to-assemble cylindrical units approximately two feet in diameter and three feet tall – for $39 apiece, tax included, no plastic accepted. These home units can be broken down into halves for easy transport.
You’ll also be able to purchase compost aerating tools for $10 each and countertop collectors for $5, and composting experts will be onsite to answer any of your questions.
County names new advisory board members
The Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday made new appointments to several county advisory boards, including;
- Arts Commission – Lead Rade, Linda Marco, Mary Jane Felgenhauer and Shannon Jackson;
- Mebane Planning Board – Thomas Fenske;
- Orange Person Chatham Area Programs Board – Lynn Ikenberry.
The board also approved the following reappointments:
- Adult Care Home Community Advisory Committee – Peggy Cohn, Jerry Gregory and Frances Kovens;
- Alcoholic Beverage Control Board – Judythe Dingfelder;
- Arts Commission – Robert Kintz, Rachel Lillis, Lauri Alexander, Geoffrey Hathaway, Tammy Lambert and Tyler Dockery;
- Commission for the Environment – Floyd Bridgwater;
- Historic Preservation Commission – Alice Remini;
- Orange County Board of Adjustment – Jeffrey Schmitt;
- Orange County Planning Board – Brian Crawford; and
- Orange Person Chatham Area Programs Board – John Stewart.
Students offer money for lights
University students on Monday approached the Chapel Hill Town Council with a petition to increase emergency call boxes and pedestrian-level lighting in downtown Chapel Hill and offered $80,000 to fund the proposed project.
The project would include the installation of emergency call boxes at four locations, including the intersections of McCauley Street and Ransom Street, Mallette Street and Colony Court, Church Street and Short Street and North Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. In addition, the students proposed the installation of pedestrian-level lights along sidewalks in the Northside district, the Cameron-McCauley district and along the sidewalk on E. Rosemary Street between Hillsborough and Boundary Streets.
According to James Allred, university student body president and a Chapel Hill native, university student government researched the proposal with the Chapel Hill Police Department and the Downtown Partnership and has levied a fee on university students to fund the project.
The students believe that “this project will improve the perception of safety and reduce crime, both of which will lead student-residents to further take pride in their community and work to be responsible neighbors,†according to Allred.