Tethering committee member resigns citing article
The animal welfare and health expert on the Orange County Tethering Committee resigned on Monday, citing a “series of death threats … from unknown persons.â€
The tethering committee was created by the county board of commissioners to work with the Animal Services Advisory Board to determine if changes should be made to the tethering laws under the county’s animal ordinances.
In an email to county officials, Alane Koki, the scientist appointed as animal welfare/health expert, blamed an article published in the Independent Weekly for the threats. The Independent on April 11 reported that Koki had a long history of breeding pit bulls and an association with Tom Garner, a local kennel owner and convicted dog fighter who was denied a seat on the tethering committee.
In addition, county officials had questioned Koki’s residency in Orange County as well as a possible pro-tethering bias, which she denied. “I am a scientist, first and foremost,†Koki said in an email to county officials.
Arts workshop in Chatham
The Orange County Arts Commission and the Chatham County Arts Council will sponsor an “E-Marketing for the Arts†workshop for artists and arts organizations on Sunday from 1:30-5 p.m. in the Barn at Fearrington Village.
The workshop will feature Eugene Carr, a leading expert in electronic arts marketing and president of Patron Technology.
Carr will present the results of a recent nationwide study of arts patrons to determine how and why the web and email influence attendance.
In addition, Carr will provide participants with email marketing techniques.
Tickets for the workshop are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. To pay in advance or for more information, contact the Chatham County Arts Council at 542-0394.
Super colon headed this way
The Super Colon is coming to Meadowmont Village in Chapel Hill on Friday, May 18 and Saturday, May 19.
The Super Colon is an inflatable, interactive colon that teaches people about the risks, symptoms, prevention, early detection and treatment options for colorectal cancer. Visitors
may walk through the 8-foot-high, 20-foot-long inflatable colon to get a close-up look at healthy tissue, tissue with non-malignant colorectal disease, as well as tissue with various
stages of colorectal cancer.
The model will be located in Meadowmont Village from 9 a.m. until 8 p.m. on Friday, May 18 and from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 19. A wide variety of educational materials on cancer prevention will be available, and medical personnel from UNC Health Care and the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center will be on hand to discuss related health issues.
The Super Colon visit is sponsored by Health Care and UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. The Super Colon is provided by the Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation through an educational grant from Sanfli Aventis.
Eli Wallach to visit
Legendary stage, screen and television actor Eli Wallach will be appearing at the Fearrington Barn on Monday, April 30, at 1 p.m., to discuss his memoir The Good, the Bad and Me: In My Anecdotage, an event sponsored by McIntyre’s Fine Books.
Wallach was an early member of the Actors Studio on West 44th Street in Hell’s Kitchen. He went on to win a Tony Award for Tennessee Williams’ The Rose Tattoo. Among his most memorable movie performances are those in The Magnificent Seven, How the West Was Won, The Misfits and, of course, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
Clint Eastwood praises Wallach’s rich memoir, saying of its author, “He is an extremely versatile actor, and now a fine storyteller.â€
The event is free.
Hip hop at Playmakers
Innovative hip-hop theater troupe Universes will bring its unique performance style to PlayMakers Repertory Company in a serious of performances Thursday-Sunday (April 26-29).
Universes is presented as part of the PRC series in the Elizabeth Price Kenan Theatre in the Center for Dramatic Art on the UNC campus.
Intellectual, edgy and eloquent, Universes Poetic Theater Company dramatizes the urban experience through a mix of music, movement and inner-city slang. The Los Angeles Times wrote of the New York City-based ensemble, “These performers are fierce, funny and bitingly intelligent.â€
Tickets are $10 for students, $15 for PlayMakers subscribers and $20 for the general public.
Former teaching assistant charged
A former McDougle Middle School teacher’s assistant has been charged with taking indecent liberties with a student and indecent exposure.
Travis Lee Thompson of 3501 Poplar Road in Efland was arrested April 18 after investigation of the incident, which was reported on April 13, according to the Carrboro Police Department. He was released on $10,000 bond.
WTVD-TV 11 reported on Friday that Thompson said he admitted to exposing himself to the 13-year-old student and that the student gave him a lap dance.
Thompson was fired by the Chapel Hill-Carrboro school board on April 19 after school resource officers with the Carrboro Police investigated the allegations, according to Stephanie Knott, spokesperson for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools.
Thompson was hired as a teacher’s assistant for exceptional education at McDougle Middle in March, but the incident in question occurred in February while Thompson was working as a substitute teacher, according to Knott. Thompson had worked as a substitute teacher at McDougle for two years, she said.
All of the parents of students at McDougle Middle were notified of the incident by an automated call from principal Debra Scott. Scott personally notified parents of students in Thompson’s class.