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One of the panhandlers on 15-501 recently returned to our area following 12 month sabatical. He spent the time away in a federal prison in South Carolina for cashing a few bad checks and for resisting arrest. I asked him, "What was it like down there in prison?" He said, "It was really easier than livin' out here. I got medical treatment and they fixed one of my teeth and it wasn't so cold."
I have not asked him why he returned to our area but I am curious about it. What is so attractive about homelessness and panhandling in our community? What would motivate a person to travel back here to live in the woods and beg for money on the highway? I wonder if it is a positive or negative reflection on our community that this homeless man and so many others in similar circumstances want to make this place their home.
Michael B. Owen
Every afternoon I stop at the light at the intersection of 15-501 and I-40 and I talk to the men who panhandle there. It is usually the only interesting moment in my daily commute.
This week I asked one of the panhandlers if he and his friends needed anything. I said, “With the holiday coming up do you guys need anything for Christmas?” The man paused and tilted his head as people often do when considering a question. After a few seconds he smiled and said, “Nope. We’re good.”The light changed and I drove away thinking about the irony of panhandlers who do not need anything.
Some things you have to see for yourself to believe.
I recently took a tour of about a half dozen schools, mainly older facilities, in the Chapel Hill Carrboro school system. Because the County Commissioners fund the school systems' budgets, it's important for me to see first hand what the parents, teachers, and school administrators are complaining about. I took a similar tour of facilities in the Orange County School system a while back and wanted to assess the situation in the city schools.
Boy, am I glad I did.
The N.C. Metropolitan Mayors Coalition has submitted its request for money from the federal and state governments for infrastructure projects. I’ve mapped the requests made for the town of Chapel Hill and Carrboro. No requests were made by Hillsborough.
See the raw Chapel Hill data here. See the full spreadsheet of requests here.
Why are more folks not talking about the bacteria in the water at Morris Grove Elementary? OWASA submits to test after test with the water bacteria free, so the bacteria is developing after the water leaves OWASA and is piped through the schools system. I cannot find information anywherethat states what is being done to correct this problem. Am I the only oneoutraged at this? These are our children, some getting sick from drinking tainted water. Is there a plan in place to correct this?
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