Public Health & Safety
Amid recent police killings, in the time of COVID-19, there are renewed calls for community safety changes including defunding the police, reforms such as the 8 Can't Wait Movement and abolition. Here's a run down of recent local responses.
I see Orange County plans a Shelter in Place statement starting Friday 6PM. Anyone have the details? Our neighborhood (Kings Mill Morgan Creek) has created a daily Zoom noon on line get together. Anyone else?
Sounds like it is time for new folks to hear old stories of Hurricane Fran (1996) and get ready for Hurricane Florence (2018). (We were 3 blocks from Franklin St without electricity for 6 days with a 6 month old baby. We used a lot of our backpacking gear. The neighbors, student rental, had 4 cars crushed by trees. We escaped any damage except our landlord spent the next 6 months cutting up for fire wood the oak that fell in our back yard.) The latest headline now says "potentially catastrophic category 4!" I'll put in a plug for the NC Standard Course of Study which includes the high school course of Earth and Environmental Science which I taught (along with biology, chemistry etc.) at the soon to be remodelled Chapel Hill High School. I always warned students when they live on their own to figure out if their rental is in the flood plain. We also talked about hurricane preparedness and the dangers of crossing flooded roads and bridges. I hope the hype for this storm is wrong but....
The Carrboro Police Department will be running our next Citizen's Police Academy on September 10th, 2016 at the Carrboro Police Department. I'll be the lead instructor during the academy and numerous other officers will be on hand to assist with different blocks of instruction. The basic format for the Citizen's Police Academy is listed below:
- Classroom lecture on the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, law enforcement operations & procedures and vital department statistics.
- Hands-on activities including fingerprint lifting, K-9 demonstrations, vehicle demonstrations, etc.
- Scenarios involving roleplayers where participants will get to act as police officers and respond to calls for services based on real calls we've responded to.
Lunch will be provided as part of the Academy.
Officer D here; this is my first post on Orange Politics!
For those of you who don't know me, I'm a member of the Carrboro Police Department's Community Services Division. One of my primary assignments is to create, organize and complete Community Oriented Policing (COPS) initiatives. Our current major COPS initiatives are the Police Department Open House (next event--June 22nd from 6:30 PM to 8 PM) and the Citizen's Police Academy (September 10th, all day). Current ongoing initiatives are Coffee with the Cops, Kava with the Cops, Neighborhood Forums, Pizza with the Police and other similar events.
I'll be periodically posting officer profiles, announcing major events and attempting to keep people posted on what's going on with the Carrboro Police Department!
Many thanks to the Chapel Hill News for reporting on the issue of street and sidewalk cleaning. It would have been nice if some of the people who were critical of the town's response to cleaning sidewalks can be interviewed, but I understand that time is short. One thing that I think everyone would agree on is that the folks in public works at the Town of Chapel Hill have been working (and are continuing to work) very hard on cleaning streets. So, thanks to them.
I find it unfortunate that the reflexive response to the call for better sidewalk maintenance is "who is going to pay for it." I'm not aware that anyone on twitter or elsewhere has been arguing that the town should be responsible for clearing all the sidewalks the way it (and the NC Department of Transportation) is responsible for clearing roads. The issue is that there's a large gap between what the town does now, which excacerbates the problems people have when they're trying to walk, and what the town could do without assuming responsibility for clearing all the sidewalks.
I just sent this to the mayor and council email. Everytime I bike or drive by the ghost bike I promise myself I am going to say something so now or never. The bikepath/sidewalk on the up/north side is officially one way even for the the segment that takes one from the Bolin Creek Greenway to the stop light where one can cross safely to go various directions. "I am sorry to see that after six months the solution to the accidents near Hillsborough and MLK is a sign saying do not enter. When Bolin Creek Greenway reaches MLK many people will want to ride their bike south to the Hillsborough MLK intersection to go in various directions. It makes no sense to prohibit that movement. If you are worried about the driveways just place warning signs at those points. (Are joggers also prohibited from running that way.) As an aside when our son was young our rule when riding on the sidewalk was to stop, look and walk at all driveways but I do believe it should be the drivers responsibility to make sure it is safe to eneter or leave a drive.
Date:
Monday, June 29, 2015 - 7:00pm to 9:00pm
Location:
Town Hall, 301 W Main Street, Carrboro
An event announcement from Orange/Chatham public defender James Williams:
- Do you know how to respond to police during a traffic stop?
- Did you know regardless of your citizenship status, you have constitutional rights?
- Do you know you are not required to consent to a search of yourself?
Panel Discussion Moderated by Dr. Rodney Coleman
While everyone is welcome, it is being planned primarily by and on behalf of young people. It is really important to encourage our youth, particularly mid-teens to mid-twenties to attend. Representatives from the bench, bar, law enforcement, and community will be among the panelists. Refreshments will be provided.
Date:
Saturday, February 28, 2015 - 4:00pm to 6:00pm
Location:
Hargraves Community Center, 216 N. Roberson Street, Chapel Hill
Starting next week, I'll be hosting a series of four Town Hall events that each focus on a different issue in our community: downtown Chapel Hill, social and environmental justice, economic development and working together in Orange County.
I want these events to be an opportunity for residents to engage and take an active role in shaping the future of our town. All you need to bring is an open mind and ideas for how we can build a more vibrant, livable community. Here's the schedule:
Issue: Downtown Chapel Hill
When: Wednesday, Feb. 25th at 5:30 p.m.
Where: DSI Comedy, 62 W Franklin St, Chapel Hill, NC 27514
Click here to see full event details and RSVP for the downtown Chapel Hill Town Hall.
Issue: Social and Environmental Justice
When: Saturday, Feb. 28th at 1 p.m.
Where: Rogers Road Community Center, 101 Edgar Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27516
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