This Weekend FRIDAY 50% Chance of Snow MILL 38/25 SATURDAY 70% Chance of Snow 27/16 SUNDAY Clear 36/20 Inside this issue! carrborocitizen.com JANUARY 28, 2010 u LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED u VOLUME III VNO. XL I FREE Three years in, Carrboro High hits a winning stride BY BETH MECHUM Staff Writer An atmosphere of success has taken hold on the Carrboro High School cam- pus. The field hockey team now plays more competitively with both East Chapel Hill and Chapel Hill, the women’s golf team helped start a high school women’s golf league in the area and the men’s soccer team beat conference rival Cedar Ridge for the first time ever. Students, teachers and parents walked the halls and fields of Carrboro High School three years ago not knowing what was ahead. It was tough going in the be- ginning, and it’s still no easy ride. But with cohesion, camaraderie and a sense of community from all, things just keep get- ting better. Three years ago, in the school’s first year of operation, the football team couldn’t as much as sniff a win, even when at home Common catbriers occasionally display remarkable colors. on its brand-new field. Fortunately, there PHOTO BY GILES BLUNDEN weren’t many people in the stands to wit- ness those weekly beatings. A full women’s golf team was just a pie-in-the-sky dream for the few golf enthusiasts on campus. FLORA BY KEN MOORE There was no senior leadership on any team, because there were no seniors. Kids were thrust into starting positions in sports Behold the catbriers they’d never before played because they didn’t have the opportunity to earn their ocal architect Giles reps on junior varsity teams, because, well, Blunden has a pas- PHOTO BY ava BARLow there were none of those either. Carrboro High School athletes representing cross country, basketball, football, swimming, soccer, track, tennis, golf and sion for photographing volleyball teams. mushrooms. When SEE JAGS PAGE 5 asked to verify the Lidentity of his mushroom images, I refer him to recently retired Town council wary of library costs botany librarian and local histori- an Bill Burk, who really knows his BY KIRK RoSS Pease said he is concerned that Chapel the town’s tax rate. that given the county’s budget woes, mushrooms. When Giles focuses Staff Writer Hill taxpayers would likely shoulder Stancil said phasing in the use of he does not expect to see a major in- the bulk of the cost of staffing, operat- the new building and working with crease from the commissioners this on other plants, I’m on firmer CHAPEL HILL — Town leaders will ground. Last summer, when he ing and maintaining the addition. library management to find other sav- year, but would like to see a commit- take a hard look at library funding In a presentation to the council, ings could reduce some of the impact. ment to increase the county’s share in asked, “Ken, what’s this?” show- and the consequences of a proposed Town Manager Roger Stancil and Library costs have been the subject years ahead. ing me a remarkable image expansion of the Chapel Hill Public Finance Director Ken Pennoyer out- of a long-simmering dispute between During last year’s budget discus- among his mushrooms, I recog- Library at the Town Council’s retreat lined a plan for moving forward on town and county officials. At Monday’s sions, the council looked at charging a nized a common native vine. this weekend. the $16.3 million expansion, which meeting, council member Penny Rich fee to use the library, which is free for “Where did you find that After looking at the impact of the would double the size of the building. said the county’s share of the cost has all residents of Orange County. catbrier?” I asked, and he re- project during its regular meeting Stancil said favorable financing not kept up while the library’s budget The council also received a status Monday night at Town Hall, council plied, “While photographing conditions and the town’s Triple A has increased. The county contributes report on the 140 West Project. Ac- members said that while they support bond rating would allow for the con- $250,000 annually to help cover li- cording to the report, Ram Proper- mushrooms in the mountains the project, the long-term costs and struction of the building to be com- brary operating expenses, an amount ties reports 33 new condominium near Asheville.” When accused their effect on the town budget war- pleted without raising taxes. that has not changed since 1995. contracts and expects to have a pro- of computer enhancement, he rant more conversation. But after the building opens, staff Library officials estimate that pa- posed budget ready for town review in declared that his image was ex- Council member Gene Pease said and operating costs would add an trons from outside Chapel Hill ac- April. actly what he saw. And indeed, I he supports the expansion project, estimated $774,799 annually to the count for about 40 percent of the recollect seeing that unbelievable which would be financed through town budget. If paid for with a tax library’s circulation. SEE LIBRARY PAGE 3 turquoise-blue color on stems of bonds approved by voters in 2003. But increase, that would add 1.13 cents to Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt said catbriers from time to time, even here in our local area. From mountaintops to sea- coasts, the vegetation of our A homemade treat goes big time Prime rate state seems to be held in place by one or more of several RECENTLY . foreclosures species of catbrier, Smilax spp. BY VALARIE SCHwaRTZ surge in NC Descriptive common names The cellophane packages look in- include sawbrier, greenbrier and nocent enough with their little Car- BY RicH FowlER bamboo-vine. olina blue ribbons. First-time buyers Staff Writer A few weeks ago, while naively pluck them from shelves and Warmer weather may be on the walking the Springer’s Point take them home with no inkling of the pleasures to be elicited while eat- horizon, but don’t expect that to Preserve on Ocracoke Island, I ing them; or the pangs when they’re translate into a hot housing market. encountered brilliant-red leaves depleted. Uncertainty about the economy is one on some of the catbriers there. This is the story of how a mother reason the market is tepid. Another is With evergreen entangling vines and son working together turned that the number of foreclosures con- above and strong tuberous the “Southern part of heaven” into tinues to be high and new data on the root systems below, catbriers the home of Chapel Hill Toffee types of filings points to a rise among are effectively securing dunes — to die for. traditionally safer borrowers In 2008, Chapel Hill native and Total mortgage foreclosure filings and shorelines against wind and UNC graduate (class of 2003) Mark were up more than 17 percent state- surf action. You may remember Graves, 28, found himself out of wide from 2008 to 2009, according discovering knobby, potato-like work after a short career in bank- to data from the N.C. Administra- roots washing up on seashores ing. While her two sons (Scott is tive Office of the Courts. The office and sound sides. Those are rem- two years older than Mark) were tracks both commercial and residen- nants of the tough storage roots growing up, Karen Graves, a stay- tial filings in North Carolina, which, of catbriers. at-home mom, worked in clay and combined, rose from 53,960 in 2008 created a niche selling ceramic an- to 63,341 in 2009. SEE FLORA PAGE 8 gels with stringy yarn-like hair at To make matters worse, two-thirds Womancraft Fine Handcrafted of current foreclosure filings are on Gifts. Then she read the newspaper prime loans, which are supposed to one day in 2002 and learned about be much less risky for lenders than A Southern Season’s constant quest the subprime loans that started the INSIDE for locally created items to sell — es- foreclosure crisis, according to Chief pecially candy. Deputy Commissioner of Banks Karen, a native of Maine, has, PHOTO BY ava BARLow Mark Pearce. Carrboro board looks for as long as she can remember, Mark Graves and his mother, Karen Graves, make Chapel Hill Toffee in the kitchen Prime borrowers with fixed-rate at lighting standards made toffee “with a recipe I’ve had of their home in Chapel Hill. mortgages are the highest-growth seg- forever and ever and ever.” Karen ment of foreclosures, according to, Ro- See page 3 found her way to Chapel Hill the made her toffee in their Chapel Hill vided at the candy counter for her to berto Quercia, director of the UNC INDEX way most people do — as a student home, refining her recipe and learn- keep filled. Center for Community Capital. (class of ’74) — where she met and ing it was a favorite whenever she “Toffee was faster and easier than “They have nothing to do with fell in love with Griffin Graves (class served it. working with clay,” Karen said re- subprime [loans],” Quercia said. Community ......................................................................................... 2 of ’72). They married and moved “They have nothing to do with people News ................................................................................................ 3 Eager to take it further, she ob- cently while sitting at her kitchen for a short while to Winston-Salem tained her LLC license (KLG Can- table. “I never thought it would go in unstable employment or with poor Schools ...............................................................................................