This Weekend FRIDAY 80% Chance of Rain 63/52 SATURDAY 60% Chance of Rain 70/52 Splinter Group SUNDAY Partly Cloudy sweeps the Addys 65/41 See page 3 carrborocitizen.com MARCH 26, 2009 u LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED u VOLUME III NO. II FREE Tempers fly over council’sA ydan Court decision BY KIRK RoSS zone, which would have allowed greater tonight will reverberate far beyond Mayor Kevin Foy, who displayed an Staff Writer density in the area, the project was ef- the walls of these council chambers.” uncharacteristic flash of anger. fectively stopped. The council, she said, did not “I understand that you’re upset, but CHAPEL HIll — By the time develop- To Zinn and her supporters — in- approach the project with an open I am not going to let stand your charac- er Carol Ann Zinn reached the micro- cluding fellow developers and mer- mind and had come to its conclusion terization of this council, because you are phone at Town Hall Monday night, she chants from nearby Meadowmont before the evening began. wrong,” Foy said. A zone for the project already knew the fate of her proposed — the council’s decision to deny the “People are already talking about did not exist when the project was first Aydan Court project. change prior to a full hearing on the it. This council had made their mind proposed, he said, and there were no guar- Moments before, the council had merits of Aydan Court was an out- up. It was rigged.” antees that the town would adopt one. ended a tense discussion and decided rage, and she let them know so. Zinn said that when the process “You took a risk,” he said. “Nobody not to make changes to the town’s Resi- “I think it’s a discredit to the trust began two years ago, the council invited you to do that. You are a busi- dential-Special Standards-Conditional we put in you for a fair process with did not raise concerns about density. nessperson. And this process is not zoning district that would have made integrity and transparency,” Zinn Since then, she said, she had spent rigged, because we are taking our re- possible Zinn’s plan for 58 condomini- told the council of their decision to about $600,000 on the project. sponsibility to direct the growth of this ums on six acres off of N.C. 54 near deny the zoning change prior to the Her charge that the council had community.” the Upper Little Creek Waterfowl Im- hearing on Aydan Court. “I want broken faith and not approached poundment. Without the change in the you to know that what you’ve done the issue with an open mind rankled SEE COUNCIL PAGE 7 History’s alive at Morris Grove PHOTO BY Tom WENTworTH Late spring-flowering fire pink inspired B.W. Wells to become a botanist. FLora BY KEN MOORE B.W. Wells gained power from a flower n 1932, The Natural Gardens of North Carolina, written by Dr. Bertram Whittier (B.W.) Wells, professor of botany at N.C. State University, Iwas published by the University of North Carolina Press. How well I remember, back in 1966, my mentor presenting me with a copy of Natural Gardens with the comment, “If you are going to study the botany of North Carolina, then you need to become acquainted with B. W. Wells!” That began for me a life-long pursuit of discovering and enjoying the natural gardens of our state. As a high school freshman in As part of their North Carolina history curriculum, Morris Grove Elementary School fourth- graders held a “Living Wax Museum” last Friday, where the students dressed as famous people Ohio, B.W., with the help of a with ties to the state. When recorded music was being played, the students “froze” in place, and plant key, saw and identified a when it stopped they were free to talk to visitors about the person they had studied. fire pink, Silene virginica, a brilliant Clockwise from left are Conrad McCoy dressed as race driver Richard Petty; Mave Gualtieri- red wildflower we can discover Reed striking a thoughtful pose as Sir Walter Raleigh; Krishna Navaretnam as Chapel Hill journalist in our North Carolina forests in Roland Giduz talking to visitor Bill O’Luanaigh; Jay Johnson as James Taylor; and Iruoma Ekpunobi early May. dressed as Ava Gardner, posing for her mother, Ebere Ekpunobi. PHOTos BY AVA BarLow B.W.’s discovery is worth describing: “One day, a week into the Fiscal briefing botany course, he spied a bril- Board approves bike plan liant scarlet flower while walking BY SUSAN DIckSON tions in Carrboro were “fair,” which, cyclist Wayne Pein said. “Bicyclists on Carolina along a creek bank. Strangely Staff Writer he said, is better than most commu- are erroneously considered a third North planned struck by it, he opened his nities in North Carolina, but still in- category separate from motorists and manual of plants and attempted Biking around Carrboro could dicates room for improvement. pedestrians. Consultants hired by the his first identification by means become a little easier — or more dif- The plan includes a bicycle net- “Remove all bike lanes and university to study the fiscal of a descriptive key. A thrill of ficult, according to some cyclists — work project, with paved shoulders, place signs or pavement markings impacts of Carolina North will triumph surged through him with the adoption of a new bicycle bicycle lanes, sharrows, side paths affirming bicyclists’ rights to use hold a briefing for officials from when he successfully found that transportation plan. and off-road trails at identified road as much of the road as we see fit, Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Or- The Carrboro Board of Aldermen corridors, intersections and greenway which is consistent with state law,” ange County on March 31. the plant was known as the fire voted unanimously on Tuesday to ap- corridors. The changes are intended he continued. The presentation by Bethesda- pink. ‘From that moment on I prove the plan, which was developed to help provide access to schools, gre- Elise Giddings, owner of Cycle 9, based TischlerBise will begin at 7 knew what my life’s work would by town staff with the help of Gre- enways, downtown and other busi- said that while she agreed with some p.m. at the School of Government be. I was so terribly excited enways Incorporated. The plan was ness zones, bicycle facilities, high- of Pein’s points, she felt that bike on Raleigh Road. about identifying that flower. funded by a Comprehensive Bicycle density residential areas and more. lanes were necessary for some riders. The study, completed ear- And I’m still as excited as ever Planning Grant from the North Car- While many residents supported “I personally feel very confident lier this month, looks at how the about botany. The more you olina Department of Transportation, the plan and its improvements, oth- riding in a lane of traffic with no bi- proposed new campus might see, the more you have to see.’” which was received in May 2007. ers spoke out against it, saying bike cycle lane, but I don’t want my 5 year affect the towns and the county. According to Greenways consul- lanes were restrictive. old doing that,” she said. The analysis is based on the first (From Nature’s Champion: B.W. tant Matt Hayes, surveyed Carrboro “Most of Carrboro’s bike lanes 15-year phase of the project and Wells, Tar Heel Ecologist by James residents indicated that biking condi- are unwarranted and substandard,” SEE BIKE PLAN PAGE 7 takes into account assumptions R. Troyer.) on demand, such as additional fire protection and more classroom space for local schools. SEE FLORA PAGE 10 The seas of diversity at Carrboro Elementary The report shows that the direct BY JASMINA Nogo impacts of the project will produce Staff Writer net deficits to the town of Cha- pel Hill between $780,000 and The hallway to the cafeteria at Car- $792,000 annually and of roughly INSIDE rboro Elementary School had been $50,000 annually for Carrboro. transformed into an ocean tunnel full Orange County fares better in of blue streamers and sea animals. Be- direct impacts according to the Frank Heath puts out yond it, the school’s ocean story quilt study, with additional revenue the call for all hung on display, as parents, teachers from both county and school- and students celebrated the comple- district taxes adding between good Tar Heel fans tion of the school’s cultural diversity $921,000 and $1.1 million. page 5 art project on March 17 at their “Fam- The anyalysis shows the towns ily Book Arts Night.” and the county eventually seeing “To build a sense of community positive results once indirect INDEX among our students,” said Leslie impacts such as increases to the Rountree, a parent volunteer, “we employment base and sales taxes Music .........................................................................................2 have embarked on a school-wide proj- are figured in. News .............................................................................................................3 ect called ‘Currents of Culture,’ which The report can be downloaded Community ......................................................................................................4 blends story writing, fabric design, at http://research.unc.edu/cn/spe- Opinion ...............................................................................................................6 quilting and other skills to produce a cifics.php PHOTO BY Jasmina Nogo Schools ........................................................................................................8 mural-sized fabric storybook quilt.” — STaff REporTS Classifieds ............................................................................................... 9 Students at Carrboro Elementary School worked with teachers to write a story and Almanac ................................................................................................ 10 SEE QUILT PAGE 8 create a story quilt as part of the school’s year-long project, Currents in Culture. 2 THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2009 THE CARRBORO CITIZEN MUSIC CALENDAR Resevoir: Rob Huddleston with General Store Cafe: Marty THE PRESETS NATHAN golUB The Foundation, Cruiserweight, Ann Christian, 8:30-11pm Cat’s Cradle Performs with Beretta MARCH 31 Local 506: Hey Euphony, Kaustic, John Howie SUNDAY MAR 29 Cool Ethan.