This Weekend Friday PM Showers Schools 85/63 School board Saturday considers new Partly Cloudy 92/63 plans for Lincoln Sunday Partly Cloudy Center 88/64 |Pg. 4 carrborocitizen.com September 20, 2007 w Carrboro’S COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER w VOLUME I NO. XXVII FREE Election season lurches to a start By KIRK ROSS opening statement. with the U.S. Department of Justice against Or- Staff Writer Voyce said he ange County, Chapel Hill and Carrboro. would not seek the ElECtiONS Voyce urged the Sierra Club to suspend its en- With Election Day just seven weeks away, the group’s endorse- 2007 dorsement process. Carrboro municipal races shifted into high gear ment, then went “I ask local Sierra Club leaders and members on to admonish the P to engage in a period of deep introspection. I ask with the first in a series of election forums and a candidate for Carrboro mayor calling for Alder- organization for its record of backing candidates them to review their string of past candidate en- man Dan Coleman to step down. who he said had not been responsive to the con- dorsements, endorsements that cover all of our The first forum of the season was held at Car- cerns of the Rogers Road neighborhood about en- local officials who have overseen the infliction of rboro Town Hall Monday night and included can- vironmental justice. environmental injustice upon the Rogers Road didates for alderman and mayor. The forum, spon- The neighborhood, adjacent to the Orange community. I ask them to acknowledge their sored by the Sierra Club, featured some fireworks County Landfill, has been battling a proposed early on with mayoral candidate Brian Voyce’s waste transfer station and has filed a complaint SEE ELECTIONS, PAGE 9 PHOTO BY KEN MOORE In a shooting star-like pose, the golden ray flowers point down from the green- ish central cone of the green coneflow- Residents say er. new store will A late-summer worsen traffic flower for By KIRK ROSS the shade Staff Writer Plans for a Harris Teeter and commer- FLORA cial center at the corner of Jones Ferry Road and Barnes Street took a tentative By Ken Moore step forward Tuesday night, but not be- fore several neighbors complained that the store would add traffic to an already I had something totally differ- dangerous intersection. ent planned for this week until At its meeting at Town Hall, the Car- I visited the opening of the Bo- rboro Board of Aldermen decided to tanical Garden’s 20th Anniver- continue a public hearing until next week sary “Sculpture in the Garden” on plans for a 7.71-acre parcel, which show. If you have never visited now serves as the construction yard for this annual show, be certain to contractor Calvin Mellot. The site is near treat yourself to at least one visit Wilkinson plumbing supply and is across there between now and mid-No- the street from the OWASA water treat- vember! PHOTO BY JOCK LAUTERER ment plant. Down in the area in front Not in the job description Northwest Property is requesting a of the Paul Green Cabin, I was conditional-use permit to build three Carrboro High School band director Frank Jones, left, serves as a music holder for members of the Jaguar band during the totally blown away by the psy- playing of the Star Spangled Banner at Monday night’s football game with Cedar Ridge. chedelic exuberance of masses SEE STORE, PAGE 10 of green coneflower, Rudbeckia laciniata. I’ve always enjoyed seeing a clump or two here and there, but to see so many in full flower … well, it was like I had Rogers Road coalition pushes for change died and gone to heaven! By TAYLOR SISK make heard concerns for the health The Assembly of Governments UNC-CH student body, faculty and This plant, another one of Staff Writer and safety of residents in these is comprised of the county and mu- staff; and local churches. those numerous members of neighborhoods, which abut the Or- nicipal elected officials of Orange “The Rogers Road Association the Aster or Composite families, The newly formed Rogers-Eu- ange County Landfill. County and meets on a quarterly has reached out to other organiza- is a close relative to the better banks Coalition to End Environ- “We had asked [the Assembly of basis. The Rogers-Eubanks Coali- tions for support to halt the building known Black-eyed Susans, all mental Racism will hope to get the Governments] prior to making out tion to End Environmental Racism of the transfer station,” Campbell of which bear the same generic attention of the Assembly of Gov- their agenda to give us five minutes was organized by residents of the said. “At the same time, we’re point- Latin name, Rudbeckia. All of ernments at the assembly’s meeting at the beginning of their meeting to predominantly African-American ing to the hazards of living near the these have yellow ray flowers. tonight (Thursday) at 7:30 at the voice our concerns,” said coalition neighborhoods on and around Rog- landfill, many of which will continue Southern Human Services Center member Rev. Robert Campbell. ers Road and Eubanks Road and the if they build the transfer station.” However, the central cone of Though an opportunity for the Chapel Hill Carrboro Branch of the Campbell expressed in particular disc flowers of the green cone- (2501 Homestead Road). The co- alition was formed to attempt to coalition to speak isn’t listed on the NAACP; the Environmental Justice his concern with having large trucks flower is greenish in contrast to agenda – and, as of mid-day Wednes- Network; the West End Revitaliza- passing on roads along which chil- the dark-brown center of the reverse the decision of the Orange County Commissioners to place a day, they hadn’t been told if they tion Association; the Women’s In- dren will be traveling to and from several Black-eyed Susan Rud- waste transfer station in the Rog- would be allotted those five minutes ternational League of Peace and school, in many places without side- beckia species. Another common ers-Eubanks community and to help – Campbell is confident they’ll be Freedom; the Orange County Pro- walks. name is cutleaf coneflower. This heard. gressive Democrats; members of the appropriately descriptive name calls attention to the fern-like fo- liage along the lower portion of the stem. In the late winter and Music fest gets ready for a landmark year early spring the fernlike, lush, By CODY BRAUN that first year. dark-green basal foliage is an Courtesy of the Carrboro Commons Williams says the event originally took place as attractive accent in the woodland close to June 21 as possible each year to celebrate the garden as well as in a carefully The night before the Carrboro Music Festival ten summer solstice. “The first couple of years, the crowd managed perennial border. The years ago, Gerry Williams was scared. was just a couple hundred people around Carrboro,” six-foot-tall flowering stems are “Lots of professionals said we couldn’t do it,” the he says. “The last couple of years, the police estimate generally found along stream music festival’s creator and organizer says. Despite this it was between 8,000 and 10,000.” banks and wet ditches through- advice, Williams went forward with the project, which This year, to celebrate the festival’s anniversary, or- out the Piedmont and mountains he says has been a great success. ganizers arranged a special kickoff night of music at and occasionally all the way “The next day, I was so happy,” he says. “I was the Cat’s Cradle on Sep. 29, which will include per- taking down banners, and people were driving by and formances by local groups Two Dollar Pistols, Tres down to our coastal counties Chicas and Great Big Gone. PHOTO BY KIRK ROSS honking, saying ‘I had a great time yesterday.’” Gerry Williams and Kim Andrews display this The festival, which will celebrate its tenth anni- year’s Carrboro Music Festival poster. SEE FLORA, PAGE 7 versary September 30, has changed significantly since SEE MUSIC FEST, PAGE 10 INDEX INSIDE Arts & Music..........................................2 Tapping the boards News.......................................................3 Letters to the Editor: graphic artist, kindergarten teacher and The ensemble, founded and directed Obituaries..............................................3 RECENTLY... others from all walks of life. by Vail and Mimi Benjamin, strives to Schools..................................................4 Readers write in about Community...........................................5 Cat Baby By Valarie Schwartz “We all share the same passion,” said keep this truly American dance art alive Opinion..................................................6 Vail, the only member with a profession through promotion, education and per- Land & Table.........................................7 in dance, as an instructor at The Bal- formances. They put a lot of work into a Sports.....................................................8 See Page 6 Robin Vail and I both did our parts for Classifieds.............................................9 let School of Chapel Hill and Barriskill show, with some numbers taking as long me to attend a Footnotes Tap Ensemble Dance Theatre School in Durham. “I as two months to learn during weekly re- rehearsal before its upcoming show Sat- dance every day of the week but Monday. hearsals. HOW TO REACH US urday, but we could not know that some- I love it.” “We all get a lot of joy out of the pro- Contact Us Online Edition one would lock me out of the dance She started tap dancing when she was cess — being together, learning the ma- The Carrboro Citizen carrborocitizen.com/main studio. With sore knuckles (from much 11 and living in California.