This Weekend FRIDAY Volleyball 40% chance of rain 85/70 S ATURDAY 30% chance of rain 81/67 S UNDAY 50% chance of rain 85/65 See page 9 carrborocitizen.com AUGUST 27, 2009 u LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED u VOLUME III NO. XXiv FREE Alderman seat to remain vacant until Nov. election BY BETH MECHUM Herrera had nearly completed his bathrooms smaller, taking out the community has provided,” he said. Staff Writer second term as the first Latino im- kitchen and adding a nursery and The board approved both op- migrant elected in Carrboro when community room. tions, which will be submitted for The Carrboro Board of Aldermen his recent move to Holly Springs The second option is to add a formal review and approval through has decided to leave John Herrera’s forced him to resign. He had al- second floor, which would serve as the plan review process. vacant aldermen seat open until the ready stated he did not plan to run an assembly room with some stor- In other action: November election. The decision for re-election. age space. This option would cost • The town will no longer post was made Tuesday night at Town Board member Randee Haven $500,000 and would be preferred if completed advisory-board applica- Hall during the board’s first meet- O’Donnell will take over his duties enough money is raised. tions on the town’s website due to ing since its summer break. as mayor pro-tem. Chilton said he used to live in concerns over privacy. The applica- The board is required by law to Also at the meeting, the board that neighborhood and has seen tions are still considered a matter of appoint a new member, but there is heard two options for proposed firsthand what the school means to public record. no specific time limit provided. As modifications to the Head Start the community. • Michael Krasnov was appoint- a compromise, Mayor Mark Chil- Building on Hargraves Street in the “It’s been a tremendous resource ed to one of the two vacant seats on ton proposed the board immediate- Northside neighborhood. for families in our community, es- the Transportation Advisory Board. ly seat the highest non-incumbent The first option involves mak- pecially lower-income families in vote-getter in November’s Alder- ing accommodations to the internal our community, and has provided a men election. structure, including making the resource that no other school in our SEE BOA PAGE 3 PHOTO BY KEN MOORE Quarter size flowers of weedy horse-nettle are as beautiful as any ‘garden’ flower. CHS wins at home! UNC study: Rogers Rd. FLora BY Ken Moore wells tainted Beautiful, spiny BY TAYloR SISK horse nettle Staff Writer ’m always nervous about Just weeks after being told their neigh- reading in Flora that I borhood wouldn’t qualify for a federal have yanked out another improvement grant for sewer lines, the Rogers-Eubanks community has learned one of those wild weeds from a new UNC study the extent of its for which you have such well and septic tank failures. The study “Ihigh regard.” indicates that almost half of homes sur- That was the response from veyed that have wells have levels of fecal gardening friend Diana following bacteria above federal Safe Drinking Wa- my expressed enthusiasm in spy- ter Act limits and two-thirds of homes ing a horse nettle in her curbside with septic tanks show signs of failure. garden along Mason Farm Road. Preliminary findings from the study conducted this summer through a part- She timidly admitted that it was nership of UNC’s Gillings School of one that had escaped her weed- Global Public Health and the Rogers- ing earlier in the day. Eubanks Neighborhood Association Diana’s curbside, and the rest (RENA) indicate failing wells and septic of her yard, is one of my favorite tanks throughout the community. Those gardens because it is carefully photo by ted spaULding findings were presented to the Orange Running back Douglas Parrish, uses a block by Torrell Farrar to gain yardage Friday night against St. Paul’s in Carrboro’s first ever County Board of Commissioners at its managed so that it appears not home football victory. Parrish scored two touchdowns in the 26-7 victory. See more scores and a Preps Preview on Page 9. to be managed. Aug. 18 meeting. Twenty-one drinking samples were Knowing that her garden is collected from 20 homes. Fourteen frequently being discovered and Campus remembers fallen soldier households reported having operating enjoyed by young children, I wells, seven of which use those wells as a offered an understanding nod, BY BETH MECHUM Walker was born in Raleigh, but primary water source. because the very poisonous Staff Writer raised in Fayetteville. He attended The report states: berries of horse nettle mimic the Fayetteville Academy before “The median year of well construction the appearance of those tasty Members of the UNC community coming to UNC. was 1962 (with the oldest constructed in yellow-gold cherry tomatoes. are still reeling from the death of Army ZBT brother and friend Sam 1949 and the most recent in 2005). Signs Pfc. Morris Walker, a 2008 graduate Rosenthal has been trying to collect of well vulnerability were common and Diana is wise to keep those who died Aug. 18 in Afghanistan. stories from people about Walker, included failure of the well pump (85%); low-to-the-ground tomato-look- Walker — “Mo” to all who knew and but said in an email that it’s hard to cloudiness, taste or smell of well water ing fruit away from the natural loved him — died of wounds suffered get people to go on the record with (79%); and a need for disinfection of the curiosity of children, who likely when an improvised explosive device “Mo stories,” because they all involve well with chlorine (21%).” have learned that anything look- detonated near his vehicle. some sort of craziness. All households with wells reported ing like a cherry tomato must be Walker, 23, was deployed in “A minute with him was memo- experiencing one or more of these well- a cherry tomato. April after enlisting in the Army in ers around him to do as well. rable,” Rosenthal said. vulnerability indicators. August 2008. He was based at Fort Ben Packer, a rabbi, hosts Friday ZBT brother Michael Chasin said Researchers also reported evidence of Where young ones are not likely Richardson in Alaska. He is the night dinners in his home that Walk- in an email that one of the things higher drinking-water turbidity (cloudi- to get their hands on the poison- first alumnus of UNC to die in the er would often attend. he remembers most about Walker is ness) and fecal bacteria concentrations at ous fruit, however, I encourage war in Afghanistan. “I would say that I’ve never seen how everyone seemed to know who households with wells than at those with you to allow horse nettle, Solanum He was a well-known member of anyone who was more determined he was. regulated public drinking water. Six wells carolinense, a bit of freedom in the campus community, especially to ensure that everyone around him “He was truly an amazing person were found to have levels of fecal bacteria your garden. Each time I see it in known for his affinity for hanging was happy and having a good time,” that was always having fun and get- above Safe Drinking Water Act limits, flower, I stoop down to admire out at the Library nightclub, his keen Packer said. “He cared intensely for ting others involved,” Chasin said. one was found to have E. coli concentra- the enjoyment of others, and their en- those white and purplish-blue sense of brotherhood with fellow “The Chapel Hill campus will have tions above the limits and one contained members of Zeta Beta Tau fraternity joyment was a great source of happi- to fill a very large hole in their social another fecal bacteria called enterococci. flowers, looking so much like and, most particularly, his ability to ness for him. He will be sorely missed life, because Mo was the one degree tomato flowers on steroids. be comfortable and have fun in any in our house as well as to everyone of separation that held this campus SEE ROGERS ROAD PAGE 7 Occasionally, you will stumble situation, which he encouraged oth- that knew him.” together as a whole.” upon one that looks like a garden plant. That happened last week while I was walking along the Busy with life fields of the Botanical Garden’s RECENTLY . sculptor well-known for Weaver Mason Farm Biological Reserve. BY VALarie SchwartZ Street Market lawn installations) told One such garden-plant specimen her about a house on Oak Avenue ru- visually jumped out from the field Survival sometimes makes death mored to be for sale. He didn’t know edge. The oversized flowers were look easy. the address, only that it had a new a real visual treat. Catherine DeVine, the Carr- foundation and needed a lot of work. boro writer, organizer and frequent DeVine found it and fell in love. WCHL commentator, didn’t say as “It was on the brink of collapse,” much, but after learning what she she said, but undeterred, she walked SEE FLORA PAGE 10 has survived since cancer rocked her around the property and left a note world in 2007, the thought arises. on the front door. The owner called She and her husband, Berkeley and an offer was made the next day, Grimball, owner of Grimball Jewelers which resulted in DeVine and Grim- in Chapel Hill, moved to Carrboro ball renovating and restoring the INSIDE from Durham in 1997, and DeVine now purple house with the yellow immediately immersed herself in the front door.