By Lindsay Ash
Carrboro Commons Writer

Ellie Kinnaird, right, and Janet Cowell discuss the day’s events at Ellie Fest 2008. Cowell spoke on behalf of Kinnaird’s campaign for re-election to the N.C. Senate District 23 seat at the Carrboro Town Commons on Sunday.
Staff photo by Lindsay Ash

At least 50 local citizens had the opportunity to meet incumbent N.C. Sen. Ellie Kinnaird at “Ellie Fest” 2008 Sunday at the Carrboro Town Commons.

Kinnaird, who lives in Carrboro, is one of two candidates running for the District 23 N.C. Senate seat in the Democratic primary, which will be decided on May 6. The other candidate, Moses Carey Jr., of Chapel Hill has served six terms on the Orange County Board of Commissioners.

“Here in this community, people care a lot,” said Jimmy Magoo, one of the artists who played the guitar and sang at Ellie Fest. “And this caring turns into action, that is why we are all here today.”

Ellie Fest, organized by Carrboro Board of Alderman member Dan Coleman, was one of a series of events in Kinnaird’s campaign efforts. The three-hour Ellie Fest was open to the public and was filled with music from local artists, guest speakers, and coffee from Open Eye Café. All of the electricity for the event, which was used mostly to power the bands, was generated from solar power system from Carrboro Solar Works.

“This is the first time we have ever done something like this for the campaign,” said Kinnaird. “It is very Carrboro-like.”

The guest speaker, State Sen. Janet Cowell, talked about Kinnaird’s role as a persistent women’s voice in a mostly-male senate. In the 2007-2008 session, there were only seven women state senators.
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By Morgan Siem
Carrboro Commons Writer

As Kathy Buck explained, each cohousing community has someone known as a “burning soul.”

Kathy Buck plans to complete the Eldergreen project, a seniors-only cohousing community, within five years.
Staff photo by Morgan Siem

Buck and her husband, Ken Moore, are the burning souls for Eldergreen, a community they are planning based on the concept that residents will be older than 55 and want to live in a community atmosphere while consciously working against environmental degradation.

Buck, 61, and Moore, 67, are looking at Carrboro as a potential site for Eldergreen, where they plan on spending the rest of their lives.

“We’re building it to live in it,” Buck said. “This is not to make money, it’s for us to have a place to live.”

The vision statement of Eldergreen says, “We embrace living in harmony with the earth and a commitment to caring for one another to provide for aging in place as we move with meaning and joy through the second half of life.”

Buck envisions 20 to 30 living units comprising Eldergreen.

“What is out there for a senior?” Buck asked. The options are going to a nursing home or living on a golf course, a playground for seniors, she said. “What a boring life!”

There is a trend in the medical world toward aging in place. In this format, care is delivered to the individual at home.

“The negative is that you’re trapped alone in your house, and I want to talk about aging in community,” she said. “This is like trying to create an extended family.”
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Estamos alegre de anunciar que Carrboro Commons de ahora en adelante le ofrece las traducciones españoles de nuestros articulos para servir la poblacion latina. Para verlas, opriman “En Español” a lado derecho de la pagina.

The Carrboro Commons is proud to announce that it will now offer Spanish translations of stories that may interest the local Latino population. Click the links to the Spanish language stories below, or use the “En
Español” link on the right side of the page.

La sequía rompe la barrera lingüística
Carrboro ofrece ayuda con impuestos a Latinos
Tutorando en inglés para hacer la diferencia
El programa de doble idioma podría extender
Carrboro: “no” a un campo de fútbol de $1.62 millón

By Alexandra Mansbach
Carrboro Commons Writer

Some of the students at Carrboro High School are taking learning to the next level — the international level.

The Academy of International Studies at CHS prepares students to live and work in a diverse world. Students accepted into the program learn about different cultures, languages, issues, and practices to become more globally aware and educated individuals.

Students from Ms. Kalleberg’s 2007 Global Issues class. Twenty-five students are currently enrolled in the program.
Photo courtesy of Judith Kalleberg

The program involves a series of classes, seminars, research, service learning and speakers to provide students with a variety of learning opportunities.

“We have had a good first year and will double our membership next year,” said Judith Kalleberg, co-director of AIS. “Students are really excited about the electives being offered, and registration for the classes looks good.”

More than 60 students take one or more AIS classes, Kalleberg said, and about 25 students are currently members in the program. The application process requires downloading and filling out an application from the program’s Web site. Acceptance into AIS is based on the student’s interest in global studies and cultures and a teacher recommendation. Students can apply between their freshman and junior years, and once accepted, students must comply with academy requirements.
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By Evelyn Greene
Carrboro Commons Writer

One chilly April morning, a man walked into the sunny front room of Padgett Station carrying his planner, a coffee cup and a bucket full of branches.

Any confusion was soon cleared up as the man filled a few small, red glasses with water and placed the budding branches on tables throughout the small shop. Bringing plant life to people unfamiliar with the outdoors is what Ken Moore has spent his entire life doing.

Ken Moore, author of the weekly nature column “Flora” in the Carrboro Citizen, has written more than 50 pieces for the paper. He wants to get more people outdoors.
Staff photo by Evelyn Greene

“By the time they leave high school, I think everyone should have a basic experience in horticulture and botany,” Moore said.
After earning a degree in English from Davidson College, Moore went back to school to study plants.

In 1971, he became the first employee of the N.C. Botanical Garden. It was there that Moore discovered his passion for sharing the beauty and excitement of nature with others.

As soon as the trails opened, Moore was bombarded with calls from school groups hoping to schedule a visit. Before he knew what he was doing, Moore offered himself to the groups as a tour guide. But he fell easily into the role, crawling through bushes and rolling over logs with children as young as 4 years old.

It was also during his first few weeks at the garden that Moore realized how important it is for children to be exposed to nature.
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By Shannon David
Carrboro Commons Writer

Carrboro observed National Poetry Month last weekend with a multimedia performance at the ArtsCenter titled, “Black Poetry: Performance Meets Theatre.”

The performance was held daily at 8 p.m. from Friday, April 4 through Sunday, April 6.

National Poetry Month, according to the Academy of American Poets’ Web site, was established “to achieve an increase in the visibility, presence, and accessibility of poetry in our culture.” The ArtsCenter does just that with its Black Poetry performance.

Carrboro ArtsCenter celebrates Poetry Month with a performance of “Black Poetry: Performance Meets Theatre.” Pictured left to right: Dasan Ahanu, Sherita Young and Bernadine Fields.
Staff photo by Shannon David

The show included a combination of music, dance and poetry. It was performed half in light and half in complete darkness.

“We decided to do a play on words with the ‘Black Poetry,’” said co-producer of “Black Poetry: Performance Poetry Meets Theatre,” Leigh Lester Holmes. “The first half of the show is in darkness with a few spotlights, and the artists are moving around the space so your ears start to play tricks on you.”

The performance was split into two parts to complement the lighting. “The first half is in all darkness so the content is heavier and deeper,” said Holmes. “The second half of the show is more upbeat with full light and dancing. It is more exciting, almost like each poem tells a different story. The second half is also more uplifting.”

Each of the pieces was original and written by the artists who perform them with music interspersed throughout the performance.

The show included local and national spoken word artists and poets. “Spoken word is different than just poetry, “said Holmes. “Part of it is in the performance of it. Some of it is rhythmical and some of it is storytelling; that is what makes it spoken word.”
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By Katie Spencer
Carrboro Commons Writer

Carrboro town officials have called on UNC-Chapel Hill graduate students to size up downtown parking issues.

The parking study is a part of a workshop course in the university’s Department of City and Regional Planning. It is designed to give students a chance to put their academic knowledge to use with real-world problems, like finding a place to park for Saturday afternoon errands.

Carrboro resident Sue Morgan looks for a parking spot at Carr Mill. “Parking decks are not very much in the spirit of Carrboro,” Morgan said. “But if people insist on having cars, they have to have somewhere to put them.”
Staff photo by Katie Spencer

The 10 students in the class have been checking parking turnover rates in public lots and surveying business owners to learn just how much parking is needed and when, said Daniel Rodriguez, associate professor and instructor for the course.

“Downtown Carrboro is the wild west of parking,” said Patrick McDonough, a Carrboro resident who has a master’s degree in transportation and land use planning.

Chava Kronenberg, a graduate student who will receive her master’s degree in city planning in May, said the specific problem spots the class has found are behind Open Eye Café on Roberson Street and near Cat’s Cradle on the night of a big concert.

While the group will present their full findings and recommendations to the Board of Aldermen on April 17, Kronenberg did say that 40 percent of the cars chalked in public lots were staying long past the two-hour limit.

Her group estimated that shifting these long-term parkers to lots on the fringes of downtown would increase parking spaces by 30 percent.
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By Stephanie Kane
Carrboro Commons Writer

Mary Votta, Panzanella Gallery coordinator, stands with some of the paintings featured at the exhibit. Artists featured (left to right) are Sharon Barnes (top), Marcy Lansman and Maureen Detwiler.
Staff photo by Stephanie Kane

The Panzanella Gallery is currently hosting the first ever “Local Farms/Local Art” exhibit in conjunction with the 13^th Annual Piedmont Farm Tour.

The exhibit of 30 paintings, drawings and photography by 26 North Carolina artists will be in Panzanella until June 1.

There were few restrictions stipulated, said gallery coordinator Mary Votta, except “that it had to be evocative of North Carolina farms, ideally inspired by farms anywhere in North Carolina.”

The Piedmont Farm Tour, taking place Earth Day weekend, April 19-20, involves only farms within the Piedmont. This year, five new farms were added to the tour for a total of 35 farms.

How the artists were chosen:

Votta received 170 entries from artists from as far as Beaufort, though most submissions came from Carrboro, Chapel Hill and Durham artists.

Through an electronic screening process, Votta, Barbara Matilsky of the Ackland Art Museum and a small selection team chose 30 pieces for the exhibit that they said “captured the flavor of this region.”

On Monday, April 28, Panzanella will hold a reception honoring the artists and their works. Votta expects all available artists to attend as well.

Panzanella is currently accepting votes for favorite pieces from customers at the restaurant and will announce the top three vote-getters at the reception, which will feature light hors d’oeuvres and an open bar.
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By Allison McNeill
Carrboro Commons Writer

In Fall 2008, some Carrboro elementary students will find themselves at a different elementary school than they previously attended. Multiple factors contribute to the recent construction of new elementary schools across the Chapel Hill-Carrboro school district.

Karen Aldridge, school social worker at Frank Porter Graham Elementary, says, “Smaller classes lead to improved learning for everyone.” The Chapel Hill-Carrboro school board is preparing to decide what site will be the future home of Elementary School 11.
Staff photo by Allison McNeill

Morris Grove Elementary, the district’s 10th elementary school, located on Eubanks Road, is opening this fall, and discussions for Elementary School 11 are already in the works.

The Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education is “looking at considerations” for possible locations for Elementary School 11, school board Chairwoman Pam Hemminger said.

A long-range facilities committee was formed to discuss Elementary School 11, including possible locations. The committee is “composed of members from different political entities that govern” throughout the school district, Hemminger said.

School board Vice Chairwoman Lisa Stuckey said the committee has been meeting for several months. Its last meeting has been held, but a final report has not yet been written, she said.

The School/County Collaboration Work Group outlined specific qualifications for a site in a 2007 draft of school construction standards. The specifications for elementary schools include that sites must have 16 acres of land, that the land must be flat enough to build on and that it must be within the water and sewer boundaries, Stuckey said.

These requirements represent a traditional school, one that is on a site that allows for future building expansion, outdoor play areas, full athletic facilities and on-site parking, according to the S/CCWG proposal.
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