I sat down with Alice Denson and Katharine Walton of the Orange Literacy Council yesterday, and Denson threw out a startling number: one in seven Orange County adults can be classified as "functionally illiterate," with an even greater percentage of the population falling into that category in the northern end of the county.
The reason we were talking is that, while the need is great, the council no longer has an office in Hillsborough; their lease on their Churton Street property (across from the Gulf Rim) ended June 30. Next week, I'll have more about why they say they need a northern OC location through which to serve the public (they are currently in Carrboro but want to re-open a second "hub").
Also for this week:
• The town board approved a coordinated sign project that was three years in the making. More details to come on what they will be and where they will be. The board also approved some changes to park fees and discussed the smoking policy at publicly-owned parks.
• I sat in on a Hillsborough/Orange County Chamber of Commerce luncheon yesterday to hear what developers and other local businesspeople had to say about the proposed 18-month development moratorium set for discussion tonight (7 p.m., Town Barn). They aren't fans of the idea. This would not be a "blanket" moratorium — town officials point to almost 400 homes and several commercial developments that could continue to seek approval and be built over the next 18 months. Developers have said the moratorium, during which town staff would rewrite the town's zoning ordinances in full for the first time in 23 years, would be the equivalent of hanging a "closed for business" sign at the town entrances.
So, needless to say, more on the discussion (but likely not decision) from tonight's meeting in next week's paper.
• At the same meeting (a quarterly town and planning board public hearing), officials will also get their first extended look at the details of the UNC Hospitals project in Waterstone. Town board members have already said the tax-exempt status of the 83-acre property will warrant further discussion of how the town is supposed to benefit financially from the project.
We'll have an election filing wrap-up (currently three candidates for two town board seats and no challenger for mayor) and some other items that will probably filter down in the next few days.
See what ended up on The News of Orange County's cutting room floor.
Given how the current BOE behaves, the startling "one in seven Orange County adults [are]"functionally illiterate" will only increase. They aren't concerned with educating the children in OC, only the power trip they are on. They didn't heed the advice during Woodstock to stay away from the "brown acid". How else can one explain the behavior of those morons! They have clearly lost their minds. Now we are going to lose all our tax money on lawsuits that would be better spent keeping our teachers employed.
ReplyDelete