ch-ch-ch-changes

The New Year has come and gone. With a new editor and a new reporter, we thought it would be a good time to ask you, the reader, what you'd like to see in your newspaper. Do you want more photos or fewer? More features? Or perhaps you'd like to see something else entirely. Let us know! Comment here or shoot us an e-mail at editorial [at] newsoforange [dot] come. We'd love to hear from you.

Coming soon - getting to know your K-9s

Get ready to see and read about the interesting lives of Hillsborough Police Department's two K-9 dogs, Sampson and Talon, as we learn about their lives from birth to their working years. Most people know very little about what police dogs actually do, where the come from, how they learn their skills - and I must admit, I was one of those people. But after meeting Sampson and Talon, after seeing the incredible way they interact with their handlers, I've realized that these great teddy-bear-like dogs have a lot to teach us!
Above - a picture preview! Sampson (top) and Talon rest after an hour's worth of rigorous training.

new reporter

Welcome our new reporter, Erin Wiltgen!

She joins us from the Thomasville Times, where she did a little bit of everything, though I'm sure she'll post more about that in the next couple of days. She's got a ton of experience in social media, so look for her posts here, on Twitter and on Facebook.

Erin jumped right in, and she has a ton of stories ready for this week's paper, so look for those on Wednesday. Erin will be taking over the Hillsborough beat, and we'll both be looking to step up our coverage of the county—county government, events and feature stories outside of Hillsborough.

Feel free to stop by and say hello or contact her or me with your story ideas. We can be reached at 732-2171.

school board meeting tonight

The Orange County school  board will hold its first meeting of the new year tonight at 7 p.m. at Central Office, which is located right at the end of King Street. The agenda includes audit and literacy reports, a school capital needs work session and a student reassignment discussion. The latter will be the fourth such discussion the board has had as they seek to determine whether redistricting is necessary at this time. It's bound to be an interesting discussion, and I'll try to live blog it, either here or on Twitter (we're @NewsofOrange) for those who want to know what happens but can't make it tonight.

CWS boys and girls basketball games canceled

This just came across my e-mail: The C.W. Stanford Middle School boys' and girls' basketball games originally scheduled for today, Tuesday, Dec. 14, are canceled and they have not been rescheduled at this time.

hands for habitat build day

The Hands for Habitat house on Harper Avenue in the Fairview community is coming along nicely. Hands for Habitat is a partnership between Orange County Schools and Habitat for Humanity of Orange County that started last year. The gist is this: Students from the Orange High School construction program build a Habitat house; students learn about homelessness and affordable housing throughout the district; and students and teachers may fund raise, though this year, the project is being funded by Sports Endeavors. A few weeks ago, Sports Endeavors' employees had a chance to lend a hand. Here's a few snapshots from that day; there will be more information in Wednesday's paper.

and we're back

Sorry for the long radio silence; we had a few technical difficulties, but they have all been resolved and we are back in business.

Look for more posts from us in the near future!

Stanback takes inspiration from Orange County, Fla. middle school

At the literacy pep rally last week, A.L. Stanback Middle School literacy coach Joyce Gilbert played the following video, created by Ocoee Middle School in Orange County, Fla.:

Ocoee Middle School Gotta Keep Reading from Michael Cardwell on Vimeo.

Pretty incredible, right? Gets you all pumped up about reading.

Enjoy!

flood alert

Careful, everyone: Yesterday's and today's much-needed rain have brought with them an unwanted side effect in potential floods in Orange and the surrounding counties.

From the National Weather Service in Raleigh:

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
FLOOD WATCH
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
346 AM EDT MON SEP 27 2010

...RISK OF FLASH FLOODING RAINS ACROSS CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA
TODAY AND TONIGHT...

.A STRENGTHENING AREA OF LOW PRESSURE TO OUR WEST WILL MAINTAIN A
SUPPLY OF MOIST UNSTABLE AIR OVER CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA THROUGH
TONIGHT. MEANWHILE A SERIES OF DISTURBANCES ALOFT COUPLED WITH A
STALLED SURFACE TROUGH IN VICINITY OF THE YADKIN RIVER WILL CAUSE
PERIODS OF MODERATE TO HEAVY RAINFALL THROUGH TONIGHT.

...

FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT THROUGH LATE TONIGHT...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RALEIGH HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR A PORTION OF CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA...
INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING AREAS...ALAMANCE...ANSON...CHATHAM...
CUMBERLAND...DAVIDSON...DURHAM...EDGECOMBE...FORSYTH...
FRANKLIN...GRANVILLE...GUILFORD...HALIFAX...HARNETT...HOKE...
JOHNSTON...LEE...MONTGOMERY...MOORE...NASH...ORANGE...PERSON...
RANDOLPH...RICHMOND...SAMPSON...SCOTLAND...STANLY...VANCE...
WAKE...WARREN...WAYNE AND WILSON.

* THROUGH LATE TONIGHT

* MUCH OF CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA HAS RECEIVED BETWEEN ONE AND
THREE INCHES OF RAIN SINCE LATE SUNDAY MORNING. AN ADDITIONAL
TWO TO THREE INCHES OF RAIN WITH LOCALLY HEAVIER AMOUNTS MAY
OCCUR TODAY THROUGH TONIGHT...MOST OF IT FALLING IN A RELATIVELY
SHORT TIME FRAME. THIS ADDITIONAL RAINFALL WILL QUICKLY RUN OFF
FILLING CREEKS AND STREAMS TO BANKFUL OR POSSIBLY OUT OF THEIR
BANKS. ALSO THE POTENTIAL EXIST FOR WIDESPREAD HEAVY RAINFALL.
IF THIS OCCURS OVER AN URBAN AREA...FLASH FLOODING WILL QUICKLY
OCCUR.

* WHILE MUCH OF THE REGION HAS EXPERIENCED A SIGNIFICANT
DROUGHT...THIS AMOUNT OF RAINFALL...ESSENTIALLY A MONTH'S
WORTH...IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME...WILL QUICKLY RUN OFF. SOME
OF THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL MAY OCCUR EARLY THIS MORNING...MAINLY
ACROSS THE SOUTH AND EAST...AND AGAIN TONIGHT AS STRONG
THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO CROSS THE REGION. SOME OF OUR MOST
RECENT FLASH FLOOD DEATHS HAVE OCCURRED WITH HEAVY RAIN EVENTS
IMMEDIATELY AFTER A PROLONG PERIOD OF DRY WEATHER. MOTORISTS
SHOULD AVOID KNOWN AREAS THAT FLOOD DURING HEAVY RAIN EVENTS
WHILE OUT AND ABOUT TODAY AND TONIGHT.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A FLASH FLOOD WATCH MEANS THAT CONDITIONS MAY DEVELOP THAT LEAD
TO FLASH FLOODING. FLASH FLOODING IS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION.

YOU SHOULD MONITOR LATER FORECASTS AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION
SHOULD FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS BE ISSUED.