I was surfing around on all the schools' Web sites, when I came across a link to DonorsChoose.org on Hillsborough Elementary School's site. DonorsChoose is a site that allows teachers to post projects they need money for so people can donate money to whatever school or project they chose.
In Orange County Schools there are 12 projects across four schools — nine at New Hope and one at each of Gravelly Hill, Central and A.L. Stanback.
This is a great resource, if you're looking for your money to have a direct impact on the classroom.
See what ended up on The News of Orange County's cutting room floor.
Friday, August 28, 2009
JobsNOW training at dtcc
This press release from Durham Tech just came across my e-mail. It's about Gov. Perdue's JobsNOW initiative to help people train for skills for new jobs.
Durham Tech Sponsors JobsNOW Orientation Sessions
(DURHAM, N.C.) – Durham Technical Community College is hosting free orientation sessions for its new JobsNOW training that can be completed in six months or less. An orientation session is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 2, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the Educational Resources Center on the college’s Main Campus in Durham. Another session will be held on Thursday, Sept. 3, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Orange County Campus outside Hillsborough.
Those attending an orientation session will learn about the seven areas of training that JobsNOW now offers. A question and answer session will be included. Financial assistance is available for JobsNOW participants who qualify because of a job loss or other factors.
All of the training is targeted to high-demand occupational fields in Durham and Orange counties. The JobsNOW initiative, created by Gov. Beverly Perdue, is a collaborative effort by the state’s community colleges and the N.C. Department of Commerce. Approximately $13.4 million of the state’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds have been set aside for JobsNOW.
Durham Tech will offer training in the following areas:
Nursing Assistant/Health Unit Coordinator
Nursing assistant instruction, technical and non-technical medical office training, and customer service skills development are combined in this training for work in hospitals and other health care facilities. Classes begin Sept. 8.
Green Landscape Designers/Solar Energy Technicians
In this Green Living Initiative program, learn about sustainable landscape designs and solar energy systems through classroom instruction. Apply the knowledge through a hands-on project that will hone the skills needed for employment in many sustainable industries. Classes begin Oct. 5.
Phlebotomist
Learn phlebotomy skills to work in hospitals, clinics, or other settings. This short-term training develops the skills for proper collection of blood and other specimens used for diagnostic laboratory testing. Classes begin Jan. 25.
Industrial Maintenance Technician
Learn general maintenance procedures as well as basic refrigeration and heating technology skills to qualify for entry-level heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) employment. Classes begin Sept. 28.
Medical Coder
Study medical terminology and other coding systems to sit for a credential to become an entry-level medical coder. Classes begin in the spring of 2010.
Under Car Care Technician
Learn about suspension, steering, brake, and emissions systems through a mix of functional and hands-on experiences in this short-term certificate training. Completers qualify for entry-level positions in the car care industry. Classes begin Sept. 28.
Biotechnology/Pharmaceutical Process Technician
This training is designed to provide industry-specific skills focused on maintaining a safe work environment; controlling, monitoring, and troubleshooting equipment; and analyzing, evaluating, and communicating about data to support the work of area biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Classes begin Oct. 5.
JobsNOW training also includes career readiness certification, workplace skills development, skills assessment, career exploration, and college placement testing. For more information about JobsNOW, contact Kelly King at 919-536-7222, ext. 4003, or visit www.durhamtech.edu/JobsNOW/index.htm
The Main Campus of Durham Tech is located off exit 10, Briggs Avenue of the Durham Freeway. The Orange County Campus is located off old N.C. Highway 86, exit 261 of Interstate 40, or exit 164 of Interstate 85.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Fairview Park: fully funded
Good news for people who like green spaces - The N.C Parks and Rec Trust Fund announced its grant recipients this week, and two of them are Hillsborough projects.
Fairview Park received a $500,000 matching grant from the fund, which allows them to build the entire planned Phase I of the $1.2 million project. The exact look of the park was in limbo for several months, as local funds were several hundred thousand dollars short of what was needed to construct the park expansion with the full scale of amenities.
The groundbreaking date can best be described as "this fall"; some details are still being worked out. Hopefully I'll have more by the next publication.
Phase II of Hillsborough's Riverwalk was also awarded some $392,000. That project will connect Gold Park to downtown Hillsborough along the Eno River. Between these two projects, Gold Park (opened this spring), Cedar Grove Park (ditto) and the Eurosport soccer complex (this week), northern Orange County is going from "0 to 60" in park-building pretty quickly.
Also coming this week, I'll explore some combination of hospital impact numbers, town developments in the courts, rail station planning and parking studies.
Fairview Park received a $500,000 matching grant from the fund, which allows them to build the entire planned Phase I of the $1.2 million project. The exact look of the park was in limbo for several months, as local funds were several hundred thousand dollars short of what was needed to construct the park expansion with the full scale of amenities.
The groundbreaking date can best be described as "this fall"; some details are still being worked out. Hopefully I'll have more by the next publication.
Phase II of Hillsborough's Riverwalk was also awarded some $392,000. That project will connect Gold Park to downtown Hillsborough along the Eno River. Between these two projects, Gold Park (opened this spring), Cedar Grove Park (ditto) and the Eurosport soccer complex (this week), northern Orange County is going from "0 to 60" in park-building pretty quickly.
Also coming this week, I'll explore some combination of hospital impact numbers, town developments in the courts, rail station planning and parking studies.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Pitch perfect
The Eurosport soccer complex is beautiful. It reminds me of many, many weekends spent with my family following around my brother's travel team. I played too, just not on fields as nice as the club teams did.
The new complex, which opened last night next to Gravelly Hill Middle School in Efland, has that "new field" smell, and it's a great addition to the county recreational facilities (then again, I am a soccer sympathizer). As Commissioner Barry Jacobs said, it's a little far from the center of the county's population, but that didn't seem to stop league players and parents from showing up in droves last night.
I'll post about plans for the coming week at some point tomorrow, but know this — there will be pictures. Lots and lots of pictures. If they aren't in the paper, we'll have them on our photo-sharing site within a few days of publication. Our schedule is chockablock with photo shoots, so if there's something going on we didn't make it to, let us know and, better yet, send us an image. We'll do what we can to make them available for the community to view.
hodgepodge
A couple of things.
As promised, here is the link to the OMM decision. It's a Google document, so hopefully no one will have problems opening it. It's not too long, only about 40 pages.
But, school is now back in session, so there's a ton going on.
• The eco classroom group is meeting again this week, after a summer hiatus.
• Project House is going to be a bit different this year.
• I'll be at Last Fridays, taking pictures.
• Since the budget wasn't quite as terrible as the state had been telling everyone, some former OCS employees have been rehired.
• The schools are ready for flu season.
As always, there may be more, and I'm always glad to get out into the schools and cover events going on there, from retirement parties to interesting classroom activities. But I can't be there if I don't know about them, so drop me a like (v.shortley (at) newsoforange.com) or give me a ring.
As promised, here is the link to the OMM decision. It's a Google document, so hopefully no one will have problems opening it. It's not too long, only about 40 pages.
But, school is now back in session, so there's a ton going on.
• The eco classroom group is meeting again this week, after a summer hiatus.
• Project House is going to be a bit different this year.
• I'll be at Last Fridays, taking pictures.
• Since the budget wasn't quite as terrible as the state had been telling everyone, some former OCS employees have been rehired.
• The schools are ready for flu season.
As always, there may be more, and I'm always glad to get out into the schools and cover events going on there, from retirement parties to interesting classroom activities. But I can't be there if I don't know about them, so drop me a like (v.shortley (at) newsoforange.com) or give me a ring.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Castillo found guilty on all charges
Nine days before the three-year anniversary of former student Alvaro Castillo firing at students at Orange High School, he was found guilty of the murder of his father and all charges relating to the shooting on the same day.
Castillo, 22, was convicted of first-degree murder in the shooting death of his father, Rafael Huezo Castillo, 65, on Aug. 30, 2006, by unanimous verdict last Friday after about one day of jury deliberation.
He was also convicted of nine charges related to Orange High School shooting, which took place just hours after he shot his father in the late morning hours. Those charges were two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, two counts of possession of weapons on educational property, discharge of a weapon on educational property, three charges of possession of weapons of mass death and destruction and discharging of weapon into occupied property.
Castillo will serve a life sentence without the possibility of parole for the murder, and will serve a combined 40 to 78 months on other charges, which were either consolidated or not judged upon by Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour.
Obviously, look for more recapping the trial and the final days of this month-long proceeding in next week's edition.
Castillo, 22, was convicted of first-degree murder in the shooting death of his father, Rafael Huezo Castillo, 65, on Aug. 30, 2006, by unanimous verdict last Friday after about one day of jury deliberation.
He was also convicted of nine charges related to Orange High School shooting, which took place just hours after he shot his father in the late morning hours. Those charges were two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, two counts of possession of weapons on educational property, discharge of a weapon on educational property, three charges of possession of weapons of mass death and destruction and discharging of weapon into occupied property.
Castillo will serve a life sentence without the possibility of parole for the murder, and will serve a combined 40 to 78 months on other charges, which were either consolidated or not judged upon by Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour.
Obviously, look for more recapping the trial and the final days of this month-long proceeding in next week's edition.
Awaiting further instructions ...
UPDATE, 4:30 p.m. - We have a verdict. The jury will file in momentarily.
UPDATE, 2:50 p.m.: Another "knock on the door" update - the jury has indicated they don't want to take an afternoon break. A sign that they are close to a verdict?
UPDATE, 1:50 p.m.: The jury just watched two videos again, the one filmed by Castillo after he shot and killed his father and one in which he answers reporters' questions while being led to a squad car the same day. The jury received copies of doctors' reports but were denied transcripts of two witnesses' testimony and a letter written by Castillo to Anna Rose, which was never presented as evidence.
The jury would appear, based on the evidence requested, to still be deliberating on Castillo's mindset the day of the shooting, which is crucial to the distinction between a verdict of guilty of first-degree murder, of second-degree murder or him being found not guilty by reason of insanity.
Castillo's family members have alternated throughout the trial, but today, like every day so far, his mother and oldest sister are sitting in their usual seats on the left side of the courtroom. They have left the courtroom in the past few days as videos of Castillo have been aired.
Now, back to waiting ...
UPDATE, 11:54 a.m.: We appear to have a request from the jury to see several items: The transport video; "The End" video; reports from Drs. Wolfe, Bellard, Hilkey and Graham; a letter to Anna Rose; and copies of Dr. Wolfe and Deputy Ivey's testimony.
10 a.m.: The jury has passed a note to the court ... for coffee and creamer.
We're waiting out the first full day of jury deliberations in the Alvaro Castillo trial. There will be further updates to this post as we learn more. Right now, I am operating from my mobile office, as I have been for 3.5 weeks, so we'll post results as soon as we have a verdict.
UPDATE, 2:50 p.m.: Another "knock on the door" update - the jury has indicated they don't want to take an afternoon break. A sign that they are close to a verdict?
UPDATE, 1:50 p.m.: The jury just watched two videos again, the one filmed by Castillo after he shot and killed his father and one in which he answers reporters' questions while being led to a squad car the same day. The jury received copies of doctors' reports but were denied transcripts of two witnesses' testimony and a letter written by Castillo to Anna Rose, which was never presented as evidence.
The jury would appear, based on the evidence requested, to still be deliberating on Castillo's mindset the day of the shooting, which is crucial to the distinction between a verdict of guilty of first-degree murder, of second-degree murder or him being found not guilty by reason of insanity.
Castillo's family members have alternated throughout the trial, but today, like every day so far, his mother and oldest sister are sitting in their usual seats on the left side of the courtroom. They have left the courtroom in the past few days as videos of Castillo have been aired.
Now, back to waiting ...
UPDATE, 11:54 a.m.: We appear to have a request from the jury to see several items: The transport video; "The End" video; reports from Drs. Wolfe, Bellard, Hilkey and Graham; a letter to Anna Rose; and copies of Dr. Wolfe and Deputy Ivey's testimony.
10 a.m.: The jury has passed a note to the court ... for coffee and creamer.
We're waiting out the first full day of jury deliberations in the Alvaro Castillo trial. There will be further updates to this post as we learn more. Right now, I am operating from my mobile office, as I have been for 3.5 weeks, so we'll post results as soon as we have a verdict.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Castillo trial, day 14
UPDATE: District Attorney Jim Woodall ended his closing argument with a video clip of Alvaro Castillo, alone in his room, recorded in late May 2006 - between his suicide attempt and the murder of his father and shooting at Orange High School. Woodall and public defenders James Williams and Phoebe Dee argued once more about whether Castillo knew right from wrong or whether he suffered from a mental illness so severe he should not be held accountable for his actions.
In the final video clip, Castillo says, among other things, "I am not a psychopath ... I do feel sorry for what I am going to do."
Now it's in the jury's hands.
At the outset of this trial, jurors were told it would be a three-week process, including jury selection. As of today, we head into the end of the third week of testimony and arguments, with another week of jury selection, but there is an end in sight.
Earlier this afternoon, District Attorney Jim Woodall gave his final closing argument (he gets one, followed by the defense, followed by the state again). As Woodall just said, "Back where I'm from, back east, we call this 'being in the short rows.'" He meant that as a reference to how close we are to the end of the trial, I think. I grew up in Tennessee, so I might have misunderstood.
We'll have more when we learn it.
In the final video clip, Castillo says, among other things, "I am not a psychopath ... I do feel sorry for what I am going to do."
Now it's in the jury's hands.
At the outset of this trial, jurors were told it would be a three-week process, including jury selection. As of today, we head into the end of the third week of testimony and arguments, with another week of jury selection, but there is an end in sight.
Earlier this afternoon, District Attorney Jim Woodall gave his final closing argument (he gets one, followed by the defense, followed by the state again). As Woodall just said, "Back where I'm from, back east, we call this 'being in the short rows.'" He meant that as a reference to how close we are to the end of the trial, I think. I grew up in Tennessee, so I might have misunderstood.
We'll have more when we learn it.
central ptsa
The new Central PTSA leadership have done a great job so far this year (before the official start of the school year!) to get the word out about what's going on over there. To that end, they have a Facebook profile (search under e-mail: centralptsa1@gmail.com), e-mail address, Web site and blog. So, enjoy Central parents — and all of you who want to see what's going on at the elementary school. I know I'm glad to have these great resources.
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