Newly elected Carrboro Alderman Sammy Slade may get to start a few weeks early.

The board plans to seat its newly elected members -- incumbents Jacquie Gist and Randee Haven-O'Donnell are the others -- at an organizational meeting Dec. 1, according to Town Clerk Sarah Williamson.

But Mayor Mark Chilton suggested back in August that the board apppoint the newly
elected alderman to finish the last few week's of John Herrera's term, according to a memo from Alderman Dan Coleman to his colleagues. Herrera resigned unexpectedly, saying he had moved, remarried and wanted to spend more time with his family. His resignation helped pave the way for Slade, whom he endorsed.

"Unless anyone disagrees, I would like to ask Mark [Chilton] to arrange with the
clerk and with Sammy that this would be our first order of business
next week," Coleman says in the e-mail.

That would give Slade three meetings to settle in. The board has meetings scheduled Nov. 10, 17 and 24, according to Williamson.

Joe Carlson’s co-op on Hillsborough Road slaughters chickens three or four times a year.

They place the bird in a cone so the head sticks out. One person slices the bird’s neck. The other holds the body firmly but gently until it bleeds to death in about a minute.

“It certainly is a gruesome thing,” Carlson told about two dozen
people at the second annual Urban Farm Tour on Saturday. “But I certainly believe life and death are huge facts of life.”

From Sammy Slade:

"We, the Carrboro Greenspace collective, are very sorry that some people have been upset by the inclusion of the Chicken processing skillshare as part of the Urban Farm Tour. We didn't anticipate the controversy it would cause. Our reasoning was that if we are serious about creating a sustainable food system, animal processing must be a part of the discussion.  We do sincerely appreciate your very real concerns and the willingness to engage in this conversation. We feel continuing this conversation is absolutely crucial for our long term efforts in creating a sustainable small-scale food system which is what the Urban Farm Tour is about. As such, instead of the original skillshare  we are inviting the community to participate in an honest and respectful discussion starting at 3:30pm at 'The Bog' (Pleasant Street and Crest Street in Carrboro)."

Organizers of Saturday's Urban Farm Tour may cancel a public chicken slaughter after a complaint to Town Hall.

The annual tour shows examples of small-scale sustainable
agriculture at about a dozen sites in Chapel Hill and Carrboro. Planned workshops included honey harvesting, lasagna bed preparation and a slaughter of chickens for a community “stone soup” at the end of the event. 

But news that chickens would be killed at this year’s event upset resident Gina Burns. She wrote to town officials saying the chicken killing was inappropriate for a private lot and could lead to slaughter of other animals kept for food. 

At last week's forum, the Sierra Club asked Carrboro candidates if they supported more "high-rise" development. In Carrboro, high rise means five stories, half the 10 stories going up at the nearby Greenbridge project.

Alderwoman Jacquie Gist criticized Greenbridge, which will feature innovative technology that cuts energy use and which many say is a model for future environmentally friendly, in-fill development.

Last she head, Gist said, Greenbridge developers were counting on out-of-town investors and rich alumni coming to games to buy their units, some of which will cost more than $1 million. (She was referring to this story in The Daily Tar Heel.)

"That's real enviro," she said.

Candidates for Carrboro Board of Aldermen showed slight differences in a question on growth at last week's forum. The Sierra Club does not let all the candidates answer all the questions at their forums. Here are answers from those who were allowed to answer. (Remember, the Sierra Club holds a forum for candidates for Chapel Hill Town Council at 7 p.m. this Wednesday in Chapel Hill Town Hall.)

Do you support more high-rise buildings in Carrboro? [Background: Carrboro has a five-story limit, half as tall as Chapel Hill, where the Greenbridge condominiums will rise
seven and 10 stories, the planned 140 West Franklin condos, eight
stories.]

Amanda Ashley, running for mayor, called for a moratorium downtown until the town sees the effects of the five-story projects already approved. Several of those projects are on hold because of the recession. "Let's digest the pig before we go slithering after any more," she said. 

Mayor Mark Chilton said he would supports high rise development in the Harris Teeter/Carr Mill Mall area because the infrastructure supports it. "I don't know if I would call five-story 'high rise,'" he said.

Sharon Cook said she was glad the town limited development to five stories and would evaluate projects case by case. "If I wanted to live in a big urban city I wouldn't have been living here," she said.

Incumbent Jacquie Gist said she voted against five stories when the board set the limit and would do so again. The only place she believes that height is appropriate is in the ArtsCenter/Cat's Cradle shopping center, where Gist publicly agonized over the planned redevelopment before ultimately supporting it. She questioned the premise that higher-rise development in the downtown area will keep pressure off the town's outskirts. She also said 'I am terrified about what the rents in those [high-rise projects downtown] are going to be, not only for the residents but for the businesses."

Here is the statement Carrboro resident and community volunteer Sharon Cook has released:

"Over the past decade I’ve been an advocate for a wide range of issues facing Carrboro’s residents including neighborhood preservation, pedestrian safety, and environmental protection. I’ve worked on many more issues as a member of the town’s Planning Board for the past three and a half years.(CORRECTION: Sharon Cook has asked us to revise this sentence to read ... since March 2007.)

As a candidate for a seat on the Carrboro Board of Aldermen, my overriding concern is whether or not the citizens living in Carrboro today will be able to afford to stay here.

Two years ago I ran for alderman with that question in my mind, based upon conversations with residents from throughout town. I was concerned that our town government was on an unsustainable economic path, one that would force many long time residents to move out of Carrboro. Over the past two years that’s become increasingly clear.

I’m an optimist, and I believe that it’s not too late to change our direction. I’m running for a seat on the Board of Aldermen to put us on the path that will make it possible for Carrboro’s citizens to remain in their homes as long as they choose to do so through balanced growth and development.

I look forward to thoroughly discussing and debating this issue and the many other issues facing our town in the weeks and months to come."

If you're a voter in Carrboro, you can expect to see a little more of Board of Aldermen candidate Sammy Slade on his bicycle with a flier.  

Sharon Cook, an unsuccessful 2007 candidate for the Board of Aldermen, filed Thursday afternoon.

 Before Cook filed, Slade had an easier shot to succeed retiring Alderman (and Mayor Pro Tem) John Herrera. 

 Herrera threw his support behind Slade when he announced his retirement several weeks ago.

 You may remember seeing Cook's name in the news recently. As a member of the planning board, she had proposed a text amendment to the Carrboro Land Use Ordinance that would affect farms.

 Carrboro Mayor Mark Chilton has all but dismissed Cook as a rabble-rouser. He has said Cook and others "continually disparage the town... claiming Carrboro is 'anti-farm.'" Chilton has also said Cook's motives were to provide "campaign fodder for her next campaign."

Cook, 55, and Slade, 34, are the two challengers (although filing doesn't close until noon) for three seats up for re-election. Herrera is not seeking re-election, but incumbents Jacquelyn Gist and Randee Haven-O'Donnell have already filed.

 Chilton is also seeking a third-term. So far, one challenger, Amanda Ashley, has filed to run for mayor. 

Carrboro Aldermen Dan Coleman recently wrote to Sen. Kay Hagen on the board's behalf. Here is the letter:

Dear Senator Hagan,

I am writing on behalf of the Mayor and Alderman of the Town of Carrboro Board to urge you to give your full backing to the public option for health insurance sought by President Obama.

Municipal governments in North Carolina are struggling with double-digit annual increases in health insurance costs while county social services are hard-pressed to meet the needs of the uninsured and under-insured. We desperately need your help to achieve needed reform.

It is our belief that the health care crisis in the United States will ultimately only be solved by a single-payer national system. We encourage you, for the sake of the citizens of North Carolina and the nation, to do all you can to achieve such a system.

Yours,
Dan Coleman

Dan Coleman, on behalf of
Alderman Jacquelyn Gist
Alderman Joal Hall Broun
Alderman John Herrera
Alderman Randee Haven-O'Donnell
Alderman Dan Coleman
Alderman Lydia Lavelle
Mayor Mark Chilton

Carrboro Alderwoman Randee Haven O’Donnell announced her re-election bid Monday at a solar panel installation on the Town Commons.

She said the partnership between Communities in Schools of Orange County and Solar Tech South shows the town doing its part to prepare for a greener future. ,

Carrboro isn't just jumping on the bandwagon when it comes to solar energy,” she said in a statement. “Before the national economic decline, before “green jobs” became a catch phrase, I started conversations and plans to forge partnerships like this one to propel Carrboro into viable solar energy use, solar business development, workforce training, and consumer use.”

Among her accomplishments, Haven-O’Donnell said
-- She has worked through the Greenway Summit and the Greenways Commission to foster dialogue, get community input, and enact the town’s greenway plan.
-- She has worked with the county commissioners to reconstitute the Orange County Library Services Task Force “to advance the cause of County branch libraries in general and a southwest branch library in downtown Carrboro specifically.”
-- She has worked to preserve Bolin Creek, serving as one of the town's representatives on the Leadership Advisory Council to UNC for Carolina North. “Note that while UNC would not promise preservation in perpetuity, as I had advocated, they have agreed to preserve the Carolina North tract in Carrboro for the next 50 years,” she said.  

She said she also has sought to promote business and workers, as a member of Carrboro's Economic Sustainability Commission, the Local Living Economy Task Force, the emergent Greater Carrboro Business Community group and in the town's efforts to locate a site for day laborers.

Four seats on the Board of Aldermen are up. Mayor Mark Chilton, running for re-election, faces a challenge from community organizer Sammy Slade. Alderman John Herrera has decided not to seek another term. Alderwoman Jacquie Gist has said she probably will. (She may have made this more definite in the week I was away.)  The official filing period opens Monday.