A grand opening ceremony for Orange County's new Fairview Park is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday at the park, located at 195 Torain St. in Hillsborough.

Activities for the afternoon include a tennis clinic, horseshoes, basketball and volleyball.  Some remarks from county officials will also be made. Refreshments will be served.

Amenities at Fairview include: a lighted baseball/softball field, lighted basketball courts, hiking trails, horseshoe pits, picnic shelter, playground, lighted tennis courts, volleyball court and a lighted, one-quarter mile walking track.  The tennis courts will be the first public courts in northern Orange County outside of a school campus.
 
A master plan map of the park can be viewed on the main Orange County website, www.co.orange.nc.us .  Look under “What’s New” for the Fairview Park Site Plan.
 
Board of Orange County Commissioners’ Chair Bernadette Pelissier and Board Member Barry Jacobs will speak at Saturday's ceremony, as will Fairview Community Watch representative Brian Lowen.

Funding for this park comes from a 2001 Parks and Open Space Bond, a North Carolina Parks and Recreation Trust Fund grant, Town of Hillsborough sidewalk funding and Orange County Payment–in-lieu funding.  St. Matthews Episcopal Church also provided funding assistance.

The Orange County Board of Commissioners will hold a public hearing on raising the local sales tax a quarter-cent on Tuesday, March 15,  at the Southern Human Services Center, 2501 Homestead Road in Chapel Hill.  The meeting starts at 7 p.m.

The North Carolina General Assembly granted county boards the authority to levy the sales tax increase, subject to voter approval, in 2007. As we reported on OrangeChat last week and in The Chapel Hill News on Sunday, a majority of the commissioners want to raise the tax before, and in case, the state takes away the option.

County officials say the tax -- 25 cents on a $100 purchase -- would raise about $2.5 million annually.  If the voters approved the referendum on Nov. 8, implementation would begin April 1, 2012, generating approximately $625,000 for the remainder of FY 2011-12, according to the county.

Orange County voters defeated the sales tax increase 51 percent to 49 percent last year, with rural voters opposing the increase by a 2-to-1 margin. This time, the county may simplify its message, stressing the money would go to the schools and economic development.

Orange County will begin preparing a budget with no property tax increase. But that could change depending on what the state does to cope with its more than $2 billion shortfall.

The county expects only a 1 percent increase in property and sales tax revenue in the fiscal year that begins July 1. Property taxes makes up 75 percent of the county's general fund, which pays for the day to day expenses of county government and services.

The county commissioners had already indicated they want to avoid a property tax increase. Last night, Commissioners Steve Yuhasz and Earl McKee repeated their support for that stance.

But others, including Chairwoman Bernadette Pelissier, said it's still too early to commit to no tax hike. If the county takes on new debt for the construction of a new elementary school or water and sewer lines in the Efland/Buckhorn Road area, it may want to raise taxes next year to soften the blow the following year when the first payments come due. 

Commissioner Barry Jacobs said the county may also vote to raise taxes to protect school funding if the state either takes money from the counties or increases local expenses for services previously paid for by the state.

For example, convicted criminals are staying in county jails longer because state prisons are full; the county does not get paid for that. Plus, in Orange, that keeps the sheriff from using jail beds for federal prisoners for whom the county is reimbursed.

"I think you're doing a very good job," Jacobs told County Manager Frank Clifton. "But I don't think you're even close to presenting us a worst-case scenario. ... I'm just not sure it [a budget with no property tax increase] is realistic."

Look for more on the county budget picture coming in Sunday's Chapel Hill News.

“From its well-preserved historic districts to its quiet winding streets and historic downtown, Chapel Hill lives up to its nickname as the ‘Southern Part of Heaven”, said John Hildreth, director of the southern office of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “Discerning travelers to Chapel Hill have long appreciated the two centuries of architectural grandeur on display throughout the town. And Chapel Hill’s commitment to the environment and sustainable practices set it apart from other towns and cities. Chapel Hill is the perfect place for travelers looking for a truly distinctive destination.”

The Wake County commissioners have given up on the prospect of a referendum this year on a half-cent sales tax to pay for beefed-up bus and rail transit service.

Orange and Durham leaders say they still might consider holding their votes in November. But it will be May 2012, at the earliest, before Wake voters are asked to consider a transit tax hike.

Transportation planners in Wake are running out of time to map detailed bus routes and train plans that would need several levels of approval – by county commissioners and 12 town boards – before voters could be asked to pay for them.

And David Cooke, the Wake County manager, said voters might not want to consider a new transit tax when state and local governments are preparing to slash spending.

“In the public’s mind, it’s a tough sell on why – if you’re in a position to cut service or lay off employees – to have a conversation about adding a new revenue stream so you can do something new,” Cooke said. ... [MORE]

The onset of tax season brings with it a lot of paper, in the form of personal and confidential documents. And if you're an Orange County resident, you will be able to securely destroy and recycle those documents with two free "post-tax-season" Shred-A-Thons.

Former Orange County paramedic James Griffin has appealed a judge's decision not to throw out a lawsuit against him in the death of deceased Chapel Hill High School football player Atlas Fraley.

Later this year, the N.C. Court of Appeals will hear Griffin's immunity defense. The Fraleys claim he was negligent in not providing more treatment after their 17-year-old son called 911 complaining of dehydration a few hours before he died.

David and Malinda Fraley have already voluntarily dismissed their claims against Orange County and its emergency medical services department, which have governmental immunity from liability for mistakes made in the course of duty.

In November, Superior Court Judge Carl Fox ruled that Griffin does not have the same immunity as an individual.

Here is an advance look at a guest column by Robin Cutson running in tomorrow's Chapel Hill News:

The new Orange County Animal Shelter off Eubanks Road cost $9 million and just opened in 2009. Unfortunately the single cages for cats don’t meet the space requirements for humane sheltering even for a shelter planning to hold cats only two to three weeks before euthanizing. (See the Association of Shelter Veterinarians “Guidelines for Standards of Care in Animal Shelters” and the Cat Housing Recommendations from the UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program).

The new facility has a huge lobby with skylights, a cathedral ceiling, a sitting area, art sculptures, and lots of pretty blond wood for people to enjoy. But the massive lobby is merely wasted space because people don’t congregate in the lobby; they congregate in the rooms where the animals are. Meanwhile the majority of cats are in horribly small cages with no toys or enrichment items.

The only time adult cats in these single cages get to walk more than a few inches is if a volunteer or someone interested in adopting them takes them to a “meet and greet” room. Most of the time the adult cats stay in their small wood and glass cages, alone, slowly losing their minds from misery and boredom until they are either adopted or euthanized.  Cats left in tiny cages tend to become unadoptable due to “behavior” issues.  In 2010 in the month of September alone, 123 cats were euthanized.

MARK SCHULTZ - mschultz@newsobserver.com

Photos are an important part of The Chapel Hill News. This Sunday we rerun several of our favorite local photos from the past year, and this one new one of Djahna Garvey and Johnny at Spence's Farm just north of Chapel Hill. For an online gallery of readers' photos of last weekend's snow (there are more than a dozen!) please go here.  

Today's issue is dedicated to S.K. List, my co-editor a lifetime ago on The Ithaca Times. It was my second newspaper job out of college, and the one where my heart glommed on to my work ... which might have been a mistake, but too late now.

Each winter, with the central New York snow piled high and the winds so chilling you cursed as you walked the dogs (I did anyway), we asked readers to share their stories. We called it Readers' Writes, and we were humbled by the outpouring of talented, personal stories we received.

For papers to work, readers need to feel a connection, that the paper they hold in their hands or read online is their paper. So today, in the spirit of The Ithaca Times, we bring you our second annual Readers' Writes issue.

Once again, you astounded me. I was moved as I read about the "little red-haired boy" who arrived after Joan Miner (left) thought everything was fine with two yellow cats and scuffy terrier. I felt Blaine Paxton Hall's pride (and wanted to know more) at owning, at age 58, his first home. I smiled at Jane Schroeder's photo of Scout patiently waitingfor his walk, and felt a catch in my throat reading Mary Jane Young's essay on growing up during another Depression. (That's her at age 5, left.)

Thank you, everyone, who made this issue of Readers' Writes even bigger than our first.

And thank you, S.K. List, who taught me by example, to never take what we do for granted.      

Happy New Year,
Mark