The Red Cross has closed some of the evacuation shelters it opened Friday for Hurricane Irene.  All residents staying at these shelters have safely returned to their homes. Here's an update.

Hurricane shelters are opening Friday in Brunswick, Craven, Duplin, Halifax, Hertford, Johnston, Jones, Lenoir, Nash, New Hanover, Northampton, Pender and Wilson counties.
 
The state is coordinating with the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, N.C. Baptist Men and N.C. Social Services to shelter and feed evacuees. Mass Care Support trailers and mobile animal trailers are on standby in Halifax and Northampton counties to support those shelters.

Guest post by Patti Thorp

There isn’t much I enjoy more than cheering on our Tar Heels in the Smith Center. But our basketball players aren’t the only champions to take this floor. This Tuesday, June 7, I’ll have the privilege of cheering on some truly lifesaving members of our campus community as they give the gift of life at the 2011 Carolina Blood Drive. Held each year in the Smith Center, the drive gives us the opportunity to help more than 3,000 patients in need.

Every two seconds someone in our country needs blood. That means that if the need for blood hasn’t personally touched your life, it likely will. For us, that time came when Holden was an undergraduate here at Carolina. He was hit by a car and came very close to losing his leg. We are so grateful to the blood donors who brought him through that experience, and for all those who donate so that blood will be available to patients who need it.

It is our pleasure to be a part of the amazing blood drive tradition here at UNC.  With a goal of 1,000 units, the Carolina Blood Drive is one of the largest single-day, single-site blood drives in our state, and one of only a handful of its size in the entire nation. Established under Chancellor Paul Hardin in 1989, the drive has produced more than 20,000 units of blood in its history. It has been recognized with awards for excellence by both the American Red Cross and the American Association of Blood Banks and inspired other universities to initiate similar drives.

It is heartwarming to see the way our campus community comes together to put on an event of this size. Run entirely by faculty, staff and student volunteers, in partnership with the American Red Cross, the drive is a shining example of our public service mission. It’s also a lot of fun! You’ll see some familiar faces on the court this year, as Holden and I will join Butch and Tammy Davis, Bill Roper and Eric Montross to personally thank our donors and volunteers. There are chances to win great door prizes, and good food from generous local vendors will be served in the canteen. Free parking will be available for donors all day at the Smith Center.

We invite you, your co-workers, neighbors, family and friends to attend the 23rd anniversary Carolina Blood Drive. Sign up today at www.unc.edu/blood, or come over on Tuesday (June 7) anytime between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. as a walk-in donor. With your help, we can collect more than 1,000 units of blood to help save lives and provide needed blood in hospitals across the region. Please join us in this lifesaving Tar Heel tradition.

Lowes is breaking ground on a new store in Sanford on Wednesday. It replaces the one destroyed by a tornado on April 16.

The store, which will be built on the same site, will have 103,000 square feet of retail space and an adjacent 34,000 square foot garden center.

It is expected to be finished by mid to late September, said Jaclyn Pardini, a spokeswoman for the Mooresville home improvement chain.

According to the company, the store represents a $10 million investment.

The re-opening will also return the store's 160 employees to Sanford. After the tornado, all the workers were placed in other area Lowes stores, Pardini said.

In addition, in honor of its employees, the company is donating $750,000 to the American Red Cross National Disaster Relief Fund. That's in addition to money raised via customer donations at Lowe’s stores nationwide between April 20 to May 22. That effort raised nearly $60,000 that also will go to the American Red Cross.