The town of Wendell has posted a link on its Web site that provides readers with information about the outbreak of Swine Flu. Through the Department of Homeland Security, the Center for Disease Control is providing information on the outbreak along with some common-sense tips about what to do to avoid spreading the illness and how to react if you get sick.

The CDC's Swine Flu Web site is here. 

Town board appointments are once again at the center of controversy.

Hunters (not the kind with guns) are preparing for a big day on Saturday.

Wendell and Wake County continue to try to work out issues surrounding the county's payment of fees for the use of the Wendell courtroom.

Wake County pays the town $12 for each case disposed of in the Wendell courtroom. Last year, Wake County Clerk of Court Lorrin Freeman and Wendell Mayor Harold Broadwell determined the county had not paid the fees in full.

Freeman and her staff confirmed that through some research and paid the town an additional $38,690 for the fiscal years from 2004-2007.

On March 13, Wendell Town Manager David Bone wrote Freeman a letter in which he said it was the town's understanding that there would be an additional adjustment to account for fees owed from fiscal year 2008. The town stands to receive a significantly larger sum of money from 2008 because the town of Wake Forest, which also has a courtroom, has had to hold court in Wendell due to renovations at their facility.

In his letter, the manager said the town of Wendell received $17,964 in facility fees for the 2007 fiscal year after the underpayment was corrected.

"Since the Wake Forest court was not handled in Wendell in 2006-07, one can assume (since the Wake Forest court is now handled in Wendell) that the Wendell court facility fees for 2008-09 should be, roughly, double that amount - approximately $36,000," Bone wrote.

But for the first eight months of the fiscal year, the town has received just $6,374 in court fees.

The issue is an important one for Wendell commissioners because the town hall, where the courtroom is located, is bursting at the seams for space with its current staff and the courtroom takes up a significant amount of that space.

Town staff also spends time during the week setting the room up for court proceedings and rearranging the facility for other meetings throughout the week.

"While there is opinion that we benefit financially from Wake County's use of our facility, recent receipts make that position difficult to defend," Bone wrote. 

The headline says it all.

I'm about to tell you my not-too-shabby, soon-to-be ugly bracket picks, and yes, I'm asking for you all to let me know how good you're doing up to this point in the NCAA tourney.

So far I've heard nothing, so I've only come to one conclusion — no one knows I'm interested in finding out. That's got to be the only answer, because there's no way people can stop talking about their brackets this time of year.

I'll give you a hint at why you might laugh at my bracket. I don't have UNC in the Final Four. I don't have Pitt in the Final Four. I don't have UConn in the Final Four and I don't have Louisville in the Final Four. Get the picture? I've got Michigan State, Memphis, Oklahoma and Villanova as the last teams standing.

I've still got 12 of my sweet 16 left, seven of my great eight, and all of the Final Four are still alive, as are my two final contenders and national champs. Like I said, my bracket doesn't look too bad, not just yet anyways.

Think you've got the ultimate winning combination? I'm trying to write about it, so don't be shy, give me a shout!

Wendell, Knightdale and Zebulon will lose income with cable company's withdrawal.

Wendell town commissioners were faced with a lose-lose decision last night.

Support for the Wendell library is growing.

Untangling a complicated merger agreement will require the experience of commissioners like Buddy Scarboro.

Congress has set June 12 2009 as the final date to convert to digital. However, two stations in the area will stick with the original date February 17 2009; those stations are CW22 and MYRDC.  The change for both of the stations will go in effect at 11:59 pm on February 17. For more information on CW22: http://www.raleighcw.com/dtv/index.shtml  and for MYRDC: http://www.wrdc28.com/dtv/index.shtml.

Stations that will be converting June 12 2009:

UNC TV
WRAL
ABC 11
NBC 17
ION
Fox 50

These stations will be holding off, because the Government ran out of money for the Converter Box coupons. They are hoping to solve this issue between now and June 12.  For more information about the new date visit http://dtv.gov/.