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Festivities
lined up for Art Walk
James Best
was tossed out of his art class in high school.
On Friday,
May 18, some of Best’s best paintings will go on display in the
North Carolina Arts Incubator PAF Gallery in conjunction with the
Incubator’s Third Friday Art Walk in Historic Downtown Siler City.
Best is best
known for his role as Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane on the 1980s hit TV
show The Dukes of Hazzard, and he will also be participating
in the first Milo Holt Western Film Festival in Siler City from 10
a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, May 19.
His exhibit
of acrylic landscapes and still life paintings will be on exhibit in
the PAF Gallery during the Third Friday Artwalk from 6-9 p.m. Friday
and during the gallery’s normal hours (10 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday
through Saturday) until May 30.
His work
reflects memories of his childhood days in rural Indiana and places
to which he has traveled in his long career in television and
movies.
Born in
Kentucky, Best appeared in such TV shows as The Twilight Zone,
Gunsmoke, The Andy Griffith Show, Rawhide,
Wagon Train, Bonanza, and The Fugitive, just to
mention a few.
He
semi-retired in the early ‘70s and was an artist-in-residence at the
University of Mississippi.
He returned
to California in the 1980s to do his first TV series, The Dukes
of Hazzard, which ran for seven years on CBS and was at the top
of the ratings for three straight years.
In addition
to acting, he has been a writer, producer and director for several
TV productions and movies, and he and several members of his family
still own and operate Best Friends Films.
In keeping
with the Western theme of the weekend in Siler City, Kelly & The
Cowboys will be performing on the Rotary Stage during the Third
Friday Art Walk.
more- See Thursday,
May 17,
2012
edition
Siler City Alive Festival brings hundreds to area
By Mike Gates
Hundreds of
residents packed into downtown Siler City Saturday to attend this
year’s Siler City Alive festival.
Visitors
took the opportunity to hear live music, enjoy festivities and food
and peruse local organizations as they set up booths.
"I think
this is great," said Zoann Adams, Siler City resident and president
of the town’s Merchants Association. "There’s wonderful people out
in Siler City."
The festival
began at noon, when Jim Quick and the Coastline Band took to the
Rotary stage.
The band
immediately set the scene as a fun, upbeat festival.
"I enjoy
it," said Sam Zinaich, a Siler City resident and owner of Stained
Glass by Sam. "It’s a great band. There’s a lot of people in town."
One of the
biggest bonuses, Zinaich said, was getting people in from other
areas.
Visitors
came from out of the county to attend the event, he said, hailing
from Carrboro and beyond.
"I’m glad we
could get them downtown to see what we have to offer," Zinaich said.
As the band
rocked out, patrons had a number of other entertainment options open
to them.
Kids could
jump around on any of three bounce castles, including an obstacle
course.
Meanwhile,
parents could shop around at the many vendors on the scene.
Crafts, such
as locally made sand art and specialized fragrances, were up for
sale amid the variety of food and other attractions in the area.
For lunch or
dinner, families had a number of options ranging from fried chicken
to burgers, Greek cuisine, funnel cakes, cheesecake-on-a-stick and
plenty more.
more- See Thursday,
May 17,
2012
edition
J-M among top
5 schools in state
By John
Hunter
Jordan-Matthews High School has been ranked as one of the top five
schools in the state by U.S. News.
The national
magazine ranked the school as the fourth best school in North
Carolina.
"We are very
excited about the recognition. I think it shows what a great job our
students have done," Jordan-Matthews Martin McDonald said.
The schools
were judged based on a three step process.
The first
step determined whether each schools’ students performed above what
was statistically expected for the average student in North
Carolina.
Reading and
math results for the state’s high school proficiency tests from all
students were used to judge the schools. The percentage of
economically disadvantaged students enrolled at each school were
then factored.
The second
step determined focused on the performance of each school’s
least-advantaged students. Each school’s math and reading
proficiency rates for disadvantaged students were compared with the
statewide results.
The final step focused on
college-readiness performance. Advanced Placement or International
Baccalaureate test data were used as a way of determining success.
more- See Thursday,
May 17,
2012
edition
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Jeff Davis photo
I hear banjo music . . .
Alex Cheek plays at
Pittsboro’s Relay for Life Friday night where walkers and teams
raised money for cancer research. Cheek and the band he was playing
with was just a part of the entertainment throughout the night and
Saturday morning. For more photos see page 11-B in this week’s
Chatham News/Record.
Incubator finds funding
By Mike Gates
The NC Arts
Incubator, located in Siler City, has recently found several
potential sources of income to fight off an impending financial
disaster that could lead to its closure.
On May 7,
after several county- and town-level meetings, including a joint
board of commissioners meeting between the two, the county agreed to
consider a funding request.
As the
county’s staff presented the commissioners with the proposed budget,
Assistant County Manager Renee Paschal said that $34,216, equivalent
to six months of lease payments, had been earmarked for the
Incubator.
"It’s in the
budget," said Ann Bass, the Incubator’s executive director. "That’s
huge."
If the
commissioners agree to keep the funding, the money could go toward a
number of projects, including hiring a staffer for the sole purpose
of creating new revenue-generating programs.
But Bass
said she’s waiting to see if there will be any strings attached to
the funding.
One of her
chief concerns is whether the Incubator’s staff will be able to use
the money as they see fit, or if the county will mandate it for
line-item purposes, Bass said.
County
Commissioner Sally Kost said that any conditions for the grant will
be chosen in the near future.
"That will
probably be decided when the commissioners have a work session,"
Kost said.
She added
that there will likely be expectations tacked onto the grant, such
as a detailed business plan.
more- See Thursday,
May 17,
2012
edition
Chatham Charter to add high
school grade levels
By John
Hunter
Over the next three years,
Chatham Charter School will be expanding into a K-12 school.
"As we have grown, so has
our student base," Chatham Charter School Board President Kathy
Wilson said.
In order to meet the
expanding student base, Chatham Charter School plans on opening
ninth and tenth grades by the fall of 2013. The following year, the
school will open the eleventh grade.
By 2015, the school plans to
be an entirely K-12 school. The school is targeting 50 students per
grade level.
"We want to maintain small
class sizes while still expanding," Wilson said.
Wilson said that a survey
asking interest in the new grade levels was conducted.
"The results were very
positive," Wilson said.
Chatham Charter has already
updated some of its facilities to accommodate the expansion. The gym
at the school has been updated to meet the qualifications needed for
high school sports.
"We were losing students in
middle school who wanted to play basketball or other sports in high
school. Now we are equipped to be able to have sports’ teams play in
our gym," Wilson said.
However, new classrooms will
have to be built on the school’s site to house the new grade levels.
The school will also be
making some changes in administration. Headmaster Ronnie Joyce has
cut back his time at the school, now taking on around three days a
week.
Additionally, Dr. John
Eldridge has been added to the staff. Eldridge is currently the
Headmaster of grades K-8 and will become the Headmaster of grades
K-12 once the expansion is complete.
Eldridge was previously a
regional superintendent with Guilford County Schools. From 1998-2001
he served as Assistant Principal at Bonlee School and was Principal
of Chatham Central High School from 2001-2005.
more- See Thursday,
May 17,
2012
edition |