Oct. 28, 2009
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Gaddy's column served as reminder

I thoroughly enjoyed Gary Gaddy's column in the Friday, Oct. 16, issue of The Chapel Hill Herald ("Lots of prayers are needed for city, state and nation").

He expressed, with great insight and emotion, what many of us have in our minds and our hearts.

I cut out the article and took it with me to my Saturday Vigil Mass so that I might include all of his prayers along with mine that evening.

Thanks, Gary, for reminding us that "lots of prayers are needed."

Irene Briggaman

Community Volunteer

Haven-O'Donnell is a valuable leader

 I support Randee Haven-O'Donnell for re-election to the Carrboro Board of Aldermen.

Randee is working hard to improve neighborhoods and promote long-term sustainability by implementing the greenways plan connecting schools, neighborhoods and downtown; promoting local-first economic development; and exploring partnerships that foster new opportunities in Carrboro while maintaining town character.

Randee is a consensus builder, and she does it all with enthusiasm for details, appreciation for practical solutions, and a positive attitude.

Randee's valuable leadership has earned endorsements from the Anderson-Thorpe Breakfast Club, N.C. Chapter of the Sierra Club and Independent Weekly. Please vote for Randee in this important election.

Damon Seils

Carrboro

Slade is radical in all the right ways

 I am writing to heartily endorse Sammy Slade for the Carrboro Board of Aldermen.

I have been privileged to know Sammy literally since we were in grade school, through his college years and adventuring abroad and then as an adult, both socially and through his activism.

The heart of Sammy's philosophy is that communities have the right to choose how their shared spaces will be utilized and that patterns of growth are not a kind of natural force to be reacted to as one would the weather, but the sum of the decisions of people, decisions that should be shared in by all of the people.

Sammy's vision is radical, not in the sense of contrarianism or a rejection of norms, but in the sense of an uncompromising belief that a holistic improvement in American life is exactly as realistic as we choose to believe it is. The consistent theme of Sammy's life has been the way he combines fearlessness with a strong desire to get his hands dirty in the actual business of doing things.

At an age when many young men take backpacking vacations in bars and youth hostels, Sammy chose to see the world by signing onto ships as a hand and learning the trade of the sea from the bottom up. Sammy has taken that spirit to his political life by taking a hands-on approach to making projects for sustainable living work without ever losing sight of how they could and should fit into the bigger picture of the whole economy.

With our progressive population, relative prosperity and potential for rapid, imminent economic growth via the Carolina North project, Carrboro is uniquely suited to become a beacon for organizing a prosperous, harmonious and healthy future for all Americans.

I believe Sammy Slade has the experience and commitment to help us achieve that and more.

Benjamin Mace

Carrboro

Harrison ally of responsive government

 Vote to return Ed Harrison to Town Council!

Ed is a true ally of citizen responsive local government. He listens carefully and acts upon the concerns of neighborhoods, of citizen advisory boards, of local businesses, and the university community. Ed works well with other council members and does not posture. When he speaks, it is with the force of his collective experience with individuals and with deep environmental and transportation knowledge.

Ed attends meetings of neighbors and follows up with people after meetings. He walks and bikes around town. He spends time thoroughly evaluating public records and people's ideas.

Ed's commitment to Chapel Hill is proven and his value to constructive dialogue and decision-making well documented. Vote for Ed!

Glenn Parks

Chapel Hill

Dancy has shown she's team player

 I encourage readers to vote for Susana Dancy for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education. She has shown that she has strong leadership skills and the ability to work with others to affect positive change for the school district.

As a parent of three children in the district, she is well aware of the challenges at all levels of education in the district.

She analyzed the most recent school budget and helped the school board in correcting some errors.

As a champion for completion of construction of the Carrboro High School Arts Wing, she rallied support in favor of using federal stimulus funds to pay for the much-needed project, and has close contact with the school board and county commissioners to see this through.

She is a team player with a keen sense of budgets, and the district will benefit greatly from her service on the Chapel Hill-Carrboro school board.

Randall McClelland

Chapel Hill

Kleinschmidt runs on his principles

 Town of Chapel Hill Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt: There is no more sensible choice. Just as Mark's convictions led him to professionally pursue justice law, his convictions led him to serve on Town Council for eight years.

He is in it for the right reasons!

Kleinschmidt represents the tradition of Chapel Hill for progressive, accessible and democratic local government.

While other candidates spend tons of money for a small local election, Mark runs his campaign on principle and example: he demonstrates that local representation should not become the exclusive province of the wealthy or leisure class.

Mark works well with other council members. He does not belabor points nor posture to achieve recognition. Rather, he reasons and debates with other members to lead on a wide variety of growth and development decisions for the town. While there are good, intelligent candidates in the race for mayor, none is more sensible than Mark Kleinschmidt.

Glenn Parks

Chapel Hill

What's UNC doing about alcohol?

 Much is written about abusive student drinking, declaring this a community problem.

The drinking problem among many UNC students is serious -- seems many come to Chapel Hill just to have a place to drink too much. While I'm concerned about the health implications of their dangerous drinking choices, I'm embarrassed by the alcohol-driven and immature misbehavior of many of them. Franklin Street is not a place to take children at night, and many permanent residents constantly fall victim to student vandalism and disruption. So, yes, it's a community problem.

But despite UNC's no-alcohol policy, the campus seems awash in alcohol. So while asking the community to do more, I wonder what UNC is doing to deal with their own "problem."

The UNC Department of Public Safety is nowhere to be found when it comes to enforcing underage drinking laws on campus. No threat to student drinking, visit a football game to witness the open student use of alcohol, or read about the many unconscious students found on campus. Reports claim that alcohol poisoning among students here is at a record level, and alcohol-related deaths are at their highest level. Cortland Smith comes to mind.

So when you ask us to do more, ask the university to use its own resources in the "community" effort to protect their students.

David R. Lee

Chapel Hill
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