Weekly Update, July 24

Friday greetings, Carrboro.

We're still paying attention to the outbreak of cyclosporiasis, reportedly the largest in U.S. history. Dr. David Weber, professor of medicine and associate chief medical officer of the UNC Medical Center, told the Daily Tar Heel this week that the infected produce seems to be coming from outside the country and that locally grown produce purchased at farmers' markets appears safe. Traditionally, outbreaks of this infection have been linked to imported foods with complex supply chains. Still, out of an abundance of caution, Chloe Sherer, Market Manager for the Carrboro Farmers' Market, has instructed farmers to pause free samples of produce for now and urges customers to wash their produce before eating it.

In case you haven't heard, this illness doesn't seem to spread from person to person and can be treated with an antibiotic. In its recent update, the NC Department of Health and Human Services says that while investigations are ongoing, it appears that most cases in North Carolina could be linked to parsley, cilantro, and lettuce: all produce that is typically served raw.

Online this week

We posted stories from Weatherhill Pointe one year after Tropical Storm Chantal and from the current exhibition of work by FRANK Gallery's Youth Group. John Nicholson wrote about the Really, Really Free Market at Town Commons which takes place the first Saturday each month from 2-4pm (coming up next Saturday, August 1!).

On The Carrborean Radio Hour

We heard from residents of Weatherhill Pointe about the anniversary of Tropical Storm Chantal and what the past year has been like in their homes and neighborhood. You can find that recording here.

On Monday, John Rees will host a two-part show. First, PORCH staff will talk about their summer fundraiser. After that, the founders of the Be Loud! Sophie Foundation will talk about their cross-country bicycling trip fundraiser. Tune in Monday at 4pm to listen live on WCOM-FM 103.5 or stream at wcomfm.org. Or find the recording here later in the week.

And after each radio show, join us at a pop-up newsroom to discuss all things Carrboro and stories you'd like to see, hear, or write. You'll find us at Oasis in the Carr Mill Mall on Monday from 5 to 6pm.

News from CHCCS, Town, and County

*No meetings this week.

The CHCCS Board of Education has named Dr. Patrick Greene the new principal of Chapel Hill High School. He'd previously been named the state's Principal of the Year in 2022 at Greene Central High School, named a Model STEM School of Distinction during his tenure. There will a meet-and-greet opportunity before the school year begins, though it's still TBD.

Did you know? Approximately 45 percent of CHHS students reside in Carrboro. Since the breakdown of which Carrboro neighborhoods are zoned for CHHS can be confusing, here they are: Old Fayetteville Road, Autumn Woods neighborhood, Fidelity Street neighborhood, Barred Owl Creek Neighborhood, Quarterpath Trace neighborhood, Main Street to Simpson Street neighborhood, Colonial Heights neighborhood, Old Carrboro neighborhood, Winsome Lane neighborhood, Pleasant Drive: Cedar Court Condos neighborhood, Lake Hogan Farms neighborhood, Winmore neighborhood, The Highlands, Tally Ho Trail neighborhood, Rainbow Heights, Homestead Village neighborhood, Parkside, Northwood and Eubanks Road neighborhood, 86 north of Eubanks Road, Dairyland Road neighborhood, Brookstone neighborhood, Ironwoods neighborhood, Umstead Drive neighborhood, Sykes and Gomains neighborhood, Pine Knolls neighborhood. See the school assignment map here.

We'd love to post CHHS theater, concert, and sports schedules. Please share them with info@thecarrborean.com

As previewed in last Friday's Weekly Update, there are two town-sponsored events tonight in Carrboro. First, from 5 to 8 p.m. at Collins Crossings Apartments, the Town of Carrboro will cohost a series of free Carrboro In Motion events including a Zumba class, bike repair, a Mobile Health Unit, the Town's Party Trailer with kids' games and activities, and free sno-balls from Pelican's. Learn more about this event here.

Also, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. tonight, the Drakeford Library Complex will play host to another Teen Free Time at the Teen Center. Teens 13-17 can be dropped off to hang out, connect with friends, relax, and play games in a safe and welcoming space. Here is the online registration form parents should fill out beforehand or upon arrival.

The Town of Carrboro announced last week that the Town Commons Playground will be closed for maintenance until September. Once it reopens, it will have new ADA-accessible playground equipment, a Carrboro theme with new features geared to ages 2 to 12, and repairs to its drainage. While "Carrboro This Week," the Town's newsletter is on a summer break, you can find past issues here.

Last week we shared that residents are invited to weigh on the future of the J Branch Rail Corridor, which runs from Chapel Hill through downtown Carrboro. There were two community workshops last week, and the next and final one takes place from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, August 1, at Morris Grove Elementary School. The registration form, which is optional, can be found here.

The Orange County Democrats have chosen Rani Dasi, currently sitting on the Chapel Hill - Carrboro City Schools Board of Education, to fill the seat vacated by Jamezetta Bedford on the Orange County Board of County Commissioners. CHCCS will announce a process to fill her seat on the Board of Education. Read more about it here.

Final Notes

The Community Bulletin Board has announcements and opportunities for giving and civic engagement and is updated weekly.

There's so much going on in Carrboro! Check out The Events Calendar to see what's happening and help us keep it up-to-date.

Please consider a paid subscription to support community journalism (local news from the people living it). Subscribers at the "Angel" tier get the first-ever Carrborean T-shirt, along with the knowledge that they're making it possible for us to keep bringing you grass-roots community news-telling. Thank you to The Merch for printing the shirts! Ask your favorite businesses if they advertise in The Carrborean.

Poetry Moment(s)

Having invited us to travel with him to ancient Ithaca through his cinematic version of The Odyssey, now out one week, director Christopher Nolan has inspired The Carrborean to invoke the words of the poem's narrator, Homer, as translated into English by Emily Wilson, for this week's Poetry Moment:

“Tell me about a complicated man. 
Muse, tell me how he wandered and was lost
when he had wrecked the holy town of Troy, 
and where he went, and who he met, the pain 
he suffered in the storms at sea, and how
he worked to save his life and bring his men
back home. He failed to keep them safe; poor fools,
they ate the Sun God’s cattle, and the god
kept them from home. Now goddess, child of Zeus,
tell the old story for our modern times.
Find the beginning.”
― Emily Wilson, The Odyssey

And, from poet W. S. Merwin, "Odysseus":

Always the setting forth was the same,

Same sea, same dangers waiting for him

As though he had got nowhere but older.

Behind him on the receding shore

The identical reproaches, and somewhere

Out before him, the unravelling patience

He was wedded to. There were the islands

Each with its woman and twining welcome

To be navigated, and one to call 'home'.

The knowledge of all that he betrayed

Grew till it was the same whether he stayed

Or went. Therefore he went. And what wonder

If sometimes he could not remember

Which was the one who wished on his departure

Perils that he could never sail through,

And which, improbable, remote, and true,

Was the one he kept sailing home to?