Public Health & Safety
On Wednesday, I attended the meeting assessing the pedestrian traffic issues along Country Club Rd. The primary area of focus was between the Laurel Hill and Ridge Rd intersections. The Ridge Rd intersection currently has right-of-way for Country Club Rd traffic and a stop sign for Ridge Rd traffic; however, there is much more vehicle traffic coming from Ridge Rd than Country Club. The Laurel Hill intersection has neglible traffic apart from local neighborhood travel.
A WRAL report on a recent study out of the University of Wisconsin has Wake County as the healthiest county in the state.
Orange County placed a respectable second overall with first place finishes in the categories of health behaviors, clinical care, and social and economic factors and second place finishes in morbidity and mortality. Unfortunately, our overall score was depressed by an eighth-place finish in physical environment. I guess we know where we have our work cut out for us.
The Orange County scores are at: http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/app/north-carolina/2013/orange/county/outcomes/overall/snapshot/by-rank
Many of us were very disturbed by the Yates Building incident in
Chapel Hill last year and wondered how the police were trained to deal
with public events and demonstrations. How do the police do arrests?
What crime and other public safety issues do we have in Chapel Hill?
Well, here's a chance for you to find out how our officers are trained
and what they do.
For the last
year I've been working with the Community Policing Advisory Committee and the Chapel Hill Police Department to dramatically
revamp its Citizen's Police Academy. The new Academy will give participants an
inside look at the police department and its work. You'll get to operate a
simulator and see what it's like to respond to a domestic call that turns
violent, sit in a squad car, watch the SERT and K9 teams in action, and talk to
the Chief of Police about tough issues. Along the way you'll learn about the
Department's work, how you can help make a safer community and much
more. Participation will involve attending one evening session on April 24 or 25
as well as an afternoon session on Sun. April 28.
News is breaking today that Landen Gambill, a UNC sophomore involved in the outstanding complaint against the University, could potentially face expulsion by the UNC Honor Court because she has allegedly "intimidated" her rapist and "adversely" affected his life. This development has already attracted (more) bad national press coverage for UNC.
This headline comes on the heels of news from the Daily Tar Heel that UNC junior Stedman Gage was found dead late Friday night at his off-campus residence. The cause of death has not yet been released by police. Gage is the fourth UNC student to unexpectedly die this academic year.
Though different in nature, both of these issues negatively affect the image of UNC and, by extension, our town and community at large. Perhaps the issue of how the Honor Court conducts its affairs is an internal matter to students and University administrators -- but I'm not so sure. If the University community decides that a victim of sexual assault is not welcome -- and is, in fact, in violation of its community standard -- does that not also reflect that the Chapel Hill community at large is also unwelcoming and unconcerned with issues of this nature?
The rain has been pouring down and I'm thinking even if the snow doesn't stick, temperatures below freezing tonight are going to make tomorrow morning treacherous at best.
How is everyone doing out there? Did you stock up on your white stuff? Feel free to share updates closings, conditions, etc.
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