During the last two years the insurance rates for homeowners that live farther than 6 road miles from their assigned fire station have doubled, tripled or been cancelled. This is happening in rural areas throughout North Carolina.

On Monday night the Chapel Hill Town Council had the opportunity to help 112 homeowners that live in southern Orange County by shifting a portion of the Southern Triangle Fire District to the Greater Chapel Hill Fire District. This simple action would have ensured that those 112 homeowners were within 6 road miles of their newly assigned fire station, thus significantly reducing their insurance premiums.

The two opportunities that the Town Council discussed were (1) simply extending the Chapel Hill Fire District to cover the properties in question and (2) requiring annexation before extending the fire district. It is important to mention that this is a financial issue rather than a safety issue as the Chapel Hill Fire Station on Bennett Road currently responds to all emergencies in this area through a mutual aid agreement.

This is how the two choices look on paper: Choice 1, if the Town Council extended the fire district Chapel Hill could claim the fire taxes and would receive about $300,000 per year for doing what they are currently doing (responding to emergencies) without reimbursement. Choice 2, there is a possibility that Chapel Hill could receive about $1 million per year in property taxes if the majority of the 112 homeowners voted for annexation. This is not guaranteed. In fact, it is extremely unlikely that a majority of homeowners will vote for annexation. Additionally, annexation creates its own issues in that Chapel Hill would be required to provide all city services to the 112 homeowners thus spending a considerable portion of the yearly tax revenue.

So what is the best choice for the city, a guaranteed $300,000 per year starting in 2013 or $1 million never?

The vote was unanimous. Bet you know how they voted.

Larry Hodges

Chapel Hill

No exception

A letter in your Jan. 16 edition makes the absurd and misleading statement that “far more people are killed by drunk drivers than madmen with assault rifles, but I don’t hear any calls for banning alcohol.”

The relevant realities are that 1) the 30,000 annual firearms deaths in the U.S. are triple the deaths from drunk drivers and 2) every state in the U.S. regulates blood alcohol levels in drivers and imposes severe penalties for exceeding those limits.

Every freedom guaranteed by the Bill of Rights is constrained by limits that serve and protect the public interest. Guns should be no exception.

Jerry VanSant

Chapel Hill

Harvest the Dream

Book Harvest has a great way for everyone in our community to serve on MLK Day! All are invited to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and to help Book Harvest celebrate our dream of books for all kids by joining bestselling authors Daniel Wallace, Sarah Dessen, and Randall Kenan for our second annual 10KBK: 10,000 Books for Kids on MLK Day.

This event will take place from 1 to 4 p.m. Monday at Flyleaf Books, 752 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. in Chapel Hill. The program, featuring live music as well as the authors speaking about the power of books in their lives, will begin at 2:15 p.m. To join us in service on MLK Day, simply gather the kids’ books you no longer need and bring them by Flyleaf that afternoon. Every book you donate will end up in the hands and home of a local low-income child.

Founded just two years ago and enabled by the amazing generosity of our caring community, Book Harvest recently placed our 100,000th donated book. To celebrate this exciting milestone, we have taken a page from a favorite book, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” We placed five golden tickets in five randomly selected books and sent those books to five of our book distribution sites. Each lucky winner will receive a $50 gift certificate to Flyleaf Books, where they will also be treated to a personal tour of the store by the owners. We hope to share news of the winners of this exciting contest at 10BKB.

Last year, we collected 10,122 books on MLK Day, a goal we hope to surpass this year. Please help us honor Dr. King and make a difference in the lives of our community’s children by supporting Book Harvest, joining us on Monday, and donating books.

Ginger Young

Founder and executive director

FRANKly speaking

If you haven’t been to FRANK at 109 E. Franklin St. a few doors down from Starbucks, it’s time to get there!

This season FRANK Gallery has developed an exhibit entitled “Blues,” which features art and live performances inspired by this distinct musical genre. Come to FRANK Gallery on Thursday evenings during the month of January and February for the opportunity to see the Blues in action!

FRANK has teamed up with the UNC ARTery to host weekly musical salons that will feature an array of talents from local community artists and showcase performances by UNC students and ensembles. UNC ARTery, the arts and cultural center for the UNC Roosevelt, actively works to promote and connect UNC’s undergraduate artistic community, while identifying and addressing arts-related issues on campus. FRANK’s collaborative work with UNC ARTery will highlight the diversity of talent at UNC and further bridge the gap between the vibrant arts scene at the University and the arts in the local Chapel Hill community! All blues salons are free and open to the public and start at 6 p.m..

Jan 24 - Featured Artist’s Talk: Nerys Levy, A Journey in Russia; Guest Musician: Lyubov Egorova

Jan 31 - Blues A Capella Night with the UNC Achordants, the UNC-Walk-ons, and the Lorelei’s

Feb 7 - Featured Artist’s Talk: Sudie Rakusin

Feb 14 - Valentine’s Day Salon: Jazz Combo & EROT Poetry

Feb 21 - Up and Coming UNC Jazz Artist Evening

Feb 28 - Storytelling: Chrysalis+Drago(n) Doctrine with Michael Layne

Peg Bachenheimer

The writer is the coordinator for the FRANK Gallery’s “Blue” exhibit.