Victim of attack by rabid fox retains wit

One day after she was bitten by a rabid fox, Patsi Furr feels fine enough to joke about her up-close encounter with nature gone wild.

"I haven't been growling or chasing people or anything," Furr, 59, said Wednesday. "I've been scratching behind my ear a little just to make people a little nervous. ... That doesn't happen every day. You've just got to go with the flow."

Furr and two other victims, including a 4-year-old girl at a Durham day care center, were bitten Tuesday in fox attacks separated by just a few hours. Tests confirmed Wednesday the rabies virus infected the fox that attacked Furr and another Chapel Hill office worker as well as the fox that bit the Durham child. Another fox chased down by dogs in Orange County also tested positive for rabies.

All three victims are receiving post-exposure treatments, which include medicated shots to the areas around their wounds along with general vaccines. Prompt and appropriate vaccinations have never failed to protect an exposed victim from rabies in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

The rabid fox in Durham climbed a fence Tuesday morning, chased down the girl on the playground of the Westminster School for Young Children and bit her. The fox was a mother, and Durham Animal Control officers removed two of her pups from a wooded area near the day care Wednesday morning. They were immediately euthanized.

Durham Animal Control Lt. Melinda Duarte said the pups did not need to be tested for rabies because they hadn't had contact with people or pets. A contractor, Animals Be Gone, set traps for fox pups that may be in the area, Duarte said.

Another fox attacked Furr and another woman outside their office buildings on Silver Cedar Court in the Timberlyne area of northern Chapel Hill.

A third rabid fox was killed between Chapel Hill and Hillsborough on Tuesday by two dogs.

Beside the two foxes, Orange County officials have captured six rabid animals this year: three raccoons, two bats and a skunk. The county has caught about 20 rabid animals in each of the past two years. Durham officers have trapped three rabid foxes and a rabid skunk this year.

Chapel Hill unveils new town Web site

The Town of Chapel Hill announced the launch of its new Web site at www.townofchapelhill.org on Monday.

The Town Council goal of enhancing the Web site was established to better serve citizens through information and interaction options.

The new site offers residents and visitors quick and easy access to government information and services. It will allow citizens to access calendars, Council agendas and videos, e-mail directories, news releases, job postings and service information.

The new Web site is designed to make locating services more intuitive and user-friendly. The Town continues to offer online payment options, including bills for recreation programs.

The Town revamped its Web site with help from Vision Internet, a California-based company that specializes in municipal Web sites, having developed about 200 for nonprofits and governments across the country.

Staff from the Communications and Public Affairs Department also organized community meetings to receive input from local residents on how the Town could best change the site for improvement.

The Web site includes:

•Prominent links to services and departments

•Links to online recreation programs and activities

•Listings of upcoming meetings and special events

•E-mail news subscription services

•Content that conforms to ADA accessibility guidelines

•Interactive forms for requesting services

•Access to town social networking services such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube

Along with its new look, some information and areas of the Web site may be under construction.

Web visitors are urged to contact the town to offer feedback or report technical errors.

Visit www.townofchapelhill.org or contact the Communications and Public Affairs Department at 968-2743 or publicaffairs@townofchapelhill.org.