The nation's eyes are trained on the first Tuesday in November a year from now, when the nation will elect a new president and, perhaps, a new direction.

But while Hilary and Rudy and company set their sights on 2008, there are local elections taking place here this Tuesday. You may have noticed the campaign signs everywhere.

Encouraging people to vote can feel like an exercise in futility; if experience is any guide, precious few residents will make the detour in their daily routines to swing by their polling place and cast a ballot.

But those who do will feel good about having done it. There are a lot of important things going on around here just now, and these elections will go a long way toward determining how those issues and events will play out in the months and years to come.

The Town Council in Chapel Hill and the Board of Aldermen in Carrboro will have to steer their towns through periods of enormous change. The residents depend on those boards to do so wisely and to safeguard their interests.

Tuesday is Election Day. As somebody once said, decisions are made by those who show up.