ROSES to Dana Carvalho, who took it upon herself to make drastic changes to the foods offered to the children at the Chapel Hill Cooperative Preschool.

Childhood obesity is on the rise, and Carvalho, a longtime teacher and cook at the school, decided two years ago that it was time to take a good look at what the school was feeding its 50 young children. What she saw convinced her that something had to change.

It took some doing. She did a lot of research, read labels closely and stopped buying foods that contained hydrogenated oil, sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, enriched flour and refined flour. She replaced juices with fresh fruit, and does a lot of the shopping at health-food stores.

So instead of snack packs, processed foods and sugar-laden drinks, the kids sit down to lunches of whole-grain breads, spinach-and-tofu sandwiches, carrots and celery.

And guess what? They love it. The key -- here's where a lot of healthy eating plans miss the mark --is to prepare healthy foods in ways that taste good. It takes more effort and awareness, but it's worth it.


ROSES to the Chapel Hill Museum and its new exhibit about the history of downtown Chapel Hill.

What a treat to be given a peek at the intensely rich, colorful past this place has. The exhibit -- curated by Anne Wood Humphries and populated in large part by artifacts and mementos donated by local residents -- brings back to mind many of the people and places that give Franklin Street its character.

For those new to town, it's a primer in what came before. For those who have been here for a long time, it's a reminder of memories we may not have thought of in many a moon.

It's a reminder that there isn't just one Franklin Street, but many. The town has never been static. It has always evolved. For many of us, the most vivid incarnation is the one that was in place when we first came to know it, whether that was the Franklin Street of the Pickwick Theater, or the Dairy Bar, or Fowler's food store, or the Town Hall tavern, or the Kidzu Children's Museum.

Thanks to the Chapel Hill Museum for jogging a lot of memories and casting a familiar place in a fresh and sometimes surprising light.


ROSES to the St. Thomas More Catholic Community, which was recently honored by NC Beautiful for its beautification projects.

The award is part of NC Beautiful's 22nd annual Azalea Celebration, which rewards community groups for improving their communities through creative landscape projects. St. Thomas More will receive 70 azaleas to plant on its campus. Some will be used to replace plants lost to the drought, and others will replace beds that were previously planted with annuals.

The annual Azalea Celebration has awarded more than 200,000 plants to some 3,000 non-profits in its 22-year history. The 1-gallon azaleas are grown from cuttings taken three years ago in Raleigh.