Volunteers needed for students' big night

Project Graduation, the night-long celebration hosted for seniors of East Chapel Hill High and Chapel Hill High, is again only nights away. The seniors take over the UNC student union, where there are activities on every floor such as blow-up inflatebles, laser tag, "Rock Band" the video game, and many more. The casino is by far the most popular of all the activities.

The casino has a special feel because all the volunteers come dressed in black and white, many in tuxedos, ready to deal cards to the kids. After receiving chips for playing different games, seniors can "cash" in their chips for prizes, many of which are things that would be needed or useful in a dorm room.

Because we expect 1,000 students to participate, and since the casino is the most popular part of the event, the number of volunteers needed is high. After working with these seniors, one can think back and remember how they made graduation night both special and safe for the town's graduates.

As student co-chair of the Project Graduation planning committee I'm asking you to consider volunteering, especially if the casino sounds appealing. We're so close to the night of Project Graduation, and we still need your help. If interested please contact our volunteer committee chair Bobbi Pendleton at bobbi.pendleton@willis.com, or Jim Vorhaus who works with the entertainment committee at jvorhaus@yahoo.com. -- Allison Blue, ECHHS co-chair, Project Graduation

Cooperation needed for bicyclists' safety

Thank you for the brilliant June 1 guest column on biking in Chapel Hill and Carrboro. Philip Duchastel provides reasonable suggestions for UNC, Chapel Hill and Carrboro that would lead to a greener community and a safer environment for various kinds of bike enthusiasts (e.g., young families, athletic cyclists, student commuters). It's quite shocking to realize that college towns like Madison, Wisc., have 10 times the number of cyclists as UNC. I hope this extreme statistical disparity will motivate collaborative action on the part of UNC administrators and city officials in Chapel Hill and Carrboro. What are they waiting for? -- Altha Cravey, Carrboro

Response to baseball question strikes out

I find your section "Tar Heel Voices" to always be quite amusing, but this week's installment made me fall out of my chair laughing when I read one of the responses regarding the Heels quest for Omaha.

It is obvious that one of the respondents knows absolutely nothing about Tar Heel baseball, or he wouldn't have responded, "yes they can make it but their pitching must get better."

Clearly he is unaware that UNC has one of the best pitching staffs in the country this year, has been a dominant force this season, and if I am not mistaken, leads the country in ERA and strikeouts.

Oh well, thanks for the good laugh. -- Jeff Marcin, Durham

Library should adopt 'pay-for-use' policy

In response to your article on the Chapel Hill Library wanting Orange County taxpayers to contribute more ...

The Chapel Hill library already charges $60 for a library card to anyone who does not live in Orange County. As a resident of Chatham County, with a Chapel Hill address, I was required to make this payment if I wanted to withdraw books from the library. The rationale given by library staff was that all Orange County residents pay that much in taxes for the privilege of using the library. I work in Chapel Hill, do all my shopping and received all my services from Chapel Hill vendors. But this did not matter to the folks at the library.

Since the town of Chapel Hill is not even grateful for the amount it collects from Orange County for use of its library now, perhaps the Orange County commissioners should forgo any further payments to the library, and let the library charge individual Orange County citizens for use of the library in the same manner that they charge other non-residents. This would result in a pay-for-use tax, rather than taxing all the citizens of Orange County for a service they may not want or need. -- Mary Beth Bell, Chapel Hill

Whose interests were agents defending?

Mark Zimmerman is proud of the "service" that he and his fellow Realtors have rendered their fellow citizens by helping defeat the county's proposed transfer tax.

They opposed the transfer tax, he claims, because real estate agents have always "defended the interests of our customers."

Why isn't Mr Zimmerman concerned about people on fixed incomes?

As a Chapel Hill resident who is about to start living on a fixed income, my worry is not what the price will be when we eventually sell our house. It's what we will pay each year in property taxes. Taxes may even force us to sell a little sooner.

When that time comes, I'll be using the services of my Realtor friends who supported the tax. They are less interested in having another house on the market and more interested in making it possible for me to stay in my house as long as possible. -- George Entenman, Chapel Hill

Solutions exist if we apply the science

Humankind is surely experiencing the fulfillment of a Chinese proverb: "We live in interesting times." Many of our brilliant scientists report that God is a delusion. On the other hand, intuitive and gifted believers regularly tell us that these scientists themselves suffer from a form of delusional atheism. No one knows, I suppose, which of these groups is correct.

I am one of those people who believes the family of humanity can use God's gift of science to take the measure of any global challenge and find solutions that are consonant with universal values. But, before we can move forward to reasonably address and sensibly overcome a challenge to human wellbeing and environmental health such as global warming, that challenge needs to be openly acknowledged and widely discussed. I suppose it is a function of my life experience to suggest that we accurately "diagnose" whatever the challenge is before proceeding to implement "treatment" options.

If great spiritual and scientific leaders are somehow on the right track when realizing, "The Earth has a human-induced fever and could overheat," then at least one available treatment option is to carefully and skillfully examine the extant scientific evidence related to global warming and to make necessary changes in human behavior, both individually and collectively.

All of the above serves to set the stage for our consideration of a question. How can politicians and economic powerbrokers in the human community be empowered to muster the "political will" necessary for addressing human-driven climate change as well as for providing the substantial economic incentives and financial capital necessary to overcome this potential global threat to life as we know it and the integrity of Earth? -- Steven Earl Salmony, Chapel Hill

Affectionate prank missed one feature

I was really impressed with the creativity of the East Chapel Hill High senior prank prank and noted with some pride and trepidation that the seniors produced a pretty good fake ID badge. That talent seems unchanged over the years.

Just one criticism, however: despite the affection the students apparently have for Mr. Thaden -- he was my daughter's seventh-grade English teacher at Phillips Middle School eons ago -- how come there's no gray hair! -- Cathy Cole, Chapel Hill

County should do the right thing

The Chapel Hill News printed a good article Feb. 21, 2007, on "Bravery and broken promises mark landfill saga." The article fairly accurately depicted the decision to put the current landfill in a vibrant black community, the Rogers Road neighborhood, and Chapel Hill Mayor Howard Lee promising that the landfill would be there only 10 years.

The landfill is inadequate in space for future needs -- and decades after it was promised to be finished and turned into a park, it is still being used reminding all of the broken promises.

Since there was no written record of the promises made to the Rogers Road and surrounding property owners -- current elected officials may choose to ignore this and the other promises made -- such as the promise that if residents around the landfill have their wells become contaminated, they would be supplied a municipal water source at no charge.

Before asking that all adjacent property owners receive this, I just want to make sure that all members of the Rogers Road neighborhood have been supplied municipal water at no expense. After the recent drought, the need for safe water is more apparent than ever. After years of living with the landfill in their neighborhood, the Rogers Road and adjoining property owners deserve this consideration before any new subdivision or area is approved for municipal water supply

It is time for Orange County to do the right thing and make sure all residents around the landfill have the opportunity to have a safe and healthy municipal water supply at no charge and to stop the unfair treatment of county residents due to their economic status, race or whatever reason. -- Janice Putnam, Chapel Hill

Listen to teachers on grading proposal

Here's a good rule of thumb: If it's about how to teach, and the teachers are against it, don't do it. -- William G. Lycan, Chapel Hill

Students should get the grade they earn

In response to "Schools may make 61 the lowest score" published Thursday in The News & Observer, I am appalled at the idea of creating a grade floor.

I have two children in high school. I will also be finishing up my degree to teach high school English this next school year. Both as a mother and future teacher I feel the grade student get should be the one they earn.

What kind of message is having a grade floor sending? I feel it will send students the message that effort is not important and lead to decreased effort. What students need is real success. I believe in remediation and mastery, not grade inflation. -- Lasha Faltstrom, Cary