How should we elect County Commissioners?

At our Oct. 5 Business Meeting, the Board of County Commissioners will receive a presentation of the Final Report from the BOCC Elections Advisory Group (BEAG) on the Process for Electing County Commissioners in Orange County. BEAG members met from late February through early August of this year, and approved their Final Report on Aug. 5, 2021. Co-Chairs Lisa Hazirjian and Patrick Mulkey led the Group, with the assistance of Retired District Court Judge Jay Bryan as the facilitator.

The Final Report details the activities, discussions and materials reviewed by the group, and provides recommendations for BOCC consideration. For those of you who are interested, I encourage you to review the report and to join us at our virtual business meeting to hear questions, answers and comments, as well as to express your concerns. Members of the public will have the opportunity to speak for three minutes each.
Contact the Clerk to the Board using the email address ocpubliccomment@orangecountync.gov no later than 3 p.m. on Oct. 5 and include the following:

The date of the meeting
The agenda item (example: 5-a) you wish to speak on
Your name, address, email and phone number
The phone number must be the number you plan to call in from if participating by phone

No final decisions are expected at this meeting. County staff will be requesting feedback from the BOCC on any next steps.

Thank you for your years of service to Orange County

We miss their smiling faces and familiar voices, yet after more than a decade, or three, with Orange County, they are enjoying retirement:

Trudy Lucas worked as a Telecommunicator in Emergency Services and retired on July 31, after 34 years of invaluable service to the residents of our community.
Gwen Capers spent 32 years with the County, compassionately assisting fellow employees, and retired from her position as Administrative Support II in Human Resources on Aug. 31.
Lisa Brashear, Administrative Support I, retired July 31 after 16 years of helping children and adults at the Department of Environment, Agriculture, Parks & Recreation.

Eno Mill Art Studio Grand Opening

Bring in October with an evening of arts, culture, fun and fancy on Friday, Oct. 1, from 6 until 9 p.m. Members of the Orange County Arts Commission are inviting one and all to the Grand Opening of the Eno Arts Mill in Hillsborough.

The opening will preview 14 Eno Arts Mill studio artists, featuring painters, textile artists, clothing designers, mixed media artists and more. Artists will also greet visitors into their studios. Visitors will enjoy works by:

Jenn Adams, mixed media artist and printmaker
Austin Cathey, mixed media artist
Ryann Carey, visual artist and teacher
Kennedi Carter, photographer
Carlos Gonzalez, mosaic artist
Judy Maloney, fiber artist
IKORMA + The Dib Studio, mixed media artists
IONA Clothing Studio
Kelly Oakes, visual artist and teacher
Audrey Pinto, book artist
Mary Ann Rozear, visual artist
Sandra L. Sachs, mixed media artist
Esten Walker, mixed-media artist
Plus selected works from The Art Therapy Institute

In addition, Keenan Jenkins, who performs as XOXOK, will be performing with guitar and vocals. He began moonlighting while working on his PhD at UNC-CH, and eventually became part of the music scene in Carrboro. His debut EP is entitled Worthy, and in 2020, XOXOK released three singles: Right On, I'll Be Fine, and All In.

Katie Murray, Director of OCAC, is requesting that people register for a time slot to join the festivities to avoid overcrowding. Also, masks will be required. Register here.

OC Rape Crisis Center

Orange County government often relies on community organizations to provide much-needed services to our constituents, and the Orange County Rape Crisis Center (OCRCC) is one such organization. On Dec. 12, at 7 p.m., OCRCC will hold its Annual Auction, a fun fundraiser, so please mark your calendars. For more information, contact Nicole Zelniker at Nicole@ocrcc.org.

Founded in 1974, OCRCC is a non-profit agency serving survivors of sexual violence in Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Hillsborough, and the county. Their free and confidential services for survivors and their loved ones include 24-hour helplines, therapy, advocacy and accompaniment, support groups, workshops, therapy, and case management. They also offer community engagement and prevention education programming, many of which are offered in Spanish.

www.orangecountync.gov