Groundbreaking for Southern Branch Library, Carrboro Cultural Center scheduled for May 5
Everyone is invited as our community breaks ground on the Orange County Southern Branch Library and Cultural Center at 203 S. Greensboro Street.
The groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for 4 p.m. Thursday, May 5, on the current parking lot site across from Open Eye Café at 203 S. Greensboro St. The event will include remarks by local officials, a reading by the poet laureate of Carrboro, and a dance performance by Takiri Folclor Latino.
Parking will be available nearby at the future site of The ArtsCenter at 400 Roberson Street.
The library will serve residents in or near southern Orange County. The facility will also provide a permanent home for the Orange County Skills Development Center; Carrboro Recreation, Parks and Cultural Resources Department; WCOM Radio, the Virtual Justice Center; and performance/multipurpose uses.
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Seymour Center to host open house in celebration of Older Americans Month, “We are Here for You"
Orange County Department on Aging, along with the Friends of the Robert and Pearl Seymour Center, invite the public to an event for people of all ages. Celebrate Older Americans Month at the Seymour Center Community Open House: We Are Here for You event and discover all that we have to offer.
May is Older Americans Month and a time to acknowledge the contributions of past and current older persons to our country. Specifically, we want to recognize the many contributions of Orange County’s older adults.
The Seymour Center Community Open House is free and will take place on Saturday, May 21, from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. The Seymour Center is located at 2551 Homestead Road in Chapel Hill.
This exciting event features:
Music with a live DJ - Dancing
- Seymour Center tours
- Food Trucks
- Wellness Demonstrations
- Senior Living Resource
- Books and Games Fundraiser*
In conjunction with the Community Open House, the Friends of the Seymour Center will host a Books and Games Fundraiser to benefit the many wonderful programs offered at the Center. There will be books of all genres, puzzles and a variety of tabletop and board games.
Registration is encouraged, but not required. For information, or to register, call 919-968-2070.
We Are Here for You! |
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Orange County Arts Commission offers summer camps for youth
Bring out your child's creative side this summer. The Orange County Arts Commission will host several camps for children of all ages. Programs on mosaic art, drumming, painting, creative writing and musical theatre are just some of the offerings available. Visit the Arts Commission website for more information. Check back often – more camps are being added regularly! Financial Assistance availableWe want ALL youth to be able enjoy the benefits of self expression, regardless of financial standing. Please complete our Youth Scholarship Application if you need financial assistance.
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Orange County FY23 Transit Work Program available for public review, comment
Each year, a work group with representatives from Orange County, GoTriangle and the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization puts together a work program for transit service and infrastructure improvements for funding in the next fiscal year (July-June).
Following an extremely successful second phase of community outreach and engagement, the consulting team and Orange County staff are ready to finalize and document the projects, concepts, and implementation plan that together represent the Transit Plan Update.
The draft FY23 Orange County Transit Work Program is available for a 21-day public review and comment period through May 11. The work group will collect and review comments before the work program’s adoption in June.
BGMPO to host public meetings on Transportation Safety Plan and Comprehensive Transportation Plan
The Burlington-Graham Metropolitan Planning Organization (BGMPO), which includes the City of Mebane and portions of Orange County, will hold public meetings in the coming weeks to gather feedback on a Comprehensive Transportation Plan and a Transportation Safety Plan. A Comprehensive Transportation Plan (CTP) is a long-range multimodal transportation plan of the future transportation network. The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) and BGMPO will host a CTP Public Information Meeting on April 26, from 6-7 p.m., at the Burlington Municipal Conference Room (425 S. Lexington Ave., Burlington, NC 27215). The BGMPO is developing a Transportation Safety Plan to identify safety concerns and recommend improvements with the goal of reducing crash fatalities and serious injury rates within the Burlington-Graham planning area. The BGMPO will host an in-person public information meeting on May 4, 2022, 6-7:30 p.m., at the Alamance Community College Main Campus Auditorium (1247 Jimmie Kerr Road, Graham, NC 27253). A formal presentation will be made at 6:15 p.m. The public may drop-in at any time during the meeting hours. The Project Team, led by Eric Tang, VHB, Inc. will be available to answer questions and listen to comments regarding the development of the plan. Click here for more information, including how to submit comments or to request meeting accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act for disabled persons who wish to participate in this meeting. |
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Department on Aging to host presentation
on retirement and mental wellness
The Orange County Department on Aging and the Project EngAGE Mental Wellness Senior Resource Team invite the public to attend a virtual presentation, Retirement and Mental Wellness, on May 3. The Project EngAGE Mental Wellness Senior Resource Team welcomes you to join Lydia Arnold, AT/VC 55+ Specialist, Carl Nordgren with Being Better than Before, Mike Komives, Employment Specialist and Alison Smith, VC 55+ Volunteer Coordinator for a discussion about challenges associated with the new transition of retirement and how they can impact our mental wellbeing. You’ll learn more about discovering your creative renewal, becoming involved, overcoming these challenges and embracing this new chapter. The FREE virtual event will take place on Tuesday, May 3, from 4-5:30 pm. To register, please use this link: www.orangecountync.gov/Retirement-MentalWellness. If technology assistance is needed, please contact Lydia Arnold at 919-245-4276 by Friday, April 29. |
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OCAC, CJRD present Our Lens, Our Voice
The Orange County Criminal Justice Resource Department in partnership with the Orange County Arts Commission announce the opening of Our Lens, Our Voice, a photography and emotional expression project that reframes and refocuses narratives of justice-impacted youth. The photography exhibit will open to the public on Friday, April 29 from 5-8 p.m. at the Orange County Courthouse (106 E. Margaret Ln.) as part of Hillsborough’s Last Fridays ArtWalk. In addition to the exhibit, attendees will enjoy live music and spoken word artists.
In September 2020, Criminal Justice and the Arts Commission, together with photographer Emily Baxter and artivist Soteria Shepperson, created Our Lens, Our Voice, where justice-impacted youth used photography and poetry to create a series of anonymous photographs using meaningful words and phrases as prompts. All cameras and supplies were provided, thanks to the generosity of community members. The exhibit will feature the final photographs together with named emotional experiences by each participant.
Growing positive outcomes have led to creative expression becoming a more commonly used tool for engaging justice-involved individuals. A study by the California Department of Corrections showed six months after release, rates of parole violation for arts-in-corrections participants were 15 percent lower than nonparticipants; after two years, this difference climbed to 30 percent1. Seventy-five percent of program participants had fewer disciplinary infractions than nonparticipants.
Involvement in the arts is also critical for student outcomes. Students engaged in arts learning have higher GPAs and standardized test scores and are two times more likely to graduate college4. Low-income students who participate in the arts, both in school and after school, have a dropout rate of just 4 percent—five times lower than their peers. Participation in after-school arts programs causes juvenile crime to fall by 4.2 percent on average, and slightly more (5.4 percent) in lower-income cities.
- Click here for information about the artists.
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Register of Deeds to host Passport Fair on April 23
The Orange County Register of Deeds office will resume offering passport services fulltime beginning Monday, March 20. Hours of service will be from 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. The office will also host a passport fair on Saturday, April 23, from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., walk-ins ONLY, at the office located at 228 S. Churton Street, Hillsborough. For more information about what is required to obtain a passport, visit our website at https://www.orangecountync.gov/771/Passports or call (919) 245-2681. The Register of Deeds now offers fraud alert protection service to provide email notifications whenever a document is recorded in the Register of Deeds office that matches your name. You can enter up to five names per email address. If a document is recorded in either of the names you submit, you will receive an email notifying you. To sign up for the service, visit this website: https://fraudalertme.com/ORANGENCNW/FRAUDDETECTION.ASP.
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Upcoming activities at the Orange County Senior Centers
Conversation Project Workshop PART I:
In small conversation groups, patterned after the Conversation Project, Project EngAGE End of Life Choices SRT members will coach participants how to engage their loved ones in end of life care conversations. Attendees will receive the Conversation Starter Kit from The Conversation Project and a free copy of The Five Wishes Booklet.
Passmore Center Date: Tuesday, April 26 4-6 p.m. Fee: FREE Max in-person attendance: 12.
Register by: Friday, April 22 at 919-968-2070 |
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