Orange County has recently installed 12 new electric car charging stations for use by the public.  These chargers were made possible by the NC Clean Energy Technology Center at NC State University with federal Congestion Mitigation Air Quality funding provided from the NC Department of Transportation.

The new “Level 2” Clipper Creek charging stations are available to the public 24/7.  Six stations are located at the Eno River Parking deck accessed from 131 W. Margaret Street or Nash and Kollack Street. Six more stations are available at the Durham Technical Community College Park and Ride lot located at 525 College Park Road in Hillsborough.

These 12 stations are part of the same funding program that enabled Orange County to install two chargers last year at the Robert and Pearl Seymour Center at 2551 Homestead Rd and three chargers powered by solar energy at Orange County Public Transportation, 600 NC Highway 86.

Orange County is pleased to offer these chargers to support electric vehicle adoption and to further the county’s climate action goals. The county looks forward to offering more electric vehicle charging opportunities in the future to expand the growing network and to provide greater access to this service in our community. 

The charging stations are free of charge, however users are asked to limit their use to a maximum of four hours a day as a courtesy to other users.

Questions about the chargers can be directed to Amy Eckberg, Sustainability Program Manager, Orange County Asset Management Services, at 919-245-2626.

On the 75^th anniversary of the wrongful arrest of four “freedom riders” in Chapel Hill, Chief District Court Judge Samantha Cabe and District Court Judges Joal Broun, Sherri Murrell and Hathaway Pendergrass took turns reading a statement apologizing for the miscarriage of justice that occurred in 1947.

The Statement from District Court was read May 20 at a public event in the Hillsborough Courthouse recognizing the 75^th anniversary of the first Freedom Rides in 1947. The Journey of Reconciliation, an interracial freedom ride organized by Bayard Rustin and George Houser to protest Jim Crow bus segregation, came through Chapel Hill in April 1947.

As the riders attempted to board a bus to continue the journey to Greensboro, several were removed by force and were attacked by angry cab drivers. Four of the Freedom Riders--Andrew Johnson, James Felmet, Bayard Rustin, and Igal Roodenko--were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct for refusing to move from the front of the bus. Following a trial in Orange County, the four men were convicted and sentenced to 30 days on the chain gang.

The Courthouse program, entitled “The Long Road to Justice: The 1947 Journey of Reconciliation,” featured a keynote address by UNC Law Professor Gene Nichol, Freedom songs performed by Mary D. Williams, spoken word poetry by CJ Suitt and remarks by former Public Defender James E. Williams, Jr.