Pittsboro, NC – The Granular Activated Carbon (or GAC) filter, which was planned to be activated by the end of the day today, Friday, August 5, 2022, has again been delayed to unforeseen complications. While this news is not what we wish to share today, we want to maintain the highest level of transparency and communication with our residents and water customers.
As the construction crew was finalizing the underground pipe installation, they encountered a large area of rocks that they were not anticipating. Because the crew was not expecting to run into this obstacle, they did not have the equipment required to push through the rock bed. Because of this delay, post-installation chlorination and bacteria testing were unable to be performed, and the representative from Calgon Carbon (the company that manufactured the GAC system) was unable to perform the required backwash of the tanks, which must occur after all these steps are completed.
Further complicating this situation is the fact that only one employee of the company can perform the backwash operation, and they will not be able to return to complete the process for at least ten (10) days. CDM Smith, the construction contractor, is working with Calgon Carbon to identify and provide an alternate person to perform this work. Unfortunately, the Town is unsure if this will be possible.
The Town will continue to inform our residents and water customers about this delay, and we hope to give a better date for finalization and activation soon. We appreciate the patience our residents and customers have shown as we work to complete this process and look forward to bringing the GAC filtration system online as soon as possible.
Bill Willcox May 14, 1957 - May 10, 2022 Chapel Hill, North Carolina - Longtime readers of local news publications will surely recognize his iconic photos, many of which earned him awards and far-flung recognition. Bill was on the photography staff at The Durham Herald-Sun from 1993-2006, and he later worked as a reporter for The Chatham News in Pittsboro and The Courier-Times in Roxboro, prior to his retirement in 2018. On assignment, Bill kept his finger on the pulse of the community via the shutter on his camera. He captured the action and excitement of local sporting events, the devastation and aftermath of natural and man-made disasters, the tension and suspense of courtroom dramas, the giddiness of children enjoying an unexpected snow day, or just a peaceful afternoon on a university campus. Westmore Claiborne ("Bill") Willcox died on May 10 of a cardiac event at his beach house in North Topsail Beach. He was returning from a walk with his beloved dogs, Lucy and Beckley. He was 64. Bill was quiet and unassuming, preferring to express himself in his writing and photography. His soft-spoken demeanor was paired with a somewhat paradoxical desire to meet new people and hear their stories. He had an inherently gentle and trustworthy nature, and armed with his reporter's pad and camera, he had a gift for getting people to open up to him. Prior to moving to North Carolina, Bill worked at a variety of newspapers in Colorado and Wyoming, where he took stunning photos of the natural landscapes. He lived and worked in Jackson Hole from 1986-1990, where he noticed the early transformation of a town of the Wild West into a touristy resort destination. He set out to capture Jackson Hole's old heritage by doing feature stories on people like Clark and Veda Moulton, then the last living descendants of pioneers on land now annexed into Grand Teton National Park, or Bob Disney, one of the last true cowboys of the Wild West. His photo of Disney taking a bath in a washtub with water heated over a campfire at a cow camp up the Gros Ventre Mountains was selected by the Associated Press to be included in its 150 "Photos of the Century" collection. "I was surprised," Bill said when learning of this honor. His black and white photographic record of a vanishing way of life ran alongside momentous historical images such as the space shuttle Challenger's explosion or the shimmering wake of oil spilled by the Exxon Valdez. Bill's most iconic local photograph was taken in July 1997 and shows two barred owls sitting on a tree branch in UNC's McCorkle Place in broad daylight, peering down at the surprised photographer. He had already snapped a photo of the birds a few weeks earlier, but decided to return on a slow news day when calls again came in that the owls were drawing a crowd of onlookers. "I went over there kind of lackadaisical," Bill later recalled, "thinking this was repetitious." The second photo almost didn't run, since it was taken so soon after his first shot and because it didn't include people. (The golden rule of newspaper photography: always include people.) But there is something funny and heartwarming about the shot, so it ran â€" and was quickly picked up by dozens of other newspapers across the country, not to mention Life magazine, which chose the photo out of thousands reviewed for its inside back cover. (Oprah was on the front cover.) When asked why he thought the photo was so popular, Bill mused simply, "It gives people a good feeling to look at it." When not on assignment (and sometimes even when he was), Bill loved to take naps, run, sail his Hobie cat at 55th street in Virginia Beach, sail bigger cats in the Caribbean, grow tomatoes in his garden, fish, make chicken curry by his mother's recipe, walk his dogs, read adventure and survival books, ski, hike, and swim in the ocean. Bill ran in countless local charity races and traveled to race in several marathons. For many years, Bill helped collect and deliver food donations from neighbors for PORCH, a local hunger relief organization. He also volunteered as an ESOL tutor with the Durham Literacy Center. Bill loved spending time with his family at the beach, where, at the golden hour, he enjoyed his famous Cuba libres with lots of lime. Bill was born and grew up in Norfolk, Virginia. He received his B.A. in Fine Arts from the University of the South, and his M.S. in Journalism from Ohio University. Aside from his professional and personal accomplishments, Bill was most proud of his decades-long membership in the National Geographic Society. Bill will forever live in the hearts of his wife of 27 years, Smaranda, and of his children, Mihnea and Alexandra, who miss his unconditional love and support and his constant enthusiasm for the smallest details in their lives. He will be missed by his sister, Margaret, and many nieces, nephews and cousins. Bill was predeceased by his twin brother, Ned, and his parents, Ashby and Teddy Willcox. The family is holding a celebration of Bill's life on Sunday, August 21st, at 2 pm, at The Story venue, 450 W Franklin Street, Chapel Hill. All are welcome to attend and to share their memories on the following site: www.mykeeper.com/profile/WestmoreBillWillcox/ ... See More See Less
Jane Gribbin, 96, of Fearrington Village, Pittsboro, North Carolina died peacefully on June 30, 2022, surrounded by family and friends. Jane was born May 19, 1926, in Rockville Centre, Long Island. After graduating from St. Agnes Cathedral School in 1944 and the Katharine Gibbs School, she went on to become a casting director in the early days of television at the Young & Rubicam advertising agency in New York, where she met her future husband, George Gribbin. They wed at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York in 1953 and had six children, Laura, Peter, Sarah, Susan, James, and Mary. After her marriage, Jane raised her family and accompanied her husband on his frequent business trips abroad. She was active on the board of Whitby School, volunteered at the Greenwich Hospital, ran the Greenwich Center for Chamber Music, and taught at the Greenwich Garden Center. Following the death of her husband in 1981, she pursued her passion for gardening, cooking, travel, and music, especially the opera. She retired to Fearrington Village in 1997 and made many new friends, who knew her as an accomplished rug hooker and a true believer in liberal causes and politics. Jane was predeceased by her husband Grib and her grandson, Julien. She is survived by her stepson Andrew, her daughter Laura, her son Peter and his wife Nenita, her daughter Sarah, her daughter Susan and her husband Richard and their three children, Emma, Kai, and Luci, her son James, and her daughter Mary. She is also survived by her brother Robert Lindon and his wife Joan of Plainview, New York. ... See More See Less
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Photos from Northwood High School Boosters, Friends, & Alumni Association's post ... See More See Less
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2022 Northwood Women's Basketball team members get their championship rings ... See More See Less
Unexpected issue forces additional delay for Pittsboro's activated carbon filter project - Chatham Journal Newspaper ... See More See Less
Unexpected issue forces additional delay for Pittsboro's activated carbon filter project - Chatham Journal Newspaper
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