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Sharron Hinton said each year the National Association of Counties and the North Carolina <br />Association of County Commissioners encourage all counties to proclaim a week as County Government <br />Week where an awareness can be promoted among the community about local government operations. For <br />the past 10 years, there has been a program in the schools called, "An Official for the Day." Students are <br />matched with department heads and staff and are mentored for the day to get an overview of County <br />government. In the afternoon there is a mock Commissioners' meeting, where the students serve as <br />Commissioners and they address various issues that the County Commissioners are addressing. <br />A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Jacobs to approve <br />and authorize the Chair to sign the proclamation as stated below: <br />Orange County Government Week <br />April 9 -15, 2000 <br />PROCLAMATION <br />WHEREAS, Orange County Government is committed to improving the communities in which <br />residents live, work, play and raise families; and <br />WHEREAS, Orange County Government is flexible and adaptive in providing services, and is <br />able to provide county-wide and regional solutions to the most pressing of <br />challenges; and <br />WHEREAS, The quality of life for residents is dependent upon choices that accommodate all <br />citizens while preserving the community; and <br />WHEREAS, By providing citizens with a safe and healthy community, Orange County officials <br />demonstrate their commitment to addressing citizen concerns and needs; and <br />WHEREAS, As we enter the 21 sr century, Orange County Government will continue to serve the <br />citizens with an emphasis on maintaining a high quality of life for all. <br />Now, therefore, we, the Orange County Board of Commissioners <br />hereby proclaim the week of April 9 -15, 20D0 as <br />VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br />Orange County Government Week. <br />c. Read-a-Week Proclamation <br />Lucy Lewis, Director of Orange County Literacy Council and member of the Orange County <br />Reads Project, said that last year the County Commissioners were initiators for this project along with the <br />County school systems. A number of community partners have joined in an effort to develop a more <br />comprehensive, holistic literacy strategy in Orange County. The goals are to eliminate adult illiteracy in <br />Orange County and to help encourage and prepare parents to help their children succeed in school. They <br />distributed 25,000 informational brochures to all of Orange County's school children, developed banners for <br />the public libraries, and distributed bumper stickers. The long-term goal is to create a more positive climate <br />in Orange County about literacy. Read-A-Week is part of the awareness effort and the Orange County <br />Literacy Council is encouraging every business, every faith community, and every workplace to take some <br />time to read. <br />Commissioner Brown commented that at the Skills Development Center on Franklin Street, <br />citizens could go and use the Literacy Council for help. <br />Lucy Lewis said that the Literacy Council was also available to help people in reading their <br />census forms. <br />A motion was made by Commissioner Jacobs, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to approve <br />and authorize the Chair to sign the proclamation as stated below: <br />READ-A-WEEK PROCLAMATION <br />