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Commissioner Halkiotis would like to add "please" and "thank-you" to the signs that ask <br />people to turn their cell phones off before entering the meetings. He wants to be respectful and <br />polite. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis said that he met with the Kitchen Committee at the Chapel Hill <br />Southern Orange Senior Center today and he assured the seniors that the County was moving <br />along. He said that three seniors thanked him and the Board for making sure the center gets <br />built. He said that, during the meeting, some bad news came up. He distributed a copy of the <br />Senior Times to each County Commissioner and said that over the years, the Orange County <br />Department on Aging and senior citizens in the County were getting a good deal from the former <br />owners of the Durham Herald Sun. Under the new ownership, the price of the Senior Times is <br />going up. He suggested that the Manager ask Department on Aging Director Jerry Passmore to <br />give a report on the full financial impact of this. He is concerned about this. He hopes that the <br />new owners of the Durham Herald Sun would see what a wise investment it is to help put this <br />paper together. <br />Commissioner Foushee - no comments. <br />Commissioner Jacobs pointed out the pink sheet on bio-solids and a booklet on the Little <br />River Regional Park. He said that at the work session last week, the County Commissioners <br />got a report on the usage at the park. The booklet is a replication of that report. He asked staff <br />to send a copy of it to the Chair of the Durham County Commissioners. It shows the information <br />such as vehicle and visitor counts. There have been 4,084 visitors in less than two months <br />since the park has been open. The majority was from Durham and Chapel Hill. <br />Commissioner Jacobs said that he would like staff to inquire if the Chapel Hill newspaper <br />or anyone else may want to undertake the publication of the Senior Times. <br />Commissioner Jacobs said that there was a meeting last week of the Northern Center <br />Park Planning group and he and Commissioner Halkiotis attended. Staff gave a presentation of <br />three options. The next meeting is on March 10t" and then it will come back to the Board of <br />County Commissioners with the costs included. <br />Commissioner Jacobs said that tomorrow night there is a meeting from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. <br />at the Chapel Hill library to talk about the social justice goal. There will be a presentation from <br />members of the UNC faculty. This grows out of the discussion at a retreat several years ago. <br />Commissioner Jacobs said that he and Chair Carey met with Reggie Holley, who works <br />for Senator Dole. They discussed trying to work together with Senator Dole in the same way <br />that they have worked with Representative Price. At the legislative goals meeting later this <br />week, they will try to identify some potential areas of cooperation. <br />Commissioner Jacobs said that the Human Rights and Relations Month kickoff was two <br />weeks ago and it dealt with prison issues. It included a women's theater group from the <br />women's prison in Raleigh and also a presentation by a professor from Wake Forest. He asked <br />staff to do a report on how and whether the County uses prison labor. <br />Commissioner Jacobs said that the Electronic Voting Systems Committee would be <br />proposed to become a permanent committee. They were able to write in that, as systems are <br />upgraded, the State will use monies that it is getting from the federal government to help <br />maintain a paper trail for all votes and also to make sure that machines are accessible. There <br />are people from the State Board of Elections that are opposed to the paper trail system, and it <br />narrowly passed 6-5. The current system is highly reliable in Orange County. <br />Chair Carey commended the Human Relations Commission for the kickoff of Human <br />Rights and Relations Month. He said that the event was very enlightening and informative. The <br />Pauli Murray Awards ceremony will be on February 27t" at New Hope Elementary School. <br />Chair Carey asked that any Board member let him know about any ideas or comments <br />for the legislative agenda. There is a very short turnaround time for requests. Greg Wilder will <br />be working with the Manager on this effort. <br />