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Commissioner Jacobs said that the solid waste issue needs to be addressed and he <br />attended a solid waste meeting the other night, and they are setting up tours of Material <br />Recovery Facilities (MRFs). The Solid Waste Director has been talking about taking solid waste <br />to MRFs outside of the County and said that paying slave wages is part of the price of doing <br />business. He does not think this reflects the County's values. He does not even want to visit a <br />place that has these kinds of values. He thinks the Board should give very specific direction to <br />the staff about what is acceptable. <br />John Link assured the County Commissioners that those statements do not reflect his <br />philosophy. He has made sure that staff knows how the Board of County Commissioners feels <br />about MRFs. As far as he is concerned, they are talking about additional processing to <br />increase recycling done by County staff. The last item on the agenda is the slide presentation <br />made to the Solid Waste Advisory Board in September. This would be a good time to make this <br />issue clear. <br />Commissioner Jacobs said that on October 25th at the Friday Center, NC Warn is <br />hosting a forum on safe, economical electricity in North Carolina. Also, October 27th is the <br />RSVP luncheon at the Friday Center. On October 30th, the County Commissioners are invited <br />to the dedication of a new soccer complex in Mebane. Also, on October 30th, the annual <br />meeting of the Hillsborough Historical Society will have a presentation of Racing and Religion <br />regarding the Occoneechee Speedway. <br />Commissioner Jacobs said that they should take a moment to appreciate that the <br />Orange County Partnership for Young Children and the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of <br />Commerce recognized Orange County government as a family friendly employer for 2005. <br />Commissioner Jacobs distributed Buy Local stickers. <br />Commissioner Jacobs said that he and Chair Carey met with a representative from <br />Senator Burr's office. They spoke about the committees that Senator Burr serves on and any <br />time there is a dedication, they should invite Senator Burr. The representative said that Senator <br />Burr would very much like to attend these types of events. <br />Commissioner Jacobs said that there is a new display at the Whitted Building on <br />"Nothing to Hide", which is about mental illness. Citizens should be encouraged to visit this <br />display while they are at the library. <br />Commissioner Jacobs said that they all received OWASA's Sustainability Report and <br />he congratulated OWASA for what it is doing. <br />Commissioner Jacobs recognized Economic Development Director Dianne Reid and <br />her two guests -Vance Agee and Melvin Stanley. <br />Dianne Reid said that she was at a conference last week and the topic was sports and <br />economic development, and there was a report on sports in North Carolina and the cost <br />benefits. One of the places mentioned was Orange County Speedway and her guests tonight <br />will be reopening the Orange County Speedway. She gave same history of the speedway. <br />Bath of the men are natives of Meadows of Dan, Virginia and are graduates of Virginia Tech <br />with mechanical engineering degrees. They have purchased the property. <br />Melvin Stanley said that they are both from Meadows of Dan, Virginia and they have <br />been working on this acquisition for months to get the speedway returned to an active schedule. <br />He grew up in an automotive machine shop. There are same improvements to be made to the <br />track. They have had some practice turns from some of the drivers in the area and there are <br />commitments from other drivers to come and use it. His primary activity will be <br />financial/business and moral support. Vance Agee will be the operations manager. Mr. Stanley <br />said that they wanted to stage a couple of events this year, but due to unforeseen <br />circumstances it may not be possible. There has been a lot of support in the area for the <br />speedway. All County Commissioners are invited to attend any of the special events along with <br />TV crews. Tomorrow three TV stations are going to come as well as several local drivers. They <br />