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<br />3. Board Comments <br /> Commissioner Jacobs mentioned a couple of anniversaries. The first is the 10th <br />anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing. He said that it is unfortunate that a new era was <br />ushered in of growing distrust in our own country. He noticed that some schools are giving <br />bounties to students who turn in their fellow students for various infractions. The second <br />anniversary is the 60th Annual Central Piedmont Jr. Livestock Sale, which is this week. The <br />barbecue and awards are Thursday night at 5:00 p.m. It is also the 60th anniversary of the <br />liberation of the concentration camps in Europe and the commemoration of the Holocaust. He <br />said that it is important to remember how people can slip into demonizing others because of <br />who they think they are and changing political policies based on that. <br /> Commissioner Jacobs said that this Saturday at 10:00 a.m., there is a State of the <br />Environment summit at the Century Center in Carrboro. There is a light brunch at 9:30 a.m. <br /> Commissioner Jacobs asked John Link if someone had been assigned to put up a sign <br />where the New Hope Preserve is going to go so that there can be an event to invite all of the <br />stakeholders. John Link said that he would make sure this is done. <br /> Commissioner Foushee said that she attended the Cool Jazz Festival on Saturday. She <br />thanked Lori Taft and her staff for the performances. She commended the Cedar Ridge High <br />and Orange High jazz ensembles for good performances. <br /> Commissioner Foushee said that Social Services hosted the Region Three Cluster <br />Group and there were four other counties represented (Durham, Rockingham, Lee, and <br />Chatham Counties), and there were presentations from representatives from two counties – one <br />presenting an initiative called Leading by Results and one presenting NC Fast, which is a new <br />technology information system for tracking services. She hopes that NC Fast plays out better <br />than NC Wise. She thanked the staff for representing Orange County at this meeting. <br /> Commissioner Halkiotis made reference to the Confederate History Month proclamation <br />and said that this group also came last year and asked for this consideration. He requested that <br />the County Commissioners follow up on the request for this year. He is not in favor of flying any <br />flag on the courthouse other than the flag of the United States of America and the flag of North <br />Carolina. However, he thinks there is an opportunity to look at what happened in 1861 in <br />Orange County, because a lot of people suffered. He recommended that a group be put <br />together to answer this request. <br /> Commissioner Halkiotis said that he attended the “Official for a Day” last week and was <br />intrigued. There were high school students playing County Commissioners and department <br />heads. Planning Director Craig Benedict’s son was there doing a presentation on Planning and <br />Cooperative Extension Director Fletcher Barber’s son was the Chair of the County <br />Commissioners. He encouraged the department heads to loosen up and be less stiff in <br />presentations. He thanked the staff for putting this together. <br /> Commissioner Halkiotis asked if Assistant to the County Manager Greg Wilder could <br />keep an eye out for legislation in Raleigh that has a mandate attached to it. The latest <br />communication is from the NCACC dated April 7th talking about House Bill 894 to impose and <br />advance a disposal fee on new and used mobile homes. The bill would also require counties to <br />start on their comprehensive solid waste management plans and develop written plans for <br />abandoned mobile homes. <br /> Commissioner Halkiotis said that there is a problem with the calendar. He asked the <br />Clerk to poll every department head and find out when their advisory boards and councils meet. <br />There are many conflicting meetings and sometimes the County Commissioners are supposed <br />to be in two places at once. <br /> Commissioner Halkiotis made reference to an employee at the solid waste convenience <br />center on NC 57 who said that there are problems with people coming in with their trash that are <br />not from Orange County. He asked about getting a decal put in the tax bills to put on car