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r <br />Commissioners. He said that it is not an unreasonable concern because they have already identified <br />30 areas. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis said that he met with Chief John Blackfeather this morning on the banks <br />of the Eno River with the Executive Director of the Piedmont Conservation Council. The Occaneechi <br />tribe is interested in cleaning up the river of fallen trees behind where the Indian village is located. The <br />Piedmont Conservation Council is willing to help with the resources to clean up the fallen trees. He <br />asked Mr. Evans to send a letter to the Board of County Commissioners so that the County <br />Commissioners can discuss this project. It means that if we are willing to assist in the cleanup, once <br />the trees are taken out of the riverbed, there could be free firewood to citizens or arrangements could <br />be made with the landfill for mulch. This is an opportunity to open up communication with Orange <br />County, the Piedmont Conservation Council, the Occaneechi tribe, and the Town of Hillsborough and <br />benefit everyone in the long run. There will be no burning of the trees. <br />Commissioner Gordon said that she went to an open house on February 24th put on by the <br />Hillsborough Road Cooperative. She distributed some literature that explains the different kinds of <br />affordable housing. She also made reference to the Greater Triangle Regional Council that met and <br />talked about air quality. She distributed a copy of the summary of this meeting from the News and <br />Observer. When studying ways to reduce pollution and clean up the air, the researcher found that in <br />transportation corridors one of the major culprits was diesel-powered vehicles and that in off-road areas <br />the problem was diesel construction equipment. They recommended against using ethanol and <br />suggested using compressed natural gas instead. <br />Commissioner Gordon said that the Schools and Land Use Council meets on March 13th. They <br />will talk about the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance. <br />Chair Jacobs expressed regrets, on behalf of the County Commissioners, of the untimely death of <br />Matthew Burke who directed the Peoples Channel. Mr. Burke was at a young age and very well <br />respected and did a lot to help make the Peoples Channel what it is. <br />A Member of the Peoples Channel Board and a friend of Matthew Burke, Vimala Rajendran, <br />spoke. She said that he died suddenly last Tuesday at age 32. She said that he joined the channel <br />board of directors six years ago. He was instrumental in building the station and setting up the <br />technical end of the Peoples Channel station. He came on staff and became the station manager. He <br />trained hundreds of volunteers. He even built the mobile unit that is used here in this facility. His <br />contribution to the community is priceless. His family has asked that contributions be made to the <br />Matthew Burke Memorial Fund, c/o the Peoples Channel, 300A S. Elliott Road. Such funds will be <br />utilized to further advance Mr. Burke's dream to create a free forum for free speech and expression <br />through the medium of television. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis said that it would be appropriate to put together a letter that the Board of <br />County Commissioners will sign and send it on to Mr. Burke's parents just to let them know what an <br />impact he had on a group of elected officials and an entire county. He was a great guy and will be <br />missed. <br />Commissioner Brown said that she has been working with the UNC Department of Psychiatry. <br />They put together a group to talk about therapeutic housing and the Department of Psychiatry is putting <br />in a grant proposal to the University foundation to work on a study of the housing needs for those who <br />are going to be put out of housing by the State's mental health reform. <br />Chair Jacobs made reference to an awards luncheon that he and Commissioner Gordon attended <br />today for the Disability Awareness Council. This was a nice event and people there were talking about <br />employment for people with disabilities. <br />Chair Jacobs made reference to a letter he received requesting that we consider a sliding fee <br />scale for Orange County EMS services for uninsured low-income residents. He spoke with this person <br />on the telephone and she asked for some assistance. He thinks this is a reasonable thing to look into. <br />Chair Jacobs made reference to air quality and said that the County's Solid Waste Ordinance is a <br />great step forward. As a Board we are taking a leadership role in doing what we can within our purview <br />for air quality. <br />4. COUNTY MANAGER'S REPORT <br />