Cary, NC -  Sorry for the late notice – this event happens Saturday March 6.

The Capital Cycling Club has partnered with the Brain Injury Association of North Carolina for the past several years honoring Mark Ornitz  -“The Rock” - a member who was injured during a bicycle race.

The Ride for the Rock is an event used to promote brain injury awareness and safety among cyclists.  The ride will be held on Saturday, March 6, 2010 at 9 AM starting at Waverly Place Whole Foods in Cary and will feature a 50k and a 100k bike race.

The entry fee is $15 in advance, “day-of” fee is $20. Tee shirts will be available to purchase for $10.

All proceeds go directly to the Brain Injury Association of North Carolina.  Preregistration is available.  Route sheets will be available at registration.  More information on the ride can be found at www.capcycling.org.

Thanks to Vickie Maxwell for suggesting this story.

Cary, NC – Time is running out to register for the Town of Cary’s Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources’ youth baseball and softball leagues. (more…)

Cary, NC – This just in and we wanted to share-

Tired of all those old documents taking up valuable space in your attic/ basement or other much needed storage area?

This Saturday from 10am- Noon Cary residents can bring up to 3 boxes of old documents to the Crossroads Campus of Hope Community Church. The church is located at 1101 Buck Jones Road in Cary (beside South Hills Mall). Volunteers will be on hand to help you unload boxes. The shredding is being provided FREE of charge by ProShred of Raleigh.

For more info contact Kevin White (Community Life Pastor of Hope Community Church) at 919-532- 0620 X 186.

Thanks,

Kevin White
Community Life Pastor aka Party Pastor
Hope Community Church
www.gethope.net
919.532.0620 x 186

Cary, NC -The American Legion, Post 67 here in Cary sent us two notices about upcoming programs for high school students:

BOYS & GIRLS STATE

Cary American Legion Post 67 is looking for qualified high school rising seniors to attend Boys State at Catawba College on June 20-26, 2010.  Cost will be $300 this year per student.  Each applicant must be interviewed by a member of Cary Post 67.  This is a Legion program, not a school project. Contact 481-4811 for more information or go to www.legion.org and type in Boys State in the search block. American Legion Auxiliary Unit 67 sponsors a separate but similar program for young women called Girls State.

STUDENT TROOPER PROGRAM

Cary American Legion Post 67 is looking for students that have completed their 11 or 12 year of high school to attend the 2010 Student Trooper Program in conjunction with the NC State Highway Patrol on June 20-25 in Raleigh, NC.  Cost per student is $200.  For more information, contact 481-4811.

Cary, NC – As several readers pointed out, NetApp also made the Fortune Top 100 Best Places to Work, weighing in at #7.

NetApp has revenues of $3b with 130 offices around the world. Their headquarters are in Sunnyvale, CA but a large contingent calls the Triangle home with offices in RTP right across from Cisco.

So that makes four Top 100 Places to work right here in our neighborhood – two in Cary proper and two more just up the road in RTP. Thanks to our readers for pointing out our omission.

Cary, NC – We don’t usually talk about other peoples’ stories, but Carlen Dixon of Cary High wrote a nice piece on iHigh about the new Cary High School Imp mascot.

The short story is that CHS didn’t have a physical manifestation of the Imp – no costume, to be exact. But through some clever and creative fund-raising, the new Imp appeared on December 17.

Cool picture of the new mascot in action, too.  Read the whole story.

Cary, NC- From the Cary Citizen Calendar:

On Saturday, January 9, the Town of Cary and the Cary-Apex Elks Lodge #2798 will co-sponsor a free throw contest for boys and girls, age 8-13 at the Bond Park Community Center, 150 Metro Park Drive. Over 3 million youth annually participate across the nation in this free event. Local winners advance to District, State, Regional, and National competition. National Champions are enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame. Walk-In registration is accepted. Participants must have a copy of their birth certificate to verify age upon registration. For more, visit Elks Hoop Shoot at www.townofcary.org or call (919) 462-3970.

Cary, NC — Booth Amphitheatre in Cary is seeking members to serve on the 2010 Booth Amphitheatre Advisory Committee. The Committee works with Town and Amphitheatre staff to promote the Amphitheatre as a viable cultural and entertainment facility for Town of Cary citizens as well as merchants, vendors and performers; to provide feedback on the types of events the Amphitheatre may develop – e.g., community festivals, movie night events, Town events and celebrations; to recommend policies regarding Amphitheatre programs including Amphitheatre neighbor program; and to promote cooperative partnerships and rentals between the Amphitheatre and the Town’s business community, neighborhood associations, non-profit groups and cultural community. During the Amphitheatre season (April through October and the occasional event in November), the Committee meets monthly on the third Monday of each month at 6 p.m. at the Amphitheatre. Committee members serve as Guest Services personnel and courtesy shuttle drivers at select events.

The deadline for Advisory Committee applications is Friday, Jan. 22, by 5 p.m. For an application and more information please go to www.boothamphitheatre.com or call (919) 462-2025.

CARY, NC – Cary Release: The Cary Town Council has approved staff recommendations for adjusting the government’s bricks and mortar priorities during these tough economic times; the action, which was finalized during a December 15, 2009 work session, is designed to keep the most critical projects moving forward while limiting debt and keeping taxes as low as possible.  Under the new prioritization, all of the Town’s 384 capital projects have been placed into one of three categories:

Continue – Project is continuing as scheduled.

Delay – Project is not moving forward as scheduled. All appropriations remain in the project, but all project spending is on hold until further direction is received from the Town Council. Work can continue by Town staff (design, planning, etc.) but only where the work does not spend project funds or obligate the Town to additional project spending.

Postpone – Project is not moving forward. All appropriations are being removed from the project, and the project is closed. The project may be submitted for reconsideration through the annual capital budgeting process where it will compete with other future capital needs.

“When each of these projects was created, each was considered important to our community, so it’s unfortunate that we’ve had to choose among them,” said Town Manager Ben Shivar. “That said, setting new priorities was the right and responsible approach, especially during these unprecedented economic times, and we’re much better off than many other local governments experiencing the same pressures.” Shivar added that the 39 postponed projects are still important and ones he hopes can be given consideration in the future as conditions improve.

Reviewing and reprioritizing projects came at the direction of the Town Council last summer, and the effort included several work sessions. Then at the December 15, 2009 work session, staff returned to the Council with recommendations on those remaining 125 general government capital projects, recommendations that the Council adopted unanimously.

As a result and in total, the Town now has 326 general government and utility capital projects ($413 million) moving ahead while 19 are delayed ($68 million) and 39 are postponed indefinitely ($20.6 million).

Public safety and preserving and protecting existing infrastructure were important goals of the staff when developing their recommendations on project priorities. Other considerations included reducing and/or eliminating the use of debt for existing projects and assessing the out-year funding needs of a project: larger funding needs for nonessential projects typically lowered a project’s priority. In contrast, many annually funded projects such as sidewalks were recommended to continue since they are in various stages of design and close to moving forward. And projects with approved grant funding were generally favored.

Over the last two years, Cary has experienced a significant drop in sales tax revenues. Building activity is also down, and the value of what is being constructed is less than in previous years, which means slower tax base growth. As a result, the Town now has about $13 million or 10 percent less to work with than it would have had under normal economic times – equal to about 7 cents on the property tax rate.

For more, including the status of specific projects, visit the Capital Spending Prioritization section of www.townofcary.org.

PRIMARY CONTACTS:
Ben Shivar, Town Manager, 469-4007
Scott Fogleman, Budget Director, 462-3911
Deanna Boone, Deputy Public Information Officer, (919) 462-3908
Susan Moran, Public Information Officer, (919) 460-4951