Cub Scout Den 7 of Pack 244 at Peace Presbyterian Church

Cary, NC – As part of their work to earn a Bear Badge, Den 7 of Pack 244 met with the Editor of CaryCitizen.

The Den has worked on the badge for much of the school year, studying knots, fire safety, fitness, flag raising and etiquette, cooking and the law of the Pack. They’ve made toolboxes. They even had a trip to the USS Yorktown.

Finally, the Den invited CaryCitizen to talk about publishing a newspaper. We showed the Den how to publish a news story including writing a headline, taking a picture and crediting the sponsors (always important).

When all was ready, everyone put a finger on the entry key and published the story. We met at Peace Presbyterian Church which has long supported the Scouts.

After a lot of hard work, the Den will have their Blue & Gold Banquet this weekend and receive their merit badges.

Thanks to Den 7 for having CaryCitizen!

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CaryCitizen is sponsored by FrantzForHouse.org

By Don Frantz

Cary, N. C. -  The Triangle Transit Authority’s plans for regional and light rail, along with increased bus service have merit, and further planning for additional transit options so that our region is well positioned to handle the expected growth over the next 10-20 years makes sense.  Increased rail service in Cary will help to spur reinvestment and redevelopment in Cary’s downtown, and in other areas along the rail corridor.

Concern Over NCDOT’s Plan

NCDOT Rail’s current plans for high speed rail however, could have just the opposite effect.  During a council work session, NCDOT Rail Director Patrick Simmons stated that the primary goals of high speed rail is “to move people”, and “public safety”.  Public safety to NCDOT Rail means eliminating at-grade rail crossings and the train/car conflict. NCDOT Rail has already recommended eliminating 156 at-grade crossings between Raleigh and Richmond. That means 156 roads that may now dead end where they meet Railroad tracks – unless of course the local municipality invests millions in above or below grade crossings.  Think about how many at-grade rail crossings currently exist in Cary, and how much it would cost Cary taxpayers to grade separate (bridge or tunnel) each one of them. Are you willing to bear a substantial tax increase so that a few hundred people can now get to Charlotte an hour faster than Amtrak’s current service?

Effect on Cary

Would closing crossings at Maynard Road, Academy Street, Harrison Ave, Cary Parkway and other roads throughout Cary be acceptable to you?   What sense does it make to improve an existing transportation system that negatively impacts another?  Why invest so much money in a system that only 3% of the population will ever utilize?  And who will want to invest in Cary’s downtown if the majority of road access is eliminated?

The congestion on our roads and highways is not because everyone is trying to get to Richmond or Charlotte.  The overwhelming majority is caused by folks traveling to and from work each day, to school, and running errands.  TTA’s plans of regional and light rail, and especially increased bus service to major employment and activity centers might help in this regard.  NCDOT Rail’s plans will not.  You may see the majority of council support NCDOT Rail’s plans for high speed rail once we are assured that their plans will not negatively impact our community, our road network, and our taxpayers.  Unfortunately that hasn’t happened yet.

In the meantime you can be assured that we will do everything in our power to ensure that Cary’s interests are represented to NCDOT. It might help if they heard from you as well. You can contact them at http://www.bytrain.org/redbarinfo/feedback/

Don Frantz represents District B on the Cary Town Council.

Cary, NC – Good news for rock fans out of Koka Booth Amphitheatre this week – REO Speedwagon and Pat Benatar will split the bill at a show here on Thursday, September 2. Tickets go on sale this Friday.

PAT BENATAR

Before there was Lady GaGa, before Fergie, there was Pat Benatar.

She’s a four-time Grammy winner with 19 top 40 singles to her credit. Benatar’s career coincided with the birth of MTV. Her video “You Better Run” was the second clip the new network played.

REO SPEEDWAGON

If power ballads are your thing, REO Speedwagon is your band.

Formed in 1967, the band grew in popularity during the 1970s and peaked in the early 1980s. The band charted two number one songs, “Keep On Loving You” and “Can’t Fight This Feeling.” Their 1980 album Hi Infidelity is the group’s most commercially successful album, selling over 10 million copies and charting four Top 40 hits in the US.

Over the course of their career, REO Speedwagon has sold more than 40 million records and has notched 13 Top 40 hits including “Take It on the Run” and “Keep the Fire Burnin’.”

GET TICKETS

Tickets can be purchased at Booth Amphitheatre (Tuesday- Friday, noon – 6 p.m.) or any Ticketmaster Outlet, or charge-by-phone at 1-800-745-3000.

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SPONSOR –> This week’s CaryCitizen news is sponsored by FrantzForHouse.org.

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CONTEST –> This is the 400th story of CaryCitizen. Be the first to post “Congrats 400″ in the comments on the website or our Facebook page and win a CaryCitizen t-shirt.

Cary, N.C. -  On Saturday, March 13, Bond Park will host the Push the Pace 5K for Pediatric Brain Tumor Research.  Registration can be done on-line or at 9 am on the day of the event – $20 in advance, $25 on Saturday.  The race begins at 10 am.  Each registrant will receive a free t-shirt.

All of the proceeds from Push the Pace will be donated to the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, founded in 1991.  In years past, children diagnosed with brain tumors would rarely survive to adulthood.  However, now with the right tools, researchers from this foundation are able to develop a better understanding of how to extend the lives of children.  According to the foundation, the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation is the world’s largest non-governmental source of funding for childhood brain tumor research.

Vickie Maxwell contributed to this article.

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This week’s CaryCitizen is sponsored by FrantzForHouse.org.

New Program to Help Small Business

Governor Bev Perdue has announced a new JobsNOW small business lending initiative to help more small businesses get the loans they need to grow or stay in business.

“North Carolina’s small businesses are the backbone of our economy, creating more than two-thirds of all new jobs,” Gov. Perdue said at a press conference last week in Winston-Salem. “Small businesses will power North Carolina’s economic recovery.”

Because of the recession and new federal regulation of bank lending, small and medium-sized businesses are having a hard time obtaining credit. Gov. Perdue’s initiative will help more North Carolina businesses get access to credit by increasing participation in Small Business Administration loans and by helping North Carolina small businesses strengthen their loan applications.

In the next six months, the state will hold a series of “banker boot camps” across North Carolina to coach loan officers and community banks on how to take advantage of SBA loans.

The initiative is a partnership between the Governor’s Office, the N.C. Small Business Commissioner as part of the N.C. Department of Commerce, the N.C. Bankers Association, the U.S. Small Business Administration and the N.C. Commissioner of Banks.

Kel Landis, former head of RBC Centura in North Carolina, will chair a leadership steering committee to support the initiative. Visit JobsNOW to learn more.

Take a Walk on the Mall Side

It’s not just about shopping. It’s also about physical fitness. Although, you know, it’s not a bad way to do some window shopping while you get fit!

Cary Towne Center is home to the Cary Towne Cruisers, a mall-walking group that meets the third Tuesday of the month at 8 a.m. in the food court.

Sponsored by Duke Heart Center and Duke University Medical Center, the Cary Towne Cruisers offer a free walking program open to all mall patrons.

For more information on the program, call Cary Towne Center at 919-467-0145.

How SMART women beat stress

Are you feeling overworked and overwhelmed? Is taking care of yourself last on our list of things to do?

You can find out how to take better care of yourself and take care of business at the Cary Chamber’s Business of Women luncheon March 18 at noon at Prestonwood Golf & Country Club, as guest speaker Dr. Barnsley Brown tackles the problem of balance head on, with her SMART method, targeted to simplify your work, beat stress and burnout and create time to recharge your batteries.

Dr. Brown is a self-described “steel magnolia” in a long line of Southern women.  She graduated magna cum laude from Wake Forest University and studied in France and England before earning her MSc from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and her PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Prior to launching her company, Spirited Solutions, she taught at Wake Forest, Duke and UNC-Chapel Hill.

As a professional speaker, trainer, coach and president of Spirited Solutions, Dr. Brown gives her audiences wings to soar, personally and professionally.

The program is $15 in advance or $20 at the door and is sponsored by WBON-Cary, Hall & Burns Wealth Manageme3nt and Woodland Terrace.

For information or to make a reservation, call 467-1016 or visit the chamber’s website at www.carychamber.com.

News from the Cary Chamber

• BUSINESS AFTER HOURS: Cambria Suites RDU at 3090 Airgate Drive, Morrisville, will host this month’s Business After Hours on Wednesday, March 17 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Join in the fun at this networking and social event.

• CELEBRATING GREAT BUSINESSES: Nominations are open for the Cary Chamber of Commerce 2010 Small Business Awards, which include the Small Business of the Year, Community Service, Employer of the Year, Innovation Award, Entrepreneurial Award in Education and Charitable Partners Award. Presenting sponsor Crescent State Bank encourages you to nominate a business by visiting the chamber site, www.carychamber.com, and filling out the nomination form. The awards will be presented at a special luncheon May 13 at noon at Embassy Suites in Cary. Keep an eye on the chamber site for more details.

• NEW MEMBER DRIVE UNDER WAY: The Chamber’s annual membership drive is under way. If you’d like to help boost the membership base of your chamber, give Delancy Carroll a call, 467-1015, and let her know you’d like to help. There are great prizes to be won for those volunteers who participate.

What’s Your News?

If you have business news you’d like to share with carycitizen.com readers, please email Brenda Larson. We’d love to hear from you!

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This week’s CaryCitizen news is sponsored by FrantzForHouse.org.

Cary, NC – Start planning: North Carolinians will be able to save on major appliance purchases while putting $8.8 million in federal recovery funds to work stimulating the economy, cutting energy use and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

On Earth Day weekend, Thursday April 22nd, through Sunday April 25th, rebates will be offered on qualified Energy Star clothes washers, dishwashers, refrigerators and freezers.

Individuals replacing an old appliance with a new Energy Star-rated appliance will receive an instant 15% rebate in addition to any store or manufacturer discounts.  People may receive more than one rebate if they buy different appliances.

The N.C. Energy Office is working with the N.C. Retail Merchants Association and expects major retail chains as well as most independent appliance dealers to participate in the rebate program.

SHOP LOCAL

Whether you live in Cary, Apex or Morrisville, you can buy an Energy Star compliant appliance close to home.

We’ve generated a Google Map of Cary Area Appliance stores. It’s not totally comprehensive, but still pretty helpful to jog the memory about where you can shop close to home. Mouse over the red dots on the map to see the stores.

WHERE IS THE MONEY COMING FROM?

North Carolina is receiving $8.8 million in federal funds to help homeowners purchase energy-efficient appliances, from furnaces and room air conditioners to refrigerators and dishwashers.  The funds are part of nearly $300 million from the Federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act being distributed nationwide by the U.S. Department of Energy.

Depending on available funds, instant rebates will be 15 % on Energy Star-rated refrigerators, freezers, clothes washing machines and dishwashers. In addition, a second phase in June will offer rebates on Energy Star residential gas storage water heaters, tankless gas water heaters, central air conditioners, heat pumps and gas furnaces that replace older items.

These rebates will be mail-ins and can be used with purchase through retailers, contractors or programs offered through utilities.  The planned amounts of those rebates are $200 for water heaters and $300 for central air conditioners, gas furnaces, and air-source heat pumps.

HOW MUCH ENERGY WILL BE SAVED?

The energy savings can be significant.  A new Energy Star-rated refrigerator uses half the electricity that the same size refrigerator built before 1995 uses.

It is estimated that with this rebate program, just under 50,000 conventional appliances will be replaced with Energy Star-rated appliances.  Enough electricity will be saved with these more efficient appliances to power 536 homes for a year.  Natural gas savings would serve 390 homes for a year.

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This week’s CaryCitizen news is sponsored by FrantzForHouse.org.

Cary, NC – Readers of Go Local have asked us to mention Circus and now is as good a time as any. Circus has an old time, down-home charm you just won’t find in out-parcel chain restaurants.

The Food

Cheap eats, local style. Real chopped onions on the burgers, foot long red hot dogs and highly respectable onion rings. You get the idea.

The Desserts

Here’s where Circus really shines. We’re talking hand-dipped cones in chocolate, cherry or butterscotch. Milk shakes and malteds – yes, malteds – it’s like waking up in 1962. Fabulous flavors, fresh ingredients and seasonal items including a pumpkin milkshake in the autumn.

Vintage treats like cotton candy for kids who don’t eat ice cream.

Locals Love It

Here are a couple of comments from a local review site:

This place has the best deserts. Milkshakes with fresh peaches? that seems criminal and Southern. Worth a trip, especially if you live in the area. Just a short walk with your dog and you’re both fat and happy at the other end of your walk! Small hole in the wall places should get more attention. – Elizabeth P.

The Circus Family Restaurant takes you back in time to a different era. Although the prices reflect today’s the ecomony – the food, deco and service remind you of years gone by. The burgers are thick and are served with REAL chopped onions – not freeze fried ones. The place has dipped cones available in chocolate, chjerry and butterscotch and are to dies for – especially the butterscotch! I also recommend the banana splits there served with REAL: whipped cream and Fresh pineapple. In case you have a hankering for cotton candy, candy apples or popcorn – you can surely find it here as well. Be sure to get PLENTY of napkins as you will need them! – Nicholas B.

Value

Same price as fast-food fare elsewhere.

Service

Friendly, fast, personal. It’s refreshing to talk to someone at a drive-up window who isn’t wearing a wireless headset.

Specials

Everyday has a bargain lunch. Today (Monday) it was the BLT.

The ice cream shake special was “Orange Creamcicle.” Yum.

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This week’s CaryCitizen news is sponsored by FrantzForHouse.org.

Cary, NC – Recent vehicle break-ins have been solved thanks to the investigative efforts of the Town of Cary Police Department.

Derek Holland

Derek C. Holland, 23, of Cary, North Carolina, has been charged with one count Felony Larceny, four counts Breaking and Entering a Motor Vehicle and two counts Misdemeanor Larceny. He is being held at the Wake County Public Safety Center.

Holland was arrested for breaking into multiple vehicles on Halesworth Drive and on New Kent Place in Cary in December 2009 and January 2010.

Investigative efforts led to the identification of Holland and the recovery of some of the stolen property. These break-ins appear to be unrelated to the motor vehicle break-ins that occurred during the same time period at area hotels.

“Both instances of these motor vehicle larcenies involved unlocked vehicles, so we want to remind citizens that one of the best ways to prevent these crimes is to simply lock your vehicle doors,” said Pat Bazemore, Police Chief with the Town of Cary.

The Town of Cary Police Department encourages citizens with information on any crime to keep Cary safe and report it to Crime Stoppers. Crime Stoppers pays up to $2,500 for the arrest or indictment of those responsible for committing certain types of crimes. If you have information, contact Crime Stoppers at 226-CRIM(E) or contact Sgt. Randy Byrd at (919) 380-2133; you may also visit www.carycrimestoppers.net. All calls will be kept CONFIDENTIAL at caller’s request.

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This week’s News is sponsored by FrantzForHouse.org.

Cary, N.C. – Mimi’s Cafe at Cary Towne Center is helping AniMall Pet Adoption and Outreach.   On Tuesday March 16th Mimi’s will be donating AniMall 15% of all sales that are accompanied by this flyer.

AniMall itself is also located at the Cary Towne Center mall.

AniMall offers rescues & shelters a place to showcase their adoptable animals to increase their chances for adoption.  It also provides outreach by educating the public on adoption, fostering, pet ownership, and proper pet care including diet and enrichment.

Most of the pets at AniMall are from no-kill rescue groups.  AniMall does not work with breeders or mills.  They have cats for adoption every day in the “Cat Shack” area and host dog adoption events every Saturday and Sunday as well as offering other more exotic pets for adoption.

Vickie Maxwell contributed to this article.

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The news is sponsored by FrantzForHouse.org

“Life imitates art far more than art imitates life.” Oscar Wilde

Cary, N.C – Oscar Wilde may have been wrong.  At least in the case of Seton McGlennon.  She has made a living of telling people’s life stories through art.  I visited her in her Cary studio this week.

I was greeted at the door like I was visiting my sister, or an old friend.  She was warm, animated, high energy, and full of compelling stories.  The same as her artwork.

Life Stories

Her specialty is capturing people’s (and sometimes pet’s) life stories in “gouache” – a water-based medium. “More opaque and textured than water colors”, she informed me.  She has painted on stones and canvas and driftwood and Christmas ornaments and more.

What sets her apart is that she has been commissioned to do this not only for ordinary folks, like you and me, but also for U.S. Presidents and celebrities.

“I love to paint detail”, Ms. McGlennon told us.  “I got that from my father, who was an orthodontist and a good artist in his own right.”

She went on to tell us that she was a reluctant artist, kind of  “falling into it over time” with the constant encouragement of her sister Nan.

Realtor Turned Painter

Seton was raised in New Jersey, becoming a Realtor® while raising two children.  In time, she found herself in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, buying, fixing up and selling houses in the 1990’s.  As a gift to her buyers she would paint a picture of the house on a Christmas ornament.

The housing market began to lag and she found herself spending more time with her art, painting  candles and driftwood and the like that she was able to sell in the Outer Banks.   Although she has no formal training, her artwork is distinctive and full of expression.  Some of it is realistic, much of it is almost caricaturistic.

Cary Bound

“Ten years ago, I got a map of North Carolina.  I closed my eyes and landed the finger on the map.  The Triangle is where my finger landed.  I had a friend in real estate in Cary.  So here I am”, she told me with a big grin.  ”It was providence.  I love it here.  I am close to the airport.  And it’s safe and pretty.  There’s lots of other newcomers.  I love my neighbors.   And it’s great for my business.  I have nothing bad to say about Cary, period,” I was told.

A Trunk for Oprah

In 1998, Ms. McGlennon decided to put the story of Oprah Winfrey’s life on a small trunk and send it to her as a gift.

A year later, she got a call from Harpo Productions’ producer to fly to Chicago.  She was to be one of four artists featured in one of Oprah’s famous “favorite things” segments.

“At first, I was thinking…’oh I don’t know, I’m so busy’ and then it hit me – THIS WAS OPRAH WINFREY!  So off I went that same week,” she said.

1600 Pensylvania Avenue

In 1999, she was asked to paint a Christmas ornament for the Clinton White House Blue Room.

In 2004 she was commissioned to paint Christmas ornaments – 925 of them- to be given as gifts by the Bush White House.  Again in 2006, she was called back to do 1000 more for the Bush’s holiday gifts.

Seton is almost giddy telling us about her visits to the White House and Ms. Bush’s hospitality and warmth.  Her art was shown on Regis and Cathy Lee.  It goes on and on.  Her studio is full of priceless momentos of these and other brushes (sorry for the pun) with celebrity.

Everyone Has a Story

Seton McGlennon’s business is mostly built on everyday people asking her to capture their wedding, their anniversary, a vacation and other meaningful life events.  She gets photos from the subject, understands their story and tells it with her brush.  Her business is solely “word-of-mouth” she informed me.

Seton’s own life is already quite a story.  One day, hopefully, she will find the time to “capture hers” in her art.

CaryCitizen photographs by Hal Goodtree.