Chatham Schools Promote Physical Activity

Thursday, February 23 2012 by Catherine Brand

Chatham County schools are trying to get kids to be more active through 'Eat Smart Move More' grants. The goal of the project is to encourage schools and teachers to integrate physical activity into the curriculum no matter what the discipline. Holly Coleman is with the Chatham County Health Department:

Holly Coleman: Some of the schools are looking at walking trails, additional b-ball courts, rock wall climbing. We want to encourage young people to be physically active, because these are habits they can take through a life of being healthy.

Coleman says a survey of students found that in an average 8-hour day, they were sedentary for more than half the day, and engaged in moderate activities for only 23 minutes.

Wilmington Police Praise Gunfire Detection System

Thursday, February 23 2012 by Isaac-Davy Aronson

Wilmington's police chief says a new gunshot-detection technology is helping officers make arrests. The city used a federal grant to install the ShotSpotter system in November. Acoustic sensors around a 3-square-mile area detect gunshots and immediately relay the information to police. Chief Ralph Evangelous is urging the city council to continue ShotSpotter once the federal funding runs out next year. It would cost about $120,000 dollars. Officials in other cities where the system has been proposed have objected to the cost in a time of tight budgets. Evangelous disagrees.

Ralph Evangelous: We're having a true picture of what's going on in the community in reference to gunshots. And it's given us a treasure-trove of data to be able to deploy our resources in a much smarter manner out there in the field. So people who say that are penny wise and pound foolish.

Rocky Mount also began using ShotSpotter last year with federal grant funding.

Perdue Boosts Pre-K

Wednesday, February 22 2012 by Dave DeWitt

Bev Perdue (Photo: NC Governor's Office)

Two thousand more at-risk kids will be able to attend pre-kindergarten classes, starting in March. Governor Bev Perdue made the announcement today at a pre-school in Raleigh. Dave DeWitt reports.

Dave DeWitt: The state funds about one-third of the at-risk kids who qualify for pre-kindergarten. Last year, Superior Court Judge Howard Manning said that was illegal, and directed the legislature to fund all eligible children.

That hasn’t happened, and the case is likely to be heard by the state supreme court. In the meantime, Perdue says she’s been monitoring the available funding, and it will be possible to send two thousand more kids to pre-K between mid-March and August, when kindergarten starts. She spoke during a news conference broadcast on WRAL.

More>>

Gay Presbyterian Minister in Chapel Hill

Wednesday, February 22 2012 by Isaac-Davy Aronson

Photo: Church of Reconciliation

One of the first openly gay ministers in the Presbyterian church will soon be ordained at a Chapel Hill church. Katie Ricks is the first openly lesbian pastor in the nation to gain approval since the Presbyterian Church began allowing homosexuals to serve last year. She met with the church's local governing body before its vote last weekend. She says she addressed some members' concerns that same-sex relationships are not accepted by God.

Katie Ricks: I believe that God created everything seen and unseen, and I know that this isn't a choice. This is a part of who I am - it's a small piece of who I am, being a lesbian is - and it's just how God created me. And knowing that, then I seek to live faithfully as God has called me to.

Ricks will be formally ordained in April. She has been serving as an associate in ministry at Chapel Hill's Church of Reconciliation for almost a decade, but she hasn't been allowed to perform baptisms, weddings or communion.

More Stories>>