The Carrboro CiTizen News ThUrSDaY, febrUarY 4, 2010 3

Part of Fordham Boulevard will be closedAnorthboundlaneofU.S.15-501/FordhamBoulevardwill

beclosedintermittentlyforaboutfourmonthsduringthecon-structionofasidewalkontheeastsideofFordhamBoulevardbetweenManningDriveandOldMasonFarmRoad.

Inaddition,theoutsideleftturnlanefromManningDrivetoFordhamBoulevardwillbeclosedduringthesetimes.TrafficwillnotbealteredduringUNChomebasketballgamesandoth-erspecialevents.Crewswillbeworkingontheprojectbetween9a.m.and4p.m.

News offices soldTheNewsandObserverPublishingCo.announcedthesale

ofitsFranklinStreetheadquartersforitsChapel Hill News andDurham NewsnewspaperstoScottMaitland.Maitland,ownerofTopoftheHillrestaurantandbreweryplanstoturntheformerpressroomintoaliquordistillery.

Hepaid$2.15millionforthe0.8-acresite,whichincludesabout10,000squarefeetofofficespaceand10,000squarefeetofwarehousespace.Maitlandwillleaseofficespacetothe N&OforitswesternTrianglenewsandadvertisingstaff.

News Briefs MIDWIFE from page 1

Her first experience camewhile she was a student, withtheAmishcommunity inLan-caster,Pa.,andherjourneyhasnow brought her to practicinghomebirthsonherowninCar-rboroandsurroundingareas.

Homebirthingwithamidwifeisanalternativetowhat99percentofwomenintheU.S.choosetodo–havetheirbabiesinahospital.

“Thewomenthattendtochoosehomebirtharewomenthatarere-allycommittedtochildbirthandfeelforthemselvesthattheirhomewillbetheplacetheyfeelthesafest,”O’Connellsaid,“andforawomaninlabor,that’shuge,becauseitcanreally impede awoman’sprogressinherlaborifshedoesn’tfeelsafe.”

Both Means and Henseysay that trust and relationshipbuilding were primary consid-erationsintheirdecisionstooptforamidwife.

“Oneof thebenefitsofhav-ing a home-birth practice isgetting to know your clients,and they do really need to gettoknowyou,becauseit’ssuchaprofessionallyintimaterelation-ship,”O’Connellsaid.

She said not all women aresuited,mentallyandphysically,forhomebirthing“Ifyou’recommit-tingyourselftoahomebirth,youhavetobecommittingyourselftoanaturalchildbirth,”shesaid.

O’Connell is required tomeetcertainqualificationsandrequire-mentstoensurehomebirthisap-propriate and safe for a woman.Sheisalsorequiredtohavephysi-cianbackup.

Safety concerns keep manywomen from choosing to homebirth: If something goes wrongduringdelivery,theremightnotbeenoughtimetotransferthewomantoahospital.

In fact, this happened whenO’Connell witnessed her firsthome birth. It did not scare heraway.O’Connellhasnowattendedmore than800homebirths, andonly once – during the first onesheeverattended–hassomethinggoneterriblywrong.

“Ifanything,itgavemeastron-ger senseof respect for thebirth-ing process,” O’Connell said ofthatfirstexperience,“andthatbadthingsdohappen,buttheyhappentowomeninhospitalsjustasmuch,ifnotmore.”

Means said she wasn’t com-fortable telling friends and fam-ily about her decision to go with

ahomebirth,outofconcernthatthey’dbescaredforhersafety.

“I knew they’d flip, she said.“Weweregoingtotellthemafter-ward.”

Henseysaidshedidn’thaveanyfears, and her friends and familydidn’teither.

“Onceyouhaveonepregnancy,theysortofknowwhatyouneed,whenyouneedit;soIthinktheytrust the woman to know whensomething is wrong,” she said.“TheonlythingI’mworriedaboutisthatI’llhavethebabybeforeany-bodygetshere,becauseDeblivesinCarrboroandIliveinRaleigh.”

Which helps explain whyO’Connellwillbehardpressedtofindvacationtimeinthenearfu-ture–she’salwaysoncall.It’sabitdifferentthanherdaysinhospitals;butit’sherpassionandhercalling.Vacationswillhavetowait.

Dan RyonFinancial Advisor205 West Main Street, Suite 101Carrboro, NC 27510Bus. 919-933-3191

InvestmentsRetirement Planning ServicesEducation SavingsFinancial AssessmentsFree Portfolio Reviews

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Member SIPC

UPCOMING CONCERTS:Experience the 7th Annual American Roots Series.

Feb. through June. See website for details. Coming up:

Tannahill Weavers • FRI 2/5 @ Chatham MillsCedric Burnside & Lightnin’ Malcolm • FRI 2/5

Karla Bonoff • SAT 2/13Joseph Arthur • SUN 2/14 John Mayall • WED 2/17

Dave Alvin & Two Guilty Women featuringCindy Cashdollar • SUN 2/21

Dear Companion Tour featuring Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore • TUE 3/2

Dervish • THU 3/4Terrance Simien & The Zydeco Experience • FRI 3/12

Over the Rhine • SAT 3/13Patrick Street • SUN 3/14

Battlefield Band • THU 3/18Solas • FRI 3/19

Celtic Concert Series: Call the box office for package deals on Tannahill Weavers, Dervish, Patrick Street, Battlefield Band and Solas

UPCOMING THEATRE:FREE Theatre Classes for Students @ UMall • 2/6; 12-4pm North Carolina Comedy Arts Festival • Now through 2/20

One Song Productions: The February 48 • SUN 2/7Transactors Improv: The LOVE Show • FRI 2/12

SuperFun Show: Stone Soup • FRI 2/20

For more information or to order tickets call 929-2787 x201 or go to artscenterlive.orgArtSchool registration now open!

TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

World’s FinestChocolates

Since 1975

201 S. Estes Drive • Chapel Hill • 919.929.7133 • southernseason.comMon-Thurs 10-7 • Fri 10-9 • Sat 10-7 • Sun 11-6

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local

BIZadvertise the Carrboro Citizen Classifieds: see page 7

Given enough wheels and levers

one artisan can move Fisher’s Papa Bear IV. Monyo helps

Peck andArtisans933 8485 A Transition Company

sNoW from page 1

Togetreadyforthestorm,crewsfrom Chapel Hill and Carrboropublic works departments joinedwith Department of Transporta-tioncrewsinlayingdownbrine.

GeorgeSeiz,Carrboro’spublicworksdirector,saidthebrinemix-turehelpsprevent the snow frombinding with road surfaces, mak-ingremovaleasier.

Both towns have adopted astrategyofkeepingmainroadsasclearaspossiblethroughthestormtokeepthempassableforemergen-cyvehicles andanypublic transitthatisstilloperating.

Afterclearingoutthemainarter-ies,crewsfocusonsecondaryroads.ManyofthosethroughoutsouthernOrangeCountydidnotseesubstan-tialclearinguntilTuesday.

Seiz said warmer weather alsomadeacontributiontothework.

“Mother Nature played a keyrole with mild temperatures, andstartedmeltingoffthesnowprettywell,”Seizsaid.

Crewsfrombothtownsworked12-hourshiftstokeepeffortsmov-ingaroundtheclock.

RichardTerrell,ChapelHill’sop-erationsmanagerforpublicworks,saidasofWednesdaytherewerenoserioustroublespots,thoughcrews

werestillspreadingsandandpush-ingslushawayinsomeareas.

“Weworkedaround theclock,including last night,” he said onWednesday.“Asof3:30today,wewentbacktoournormalschedule.”

Askedhowthecrewsheldup,Terrell said there was some ex-pectedwearandtear,anddaysofworking12-hourshifts tooktheirtoll.“Icantellyoutheywerehappytogetbacktotheirregularscheduletoday,”hesaid.

Chapel Hill Mayor MarkKleinschmidtsaidtowncrewsdidagoodjobofgettingthetownbackin shape, especially getting busroutes ready. The town operatedwith a limited schedule over theweekend,butdidrunitsTarHeelExpress routes to UNC’s basket-ballcontestagainstVirginiaattheSmithCenter.

Kleinschmidtsaidhehasnotheardmuch inthewayofcom-plaints about the cleanup androadclearing.

“Theonlyconcernpeoplehaveraised has been about sidewalks,”hesaid.Clearingthewalksisoftenmoredifficult.Andwhileearlyonit was hard on pedestrians, mostsidewalksareinbettershapeasofWednesday,themayorsaid.

Carrborosidewalkswereakeyfocus after the downtown thor-oughfareswerecleared.

Cliff Collins, owner of Cliff’s

Meat Market, said he appreci-atedtheeffortingettingthecentralbusiness-districtsidewalkscleared.

“Theywereout thereworkingreally hard, and I really want tothankthemforthat,”hesaidTues-dayevening.

Withcoldtemperaturesandasprinklingoficepelletscreatingacrustontopofthesnowfall,thestormprovedtobeagodsendforanyone with an interest in sled-ding.

Southern Community ParkandCarrboroHighSchoolwerehotspotsforsledding,whereany-thing from tarps to cardboardtoactual sledswerepressed intoservice.

Despiteheavyenthusiasmandslickconditions,UNCHospitalsonly reportedone sledding-relat-edinjury.Inall,aboutahalf-dozenweather-relatedinjuriesweretreat-edattheEmergencyDepartment,

mostduetofalls.Astheroadscleared,trashand

recyclingcrews returned towork.Commercialtrashhaulersalsore-turnedtothestreets topickupagrowing backlog of trash at areaapartmentcomplexes.

Nowtownofficialsandawarypopulace are keeping an eye onthis weekend’s weather. It mayhavebeenabalmy50degreesonWednesday,but colderweather isheadingthisway.Precipitationisintheforecast;dependingontemper-atures,thatcouldmeanicepellets,rainorsnow.

“We’rewatchingit,”Terrellsaid.“Youhaveto.Inthisarea,youjustneverknow.”

Updates on service schedulesandweatherwarningswillbepost-ed toThe Citizen’sMILLblogatcarrborocitizen.com/mill

KateGriesmanncontributedtothisreport.

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