Monday Memo is a regular column from the Chair of the Orange County Board of Commissioners. You can sign up to receive this and other Orange County news in your inbox.

The current edition is posted below. Archives are available on the right.

Oct. 25, 2021

Veterans Day Program

Please join the Veterans Memorial Planning Committee at the annual Orange County Veterans Day Program in honor of the men and women who have served in the United States armed forces to protect our freedoms. The program will be on the 11th day of the 11th month at 11 o'clock--November 11, at 11am--at the Veterans Memorial on Homestead Road in Chapel Hill. Our guest speaker will be Sheriff Charles S. Blackwood. 

In case of inclement weather, we will hold the program in the Southern Human Services Center, across the parking lot from the memorial.

EmPOWERment Celebrates 25 Years

On a gorgeous autumn afternoon, Sunday Oct. 24, community members gathered at the Carrboro Town Commons to celebrate the 25th anniversary of EmPOWERment, Inc. The theme of the day was "Cheers to 25 Years!" We were there to congratulate the staff, board and volunteers of EmPOWERment on reaching this significant milestone. 

EmPOWERment is a nonprofit organization that has been supporting, nurturing, and empowering people of all ages and stages in life through access to home ownership and employment opportunities. Delores Bailey, Executive Director, deserves a special shout-out. As a Black/ African American and as a woman, the journey to success has numerous challenges; Delores has encountered and surmounted those challenges and brought EmPOWERment to this point in time.

Cheers to another 25 years!

Bicentennial of the Burwell School Historic Site

This year marks the 200th anniversary of the Burwell School Historic Site, located at 319 North Churton Street in Hillsborough. The structure, originally built circa 1821 and expanded in 1848, became the home of Rev. Robert and Margaret Anna Burwell and their family beginning in 1835. Anna Burwell founded and operated the Burwell School for Girls, an academy for privileged white girls, from 1837 to 1857. 

African Americans, both enslaved and free, provided much of the labor for the maintenance of the school and grounds, and provided personal services to family members and students. In recent years, the Historic Hillsborough Commission (HHC)--responsible for maintaining and preserving the Site and for interpreting the history of 19th and 20th century Hillsborough--has highlighted the Black women, men and children who worked at the site, and acknowledged their importance in the growth and development of Hillsborough.

At a recent meeting, the Orange County Board of County Commissioners proclaimed Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021, as Burwell School Historic Site Day, in appreciation of the HHC and its work in preserving and elucidating an inclusive history of Orange County. Events telling the many stories related to the site will be ongoing throughout the year. Please visit the website at burwellschool.org, and come by, in person, for a tour or to participate in one of the events.

Boosters for all Vaccines

COVID-19 vaccine booster shots are now available. The Food and Drug Administration FDA) has authorized, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now recommends, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 booster shots to help strengthen and extend protections against COVID-19.
 
The Moderna COVID-19 booster shot is recommended for individuals who received their second dose at least six months ago and who are at high risk for severe illness or exposure based on their age, profession, living setting or health conditions. This includes people:  

• 65 years or older, and
• 18 years or older who:  
  • live or work in a nursing home or long-term care facility;  
  • have underlying medical conditions; 
  • work in high-risk settings like healthcare workers, teachers and childcare providers or food workers; or,
  • live or work in a place where many people live together (for example, homeless shelters, correctional facilities, migrant farm housing, dormitories or other group living settings in colleges or universities).

The Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 booster shot is recommended for individuals ages 18 and older who were vaccinated with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at least two months ago.
 
Pfizer-BioNTech (COMINARTY) booster shots have been available since Sept. 24 for individuals at high risk for serious illness or exposure and who received their second dose at least six months ago.

Booster shots are available anywhere COVID-19 vaccines are available. To schedule your shot, visit MySpot.nc.gov  or call 919-913-8088. Walk-ins are welcome at the Bonnie B. Davis Environment & Agriculture Center at 1020 Highway 70 West, in Hillsborough.