Long Lines at Town Hall

Cary Town Hall is a busy place during the last week of December and the first week of January.

Many citizens stop by to pay their Wake County and Cary property tax bills prior to the Jan. 5, 2010 due date.

If you’re planning to join the crowd, the most convenient place to park is in the lot off of Ambassador Loop Road. At this satellite office, we’re pleased to be able to accept cash or check payments.

Avoid the line by paying online at www.wakegov.com via your checking account without a service charge.

Credit card payments are only accepted through Wake County’s automated telephone system at 856-5400 and include a service charge.

Post-holiday clean up
Our Town-wide curbside collection of Christmas trees will begin on Jan. 5, 2010.

To ensure collection, place your tree curbside by 7 a.m. on your regular solid waste and recycling collection day. All non-vegetative material such as tinsel, lights, wire, and ornaments must be removed from your tree prior to pick-up.

Drop off Christmas trees through January 11, 2010 at the Citizen’s Convenience Center, Green Hope Elementary School, or Oak Grove Elementary School. Leave your tree in the designated area.

For more information on Christmas Tree Collection, visit www.townofcary.org.

Colopy has hometown spirit
Alisa Wright Colopy was recently named our first Hometown Spirit Award winner. She is a family fitness advocate, coach and community volunteer.

The Hometown Spirit Award is designed to recognize community-minded citizens who enhance the quality of life in Cary by preserving, promoting and carrying out positive small town community values and traits. There were 12 nominees for the 2009 award.

Colopy received a plaque at the November Town Council meeting, and her name will also appear on a plaque inside Town Hall.

Bud Bits

• Town offices will close on Monday, Jan. 18, 2010 in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Garbage, yard waste, and recycling will be picked up on your regular collection day.
• Severe winter weather can cause a loss of electricity and make travel impossible. However, dialing 911 should be reserved for imminent threats to people or property. For questions about street plowing and downed power lines, call 469-4090.
• Watch your Town government at work on CaryTV 11. For a daily programming guide, including Cary Matters and Bud TV, visit www.townofcary.org.

Celebrate the dream at Cary's Dreamfest
Come celebrate the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at Dreamfest 2010 on Jan. 16, beginning at 1 p.m. in the Herbert C. Young Community Center. Activities will include a community expo, arts and crafts activities for children, music, and the awards presentation for the Dreamfest Student Art Contest.

To participate in the student art contest, call Kris Carmichael at 460-4971 for an application. Art from the student contest will be displayed at Dreamfest.

The Chamber Choir of the Concert Singers of Cary will present a free concert that features music from the past and present of African and African-American musical tradition as well as its relevance to historic events on both continents.

Actor and writer Mike Wiley will present One Noble Journey, a one man dramatic presentation based on the miraculous true lives of three slaves who overcome seemingly insurmountable odds to gain a life free of Southern shackles. Tickets are required for One Noble Journey.

Other Dreamfest events include an ecumenical service on Jan. 17 at 6 p.m. at the Herb Young Community Center; the 29th annual MLK, Jr. Commemorative March in downtown Raleigh on Jan. 18 at 10 a.m.; and a day of service at Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve on Jan. 18 at 2 p.m.

Yard waste will not be collected; instead, Town crews will collect excess garbage. Solid waste that will not fit into your cart should be bagged. We will also collect excess recycling for yellow week customers on their normal collection day. Place extra recyclables in a container next to your recycling cart/bin. Excess recycling will becollected from blue week customers on their regular collection day during the week of Jan. 4.

Resolve to fix leaks, use water wisely
As you ring in the New Year, resolve to fix leaky toilets promptly. Depending on the nature of the leak, toilets can waste hundreds of gallons per day.

Call 469-4090 to request a free "Toilet Training Tutorial" and dye tablets to help you determine whether or not you have a leak and how to fix it.

If your toilet is 14 years old or older, you may qualify for a $100 rebate from the Town to replace your 3.5 gallon per flush toilet with a new high efficiency toilet.

For more information, visit the Water Conservation section at www.townofcary.org.

Sister Cities seeks pen pals

Do you miss the days of writing and receiving letters?

If you are age 55 or older, we’re inviting you to take part in the Cary-County Meath Pen Pal Project, brought to you by the Sister Cities Association of Cary.

You will be paired up with a pen-pal who resides in County Meath, Ireland who has similar interests and experiences. Over the course of several weeks, you will exchange post cards, photos and small projects.

The final event will be a party where, using the internet, you’ll meet your new friends face-to-face—right in the senior center!

For details or to learn how to participate, call 469-4081.

Don't trash stream buffers
While composting is great for improving soil, please don’t throw your Christmas tree in or along a stream. In addition to being a fire hazard, dead trees can block stream flow, which leads to flooding and stream degradation. For more information on streams and buffers, call 469-4038.

Cultural connection

• Dia de los Reyes parade and gift-giving, Jan. 9, 2:30 p.m. at Bond Park. Free. For more, call 460-4963.
• Twelfth Night Madrigal Feast,
Jan. 9, 7-10 p.m. at the Herb Young Community Center. Tickets and details at 469-4061.
• The Genealogy Forum, Jan. 14, 7 p.m. at the Page-Walker Arts and History Center. Free.
• Concert Singers of Cary and Mike Wiley: One Noble Journey, Jan. 16, 4 p.m., at the Herb Young Community Center. For tickets and details, call 469-4061.
• Triangle Sacred Harp Singers, Jan. 24, 2-4 p.m., at Page-Walker. Free. Details at 460-4963.
• Little Windows, Jan. 24, 4 p.m., at Page-Walker. Tickets and details at 460-4963.
• From Farms to Fairways: How Preston Came to Be, Jan. 26, 7:30 p.m., at Page-Walker. Free. Details at 460-4963.

• Crossing the Atlantic. Cary Senior Center. Dec. 21-Jan. 22. Reception: Jan. 15, 3-6 p.m.

• MLK, Jr. Dreamfest 2010 Student Art Competition: The Pursuit of Freedom. Page-Walker. Jan. 19-Feb. 23. Reception; Jan. 16, 1-4 p.m.

• Cary Visual Art Temporary Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition. Town Hall campus through June 25, 2010.