From the Heart – Celebrating the Season in the Heart of Cary

Join us for a full day of holiday cheer in downtown Cary on Saturday, Dec. 4.  

Attend the Heart of Cary’s Old Time Winter Festival downtown. Enjoy arts & crafts, entertainment and food. Start or finish shopping.  

Holiday cheer continues with the annual open house at the Page-Walker Arts & History Center from 4—6 p.m. The Friends of the Page-Walker Hotel is decorating the center for the holidays. Visit the Cary Heritage Museum there, have refreshments, and enjoy Moment's Notice Jazz Trio. Our water conservation staff will give away stocking stuffers such as water-efficient shower heads and rain gauges.  

Cary ’s holiday tree lighting will be 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 4. Bring your blanket to Town Hall campus to welcome in the holiday season with your neighbors.    Concert Singers of Cary will present its annual Holiday Pops in Cary at 7:30 p.m.  

The program includes seasonal classics, modern works appropriate to the holiday, and traditional carols. Call (919) 678-1009 for tickets.  

Auditions for the Holiday Tree Lighting Variety Show will be Saturday, Nov. 20. To schedule an audition, call (919) 469-4061. All types of holiday performances will be considered.  

For more information about the Heart of the Holidays Celebration, call (919) 469-4061.  

Remember, the Cary Jaycees 25th annual Christmas Parade will be the following Saturday, Dec. 11, in downtown Cary at 2 p.m.

Bus Route: A Plan for C - Tran

We need your input on the path to take with C-Tran, our door-to-door bus service by reservation.  

To help us achieve Town Council goals for C-Tran, we’ve set meetings in December at Page-Walker center on Town Hall campus and at Cary Senior Center off High House Road in Bond Park.  

Options include leaving C-Tran unchanged, providing reduced door-to-door service for seniors and the disabled while beginning three fixed routes for the general public, or retaining the existing service for seniors and the disabled while adding fixed routes.  

Get rides to and from each forum for $1 - half the usual fee.  

For more details, call (919) 462-2080, visit our Web site at wwwtownofcary.org or e-mail ray.boylston@townofcary.org.   

C-Tran forums are Dec. 7 from 6:30 – 8 p.m. at Page Walker Center and Dec. 9 from 9:30 – 11 a.m. at Cary Senior Center .

Bird Watching – Cooking with an Eye on Safety

Whether your celebrations feature turkey dinners or other fare, Cary firefighters offer this advice:  

Never leave food cooking on the stove unattended and keep an eye on what’s in the oven.  

Turn pot handles inward so kids can’t reach them. Don’t use wet oven mitts; you can get scalded.  

If there’s a fire in the stove or microwave, keep the door closed. Turn off the stove. Unplug the microwave, and have it serviced.  

The National Fire Protection Association recommends against turkey fryers because they can tip over, spill hot oil, or over-heat.  

Underwriters Laboratories Inc., an independent product safety testing organization, has decided not to certify any turkey fryer for safety reasons.  

For more safety tips, call Cary firefighters at (919) 469-4056.

Bud Bits

Stockpile a little sand now to spread on snow and ice this winter instead of salt and fertilizer. Runoff containing salt or fertilizers is toxic to fish and other aquatic critters. Call (919) 469-4076 for more information.  

November and December are excellent months to plant trees, shrubs, and perennials because root systems have all winter to get established before the next hot, dry season.   

Arrange plants with similar water requirements together in designated zones to help reduce maintenance and the amount of water they need to stay healthy.  

Watch Cary TV on cable channel 11 for Town Council and other meetings, educational programming and BUD-TV. Click the icon on the home page of our Web site for details.  

The 10^th annual Cary Kwanzaa will be Monday, Dec. 27 from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. at Herbert C. Young Community Center . It is free and open to the public.  

Kwanzaa is a communal celebration of African-American heritage with a guest speaker, performers and community market. Call (919) 460-4963 for details.

Touring Tinsel Town

Start the holiday season and a new family tradition this year with a visit to Tinsel Town in the Koka Booth Amphitheatre at Regency Park .  

Beginning Thanksgiving weekend, Booth Amphitheatre will be transformed into a magical winter wonderland complete with beautifully decorated trees, holiday movie classics and an enchanted Gingerbread House with activities for kids.  

Tickets are $8 for adults. Children 12 and under are admitted free.  Bring this copy of BUD with you to Tinsel Town and get $3 off one adult ticket.  

Be sure to visit the Web site AmphitheatreAtRegencyPark.com for Tinsel Town dates, times and details on activities.  

Call (919) 462-2025 to get more details on Tinsel Town .

Crouching into the Spin Zone – A Monthly Checklist for How to Carry Yourself

Checked your tires lately?  

Our police officers recommend that you do so at least monthly to increase your safety.  

Check the vehicle owner's manual to ensure your tires meet the manufacturer’s specifications for size and load rating.  

Inflate tires to the recommended cold tire pressure level without exceeding the maximum pressure stamped on the sidewall.  Tire pressures  drop about 1 pound per month and change with the temperature.  

When the tread wears down to the indicator marks on the tires, it’s time for new tires.  

You can also check by placing a penny in the grooves with Lincoln ’s head upside down and facing you.  The tire is worn out if you see the top of his head.  

Finally, have your tires balanced and aligned by a qualified technician.  Balancing compensates for heavy spots in tire and wheel construction. Alignment helps prevent pulling to the side.  

For safety tips, call Cary police at (919) 319-4521 or get highway safety tips online at www.nhtsa.dot.gov.

Reminder

Here’s a reminder on solid waste and recycling changes during upcoming holiday weeks.  

Thanksgiving - Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday routes  run a day earlier. Friday’s route will also be run on Wednesday, Nov. 24.  

Christmas - Solid waste and recycling occur a day earlier than usual during Christmas week. Town Hall will be closed Dec. 24 and Dec. 27.  

No yard waste is collected during Town holiday weeks. Call (919) 469-4090 to learn more.

Keeping Pace in Cyberspace

We do research regularly to improve the services that we offer you.  

We’ll have another of our online surveys in November. It focuses on our Web site, www.townofcary.org.  

Your input will help us tailor the Web site to better meet your needs. We’re especially interested in pages other than the home page, since it was redesigned only last year.  

The poll will take you about five minutes to complete.  

Look for the Web Poll link on the home page of the Web site.

Camera Shyness – Exposing License Plate Cover-ups

A state law that took effect Oct. 1 is aimed at red light runners who try to prevent traffic cameras from catching them.  

House Bill 26 makes it illegal to willfully cover a vehicle’s registration plate with any device designed to prevent or interfere with the taking of a photograph from a traffic camera.  

The law allows transparent covers that are not intended to prevent traffic cameras from doing their job.  

If you have questions about the license plate law, please call our traffic safety officers at (919) 469-4338.  

Cary is just one of several places in North Carolina using red light cameras to help reduce crashes at intersections.

Board Room

We’ve got space for community-minded citizens on the Town's volunteer boards and commissions.  

These panels help us obtain community input on issues that affect everyone in Cary .  

The Town Clerk’s office will accept applications until Dec. 1. Terms will begin Feb. 1, 2005 and range from one to three years.  Meetings are monthly. No experience is necessary.  

If you’re interested, complete an online application. Click on Boards & Commissions under Shortcuts on our Web site.  

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