Water Damage Restoration in Durham, NC

Central North Carolina may be in for some hazardous weather conditions as millions across the country travel for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Forecasters predict freezing temperatures and a chance of severe storms for the Triangle and surrounding areas — but no snow, The News & Observer previously reported.

Here’s what to expect on Thanksgiving, Black Friday and throughout the weekend.

A cold front is moving through the Triangle on Thursday, Nov. 28.

The front will bring cooler weather to the area and a chance for damaging winds and isolated tornadoes during the afternoon and evening, Kathleen Carroll, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Raleigh, told The N&O over the phone.

As of mid-day Wednesday, Nov. 27, the risk of damaging winds and tornadoes for Thanksgiving was marginal, Carroll said.

The storms should have moved out of the Triangle by midnight Nov. 28.

“The rest of Thursday night should be relatively dry and quiet,” Carroll said. “It will be turning cooler, though.”

Energy provider Duke Energy is monitoring the weather and has placed local crews on alert, company spokesperson Jeff Brooks told The N&O in a phone call.

“We have personnel that are on standby, ready to respond when we experience outages,” he said. “Because it is a holiday, we certainly want to make sure we have enough resources available to respond if we do see outages.”

If there are outages, crews can be relocated if needed, he said.

While there may not be as many crews doing routine work in the field, Duke has “just as many resources available” to respond to outages during the holiday.

To report an outage, go to duke-energy.com/outages, text OUT to 57801, use the Duke Energy app or call 800-POWERON (800-769-3766).

“We’ll do everything we can to restore outages as safely and quickly as possible if we encounter them on Thanksgiving or in the days of the holiday weekend,” Brooks said.

Friday, Nov. 29 is expected to be a cool, sunny, dry day, Carroll said. Black Friday shoppers and anyone else recovered from food comas should expect high temperatures around 50 degrees.

Sub-freezing temperatures are expected during the nighttime hours on Nov. 29 and Saturday, Nov. 30. High temperatures on Nov. 30 and Sunday, Dec. 1 are expected to be in the mid-40s. The low temperature the night of Dec. 1 is expected to fall to somewhere in the 20 degree range.

Monday, Dec. 2 is predicted to be even colder, with high temperatures in the 40s during the day, and nighttime temperatures around 23 degrees in Raleigh. With windchill, the feels-like temperature could be in the teens.

“We’ve been above normal for so long, it seems that, you know, this might be quite the change for folks,” Carroll said.

Carroll reminded pet owners not to leave their animals outside at night. She also encouraged students to prepare for much colder temperatures than they’ve been used to, and to bundle up for the bus stop.

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DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- In an emotional journey bridging nearly two centuries, descendants of enslaved families returned to Durham's Stagville Plantation, marking 180 years since their ancestors were forced to walk 500 miles from North Carolina to Alabama.

Arriving in a black tour bus, family members were visibly moved as they set foot on the grounds where their ancestors once worked the wheat plantations. "It is an emotional trip and there are still some things I'm gonna need to break down when I get home," shared Tamia Cannon-Henderson, one of the descendants.

The historic journey, now known by the family as 'The Trek,' began in 1844 when enslaver Paul Cameron ordered 114 enslaved people to walk from Stagville to his newly-purchased cotton plantation in western Alabama. The brutal journey involved crossing rivers on foot, with wagons and children in tow.

The reunion brought together descendants of the Jeffersons, Hargresses, and Cannon families. "I just thought it was amazing to think that people really traveled that far on foot and so many of them," remarked Henrietta Hargess-Davis, reflecting on her ancestors' journey.

Our ancestors had to go through so much.Henrietta Quick, Stagville Descendant

Duke Emeritus Professor of History Sydney Nathans, who spent 40 years researching and documenting the families' story in his book "A Mind to Stay," revealed a remarkable twist in their history. In 1875, following emancipation, the formerly enslaved farm workers purchased the very land in Alabama where they had once been forced to work.

"It's their story that I'm telling. I'm not telling my story. And I think these people are really heroes to me," Nathans said.

Genealogist Myles Caggins, who spent nearly a decade using DNA and historical records to connect modern-day descendants with their Durham ancestry, expressed amazement at the reunion. "I never imagined we could come to this kind of moment in time," he said. "We have this many family members coming to see where their ancestors were purchased; where they grew up; where they worked; and where they left from."

For many descendants, the homecoming sparked both pride and a desire to learn more about their heritage. "Our ancestors had to go through so much and it's just wonderful to be able to say that this is where we were, but this is where we are," Henrietta Quick reflected. Her sentiment was echoed by Cannon-Henderson, who expressed an eagerness to "dig deeper" into her family's history.

The Stagville descendants now live in cities and towns across the country, but their connection to the past remains strong. Much of the hundreds of acres of land their ancestors purchased in Alabama continues to be owned by their families today, serving as a lasting testament to their resilience and determination.

"The story changes from slavery to freedom. And what happens in freedom is yet another story," noted Professor Nathans, highlighting the ongoing legacy of these remarkable families.

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One bond will allocate $85 million toward park projects including a new aquatic center connecting trails and new play areas for Durham.

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- Mark Schaffner said he's looking forward to Merrick-Moore Park where the City of Durham plans to build an "aquatic wonderland" with plans for a lazy river, water slides and a climbing wall in four years.

"It's really nice to be able to take them in the middle of the summer and have access to that kind of cool, like, play-in-the-water-type stuff," Schaffner said Thursday.

The project will be funded by a bond approved by Durham voters on Election Day.

The bond will allocate $85 million toward park projects including the new aquatic center at Merrick-Moore Park and a new pool, connecting trail and new play areas at Long Meadow and East End parks.

MORE | View a concept of the aquatic center (.pdf)

The other bond that was approved by Durham voters will allocate $115 million for better roads and sidewalks throughout the city.

Although the bonds mean increased property taxes, Schaffner said he voted "yes" as he thought about the future amenities as a parent of an almost 2-year-old son.

MORE | View a concept of improvements at East End and Long Meadow parks (.pdf)

"I'm glad that they're wanting to take care of the city and improve the ability to walk around and have that infrastructure to support more people," Schaffner said.

Durham Mayor Leonardo Williams said they're doing what they need to do to take care of the Bull City, although some areas of the city's parks are still closed off as of November after lead was detected in the soil in 2023.

ALSO SEE | Safety concerns remain as more Triangle parks test positive for lead

"We are going to have safer streets. We're going to have safer sidewalks. We're going to have more parks and enhance parks," Williams said.

Durham Parks and Recreation Department Director Wade Walcutt said cleaning up those five parks is still on their minds as they look to an overall future vision of better infrastructure in the city.

ALSO SEE | Latest updates and recaps of the election in NC

"The state continues to be a great partner," Walcutt said. "They're continuing to be in all of our parks and continuing to get more analysis and doing more soil samples, so the city and the community can understand what we're dealing with."

As for the park projects, Walcutt said they hope to have the upgrades at Merrick-Moore Park and Long Meadow and East End parks available to residents in 2028.

"Working again, reaching back out to the community ... doing those fine-tuning and those tweaks on it to make sure it's exactly what they want," Walcutt said. "Then, it's about developing those plans and those construction documents and starting to make things happen."

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A furniture retailer is making an old Bed Bath & Beyond in Durham the home of its first North Carolina store.

Bob’s Discount Furniture, which was founded in 1991, is the newest tenant at Patterson Place shopping center, located near Highway 15-501 and I-40. A public relations representative for Bob’s Discount Furniture declined to provide a comment on this story.

With the furniture store, all of the anchor spaces at Patterson Place are now leased, according to a press release from TradeMark Properties, which oversees leasing for the Durham shopping center.

“We had significant interest in this space because Patterson Place is the only power center that serves both the Durham and Chapel Hill markets,” Brian Grabowski, a senior vice president at TradeMark Properties, said in the release. “This is especially a good fit for Bob’s Discount Furniture because it will benefit from the traffic generated by the other anchor and smaller stores as well as the surrounding office, medical, and residential areas.”

The shopping center also houses The Home Depot, Kohl’s, Boot Barn, Total Wine & More, DSW, PetSmart and Panera Bread, among other retailers.

Bob’s Discount Furniture signed a 10-year lease for a 33,839-square-foot space at 3616 Witherspoon Blvd. in Durham.

The space previously housed Bed Bath & Beyond, a popular retailer that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2023, The News & Observer previously reported.

At that time, Bed Bath & Beyond operated 360 stores and 120 Buy Buy Baby locations. Four Bed Bath & Beyond stores were located in the Triangle, with one each in Raleigh, Cary, Durham and Holly Springs. A fifth, at Six Forks Station in North Raleigh, was among 150 “low-producing” stores Bed Bath & Beyond said it would close a few months before the bankruptcy filing.

Bob’s Discount Furniture is expected to open in Durham in summer 2025.

Connecticut-based Bob’s Discount Furniture was founded in 1991 by Bob Kaufman.

Since then, the company has grown to nearly 190 stores across two dozen states and generates nearly $2 billion in sales each year, according to a late October news release.

Bob’s Discount Furniture sells indoor and outdoor furniture, mattresses, rugs and home decor.

Its stores include cafes offering complimentary coffee, ice cream, cookies and candy.

Have a question about your community you’d like answered? Or maybe a tip or story idea you’d like to share? The service journalism teams at The News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer want to hear from you.

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November 01, 2024 5:30 AM

Durham County didn’t look far in selecting a new county manager after the former manager’s mysterious exit last week.

The Board of Commissioners voted Monday morning to promote Interim County Manager Claudia Hager to the permanent role, forgoing a nationwide search that would have handed the decision to the newly elected board taking office in December.

Hager will be paid $295,000 a year, plus benefits, according to her contract, which has no specified time limit.

She has taken over in an acting capacity twice, most recently when former manager Kimberly Sowell went on leave in September.

Sowell resigned Oct. 28 after seven weeks of paid leave that county officials have refused to explain. The News & Observer has made numerous public records requests to the county since mid-September that remain unfulfilled.

Hager has worked for Durham County for about 14 years and was most recently a deputy county manager overseeing financial affairs. Her previous experience includes stints in financial management at N.C. Central University and the UNC System.

“She has tremendous experience in many areas, and she has been and will continue to be an asset to Durham County government,” Commissioner Wendy Jacobs said, declining to discuss the decision-making process further.

Commissioner Heidi Carter said the board did not conduct a nationwide search.

‘We didn’t go through an official process,” Carter said. “There was a sense that it was important for continuity to make a decision as quickly as possible.”

Hager will be sworn in during the commissioners’ next meeting, on Nov. 12, but her appointment is effective now.

“I was honored and humbled when the county commissioners asked me to consider stepping in permanently as the manager and provide some continuity of leadership,” she said Monday. “I appreciate the opportunity to serve.”

The manager oversees the county’s nearly $1 billion budget and roughly 2,200 employees.

Hager is the third manager under the current Board of Commissioners.

The board will see turnover following this week’s election. Only two board members, Jacobs and Chair Nida Allam, will remain in office.

They will be joined by Michelle Burton, Mike Lee and Stephen Valentine, the other top vote-getters in this spring’s Democratic Party primary. Carter is retiring and did not run for re-election. Nimasheena Burns and Brenda Howerton did not receive enough votes.

“We did discuss the fact that there is going to be a new board and they won’t have all hired this manager, and it still felt like it was in the best interest to go ahead and make the decision,” Carter said.

This story was originally published November 4, 2024, 10:40 AM.

The News & Observer

Mary Helen Moore covers Durham for The News & Observer. She grew up in Eastern North Carolina and attended UNC-Chapel Hill before spending several years working in newspapers in Florida. Outside of work, you might find her reading, fishing, baking, or going on walks (mainly to look at plants).