BUTNER — Ella Ruth Wilson Parrish, 85, died Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. Arrangements are by Eakes Funeral Home, Creedmoor.

Ella Ruth Wilson Parrish

STEM &mdash; Commissioners spent a significant amount of time during their Tuesday, Jan. 19, meeting discussing the need for residential clean-up throughout the town.
The board touched on the topic during its annual retreat earlier this month, deciding the town may send a courtesy letter to homes with exteriors most in need of tidying up.
At Tuesday&rsquo;s meeting, Mayor Casey Dover said he would rather have face-to-face conversations with these residents and follow up with a letter if needed.
&ldquo;If we are going to push Stem to the next level, then this is something we have to take care of now,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I am sure I will not be the most popular person, but we have to address these issues.&rdquo;
Commissioner Kevin Easter asked if there could be a courtesy letter to address animal control issues as well. He said he is concerned about animals roaming freely around Stem.
&ldquo;We want the residents to be engaged with the issues and be a part of the solution,&rdquo; Easter said.
Easter said he had been in contact with one property owner, who assured him a clean-up effort would take place within the next two weeks.
Commissioners David Pavlus, Frank Shelton and Easter said they would be willing to volunteer to help with the clean-up process. The board also discussed reaching out to local organizations to see if assistance was available to help the residents.
Commissioners Tuesday also passed a resolution formally supporting the town&rsquo;s bid to get a second seat on the South Granville Water and Sewer Authority board of directors. To be approved, the Butner Town Council and the Granville County Board of Commissioners must still agree.
Stem commissioners then approved allocating $7,500 in Stem&rsquo;s 2021-22 parks and recreation budget for the development of trails in southern Granville County. Tar River Land Conservancy is spearheading a project to increase the number of trails in the county.
In other business the board members gave updates on several ongoing projects, including efforts to launch a town newsletter, website and meeting video streaming service; guidelines for use of town property adjacent to the mercantile building; and a grant for town sidewalks.
The board&rsquo;s next work session is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 1.

Stem commissioners: Clean up outside your homes

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OXFORD &mdash; County commissioners worked through an agenda Jan. 19 that included a number of appointments to committees and boards.
Commissioners also approved the design service agreement for the interior renovations and alterations for the former sheriff&rsquo;s office on Williamsboro Street in Oxford. The renovations are needed to move the Department of Social Services child support service office into the repurposed building.
There could be more small changes to the county manager&rsquo;s administrative space there to accommodate the move of the Register of Deeds. The county may also convert an empty evidence room into an administrative training room.
There is funding up to $25,000 available in the existing budget for this project. Commissioners awarded a $21,150 design service agreement to Stephen Baxter Architect for the project.
The board accepted the 2020 comprehensive annual financial report with one correction to the debt service information.
Commissioners then denied the late application for property tax exemption by the Methodist Home for Children. The deadline for the application was Jan. 30 last year; the application was not filed until May 8.
Commissioners approved the following appointments to boards and committees:
Adult Care Home Community Advisory Committee &mdash; reappointed Delores Lyons and Vernestine Bannerman.
Agricultural Advisory Board &mdash; reappointed Jimmy Crews and Steve Hicks.
Butner Board of Adjustment, extra territorial jurisdiction representatives &mdash; reappointed Mike Arrington and Mark Pennington.
Human Relations Commission &mdash; appointed Jacob Moore and Kechia Brustmeyer-Brown and reappointed Mary Cordrey.
Economic Development Advisory Board &mdash; appointed John Martin.
Library System Board of Trustees&nbsp; &mdash; reappointed Karen Alley.
Orange Street Community Center Board of Trustees &mdash; no appointment; position remains open.
Senior Services Advisory Committee &mdash; appointed Kathy Wolford and reappointed Betty Crews, Laverta Cooper, Bonnie Breedlove and Shirley Daniel Watson.
Veteran Affairs Committee &mdash; reappointed Michael K. Allen, Michael Turner, Michael Scott, Lynette Breisacher, Judy Smith and Anne Williams. One position was not filled.
The board will meet again at 7 p.m. on Feb. 1

Granville commissioners approve design costs, fill vacant advisory posts

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CREEDMOOR &mdash; Police are investigating after a man broke into the Lucky Den Convenience Store early Saturday morning and stole cigarettes, and a man broke into the store early Wednesday to steal from the poker machines.&nbsp;
The store is at 705 N. Durham Ave. The security alarm activated both times, and police reached the scene within minutes, but after the perpetrators had fled, according to a press release.&nbsp;
The Creedmoor Police Department said the alarm activated first at 2:25 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 16.&nbsp;
Security video showed a large-framed man broke a front window to enter. Police said the man was wearing a dark hoodie, pants, gloves and mask, slip-on shoes and a black or gray backpack.&nbsp;
<iframe width="100%" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_Hadi5eFzeA" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
The burglar walked to the cigarette section and stole several packs of Newports, the release said. He left the store in under a minute, before police arrived.&nbsp;
The store was broken into again at 3:07 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 20. This time, security video showed what police described as a thin-framed man wearing a dark sweatshirt, pants and gloves and a red bandana over his face. He also wore white and black Nike Air Jordans.&nbsp;
This burglar walked directly to the four electronic poker machines and used a black crowbar to pry them open. He took cash from the machines and left in less than a minute.&nbsp;
Both burglars were seen leaving in a dark 2010-2016 Nissan Murano, the release said.&nbsp;
Police released security footage from Wednesday&rsquo;s break-in, showing a man throw something through the front window to gain entry and leaving through the same window.&nbsp;
Anyone with information on either case is asked to call police at 919-528-1515 or Granville County Crime Stoppers at 919-693-3100.
A reward of up to $1,000 may be given for information that leads to an arrest and conviction. Callers can remain anonymous.&nbsp;

Ella Ruth Wilson Parrish

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