Durham, NC – The Durham Board of County Commissioners met at 7 p.m. on Monday, January 14, 2013, and considered an agenda that included the following highlights:

Chairman Fred Foster, Jr. led the Board of County Commissioners in extending congratulations to Ms. Alice Sharpe, winner of the Downtown Durham, Inc. “2012 Downtown Visionary Award”. Sharpe, who is Development Officer for the Durham County Library, received the award at the group’s annual meeting on December 7. She is hailed as a leader in downtown’s renaissance and has been a highly visible presence living, working, playing and volunteering in downtown Durham.

The Board of County Commissioners approved a resolution supporting efforts by the state and federal government to use a common sense approach to make it harder for dangerous people to purchase high powered guns and ammunition, to increase universal background checks for purchasers, to keep guns and ammunition separate and locked away from children, and to ensure that persons with a history of serious mental illness be banned from buying guns.

Durham County Commissioners acknowledged the receipt of an award from the Regional Transportation Alliance for “Embracing a Regional Transportation Future”. The award was presented on December 6 for Durham County’s contributions to improving transportation in the region with its support of a transit tax that will help provide enhanced bus service in the short term and regional rail service in the future.

Nina Bullock, Campaign Chair for County Cares presented results of the 2012 County Cares Campaign. This annual employee giving campaign raised $76.969.00 for the following organizations: Durham Rescue Mission, John Avery Boys and Girls Club, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, United Way of the Greater Triangle and Urban Ministries of Durham. The Board thanked Ms. Bullock for her leadership.

Durham County Commissioners recognized several public health employees for recent awards in their professional organizations:

• Bob Jordan, Onsite Water Protection Supervisor, received the Steve Steinbeck Award at the North Carolina On-Site Wastewater Training Academy’s annual conference. The Award is named for the retired North Carolina State University faculty member who was noted for cutting edge research in the on-site wastewater field.

• Ann Milligan-Barnes, RN, nurse coordinator of the Department of Public Health's CenteringPregnancy® program, was recently honored as one of The Great 100 Nurses in North Carolina by The Great 100, Inc. RN Nursing Excellence Organization of North Carolina for 2011-2012.


• Public Health Director Gayle Harris was profiled in the “Tar Heel Footprints in Health Care” feature of the September/October issue of the North Carolina Medical Journal, for her tireless efforts to address the social determinants of health throughout Durham. Ms. Harris also received the “Legacy Award” from the Auxiliary to the Durham Academy of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacy.

• The Department’ Dental Division received a Local Health Department Special Recognition Award from the North Carolina GlaxoSmithKline Foundation. The award was presented during the North Carolina Public Health Association’s annual meeting for their work to increase access to dental care for disadvantaged children throughout Durham.


• The Department’s Nutrition Division Junior Iron Chef Durham program received the Sparkle Award from the NC Public Health Association Wellness and Prevention section. Leaders are Kelly Warnock Christy O’Connor, and Heidi Schoepper.

• The Communicable Disease Program received an “EXTRA EFFORT AWARD” from the State Communicable Disease Branch. The credit for this award goes to the entire communicable disease staff, and especially to Hattie Wood, RN, MSN, MHA, Community Health Division Director and Director of Nursing.

The Board of County Commissioners approved a recommended name change of Durham Regional Hospital to Duke Regional Hospital.

The Board of County Commissioners approved a 2007 General Obligation Bond Change Resolution and Capital Project Amendment for Durham Public Schools moving $31,581,667 from one project to fund 36 projects for DPS.

The next regular session of the Durham Board of Commissioners will be held on Monday, January 28 at 7:00pm.

To view the agenda and recording of the BOCC Regular Session Meeting, visit the BOCC’s Web site. For more information about BOCC meetings, contact the Clerk to the Board's Office at 919-560-0025 or email clerk@dconc.gov.