The City of Burlington IT staff reported to the City Council at their March 1st, 2010 work session on the Google ultra high speed Fiber to The Home (FTTH) project. After extensive review staff reported to City Council that while it could be very beneficial for a city such as Burlington to be chosen by Google for their pilot program to provide high speed fiber to homes, Google was apparently looking for a high-tech medical, research, and educational community in which they could demonstrate and showcase this high speed infrastructure to the world. Ultra high speed fiber networks operate at speeds approximately 200 times faster than today’s broadband internet connections, reported Rodger Burden, the City’s IT director.

Burden explained that there were many unknowns at this point, including cost, required City staffing, and what Google might expect from the chosen municipality. He further explained that “electric cities” where poles are owned by the municipality have a distinct advantage over non-electric cities like Burlington where the poles are owned by utility companies (such as Duke Energy and AT&T)and where Google would need to negotiate annual rental space for fiber on every pole in the City with these companies. This cost could, he explained, could be significant.

In light of the type of community Google is apparently searching for and the apparent high annual cost to operate a FTTH network in Burlington staff recommended that the City not file an application.

Burlington Animal Services will host a Rabies Clinic on Saturday, March 13 from 9 AM to 11 AM at the Pet Adoption Center. Dogs must be on leash and cats in carriers. The shot will cost $5.00.

The Pet Adoption Center is located at 221 Stone Quarry Rd in Haw River. Call 578-0343 with additional questions.

It is North Carolina law to have a current rabies vaccine and it is the only way to protect your pet from this fatal virus.

The City of Burlington today announced the release of the Citizen Request Tracker™ (CRT) application for the iPhone and iPod Touch. This app works in conjunction with the Burlington’s online Connecting Burlington Communities (CBC) Request Tracker system to allow citizens to report issues on the go. The app is now available for free to all residents at the iTunes App Store.

The Citizen Request Tracker app gives City of Burlington residents the same citizen-power to report civic issues that were previously available only in large metropolitan areas such as New York City and Boston.

However, unlike New York City’s and Boston’s iPhone apps, the Citizen Request Tracker app will work nationwide and is linkable on the go to any CivicPlus client.

When a citizen observes a non-emergency issue, they access the app, designate the City of Burlington as their default location, add an optional description, insert a photo and then submit the issue. Using the iPhone’s GPS technology, the application automatically pinpoints the address of the issue to improve the speed and efficiency of the Burlington officials’ response.

Once submitted, the request is filtered through the City of Burlington’s integrated CBC Request Tracker™ system, where it is automatically routed to the appropriate personnel and tracked to maximize accountability. Once the request is received, the citizen receives a confirmation e-mail and can login to view the status of their request along with comments posted by City of Burlington staff.

The Citizen Request Tracker app is compatible with any iPhone or iPod Touch with operating system version 3.0. Visit the iTunes App Store to download the application. iTunes App Store

Governor Bev Perdue in conjunction with the National Weather Service and Department of Crime Control and Public Safety have declared February 28 - March 6 as severe weather awareness week for 2010.

All week long the national weather service will be issuing informative messages to help you prepare for severe weather. Each day will cover a different topic: Monday's topic will be severe thunderstorms, on Tuesday lightning, Wednesday tornadoes, Thursday flooding and Friday the alert process.

On Wednesday, March 3rd at 9:30 AM, the National Weather Service will issue a statewide tornado drill in the form of a required monthly test on all NOAA weather radios. The alarm test will also be carried by local radio broadcasters. This will allow schools, business, and residents the opportunity to practice their tornado drills and enact safety plans.

Given the recent active weather pattern this winter and chances for increased severe weather activity this spring, everyone across North Carolina should use this week to think about what to do when threatened by lightning, hail, flooding, and tornadoes.

Thunderstorms bring a variety of threats and knowing how to protect you and your family’s life is important. Use this week to discuss safety with your children and students. Talk about where to take shelter and practice taking refuge in that hall closet or bathroom. Setting aside a few moments this week to talk about severe weather safety with your family may one day save your life and theirs.

For more information, visit the Emergency Management Bulletin Board.

The foundation of our American democracy is dependent on fair and equitable representation in Congress. In order to achieve an accurate assessment of the number and location of the people living within the nation’s borders, the U.S. Constitution mandates a census of the population every 10 years.

The census population totals determine which states gain or lose representation in Congress. It also determines the amount of state and federal funding communities receive over the course of the decade. 2010 Census data will directly affect how more than $4 trillion is allocated to local, state and tribal governments over the next 10 years. In order for this funding allocation to be accomplished fairly and accurately, the goal of the decennial census is to count everybody, count them only once, and count them in the right place. The facts gathered in the census also help shape decisions for the rest of the decade about public health, neighborhood improvements, transportation, education, senior services and much more.

Reaching an Increasingly Diverse Population
The goal of the 2010 Census is to count all residents living in the United States on April 1, 2010. The U.S. Census Bureau does not ask about the legal status of respondents in any of its surveys and census programs. To help ensure the nation’s increasingly diverse population can answer the questionnaire accurately and completely, about 13 million bilingual Spanish/English forms will be mailed to housing units in neighborhoods identified as requiring high levels of Spanish assistance. Additionally, questionnaires in Spanish, Chinese (Simplified), Korean, Vietnamese and Russian ? as well as language guides in 59 languages ? will be available on request.

Recruiting Census Workers
By 2010, there will be an estimated 310 million people residing in the United States. Counting each person is one of the largest operations the federal government undertakes. For example, the Census Bureau will recruit nearly 3.8 million applicants for 2010 Census field operations. Of these applicants, the Census Bureau will hire about 1.4 million temporary employees. Some of these employees will be using GPS-equipped hand-held computers to update maps and ensure there is an accurate address list for the mailing of the census questionnaires.

10 Questions, 10 Minutes to Complete
With one of the shortest questionnaires in history, the 2010 Census asks for name, gender, age, race, ethnicity, relationship, and whether you own or rent your home. It takes only about 10 minutes for the average household to complete. Questions about how we live as a nation ? our diversity, education, housing, jobs and more ? are now covered in the American Community Survey, which is conducted every year throughout the decade and replaces the Census 2000 long-form questionnaire.

Responses to the 2010 Census questionnaire are required by law. All responses are used for statistical purposes only, and all are strictly confidential.

For more information, visit the 2010 Census Web site at http://www.census.gov/2010.

Adult softball registration runs on Jan 25 though April 9.

- All Leagues first meeting is March 18 at 7pm at the Kernodle Senior Center;
- Second meeting for Men's & Women's Leagues is March 31 at 7 PM at the Kernodle Senior Center
- Second Meeting for Co-ed, One-Night Leagues and Friday Night Church at Kernodle Senior Center April 1st 7pm.

Practice can begin on March 22. Games begin on April 19.

Call Jessica at 222-5030 with any questions.