008 - Pointe at Lake Castleberry; Whitney Ludlow Part 1; 1968 Drought Averted

The Apex Roundup Podcast with Lance Olive

Episode #8 of the Apex Roundup Podcast. It’s the “Human Trafficking” special.

“Unbridled” deals with the recovery of victims of Human Trafficking through horsemanship

Intro In this episode, I’ve rounded up for you…

1. Part 1 of my interview with Whitney Ludlow, Human Trafficking Freedom Fighter,
2. Old News from the Western Wake Herald on August 15, 1968: Drought Averted!
3. Apex town council updates from the September 19th meeting.

All coming your way. Right now.

Welcome Jumping into podcasting with both boots, I’m Lance Olive, host of the Apex Roundup Podcast. I’m glad you’re here with me right now. My goal is to bring you the news of Apex that the print media no longer covers. The Apex Herald? They folded in 2013. The Southwest Wake insert to the News & Observer? They’ve gone foodie. It’s not even news. And even social media posts almost never present both sides of the story.

That’s why I’m here. Thirty minutes, twice a month, I round up the stories, the decisions and the opinions, and I share ’em with you.

You can follow me on Twitter, Facebook, iTunes and Google. Just search for Apex Roundup with Lance Olive.

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Council Updates Bam! Let’s get started, shall we?

The Apex Town Council met Tuesday, September 19th, at 7:00pm to hold it’s second regularly scheduled meeting of the month at town hall. Council Member Jensen was absent, leaving a quorum comprised of four members. On the agenda we had no presentations, 12 items on consent, 7 public hearings and 2 other items scheduled.

We moved Public Hearing #5 to the top of the list because the applicant requested it to be heard at the October 3rd meeting. The council voted unanimously to continue the public hearing as requested. You will be able to find the outcome in episode 009 of the Apex Roundup podcast.

Public Hearing #1 was a rezoning case (#17CZ12) to change 1.26 acres from Rural Residential to Neighborhood Business Conditional Zoning. Alemfeb Woreta and Cash for Houses LLC want to put a small restaurant business there on E Williams St, in the historic unincorporated Feltonsville community. The council approved it by a vote of 3-1, with Council Member Dozier voting against, with no further comment.

Public Hearing #2 was a rezoning case (#17CZ17) to rezone 7 acres from Medium Density Residential to Planned Unit Development Conditional Zoning. The project will have less than 40 dwelling units and tie into the townhouse neighborhood of Salem Creek. I’ve placed a photo of the location map in the show notes, which you can find at apex roundup dot com slash 008. The planning staff recommended approval and the planning board unanimously recommended approval. Two residents of Sugarland Run spoke in opposition expressing concerns over the building height, which the applicant reduced to 40 feet, and the unclear locations of the homes. The rezoning was approved by a vote of 3-2.

Public Hearings #3 and #4 were annexation #611 and rezoning case (#17CZ22) for Alonzo Wilson’s properties totaling 5.5 acres on New Hill Holleman Rd. The proposed zoning is Medium Density Conditional Zoning. No one spoke in opposition. The measure passed with a vote of 4-0. Note that this property is adjacent to the Public Hearings #1 and #2 from the last meeting. You can go back and learn about that one in episode 7 of the podcast by going to apex roundup dot com slash 007.

Public Hearing #6 was for the closure of road right of way (ROW) of the old section of Technology Drive near the EMC/Dell building (formerly known as Data General in the ’80s and ’90s. The closure was approved unanimously.

Public Hearing #7 contained two UDO amendments related to parking and parking lot standards. It exempts light industrial and Tech Flex sites from having 50% of the parking in the side or rear of the property. The changes were approved unanimously.

That concluded the public hearings.

We had one new business item #1 to approve The Point at Lake Castleberry Master Subdivision Plan on Wimberly Road and Green Level West Road, comprised of 35 acres and 47 homes, next to the American Tobacco Trail. It passed unanimously.

The council went to closed session at 8:15 pm for two matters and adjourned around 8:50pm.

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Disclaimer The content of this podcast is proudly produced in Apex, North Carolina. By listening to it, you agree to hold me harmless for anything I say here. Although I am indeed the mayor, the opinions expressed by me are my own. All information shared on this podcast is already public record. This podcast is a private venture and no public or campaign money was used in its production. Make decisions by doing your own research, because I’m just here for your entertainment. One lawyer watched enviously as I wrote this disclaimer.

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Interview In this episode I begin my interview with Whitney Ludlow, Apex resident and warrior against Human Trafficking, as we introduce Freedom Week in Apex, which will be in the first week of October.

Whitney Ludlow is combatting human trafficking by raising awareness in Apex

Synopsis Whitney is from an Army family, moving across the country, through Kentucky, and ending up in North Carolina. She studied social work at Appalachian State University. She, and friend, Nicole Bernard, of the International Justice Mission, became determined to help create awareness in our community. Human Trafficking is the transporting of individuals against their will for the use of commercial sex and/or forced labor. Pimps sometimes feel comfortable being in public with their victim because the victim has become psychologically dependent upon their pimp.

If you see something, contact the Apex Police Department (Web, Twitter, Facebook) so they can follow up.

Facebook: Apex Freedom Week Event is coming the first week of October. Twitter: @apex_freedom

Oct 1: Kick-off in front of Apex Police Department, 2-4pm, Saunders St, Apex. Oct 3: Apex Night Out, giving out the hotline number. Oct 4: Labor trafficking expert, Nancy Hagan, and Mike Longmeyer, provide a free session on Labor Trafficking 101 Oct 6: “Unbridled” public film showing. Story of “Sarah”, whose mother’s boyfriend uses her as a commodity to win business deals. She searches for healing at a ranch, where she meets Dreamer, a horse who also has scars from past abuse.

That was the first part of my interview with Whitney Ludlow, Apex resident and Human Trafficking warrior. Part 2 will be made available in episode 9.

And before I conclude this segment, I’d like to recommend that Apex citizens participate in Apex Freedom Week during the first week of October. Round it off with the movie “Unbridled“, produced, directed and filmed in Wake County, including a scene in the Apex police station. Come to the events to learn how easy it is to help our police shut down human trafficking in Apex.

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C-Block In the Old News segment of the podcast I have a couple of articles from the August 15, 1968 edition of the Western Wake Herald, formerly known as the Apex News Herald and Cary Enterprise. The main article is entitled “New Water Line From Cary Relieves Shortage in Apex” and addresses the near disastrous drought the town experienced in the summer where they almost completely ran out of water. The article reads as follows:

The water shortage in Apex was relieved Tuesday afternoon when water began flowing from a new line tied into the Cary system. As soon as the 500,000 gallon storage tank at the Apex water plant was filled, to make sure the system was in good working order, the restrictions placed on the usage of water was lifted.

The new six inch main can deliver up to 600,000 gallons of water per day, said Public Works Director, David Olive. The line was installed last weekend by town employees through the wooded area which separates Cary and Apex between the water plant and McGregor Downs. Approximately 4000 feet of irrigation pipe was borrowed from the Town of Henderson to make the connection between the two water systems.

The restrictions that made car washings, watering lawns, or the use of water for air conditioning systems that did not recover its water illegal was put into effect last week when engineers estimated the town had only a 2 to 3 day water supply left in the raw water reservoir due to the prolonged drought in the area. Where neighboring towns had good rainfalls over the weekend, Apex only received a sprinkling.

The town had just finished a $125,000 expansion of the reservoir system, but it was not completed in time to catch any of the spring rains that normally fill the pond. Mayor Bob Barker said the pipe line to Cary would probably remain intact until the fall sometime, but water would be purchased from Cary only a need bases [sic].

The water level in the pond become so low that the lowest intake line into the processing plant would not pull in enough water to operate the system and an irrigation pump had to be put into service to pump the water into the plant.

I have placed the pictures from the newspaper in the show notes at www dot apex roundup dot com slash 008.

A final article I have to share with you demonstrates how nearly all business was downtown in the 1960s. The short article entitled, “Stores to Close Wednesday Afternoon” reads like this:

Apex merchants will continue closing their businesses at 1 p.m. each Wednesday afternoon, announced Sherrill Brinkley, Chairman of the Merchants Committee of the Apex Chamber of Commerce. Brinkley said a survey was made of Apex merchants and the majority favor closing each Wednesday afternoon, January through Thanksgiving.

As a kid, I remember the downtown being dead on Wednesdays after I got out of school. The Pope’s “five and dime” store, where All Booked Up is now, was a favorite place to spend my leftover nickels, but I suppose they only found it profitable to stay open on Wednesdays during the Christmas shopping season. Things will be much busier when Christmas on Salem Street rolls around this December.

And that’s the Old News from The Western Wake Herald, August 15, 1968.

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Wrap Hey! Thanks for joining me today for the eighth episode of the Apex Roundup Podcast.

Today I brought you updates from the September 19th Apex Town Council meeting, including the Pointe at Castleberry Lake proposal. You got to hear the first half of my interview with Whitney Ludlow. And I shared a Drought Averted! article from August 15, 1968 of the Western Wake Herald. If you want to review the show notes for this episode, point your web browser to apex roundup dot com slash 008 and you’ll be able to scroll down to read this entire episode.

Next episode I’ll be share the happenings of the Apex town council meeting for October 3rd. I’ll also have the second half of my interview with Freedom Fighter, Whitney Ludlow, who is fighting Human Trafficking. So subscribe to the podcast and make sure you don’t miss it.

You can find this podcast on the web at Apex Roundup dot com and subscribe in iTunes and Google Play. Follow me on Twitter and Facebook (@apexroundup)

Hey. What’s on YOUR mind? Do you have an opinion to share? Got any questions related to Apex? Go to Apex Roundup dot com slash contact and you can find multiple ways to get in touch with me.

I’m so glad you listened all the way to the end with me today. Until the next roundup… Happy Trails!