But thanks to a nationwide essay contest, one driver in Orange County recently learned he's made quite an impression on a certain fourth grader at New Hope Elementary.

"My bus driver, Mr. Sam McBroom, is the best because he's always in a good mood even when children break the rules. He's been the best bus driver that I could ever imagine, since I moved to North Carolina. This year Mr. Sam was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. He didn't want to miss driving the bus so he takes his treatments every other Friday. That way he'll be sick on the weekends and not when he's supposed to be driving the bus. He's awesome."

That was the essay Chase Kimball submitted after hearing about the Thomas Built Buses' Driver of the Year essay contest in school.

Earning second place in the national contest, McBroom never imagined the impact he might have on the kids he's shuttled back and forth until now.

"You never know each day that goes by that someone is watching us. And when someone is watching, sometimes we make a difference in their lives and sometimes we don't even know it," said McBroom.

Mr. Sam tells us he's won Orange County's School Bus Driver of the Year two years in a row, but says this latest honor is something special.

"It's an honor for me to know that a young child is noticing that I'm doing something right," said McBroom.

In addition to winning runner up in the Driver of the Year contest, last month the Orange County School Board also recognized driver Sam McBroom.

Read Full Story

This area is consistently ranked as the top congested location in the region and the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization is hosting a public workshop to address the problem.

The meeting will be held at the William and Ida Friday Center for the Continuing Education in Chapel Hill from 5-8 p.m. Wednesday.

Read More On The NC 54/I-40 Study Here

Tuesday night, Orange County commissioners approved a request from Orange EMS to move one of its ambulance units to a new location on Revere Road, which is also the county's former animal services building.

Frank Montes de Oca, Orange County EMS Director, said the current location on New Hope Road has experienced a lot of wear and tear over the years and the new location would better serve the northern part of Orange County, which has a higher call volume.

Montes de Oca said the move will cut down response times by at least two minutes.

"When you get more traumatized patients that really need to have some intensive care from our paramedics then two minutes can mean the differenec between life and death," said Montes de Oca.

He said he hopes to have the ambulance operating out of the new location by January 2010.

Charlie Kernodle, of the Personal Defense and Handgun Safety Center, says the latter really doesn't surprise him.

"More and more people now are learning how to shoot; a lot of couples learn to shoot," he said. "A lot of 40, 50 and 60 year-olds who have never fired weapons are coming in to take lessons."

"I would say that's probably tripled. One of the other instructors would do as many as 15 to 30 people in one week that are new to shooting."

According to the Wall Street Journal, gun sales were up earlier in the year: 27 percent for the first few months compared to the same time the year before. It meant 4 million background checks, which is one of the best measures of gun sales, according to the journal.

Kernodle said gift cards are popular here at the center; that giving a gun blindly for Christmas is not the best idea.

"You need to know how to use that particular gun," he said. "People should look at it as a sport. If you've never fired a gun before - to some people - it can be sort of frightening."

Jenny Jump came here to the center to fire a weapon for the third time. She doesn't want to own one. But she said she wants to protect herself by knowing how they work.

"The majority of things go wrong when you don't know what to do," Jump said.
"Even those who don't want a gun - too many safety issues for children or whatever - at least become knowledgeable as to how to operate one. So if one is ever in your distance, you're going to know. It's something worth taking the time if it's going to save your life."

Click here to read more about what people want this Christmas.

A total of 26 jump rope athletes from around the Triangle have been selected to be part of a nationwide team that will jump their way down the famous parade route.

The local team consists of 23 SuperSkippers from Cary, two from Tri-Force Jump of Cary and one from Skipsations! of Chapel Hill.

Coaches said team members have been practicing the routine around the clock and are working to build strength and stamina to jump the distance.

Be sure to watch the 2009 Macy's Thanksgiving Parade on Thanksgiving Day on NBC17 at 9 a.m.

For more information on the teams, click on the links below.

http://www.superskippers.org/
http://www.triforcejr.com/
http://skipsations.org/

The University of North Carolina Wesley House, a Methodist student organization, is proposing the four story building to be located at the corner of West Rosemary and Church Street. The proposal includes demolishing three buildings to make way for the new one, which would include a grocery store and coffee shop plus Wesley programming and multi-faith space.

In addition, it would house more than 140 students.

"At this early stage, it's just alarming to think of 144 students overlooking my backyard," said Kim Hopping, Chapel Hill resident who lives near the site. "The density of this project is shocking."

Some town council members said the size of the project might be too big for the location.

No decision was made and there will be several public hearings in the coming months as the process moves forward.

Chapel Hill firefighters said in a press release that crews were called to the Rams Village Student Housing around 9:22 a.m. in reference to a fire.

When crews arrived, they reported smoke on the second floor of the multi-level building. The apartment resident told firefighters that a pot of oil had caught fire on the stove.

A sprinkler head extinguished the fire and student residents safely exited the dorm when the alarm activated.
The fire caused minor damage to the stove and cabinets as well as smoke and water damage.

Shortly after the dorm fire was reported, around 9:36 a.m., another fire alarm was received at the Hinton James Dormitory. Crews found a trash can had caught fire in the seventh floor "D" wing and had been extinguished upon arrival.

Ed Davis added a career-high 16 points for the Tar Heels (3-0), who didn't look sharp yet still earned their third straight double-digit victory to open the season. North Carolina led just 38-31 at halftime, but scored on 12 of 13 possessions to build a 24-point lead midway through the second half.

Yet the defending national champions had plenty of trouble putting away the Crusaders (0-2), who got as close as 84-75 on a 3-pointer from Brandon McPherson with 1:47 left.

North Carolina shot 56 percent for the game, but Valparaiso kept pace at 53 percent in the second half - including a 7-for-10 effort from 3-point range.

Brandon Wood scored a career-best 30 points and hit six of Valparaiso's 12 3-pointers, while McPherson finished with 20 points.

It was a performance that had to frustrate coach Roy Williams, particularly with his team preparing to open a tough stretch of the schedule that could include five games against ranked opponents. It begins with Thursday's game against No. 16 Ohio State in New York in the 2K Sports Classic, and includes a home game against No. 2 Michigan State in a rematch of last year's national championship game and a trip to No. 4 Kentucky.

North Carolina didn't show a huge sense of urgency, while Homer Drew's Valparaiso team wouldn't quit even as the Tar Heels ran out to a 67-43 lead with 11:55 to play. The Tar Heels committed 14 turnovers despite playing against a zone defense most of the game.

Larry Drew II had 13 points and six assists for the Tar Heels, while Tyler Zeller added 12 points off the bench.

The tuition hike at all 16 campuses are legislatively mandated so the revenues from the increase would flow directly into the state's general fund. They would not go towards the universities the way a campus-initiated tuition increase would.

Erskine Bowles, UNC System President, said he will propose an alternative plan to the General Assembly that would allow each university to use the money for themselves.

"I don't know if they'll approve it or not," said Bowles. "It will depend on the finances of the state when we get to that time."

Bowles will recommend at least half of new tuition revenues be earmarked for need-based financial aid, something every university has seen an increased demand for. At UNC-Chapel Hill, for example, it's up 23 percent.

"We're planning to use at least 50 percent of the money for need based aid and the other funds would go for the same purposes we normally use for tuition, (like) student retention and services." said Holden Thorp, UNC Chancellor.

But if the money goes into the state's general fund instead, it can be used for any purpose lawmakers deem necessary, not just for universities. That doesn't sit well with some students.

"I don't think my money should go to the state," said Lauren Mosteller, UNC Junior. "I'm not paying the state, I'm paying the university for my education so I feel like the money should directly benefit me and UNC in some way."

Bowles said if the UNC System doesn't get the money back, it could mean problems for some campuses who rely on funds from tuition and the General Assembly.

"That's the vast majority of funds and for some smaller campuses, it's about 90, 95, 99 percent in some cases because they don't have private donations," said Bowles.

What's next

Each university in the UNC System will turn in their tuition increase proposals by January 2010. The Board of Governors will then take a vote on whether to approve them. The General Assembly will have the final say when it reconvenes in May.

Read Full Story

According to a press release, OWASA reservoirs are 83 percent full, up from 67 percent full on Tuesday.

OWASA officials say University Lake is now full and the Cane Creek Reservoir, which is the primary water source, is about four feet below full. The water level rose almost three feet since Tuesday.

Rainfall totals at the Jones Ferry Road Water Treatment plant and Cane Creek Reservoir were 5.3 inches and 5.95 inches respectively.

Read Full Story

High water has been reported along creeks flowing into the Roanoke river in nourtheast Halifax county, Patch Rubber road in Weldon has been closed due to high water. Persistent rainfall into streams and saturated soils will continue the risk of flash flooding thorugh early afternoon.

A downed tree on Maynard Road and Ralph Drive in Cary caused two separate five-vehicle accidents Thursday morning, but the tree has since been cleared from the road.

NBC 17 Precision Traffic

Raleigh Police believe strong winds overnight knocked down telephone powerlines onto Corporation Parkway and New Bern Avenue in Raleigh, forcing police to close the road in that area.

A flood warning has been issued for the Neuse and Haw rivers. 

Rainfall totals, so far have been 4 to 5", more rain is expected this afternoon with another inch possible.  A Wind Advisory for wind with gusts up to 35 mph is in effect for the area until early Friday morning.  This will be strong enough to bring down some trees and possibly cause power outages.

Temperatures will hold in the 50s both Thursday and Friday.  Rain should let up Friday morning with light scattered rain and drizzle mainly in the morning, improving to sunshine and 70s for the weekend.

Get More Details On The Latest Forecast & Check Out Radar Here

Apartment dwellers on Dana Drive in Raleigh are keeping a wary eye on the water from Crabtree Creek that rushes past their homes.

“I’m concerned because I’ve been in two floods over here before,” said resident Abdul Abdarrahin.

Every 30 minutes Abdul says he checks the water level and if it reaches a tree near his apartment, he’s out of there.

“I’m waiting and when I see that water coming, I’ll stop, take our cars and go stay with friends or something,” he said.

On the other side of the apartment complex, one resident was less worried Wednesday night than she was Wednesday morning because the creek didn’t look as threatening as it did earlier.

“Our concern was little higher this morning as it was rising more and more,” explained Victoria Krantz. “But now, the water has defiantly gone down 6 to 12 inches.”

Meanwhile, the Army Corps of Engineers says the area's two major water supplies need this precipitation.

“Any rainfall in the Piedmont area will help our projects,” said Daniel Emerson, a hydrologic engineer with the Corps.

With Falls Lake three and a half feet below normal and with Jordan Lake two feet below where it needs to be, the Army Corps says it has plenty of room to take whatever amount of water is dumped into the watershed from this storm system.

“We have not increased discharges at Jordan or Falls Lake so no one has to worry about our contribution to any downstream flooding,” said Emerson.
Crabtree Valley Mall has blocked off parking areas prone to flooding, just in case.

In Chapel Hill, Bollin Creek along Estes Drive was filled to the brim by Wednesday afternoon. It's an area that floods easily, so officials will keep an eye on it.

The partnership will allow University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill professors and soldiers at the United States Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg to share information, research and expertise in national security issues.

The Army and the UNC will sign the partnership Thursday during the Board of Governors November meetings in Chapel Hill.

The Jesse Kalisher Gallery has raised thousands of dollars for the Fisher House Foundation in previous auctions. This year's auction is scheduled to begin on Thursday and ends on Nov. 22.

The picture of the president was acquired by the Smithsonian National Museum of American History Photography Department. It is valued at $3,000.

The Fisher House Foundation provides free housing for the families of military wounded within walking distance of military hospitals, uniting wounded soldiers with their loved ones during times of critical recovery and medical care.