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Community Corner

🌱 Program to Curb Gun Violence + Armed Robberies + Fire Warnings

Your five-minute guide to everything worth knowing in town today.

Christina Fullford's profile picture
Christina Fullford, Neighbor
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(Patch Media)

Happy National Reptile Day Durham!

First, today's weather:

Breezy in the afternoon. High: 78 Low: 62.

Here are the top stories in Durham today:

  1. Former gang member David Johnson is helping lead the charge to reduce gun violence in Durham. The Bull City United (BCU) program will celebrate its 5th anniversary next month, and on October 30 the City Council will receive its first quarterly report after voting to expand the program back in January. The "CeaseFire" model that the BCU program is based around uses strategies more commonly associated with disease control, treating it as a public health crisis. (INDY Week)
  2. Pediatrics offices in Durham County are primed to be a part of "Wave 1" in the state's effort to vaccinate children age 5-11 against coronavirus. More than 230 providers across the state received notices on Tuesday asking if they would like to take part in the immunizations. If the emergency authorization is approved in the next few weeks, DHHS officials say North Carolina providers could begin giving shots shortly after November 3. (WRAL)
  3. Police are looking for a gunman that is believed to be linked to two business robberies on Monday. According to officials, in both instances the clerks were forced to lie on the ground at gunpoint. The two robberies were around 9 hours apart at a Cricket Wireless store and a BP gas station. No one was injured and anyone with information is asked to contact the Durham County Sheriff's Office Tip Line or Durham Crimestoppers. (CBS17)
  4. Officials are warning to avoid using the stovetop if you are sleepy or have consumed alcohol after an apartment fire on Tuesday night. Firefighters believe that an unattended hot stove caused the fire, and although it was extinguished by the sprinkler system, they rescued one resident from a smoke-filled apartment. (WRAL, CBS17)
  5. A controversial change takes place in all North Carolina state prisons this week. Offenders will now receive printouts of digitally scanned mail. According to the department, mailroom staff confiscated 568 items of drugs and contraband in a year and this move protects them. Wanda Bertram of Prison Policy Initiative says that "people in prison depend on being able to hold and feel and smell a letter from their loved one to feel close to people they know on the outside. (Blue Ridge Public Radio)

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Today in Durham:

Durham Patch Notebook

  • Celebrate National Reptile Day/National Reptile Awareness Day by brushing up on some of the amazing reptiles that live among us in Durham via the Carolina Herp Atlas!
  • Best Of The Bull is giving away 2 tickets to the Drink Durham Festival that's happening October 30. Deadline to enter is 10/22 at midnight. (Instagram)
  • Golftec has announced it will be opening a new instruction and club fitting center in Durham! (GlobeNewswire)

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Now you're in the loop and ready to start this Thursday. See you all tomorrow for another update! If you're into these newsletters, consider bringing some of your friends and neighbors into the fold. You can send them this link to subscribe.

— CJ Fullford

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Durham Daily? You can contact me at durham-nc@patch.com.

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

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