Bulletin Board

Some Online Services Unavailable this Weekend

Planning to work this weekend or log in from home? MyPack Portal, WolfWise and other online services will be unavailable during emergency maintenance.

Shutdown procedures will begin as early as Friday night, July 17, but the majority of outages will occur at about 6 p.m. on Saturday, July 18. Service should be restored by 7 p.m. on Sunday, July 19. For updates on the progress, check http://sysnews.ncsu.edu/.

The emergency maintenance will protect NC State from losing access to a large number of systems and applications during an extended power outage. Here's a partial list of services that will be affected:

• The MyPack Portal and associated services, including course registration, housing, payroll and leave
• The WolfWise e-mail and calendar system, which will be degraded and suffer a brief outage
• Some Unity/Cyrus IMAP servers (Mail sent to these servers will be held and delivered later.)
• Some AFS file servers
• Some campus Web pages and sites other than the NC State home page

Pack the Park Night

NC State employees, alumni and students will receive $5 box seats and food and beverage discounts from the Carolina Mudcats during Pack the Park Night on Thursday, July 30. Tickets can be purchased online at carolinamudcats.com.by using the special password PACK!

Faculty and staff can receive $5 tickets for all Friday, Saturday and Sunday games when purchased online. The WolfPerks offer is good for box seats (200 level seats). A seating chart and schedule are available online. To access discounted tickets, enter the password PERK!

Green Design’s Effect on Building Codes

Design professionals and students can learn more about green design’s effect on building codes July 31 on Centennial Campus.

Two NC State faculty members will be part of a panel discussion from noon to 1 p.m. in College of Textiles building III, Room 2309, on Centennial Campus. Networking begins at 11:30. Sean Vance, extension assistant professor of architecture with the Center for Universal Design, and Andy Cole, architect for NC State’s Green Square Project, will speak and take questions from the audience, along with Lisa Feldman of Caragreen.

Admission is $5 for members and student members of the International Interior Design Association’s Carolinas Chapter. Nonmembers pay $15. To register, RSVP to iida.nctriangle@gmail.com by July 17.

Become a Greek Advisor

If you have ever wanted to become more involved with students across campus and support their academic success, here is where you can help. Greek Life will be hosting an informational meeting/training for faculty or staff members who may be interested in serving as a faculty advisor  to one of NC State’s fraternities or sororities. The meeting will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 3, at the ES King Village Commons. Lunch will be provided. Attending the meeting does not commit you to volunteering.

Faculty advisors of Greek organizations provide a vital link between the students and faculty, and their relationship often bridges the gap between classroom and out-of-classroom activities.

Space is limited so please RSVP to Mitzi Horton at Mitzi_Horton@ncsu.edu or 513-2910.

Dr. Art Bruneau will be honored Aug. 12 for contributions as a turfgrass researcher and educator.

Special Events for Bruneau at Turf Field Day

Special events honoring Dr. Art Bruneau, emeritus professor of crop science, will be part of 2009 Turfgrass Field Day on Aug. 12 at the Lake Wheeler Turfgrass Field Lab.

The morning will be devoted to field tours with updates on university turfgrass research. Bruneau, an NC State researcher and educator for 26 years, will be formally recognized for his contributions following welcome remarks at 8:30 a.m.

After a putting contest and lunch, an Art Bruneau Golf Tournament is planned at the Lonnie Pool Golf Course, followed at 4:30 p.m. by an “Art Roast” and dinner at the golf course. Proceeds from the events will benefit scholarships and research.

For more information about the events, contact Emily Erickson with the Department of Crop Science at 919.513.2034 or emily_erickson@ncsu.edu.

Accessibility Map Online

NC State’s accessibility map can help you locate information about handicapped accessibility for campus buildings and sports venues, as well as parking, transportation and safety escorts. An updated version of NC State’s University Mobility Access Map is online at http://www.ncsu.edu/facilities/accessmap/proj-accessmap.htm

Parking Updates

The Dan Allen Deck, which has been closed for construction on the first level, will reopen Monday, July 20. Paid parking in the Coliseum Deck is available until the project is complete. For more info, contact Gary Bridges, transportation facilities manager, at gary_bridges@ncsu.edu.

Through Friday, Aug. 7, B, C and U permit-holders may flow into student parking areas (DE, DW zones). Sign changes will be taking place in late July or early August renaming student parking zones RE/RW. Note: DW parking in the Bragaw lot and DE parking in the North Hall lot will not be available due to the Hillsborough Street Roundabout project.

A limited number of summer B permits are available for sale to full-time, permanent current C/DC permit-holders for $25. Come to the transportation office, 2721 Sullivan Drive, to purchase a summer B permit. No gate cards will be issued; access via the Stinson Road visitor information booth. 

Depending on space availability after the final SAS Hall move-in, some B permits may be offered from the B waiting list. Permanent B permits are not likely to be offered until fall parking trends are established in mid-September. Contact David Gregory, parking services manager, david_gregory@ncsu.edu to have your name placed on the B waiting list.

Extension centers statewide are offering canning classes in response to a renewed interest in home food preservation.

Home Canning Workshops

About 20 percent of the questions for Dr. Ben Chapman, food safety extension specialist, are about home food preservation. He attributes the growing interest to three factors: a bad economy that has consumers looking for ways to save money, a rising number of home gardeners who want to preserve what they grow and increased support for buying locally grown produce.

Earlier this year, Chapman led a home food preservation workshop for Extension agents, some of whom had never taught canning before. Many of those agents are offering community sessions on canning.

Cabarrus County scheduled nine workshops, up from the usual four, and all filled quickly. Several television news groups taped the sessions to use as on-air instructional pieces. Five workshops will be offered in Lee County, including one on canning green beans and two on canning tomatoes. In Buncombe County, workshops will cover the basics of making strawberry jam, dill pickles, relish and tomatoes.

“The resurgence of local foods and home food preservation is good news for both the health of North Carolinians, and the economic health of the state,” Chapman said. “However, there are areas of potential concern related to food safety.”

In addition to classes, many extension centers have equipment to check gauges on pressure canners.

Locate your county extension center:
https://cms.ncsu.edu/cms/entity/www.ces.ncsu.edu/index.php?page=countycenters

Online canning information:
http://www.homefoodpreservation.ncsu.edu

Motorcycle/Car Permits

Employees who drive both a car and a motorcycle and participate in monthly payroll deduction for permits need to come to the Transportation Office at 2721 Sullivan Drive to purchase a 2009-2010 motorcycle permit for $5.

Motorcycle riding employees who do not participate in payroll deduction for permits also need to come to the Transportation Office to purchase a $60 permit for the upcoming academic year.

Questions? Contact David Gregory, parking services manager, at david_gregory@ncsu.edu.

Hillsborough Street Roundabout Project

Construction work on Pullen Road approaching Hillsborough Street may require detours around the Belltower along Watauga Club Drive. Traffic delays are also expected between Oberlin Road and Enterprise Street due to intense construction in the area. The following projects are under way:

• Electrical utility work by Progress Energy at Gardner Street
• Installation of water lines, sewer lines, and utility duct bank on the south side of Hillsborough Street starting at Tompkins Hall and heading west towards Logan Avenue and Chamberlain Street
• Installation of water lines and grading on Ferndell Lane
• Installation of conduit on the south side of Hillsborough at Enterprise Street and heading west
• Installation of conduit on the south side of Hillsborough near Pullen Road
• Construction of the brick walls at the Hillsborough entrance to Pullen Park and near Wardlaw Building
• Paving on the Pullen Road extension between Oberlin Road and Hillsborough/Pullen intersection
• Installation of light pole bases and brick pavers on the south side of Hillsborough between Oberlin and Pullen
• Grading and preparation of various sites for future construction activities

Hillsborough Street will remain open throughout the project, which has an estimated completion date of September 2010. Wolfline buses will continue to service Hillsborough Street, but may encounter detours and delays during utility work.

For more information visit http://www.hillsboroughstreet.org/ or http://www.raleigh-nc.org/ (search Hillsborough Roundabout). This is a city of Raleigh project; NC State's construction liaison is Cameron Smith, cameron_smith@ncsu.edu.

Transportation-related questions? Contact Ryan Givens, ryan_givens@ncsu.edu.

Alert the Media

Something happening in your department or office? Share it with the rest of the NC State community by alerting the Bulletin. Our crack team of cub reporters is waiting for your news and events. Send your info to the Bulletin at bulletin@ncsu.edu.