The Orange County Health Department (OCHD) is pleased to announce the receipt of two awards during the 2023 North Carolina Public Health’s Association’s annual conference for the work of the Gateway Village Collaborative. Gateway Village is a 64-unit property in Hillsborough, NC. OCHD was awarded the NC GlaxoSmithKline Foundation Child Health Recognition Award, designated for local health departments that have innovative programs addressing health outcomes for children. It also won the Dr. Sarah Taylor Morrow Health Department of the Year award, given to health departments for outstanding programs and efforts.

The Gateway Collaborative is led by OCHD in collaboration Orange County Department of Social Services (DSS). The group is comprised of representatives from the Orange County Housing Department, New Hope Elementary School, the Town of Hillsborough, the Town of Hillsborough’s Office of Equity and Inclusion, and the Hillsborough Police Department. As a collaborative, the group is working to demonstrate recurring patterns that then serve as a guide to help make decisions based on specific themes of interest from the community.  The Gateway Village Collaborative is working to identify and improve metrics around housing stability, health outcomes, financial stability, tenant safety, access to services and education. 

The Southeast Recycling Development Council awarded Orange County Solid Waste the Public Recycling Champion Award for its Recycling Stars initiative. The program educates residents on the materials acceptable in curbside carts and which materials should be otherwise disposed of. The program has improved 59 percent of inspected curbside recycling carts to date. 

Don’t wait until December to pay your taxes this year. Take the stress out of paying taxes by setting up your tax payments online.

There are multiple convenient ways to pay. 

During the listening sessions, health department staff will share highlights from the recent Community Health Assessment Opinion survey and other information. Listening session attendees will have the opportunity to share comments and vote on health priority areas for the county.

The listening session dates, times, and locations are as follows:

A photo ID will be required. If you don't have a photo ID to vote, visit the Orange County Board of Elections at 208 S Cameron St., Hillsborough to get a free photo ID. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 7.

From October 19 through November 4, the Orange County Board of Elections is extending office hours through early voting to offer additional opportunities for voters to get a photo ID or return completed absentee ballots.

The LHA program helps eligible homeowners cover the Orange County portion of 2023 property taxes. All applications must be received by 5:00 PM on November 15 to allow time for processing. 

If you need assistance completing the application, please contact the Orange County Housing Helpline at 919-245-2655 or HousingHelp@orangecountync.gov. Visit: www.orangecountync.gov/LHAP

PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY:

Orange County Public Library has partnered with Prison Books Collective and local bookstores to provide books to people who are incarcerated. Now through December stop by the Main Library in Hillsborough to get an ornament off of the Giving Tree.

Each ornament contains information about a specific book you can purchase to donate that has been requested by an incarcerated person and approved by the facility where they live. The books can be purchased anywhere, but we encourage you to purchase from local bookstores. Purple Crow Books in Hillsborough and FlyLeaf Books in Chapel Hill are both supportive of Prison Books Collective and this project. Bring your donation back to the library, and we'll make sure it gets where it needs to go.