I was in the middle of some house projects Saturday when my brother Jeff called me up.

“Hey, have you been out today?” he asked. “There’s something going on at the water plant.”

He told me of a large number of fire trucks at the scene, including a HAZMAT team. I needed to cool off from working in the attic, so I grabbed my camera and headed that way.

I came upon four fire trucks, one police car, the fire chief’s car, a Wake Emergency Management car, an ambulance and a HAZMAT truck. The gate to the treatment plant was open and first responders were milling around in the shade.

I was snapping a few pictures of the scene when an RPD officer wandered up. He explained that mechanical equipment had started a fire in a room there. According to the officer, the chemicals weren’t explosive but they didn’t want them to catch fire.

He was kind of vague about what the chemicals would do. Two HAZMAT members in protective suits were walking away from the building. Neither was wearing breathing gear, so I assumed it couldn’t be that bad. Still, I wondered why four fire trucks showed up for what looked like a routine fire.

The building was labeled “potassium permanganate room.” Acccording to the Wikipedia article, potassium parmanganate is used to remove the sulfur smell from water. It isn’t flammable or reactive, but could cause irritation. It does ignite when mixed with certain chemicals, such as powdered sugar and water, and will create deadly chlorine gas when mixed with hydrochloric acid.

While this fire was quickly brought under control, it makes me wonder what other, more dangerous chemicals are over there and how careful the City of Raleigh is in handling those chemicals. That would make a good news story.

I’ve put up pictures from yesterday’s Americas’ Sail opening ceremonies in Beaufort. I spent a little time with Captain Horatio Sinbad and his crew, who are all great people, I might add.

The ships didn’t go anywhere yesterday as it was just the kickoff. The real excitement starts today through July 3rd, as Sinbad’s crew take the Meka II out to defend their trophy.

Check out the pictures in the gallery.

The Onion has a funny satire of North Carolina hockey with an article titled Carolina Residents Confused, Terrified As Victorious Hurricane Players Riot In Streets.

Kudos to the Onion for the gratuitous mentions of local Raleigh landmarks!

I just found out that my favorite Internet-only comic strip, the legendary Doctor Fun is no more. Dave Farley has drawn a comic strip nearly every day since 1993, before most people knew what the Internet was. He has decided to pull the plug after thirteen years of humor.

Who will supply me with my yearly peeps fix now that Doctor Fun is gone?

A murder suspect escaped his shackles earlier this week while being transported to a doctor’s appointment in Wilson. Then once he was in custody he did it again:

Eddie Ellis, 23, refused to tell investigators how he escaped from a prison transport van on Tuesday afternoon, but told them he could do it again if they locked him up in shackles in a room by himself.

Four minutes later, he was knocking on the room’s door for authorities to let him out, Maj. John Farmer of the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday.

So how the heck is this guy getting loose? Is it really as simple as he makes it to look? What the heck are they using for restraints in Wilson, anyway? Who put Barney Fife in charge?

They better check the jailhouse doors, too. The locks they got in the cereal boxes might not be up to the job.

Well, it looks like I don’t have to worry about gunshots from the golf course any more. Parker Edwards, owner of the Cheviot Hills Golf Course, is selling the course. The last round of golf will be played June 30th.

While I won’t miss the guns, I will miss the course. Development has surrounded it from all sides, which added to its charm. Here’s this course from the 1930s: a slice of the past in my backyard. I read on its website today that the Edwards family homestead dates from 1792. Quite impressive.

The article quotes other real estate sources claiming that the site would be “great for mixed-use development.” Those are simply code words “another big box strip mall.” With the exception of The Lassiter at North Hills, I can think of few properties touted as “great for mixed-use” that turned out to be anything other than asphalt and big boxes.

Edwards isn’t saying why he’s selling it (probably because pesky neighbors won’t let him hunt at night). He’s also not saying who is buying it, so there’s no telling what the future holds for the course. Most likely it will be paved.

One thing keeping it from big-box stardom is the very limited access the property has from Capital Boulevard. There is a frontage road leading to it from the Gresham Lake Road – Capital Boulevard traffic light. There’s also an entrance on Capital with no signal. Neither one is ideal for moving lots of traffic to and from the property. That is a busy stretch of Capital to begin with and adding another traffic light is only going to make things worse.

Ah well. I’ve got a mere few weeks to find a day to go play Cheviot Hills before its gone for good. Any MT.Net readers want to join me for a foresome? (Do I have enough readers for a foresome?)

Where’s the Triangle’s super-entrepreneur John McConnell when we need him?

Ken Mosher and Tom Maxwell of the Maxwell/Mosher band took issue with my reaction to the David Menconi article detailing the Squirrel Nut Zippers’ rise and fall. Whether or not its true (and I never said it is), the article seems to paint Maxwell and Mosher as the bad guys and takes a more sympathetic view of Whalen, if only because it includes more of her quotes. I reread the article again and still believe this to be the case.

Fortunately, Maxwell and Mosher took the time to provide their side of the story. Here’s Mosher’s comment and here’s Maxwell’s. Gentlemen, if you’d like to write a more detailed account, I would be happy to publish it.

While the Zippers are firmly a thing of the past, I’m glad there’s still good music being made in the Triangle.

For the last couple of nights, some asshat has decided to try a little evening target practice somewhere in the woods behind my house. Thursday night, Friday night, and early this morning we were treated to the sound of six to fifteen rounds fired from what sounds like a rifle. The shots seem to come from the area where the Cheviot Hills golf course meets the train track near our house. My guess is someone’s helping himself to some deer.

While I won’t particularly miss the deer, I do take offense with someone slinging lead near a neighborhood full of kids. It’s also not particularly fun to be roused at 1 AM when the bullets start flying. While I haven’t seen any signs of bullets or damage, it may be only a matter of time.

Raleigh PD has been very helpful in investigating. Friday night, I hopped in my car after seeing an officer racing towards Capital Boulevard. When I got there, I saw four RPD officers leaving the property of the golf course. The cop I talked to this morning told me the golf course is outside the city limits, which might explain why they left empty-handed.

The county thing could also complicate prosecution. While there is a city ordinance against firing a weapon within the city limits, I don’t know if a similar law exists for the county (my guess is no). So its possible the only thing the Wake sheriff’s deputies might bust him with is trespassing. If he can be caught, that is. For the third straight night that has proven to be a challenge.

In the meantime, keep your heads low and tuck your antlers under your hat!

It was once said that Pedro’s fire works, but that may no longer be the case. Ibiblio’s Keeper Of The Chicken Paul Jones is on the story that the monument to roadside kitch, South of the Border, appears to be closing up shop.

To add a story to the legend of South of the Border, a onetime neighbor of ours once played basketball at the University of South Carolina. Coach Frank McGuire was friends with owner Alan Schafer and would bus the team there each season for a basketball clinic. Schafer feted the team during their stay, offering outrageous gifts. He would treat them like absolute kings.

Its said that Schafer basically owned Dillon county, and allegedly had the sheriff’s department on his payroll. Schafer was allegedly tight with the mob, too, enough so that when Interstate 95 was being planned, the route got moved closer to Schafer’s property. At least, so says the rumor. If you look at a map, you can see a little jog in the route right around Pedro’s house.

Boy, I-95 will be pretty dull without South of the Border around. Never thought I’d say it, but I’ll miss those tacky billboards. What other tourist trap could possibly take its place?