Monday, January 2, 2012

Is Anyone Home? Obviously Not!

It was Saturday, December 31, 2011. I was on my way to the Lonnie Poole Golf Course on the NC State University Centennial Campus, driving along Main Campus Drive. It was about 7:45 a.m. My usual route includes the Gorman Street exit off of Interstate 40, a right turn onto Thistledown Drive which, after crossing Trailwood Drive, becomes Main Campus Drive. The golf course appears on the right; Centennial Campus Magnet Middle School is seen on the left. Soon thereafter, also on the left, is the new home of the NC State Chancellor.

The residence, it's architecture design debated by many, is an interesting structure, reminding me of the roots of NC State. It looks a lot like a series of red barns built next to each other. Say, "Moo U!" Read more on the facility, as seen through the writings of Jay Price of The News & Observer. 

Over the past several months, traveling to and from the golf venue where I usually walk the 8,000+ yards carrying on my back my 15+ pounds of golf equipment, I've watched the residence develop to its final state. It's definitely a welcomed edition to the campus, though the outward design of the Park Alumni Center next door is much more impressive and "Stately."

While traveling along Main Campus Drive, I took a quick glance at the Chancellor's new home and soon realized he was away for the holidays. It was easy to spot. There was no official sign saying he and his family were gone for a few days, but the most obvious of all signs was present, sitting right there in his driveway. There, just inside the gate, were newspapers which had been sitting for a day or two or three.

There's at least one solution to this; two come to mind. He could have suspended his subscription to The N&O for the days he would be gone. That could have been done either through The N&O website or by placing a telephone call to the circulation department of the paper. Or he could have had one of his assistants, or an NCSU security officer, retrieve the newspapers and at the very least place them next to the garage door so the papers would have been there upon his return. By the way, when suspending your subscription, you can request that all back issues be delivered the day you return or the next day, if you are a glutten for punishment and want to read back issues of the newspaper.

For the benefit of the doubt, my guess is the Chancellor went to The N&O website and tried to suspend delivery but it didn't take, therefore it's the fault of the newspaper. Or maybe his assistant was sick or out of town and failed to do the duty. Or maybe it was up to NCSU security to handle it and someone decided there was no reason to patrol that part of campus.

It was Saturday on my way home from playing golf -- shot a satisfying 80 with four double bogeys while playing the 6,502-yard course -- that I stopped to take a few photos and a video. On New Year's Day, I returned to the golf course for more misery but good exercise (the way I hit it that day, I must have walked 8,500 yards), and an additional newspaper was in the driveway, just behind the gate.

Okay, okay. Maybe this is a little tough love on this subject, and heck, the Chancellor has only been in the house for a couple of months. Maybe he hasn't come to grips with who handles his newspaper subscription when he's out of town. My guess is this situation will soon be resolved. Happy New Year!

1 comment:

  1. Better to use a neighbor to pick up your papers. In High Point, a circulation employee was feeding the "out of town" info to some colleagues who would then go rob the house!

    ReplyDelete

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