INC NEWS - Rah-rah guy 'tireless for neighborhoods' (Herald-Sun)

[Caleb Southern]

Congratulations, Bill!

***

Rah-rah guy 'tireless for neighborhoods'

BY JOHN MCCANN : The Herald-Sun
jmccann at heraldsun.com
Aug 14, 2005 : 9:58 pm ET

DURHAM -- You might think of InterNeighborhood Council President Bill
Anderson as Mister Rogers on Red Bull.

Energy, energy, energy!

Whereas Fred Rogers was that genteel ambassador for a peaceful neighborhood
where the Trolley docked, Anderson's more of a rah-rah guy for the grittier
Bull City.

But the two have this in common: It's always a beautiful day in the
neighborhood.

"Bill is an idea guy,' said INC president-elect Mike Woodard. "Always coming
up with ideas!"

And always challenging INC board members to try new approaches when problems
arise, Woodard added. With his enthusiasm never seeming to wane,
neighborhood groups feel empowered knowing Anderson will fight for them,
Woodard said.

"He is just tireless for neighborhoods," Woodard said. "People just respond
to him."

You probably would, too.

Short in stature, Anderson's like a hard-charging bulldog. He's the
marketing director for the Council for Senior Citizens, so the
aggressiveness is in line with his 9-to-5 duties.

Anderson spoke out when there were rumblings about the U.S. Postal Service
wanting to make Durham residents who receive mail at their doors put up
curbside boxes. And he played a part during this summer's heat wave in
expediting the delivery of free air conditioners to elderly residents.

Which is classic Anderson -- taking something not-so-good, stirring the pot
a little bit and seeing what happens.

"I do enjoy being involved in [the] community," Anderson said. "Like a
chemist mixing parts of [the] community together."

He's no Pollyanna. The glasses he wears aren't rose-colored. Rather, the
good he sees in oft-maligned Durham has to do with vantage point and
attitude.

"I sometimes think I'm in a better position to see those things," he said.
"Almost everything good I see in Durham starts with frustration."

Like the city's yard-waste policy. Some Durham residents say they already
pay enough taxes. So charging them an extra 60 bucks to have some dudes jump
off the back of a truck and pick up their tree limbs is just over the top.

But others worry about getting gypped by those who forgo the fee and instead
slip their trimmings inside a paying neighbor's brown receptacle.

And here's Anderson right in the middle of it, encouraging everybody to come
to the table for a little meeting of the minds.

He arrived in Durham in the late 1970s from upstate New York. Rural New
York.

"I used to ride heifers across the street," Anderson said. "The cows were
too slow.

"It's not something I recommend to you now."

Perhaps the answers to why bad things in Durham don't quench the fire in
Anderson's belly can be gleaned from his various forays. He was in the
printing business for a minute. Operated a rare-coin store on Ninth Street,
and even risked his neck as a professional skydiver barreling through the
goalposts at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh.

In September, Anderson will pass the president's gavel to Woodard.

But beware of a certain feisty bulldog keeping watch over Durham's
neighborhoods.

"INC presidents rarely go away," Anderson said.

"In Your Neighborhood" appears every Monday. If you know of someone or
something interesting in your neighborhood, call 419-6630 or e-mail news
@heraldsun.com.

---

Meeting Aug. 23

The InterNeighborhood Council meets at 7 p.m. on Aug. 23 in the civic room
at The Herald-Sun, 2828 Pickett Road. The group will clarify its bond
oversight intentions. Neighborhood delegates and interested citizens are
encouraged to attend. Refreshments will be provided.

For more information, contact Bill Anderson at (919) 688-4550 or visit
www.durhaminc.org.