The COVID-19 crisis generates many uncertainties for village residents, and information changes frequently. We try to keep this page up to date, and ask that you check regularly to see what might be new.

November Elections: Absentee ballot tracking. The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to concerns about voting safely in the fall, both from an individual perspective and a potential shortage of polling place workers. Any registered voter in North Carolina can request and use a mail-in absentee ballot. No special circumstance or reason is required; however, you must request an absentee ballot using the request form. It is not too early to request that an absentee ballot be sent to you in September, when the ballots will have been prepared, to make sure that you will be able to vote safely in the fall. Click here to obtain a downloadable request form.

The NC Board of Elections has a new web page where you can track the status of your absentee ballot. The new page can tell you whether your absentee ballot has been sent to you by the county Board of Elections, as well as tracking its progress after you mail the completed ballot in. The new web page is at https://northcarolina.ballottrax.net/. You can also register on this page to receive an email, text, or phone call when the status of your ballot changes.

Requesting and receiving an absentee ballot does not prevent you from deciding not to use it and voting in person instead. (Of course, if you do return an absentee ballot you may not vote in person.)

November Elections: Gathering Place Open as Polling Place. Fearrington Village and Galloway Ridge voters who choose to cast their ballots in person on Tuesday, Nov. 3, will be able to do so at the Gathering Place. The polling place will be open from 6:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. See the announcement approved by the Board of Elections for a description of precautions that will be taken.

Plans for Annual Meeting, November 15. Because the Gathering Place is still closed, the FHA Annual meeting this year will be held as a webinar. Details will be announced later. Ballots for open board positions will be delivered to homeowners who reside in Fearrington in time to be returned before the meeting; they will be mailed to homeowners who are not resident.

Sun Trust Bank in Fearrington. Some residents have asked about the status of the Fearrington branch of Sun Trust Bank. Now called Truist, they report that they are open by appointment only. Residents can call 919-726-5028 to make an appointment, or leave deposits in the night drop in the vestibule.

Other local impacts of COVID-19: Much of what happens depends on developments at the national, state, and local level. National and state developments are widely publicized elsewhere, but you can find the latest information about Chatham County communities on the county website. The FHA Health, Safety and Security Committee recommends you check https://www.chathamnc.org/services/health/coronavirus.

We have revised our FHA contact/question form in an effort to get residents' questions or comments to the right parties within FHA or the Website Team.

The form is linked on most of the website pages on the lower right. Look for this link: GET HELP or CONTACT FHA. You will see a reminder of this form's availability every so often.

When you click this link a new window or tab will open and you will see a pop-up window similar to that on the right.

In this window you can browse through all available topics (scrolling down if necessary), or use the search box by typing a few letters of the subject of your email. (Nouns are more likely to find good matches!) When you see a subject close to what you are writing about, click it to close the popup window and put the topic in the email's...

Read more: FHA Contacts and Website Support