Short news items found on our desk today:

Jetton Street closed for two weeks; Davidson Day open house Thursday; College hosts mathematicians from around the world. Read the full story

Michael Barnett (left) and Thomas Churchill hold a poster featuring their “mom and dad,” King Leontes and Queen Hermione, in the recent Royal Shakespeare Co. production of “The Winter’s Tale.”

2 friends share Shakespeare role

If you glanced through a program from the recent Royal Shakespeare Co. residency at Davidson College, you may have noticed among the actors’ photos a pair of young, familiar faces. They were Michael Barnett and Thomas Churchill, both of Davidson, who were chosen to join the world’s most prestigious Shakespeare troupe in the role of Prince Mamillius in “The Winter’s Tale.”

The boys spent much of January and February learning stage cues, practicing elocution and hanging out with the Brits from the Bard’s hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon.

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Two projects proposed for land near Exit 30 off I-77 will come before the planning board and the town board this coming week.

The planning board meets Monday, Feb. 26, at 7 p.m. at town hall. It will consider whether to recommend the proposed Sheraton hotel and conference center off Griffith Street and see a revised plan for the Pinnacle at Davidson Gateway, a housing and office development. Read the full story

Members of Davidson’s new dance group The Gamut rehearse for their upcoming show. (Photo courtesy of Dance Ensemble president Harper Addison.)

Every semester, the Davidson College Dance Ensemble consistently sells out its two weekend shows in Duke Family Performance Hall. More than 160 students at every level of experience perform in a variety of styles, from step to pointe to salsa to tap. The student-run Dance Ensemble show is one of the most well attended campus events.

But this success wasn’t enough for some dancers at Davidson. Read the full story

Lent, the most holy season on the Christian calendar, is a time for reflection and penitence. It began with Ash Wednesday on Feb. 21, and concludes on Easter, April 8. In the spirit of the season, author Dorothy Bass (right) will give two free public lectures about the Sabbath this weekend at Davidson College.

Also this weekend, the college women’s lacrosse team plays its home opener, the baseball team plays a trio of games, and the “Education for All Ball” fund-raiser is on tap at the college. Read the full story

The Davidson College men’s basketball team continued its reign over the Southern Conference with a final win at home Thursday against Furman, 75-57.

Davidson is now the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament, which begins Wednesday. The Wildcats head to The Citadel Saturday to complete their regular season and then move on to the conference quarterfinal game next Thursday, March 1, at 2 p.m., in Charleston, S.C. Read the full story

After eight years of planning and construction, the town’s first 2.8-mile section of greenway is officially open, Director of Parks & Recreation Steve Fraher said Thursday.

The town this week published a map of the Southeast Greenway, which runs from the end of South Street southeast through several neighborhoods and on to Davidson-Concord Road. (Click the map to download. Requires free Adobe Reader software.)

A formal dedication, which the town is calling “Go Green on the Greenway,” is planned on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17. Read the full story

This week’s issue of the college student newspaper, The Davidsonian, reports that like other town residents, students are concerned about growth and development.

Those issues dominated a meeting between members of the college Student Government Association and town board members on Feb. 15, according to the newspaper. Attending were town board members Bruce McMillen, Evan Webster, John Woods and Cary Johnston.

Also in the Feb. 21 Davidsonian: a report on a 5.2 percent tuition increase for 2007-8, and an item on plans for co-ed student housing.

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