Heading west on Interstate 40, where Durham County yields to Orange, there's a road sign that says, "Welcome to Orange County: You'll Be a Fan for Life." The sign's beat up and damaged, and Orange County is in the process of replacing it. The county also figured this might be a good time to update the slogan, so in December it solicited ideas from the general public.
Last week, after reviewing over eight hundred submissions, the possibilities were narrowed to eleven. These finalists are, to be honest, a tad boring, as these things tend to be ("Where education meets opportunity"; "Visit today. Stay for life"; etc.). But not all the proposals had that market-research ring to them; in fact, many offered pointed commentaries on everything from taxation to atheism to breastfeeding to Duke sucking.
The INDY requested the entirety of citizen suggestions from the Chapel Hill and Orange County Visitors Bureau. We've picked out twenty-five of our favoritesnone of which we made up, honestand reproduced them below exactly as they were submitted, spelling, grammar, and capitalization errors included. Enjoy!
- World Class Education, Third World RoadsWere too backwoods to add a third lane to I-40Where Mexican labor serves liberal pietyWe'll tax the hell out of youHome of the worst athletic scandal in NCAA historyBewareGodless Heathens AheadMost farmers with Phd'sA Step Above Hillsboro!Where men are men, women are scarce, and the sheep are scared to death!Orange You Glad We're Not Named BananaOrange You Glad You're HereOrange You Glad You Left Durham Co.Welcome to the People's RepublicPut on your Smarty Pants! Ron needs to SING this to the old disco song Boogie Shoes [Editor's Note: LOL WTF?]Dook sucksOur lost sales taxes finance DurhamThe FIRST Breastfeeding Family Friendly Community!Lawyers, Guns & MoneyProtecting Civilization From The HunsThe Pat of Butter in a Sea of GritsWe Bad!Better than Alamance County since 1855.Welcome to Jesse Helm's ZooFuture Home of NC's BeachesOur slogan is pithy
The Orange County Board of Commissioners is expected to announce the new slogan by early March.
