Author: Erin Vernon

To work through the COVID-19 crisis, we focus on what matters most

“Treat each other like family. That’s one of our five core values, and it’s the one that mattered most when the COVID-19 crisis hit,” said Atlantic Ave. store manager, Chris Davis. “Our company really came together; we had each other’s backs, and that was passed on to the team and the customers,” 

While many across the globe stayed home in the early weeks of the pandemic, Chapel Hill Tire, as an essential business, came to work every day. “We really took treating each other like family to heart,” said general service technician Steve Meyer. “How could we help each other?  What’s good for customers?  Employees?  Managers?  Staying focused on those questions really helped us through this.”

Although COVID-19 continued to separate many from friends and family, the team at Chapel Hill Tire grew stronger and more united. Technician Brian Fretz said, “We all strive for excellence. That’s what the company has instilled in us.”  

“Strive for excellence” is another one of our company values, and another one that we kept at top of mind as we made employee safety a top priority. “I never felt worried about coming to work, ever,” said Fretz. “Everyone made us feel comfortable and safe.”  

Steve Meyer echoed Fretz’s statement, “The company did everything they possibly could to take care of us. No expense was spared for us or the customers to be safe.” 

“I was very grateful to still have my job and still have income. I felt safe and reassured and felt like the company took preventive steps to have us prepared,” said Chris Davis.

Chapel Hill Tire protected employees and customers alike by implementing the use of steering wheel and seat covers, wiping down all points of contact in vehicles, and having employees wear masks while working. Additionally, we started a free pickup and delivery program so that customers could receive no-contact service. “We’re more alert now and taking steps to be safer and doing our part. I believe the company has changed in a positive way because of COVID,” said Davis. 

“We were definitely concerned for our customers,” said Steve Meyer. We wouldn’t want someone to get sick on our watch because we weren’t following proper protocol. We followed CDC guidelines and continued to be compliant with NC guidelines to do our part for our community.” 

With the world slowly starting to open back up, Chapel Hill Tire continues to be guided by its values, and is more united than ever before. As Steve Meyer said, “Take a hard situation, put people into it, have a common goal, and people will become closer. I’ve never been more proud of the whole team than when I saw us stick together from Chapel Hill to Raleigh. Living our values, we did our best to root each other on, and to remember that we don’t just take care of cars, we take care of people.”  

A look at what goes on behind the vents

Old North State summers get so daggum hot that you could slow-cook a chuck roast on your dashboard. When the outside air temperature is in the 80 to 100 degree range, the inside temperature of a car parked in direct sunlight can shoot up to about 150 – more than enough to braise a slab of beef. So if you feel like you’re roasting when you’re riding in a car without air conditioning, well, you are.

If you’re into that sort of thing, the cult classic cookbook, “Manifold Destiny” will tell you pretty much everything you’ll want to know about the automobile as a culinary device. For those of us who would rather not use our car as an oven, though, its air conditioning (A/C) system was designed solely to keep us comfortable as we’re cruising down those sun-strewn summer highways. 

And it works so well, it’s easy to take it for granted. Until it doesn’t work so well. Let’s hope that’s not after your car has been sitting in the middle of a North Carolina parking lot on a summer afternoon. 

Actually, you don’t have to hope, because your A/C gives you some clues that it needs a little attention well before it breathes its last cool breath. Even better news is that, if you’re the cautious type, you don’t even have to wait for those clues. When the weather starts turning warm, a little maintenance checkup can sometimes save you from sweating over a hot commute and the cost of a big repair. 

Let’s take a quick look at that little comfort machine, so you can recognize the signs that may be about to give out. 

A/C: The Basics

There are six main components of your A/C system: a compressor, a condenser, a thermal expansion valve, an evaporator, an accumulator, and a chemical refrigerant. Each component has to work properly for you to get the relief you want. If one piece underperforms or fails, your body’s cooling system takes over. In other words, you’re sweating like crazy.

Here’s how it works: 

The compressor compresses the refrigerant from a gas into a liquid and sends it down the refrigerant line to the condenser. 

Inside the condenser, the refrigerant flows through a small grid. Air passes across this grid, removing heat from the refrigerant, which then passes over to the expansion valve.

At the expansion valve the pressure in the line is reduced, and the refrigerant turns back into a gas. This gas goes into the accumulator. 

The accumulator removes moisture from the refrigerant, and sends its drier, cooler product to the evaporator. 

Air from outside blows across the evaporator core, giving its heat to the refrigerant, and becoming cool in exchange. Since cooler air holds less moisture, it also becomes less humid (that’s why you see puddles of water under recently parked cars on hot summer days; just a few minutes ago, that water was making the air sticky). 

Finally, that delightfully cool, dry air passes through your cabin air filter and reaches you as a fresh, cool breeze (or a nice cold blast, if you’re in the mood).

Noticing There’s an A/C Problem

There are two main clues that will let you know your A/C system has a problem: smell and noise. If it exudes a damp or musty stench, that’s your first clue. Typically, this smell means that microorganisms like mold, mildew, or fungi have taken up residence in your system. Why did they start to grow there? They like moist surfaces. So, the smell is a sign that your A/C is not cooling the air enough to reduce its humidity to the desired level. 

Maybe the air smells fine, but you hear a noise coming out of your vents. That’s clue number two. A buzzing sound is usually the result of too much refrigerant passing into the compressor, which could leak and cause damage to your car.

Maintenance Beats Repair

Bad smells and buzzing usually mean trouble, but you don’t have to wait for trouble. To keep everything cool, just ask us to give your A/C a quick check-up when the weather starts to turn warm. You’ll not only avoid unpleasant smells, irritating noises, and unwelcome roasting, you can avoid the larger repair – or replacement – that can follow those signs of trouble. Or, if you’re into that sort of thing, you could just pick up a copy of “Manifold Destiny,” and explore your talents as a “chef de cruise-ine.”

Decades of community service have shown Steve Price that nothing dampens the Chapel Hill spirit

Once it started pouring, Steve Price was sure all the volunteers he had gathered to clean up overgrown kudzu around Chapel Hill would just call it a day. But it seems, even after decades of service, Chapel Hill still had some surprises for him. 

“They refused to leave until they had gotten this area cleared,” Price said. “Even when it was rainy and miserable, they wanted to get this done.” 

It says a lot about the Chapel Hill community – but it also says a lot about Price.

Steve Price has lived here since 1983, working at UNC-TV, serving as youth minister of his church, sitting on the Town Parks and Recreation Committee for seven years and now continuing to serve in various advisory roles. But he never just lived here.

A UNC-Chapel Hill graduate with a degree in Radio, TV, and Motion Pictures, Price worked at UNC-TV for 30 years documenting the community. His work telling local stories would translate into his passion for bettering the town he had grown to love.

“You want to make the community a better place for yourself and everyone around you,” Price said.

Price’s most recent project, the kudzu clean-up, was one he had taken on from the Community Tree Committee and coordinated with UNC-Chapel Hill as well as the local Adopt-A-Trail program. Price had his first surprise of the day when, after having to reschedule once because of rain, the project saw a huge turn-out from people from all parts of town.

“It was this crazy cross-section of the community,” Price said. He noted seeing people from all walks of life, including students and older folks. What struck him, he said, was how unified everyone was, even when the rain started picking up.

“It was one of the most amazing service projects I’ve ever done,” Price said. “It was fun and people were really enjoying what they were doing.” 

And they kept working, even when they could barely stand up. As he saw his team slipping and sliding as the ground turned to mud, Price had to be the one to call it a day because no one wanted to stop. 

For Price, the collective tenacity he saw that day illustrates why he loves Chapel Hill.

“When one person takes the initiative, it’s amazing how people will rally around that cause,” Price said. “It’s what makes the Chapel Hill community so unique and wonderful.”

And, while he might be humble about it when asked, Price has often been that one person who others rally around as he stands up for a better town, and a better world. 

Many of Price’s projects, like the kudzu clean-up and his quarterly road clean-ups on highway 86, focus on improving Chapel Hill, but he also takes time to care for the people of his hometown. This year, he coordinated the delivery of Thanksgiving meals at the Inter-Faith Council pantry in his church, where he also regularly leads the volunteers who clean up the food pantry’s kitchen. Plus, he plans weekly activities for the youth, and just this last October he spent hours creating a haunted trail that went above and beyond anyone’s expectations.

“I see it as just giving back to this community that gave me so much,” Price said.

He’s also looking for socially-distant ways to keep bringing together those large groups that come out for his projects. At the kudzu clean-up, everyone was spread out in small teams, and they clearly weren’t letting anything stop them. In the future, Price mentioned getting families to volunteer together so they could work as a socially-distant team. 

Either way, Price is not just excited to get back to giving back – he never stopped for a second. Price knows that it only takes one person, one voice and everyone will gather together to support this unique and wonderful place he is proud to call home. 

And we think we’re speaking for everyone when we say that we’re proud to have Steve as a neighbor.