SouthPark Rotary rolls forth efforts to support Trips for Kids Charlotte

Posted on June 20, 2015 by crystalogormanwrites

South Charlotte Weekly

Posted by on June 19, 2015 in News

Local organization collects bikes for kids in need

Photo courtesy of Trips for Kids Charlotte

Michael Camp, a resident of Cotswold and SouthPark Rotary member, spiked an interest in mountain biking after being introduced to the sport by his friend, Dennis Norwood, a member of the Tarheel Trailblazers mountain bike racing team.

Camp said their first ride together was more than three years ago with Trips for Kids Charlotte. Not only did Camp feel compelled to stick with mountain biking, but he also became passionate about Trips for Kids Charlotte – a nonprofit that provides mentorship to kids, who live in low-income Charlotte neighborhoods with challenging circumstances, through mountain biking.

“I’ve been a lifelong cyclist, but now I enjoy both on- and off-road biking, especially when riding with these kids,” he said.

Soon after his first Trips for Kids ride, Camp invited Paula Fricke, co-founder of Trip for Kids Charlotte to speak to the SouthPark Rotary about the organization, which immediately generated interest from rotary members. They asked Camp to spearhead a bike donation drive to support the organization. It’s been ongoing ever since.

“Most organizations come to us and ask for money, but Paula just wanted bikes,” Camp said.

SouthPark Rotary has collected and donated almost 600 bikes, raising $18,000 for Trips for Kids Charlotte.

SouthPark Rotary Member Michael Camp poses with Trips for Kids Charlotte Co-founder Paula Fricke outside of The Recylery in NoDa. Photo courtesy of Trips for Kids Charlotte

Fricke explained the nonprofit’s three primary programs – Ride Program, Earn-A-Bike and The Recyclery – and how the bike donations support their mission. She said The Recyclery bike shop in NoDa helps financially sustain the organization by collecting used bikes and repairing them for resell or by giving them out through the Earn-A-Bike program.

The money raised through bike sales supports the Ride Program, which provides free Saturday morning one-on-one volunteer and rider mountain bike rides to groups of children 10 to 15 years old from the beginning of February through the third week of November.

The ride includes free use of mountain bikes, safety equipment and water bottles ,as well as a snack or meal. The ride program also holds day and weekend trips six times a year, such as a day trip to Virginia’s New River Trail or a weekend leadership retreat at Belk Scout Camp.

Kid-sized bikes are refurbished and available for participants to earn through the Earn-A-Bike program, where kids are required to complete six hours of training on bike safety, maintenance and repair.

When they finish training, Fricke said they earn a free bike, helmet and lock. The program grew out of a desire to provide riders, who didn’t have bikes at home, a way to keep moving when not participating in Ride program.

Fricke feels grateful for the support of SouthPark Rotary and said the income from reselling the donated bikes helps their programs continue to grow. She said they’ve been able accept more kids into the programs every year, serving 700 youth last year and 4,000 over the lifetime of the organization.

“The donation of bikes is a major reason we can reach more and more kids every year,” said Fricke. “Without those bikes we would not be reaching as many kids as we are.”

Trips for Kids Charlotte serves students who attend Hidden Valley, Albemarle Road, Montclaire and Pinewood elementary schools, McClintock Middle School, Joseph W. Grier and Thomasboro academies and Charlotte Freedom School Partners.

Fricke said being outdoors riding a bike presents youth with real-world challenges and opportunities for growth.

“We use the bike as a tool for kids to learn life lessons,” she said. “We teach them – respect yourself, wear a helmet; respect your bike and respect the trails. We emphasize working together and communicating to riders behind them about the route ahead, and we work on overcoming obstacles on the trail.”

Camp said he looks forward to volunteering every other week for a 10-mile ride with Trips for Kids Charlotte on local trails, such as Matthews-based Colonel Francis Beatty Park.

“It makes my life seem so much more meaningful; I’ve expanded my attributes beyond my own kids to 700 kids a year,” he said. “It’s so gratifying to reach beyond your own little world.”

SouthPark Rotary continues to collect used bikes. Email Michael Camp at mpczo27@gmail.com or text him at 704-400-2865 to make donations.

Visit Trips for Kids Charlotte at http://www.tripsforkidscharlotte.org/ for more information.

Posted in Health and Wellness, Human Interest, Newspaper, Philanthropy, South Charlotte Weekly, Traditional Journalism | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Stallings’s proposed budget focuses on infrastructure, jobs

Posted on June 20, 2015 by crystalogormanwrites

Union County Weekly

Posted by on June 19, 2015 in News

STALLINGS – The Stallings Town Council held a special meeting on June 1 to discuss proposed budget items for the 2015-16 fiscal year.

Though the town will lose $60,000 in levied taxes from the elimination of the privilege license tax, citizens will not bear the brunt of the loss with a property tax increase; it will remain the same as last year at 21.5 cents per $100 valuation.

Stormwater fees also will remain the same, which is $46 for residential and $33 per equivalent residential unit for non-residential properties.

Citizens will reap the benefits from infrastructural improvements and the hiring of additional town staff, including an additional patrol officer, engineer technician and program coordinator for Stallings Parks and Recreation Department.

The budget will allocate $1,160,750 to infrastructure projects from July 2015 to June 2016. The money will go toward roads, sidewalks, stormwater projects and maintenance and a capital outlay project to improve the Pleasant Plains and Potter roads intersection.

The councilmembers’ concern for the town’s infrastructure was reflected in the budget.

“Roads need to be resurfaced, and we need to start working on them,” Mayor Pro Tem Walt Kline said. “I’d like to see more money go to roads.”

The council budgeted $500,000 to resurface 2.5 miles of streets that failed to meet an engineering assessment completed by town engineer Chris Easterly this year. Easterly assessed 44 miles of streets owned by the town and found 14 road segments to have crumbling asphalt and/or be deteriorated to the point where it could become a safety hazard for drivers.

Some examples of the worst roads that will be repaired this year include: Macaroom Court in Shannamara, Lawing Court in Fairfield Plantation and Derbyshire Lane in Buckingham Subdivision.

Easterly believes the roads have deteriorated due to age, as some of the roads are more than 15 years old.

Councilmembers also decided to allocate $80,000 for sidewalks in the upcoming budget. A large portion of the sidewalks budget, $40,000, will go toward Phase II of the sidewalk project along Lawyers Road from Emerald Lake Drive to Buckingham. Neighborhoods such as Callonwood and Emerald Lake will see sidewalk repairs.

The town also will begin a capital outlay project this year that will improve the intersection at Pleasant Plains and Potter roads. This project will cost $2.5 million upfront; however, North Carolina Department of Transportation will reimburse the town $2.1 million for its financial obligations to the project.

The town will end up paying $400,000, but only $200,000 will be allocated to the project this year, since the project will break ground in June 2016.

Easterly said the changes residents will see include the addition of two left-turn lanes traveling east bound on both roads, a total of one-half mile of sidewalks going from the intersection traveling along Potter Road to the Burger King, and from the intersection traveling along Pleasant Plains to Grace Academy. He also said capital improvement money was allocated in the budget for streetscape beautification, such as adding lighting and trees.

Town Manager Kevin Wood confirmed $1.1 million was invested in infrastructure in this year’s 2014-15 budget, which accounts for the ongoing road resurfacing and stormwater improvements.

Dunn assured residents would be happy to hear how the council was being good stewards with its money.

“By the end of the year, over $2 million will have been invested in infrastructure,” he said. “Citizens need to know that we are taking care of infrastructure; we are using their money wisely.”

The town also should expect to see future savings from the council’s decision to budget $38,000 for a full-time engineer technician. Kirk Medlin, town finance officer, said the council has never considered hiring an engineer technician before; however, after adding Easterly’s job as town engineer last year, they’ve seen the benefits of having expert knowledge on staff.

The engineer technician will work under Easterly and oversee all town construction projects, as well as provide additional capabilities the town wasn’t able to provide before, such as permit inspections, code enforcement and some maintenance support.

Currently, the town contracts a consultant who oversees construction projects, but bringing in a salaried employee will save the town approximately $30,000 per year and increase the number of available work hours.

Town council also agreed to fund the hiring of a program director for Parks and Recreation. This part-time, 30-hours-per-week position will cost $21,800 and will provide Parks and Recreation Director Dena Sabinske with assistance in developing and planning town events, such as Stallings Fest and the Night at the Park series.

Stallings Police Department expects to receive extra support, as the town agreed to assign $34,000 to hire an additional patrol officer.

Chief M.E. Plyler, Jr. said the department currently runs a four-person squad to cover every shift, totaling 16 full-time patrol officers. The chief plans to use these funds to hire a community officer, who will be the community liaison between the police department and residents, homeowner’s associations, neighborhood watch groups and schools.

“He or she will be the face of the community,” he said.

Plyler also commented having an additional officer will alleviate the stress other officers endure when coworkers need to take time off from work, as well as provide backup during accidents.

“It’s been four years since the town has had a community patrol officer,” he said. “It will be valuable to the police department and the community.”

Plyler plans to pre-screen applications for the position immediately and will be ready to fiill the position as soon the council votes on the budget. Council will vote on the 2015-16 fiscal year budget on June 22, a Monday.

Visit http://www.stallingsnc.org/334/Budget-Message-2015-2016 to view the budget.

Posted in Civic and Government News, Newspaper, Union County Weekly | Tagged | Leave a comment

PVFD files lawsuit against Weddington

Posted on June 20, 2015 by crystalogormanwrites

Union County Weekly

By Crystal O’Gorman
June 19, 2015

Firestorm between Providence Volunteer Fire Department and town continues

FullSizeRender smallWEDDINGTON – Providence Volunteer Fire Department (PVFD) has taken legal action against Weddington’s decision to terminate its 10-year fire service agreement (FSA) with the town.

A civil complaint was filed at Union County Superior Court Division of General Court on June 4, in which PVFD claims fault in Weddington Town Council’s cause for termination and demands recourse in the contractual stipulated amount of $750,000.

The filed complaint claims reducing expenses is not a lawful cause to terminate the FSA with the department.

“Only a failure by PVFD to meet its material obligations under the FSA – providing satisfactory firefighting and emergency medical services – would constitute a lawful cause for Weddington to terminate the FSA,” the complaint reads.

It also denies future speculation of financial loss as “cause” for termination.

Weddington Councilmembers Barbara Harrison and Michael Smith voted 2 to 1, with Pamela Hadley dissenting, to approve the termination of PVFD’s FSA and Interlocal Agreement at a special meeting called by Mayor Bill Deter on April 28, after a series of events surrounding concerns about the financial viability of fire department and the town’s ability to continue paying for its services. Mayor Pro Tem Don Titherington did not attend the meeting.

Union County Weekly compiled a history of events that led to the filed court case:

• 2012: Weddington formed new fire district lines and implemented a municipal fire district funding three stations to serve the town – PVFD, Wesley Chapel Volunteer Fire Department and Stallings Volunteer Fire Department

• Sept. 9, 2013: Town council held a public hearing on PVFD Interlocal and FSA agreements. These agreements would allow the town to acquire PVFD’s Hemby Station and its acreage in order to fund renovations to the station required by the state fire marshal, which PVFD couldn’t afford to pay for or expense on credit.

Union County Weekly previously quoted Scott Robinson, PVFD vice president and 2013 mayoral candidate from the public hearing: “The county informed the department that having firefighters sleeping in the building was out of compliance with fire code and that the situation needed to be resolved,” said Robinson, at the hearing. “The renovations now taking place will address the requirements and provide a safe place for the firefighters to stay while standing ready to serve Weddington.”

• Oct. 14, 2013: Weddington and PVFD entered into a 10-year FSA and Interlocal Agreement

• August 2013:  Weddington took ownership of Hemby Station and the property, agreeing to charge PVFD $1 per year for the next 10 years to continue operations at the station.

• November 2014: McGrath Consulting Group (MCG) completed an audit on PVFD at the town’s request, because the 2012 fire tax increase wasn’t enough to fund fire service. The audit recommended consolidating fire services to save money.

• January 2015: Clare Meyer, representative of Tinsley & Terry, CPAs, who reported on the town’s audited financial statements, declared the town had received her company’s audited report on PVFD’s financials on June 30, 2014. In the presentation of the report via the town’s minutes it states, “During our audit, we also did a little bit of compliance testing and there were no contractual violations (by PVFD).”

• January 2015: PVFD received  an ISO rating of four by the North Carolina Office of the State Fire Marshall (OSFM), ranking it in the Top 10 percent of North Carolina’s fire departments and as the only volunteer fire department in Union County with a four rating.

• Feb. 6, 2015:  Union County Weekly reported the town’s decision to consolidate WCVFD and PVFD, which was being mediated by Deter and Harrison.

“A lot of it is driven by mistrust. When you bring two groups together, that’s a big part of it,” Deter told Union County Weekly. “The roadblocks from the past in my mind have gone away and now we’re going to try to facilitate the new talks. There will always be problems real and imagined, but so far we’ve gotten positive responses from both sides.”

• Feb. 26, 2015: Town council voted to give fire tax authority back to Union County and, as Deter said, “get Weddington out of the fire business.” The resolution aspired to end the municipal fire district by July 1, 2015, remove the fire tax and hand over tax authority to Union County.

• April 13, 2015:  Town council rescinded the Feb. 26 resolution. A portion of the rescinded resolution reads: “Whereas, the Town of Weddington intends to maintain appropriate Fire Suppression Agreements with the Providence Volunteer Fire Department, the Stallings Volunteer Fire Department and the Wesley Chapel Volunteer Fire Department to provide fire protection services to citizens of the town of Weddington pursuant to Session Law 2013-39 and Article 3 of Chapter 160A.”

During the same meeting, Deter suggested the council terminate PVFD’s contract and enter a new agreement with Wesley Chapel Volunteer Fire Department (WCVFD). Town council voted on a motion to “direct the Town Attorney to create a supplemental fire agreement to WCVFD, and to also prepare for termination of the agreement with PVFD, because of its inability to meet obligations of the town, subject to getting an agreement in place with WCVFD,” as cited in the town’s minutes. Hadley and Titherington were against the motion, but Deter broke the tie for the approval.

• April 15, 2015: Town Attorney Anthony Fox wrote a letter to PVFD asking for evidence of its financial stability within 10 business days in threat of termination of the FSA.

• April 21, 2015:  PVFD President Jack Parks delivered the financial documentation, reducing PVFD’s budget for fiscal year 2015-2016 to the same as the current budget.

• April 28, 2015: Weddington Town Council held a special meeting, in which council voted to terminate PVFD’s contract and start a new FSA contract with WCVFD.

Despite the Union County Board of Commissioners unanimous approval of the resolution requesting Weddington reverse or delay its decision and public outcry in support of PVFD, the council has refused to change the decision to terminate current services by the end of July.

PVFD’s FSA provision states the department is entitled to receive liquidation damages totaling $750,000 from Weddington, if the agreement is terminated without cause.

Deter claimed cancelling the contract would save the department from going under by 2020 and also insisted it would save the town $223,000 to contract fire services with WCVFD in comparison to a contract with PVFD, during council’s April 13 meeting.

At the same meeting, Hadley expressed her discontent about the termination of PVFD not being included on the agenda as a talking point prior to the onset of the meeting.

She also stated she had heard rumors from Tim McGrath of McGrath Consulting Group, who completed the town’s requested audit of PVFD in November 2014, that some councilmembers “would do whatever possible to get rid of PVFD, including being prepared to spend $750,000 to break the contract to get rid of PVFD.”

A court date has not been set by Union County Weekly’s press time.

Visit http://www.unioncountyweekly.com and search “PVFD” for more information about the town of Weddington’s decision to terminate the PVFD’s fire service agreement.

Posted in Civic and Government News, Newspaper, Traditional Journalism, Union County Weekly | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

SonFest returning to St. John Neumann

Posted on June 19, 2015 by crystalogormanwrites

Matthews – Mint Hill Weekly

Posted by on June 19, 2015 in News

Annual carnival-style festival predicted to attract thousands

Photo courtesy of St. John Neumann Catholic

Father Patrick Hoare of St. John Neumann Catholic Church had aspirations five years ago to create an annual event that raised money for the church, but also brought the parish and greater community together.

Out of this desire grew SonFest, an annual carnival-style church festival with games, rides and food with international flair.

The festival will take place on June 12, a Friday, from 5 to 11 p.m. and June 13, a Saturday, from 4 to 11 p.m. The church expects between 4,000 and 5,000 attendees. The event is free and open to the public; however, participants can purchase tickets for games, rides and food and beverages.

Hoare said SonFest has been a great way to bring together his congregation. The church’s parishioners include people originally from Mexico, Central America, South America, eastern Africa, Brazil, Vietnam and Poland, as well as native U.S. citizens.

“We have a very diverse and interesting parish community,” Hoare said. “We wanted to find a way to celebrate and build on it.”

The congregation has embraced this sentiment by preparing and selling cultural food at the festival. Hoare said festivalgoers will have several dining options that include an assortment of standard carnival food, such as funnel cakes and cotton candy, alongside Polish, Latin American, Vietnamese and Eritrean cuisine. The American Burger Company also will sell burgers and sponsor a Roadster Contest, which is a race to finish a four-patty Roadster burger. The winner will receive a trophy and be inducted into the “Roadster Hall of Fame.” The contest will take place at various times throughout the festival.

Hoare said this is the first year for the burger-eating challenge, which replaces their church sponsored hot dog-eating contest. He anticipates this event will stir a lot of excitement.

The festival also will feature live entertainment, with bands performing Christian and contemporary music, as well as the Monroe-based big band group Reflection Big Band. On Saturday night, the festival will end with a 20-minute laser light show choreographed to Christian and patriotic music.

The money raised from the festival contributes to various projects within St. John Neumann. Last year’s festival brought in $30,000, and the church aspires to raise the same amount this year. Hoare said the money helps the church in many ways – one year the money went toward sanctuary renovations, and last year’s proceeds supported youth programs.

Over the last few years, Hoare said, the church has chosen to give back to the community by donating 10 percent of festival proceeds to a local nonprofit. This year’s proceeds will benefit The Relatives, which provides crisis and residential housing and other resources to youth in the greater Charlotte area.

Penny Parker, development director at The Relatives, said the money received will support the nonprofit’s general program fund, which could help alleviate financial hardship in three programs: Crisis Center, for youth 7 to 17 years old who need transitional housing and resources while dealing with an emergency situation; Journey Place, a residential program for six young men 18 to 24 years old, who learn to live on their own after aging out of foster care; and On Ramp, a job resource center that provides life skills and educational opportunities for youth 16 to 24 years old.

“We are very grateful to the church, and we plan to have staff on site at the festival to provide information about what we do,” Parker said.

Beyond helping others, Hoare feels the festival is important because it gives people the chance to come together and have fun. He recalled the first year preparing for the big event, saying he was anxious about what the outcome would be, given the church had invested so much money into the event. At the end of the first church festival, an answer was delivered to him in the simplest way.

“A young boy, whose name I don’t remember, came up to me and said with a big smile, ‘Thank you for doing this for us.’”

Hoare said that’s all he needed to know he was on the right path.

“We want to create a memory,” he said. “Something that could go on right up the road that community and parish members could look forward to every year.”

Find more information at http://4sjnc.org/sonfest_2015.

St. John Neumann Catholic is located 8451 Idlewild Road in Charlotte, just outside of Matthews and Mint Hill.

Posted in Entertainment/Creative Arts, Events and Galas, Matthews-Mint Hill Weekly, Newspaper, Spirituality and Religion, Traditional Journalism | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Mint Hill pageant queens collect supplies for children’s home

Posted on June 19, 2015 by crystalogormanwrites

Matthews – Mint Hill Weekly

Posted by on June 19, 2015 in News

Drive collects more than 250 items for Rockwell-based organization

Miss Mint Hill winners invited area pageant queens to a Queen’s Breakfast prior to participating in Mint Hill Madness parade. Photos courtesy of Miss Mint Hill Scholarship Pageant

MINT HILL – For Julie Shillingburg, director of The Miss Mint Hill Scholarship Pageant, community service is an important duty she holds high for pageant winners. That’s why she jumped at the opportunity to integrate community service into the inaugural Queen’s Breakfast.

“I have always made it clear that I’m not a ‘crown-and-go’ pageant director,” Shillingburg said. “I feel it’s very important for the girls to represent their titles and the pageant’s sponsors.”

Miss Mint Hill hosted the first Queen’s Breakfast on May 23, just before the Mint Hill Madness parade, to welcome pageant winners from across the greater Charlotte area who participated in the parade. The 2014 Miss Mint Hill winners – Emily Miner, Miss Mint Hill; Emily McCune, Teen Miss; Lauryn Caldwell, Junior Miss; Shelby Stegall, Young Miss; Avrie Edwards, Little Miss; Aubreyana Jeter, Tiny Miss; Saylor Wisniewski, Toddler Miss and Kaidryn Mayo, Baby Miss – and their families helped plan the breakfast and donated food items.

Shillingburg also wanted to include a spring service project with the Queen’s Breakfast, and Miss Teen Mint Hill Emily McCune suggested pageant winners collect goods for the Nazareth Children’s Home, a Rockwell-based nonprofit that provides residential and transitional housing, foster care and adoption services, along with outpatient substance abuse and mental health counseling for families and individuals. Emily volunteers at the children’s home on a regular basis and wanted to host a drive to further support the organization.

“The pride and commitment Emily has to the children’s home was clearly visible when we were deciding what we wanted to do for our spring service project,” said Shillingburg.

Emily, a 13-year-old eighth-grader from Queen’s Grant Community School, said she became involved with Nazareth Children’s Home’s quarterly birthday parties more than a year ago.

“The first time I went and got to meet the kids, seeing the looks on their face when they opened their presents, it made me thankful for what I have and made me want to keep going back,” she said.

Emily McCune stands with the towels and washcloths collected by area pageant winners, which are being donated Nazareth Children’s Home. Photos courtesy of Miss Mint Hill Scholarship Pageant

Emily has continued to volunteer, helping family friends Darby and Sheri Dillard host four birthday parties and a Christmas party. After suggesting the pageant winners collect goods for the children’s home, Emily learned the home was in need of towels and washcloths.

“Julie did an amazing job of contacting other pageant directors to get their queens to participate in the drive,” Emily said. “I couldn’t have done it without her and all the hard work of the other queens.”

Emily said 17 pageant winners collected 202 towels and 52 washcloths, which she, her mom and Darby Dillard will deliver to the home on Monday, June 8.

“I was very surprised at how many were collected,” she said. “I cannot wait to hand deliver them on Monday.”

Shillingburg said Miss Mint Hill pageant winners also worked together to collect food for a Thanksgiving meal held at Bain Elementary School, collect classroom library books for Bain and volunteered at Mint Hill Police Department’s National Night Out event.

The Queen’s Breakfast presented a platform for pageant winners from across the greater Charlotte area to serve together, increasing the breadth of the service project and giving fellow pageant winners a reason to work together for the greater good of the community.

“It was awesome to see all the queens come together and donate items for a good cause, along with eating an amazing breakfast before the parade,” said Alana Cooper, Miss Mecklenburg’s Outstanding Teen.

Posted in Achievements and Awards, Entertainment/Creative Arts, Events and Galas, Human Interest, Matthews-Mint Hill Weekly, Newspaper, Philanthropy, Traditional Journalism | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment