Now’s a great time to think about buying that hybrid car you’ve had your eye on. That’s because the average retail gasoline prices in Charlotte have risen 16.2 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $3.37/g as of Sunday. This is not far off from the national average which has increased 17.0 cents per gallon in the last week to $3.34/g, according to gasoline price website CharlotteGasPrices.com.
Prices yesterday were 69.3 cents per gallon higher than the same day one year ago and are 32.8 cents per gallon higher than a month ago. The national average has increased 25.3 cents per gallon during the last month and stands 64.9 cents per gallon higher than this day one year ago.
Funeral arrangements are set for CMPD Officer Fred Thornton who died Friday night. Thornton had just got back home in Mint Hill from serving a warrant and was conducting safety checks on his equipment when a flash-bang device exploded. Thornton leaves behind a wife and four children. He was a 28-year veteran of the police department.
Thornton’s visitation is from 6 pm to 9 pm Monday night at First Baptist Church in Charlotte. His funeral is Tuesday at 11 am at the church. Fox News Charlotte talks to a member of the Gaston County SWAT team about the distraction device that killed Thornton:
Presbyterian Hospital has been named one of the 50 best hospitals in America by Becker’s Hospital Review.
Presbyterian is one of only three hospitals in the Carolinas, and the only hospital in the Charlotte region on the “best hospitals” list for 2011. Included among the list are nationally renowned medical centers such as Johns Hopkins, Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic.
“Each of these organizations has put patients’ needs first, driven a variety of innovations and helped to set the bar for high-quality care,” the publication stated. “Each hospital has an impressive list of achievements and a story to tell.”
Becker’s Hospital Review is a bimonthly publication offering business and legal news and analysis relating to hospitals and health systems.
Presbyterian won the right to build a hospital in the Mint Hill area four years ago, but because of the economy and design changes, work stalled just after the grading of the land began. The hospital will be built at the corner of Albemarle Road and Interstate 485.
Parking and landscaping improvements at the Matthews Fire & EMS Department are nearing completion. This is the first major improvement to the site since the parking lot was constructed in the late 1980s. The wear and tear on a 30 year parking lot with 88,000 pound trucks entering and exiting the site had caused the lot to be in disrepair.
The parking lot has been redesigned to allow better turning radius of the fire trucks, 21 new parking spaces gained, curb and gutter and landscaping has been added, an underground stormwater detention area installed, and new concrete poured. Flagpoles are also being added. The underground stormwater detention area is composed of pervious concrete which allows rainwater from storm drains and roof drains to seep into the detention area to better the groundwater. This system is environmentally friendly and will help sustain the life of the parking areas.
The project was budgeted at $440,000 but costs have been lower than expected and $363,000 has spent on the improvements.
Mayor Ted Biggers has been a supporter of the Levine Senior Center since it opened five years ago.
Mint Hill Mayor Ted Biggers participated in the Levine Senior Center’s 3rd Annual Rock-a-thon this past Saturday. The Levine Senior Center raised more than $12,000 in this fundraising event. Ted Biggers, Jim Taylor (Matthew mayor) and Lynda Paxton (Stallings mayor) were challenged to see who would raise the most money for the center and be declared the “Mayor who Rocks”. Lynda Paxton was not able to attend so the challenge is between Ted Biggers and Jim Taylor. The winner of the challenge will be announced today.
The Butler High School girls basketball team defeated Northwest Guilford 50-40 on Wednesday night in the second round of the North Carolina 4A state playoffs. Cierra Burdick led all scorers with 26 points. Mayhana Dunovant scored 11 for Butler, who now posts a 29-0 record for the season. The Butler ladies will play Dudley (Greensboro) Friday night at Butler High School. Dudley has a 25-1 record this season.
The Butler boys beat Parkland 90-62 in their playoff game on Wednesday. Marcus Burton scored 29 points for the Bulldogs, who are now 25-3 on the season. Junior Zach Ferguson scored 17, freshman Matthew Fisher-Davis hit for 12, and junior Jalen White scored 10 points for Butler. The Bulldogs will host Mt. Tabor (Winston-Salem) in the third round of the North Carolina 4A playoffs on Friday.
US Representative Sue Myrick announced that her long-time Chief of Staff, Hal Weatherman will be leaving in March to become National Communications and Marketing Director for Act for America, a national non-profit organization dedicated to national security and terrorism related issues. Weatherman has been with Myrick since 1995, having served the last 12 years as her Chief of Staff.
“It’s been an awesome experience that I will treasure the rest of my life, but I’m ready to do something else, and this opportunity will allow me to focus on the national security issues that I care most about on a much larger scale,” said Weatherman.
“It would be impossible to exaggerate Hal’s value to my office. This move affords him the ability to pursue a vital shared objective without government restrictions,” said Myrick.
Mint Hill artist and CPCC instructor Larry Ferguson will present a program at Mint Hill Arts tonight 7 pm called, “Abstract Painting – Where do you start? When do you stop?” Larry has been a commercial film director, scriptwriter, television art director (national Emmy finalist), media consultant (UNCC) and educator. His artwork has been in many films and television programs, and one of his murals is part of the Schiele Museum. Larry currently teaches Painting at CPCC and is an integral part of Mint Hill Arts.
State Senator Tommy Tucker (Dist 35), who represents the Mint Hill area in the N.C. Senate, took a drubbing from the folks at The Progressive Pulse, a liberal public policy organization. Tucker’s questions at a recent HHS Appropriations Subcommittee drew consternation from The Progressive Pulse because they “showed just how far he has to go to get up to speed.”
Today, he posed a series of questions and statements that showed just how far he has to go to get up to speed.
His first question, posed to HHS Secretary and former Republican legislator Lanier Cansler, was about how many “illegal aliens” the Department served.
Really, Senator? That’s your first big question about North Carolina’s safety net programs?
Tucker doesn’t have a lot of political experience, and will probably admit that he has a lot to learn. But asking how much the state invests in illegal, or undocumented, people in North Carolina is a perfectly reasonable question to ask. Yes, illegal immigration is mostly a federal issue, but Tucker is asking a question that the constituents who elected him want him to ask. He may not be up to speed the way the Progressive Pulse wants him to be, but the people in Union County and Mint Hill who he represents probably don’t care.
The Independence Patriots girls’ basketball team lost 63-41 to Skyland Roberson of Asheville on Monday night. The game marked the first round of the North Carolina 4A playoffs.
Independence’s season ends with a 7-17 record, four wins more than last year’s squad.
Butler’s girls defeated Western Guilford 68-42 on Monday, giving the team a 28-0 record this season and a 40-game winning streak dating back to last season. The Bulldogs’ girls team will play Northwest Guilford on Wednesday in the second round of the 4A playoffs. Game time is 6:00 at Butler High School.
The Butler boys defeated Dudley (Greensboro) 73-65 Monday night. Jalen White led all scorers with 22 points. Dudley’s Panthers held Butler to zero field goals in the third quarter while erasing a double-digit deficit. With the game tied in the fourth quarter the Bulldogs relied on their speed and transition game to pull away for the win. Butler’s record for the season is now 24-3. The Bulldogs have won their last 17 games.
Butler’s boys play Parkland (Winston-Salem) Wednesday night in the 4A playoffs’ second round. Game time is 7:30 at Butler High School.
The Butler Lady Bulldogs won the 2011 SW4A Conference championship Friday night.
The Butler Bulldogs won both the boys’ and girls’ Southwestern 4A Conference Basketball Tournaments Friday night.
The girls defeated Myers Park 66-35. Cierra Burdick led the Bulldogs with 27 points. Junior Jaymee Fisher-Davis scored 17 and Senior Jadda Atkinson hit for 13. Even with the impressive win Burdick feels the team needs to improve for the post-season.
“We need to get stronger with the ball. We were bobbling the ball too much tonight. We played well on defense, but we gave up too many three’s. We’ve got to work on closing out possessions and watching the shooters better.”
The win makes the Butler girls’ record this season 27-0. They also have a 39-game winning streak dating back to last season.
The Butler boys’ beat South Meck 77-53 on Friday to take their second straight conference title. Senior Marcus Burton scored 27 points to lead all players. Senior Anthony Stitt had 13 points and junior Zach Ferguson added 11.
South Meck started out with a strong, physical game and took a three-point lead into the second quarter. The Bulldogs then used their quickness and full-court press to grab multiple steals which led to transition points. Butler outscored the Sabres 43-22 in the middle two quarters to break the game open.
“When you have senior guards like we have, you’re able to execute the plays you want,” says Butler Head Coach Kurt Wessler. “We made multiple defensive adjustments that turned the game. Our guards accomplished what we wanted to do, closing the trap, creating turnovers, and dictating which opponents will shoot the ball.”
The Butler boys dominated SM in the second half.
Wessler was also impressed with the performance of his young bench players.
“It’s unbelieveable. We were running ten guys tonight. Game after game, third and fourth quarters, we have been able to put it on people. That is a direct compliment to our bench.”
Both Butler’s girls’ and boys’ teams will begin the North Carolina state playoffs next week at home.
Mecklenburg County Land Use and Environmental Services Director Cary Saul gave a presentation at last Thursday’s Mint Hill Board of Commissioners meeting about creating fire districts to help the county offset the $2 million a year it gives volunteer fire departments.
However, Town Manager Brian Welch expressed a lukewarm reaction to the plan and said he would like to run more numbers before he recommends for the board of commissioners to sign on to the plan.
The county is looking to create fire districts that will be administered by five towns within the county. A new tax would be imposed on those living within the Extraterritorial Jurisdictions to help offset the cost of running VFDs. The towns would then be responsible for divvying up the funds to the VFDs.Continue reading »
