The Mint Hill Times

Bill Brawley says nothing illegal about GOP fundraiser

Jun 302011

As Republicans in North Carolina held a fundraiser in Raleigh yesterday, a crowd of demonstrators stood outside calling the event a “pay for play” dinner with lobbyists.
Rep. Bill Brawley, who serves the Mint Hill and Matthews area, told WTVD that Democrats held the same type of fundraisers when they were in power:

The only difference between this and what has happened for years is the Republicans are in the majority.

Brawley spoke with reporters before heading into the event. He told WRAL that he had never been protested before. “This is great,” he said.

Democrats will hold a similar fundraiser July 12.

June 30, 2011 Posted by Tim Long at 2:53 pm Politics, Raleigh No Responses »

Mint Hill’s Sunday Afternoon in the Park accepting applicants

Jun 282011

The Sunday Afternoon in the Park Committee is soliciting artists and musicians to display, perform, demonstrate and sell their products at Sunday Afternoon in the Park, on Sunday, August 28, 2011. The event will be held at the Mint Hill Park on Wilgrove (5233 Wilgrove-Mint Hill Road) from 1-6 pm. There is a $5 fee to participate. Artists need to provide their own tables, tents, displays, etc. There is no electricity provided. Only items handmade by the exhibiting artist will be allowed. Franchises, imports, and commercially produced items are prohibited. The committee reserves the right to reject any pieces that do not fit our family friendly event. Complete and return the application below, along with the $5 application fee, and a photograph of your work, by August 22, 2011 if you are interested in participating in Sunday Afternoon in the Park.

For further information contact Tina Ross at 704-545-6231 or e-mail katrinar87@earthlink.net

Return completed applications to: Sunday Afternoon in the Park 8743 Scarsdale Dr., Mint Hill, NC 28227.

APPLICATION: Continue reading »

June 28, 2011 Posted by Tim Long at 7:18 pm Arts No Responses »

New West Union County Rotary Club president installed

Jun 282011

Chad Hannon was named the Union West Rotary Club Chad president for the coming year.
“I joined Rotary back in 2009 with hopes of being able to contribute to our community,” he said. “I am looking forward to the next stage in my life and being President of Rotary. My goal in life is to help as many people as I can and impact their life in a positive way.”

Outgoing President Maureen Mulhall began the June 23 meeting with remarks about her tenure.
“It has been an honor to serve Union West Rotary and our community. I am delighted to welcome Chad Hannon as the new President and look forward to working with him and our new board,” said Mulhall.

Union West Rotary meets every Thursday morning at 7:30 am at the Indian Trail Civic Building. This 42 member service club strives to make a positive difference in the lives of others and support the community through various activities such as sponsoring literacy programs at Union West Library, supplying dictionaries to the local schools, and more recently, donating $50,000 to the Town of Indian Trail sponsoring the pavilion in their new park. For more information about Union West Rotary visit www.rotaryclubofunionwest.org.

June 28, 2011 Posted by Tim Long at 7:13 pm Non-profit, Union County No Responses »

No charges brought against Mint Hill man

Jun 282011

View Larger MapThe Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office will not bring charges against the driver of an ATV that killed Evan Wolf last week. Patrick Keaton, 43, of Mint Hill accidentally hit Wolf with ATV at a gathering at Christ Covenant Church June 21. Wolf, 15, was participating in a summer youth program called Seek the City when the accident occurred.

The Matthews Police Department has been conducting an investigation into the circumstances leading up to the crash since the incident occurred.

The investigation is considered closed at this time.

June 28, 2011 Posted by Tim Long at 10:01 am Around Town, Matthews, Police No Responses »

Chris Leak’s passing record may not have been broken after all

Jun 272011

Chris Leak set many records as quarterback for Independence High School in the early 2000s. One mark, passing for 585 yards in a game in 2002, was recently broken by Will Cooper, quarterback of Broughton High School last year.
The record, however, was recently challenged by the Raleigh News and Observer who reviewed the game film and found that Cooper passed for 15 yards less than what was originally recorded. That means Cooper actually tied Leak’s mark.
Because it is nearly impossible to check high school football stats, the North Carolina High School Athletic Association will probably allow Cooper to keep the record, however. As Bobby Guthrie, the Wake County Schools athletic director and a member of the NCHSAA board said:

“How do we know the Charlotte [record] is correct? Is Chris Leak’s record any more valid than what the Cooper boy did?”

June 27, 2011 Posted by Tim Long at 1:18 pm Sports No Responses »

Cigarettes stolen from Walgreens on Lawyers Road

Jun 252011

The two suspects in last week's robbery at Walgreens.

Mint Hill Police need help locating two suspects who stole cigarettes from Walgreens on Lawyers Road June 17. Police estimate the value of the cigarettes is $500.

The suspects entered the business and the male suspect positioned himself behind the counter where he stole the tobacco products. Both suspects fled the store on foot and fled the parking lot area in a red 4-door vehicle with a chrome style running board. Continue reading »

June 25, 2011 Posted by Tim Long at 10:52 am Police No Responses »

Matthews Receives Grant for New Community Garden

Jun 242011

View Larger MapThe Town of Matthews has received a $3,000 grant to establish a new Community Garden. Currently the Town has one Community Garden which is located at 427 Covenant Church Lane.

The grant was given to the Town by the Nourishing North Carolina Program, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina and the NC Recreation & Park Association.

The Community Garden was established as a place where residents of Matthews who do not have space for a garden could plant flowers or vegetables. For $30 a year you can rent an 8’x6’ plot. The garden has been very popular since it was first established. Currently there is a waiting list for people who would like a plot.

Over the next few months the Town will work to identify a second Community Garden site and use the grant money to establish it.

For more information on the Community Garden contact the Matthews Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources Department at 704-321-7275.

June 24, 2011 Posted by Tim Long at 11:03 am Development, Matthews 1 Response »

Town extends deadline for land use plan survey

Jun 232011

The town of Mint Hill has extended the deadline to take the land use plan survey to July 11.

Click the town seal to take the survey.

Town Manager Brian Welch made the decision so that more citizens would have a chance to participate. The former deadline was June 20.

The survey gauges how citizens feel about future development in the town.

The information will then be used to help either tweak or start over the Comprehensive Land Use Plan that was drafted last year.

As of Monday, 600 people have taken the survey according to Town Planning Director Lee Bailey.

The draft of the plan drew stern criticism from some in town who thought there was too much allowance for higher density development, especially in the areas closest to Charlotte’s borders.

Mint Hill Board of Commissioner Lloyd Austin was on the board when the previous plan was enacted in 2000. He said he supported extending the survey date to July to give more people a chance to have their say.

The process has been much more contentious than in 2000 according to Austin.

“It’s been a roller coaster,” Austin said. “I’m not for higher density, but there was a misunderstanding about what the plan was originally about. Overall, I think it was just a communication problem.” Continue reading »

June 23, 2011 Posted by Tim Long at 12:17 pm Around Town, Development No Responses »

New restaurant coming to Mint Hill

Jun 232011

View Larger Map
The Mint Hill restaurant scene is growing. Brad Bowen, a resident of the town, is in the process of opening a full service restaurant and bakery called Palmetto Grill and Bakery at the location formerly operated by Mama’s Pizza in Mint Hill Pavilion.
This follows the recent opening of The Hill Bar and Grill in the location that was once occupied by Mint Hill Grill and Deli.
Bowen has spent much of the past 30 years either operating restaurants or working in the corporate side of the food service industry. The Olde Sycamore resident hopes to have his new venture open by the New restaurant coming to Mint Hill end of August.
The restaurant will feature fresh cut steaks and fish and be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week. Bowen said he hopes to “bring to Mint Hill what it has been missing for years, an upscale, yet affordable family restaurant that serves made from scratch meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner.”
The dinner menu will include Mahi Mahi, Bourbon Glazed Salmon, Red Striped Bass, Filet Mignon and Baby Back Ribs. Continue reading »

June 23, 2011 Posted by Tim Long at 12:09 pm Around Town 1 Response »

IBM employees volunteer at Blessed Assurance

Jun 222011

Blessed Assurance Adult Day Care participated in IBM’s celebration of 100 years as a company on June 11 and 15. More than 75 employees from IBM in Charlotte contributed at 26 area non-profits in the region. As a part of this celebration, Melanie A. Tindley, Systems Availability Leader at IBM, reached out to Nate Huggins and Blessed Assurance and arranged for Senior Development Manager, Gary Brooks and Senior Software Engineer, John W. Medlin to conduct a complete technology inventory, comprehensive security audit and a total analysis and maintenance of the computer lab. Additionally, Tindley and Sammie Allam, Sales and Distribution Executive, prepped and painted several offices.

June 22, 2011 Posted by Tim Long at 9:02 am Around Town, Non-profit No Responses »

Matthews names police and support persons of the year

Jun 212011

From left: Roy Sisk and Hubert Adams accept the awards from the Chamber of Commerce.

The officers of the Matthews Police Department have chosen Roy Sisk as the Police Officer of the Year and Hubert Adams, the Police Support Person of the Year. The Matthews Chamber of Commerce presented the awards.

Sgt. Roy Sisk joined the Matthews Police Department in 2003. He supervises the Patrol
Division and is a member of the Special Resource Team. A native of Alabama, Roy graduated from Wingate University with a B.S. degree and he completed his Basic Law Enforcement Training Certification at Western Piedmont Community College.

Before joining the Matthews Police Department he worked for eight years at the Marshville Police Department where he was a sergeant. Continue reading »

June 21, 2011 Posted by Tim Long at 3:44 pm Matthews No Responses »

Two Republicans, two different opinions on CMS budget requests

Jun 202011

It was a busy day for Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools June 8. In one morning, school officials announced they had enough money to keep most of the full time positions they thought they may lose. And then came
the second bombshell: Peter Gorman announced he is resigning as superintendent and taking a job with News Corporation in New York.
Just one day before, the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners voted to give CMS half of the $50 million the Board of Education had requested. The board voted 5-4 along party lines to give CMS $26 million in additional funds for the next school year. It was unclear to the Mecklenburg County board how much, if any, CMS would receive in state funding.
However, the $26 million was not enough to cover the three most important items that CMS said it would fund first if it got additional money.
Gorman said that to keep class sizes lower, maintain student weighted staffing, and keep support positions such as literacy facilitators and media specialists, they would need $34 million. However, CMS’s
announcement last week noted the $26 million would indeed cover the total cost of keeping 570 positions.
“We will use the $26 million just as we told the county that we would,” said Chief Operating Officer Hugh Hattabaugh. “The $26 million will mean we don’t have to increase class sizes and we don’t have to
change our weighted student-staffing formula. Together those two items add up to $24 million – and we’ll apply the remaining $2 million to the next item in the tier, which is support staff in schools.”
While teachers who had already been given pink slips were delighted at the news that they would keep their jobs, Mecklenburg County Commissioner Bill James, who represents the Mint Hill area, called foul.
“The whole thing was kabuki theater to whip up support from soccer moms,” James said this week. Continue reading »

June 20, 2011 Posted by Tim Long at 5:18 pm Mecklenburg County, Schools No Responses »

Myrick skeptical about U.S. involvement in Libya

Jun 202011

Back in the 1980s, covert operations by the US military to help spread Democracy around the world were the cornerstone of Conservative ideals. Even in the early 2000s, as George W. Bush pushed for a war in Iraq that was based on faulty evidence, the GOP applauded the effort and supported the war fully.

Fast forward to a Democrat in the White House and the GOP seem to have lost their thirst for military intervention in the world. Sue Myrick released this statement last week about the Obama administration’s push to support the rebels in Libya:

“A few weeks ago, Congress passed a resolution stating that no members of the US Armed Forces shall be used on the ground in Libya, and requesting detailed information regarding US interest in Libya, especially as it relates to the War Powers Act. The Administration has delivered this information to Congress, stating that the War Powers Act does not apply as our military’s role in Libya is limited because we’re operating under NATO.

Myrick goes on to say that the United States providing 70 percent of the coalition’s intelligence capabilities and refueling assets for aircraft are not what she considers a limited involvement in Libya.

“Seventy percent isn’t limited. Providing a majority of the resources to continue airstrikes isn’t limited. To me, that’s a pretty aggressive role, and as such, the Administration should be required to bring all further action in Libya before Congress for authorization. As Speaker Boehner has indicated, the House will be looking at the legislative options available to us in the coming days.”

June 20, 2011 Posted by Tim Long at 1:49 pm Washington No Responses »

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