by Sarah Gilbert

The second annual Pancakes for a Purpose breakfast will come to Applebee’s in the Stonecrest shopping center Feb. 25, raising money to support pancreatic cancer research. Organizer Tammi Brady hosts the event in honor of her late husband, Dave Anstadt, who died of pancreatic cancer in 2002. Last year’s event raised approximately $5,000 for the Lustgarten Foundation, which works to prevent, treat and cure the disease. Volunteers, from right, Andrew Brady, Shayan Sarmadi, Chynna Chan, Allie Kennedy, Emily Brady, Robert Kohut, Sammon Sarmadi and Anton Soloshenko joined an Applebee’s employee in helping out at the 2011 breakfast. (Courtesy of Tammi Brady)

This year, Tammi Brady will celebrate her late husband’s birthday by eating pancakes with her family and friends while raising money to fight the disease that took Dave Anstadt’s life 10 years ago.

The second annual Pancakes for a Purpose breakfast is set for Feb. 25, a Saturday, at the Applebee’s in the Stonecrest shopping center.  The inaugural event, held in June 2011, raised some $5,000 for research on pancreatic cancer, a disease that’s had a very personal impact on the Brady family.

“In 2002, my husband passed away from pancreatic cancer,” Brady said.  “The time from when he was diagnosed to when he passed away was only two months.  It’s a nasty, nasty disease with little-to-no symptoms, and once you have symptoms, there’s usually very little they can do about it.”

Anstadt was 43 when he died, leaving behind he and Brady’s two children, Andrew and Emily, who were 8 and 5 at the time.  As the years passed, Brady began searching for a way to raise money to fight the disease.  She found the perfect match in the Applebee’s Flapjack Fundraiser program, which allows local groups to sign up for dates to hold fundraising breakfasts.

“This seemed like a great way to raise some money because he loved cooking and he loved pancakes,” Brady said.  “He was always getting up in the morning to make pancakes or helping out at pancake breakfasts at church.”

The first breakfast drew supporters ranging from Andrew and Emily’s classmates to Anstadt’s friends, including one who drove to Charlotte from Pittsburgh to attend the event.

“I was amazed by the response, and the money we raised was way above what I expected for my first year,” Brady said.  “It was held over the summer, so many people were out of town.  I also had a lot of people say they felt pancakes were even better as a cold weather food, so we decided to plan this year’s breakfast for the wintertime.”

Brady chose to hold the breakfast Feb. 25, both to allow more people to attend and to further honor her late husband, who was born on Feb. 26.

“It seemed very fitting,” Brady said.  “We’ll be celebrating his birthday while trying to raise money for the disease that took his life.”

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S. and has the lowest survival rate of all cancers tracked by the American Cancer Society, according to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.  The average life expectancy after diagnosis with metastatic pancreatic cancer is three to six months, and 94 percent of all patients die within five years of learning they have the disease.

Mortality rates are high because there are no detection tools to diagnose the disease in its early stages, the network said.  Surgical removal of the tumor is typically very difficult by the time it is discovered.

The proceeds from the breakfast, which will consist of more than $5 out of every $7 ticket sold, will go to the Lustgarten Foundation.  The foundation’s mission involves advancing research into diagnosing, treating, curing and preventing pancreatic cancer.

The foundation honors Marc Lustgarten, a former executive with the Cablevision television company in New York City, who died of pancreatic cancer in 1998.

“Cablevision has agreed to underwrite all administrative costs for at least the next 10 years,” Brady said.  “That way, 100 percent of all donations to the Lustgarten Foundation goes to research, which just makes me want to make each year bigger and better.  These events make you feel like you’re doing something to help.”

The second annual Pancakes for a Purpose breakfast will be held Feb. 25 from 7:30 to 10 a.m. at the Stonecrest Applebee’s, located at 5110 Piper Station Drive.

For more information or to purchase advance tickets, email Brady at -pancakesforapurpose@aol.com. To make a donation, go to www.lustgarten.org/pancakes.

Local candidate joins host of others running for Myrick’s U.S. House

Andy Dulin

seat

Andy Dulin, who represents the SouthPark area on Charlotte City Council, has entered the race to take over the House of Representatives seat current Rep. Sue Myrick will leave in November.

Dulin announced his candidacy in Charlotte Tuesday, Feb. 14, outside the Madison Park home of Rick Aldridge, who has found an ally in Dulin throughout a project designed to improve conditions in the neighborhood creek.

The waterway is prone to flooding after only a few inches of rainfall. The nearby residents had asked the city for help for 60 years, Aldridge said, but saw no progress until Dulin joined the effort.

“Since then, we’ve done $3 million of renovations on this creek,” Aldridge said. Teams have hauled 14 trucks of sediment out of the creek, improving

water flow and boosting capacity to reduce flooding.

“Sometimes you have a person you’ll go out of your way for because you know they’ll go out of their way for you,” Aldridge said of Dulin. “We’ve been down in that creek in the rain and the mud, I appreciate everything he’s done.”

Dulin, a Republican, is currently serving his fourth term on city council, where he vice chairs the budget committee and serves on the community safety, environment and government affairs committees. He’s also waded into the Madison Park creek with residents to monitor potential flooding, sometimes during the wee hours of the morning.

“I’m proud of that work, just like I’m proud of my work in my district and across the city,” Dulin said. “I’m going to bring my laser-pointed community service and focus to the House of Representatives in Washington, D.C.”

Dulin is running for a House seat representing District 9, which includes the northern and southern regions of Mecklenburg County, along with parts of Iredell and Union counties. He announced his campaign Tuesday morning in Mooresville before heading to Cornelius, Madison Park and finally Weddington.

Myrick, also a Republican, has represented the district since 1995.

“I’ve got a six-year body of work on city council lasering in on community focus and constituent service,” Dulin said. “With Congressional District 9, it expands my playground. I get to go to Union County and Iredell County and ask from the federal level what I do for those folks. I get to go out in south Charlotte, where people know me very well, and I get to go out into north Mecklenburg.”

The boundaries of District 9 saw some shifts last summer when the Republican-controlled state legislature completed the redistricting process that happens every 10 years. Gaston County moved from District 9 to District 10, currently represented by Republican Patrick McHenry, and southern Iredell County joined District 9.

“I’ve proven on city council that no one is going to outwork me,” Dulin said. “What I’m going to do is go to Iredell County and Union County every day if I have to. After my commitment to city council, my wife and my three children, this is going to be my focus. The people don’t have to worry about coming to me.”

Dulin, who was re-elected to his council seat in November, said Tuesday that he plans to continue being accessible to his constituents by attending meetings and events across the congressional district and handing out business cards that include his personal cell phone number.

“Wouldn’t it be cool to have a congressional representative with his cell phone number on his card?” Dulin asked. “I’m going to open myself and my availability up to these people like they’ve never seen before. No other candidate can bring that kind of energy or that kind of spunk to this race.”

A group of local residents gathered at Dulin’s Madison Park announcement to show their support for his candidacy.

“I’ll be sorry to lose him in south Charlotte, but if he’s going to move up, that’s great,” Lynn Todd said. “He’s always been an advocate for us here, which is very nice. He makes us feel like someone is paying attention.”

Todd, a Madison Park resident, said Dulin frequently attends the neighborhood’s homeowner association meetings, giving residents a chance to speak to him about local issues.

“He’s very approachable,” Todd said. “He’s real and honest, and he seems very trustworthy.”

Dulin is one of seven candidates who have announced plans to run for the District 9 seat as of Wednesday morning, Feb. 15. Candidates include republicans Dan Barry, the mayor pro tem of Weddington in Union County; Ric Killian, who represents south Charlotte in the N.C. House of Representatives; Jim Pendergraph, an at-large member and vice chair of the Mecklenburg County Commission; Michael Shaffer and Michael Steinberg; and Democrat Jennifer Roberts, an at-large member of the Mecklenburg County Commission.

If Dulin is elected, Charlotte City Council members will be charged with filling his SouthPark-area seat for the remainder of his term. Council policy dictates that applicants for vacant seats must be residents of the district they hope to represent and members of the same political party as the outgoing representative.

The Providence High boys celebrated their third Class 4A state title in a row on Feb. 11. (Courtesy of Sandy Martin)

In many ways, it was fitting that the Providence High boys swimming and diving team didn’t produce any individual champions at last weekend’s Class 4A state meet in Cary.

Unlike recent seasons, coach Sandy Martin said, the 2011-12 Panthers didn’t have a “star” on the roster. What they did have, however, was depth and determination, and both paid huge dividends on Feb. 11, as the Panthers roared to their third consecutive state championship at Cary’s Triangle Aquatic Center.

“This is great for this group of seniors, who almost won a state championship when they were freshmen but lost to North Meck (in 2009 by three points),” Martin said. “That year, Anderson Sloan (now swimming at Clemson) was the star. The next year, Kip (Darmody, now at Texas) was the star. But for the guys this year, it was about the team.”

The Panthers (265 points) outscored Cornelius’ Hough High (213) to win.

While there wasn’t an individual winner for the Panthers at the state meet, that doesn’t mean there weren’t any standouts. There were plenty, starting Kevin Glenn, John Ferretti, Ryan Wilkinson and Kyle Darmody. The quartet comprised Providence’s 200-yard freestyle relay team, which established an all-classification state record (1 minute, 24.78 seconds) that was more than three seconds ahead of second-place Hough.

Glenn, who has signed with Penn State, also was second in the 200 individual medley (1:51.96) and eighth in the 100 backstroke (1:00.77).

Ryan Wilkinson, an N.C. State signee, had a pair of third-place finishes: in the 50 freestyle (21.54) and 100 backstroke (51.21).

Kyle Darmody, a junior, was third in the 100 freestyle (46.09) and fourth in the 200 freestyle (1:41.66).

Austin Snyder, another N.C. State recruit, took fourth place in the 100 butterfly (50.84) and sixth in the 500 freestyle (4:38.99).

Ferretti was fifth in the 50 freestyle (21.85), and Michael Murray finished eighth in the 1-meter diving competition (318.60).

The relays proved to be the difference for the Panthers. In addition to the record-setting 200 freestyle team, Wilkinson, Ferretti, Snyder and Darmody also joined forces to win a gold medal in the 200 medley relay (1:34.04). The 400 freestyle relay team of Snyder, Trevor Kent, Zach Cox and Glenn took fourth place (3:15.65).

“Unlike at regionals, we knew we were going to load up our relays for states, and that was huge for us,” Martin said. “Once we got that 200 free, we knew we had (the state team championship).

“I’ve known these boys since they were really little,” Martin added. “Now, they’re young men, and all of them did what was best for the team – they exemplified it perfectly. I’m so proud of them and so happy for them.”

The Providence girls finished 10th in the team standings, having received a boost from their divers: Madaline Keeley, who was fourth (355 points); Hannah Croxton, who was eighth (304.40); and Katie Woodliff, who was 10th (298.40).

Panther Adair Sloan was eighth in the 100 freestyle (54.32).

Saturday’s Ballantyne Priorities 2012 meeting turned out to be just what organizers expected: lots of residents questioning lots of political and local leaders on everything from Interstate 485 traffic to the future of local schools.

The meeting, hosted by the Ballantyne Breakfast Club, was a chance for south Charlotte residents to speak one-on-one with city, county and state leaders on whatever topic was important to them. Charlotte City Council, Mecklenburg County Commission and the N.C. General Assembly were all represented at the event, and Mayor Anthony Foxx showed up toward the end to speak with locals.

“I thought it went very well… I got some feedback from people and they found the information from (the Charlotte Area Transit System) and the city’s planning department very interesting,” Ray Eschert, Ballantyne Breakfast Club founder and new member of the planning board, said after the meeting. “Also, the politicians I spoke to all seemed to feel it was a success and were glad they got a good opportunity to meet people.”

In one corner Saturday stood N.C. Sen. Bob Rucho and N.C. Reps. Bill Brawley and Ruth Samuelson, all who cover south Mecklenburg and are up for reelection this year. While Rucho argued with one man over whether toll lanes would help traffic on I-485 – a project Rucho is in favor of – Samuelson tried to explain bills she and other Republicans in Raleigh had worked to get by Democrat Gov. Bev Perdue last year, like a voter identification bill.

In another corner sat Mecklenburg county commissioners Bill James and Jim Pendergraph while their opponents in upcoming races worked to gain voters amongst the crowd. James will face an in-party challenger – Ed Driggs – in the May Republican primary for county commission District 6, while Pendergraph will face, among others, Charlotte City Councilman Andy Dulin and Mecklenburg County Commissioner Jennifer Roberts in the race for Sue Myrick’s District 9 U.S. House seat. Dulin hadn’t officially entered the race as of Saturday, but worked the crowd all the same, while Roberts wasn’t in attendance.

While the event aimed to be a service for residents, politicians found it to be pretty helpful themselves Saturday. City councilman Warren Cooksey used his time to explain the inclusionary housing policy group he’s working with and try to drum up more interest among south Charlotte homeowners. The policy potentially would give developers incentives – like fee waivers or reductions and allowing for duplexes on any lot – if those developers add more affordable housing to their projects in areas with high home values and increase the amount of mixed-income housing in the city. This could become a bigger issue for people in south Charlotte as the process moves on, as the area has one of the highest median home values in the city.

“There were lots of questions about the policy,” Cooksey, who represents the Ballantyne area on city council, said after the meeting. “People wanted to know what the policy means? How does it work?”

Cooksey doesn’t expect a decision to be made on the policy anytime soon, and Eschert said he may schedule a breakfast club meeting to discuss the topic. Those seeking more information can contact Cooksey at rwcooksey@gmail.com.

Saturday also was a chance for the area’s new school board representative to mix with residents. The Rev. Amelia Stinson-Wesley was appointed by a vote of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Board earlier this year to fill Tim Morgan’s seat after Morgan moved to an at-large position. Stinson-Wesley now covers all of the Ballantyne-area schools on the board, as well as those in Pineville, Matthews and Mint Hill.

A lot of the questions she got on Saturday concerned the search for a new superintendent.

“There were some questions related to the search and I was able to say that really is my major focus right now, along with the budget,” Stinson-Wesley said following the meeting. “I think the superintendent search is the most important decision we are looking at right now.”

This was one of Stinson-Wesley’s first chances to meet one-on-one with Ballantyne residents, as well as local and state leaders.

“I met a lot of different potential contacts… a lot of it was networking,” the new school board representative said. “That’s always nice to know what other resources and people are out there. That was an important and helpful aspect.”

The Priorities 2012 event is one of many held by the Ballantyne Breakfast Club to help locals be more involved in key topics throughout the year. Find more information on the club, as well as listings for future meetings, at its website, www.ballantynebreakfastclub.com.

Morgan Smith contributed to this article

Michelle Obama

First Lady Michelle Obama is scheduled to attend a fundraiser March 2 at the Ballantyne Hotel, according to a Democratic National Convention host committee official.

Obama is coming to town a few months before thousands of delegates, politicians and media members converge on Charlotte for the Democratic National Convention, scheduled for the Labor Day weekend in September.

The March 2 reception, which starts at 5 p.m., will include a special performance by musician James Taylor, according to the host committee’s website. Tickets start at $250 per person for the reception and performance. Those tickets are limited. Other tickets for the reception and performance include the gold seating package, at $1,000 per person, and the platinum seating package, at $2,500 per person. People can find more information and purchase tickets at the reception’s website, https://charlottein2012.com/3212Reception.

The Ballantyne Hotel is located at 10000 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy.

by Mike Parks

After years of seeing crime numbers drop in south Charlotte, 2012 didn’t start off exactly as local police had hoped it would.

The area south of Fairview Road saw three more home break-ins and 24 more car break-ins last month when compared to January 2011, a statistic police blame partially on how low crime numbers have been over the past few years. The South Division of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, which covers the area, was honored last year for having the best crime reduction numbers for 2010, and the Providence Division, which covers the SouthPark, Cotswold and Foxcroft area of south Charlotte, was honored last month for having the best crime reduction in 2011.

But 2012 is off to a poor start, with at least 27 home break-ins and 42 car break-ins in January in the South Division. Statistics for the Providence Division’s SouthPark, Cotswold and Foxcroft areas weren’t available as of Wednesday morning, Feb. 15.

The month also was marred by the murder of Danielle Watson, who police say was killed by a co-worker Jan. 13 at The Flying Biscuit Cafe in the Stonecrest shopping center in South Division. Police say Mark Cox confessed to stabbing Watson to death to his sister before fleeing the city. He eventually was arrested in Fayetteville. He’s scheduled to appear in court March 8.

Police released the following statistics for crime in the area in January.

Mecklenburg County Commission

At-large

• Kim Michele Ratliff (Dem)

www.votekimratliff.com

• Michael Hobbs (Rep)

www.electmichaelhobbs.com

District 5 (SouthPark)

• Paula Harvey (Dem)

www.voteforpaulaharvey.com

• Sarah Cherne (Rep)

www.sarahcherne.com

* Bill Griffin has announced he will run, but hadn’t filed by press deadline.

District 6 (Ballantyne)

• Connie Green-Johnson (Dem)

www.voteconnie.org

• Ed Driggs (Rep)

www.eddriggs.com

• Bill James (Rep)

www.billjames.org

North Carolina Senate

District 39

• Bob Rucho (Rep)

www.bobrucho.com

District 41

• John Aneralla (Rep)

www.electjohnaneralla.com

* Jeff Tarte has announced he will run, but hadn’t filed by press deadline.

North Carolina House of Representatives

District 88

• Martha Alexander (Dem)

marthabalexander@msn.com

• Rob Bryan (Rep)

www.friendsofrob.com

* Ruth Samuelson has announced she will run, but hadn’t filed by press deadline.

District 92

• Robin Bradford (Dem)

www.robinbradfordnc.com

District 102

• Becky Carney (Dem)

ejcarney@aol.com

District 103

• Bill Brawley (Rep)

www.brawleyfornchouse.com

U.S. House of Representatives

District 9

So far, the following people have announced their intentions to run for Rep. Sue Myrick’s seat: Dan Barry (Rep), Andy Dulin (Rep), Ric Killian (Rep), Jim Pendergraph (Rep), Jennifer Roberts (Dem), Michael Shaffer (Rep) and Michael Steinberg (Rep).

by Mike Parks

Charlotte City Council approved a measure Monday night, Feb. 13, to pay AT&T to move their utilities out of the way for the upcoming widening of Rea Road in south Charlotte.

The city will pay $175,000 to relocate AT&T’s infrastructure, which includes the company’s boxes and underground cable, so crews can start work on Rea in late spring. Piedmont Natural Gas just recently finished moving their utilities infrastructure out of the way, and Time Warner Cable recently started on their lines, according to Imad Fakhreddin, project manager for the city.

Once all utility relocation is complete, crews will start work that includes improving alignment of the road’s two lanes to eliminate sight distance problems for drivers turning into and out of neighborhoods. Crews also will ad bicycle lanes, curbs, gutters and sidewalks, as well as a designated right turn lane at Pineville-Matthews Road.

The city is opting not to add additional general travel lanes to Rea, between Pineville-Matthews and Colony Road in hopes that eliminating the sight distance problems and adding the turn lane will help cut down on congestion and improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety. Community forums already have been held about the project.

Fakhreddin, the project manager, said the project is now in the construction-bid stage, and city council should award the contract to a construction team on April 23. The project is expected to cost roughly $22.5 million, and should take roughly 26 months to complete, meaning the project should end around winter 2014.

There will be some delays while work is under way on Rea, Fakhreddin said, though lanes will likely remain open.

Alan Shuart, 78, was killed Feb. 10 when police say Lowe swerved around a stopped car at a red light at the intersection of Providence Road West and Johnston Road and crashed into Shuart’s car. The incident happened around 6:30 a.m.

Police say interviews with witnesses at the scene led them to charging Lowe with involuntary manslaughter and reckless driving. He was taken to a local hospital due to injuries he sustained in the wreck, and was arrested Saturday, Feb. 11, after being discharged.

Lisenby is now in charge of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s section that covers neighborhoods southeast of Rea Road, including the Piper Glen, Hembstead and Providence Plantation neighborhoods.

Lisenby has worked in the department for nearly 23 years, holding roles in the youth bureau, auto theft, missing persons, homicide task force units and organized retail theft task force of the division. She’s also had patrol assignments as an officer and a supervisor in the Providence, North Tryon and Steele Creek divisions.

In a letter to local residents earlier this month, Lisenby said her main focus is on car and home break-ins. South Charlotte as a whole saw an increase in both categories last month compared to January 2011. Lisenby’s response area saw a drop in home break-ins last month – from 10 in 2011 to seven this year – but an increase in car break-ins – from six last year to 12 last month.

People can contact Lisenby by email at plisenby@cmpd.org.