Rhonda Hartweg

The church will launch “Under the Arbor,” Friday, May 10 – a summer series initiative that will take place the second and fourth Fridays each month from now through August. The Friday night events, which will run from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., will feature local musicians and other entertainers, with the May 10 event featuring the musical group “Trinity.”

“Kind of what we’re thinking is that we are really trying to promote multi-generational events. It’s a focus on unity. We are a large church with multiple services, but we are trying to have more things that are open to anyone to attend,” Hartweg said. “We thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if we could provide this setting where people could come hang out awhile?’”

Summer tends to be a different season for the church, Hartweg said, with many members in and out of town on vacation and students on summer break. The church wanted to find another avenue to promote community while providing an inviting atmosphere for those looking for a church to call home.

It’s a mission at Harrison to create relationships beyond the church doors, Hartweg said. The church is known for its outreach and services to the community, like the annual fall festival and other ministries like the food pantry and backpack program. Hartweg, who has been at Harrison for around a year, said the summer series will be an additional way to spread the love of Christ to the community.

“We’ve done other events like this in different contexts,” she said. “The community being in Charlotte really offers more opportunity.” Hartweg previously served at a church in Wingate, where she also spearheaded outreach projects and community missions. “Wingate is a college town, but we did things like this there in areas like the park. When I came here, I was so excited because Harrison is so involved in the community. It’s a huge mission and fellowship thing.”

Hartweg said the church is still looking for musicians and other entertainers to perform through the later months of the summer. On May 24, “Under the Arbor” will feature singing and dancing Latin-style with Javier Perez and friends. She’s still waiting to hear back about entertainers for June and is still looking to schedule some for July and August. If the series is successful, Hartweg said the church might consider extending it into September.

“We have a lot of musicians that don’t necessarily play in the worship band. We have professional storytellers and even a clowning ministry,” Hartweg said. “I started out asking people in the church, but we also want more people from the community, as well.”

Entertainers interested in participating should contact Hartweg at rhonda.hartweg@harrisonumc.org.

The evenings also will include activities for kids, like sidewalk chalk and other outside games, Hartweg said, and will sometimes include games for adults. Participants are strongly encouraged to bring snacks and nonalcoholic beverages to make the evening more enjoyable, though Hartweg said the church will most likely provide lemonade and light snacks. People can even pick-up dinner for the
family and bring it to the event, she added.

“They can bring anything. We wanted to make it a time where people are coming home from work,” Hartweg said. “We’re just trying to make it easier for people to come on the campus and get to know people. It’s all about relationships – not where they find themselves. It doesn’t have to be a traditional church service.”

The summer series will take place under the arbor at the church, which has existed on the campus since the church was established. Harrison United Methodist Church is located at 15008 Lancaster Hwy.

The plan, as it was presented Monday, May 6, would pay for $816.4 million worth of projects with a 3.17-cent tax increase and four bond votes over the next seven years. This proposal is a change from last year’s proposed plan, that bogged down in negotiations and debate, in that it doesn’t include $119 million to extend the Uptown streetcar project. Last year’s capital investment plan called for $926 million in spending and a 3.6-cent tax increase.

“As you hear about this budget … what you’re going to hear is about how we build the future of our city,” Mayor Anthony Foxx said Monday night of the importance in passing some form of capital investment plan. Foxx was a vocal proponent of the plan last summer, expressing anger and concern when council opted to spend another year debating the package instead of approving the pro-streetcar plan last June. Now on his way out of Charlotte after being nominated by President Obama as secretary of transportation, Foxx is adamant city council come together to pass a plan.

“This budget will make investments in parts of our city that need to see revitalization, such as the Independence Boulevard corridor,” Foxx said, saying money needs to be targeted to specific areas instead of spread thin around the city. “In order to raise the quality of life but also to grow revenue in the city, we’re going to have to reinvent part of our city. Parts of our city that have been challenged are going to have to get stronger.”

That goal caused some frustration among south Charlotte residents last year who complained the plan would spend much more money in east, north and west Charlotte and not as much in south Charlotte – a region providing a large chunk of the city’s tax revenue.

The capital investment plan includes a handful of south Charlotte projects – $60.9 million for six new police stations (two of which would be in south Charlotte), $25.6 million for road and infrastructure improvements that would include extending Park South Drive near SouthPark and $35 million for a multi-use trail that would reach into south Charlotte.

Foxx and other proponents of the capital investment plan have said more projects aren’t being recommended for south Charlotte because south Charlotte doesn’t need to be revitalized like other areas of the city do. If parts of east, north and west Charlotte improve to the point that more businesses come to the area, that could take the tax burden off south Charlotte.

The streetcar project, which split council members last year, is still in the works. But it won’t be included in the capital investment plan unless council members recommend adding it at a budget adjustment meeting Wednesday, May 15, and then vote to officially add it to the budget at a May 29 straw vote meeting. Though it wasn’t in the plan presented Monday, council members still spent time debating the issue and Councilman Andy Dulin, who represents the SouthPark area, said he expects it to continue to be a divisive issue as discussions continue.

Councilman Warren Cooksey, who represents Ballantyne, said last year he did not have any projects he was interested in adding to the capital investment plan. Cooksey did not speak about his thoughts on the proposed plan at Monday’s meeting.

Council is scheduled to vote on the final budget proposal and capital plan June 10.

Superintendent Heath Morrison presented his slimmed-down capital investment plan Tuesday, May 7, to county commissioners. The plan lists the 18 projects CMS leaders feel are both important and fit into a $300 million target range county commissioners set for the school board in earlier budget discussions.

“If you took every classroom, every school and put (their needs) all on a list, that comes out to a lot of needs,” Morrison said. The system’s 10-year plan lists $1.8 billion in possible projects, though Morrison was clear to point out his board isn’t asking for that money and is trying to work within the guidelines set by the county.

“Though we desperately … need a new high school in the south – that is one of our high-growth areas with many of our high schools overcrowded – if we suggested one high school project the cost estimates … would easily be around $80 million,” Morrison said. “So, if we knew we could only put in for $300 million, one project could take almost a third of those monies.”

The plan, as presented Tuesday night, includes five south Charlotte-area projects. The plan could get trimmed as county commissioners debate the package of projects and prepare to put a bond on a future ballot.

The biggest priority of the 18 projects was reopening Oakhurst and Starmount elementary schools, Morrison said. Starmount in particular would be a benefit to south Charlotte parents, as it would syphon off some students from overcrowded campuses at Huntingtowne Farms and Montclaire elementary schools. Opening both schools would cost nearly $6 million, according to Morrison’s presentation.

“The education at Huntingtowne Farms is not equitable for any of the students attending the school,” said one parent at Tuesday’s meeting. “That’s evident by the low student performance (at Huntingtowne Farms) compared to the other SouthPark-area elementary schools.”

The parent added that fixing school overcrowding is the first step in addressing student performance at Huntingtowne Farms, and “the most inexpensive and logical solution is reopening Starmount.”

A resident of the Montclaire neighborhood added, “A lot of our families leave our neighborhood once they have school-age children because they don’t have confidence in our neighborhood elementary school or the middle and high schools we’re assigned to.”

The eighth-ranked project is adding to and renovating Myers Park High School. The $22 million project would renovate the kitchen and cafeteria and add classroom space to remove the need for portable units.

The 10th-ranked project is at East Mecklenburg High School, where the school board wants to spend $12.7 million to add a 30-classroom building to cut down on the need for mobiles.

The 12th-ranked project is at South Mecklenburg High School, where two aging buildings need to be replaced with a 30-classroom building. The project, at $18.4 million, also would include a new kitchen and cafeteria.

The 15th-ranked project is the kindergarten to eighth-grade STEAM, or Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics, school in Ballantyne. The project, at more than $29 million, would provide relief for Ballantyne, Elon Park, Hawk Ridge and Polo Ridge elementary schools as well as Community House and Jay M. Robinson middle schools.

The school system’s capital projects will compete with projects requested by Central Piedmont Community College for the $300 million bond. The request from CMS makes up nearly that entire amount.

Students in Justin Ashley’s classes organized facts about Lockhart on the whiteboard. (Top right, from left) Ashley, Matrena Hunter and Patrick Phillips. Hunter is Lockhart’s 93-year-old daughter.

When college friend Patrick Phillips of Harrisburg told Ashley, a history teacher at the school, about his great-grandfather and the pile of old newspaper articles, personal letters and certificates he found, Ashley was surprised to find the story of John Clegg Lockhart had been forgotten and lost throughout the years. With a few glances into the files, he quickly realized Lockhart was a true leader and education advocate in North Carolina – someone to be remembered and someone whose story should be cherished.

That’s why Ashley, the North Carolina History Teacher of the Year, asked his 70 fourth-grade students for help. Together, for the past five weeks or so, Ashley and his students have sifted through the files and uncovered Lockhart’s story. Now, they’re working to bring honor back to his name.

“It all started when I was talking to my friend Patrick this summer and I was telling him about teaching North Carolina history this year,” Ashley said. “I said ‘Give me the files and we’ll see what we can do.’ We realized that this guy changed the game in the North Carolina educational system. The kids and I talked about it and decided that maybe it was our job to sing the song of an unsung hero.”

With help from parents, teachers assistants and other volunteers, the kids got to work researching Lockhart’s life. They were stunned when a simple Google search only retrieved a birth and death certificate. They first started by creating “Leader Gold,” folders highlighting key aspects of what constitutes a great leader – another aspect of the project Ashley hoped to teach his students.

Students were able to create a timeline of Lockhart’s life after dissecting the files and interviews with family members like Phillips. They searched the North Carolina State Archives for background information and eventually organized their facts on Ashley’s whiteboard. They found Lockhart was a leader in school consolidation, building 17 new schools in Wake County with state and local funds and money from President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal while superintendent of Wake County Schools from 1918 to 1940. He advocated for construction of five black high schools and a transportation system for black students.

He also changed the welfare for teachers and educators, advocating for the creation of the State Retirement System for teachers and other state employees, and was part of the adoption of the 12th year of education and nine-month school year term.

“He consolidated one-room school houses into larger schools,” Ashley said. “He lobbied for school funding during the Great Depression. He was fighting for Civil Rights before it was even a movement and that’s one thing the kids really admired about him. Everything he touched turned to gold.”

Lockhart also served as superintendent of what was then Mecklenburg County Schools from 1940 to 1943.

“I think that it is very interesting that he gave his whole life to education. How did he not get recognized for doing all those things?” 10-year-old Roch Guertin said. “He was an amazing leader. His first wife died shortly after childbirth, but he eventually remarried. I thought it was amazing that he didn’t give up. And thanks to Mr. Lockhart, teachers have a better life.”

The students currently are working to raise money for several plaques to be placed around the state in honor of Lockhart. Each plaque costs around $1,500, the first of which has already been purchased and will be placed at Lockhart Elementary School in Raleigh, named after Lockhart, though no one at the school knew his story, Ashley said.

Phillips said Lockhart’s family is thankful for the recognition.

“For me personally, the biggest thing I learned were the types of adversity and obstacles that John Lockhart encountered. I thought it was very impressive he was able to do the things that he did during a time where it was very unpopular,” Phillips said. He never met his great-grandfather, as Lockhart died in 1964.

But his grandmother, Matrena Hunter, 93, daughter of Lockhart, knew her dad very well. Now in a nursing home near Raleigh, Ashley’s students will visit her May 23 to share their findings and present her with a song.

“She’s aware of what’s going on, though she’s not as (sharp) as she once was,” Phillips said. “She has been very ecstatic and touched. She was a daddy’s girl; she loved everything he was about, not just in his professional life, but his personal life, as well.”

The Ardrey Kell baseball team is back in the Class 4A title hunt thanks to (from left) Doug Norman, Zach Featherstone, Thomas Nantz and
Brandon Donahue.

With a star-studded roster that may have made some college programs envious, Ardrey Kell went 23-5 last year and claimed its second Southwestern 4A conference championship. But when this season began, most of the players from that team had graduated, including the majority of last year’s starting lineup and pitching staff, a potentially crippling blow for most programs.

But Ardrey Kell isn’t most programs.

“We replaced every single starter we had except for Doug (Norman),” Knights coach Hal Bagwell said. “And with that said, Doug only pitched (6 2/3) innings for us last year. We (lost) our top three pitchers who are all playing college baseball right now.

“So yeah, it was a rebuilding year.”

Former Knights’ standout Trent Thornton now pitches at the University of North Carolina, Justin French joined Army’s program and Brad Stone, who was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 35th round last year, signed with N.C. State.

But in Knights’ Country, the term “rebuilding” takes on a different meaning than most places, and Bagwell and Co. still had high expectations entering this season. There wasn’t time to think about who wasn’t on the team, so the Knights regrouped, and quickly.

Bagwell said he had a plan to get the most out of each remaining player and compete for another conference title – something outsiders may have deemed an impossibility.

And it’s worked, as this season has been business as usual for Bagwell’s program. The Knights are 21-4 overall and earned a share of their second consecutive conference title with South Mecklenburg.

“I’m very, very proud of the conference championship,” Bagwell said. “The reality is that we have tremendous kids and we have a plan for them to get them to compete in the Southwestern 4A.

“They’ve been unbelievable because we have willing kids who want to listen and want to do well for the program. We have good coaches and the kids buy into what we’re teaching. That’s what it comes down to.”

And it also comes down to talent and tradition, two qualities the Knights have in spades despite losing the majority of last year’s contributors.

Since Ardrey Kell opened in 2006, the Knights have now won three conference and district titles, two sectional championships, two western regional championships and won the 2009 Class 4A state title.

And they have enough talent on this year’s roster to add to those gaudy accomplishments.

Norman, a Georgia recruit, has blossomed into one the pitching staff’s aces after seeing spot duty last season. On the year he has a record of 7-3 with a 1.86 ERA while striking out 74 batters in 60 1/3 innings. He also doubles as a third baseman and has hit .280 with 19 RBIs.

With all of his success, Norman also has become a team leader – something Bagwell said has been vital for the Knights.

“I think coming into the year, (Bagwell) and the other coaches expected for me to take over Trent Thornton’s role,” Norman said. “But I didn’t see it as pressure because the thing with us is that no matter who (Bagwell) puts out there, it’s someone who is deserving and who is going to get the job done.”

Another integral piece to the Knights’ puzzle is Winthrop commit Brandon Donahue, one of four seniors on the squad. Donahue owns an 8-0 record on the mound and, while his record is outstanding, he’s recorded a dazzling 0.80 ERA with 62 strikeouts in just 39 innings of work. He doubles as the Knights’ designated hitter, batting .254 with 11 RBIs.

Donahue said that, although the Knights were inexperienced entering the year, he didn’t see a regular-season title as much of a stretch.

“All of my teammates are pretty skilled,” Donahue said. “To play on the Ardrey Kell baseball team is a privilege, and it wasn’t a hard step up for the guys who had never played varsity before.

“It’s wasn’t supposed to be a great year for us, and we only have four seniors, so it was supposed to be a rebuilding year. I obviously want to close my career with a state championship – that’s the goal – but it’s been a very fun and rewarding year.”

And, if the Knights are to accomplish that goal, they’ll need big contributions from two transfers who have been as responsible as anyone for their strong season: junior Zach Featherstone (Providence Day) and senior Thomas Nantz (Charlotte Christian).

“Thomas and Zach have been really good,” Bagwell said. “They’re our two leading hitters, and Thomas kind of gets us going offensively. Zach has been limited innings-wise on the mound, but the times he’s pitched he’s done extremely well in the role we’ve given him.”

Featherstone, a Duke commit, is 2-1 on the season with two saves and a 0.64 ERA on the mound.

As good as he’s been as a pitcher, Featherstone has shined in his first season at the plate in the baseball-rich Southwestern 4A conference – the outfielder leads the team in hits (32), home runs (three), RBIs (33) and total bases (48) and is second in batting average (.416).

“I think I’ve played well,” Featherstone said. “Everyone has competed, and my teammates have been very supportive and have helped me adjust. Plus, it’s great playing for a great team and a great coach. You come in here and you see the enthusiasm and the way things are and it’s like, ‘Oh, wow.’

“Baseball is the main sport here, and it’s been fun to be a part of.”

Nantz spent his freshman and sophomore years at Ardrey Kell before transferring to Charlotte Christian for his junior season, when he won a private-school state title and earned all-state honors. That seasoning has proven beneficial in his return to Ardrey Kell’s inexperienced roster.

This year, Nantz – who said he’s planning to try to walk on to the program at N.C. State, which he called a “dream school” academically – picked up where he left off and leads the team with a .423 batting average. Now, he wants to guide Ardrey Kell to its second state title.

“That would be amazing,” Nantz said. “The best part of winning it last year was the dog pile (celebration) when we won. It would be so cool to close your career with a win. Most people’s last high school game ends in misery a little because you’re thinking (about) what more you could have done.

“To close out a career with joy and a win in your final game, that would be absolutely amazing.”

While Norman, Donahue, Featherstone and Nantz have been steady all year, the Knights are loaded with other players poised to make an impact when the state playoffs begin this week.

Guys such as Cole Smith (.342 batting average, 13 RBIs), Foster

Machicote (.342, 12 RBIs, seven steals), Logan Beehler (.308, one home run and 16 RBIs) and Max Garner (.296, 15 RBIs) have all been key contributors to the Knights’ quick turnaround.

With their collection of talent the Knights have earned a No. 2 seed in the playoffs and will host Davie County on Friday, May 10.

And this group of Knights, who have united to rise from relative anonymity to league champs, has only one goal left to accomplish – and it involves walking off the field on June 1 with a state title.

“We want to make sure we know each opponent we’re playing, but it’s more about us than anything,” Bagwell said. “We need to do the things that we can to be successful. How do we do that? We’re going to win every pitch as a hitter, as a pitcher or a fielder.

“That’s it: We want to dominate every pitch.”

Which, Bagwell hopes, is the perfect recipe for the 2013 state championship – a goal few thought this edition of the Ardrey Kell Knights could strive for.

“We know there are a lot of good teams left,” Nantz said. “It’s not an easy ride going through the West part of the state in the playoffs, but we know we can get hot and stay hot.

“Since no one returned from last year, I don’t think people around here were expecting too much from us. I think … that’s made us more determined to prove people wrong, and so far we’ve done that. Now, we have to keep it
going.”

(Above) A girl practices riding at last year’s Bike Extravaganza event at St. Stephen United Methodist Church. This year’s event, held Saturday, April 20, at the south Charlotte church, had a number of children learn to ride their bikes without training wheels. The event also collected donations of bikes for kids in need throughout the area, which will be refurbished by the group Trips For Kids Charlotte.

Local kids experienced the feeling this weekend at the Bike Extravaganza, thanks to St. Stephen United Methodist Church and Trips For Kids Charlotte. And through the efforts of those two groups, even more kids might get to ride soon.

“It was fantastic,” the Rev. Melissa Lamm, church director of children and family ministries, said in summing up the Saturday, April 20, event. “The big success stories were kids that came on training wheels and left, with help from Trips For Kids, riding without training wheels. Some were even our little bitty kids whose parents were more reluctant than their kids” to take off the training wheels.

The secret, as explained by Trips For Kids’s Dick Winters, is taking off the training wheels and pedals, lowering the seat so children’s feet can touch the ground and helping kids learn balance before learning to ride.

“Training wheels give kids a false sense of balance,” Winters explained. “Taking the training wheels off and the pedals and letting kids scoot on it using their feet to move the bike forward … and from that they learn a better sense of balance. Training wheels teach you steering and pedaling before you learn balance.”

Lamm said around 100 people, including families from nearby Greenway Park Elementary, attended throughout the three-hour event. Winters estimated that 12 to 15 children learned to scoot without training wheels during the event, with some ready to ride their bikes home by the end of the day.

“To me, the most fun is watching kids graduate from riding with training wheels,” Winters said.

Added Lamm, “the ones who came on training wheels and left without were all extremely proud of themselves.”

Bike Extravaganza not only included opportunities for area children to learn to ride their bikes without training wheels, but also was responsible for bringing in 15 to 20 bicycle and scooter donations from local families for Trips For Kids. The group provides children from underserved neighborhoods with bicycles of their own, teaching the kids how to properly take care of their new ride.

“Kids go through a program called Earn-A-Bike, where they come in and learn about the safety involved with the bike, a little maintenance on it like changing a flat tire and they leave with a bike, a helmet, a lock and a set of lights,” Winters explained.

To earn their bicycle, kids have to complete lessons focused on personal responsibility, achievement and self-empowerment, according to the group’s website. They learn the names of the parts of the bike, take a “bike comprehension test” that challenges their skills and then pick out a bike and learn about how safely to wear a helmet and “commit to its use.”

The group also has outdoor riding afternoons at locations like the U.S. National Whitewater Center in western Mecklenburg County and Colonel Beatty Park in southeast Charlotte.

Trips For Kids also lucked out by hooking up with Ultimate Bicycle, which was at the event providing bike services to kids. The company ended up providing the nonprofit with a number of additional donations. Winters said there is always a need for bike donations, and anyone with a used bike in any condition can give it to the group. If it can’t be refurbished to a suitable condition, the group can use parts from the donation to fix up another bike or at the very least make sure it is recycled instead of ending up in a landfill.

Find more information at the nonprofit’s website, www.tripsforkid scharlotte.org. Along with bike and scooter donations, the group accepts cash and volunteers. Organizations wanting to host events with Trips For Kids, such as what St. Stephen UMC did, can contact the group online.

In addition to helping children learn to ride, Trips For Kids and Ultimate Bicycle did bike tune-ups, checked brakes, adjusted seats and checked air pressure in tires. The event also included ice cream and cotton candy for kids and a bike lane as part of the church ministry team’s effort to provide cheap family activities at least once a quarter. The church also does a fall festival and a bingo night in the winter.

Trish Baker, one of the event organizers, helped out on Saturday while her 8-year-old daughter, Amy, took part in the festivities.

“Amy washed her bike at the bike wash station, then went down and had it checked by Ultimate Bicycle and then decorated it,” Baker said. Amy then took her ride off to the bike lane to do some laps.

Find more information at the church’s website, www.ststephenumc.net. St. Stephen UMC is located at 6800 Sardis Road.

“CMS has actually tried to keep as many teacher assistants as possible,” Morrison said. “The thing that worries me the most in (Gov. Pat McCrory’s) budget is he has proposed cuts for teacher assistants. In CMS, that’s $12 million in cuts. That means 400 assistants.”

Morrison met with parents, CMS staff and community members on Monday, April 22, at a special community budget meeting in south Mecklenburg where participants voiced questions and concerns about next year’s school budget.

Morrison recently presented his proposed budget of more than $1.2 billion at a CMS Board of Education meeting earlier this month. The proposal includes a request of nearly $366 million from the county and $716.5 million from the state. Federal spending and grants would make up most of the rest. That doesn’t include nearly $300 million in bond money the system is requesting voters approve to fund area capital improvement projects.

In the budget, Morrison points out that CMS has seen five straight years of “multimillion-dollar cuts and redirections within our budget” totaling more than $236 million since fiscal year 2009. This year’s budget would be a 2.8 percent increase from last year, though Morrison again points to past cuts – spending per student would be lower than it was in 2009 due to enrollment growth. Next year, the district expects about 3,000 additional students, Morrison said.

“I consider (teacher assistants) critical partners in our education. While I think we need to add teacher assistants, it’s going to be tough to keep the ones we have,” he said.

Morrison named several themes in the budget proposal he says district officials have rated as top priorities, including items like increased technology and infrastructure, more professional development for educators, choice and innovation in neighborhood schools, literacy and community partnerships.

But one aspect that has area stakeholders intrigued is the increased technology and infrastructure in schools.

“Technology has changed every aspect of our lives and it is changing our education,” Morrison said. “We have to embrace this idea that through the global Internet, (we can have) a place of learning for our students.”

Morrison said adding infrastructure to all schools means ensuring schools have the wireless capabilities throughout all facilities, including mobile units and cottages, not only for added benefits in the classroom but also as a requirement for state testing in the coming years. Morrison also said the technology factor would include more devices for teachers and students.

Morrison said the district also would need to provide teachers with the right training to ensure they are equipped to use technology in an effective manner.

One local chemistry teacher posed concerns about technology, stating that she needs more textbooks in the classroom and though the age of printed text is dying, she wonders how the district plans to ensure all students have access to e-books when Internet service is not available in every household.

“It is a very serious challenge of what happens when students go home,” Morrison said. “We’ve been working with different partners in the county and city, like Time Warner Cable, who has agreed to offer low prices for families in poverty.”

Though Morrison also added that, with the right infrastructure in schools, the hope is students will be able to achieve more while in the school building.

“While technology is a wonderful tool and offers many opportunities to fix achievement gaps, it can also create more gaps,” Morrison said. “We are not going to let the digital divide affect the quality of education for our students.”

Find more details on the district’s operating budget and capital plan on the CMS website, cms.k12.nc.us.

Centered on Sharon Road across the street from the high-end mall, the church has a long history of missions and service all across the world. On Sunday, April 28, from 9:30 to 11 a.m., the church is giving members, their retail partners and people in the community a chance to get involved, too, at the Sharon UMC fifth annual mission fair.

“The idea is to bring agencies on site and let church members and community members see the breath of these agencies,” David Rhew, chairperson for the church’s mission and community outreach team, said. “This allows these agencies and nonprofits to be able to interact and tell their story. It really puts a face behind the ministry.”

The church has partnerships with various nonprofits throughout Charlotte, including local school Pinewood Elementary and various organizations working to embrace and lift up Charlotte’s homeless. Rhew said the intent of the event is to encourage people to give back and volunteer where help is needed. Rhew said the mission fair gives people a chance to explore many different options in hopes of finding the right fit.

Rhew started attending Sharon United Methodist Church around 30 years ago and has been heavily involved with missions and service for most of that time.

“I’ve been involved with a variety of different things… serving meals at Room In The Inn, volunteering at the men’s shelter. I just look for where I’m needed,” Rhew said. “This community has been very good to me and my family for 45 years. I’ve been here since 1969. It’s an opportunity to enrich the community that I’ve lived in.”

The church is expecting around 18 different ministries and organizations to attend the fair, adding most have a local influence while some may have some regional, national or international flavor, as well. Some organizations that will be represented are Habitat For Humanity, Room In The Inn, the Charlotte Rescue Mission, the Men’s Shelter of Charlotte, Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry, A Child’s Place and House of FAVAR.

“As you can see, there is a whole cross section,” Rhew said. “If you want to be involved with Habitat, that’s great, but we really have something for all demographics.”

Some recent projects the church has been involved with include a Habitat For Humanity house dedicated earlier this year and a backpack program at Pinewood Elementary. The church’s youth group also is planning a summer trip to Alabama where they’ll work to renovate homes for the elderly, Rhew said.

The event is open to both church members and the public and will be held in the church’s Wesley Center. Agency representatives will be on hand to talk about volunteer opportunities and answer questions any participants may have.

Rhew said the mission fair is a great opportunity to check out Sharon United Methodist.

“To be honest, this is the first way many people make their entry into their potential life in the church – missions is that connection.”

Sharon United Methodist is located at 4411 Sharon Road. Following the mission fair, participants are invited to attend the church’s 11:15 a.m. contemporary service.  Find more information at the church’s website, www.sharonumc.org.

McKee Road Elementary physical education teacher Doug Smith was recently named a CMS Teacher of the Year finalist.

All students at McKee Road Elementary School know teacher Doug Smith.

He’s one of the first faces they see in the morning, always headlining the school’s morning news channel, encouraging kids to get up and get moving while leading exercises during the morning J.A.M.M., or Jumpstart And Move at McKee, session.

“I just love the J.A.M.M. sessions and the kids love them, too,” Jeremy Lundgren, the assistant principal at McKee Road, said. “He’s always energetic and he really just empowers the students to have fun, all while looking out for their best interest.”

Smith was recently named a finalist for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Teacher of the Year award. He was first nominated at the school level by his co-workers and after an interview process was named the East Zone finalist. Now he’s one of six district-wide finalists wide that could be named CMS Teacher of the Year in May.

Smith comes from a family of educators – his mom a teacher and his dad a recreational therapist. He always knew he wanted to be a teacher, but wasn’t sure in what field. After exploring different topics, physical education just seemed to click, he said.

“What’s funny is that I was outdoors a lot. I did recreational swimming, I was on the swim team in high school, but I wasn’t a star quarterback athlete or anything like that,” Smith said. “But I think we are seeing kids today be less active, and I just want to encourage them to get outside.”

Smith earned his education degree from Appalachian State University in 1997 and his master’s from West Virginia University in 1998. He started teaching in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, his home district, in 1998 at Oakdale Elementary and then at Park Road Elementary, now Park Road Montessori School. He then moved to McKee Road, where he has taught for the past 11 years.

For Smith, teaching is more about the individuals and less about the athletic skills. That’s how he’s directed his classroom for many years now, a method that’s proven to better encourage his students time and time again, he said.

“You don’t have to play sports. You don’t have to be on a team – just get outside and play. I don’t teach to just athletes,” Smith said. “Not too many years into teaching at McKee, I started to see students becoming inactive, so I brought a new philosophy to the PE program, one that doesn’t focus on competition but focuses on goal setting,” adding that each student sets their own goals. “I saw lower skilled kids come in smiling because they achieved their goals.”

It’s that kind of impact that encouraged teachers at the school to nominate Smith for the Teacher of the Year award, Lundgren said, describing Smith as dedicated, caring and motivated. He said Smith frequently goes above and beyond the call of duty, making contacts to help his program, writing grants and taking initiatives on projects like the school’s new playground facility that was dedicated Wednesday, April 24. Smith helped generate the idea to create a natural playground at the school that would mimic the topography of North Carolina, including sections representing the mountains, piedmont and shoreline.

“He sees the bigger picture and is able to have a great impact on all of our students,” Lundgren said. “Really the caring part, that’s the key to any successful teacher. He’s just a great teacher with good classroom management skills, which enables him to have a lot of fun in the classroom.”

The town’s Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resource Department is “bringing the beach” to south Mecklenburg through the fifth annual BeachFest Matthews event. The festival takes place Friday and Saturday, April 26 and 27, in and around Stumptown Park, 120 S. Trade St. Friday’s events run from 6 to 10 p.m. and Saturday’s festivities are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

BeachFest, sponsored by Novant Health, will feature activities one would find during a trip to the beach – sand volleyball, carnival rides, sand sculptures, boardwalk-style food, live beach music and more. Friday offers a $10 all-you-can-ride armband.

“(BeachFest) came to be a way to bring the beach to Matthews and it’s seen as a way, too, to usher in spring around here,” said Lee Anne Moore, Matthews special events manager. “We see how many elements of the beach and going to the beach we can bring.”

The event kicks off April 26 at 6 p.m. with live music, courtesy of The Fantastic Shakers, followed by an 8 p.m. concert from Ken Knox and The Company. There also will be carnival rides, art vendors and inflatable bounce houses for kids.

On April 27, the town will host the annual Sandy Feet 5K and Fun Run to raise money for Habitat for Humanity of Matthews. The 5K starts at 8 a.m., followed by the fun run at 8:15 a.m. BeachFest resumes at 10 a.m. with the beach volleyball tournament and D.J. Darryl Elkins, who’ll be spinning the beach tunes.

Festivities continue throughout the day with a corn hole tournament set for 3 p.m. and concerts from Band of Gold, The Extraordinaires and The Tams.

“The festival centers around really good beach music, how many good beach bands we can get in here each year,” Moore said.

BeachFest also means shagging. The sand box in front of the stage in Stumptown Park will transform into a dance floor and citizens will get a chance to show off their moves, Moore said.

“I’ve wanted to bring dance to the festival in the past couple of years,” she said. “We want to bring folks to do demos around the stage and really involve dance in the festival. There are so many people from here that remember the shag but there’s also so many not from this area and don’t know how (to shag).”

New for 2013 are classic cruisers that will be on display for all to enjoy. One of the classic images of a beach trip, Moore said, is “cruising the strip,” so it only seemed natural for the festival to incorporate these cruisers.

“It gives folks something else to walk through and see,” she said. “I would love to see that grow into a cruise-in that goes along with BeachFest.”

For more information on BeachFest, or to sign up for the Sandy Feet 5K and Fun Run, the sand volleyball or corn hole tournaments, go to www.beachfestmatthews.com.