News About Town: The Matthews Police and Fire Departments are teaming up for the second annual “Matthews Public Safety Year-In-Review”.  This year both Chief Clark Pennington of the Matthews Police Department and Chief Rob Kinniburgh of the Matthews Fire Department will examine Matthews emergency response in four town hall style meetings. Each meeting will concentrate on one of four town quadrants (referred to as “Beats" 1, 2, 3, & 4) and is a prime opportunity for anyone in Matthews to learn about public safety in 2019 as well as what to expect from the departments in 2020. Meeting dates and locations are listed on the Town’s website. 

News Around Town: The daffodils are popping up, which means the garden bug will start biting green thumbs everywhere (not literally). Matthews, gardening zone 7b, is a prime location for growing many popular vegetables. If you’re new to gardening, or simply like to have some instruction as you go, Renfrow Farms’ Pressly Williams wrote the workbook on it.  Covering site selection, sunlight requirements, soil health, seed & plant selection, watering and fertilizer needs, and some spacing guidelines, it also includes a month-by-month planting calendar. Purchase the downloadable copy of the 20-page workbook from the SkillPop website here.

One Fun Thing: This Sunday, join the Catawba Lands Conservancy and the Carolina Thread Trail for a stroll down Four-Mile Creek Greenway. The walk will include stops to examine flora and fauna,the local ecology. Meet at Matthews Elementary (200 W. McDowell St.) at 2:30 pm, Sunday, January 19. Bring a water bottle and wear comfortable shoes, the walk is approximately three relatively flat miles. RSVP required.

Don’t Forget: Community members are invited to the Fourth Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration, a collaborative event organized by Matthews United Methodist and Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist churches. The film and walk to Town Hall will start at 2:00 pm on January 19, at Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist (381 Crestdale Road).