Morning Minute: Friday, July 31, 2020

News Around Town: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education had an emergency meeting yesterday and discussed reopening plans for the 20/21 school year. The hour and forty+ minute meeting covered plans for students with IEPs and 504s before Board members presented their own thoughts on whether schools should move to all-remote learning. Most members stated COVID numbers are still too high for in-person learning. Superintendent Earnest Winston explained 70 members of the transportation department self-quarantined in July due to COVID-19. He also pointed out a CMS shortage of more than 40 nurses and explained the initiatives to fill those vacancies. District 6 Representative Sean Strain felt reopening was not possible simply because the school system was not prepared and that area COVID cases are stable or improving.

News Around Town II: Autobell Car Wash has announced scholarship recipients for the 2020-21 academic year. Applicants were from throughout the Carolinas, Virginia, Georgia, and Maryland.

With consideration for exemplary character and academic achievement, the scholarships were open to current Autobell team members employed with the company for a continuous 12 months. The following Matthews seniors received scholarships: Marshall Hildebrand (University of North Carolina Charlotte), Alexandra Lee (University of North Carolina Chapel Hill), Hunter Rast (Appalachian State University), Kaitlyn Rast (Central Piedmont Community College), Nicole Viebrock (Carolinas College of Health Sciences), Adam Ward (North Carolina State University).

Morning Minute: Thursday, July 30, 2020

News Around Town: The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education may reconsider school reopening at a meeting later today (July 30). The Board is holding is a remote emergency meeting at 2 pm and will also discuss the calendar for middle and early college programs. Currently over 50,000 students are enrolled in the Full Remote Academy, which is about a third of the student population. which is about a third of the student population. Watch the meeting on the BoE’s Facebook page.

One Good Thing: It’s time again for the Habitat for Humanity Sandy Marano Memorial Women Build. Greater Matthews Habitat for Humanity is seeking sponsors for this build. If your business or group is interested, email sarah@matthewshabitat.org.

Morning Minute: Wednesday, July 29, 2020

News About Town: From tentatively scheduling two Food Truck Fridays in August, to summer camps for elementary-aged kids, the Town of Matthews Parks, Rec, and Cultural Resource Department is working hard to continue fun and important programming while taking safety precautions for all summer camps and programs. For classes in Town buildings, expect daily health screenings, constant cleaning, and staff wearing masks. Want to know what they’ve got planned? Check out the newsletter for more info.

News Around Town: Seattle-based MOD Super-Fast Pizza Holdings recently purchased 13 existing MOD Pizza locations in North Carolina. This purchase includes the Matthews location, which was previously owned and operated by SD Holdings, a Matthews-based multibrand restaurant franchisee that filed for bankruptcy just before COVID-19 struck earlier this year.

One Fun Thing: Not quite 60% of Mecklenburg County residents have filled out the 2020 Census.  The 2020 Census deadline has been extended to October, though, so there’s still time. The process online is pretty quick, but responding by phone or mail are other options. Visit MeckCounts2020 for all your burning census questions. 

Morning Minute: Tuesday, July 28, 2020

News About Town: Last night, the Board of Commissioners voted to extend remote meetings through the month of August. Those meetings will be August 10 and 24.

News Around Town: Area schools are holding their own information sessions to answer questions related to the Opening of Schools for the 2020/21 school year.

• Crown Point Elementary has a central website for distance learning. Contact the school at 980-343-6535 for upcoming informational sessions.

• Elizabeth Lane Elementary started question and answer sessions yesterday, but more days are available. The PTA recently shared information about how to sign up.

• Matthews Elementary will hold sessions by grade level on August 3: Kindergarten at 4:00 pm, First and Second Grade at 5:00 pm, and Third, Fourth, and Fifth Grade at 5:00 pm.  Visit this link to find out more information and how to submit questions.

• Crestdale Middle hosted a parent meeting on July 23. The recording can be viewed here. If your child attends Crestdale, hotspot requests must be made by July 31.

• On July 24, Principal Golden, from Butler High School, recorded a Live Stream session addressing questions regarding the upcoming school year. Butler students can learn more about the online learning program through this tutorial. The school also has a dedicated tech helpline; submit a ticket here.

One Fun Thing: If the season got too hot for gardening, but you’re looking for a reason to get outside, Renfrow’s is offering three gardening courses. Check out the offerings and extend your knowledge-growing season with Matthews’ favorite agriculturalists.

Cascades

Cascades

Sunlight’s
rays silently
warm dried red clay river
beds, as if all the water was
flowing

By Lorraine Stark

Image via Unsplash by @andreilasc

Morning Minute: Monday, July 27, 2020

News About Town: This week there is a Planning Board meeting on July 28 at 7 pm. This meeting will be held remotely. There is also a remote Cultural Diversity Committee meeting at the same time. The July Economic Development Advisory Committee meeting has been postponed until August 4.

News Around Town: Since the beginning of Safer At Home measures, Mecklenburg County has seen a reduction in traffic counts by nearly 40%.  This decreased traffic is associated with lower air pollution readings at the County’s near-road monitoring sites. Learn more about the County's Air Quality Monitoring Program online. Want to monitor Matthews’ air quality? Check it out.   

Morning Minute: Friday, July 24, 2020

News About Town: In keeping with the spirit of the Governor’s Executive Order, which limits bars from opening while allowing restaurants to serve alcohol, restaurants are now prohibited from serving alcohol after 11 pm. A recent joint proclamation between Mecklenburg County, the City of Charlotte, and the towns of Davidson, Matthews, Mint Hill and Pineville added this restriction to slow the spread of COVID-19. The restriction prohibits restaurants that also sell alcohol to close between 11 pm and 5 am. Restaurants that do not sell alcoholic beverages may stay open later. The restrictions also prohibit sitting or standing at bars for food and beverage consumption at restaurants.

News Around Town: It’s that time of year to celebrate the glut of tomatoes. There’s no better place in the ‘105 to pick up a variety of locally grown heirloom ‘maters than the Matthews Community Farmers’ Market. While you’re there, pick up a watermelon, peaches, blueberries, and blackberries. Not a fan of fruit? Charlotte Fish Company will have line caught fish straight from the ocean, while several vendors will have jams, salsas, and preserved delights.

One Fun Thing: Wipe it down. Wipe. (Also: Gross, McGuirt. Gross.)

Morning Minute: Thursday, July 23, 2020

Matthews During Phase II

Happy Wednesday, neighbors! The heat is on, but the thunderstorms have been watering the garden, so there's a nice little weather balance going on these days. What's new?

News About Town: The agenda has been posted for the Monday, July 27 Board of Commissioners meeting. Watch via Zoom or on the Town of Matthews YouTube Channel. You may also listen by phone by calling 888-788-0099 (Toll Free) or 877-853-5247 (Toll Free) and entering meeting ID 953 0971 2009. Public comments should be directed to Town Clerk Lori Canapinno by 5 pm (3 pm for budget comments) the day of the meeting.

News Around Town: In March, Governor Cooper signed an Executive Order prohibiting utility companies from turning off utilities as part of COVID-19 response. In June, that Executive Order was extended through the end of July. It is not expected for the Governor to extend the order again. The moratorium included a ban for late fees, penalties, and other charges for failure to pay; and an extension for repayment plans at least six months.

Morning Minute: Wednesday, July 22, 2020

News About Town: This Sunday and Monday (July 26 and 27), Boggs Contracting will do nighttime paving on N. Trade St. at Matthews Station St. The work will start at 10:00 pm and wrap up at 6:00 am, both nights. The full intersection will be closed with signage in place for detouring using N. Ames St. via W. Charles St. and W. Matthews St.

News Around Town: As parents and teachers navigate the school starting, there are many online resources. On Thursday, July 23, CMS is hosting a Facebook Live parent and caregiver virtual town hall to answer community questions about the Full Remote Academy.  Three web pages on CMS’s website are especially helpful, including the CMS COVID update page (which includes a sample lesson for elementary school grades), and the Full Remote Academy parent page. More answers will be available after Remote Academy registration closes on July 26. If you still have questions, call the hot line: 980-343-3001.

Morning Minute: Tuesday, July 21, 2020

News About Town: News About Town: Matthews, in conjunction with the county, is working on the County’s Hazardous Mitigation Plan. As required by FEMA, the plan must be updated every five years to remain eligible for federal disaster funding through the Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) grant programs. Wood, the consulting firm that compiling the draft plan, will hold the Final HMPC Meeting will be held July 22, 2020 At 2 pm and the Final Public Meeting will be held July 22, 2020 at 5 pm, both via Zoom. Email abigail.moore@woodplc.com for meeting link. For more information, please visit: http://www.mecknchmp.com/Agendas_Minutes.html.

One Good Thing: Want to be further involved in the community? School Improvement Teams are required by state law to develop school improvement plans. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is holding Zoom info sessions for those who want to learn more about the teams. Register here for the Zoom meeting on Thursday, July 23 from 4 to 5 pm.

Friendship

Friendship

Friendship
invisible
bonds that connect people
like gravity, you’re drawn to share
with them

By Lorraine Stark

Morning Minute: Monday, July 20, 2020

News About Town: The Cultural Diversity Committee, an advisory board for the town council, will hold a remote meeting on Tuesday, July 28 at 7:00 pm.

News Around Town: The Executive Director of the State Board of Elections recently issued a COVID-19-related emergency order concerning the 2020 General Election. Citing Wisconsin’s April 7 primary elections, the State Board of Elections feel it’s reasonable to expect a “statistically and economically significant association between in-person voting and the spread of COVID-19 two to three weeks after the election.” The intent of the emergency order is to prevent similar election-related COVID-19 spread.

The order mandates:

• All county boards shall provide for social distancing at voting sites, frequently sanitizing common surfaces, require elections officials to wear face coverings, make masks available to voters who do not bring their own, and more.adequate supplies, including soap, hand sanitizer, paper towels, tissues, disinfectant wipes, and no-touch trash cans.

• Early Voting must be open for at least 10 hours on the weekends of October 17-18 and October 24-25.

• County boards will be allowed to open Early Voting sites before 8 a.m. and remain open later than 7:30 p.m., provided that all sites are open at the same time. Signs must be posted with consideration for legibility while social distancing.

• If a county board of elections learns that one of its polling places for a precinct is inaccessible because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the county board of elections may request a transfer of some voters to an adjacent precinct.

One Good Thing: Eleven-year-old Matthews resident Jocelyn Mendez has created an online petition to present to the Town of Matthews. Jocelyn is requesting the addition of a skateboard park to the Park and Rec amenities. Read the petition here.

Morning Minute: Friday, July 17, 2020

News About Town: The Matthew Police Department , Matthews HELP Center, and Matthews United Methodist Church are partnering to kick off another season of Matthews Gives Back. This season, the groups are collecting school supplies to assist families in need for the upcoming school year.  With COVID-19 causing high levels of unemployment, more families than usual are in need.

Needed supplies include glue sticks, composition notebooks, crayons, notebook paper, spiral notebooks, pens, pencils, erasers, colored pencils, magic markers, 2-pocket folders, 3-ring binders, and pencil pouches. Collection locations include the police station, town hall, and the HELP Center, or supplies can be purchased through Amazon and shipped directly to the Police Department.  

If you need assistance with purchasing school supplies, apply through the HELP Center. Applicants must live within the HELP Center service area . 

News Around Town: Matthews-based Harris Teeter has joined the growing list of retailers following the Governor’s face mask requirement. The store recently updated their policies, requesting shoppers who cannot wear a face mask to wear a face shield. The grocer asks those who cannot wear either to consider using ExpressLane Online Shopping service or delivery service.

Morning Minute: Thursday, July 16, 2020

News About Town: On Monday, July 20 at 7 pm, the Board of Commissioners will hold a remote special meeting. This meeting will include an update from CMS Board Chair Elyse Dashew regarding the decision to use the B Plus plan for the 20/21 school year. Staff will present a proposed use for a vacant lot owned by the Town in the Matthews Station development. Staff will also present an update on the Crestdale Road multiuse path.

Watch via Zoom or listen by phone by calling 888-788-0099 (Toll Free) or 877-853-5247 (Toll Free) and entering meeting ID 993 1253 5550.

News Around Town: Yesterday, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Board sat down with Superintendent Earnest Winston to hear from CMS staff as well as area medical experts in order to vote on the arrangement for the 20/21 school year. After an afternoon of both technical difficulty and lengthy debate, the Board ended with a vote 7-1-1 for Plan B+. Plan B+ includes two weeks of in-person learning on a staggered schedule to allow for adequate social distancing. After those initial weeks, all learning will be remote. Remote learning will consist of online class time with teacher’s instruction as well as independent study.

One Fun Thing: Matthews artists, Good Cup needs your talent! Send examples of your wildflower-inspired art to goodcupcoffee@gmail.com and it may end up on a mobile mural. This call is for Matthews residents only, and submissions close July 31.

Morning Minute: Wednesday, July 15, 2020

News About Town: At Monday’s Board of Commissioner’s meeting, NCDOT presented an update on the South Trade Street Bridge project. The presentation can be viewed here (begins around 2:10). Originally let on December 6, 2017, the project was expected to be complete in September of 2018. If the weather cooperates, the road may be operating in its new pattern in approximately two and a half months. Other tasks must then be completed, such as work on the sewer line. The project should be complete by spring of 2021.

News Around Town: Yesterday Governor Cooper outlined options for North Carolina schools this coming school year. Today the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Board will review the Governor's Executive Order regarding Guidance for School Reopening. Follow along on Facebook to hear decision-making discussions around remote learning and the CMS Reopening of Schools Plan.

One Good Thing: If you missed the virtual dedication of Greater Matthews Habitat for Humanity’s 113th home, you can see both the dedication and a tour of the home online. Habitat will begin construction on its next home toward the end of the summer.