Morning Minute: Friday, March 8, 2019

News About Town: As we indicated yesterday morning, the Monday (March 11) night Board of Commissioner’s meeting agenda is available online.  Items of note include allocating funds for Conceptual Downtown Streetscape Design Work (approved at the last meeting for the amount of $41,250.00), as well as the formal initiation of Zoning Motion 2019-2 to rezone the Stronghaven warehouse property on John Street and Brigman property in the ENT District. There will also be updates on NCDOT projects, Red Brick Partnership, and Republic Services (the Town’s solid waste provider).

News Around Town: The North Carolina Education Lottery's NC School Heroes contest is live for voting. Celebrate our public school teachers by voting for them (once per day). The 10 educators with the most votes will win $10,000 each, as well as $10,000 for their school. The person who nominated them will win $1,000.  The contest runs through the end of March, and heroes will be announced May 6, 2019 There are plenty of Matthews schools in the running. Vote here.

One Good Thing: Head over to Jonathan’s Restaurant (10630 Independence Pointe Pkwy) tomorrow, March 9, at noon for an unexpected delight. Join the Carolinas Accordion Group at Jonathan’s for a rousing round of Irish tunes. If you don’t play the accordion you’re welcome to bring another instrument and play along or simply listen and enjoy. The group will play from noon until 4 p.m., plan accordionly.

Morning Minute: Thursday, March 7, 2019

News About Town: At Monday’s Town Council Meeting, the Council will have a Public Hearing regarding a change to the Unified Development Ordinance. This change is to the  Approved Tree List and Shrub List (Zoning Motion 2019-1). Changes to the list include the addition of several native species of trees, shrubs, vines, and groundcovers and the exclusion of the most invasive species, such as Chanticleer pears, a cousin to the shallow-rooted, ornamental Bradford pears commonly planted throughout subdivisions of the 70s and 80s.

News Around Town: Novant Health, Elevation Church, and Butler High School recently partnered to bring ‘Stop the Bleed' to Butler High. Stop the Bleed is an initiative to provide schools with the tools to stop traumatic blood loss. Butler's Academy of Health and Science students and teachers filled 150 ziplock bags with emergency supplies, such as hemostatic bandages and tourniquets, to have readily available for worst case scenarios. Students and staff were also trained for the use of the products. Each classroom will have one on hand. 

One Good Thing: One Good Thing: Go ahead and wrap your brain around it: we’re springing forward this Sunday. What started as a way to conserve energy during World War I is now the instigator of many heated discussions semiannually. Why are we changing our clocks? (That’s rhetorical.) Don’t forget to move your clocks forward an hour this Sunday. Daylight Saving begins officially at 2 a.m.

Morning Minute: Wednesday, March 6, 2019

News About Town: Need a summer job? The Town is hiring  Seasonal Recreation Leaders to work with our campers at Camp Funshine. Camp FUNshine is a full-day camp for kids ages 6-11. Applicants must be 16 years or older and will accompany groups on lots of fun field trips.  Among other tasks, you’ll be asked to set up equipment for games and help keep facilities neat.  For more information and to apply online, click here.

News Around Town:  Though the Arts and Science Council hopes for approval of a new approach for funding through sales tax, they’re also advocating for funding with state legislators. ASC staff will go to Raleigh on Wednesday, March 27 for  ARTS North Carolina's annual ARTS Day, a way for arts organizations in NC to collaboratively promote policies to sustain the arts and grow public funding. This year ARTS NC and ASC as part of that, are advocating for arts grants that would equal $1 for every person in NC. Find out more.

One Good Thing: One Good Thing: According to SafeHomes.org, Matthews ranks as the seventh safest city in North Carolina. Admittedly not a well-known website, the site used what appears to be a comprehensive methodology to arrive at their list. We know the Police Department is continually striving to provide a safe town for Matthews and it shows. Congratulations are in order!

Morning Minute: Tuesday, March 5, 2019

News About Town: Child Passenger Safety Seat Technicians will perform a safety check for children’s car seatstomorrow, March 6, at the Matthews Police Station, 1201 Crews Road. From 8 a.m until 11:30 a.m. certified technicians will check seat installation for free, no appointment necessary. Bring the vehicle, seat, and child, if possible. The process will take about 20 minutes. If you can’t make it on the 6th, Safe Kids Char-Meck provides this service every other week in Matthews. 

News Around Town:  Hear the stories of Wildlife Rehabilitator Emilie Nelson at HAWK’s meeting tonight (March 5, 7 p.m.) at the Community Center. Emilie, creator and owner of Lincolnton-based NC Wildlife Rehab (NCWR), cared for more than 1,200 critters (from squirrels to woodchucks) last year all through volunteerism and donations, without government funding. Donations to NCWR are encouraged; suggestions include: Free and Clear laundry detergent, dryer sheets & bleach, Blue Dawn dishwashing liquid, Paper Towels, Toilet Paper and Cases of Water, Grain Free Dog & Cat Food- wet and dry, Nuts- whole and cracked. No peanuts please, Receiving & baby blankets,Towels.  Matthews Community Center, 100 E McDowell St.

One Good Thing: The Matthews Concert Band formed in 2001 with 15 members and now boasts 50. This Thursday (March 7) the band will celebrate the sounds of jazz and big band in concert. The free show starts at 7:30 at the Community Center (100 E McDowell St.).

Morning Minute: Monday, March 4, 2019

News About Town: If you love following Matthews news and want a source straight from Town Hall, the Town of Matthews is connected on the major social media sites. Find them on Facebook, Instagram, Nextdoor, Twitter, and YouTube. There are a number of email options for Town information. Sign up for those here.  Rest assured, we’re here to read them all and share what we learn on the Beacon daily.

News Around Town: Gov Roy Cooper appointed Donald Cureton to Judicial District 26 (Mecklenburg County) on February 28. Judge Cureton, an incumbent who lost his District 26A seat to Judge Paulina Havelka in November, fills the seat vacated by Judge Louis A. Trosch, Jr. Judge Trosch now serves the Superior Court of NC.

One Good Thing: The Matthews Beacon is six months old! We’re going to be celebrating this momentous occasion all week long with giveaways and good stuff, but we also have a great deal for small businesses who want to capture our readers’ hearts. If you’ve been eyeing our advertising packages, now’s the time to make the move. To celebrate our half birthday (yes, we blew out half a candle) we’re having a huge sale on ads. Make sure to check them out.

Morning Minute: Friday, February 22, 2019

News About Town: At Monday’s Council Meeting, the Board will discuss and consider actions (if any) for businesses operating primarily out of town parks without paying rental fees. According to the presentation, these groups are unfairly benefiting from public spaces to avoid overhead, while competing with similar services offered by the Town. In the summary, Town Staff makes several suggestions for solutions, such as prohibiting commercial activity or offering a commercial permit for purchase by the hour.

News Around Town:  Thursday afternoon Mark Harris (R) testified before the State Board of Elections and agreed the November 2018 election was tainted by election fraud. State Board of Elections voted 5-0 in favor of a new election for the contested District 9 Congressional Seat. Now the elections board’s attorney must research laws regarding a new primary and election, then submit tentative dates to the election board, who will then decide the dates. The process may take several months.

One Good Thing: The Matthews Habitat for Humanity has expanded its reach to include critical home repairs. Moving beyond the scope of building new homes, this program is for Matthews homeowners who are current on taxes and payments and meet income criteria. The Critical Home Repair Program is for low-income residents who have repair needs around their home that create an unsafe or unhealthy living situation, such as a failing roof or necessary accessibility modifications.

Morning Minute: Thursday, February 21, 2019

News About Town: The Board of Commissioners Agenda for the Monday, February 25 meeting was posted yesterday. The Board will revisit the Streetscape Conceptual Design contract.  The Board will also hear what State Senate Bill 469 means for stormwater control on property to be redeveloped.

News Around Town:  Have a high school junior but feel unsure about the college application process? The Matthews Library will host a one-hour workshop on February 27 to demystify the process. They’ll cover the everything from searching for a school and filling out the application, to finding scholarships and funding. Matthews Library, 230 Matthews Station St., Wednesday, February 27, 2019, 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

One Fun Thing: There are lots of interesting holidays to celebrate today, so pick one (or all): National Mother Language Day, National Sticky Bun Day, Read a Card Day, Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day, Grain-Free Day, and Singletasking Day. If you participate in Singletasking Day you cannot participate in other national day celebrations. 

Journalism Classes: Giving High School Students a Relevant Voice

High school and middle school journalism classes go beyond reporting and play a large role in developing well-informed, future citizens who know how to navigate difficult topics.

In a culture that puts so much emphasis on individuality, students today have become more and more aware of themselves and how they fit into the world around them. In our corner of the world, Matthews, NC, students have an excellent outlet for self-expression in journalism in the classes offered at Carmel Christian High School and Covenant Day Middle School.

Not only do high school and middle school journalism courses give students a voice to report on what is relevant to them, they also help to inform them on what they are speaking on and how to best articulate it.

A high school class that gives an idea of what journalism entails, Carmel Christian High School has provided its second year of journalism with journalism and creative writing teacher, Jennifer Dixon, who teaches students the different aspects of journalism through the units of photojournalism, headlining, writing captions, and law and ethics. This class mirrors a real-life news organization with a student-run news website. For the 48 journalism students at Carmel Christian, there are two levels that are divided into different classes: a Journalism 1 course, for beginners, and a Journalism 2 course, for those who have already completed one year of journalism.

In the pursuit of truth, journalism keeps those in power honest. It is especially important in teaching students about the freedom of the press and that they have the constitutional right to have their voice represented.

This separation exists as a division of labor, placing 39 of the total students as writers in Journalism 1 and the remaining nine students as editors in Journalism 2. Those in Journalism 1 function under a “spiral curriculum” that continuously revisits each topic taught, each revisit becomes more in-depth during the course of the year. As well, they learn to take assignments and develop their voice in articles. Those in Journalism 2 practice more freedom in reporting for their student news. Journalism 2 is like a “life lab,” according to Dixon, where “[students] manage our website, they set the direction of the website, and do a lot of editing- they also do a lot of news writing and recording.”

“Journalism helps you gain more knowledge about the press and what's going on in today's society and how it all works,” said Journalism 1 senior at Carmel Christian, Tyler Caldwell.

An imperative part of this course is how it teaches students the critical role that journalism plays within society. In the pursuit of truth, journalism keeps those in power honest. It is especially important in teaching students about the freedom of the press and that they have the constitutional right to have their voice represented.

“The most significant thing I can teach them is that they have the power to communicate and the power to understand and the power to play a critical role in our democracy,” said Dixon.

According to second-year journalism student at Carmel Christian, Kat Uribe, Carmel Christian’s journalism class, “ is valuable to our school because we do not have any electives that help us to express ourselves- most of them are not something you can be an individual in. Finding your voice is something teenagers appreciate, we always want to express ourselves. In journalism, you have more freedom to express yourselves; it is age appropriate.”

According to Covenant Day Middle School coach, history teacher, and now journalism teacher, Zach Turner, the school’s first journalism course was started this year in the 7th grade. At present, there are four participating students. His class has focused on writing, grabbing the attention of the reader, and answering the 5 W’s (who, what, when, where, how, why). As of now, his class has moved on from the basics of writing to a radio reporting unit, where they are hoping to be able to record short news reports.

As with Dixon, Turner sees the value in teaching middle schoolers journalism because it shows them, “what is actually going on.”

While teaching, Turner has noticed how his students have taken interest in current events saying that, “There are times we will be watching or reading an article and the students are blown away by some of the things going on in today’s world – good and bad.”

Although Turner’s class is less focused on the formalities of journalism, as it is at a middle school level, he finds that his students are eager to give it a try. “They don’t care about the history or the tech right now – they just want to write or read news.” The class exercises their reporting abilities by writing about current school news, such as the middle school play, retreats, and sports.

As one of the students…I can say we are lucky to have teachers here in Matthews who are willing to give students a way for students to express themselves. I can truly say that it has helped me grow both as a writer and as a person.

This course helps to both develop a student’s voice as well as equipping them with skills that they will use later on in life. The skills that are taught are applicable to interacting within a work environment, especially to those who may consider journalism as a possible career path after high school.

Dixon emphasizes, “They learn a lot of things that translate to the workplace, like collaboration, how to handle disappointment, and how to creatively solve problems.” Even at the middle school level, Turner reflects similarly that his course, “teaches working under pressure which is a skill everyone needs- no texting, no calling, you have to do it face to face for the most part. I feel like that is lacking in a lot of people today – that personal, one-on-one, look-you-in-the-eye and talk part of communicating.”

High school and middle school journalism classes go beyond reporting what people may except, like the latest results of a sports game or the student honor role- they play a large role in developing well-informed, future citizens who know how to navigate difficult topics and address them consciously.

As one of the students in Carmel Christian’s journalism class, I can say we are lucky to have teachers here in Matthews who are willing to give students a way for students to express themselves. I can truly say that it has helped me grow both as a writer and as a person.

#FiveForFriday: A Morning Minute News Round Up

There was a little excitement at Town Hall yesterday, and for once it didn’t involve a council meeting. Around 1 PM emergency services were called after the alarm system went off. Three Matthews fire trucks answered the call. After an inspection of the premises, it was determined there was a fault in the sprinkler system which caused the alarm to go off.

Ashley HomeStore licensee Broad River Retail announced plans to open a HomeStore Outlet in the former Capel Rug Outlet store (9632 E Independence Blvd.). Just down the road, Discount Tire has requested rezoning at the former Tilted Kilt location (1625 Windsor Square), which has been vacant since 2015. The tire retail chain would like to raze the current building to construct a new store. In 2018 the ABC Board applied to rezone the site but was denied. Since the ABC Board was denied rezoning within the last 12 months, Discount Tire must request special permission from the Planning Board to apply for rezoning.

Mark your calendar for the next HAWK meeting, Tuesday, February 5. Kim O'Shea, beekeeper, archaeologist and master gardener will change the way you see bees. Her own videos and photos provide a unique glimpse into the way bees interact with their surroundings. Kim will explain methods for gardening for and with bees through year-round sustainable practices. 7 p.m. at the Community Center.

Photo by Kim O’Shea

USA Rugby, the national governing body for the sport of rugby in America, selected the Sportsplex at Matthews as the site for their 2019 Spring College National Championship Series. The organization worked with the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority/Visit Charlotte to determine the location of their 2018 Fall College National Championships. Visit Charlotte partnered with Sportsplex staff to deliver a professional-level experience for USA Rugby and their participating teams. The Men's D1AA, Women's D1, and Women's D2 finals will be played on the weekend of May 3.

Did you know that Matthews Fire & EMS holds an annual awards banquet? This year's banquet had 140 attendees and honored the following members of the department:

Explorer of the Year – Jacob Rodriguez
Fire Corps Member of the Year – Sabrina Corra
SAFER Award for most hours (Fire) - Jacob Bobeng
SAFER Award for most hours (EMS)- Montana Hudgens
Rookie of the Year – Kyle “Bon Jovi” Beard
Derek E. Layman EMT of the Year – Montana Hudgens
Firefighter of the Year – Reyes Cruz Guzman
Officer of the Year – Lt. Matthew Losh
L.H. Yandel Award – Chief Rob Kinniburgh

To see a recap of the department’s accomplishments in 2018, view this YouTube video.