Morning Minute: Wednesday, April 3, 2019

News About Town: Matthews Police Department's own Captian Roy Sisk recently completed the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy (Class # 275). The course is a 10-week intensive at the FBI training facility in Quantico, Virginia. Captain Sisk started in January and finished in mid-March. Content included law, behavioral science, forensic science, understanding terrorism and terrorists’ mindsets, leadership development, communication, and wellness. Less than one percent of US law enforcement officers complete this training and Captain Sisk brought what he learned back to Matthews to share with the department.  

News Around Town: Windstream Holdings, Inc. and its subsidiaries have filed voluntary petitions for financial reorganization under Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection. Operations are expected to continue as normal, and employees will continue to receive their usual pay and benefits. Windstream is one primary internet service provider for Matthews.

One Good Thing: This Sunday support local artists at the McDowell Arts Center (123 East McDowell St.). Students from Eileen Schwartz's art groups, Art for Veterans and The McDowell Group, a special group with talent, will have their work on display and some items will be for sale. 

Morning Minute: Tuesday, April 2, 2019

News About Town: Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist Church was the victim of property damage once again last Friday. Matthews Police Department is looking for assistance in identifying two suspects, who were caught on video cameras at the church (https://www.matthewsnc.gov/newsview.aspx?nid=6224). Anyone with information on the incident is encouraged to contact Detective Chris Duryee (cduryee@matthewsnc.gov).

News Around Town: According to the NC Constitution Article IX, Section 7, “the clear proceeds of all penalties and forfeitures...for any breach of the penal laws of the State, shall belong to and remain in the several counties, and shall be...used exclusively for maintaining free public schools." In relation to recent news, the Article dedicates the fines incurred by Taft Family Ventures along Monroe Road to Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools, rather than for replanting trees cut down within the dedicated tree save area. The voluntary fee provided by the developer (in the amount of $100,000) may be used for replanting or as the Town deems appropriate.  

One Good Thing: Gather a little vitamin D, breathe some fresh air, then soak up the post-exercise endorphins with yoga in the park. This Friday, join Elinor Edvi-Miller at Stumptown Park for a free session of vinyasa flow and deep stretch yoga from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. The program will continue for five more Fridays throughout April and May for the cost of $25 for the series.

Morning Minute: Monday, April 1, 2019

News About Town: The Great Easter Egg Expedition begins this Friday, April 5, and runs through Sunday, April 21. In the past the Town has hosted an egg hunt at Stumptown Park, but this year they’re going bigger and better by hiding several thousand eggs throughout town parks (Stumptown, Squirrel Lake, Windsor, and Sardis Parks) and Four-Mile Creek Greenway (between John Street and Chesney Glen). The eggs will contain toys and the chance to win bigger prizes if you find a Golden Egg. Consider it a town-wide game of Gamete-mon Go!

News Around Town: Angelica Figueroa, a certified financial coach with Sharonview Credit Union, will be on hand this Wednesday at the Matthews Library to talk about planning your financial future. The class, Money Smart Week: Steps to Financial Freedom, will be from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the Community Room.

One Good Thing: Even though the weather has been nice, we’re not out of the woods with frost yet. There are a couple of days calling for low 30s in the evenings (like last night). If you’ve already caved and started your summer annual crops…let’s be honest, tomatoes are super tempting to plant right now…make sure you have a method to protect them from the kiss of cold.

Morning Minute: Friday, March 29, 2019

News About Town: The Town of Matthews is seeking applicants for two-year terms on the Matthews Committee on Education. Submit your application to the town by April 10. The committee of nine members was formed in October 2018, with the purpose of advising the Town Council and working with CMS, home schools, charter schools, and private schools to ensure equal opportunities for all students in Matthews.

News Around Town: On April 5 more than 300 realtors will volunteer around the Charlotte area for the 11th Annual Realtors® Care Day. The purpose of the event is to provide and repair homes for safe, affordable housing for those in need. A portion of the time will be spent in Matthews when the group partners with Habitat for Humanity Greater Matthews onsite for a new build.

One Good Thing: There’s a lot going on this weekend (PANCAKES!! Property reval!) but if you need something a little less people-social, get some kitty time in. Greater Charlotte SPCA holds cat adoption events at the Matthews PetSmart (9905 E Independence Blvd.) every Saturday from 10 a.m until 1 p.m. Go forth and find a new friend.

Morning Minute: Thursday, March 28, 2019

News About Town:  At Monday’s meeting the Town Council discussed ways to increase tree canopy despite short-term loss through development. Suggestions for future consideration include: • Consider increasing required canopy percentage in certain districts. • Commit to using allocated landscape funds to plant/maintain a set amount of trees on town-owned properties and rights-of-way.

News Around Town:  Join District 6 County Commissioner Susan Rodriguez McDowell, District 5 County Commissioner Susan Harden, and Charlotte City Council Member Dimple Ajmera this Saturday, March 30, for a Mecklenburg County Community Tax Relief Workshop. The event will be held at the Matthews Sportsplex (2425 Sports Parkway) from 10 a.m. until noon. Bring all your questions about the property reval, and they, and reps from the County Tax Assessors office, will do their best to answer them.

One Fun Thing:  If you’re itching for some dirt under your nails, but the Farmer’s Market ends a little too early (until next week!), Carolina Heritage Nursery will be at Backyard Birds with an assortment of native plants for your #birdfriendlygarden and #wildlifehabitat. Stop by between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. and get your native garden growing.

Morning Minute: Wednesday, March 27, 2019

News About Town:  At Monday’s Board of Commissioners meeting the board voted on facade grants for two early-twentieth-century properties on West John Street. The owner of the first property, 455 West John St., requested  $2,500 toward a total exterior painting cost of $7,860. Other improvements include architectural work for an ADA compliant entry, which will be designed by Commissioner John Urban (Urban recused himself from the facade grant vote). The property owner of 501 West John Street requested $2,500 which will be used for replacement of damaged siding and repainting of the exterior.

News Around Town:  Livable Meck, a public/private nonprofit partnership, gathers Mecklenburg County data to share with municipalities in order to shape plans for growth in the greater Charlotte area. Livable Meck’s Community Plan is considered a “Voice of the Community.” Survey results gathered from residents reflect their experiences, needs, priorities, and concerns for the future of the county. Share your thoughts through their Spring Survey to make your voice heard.

One Fun Thing:  After filling your belly with Kiwanis pancakes, and having a blast at Charlie’s Carnival this Saturday (March 30), join the Matthews Playhouse School of Theatre at the Matthews Library from 3-4 p.m.  Meet cast members from upcoming performances, join them for art and games, and hear the stories behind their upcoming plays (Stuart Little, Anne Frank and Me, and more).

Morning Minute: Tuesday, March 26, 2019

News About Town:  There was no reason to doubt the Board would approve the addition of a new K9 to the Police Department, but we’re here to make sure you’re left with zero doubt whatsoever. With approval byt the Board of Commissioners, Matthews PD officially welcomes Benny, a 15-month old black lab. He is a single-purpose pup (sniffing out illegal drugs), passed his certification, and has been in action with 2 arrests under his belt!

News Around Town: Tomorrow (Wednesday, March 27), the Police Department is hosting A meet and greet from 2:30-4:30 at the Matthews Library. Benny probably won’t be there, but Officer Tim Aycock will. Show up and join an important and timely discussion about police-community relations.

One Fun Thing: It’s Make Up Your Own Holiday Day! No further instructions needed.

Morning Minute: Monday, March 25, 2019

News About Town:  Approximately 25 people (including several members of the Board of Commissioners) showed up to the Matthews Town Hall yesterday (March 24) for the listening session hosted by District 6 County Commissioner Susan Rodriguez McDowell and State House Representative Rachel Hunt. The two leaders heard from residents on many topics including affordable housing, gun violence, adding school psychologists at schools, investing in public transit, and pedestrian safety.

News Around Town: The ruby-throated hummingbirds are heading through the area, if not now, at least in the near future. April is really when they arrive en masse, but a few early birds are here to get the nectar. If you make your own, mix 1 part sugar to 4 parts boiling water, let cool and fill your feeders. As the weather warms and babies hatch, the newborn hummingbirds depend on insects for protein. Make sure you’re not spraying your yard and depleting their food source.

One Good Thing: When learning the ropes of social media and creating an online presence, there’s one word that comes up more often than any other: branding. It’s a nuanced concept that creates a recognizable identity for your business, but how do you get started? Join DeTrice Fox at the Matthews Library tomorrow, March 26, at 6 p.m. to learn the ins and outs of getting yourself branded.

Around the Table with the Burkes: It’s the little victories

…I have three small tornadoes
destroying every room immediately
after I’ve cleaned it.

My parents came for a visit last week (a “visit” where I use them for free labor and my dad’s construction expertise). I’m frantically trying to prepare my house for sale, no small task when my other half is away from home four days a week, and I have three small tornadoes destroying every room immediately after I’ve cleaned it. Mom and dad cleared more than a few things off of my list, though it still seems like there is stuff EVERYWHERE. All of the house projects made mealtime difficult, as we reached the end of each day too tired to think, so shortcuts were key to filling empty bellies this week.

On Saturday I had a rare evening out with my friends to celebrate a birthday and see Captain Marvel. I ate what I wanted and no one stole my French fries. Travis made pork chops, spaetzle, and green beans for the kids, which my parents were also thrilled to have when they arrived Saturday night. On Sunday Grillmaster Burke made steaks.

Lightly Sweetened Mashed
Sweet Potatoes:
Cube the sweet potatoes and boil until they’re soft. Add ¼ cup of butter, a splash of milk, and a few tablespoons of real maple syrup. Mix until uniformly mashed.

After Monday’s projects – which included deck repair, door replacement, and so much cleaning – I ordered takeout. Tuesday’s exhausting to-do list was followed by a rotisserie chicken with corn and noodles.

Wednesday I succumbed to guilt over feeding my parents shortcut food, so I roasted a pork loin and squash and made mashed sweet potatoes. The secret to my sweet potatoes, beloved the family over: after boiling the potatoes until they’re soft I add ¼ cup of butter, a splash of milk, and a few tablespoons of real maple syrup. We pretend it’s still healthy – maple syrup is practically a vegetable, right?

Travis arrived home on Thursday to chicken chili (thank you McCormick packet) and cornbread. On Friday we had pasta night, with the addition of sweet Italian sausage (baked from frozen for an hour at 350 degrees, then added to the sauce).

It was a week of quick dinners, but I’m happy we managed to avoid fast food. We also managed to sit down at the table together each night (sans Travis for three of them). It’s the little victories.

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.

Bintou Ceesay: The Muscle Whisperer

Photo by Cyma Shapiro

In her childhood homeland of Gambia, Bintou Ceesay’s grandfather would make his grandchildren massage his feet at the end of a hard day. When her own mother was pregnant and took a bad fall, Bintou watched her remedy this by placing warm, wet towels on her aching low back. Growing up, her father placed high value on a healthy lifestyle and always being active. The importance of eating right, self-care, and all the other aspects of “maintaining the physical being” became a high priority in Bintou’s daily life.

At age 15, during a time of great political unrest, her parents sent her to live with her sister in Maryland. By 21, she yearned to be with schoolmates and enjoy better weather, so she moved, again – this time to Charlotte.

More than a handful of years later, she had her first professional massage – an experience which set the course of her life in an entirely new direction.

“When I got my massage, I said, ‘That’s incredible, when done the right way!’ ” So, she set out to investigate this as a possible new career, with the idea that she might offer this same experience to others. Within a few years, she had signed up for massage therapy school; nine years ago (during her pregnancy!), she received her license.

Bintou, 40, is now in her sixth year as a full-time professional massage therapist. Having lived in Matthews for more than two years and working in town for six, Bintou finds it to be “a good balance of location and a good balance of people.” She says it has also provided a home for both her family and her business. “Matthews has a lot to offer!” Bintou said.

But, it is her love of massage combined with her love of helping people that fuels her passion for getting up and going to work each day. “This is a career that is very much tied to who I am as a person,” said Bintou. “The muscles and anatomy are underappreciated and overlooked. Massage is the perfect balance of everything.”

“I believe in [this],” she said. “They come and try massage therapy and find it meaningful for themselves...addressing the whole being.” Recently, a client asked her how she knew where to focus on.  She responded with a laugh, “You can call me the ‘Muscle Whisperer.’”

Photo by Cyma Shapiro

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!

Navigating the Town Website: Rezoning Requests

When researching rezoning and development in Matthews, the first place to go is the Planning Department section on the town website. If you’re unfamiliar with the website, it can feel buried. This is a quick tutorial to find Rezoning and Development Cases currently under consideration.

Go to the Town of Matthews website: matthewsnc.gov

Click on “Departments” in the top, horizontal menu bar. A drop down menu will give you further options. Click “Pending Zoning & Development Cases.”

On the Pending & Zoning Developent page, notice the first two columns: “Application” and “Location.” The most recently submitted application is on the top row of the table. In the application column you’ll find the number the Town has given the case as well as the project name. Under the location column you’ll find the physical address to be rezoned/developed.

The next two columns show “Current Zoning” code and “Proposed Zoning” code. The codes specify the type of use (residential, commercial, etc.) and the allowable density. There are a lot of codes to remember, so we have an infographic here, created from the county’s Polaris chart.

Next there’s the “Status” column. This answers where the application is in the three-part process:

• Public Hearing

• Planning Board Recommendation

• Town Board Approval

Links in the far right column are important documents to better understand the pending case. You may find a few other documents, but most commonly you’ll find:

• The application originally submitted.

• Site plans that give further details about how the land will be developed. This will sometimes have “superceded” beside them, which means there’s a more current version. Find the version labeled “current.”

• Elevations are a close approximate of how the finished building will look.

• The developer must notify adjacent land owners and host a meeting open to the public in order to explain the project. The Public Input document is documentation from that meeting.

• Town Staff examines the proposal and analyzes the information to create a Staff Report. This report compiles the site plan, elevations, comments the staff has given the developer, as well as the impact on traffic, and comments from other town departments (usually Public Works, Police, and Fire). Sometimes school impact is provided as well. The Staff Report is presented to Town Council during regularly scheduled council meetings.

If you’re interested in keeping up with Board of Commissioner meetings, we’ve created a tutorial for finding those as well.

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.).