Over 200,000 Gallons Of Sewage Overflowed In Mooresville Due To Michael

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Over 200,000 Gallons Of Sewage Overflowed In Mooresville Due To Michael

On October 11th, the Town of Mooresville experienced very heavy rains due to Tropical Storm Michael. Unofficial estimates from rain gauges at Town facilities ranged from 3.75″ to 6″ between midnight and 3 p.m. As a result, the town had two discharges of untreated wastewater.

One was an estimated 2,250 gallons at Reed Creek Pump Station, 253 Golf Course Drive, which discharged to Reeds Creek. The other was of 200,000 gallons al the Rocky River Wastewater Treatment Plant, 269 Johnson Dairy Road, which discharged to Dye Creek Branch. As is typical of discharges during extreme storm events, a sizable portion of the untreated wastewater was rainwater that had entered the system near swelled creeks or in low lying areas. Neither of the spills were of a magnitude to cause immediate danger to human health or the environment.

North Carolina General Statute 143-215.1C requires the owner or operator of any wastewater collection or treatment system to report when ao untreated wastewater discharge of 1,000 gallons or more reaches surface waters. The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, Water Resources Division was notified of the spills on October 11 and is reviewing both incidents.

If you live in the area and you are on a well, officials recommend checking to see if your water was contaminated by using a field testing kit, and consider installing a reverse osmosis filter on any faucet used for drinking water.

North Carolina Pastor Andrew Brunson Has Just Been Released From Turkey

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North Carolina Pastor Andrew Brunson Has Just Been Released From Turkey

A North Carolina pastor has just been released from Turkey after being arrested over 2 years ago on terrorism abroad charges.

Pastor Andrew Brunson was initially arrested on October 7th, 2016 while serving as the pastor of Resurrection Church in Izmir, Turkey, a city of 4.2 million people.

TRT, a Turkish public broadcast agency, just produced this video about Brunson’s release;

After his initial arrest in 2016, Brunson was placed under house arrest with his wife Norine, not allowed to leave his apartment in Izmir, Turkey, with armed guards stationed outside of his door. His family members in North Carolina have commented that they thought his charges were completely false.

“He is not an armed terrorist trying to overthrow any government,” Brunson’s daughter, Jacqueline Brunson Furnari, said on July 24 State Department forum. “Every single thing in his life is centered on his faith.”

Brunson is now receiving a full medical check-up in Germany before flying back to the US. The President spoke with reporters yesterday and noted that Brunson has been invited to the Oval Office.

“He’s, I think, in good shape,” the president said. “He’ll be stopping most likely in Germany for a full check-up and then he’s going to be coming to the Oval Office, most likely on Saturday.”

Faherty Beach House Pop Up Coming To South Park

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Faherty Beach House Pop Up Coming To South Park

Starting Friday, October 12th, the popular beach-inspired lifestyle brand Faherty will open up their mobile pop-up store trailer in front of Paul Simon Co shop (4300 Sharon Rd #25, Charlotte, NC 28211), bringing some truly unique fashion styles to local shoppers.

The 26-foot-long open-air trailer will be parked in front of the specialty store and open to shoppers starting at 10am and will showcase a curated selection of cozy sweaters, flannels, and colorful ponchos for the entire family from the new Fall 2018 collections for men, women and children. Faherty’s custom designed “beach house on wheels” has traversed the country, visiting music festivals, resorts, specialty stores, and beaches on both coasts. Faherty co-founders and brothers Alex & Mike Faherty are thrilled to bring the brand’s laid back, comfort focused vibes to Charlotte and offer fans a wider selection of their collection in person.

New York-based, family-owned Faherty is highly acclaimed for crafting premium, casual contemporary clothing through primarily sustainable fabrics — including organic cotton, true indigo dyes and their signature swimwear made from a proprietary fabric derived from recycled plastic bottles. The coastal lifestyle brand often pulls inspiration for unique techniques from cultures globally, such as Native American weavings and Japanese indigo dye processes. The brand’s beautiful clothing centers on ethnic-inspired prints, sun-faded hues and ultra soft pre-washed textiles. The collection retails between $98-$400 and is carried by notable national retailers such as Bloomingdales, Barneys, and Nordstrom, and local Charlotte specialty stores including Tabor and Paul Simon.

Charlotte Hosting Blood Drive Next Week to Support Hurricane Victims

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Charlotte Hosting Blood Drive Next Week to Support Hurricane Victims

Hurricanes Florence and Michael struck the East Coast impacting nearly three million people, according to the American Red Cross. There is a constant need for blood, but right now, patients are requiring blood faster than donations are stocking hospitals shelves. Drs. Amir Marashi and Arman Haghighi with Greater Charlotte Oral & Facial Surgery are teaming up with Community Blood Center of the Carolinas to host their first annual carnival-themed Blood Drive in October to help increase blood supply levels and save lives. All donors will receive a gift bag.

The tropical storms forced the cancelation of more than 1,500 blood and platelet donations, resulting in an urgent need for blood donors to replenish the supply. There is no substitute for blood, and all blood given was originally donated by a generous donor. Every day, people lose blood in accidents and injuries and desperately require fresh blood to compensate for their loss. In many cases, blood is also used for lifesaving transfusions for patients undergoing medical treatments.

“When disasters hit like the hurricanes, it’s extremely important that our hospitals are fully stocked with blood to treat patients immediately if an emergency occurs,” said Dr. Marashi. “Blood is not only needed now; there is an endless need for blood donors. We are looking forward to saving lives and giving back to our community.”

While giving blood is about helping those in need, there are included health benefits for the donor. Studies suggest that many Americans consume more iron than needed to maintain good health. Donating blood lowers iron levels, which helps reduce the risk of heart disease. Donating blood also replenishes new red blood cells so the body can work more efficiently and productively.

Donors must be 17 years old, or 16 with a parent consent, and weigh at least 110 pounds. Donors must also feel healthy the day of their donation, and it is encouraged to eat a healthy meal and drink plenty of water prior to donating. All donors must also bring an ID.

To help save lives, donate blood on Saturday, October 20, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Greater Charlotte Oral & Facial Surgery located at 9787 Charlotte Hwy, Suite 100, Fort Mill, SC, 29707. To sign up for a lifesaving appointment, visit: https://greatercharlotteoralsurgery.com/blood.

Top 10 Events Happening Around Charlotte This Weekend – 10/12/18

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Top 10 Events Happening Around Charlotte This Weekend – 10/12/18

The weekend is almost here!

There will be tons of concerts, festivals, shows – including some Broadway!

Here are the top 10 things happening around the Charlotte region this weekend:

#1 The Charlotte Fair

The Charlotte Fair is back at 5650 Sandusky Blvd, in Concord, running October 12 – 21.

Admission: Adults: $8.00
Ages 5-11: $5.00
Ages 4 & Under: FREE
Unlimited Ride Wristbands: $25

Shows and Attractions include:
-Aguiar Circus and Thrill Show – Featuring the Globe of Death!
https://www.facebook.com/Aguiar-Bro…
-Rattlesnake Dave Richardson & the West Texas Rattlesnake Show
-Rockin A Ranch Friendly Petting Zoo
-Carnival Attractions provided by Amusements of America!

Enjoy the stunning sights, sounds and tastes, including items like: Funnel Cakes, Corn Dogs, BBQ, Authentic Mexican Food, Fresh Squeezed Lemonade, Ice cream, Pizza, Turkey Legs, Elephant Ears, Caramel Apples, Candied Apples, Cotton Candy, Tacos, Churros, Pizza, and more!

For more information or tickets click here.

#2 Breakaway Music Festival

This weekend, the AvidXchange Music Factory will be hosting one of this year’s biggest music festivals, featuring producer GRiZ headlining Friday night with “Gucci Gang” rapper Lil Pump, Wiz Khalifa, Machine Gun Kelly, Lil Skies, Hoodie Allen, Louis The Child, Nghtmre, 3LAU, and Charlotte’s own Styles & Complete.

The event will also feature a local craft beer garden that will feature NoDa Brewing, Lenny Boy, Hoppin’, and more.

For tickets or more info click here.

#3 NHRA Carolina Nationals

One of the biggest drag racing event of the year is coming to the Concord Motor Speedway this weekend.

The NHRA Charlotte Nationals brings together the most popular and talented drivers in the NHRA Mello Yellow Drag Racing Series.

For tickets or more info click here.

#4 Chris Stapleton 

Chris Stapleton will be performing live this coming Sunday night at the PNC Music Pavillion (rescheduled from October 11th, 2018).

Chris has written over 150 songs for Tim McGraw, Luke Bryan, Dierks Bentley, and others. After releasing his own album in 2015, he’s now of the most talked about artists in music.

Get your tickets here – https://goo.gl/PgzrFr

#5 Charlotte Grilled Cheese Festival

On Saturday, October 13th, from 12pm – 6pm the cheesiest festival of the year will be happening in the Slate Parking Lot.

There will be tons of grilled cheese, live music, games, cash bars, and tons of other vendors.

For more info or tickets click here.

#6 Hamilton Charlotte

“Hamilton” is the Broadway Musical story of America’s Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, the United States first Treasury Secretary. The musical includes a blend of hip-hop, blues, jazz, rap, R&B, and Broadway show tunes. Hamilton has won 11 Tony Awards and won the Pulitzer Prize for drama.

Shows will run tonight through November 4th.

For tickets or more info click here.

#7 Carolina Film Festival

The Carolina Film Festival will take place on October 13th at Johnson and Wales University in the Hance Auditorium. Admission will be free to the public.

2:45pm- 3:00pm – Red Carpet Event
3:00pm – 6:00pm – Festival

They will be awarding filmmakers in the following categories : Best Short, Best Music Video, Best Trailer, Best Drone, Best Director, and Most Creative.

For more info click here.

#8 Cotton Ginning Days Festival

Exhibitors from all over the southeast will convene in Dallas, North Carolina on October 12-14, 2018 for the annual ‘crank-up’ of antique steam and gasoline engines and tractors. One of the highlights of the engine show is the operational 1900 single-stand, Continental Cotton Gin and we will be ginning cotton all weekend long during the festival until we are all ginned out! In addition to the engine show, many activities are planned including a Kids County Fair, Heritage Arts Area, Handmade Craft vendors and Music.

Admission and parking are free.

For more info click here.

#9 IMakeCLT 2018

The one-day free community ‘maker’ event will take place on Saturday, October 13th from 10am to 2pm.

Join C3Lab, UTC Aerospace, Cheap Joe’s Art Supplies, Harris Teeter, Charlotte Community Toolbank, Digi-Bridge, Behailu Academy, Union Shop Studio, and ACSM Inc to take part in activities like a community art-making project, hand sign painting, urban hydroponics, drone technology, 3D printing, graffiti chalk art, Legos, printmaking, robotics, building birdhouses & firetrucks, STEM education, giant chess, full-size derby cars and more.

There will be free food & drinks while quantities last.

For more info click here.

#10 North Carolina FC at Charlotte Independence

This coming Saturday night, watch the Charlotte Independence take down the North Carolina FC at the Matthews Sportsplex.

For tickets or more info click here.

If you think other events should be on this list or future lists, let us know – Scott@CharlotteStories.com

Michael Caused 1 Death and 500,000+ People To Lose Power in North Carolina So Far

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Michael Caused 1 Death and 500,000+ People To Lose Power in North Carolina So Far

UPDATE 10/12/2018 9:30am:

Hurricane Michael has officially blown back out to sea after wreaking havoc in 4 southeastern states.

So far, there’s been 1 storm-related death reported in North Carolina’s Iredell County, after a tree fell on a car, 4 deaths in Florida, and 1 death in Georgia.

Over 500,000 people are without power in North Carolina, and millions more in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.

Category 4 Hurricane Michael is now going down in the record books as the most powerful storm to ever hit Florida’s Panhandle;

UPDATE 10/11/2018 8:30am: 

After making landfall yesterday on the Florida panhandle as a Category 4 storm with 155+ mph wind gusts (the most powerful the US mainland has experienced in 25 years), Hurricane Michael quickly diminished from a Category 4, to a Category 1, to a Tropical Storm.

Michael is now blowing across the Carolinas, bringing with it damaging winds and flash flooding.

All CMS schools are now closed for the day and city officials are cautioning residents to stay off the roads and to work from home if at all possible.

The Charlotte region will feel the worst of the storm this morning between 9am-12pm, and will continue to see heavy rainfall for the rest of the day;

Please watch out for flooded roads and fallen trees if you are forced to drive today.

UPDATE 10/10/2018 8:30am: 

Hurricane Michael has just been upgraded to a category 4 storm as it barrels its way toward the Florida panhandle.

With current sustained winds of 145mph, Michael could become the strongest storm to hit Florida’s panhandle in recorded history.

Michael will significantly diminish once it hits land, but the National Hurricane Center is now showing about a 50% chance of Tropical Storm Force winds reaching the Charlotte region;

Venutsky’s forecast is now predicting wind gusts upwards of 95mph hitting Charlotte on Thursday afternoon;

UPDATE 10/9/2018 10:30am:

NC Governor Roy Cooper just held an emergency briefing to inform residents about how Hurricane Michale might affect our state over the next few days.

“We need to brace ourselves for strong winds and rain…already bruised southeastern North Carolina could feel tropical storm force winds…”;

Hurricane Michael is now expected to strengthen to a Category 3 Hurricane before making landfall on the Florida Panhandle early tomorrow morning;

Original article 10/8/2018 8:00am:

The newly developed storm in the gulf of Mexico has just changed from a depression into Tropical Storm Michael and is now on a arching path toward the Queen City.

According to the National Hurricane Center’s most recent alert, “Michael is forecast to be a hurricane, and possibly a major hurricane, when it reaches the Northeastern Gulf Coast by mid-week, and storm surge and hurricane watches are now in effect for portions of the area.”

According to Ventusky, the storm will pass over the Charlotte area on Thursday morning between 8am-11am;

According to the Late Model Intensity Model, the storm will likely slow down after it hits the coast and will retain tropical storm force winds as it moves across the southern states;

50 MPH winds and flash flooding around Charlotte will likely knock down trees, cause pockets of power outages, and make some roads impassable.

In case of a power outage, make sure to have the following emergency items stocked in your home;

Charlotte’s Newest Carpooling App Just Launched – Zome

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Charlotte’s Newest Carpooling App Just Launched – Zome

Charlotte’s newest carpooling app has just officially launched across our region.

Soon after we learned that we won’t be seeing any significant changes to the I-77 toll lanes, Zome started offering its services city-wide, bringing an affordable and community-focused solution to both riders and drivers.

Using the Zome APP, available on iOS and Android, riders and drivers can now be matched 24 hours a day.

“As one of the fastest growing cities in the United States, Charlotte is seeing more and more commuters on the road,” said Steven Zhu, CEO of Zome. “Zome’s vision is to provide a cost-effective and meaningful option for area commuters who travel the Charlotte highways on a weekly basis. Carpooling with neighbors and coworkers provides a sense of community; in addition, has been shown to reduce a commuter’s stress and lower a company’s carbon footprint. Our focus is now on corporate partnerships and community education as Zome continues to grow.”

How Zome Works:

1. SCHEDULE YOUR RIDE – You can simply schedule a ride by selecting your pick-up location, departure time, and return time.

2. GET MATCHED – Zome will send a message to tell you the match result. Once matched, confirm the trip. We will send both the driver and the rider the time and location for the pick-up. We match users every hour!

3. SHOW UP ON TIME – Meet at the prescribed location for pick-up. Then enjoy your ride!

You can find out more on their website here.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Building Massive $100 Million Facility In Charlotte Region

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Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Building Massive $100 Million Facility In Charlotte Region

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, a global pharmaceutical company, recently announced that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration provided its first supplemental Abbreviated New Drug Application (sANDA) approval for the company’s massive new manufacturing facility in Monroe, North Carolina. The approval covers the manufacture of: Atovaquone and Proguanil Hydrochloride Tablets, 250 MG/100 MG and 62.5 MG/25 MG, a generic version of GlaxoSmithKline’s Malarone® (atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride) Tablets1.

“This approval is an important milestone for our U.S. business, as the Monroe, N.C. site will expand our portfolio by providing the manufacturing foundation for future product approvals,” said Robert Matsuk, President, North America & Global API at Glenmark Pharmaceuticals. “Additionally, we are pleased that the investment we’ve made in our site will continue to create new, high-quality jobs in the Monroe community, where we have a commitment to long-term growth and expansion.”

The new Monroe facility is Glenmark’s first manufacturing site in the U.S., designed to manufacture a variety of fixed dose pharmaceutical formulations. Glenmark has invested more than $100 million into the facility with plans for further expansion in the coming years. At peak capacity, the site is anticipated to produce 300-400 million tablets and capsules, 20-25 million vials and pre-filled syringes and 25-30 million ampoules for inhaled formulations.

Globally, Glenmark has 16 other manufacturing facilities, primarily in Europe and India.

Controversy Ensues After Vulgar Message Posted On CMS School Sign

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Controversy Ensues After Vulgar Message Posted On CMS School Sign

Over the weekend, a vulgar message was posted on the South Charlotte Middle School sign, condemning the newly appointed Supreme Court judge, Brett Kavanaugh.

Yesterday afternoon, freelance writer A.P. Dillon tweeted a picture of the sign to the main CMS account, questioning the shocking message (you can see the un-blurred tweet here);

CMS quickly responded by saying the picture was “fake news”

Local resident Tracy Lundell then posted an image they had taken, and said, “I guess my son, brother in law and I were hallucinating yesterday morning around 10am then? We pulled in the parking lot and took pictures of the awesomeness!… Nothing fake about it!” (you can see the un-blurred tweet here);

CMS Media Relations was then forced to back peddle on their quick “fake news” assumption, releasing the following statement via a tweet response;

“An exterior sign at South Middle School was vandalized over the weekend. A picture posted to social media Monday evening 10/8 by a community member initially appeared to show a faked alteration of the sign and content. This determination was made after on-site investigation within one hour of the social media post showed the sign was confirmed clear of all content on Monday evening.

Later corroboration of the initial posted image and review of the incident from school staff confirmed the sign had been defaced over the weekend with an inappropriate message that was removed early Sunday by staff members.

CMS messaging guidelines, Board policies and codes of conduct forbid use of profanities in any communications. CMS is investigating this matter with law enforcement.”

Julius Peppers Calling on Panther Players To Join Him In Rebuilding Flooded Carolina Homes

Steve
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Julius Peppers Calling on Panther Players To Join Him In Rebuilding Flooded Carolina Homes

As thousands of residents across the Carolinas continue to work toward rebuilding their homes after the historic Hurricane Florence flood waters, more and more non-affected Carolinians are stepping up to help.

Julius Peppers, the Panthers legendary defensive end, called on his fellow Panther players to drive up to Lumberton to physically work on some rebuilding projects all day today and called on Panther fans to donate as much as they can toward relief efforts.

The Panthers just posted a video of Peppers talking to his teammates about the need, noting, “Julius Peppers will be working with residents to clean up flooded homes in Lumberton, NC tomorrow. #OneCarolina“

The Panthers organization is not only partnering with local cleanup efforts and donating funds to area non-profits – they’ve also partnered with Visit North Carolina and Discover South Carolina to create a #careolinas t-shirt, from which 100% of the proceeds will go to hurricane Florence relief efforts.

So far, they’ve sold over 10,000 t-shirts, generating over $200,000 of additional funds to help those affected by the hurricane.

You can find out more about the Panthers relief efforts here or buy a #careolinas shirt here.

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