Charlotte-Area High School Teacher Wins One of America’s Top Education Awards

Steve
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Charlotte-Area High School Teacher Wins One of America’s Top Education Awards

A Charlotte-area high school teacher has just won one of the top awards in public education, plus a check for $25,000.

According to the National Education Association, “The winner of the NEA Member Benefits Award was 12th grade language arts educator Bobbie Cavnar of Belmont, North Carolina (second from right). Pictured with Bobbie are (from left to right) Gary Phoebus, President and CEO of the NEA Member Benefits; Mark Jewell, President, North Carolina Association of Educators; and Harriet Sanford, President and CEO of the NEA Foundation.”

via neafoundation.org

The 2018 Salute to Excellence in Education Gala, held on February 9th in Washington, D.C., was a celebration of the power of innovation, artistry, and teacher leadership.

Over 900 guests cheered on the 38 educators who received the 2018 California Casualty Awards in a stunning ballroom filled with live jazz music and celebrities.

via neafoundation.org

In addition to Bobbie Cavnar’s top award, five other finalists also received the 2018 Horace Mann Awards for Teaching Excellence and $10,000.

“Bobbie has been selected for this award by his peers, not only because he is an outstanding educator, but because he is a passionate advocate for his students, his fellow teachers, and for the value of public education,” commented Harriet Sanford, President and CEO of the NEA Foundation. “He represents the millions of teachers across the country who inspire a love of learning in their students.”

Cavnar started teaching in Belmont back in the early 1990s. He now presides as the chair of the English department, the North Carolina Association of Educators Association representative and a trainer with the Gaston County Teacher Induction Program for Success.

Way to go Bobbie! 

Rock Hill High Schools Might Soon Require Random Drug Testing For Students

Steve
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Rock Hill High Schools Might Soon Require Random Drug Testing For Students

Later this month, Rock Hill schools will be making a final decision about imposing random drug tests on their high school students.

Leaders at Northwestern High School say the purpose of the drug tests would be to help students, not punish them – it would be focused on getting them counseling and into recovery programs.

If the new drug testing policy were to pass, Rock Hill students who test positive would temporarily be suspended from sports and would be required to go to counseling.

According to recent surveys, Rock Hill’s two most commonly used drugs are marijuana and alcohol, followed closely by prescription pain pills.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that it is legal to test students participating in competitive extracurricular activities (about 80% of Rock Hill high school students), according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, however, the widespread testing all students is illegal.

School districts are also allowed to test student drivers because driving on the school campus is a privilege, commented Ryan Brown, S.C. Department of Education’s spokesman.

The random drug testing would cost the Rock Hill School District about $3,000 per year (between $15 and $20 for each test).

Do you think Rock Hill should start testing their students for drugs? 

Students Hand-Make 440 Stuffed Animals For Valentines Day at Charlotte Children Hospitals

Steve
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Students Hand-Make 440 Stuffed Animals For Valentines Day at Charlotte Children Hospitals

This past weekend, dozens of young students from a York County High School spent their time preparing an incredibly sweet Valentine’s Day gift for children at 3 different hospitals around the Charlotte region.

Almost 100 students, teachers, and parents pitched in to prepare over 400 custom stuffed “build-a-bears” at the Carolina Place Mall.

This coming Wednesday, Valentine’s Day, the students will hand-deliver the bears to hurting children at Levine Children’s Hospital, Novant Heath’s Hemby Children’s Hospital and The Ronald McDonald House.

Way to be awesome York 1 students!

Local Charlotte-Area Hunters Organize Coyote Hunting Tournament

Steve
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Local Charlotte-Area Hunters Organize Coyote Hunting Tournament

carolina-coyote-classic-tournament-winnersA group of Charlotte-area hunters have created their own method to solve our region’s growing coyote problem – a statewide coyote hunting tournament.

Over the past couple years, coyote sightings have been increasing around South Charlotte neighborhoods, with reports of pets being snatched, and many parents fearing for their children’s safety.

The town of Tega Cay near Rock Hill has even hired a professional company to come in and set traps to try to deal with their coyote problem, although so far, they’ve only been able to catch 4 coyotes.

43-officially-weighed-coyotesLocal sportsman and owner of 704Outdoors.tv thinks he has the best solution to the problem – a statewide coyote tournament. Last month he successfully organized the 4th annual Carolina Coyote Classic tournament, which resulted in 51 coyotes being killed.

The tournament took place from February 10th-11th and was held at the Albemarle American Legion. It was open to all 100 counties around North Carolina and saw an especially big response from Cabarrus, Union, and Mecklenburg Counties.

They even had a full truck show at the event:

According to the Carolina Coyote Classic’s website, “This year’s tournament was a HUGE success…We were pleasantly surprised when we registered 134 Hunters! That’s 23 more hunters then last year…There were teams that brought in 2 or 3 coyotes, a couple that brought in 5 coyotes and even one team brought in 15 coyotes! How many did the winner bring in to weigh in’s? One coyote! That’s right, Team Bullseye brought in one 41.50lb Male that won the Heaviest Coyote and the Grand Prize.”

The Grand Prize winner of the Carolina Coyote Classic took home;

  • 1st Place Trophy
  • $335 Cash
  • Mossberg Patriot Predator 6.5 Creedmor Rifle with Konus 3-10×44 Illuminated Reticle Scope from Hal’s Gun & Pawn
  • FoxPro Fusion Electronic Predator Call
  • Bobs Custom Calls Handmade Rabbit in Distress Call
  • Tree Jack Lite
  • Southernized Gear Decal
  • Carolina Coyote Classic Event T-Shirts

What do you think about our local Coyote tournament?

Do you think there is something else that should be done about the growing Coyote population? 

The Charlotte Observer Is Littering The Streets Of Charlotte With Unwanted Papers

Charlotte Stories
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The Charlotte Observer Is Littering The Streets Of Charlotte With Unwanted Papers
Facebook Group Photo
Facebook Group Photo

There is now a growing movement of angry Charlotteans who continue to receive unwanted publications in their yard. The unwanted deliveries include daily editions of the Observer, the “Observer Values”, the “Observer Encore”, and The South Charlotte News – all owned, operated, and delivered by the Charlotte Observer.

The Facebook group “The Charlotte Observer is Dropping Litter All Over My Neighborhood” now has 277 members. The group was started last May for residents to share their frustrations and ideas about how to get the deliveries to stop.

Many have turned to the Better Business Bureau for help – out of the 178 complains filed against the Charlotte Observer on BBB.com, 68 of them specifically address “delivery issues”, including the continued delivery of unwanted papers.

There is even now a Change.org petition to stop the Observer from littering in South Charlotte.

The petition notes that, “Charlotte residents are tired of the “litter” polluting our properties and streets in the form of the “South Charlotte News” we are asking for its delivery to cease completely. No one wants it and we have requested it be dealt with individually for some time.”

People Are Comparing The Coal Ash Water Crisis in Belmont, NC To That Of Flint, MI

Katherine Miele
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People Are Comparing The Coal Ash Water Crisis in Belmont, NC To That Of Flint, MI

coal ash spill belmont ncHundreds of families are still in crisis mode after receiving “Do Not Drink” notices back in 2015, telling them their groundwater has been contaminated by toxic chemicals found in the leaking Duke Energy coal ash pond in Belmont, NC.

In spite of many families using only bottled water for drinking and cooking, many families are still getting sick and they don’t feel like the state is doing much to help.

Amy Brown is a mother of two young boys living just 1,000 feet from Duke Energy’s coal ash pond. She received the notice 2 years ago that informed her that her groundwater was laced with cancer-causing industrial chemicals such as hexavalent chromium.

“When we turn on the faucet, we turn on fear,” said Amy, who was told not to drink or cook with the contaminated water — but given no information about when the problem would be fixed or what to do in the meantime. After begging, pleading and finally even threatening Duke Energy, the company finally agreed to provide her family with bottled water. But nearly a year later, Amy’s family is still living off bottled water for drinking, cooking, and even brushing their teeth. And in the meantime, her repeated letters to our governor about the situation have gone unanswered.

In 2016 North Carolina’s top elected officials held a secret dinner meeting at his mansion in Raleigh with Duke Energy executives, their attorneys, and state environmental officials. Neither the state nor Duke Energy will say what was discussed at the secret meeting — but it just so happens that a short time later, the state reduced Duke Energy’s fine over leaking coal ash pits throughout North Carolina from $25 million for just one site, to $7 million for all 14 sites across the state. Meanwhile, the leaking coal ash pit next to Amy’s house was classified as “low priority” — an accurate description, Amy says, of how our state views her family.

Here’s Amy story:

Deb Baker is another Belmont resident who’s already lived off bottled water for over a year now. Her husband died in 2008 of a mysterious lung disease at the age of 46, despite being a non-smoker who had been perfectly healthy before they moved to Belmont. As her husband’s condition deteriorated, doctors told her the cause had to be environmental — but the source remained unknown until Deb received her own Do Not Drink notice years later.

“I definitely believe the coal ash had something to do with my husband’s lung disease,” said Deb, adding that some of her neighbors are showing the same symptoms as her husband.

Unfortunately, Amy and Deb’s stories are by no means unique. Over 400 families in more than a dozen communities across North Carolina have received these Do Not Drink notices, yet our state still refuses to publicly acknowledge their plight.

Please share this article to help spread the word! 

Governor Cooper Fighting President Trump’s Plans To Drill Off North Carolina’s Coast

Steve
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Governor Cooper Fighting President Trump’s Plans To Drill Off North Carolina’s Coast

President Trump recently announced he was opening up nearly all United States coastal waters for offshore drilling – including the coast of North Carolina.

Governor Roy Cooper is now doing all he can to make the Tar Heel state exempt from any future oil rigs off our coast.

In a video posted to his Facebook page, Governor Cooper stated that, “if North Carolina is not exempted from the threats posed by offshore drilling, we will sue the federal government.”

Florida has already been exempted from President Trump’s offshore drilling plan because their coastal tourism is too important. But no exemption has been made for North Carolina.

The governor is now asking all residents to fill out this questionnaire, indicating if you’d like to see our state expected from offshore drilling.

What are your thoughts on offshore drilling around North Carolina?

Did Philadelphia Eagles WR’s Baptism in Charlotte Help Win The Super Bowl?

Steve
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Did Philadelphia Eagles WR’s Baptism in Charlotte Help Win The Super Bowl?

Sports figures will often give credit to God for a big play or a significant win, but it’s rare that an entire team will thank their higher power for a win.

Last weekend, the Philadelphia Eagles did just that after their first Super Bowl win in history against the highly-favored New England Patriots.

“All glory to God,” MVP Quarterback Nick Foles told reporters after the win.

The Eagles head coach commented, “I can only give the praise to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for giving me this opportunity.”

Touchdown-scoring Wide Receiver Zach Ertz echoed the sentiment by saying “Glory to God first and foremost,” on Super Bowl Sunday night.

About a week before the big game, the Eagles even posted a picture of the team praying together with the caption, “all we need”

All we need. #FlyEaglesFly

A post shared by Philadelphia Eagles (@philadelphiaeagles) on

If God really was a major reason for the win, it may be partially due to the spiritual atmosphere here in the Queen City.

When the Philadelphia Eagles traveled to Charlotte to play the Panthers a few months ago, rookie wide receiver Marcus Johnson decided to make the life-changing decision of being baptized in front of his teammates in a Charlotte hotel pool.

Standing around Johnson during his baptism was quarterback Carson Wentz, tight end Zach Ertz, offensive guard Stefen Wisniewski, tight end Trey Burton, linebacker Jordan Hicks and backup quarterback Nick Foles.

Do you think the team’s faith played a role in their Super Bowl win?

Do you think Johnson’s baptism in Charlotte helped?

Charlotte Man Started GoFundMe To Take Inner-City Youth To Black Panther Movie

Steve
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Charlotte Man Started GoFundMe To Take Inner-City Youth To Black Panther Movie

Local Charlotte resident Tracey Suggs Jr. has just launched a new GoFundMe campaign to help inspire the youth of North Carolina to dream bigger through the inspiration of a movie.

He notes in the description of his “Black Panther Challenge (NC)” that he wants to “take as many kids in cities like Charlotte, Elkin, RDU, Greensboro, Fayetteville, Winston Salem, and Goldsboro, NC (my hometown) to see Black Panther as possible. In communities where many of our youth are surrounded by crime, poverty, social challenges this a much-needed escape.”

Suggs’ local North Carolina campaign took inspiration from marketing consultant Frederick Joseph’s national campaign called, “Help Children See “Black Panther”“, which has already raised over $47,000 in less than a month.

According to the national campaign, “The release of Marvel’s film the “Black Panther” is a rare opportunity for young students (primarily of color) to see a black major cinematic and comic book character come to life. This representation is truly fundamental for young people, especially those who are often underserved, unprivileged, and marginalized both nationally and globally.”

What are your thoughts on the #BlackPantherChallenge campaigns? 

What are your thoughts on the new Black Panther movie? 

Charlotte Ranked As The 5th Most Romantic City in America

Steve
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Charlotte Ranked As The 5th Most Romantic City in America

The Queen City has just been ranked as one of the most romantic cities in America. According to same-day grocery delivery service Instacart, Charlotte is now officially the 5th most romantic city of 2018.

To compile the “Instacart Romance Index”, the website analyzed the following 12 romantic terms to rank cities from most to least romantic;

“We examined the change in Instacart user behavior by comparing growth adjusted week over week changes in the popularity of various search terms. We used a data set comprised of millions of searches from consumers spread over the 190 North American markets in which Instacart operated in 2017. Our results are focused on the strongest relative rise in customer interest in the week of Valentine’s Day for our designated search terms.”

Charlotte ranked just behind Philidelphia, PA (#4) and just ahead of Oakland, CA (#6). Boston took the top spot for 2018’s list of the most romantic cities.

Another NC City also made the list…but in a slightly less glamorous fashion. Raleigh was ranked by Instacart as being the 2nd least romantic city in America, just behind Indianapolis (#1 least romantic).

If you’re not sure what to do on Valentine’s Day yet, check our list of the Top 10 Most Romantic Restaurants in Charlotte.

What do you think about the results? 

How romantic do you think Charlotte gets around Valentines Day? 

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