SUV Bursts Into Flames on I-85 – Backing up Traffic For Miles (Video)

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SUV Bursts Into Flames on I-85 – Backing up Traffic For Miles (Video)

Yesterday at about 3pm, an SUV burst into flames near exit 23 on I-85 South in Christmastown USA (McAdenville).

The Gaston Gazette uploaded the following video to youtube that was taken by an unnamed witness on the scene;

Witnesses recounted that the driver of the sedan was weaving through traffic at high speeds when he collided with a tractor-trailer. The sedan then went off the road and crashed into and abandoned SUV that was sitting on the shoulder.

Miraculously, no one was injured. Several lanes of traffic were shut down after the accident, which backed up traffic for several miles.

Mark Wahlberg’s New Burger Joint ‘Wahlburgers’ Selected First Charlotte Location

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Mark Wahlberg’s New Burger Joint ‘Wahlburgers’ Selected First Charlotte Location

Mark and Donnie Wahlberg’s new restaurant is finally opening in Charlotte!

Last year we announced that the new celebrity-owned Wahlburgers would be coming to Charlotte, but that they hadn’t yet picked a location.

According to a new press release, they just signed a lease on the old Lure Oyster Bar in Ballantyne’s ‘Village at Robinson Farm’. The 6,000-square-foot building sits on the corner of Rea Rd. and Williams Pond Ln., right next to The Famous Toastery;

This will be the third Wahlburgers in the Carolinas, with one in Myrtle Beach now open, another one in Raleigh almost finished, and a fourth expected to be built somewhere in Charleston after Charlotte’s location opens.

“We are on the road to bringing Wahlburgers to a city near you, we’ve created this family business with a mission to welcome families and friends from around the world to a place where they can break bread, enjoy some great food and lots of laughs.” Mark Wahlberg commented in a statement.

Mark and his brother’s restaurant inspired A&E to launch the new reality show based on the burger chain. It features all the behind-the-scene drama of expanding a burger joint to new cities throughout the Southeast.

The show has already featured an impressive mix of celebrity guests, including NASCAR favorite Dale Earnhardt, Jr., music legend P. Diddy, and even Pope Francis.

Charlotte’s new Ballantyne Wahlburgers is expected to open sometime next year.

Greg Olsen Has Just Been Nominated For ‘Man Of The Year’ Award

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Greg Olsen Has Just Been Nominated For ‘Man Of The Year’ Award

car_2016Greg Olsen has just been nominated for the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year award.

Olsen is one of 32 players, one from each NFL franchise, who has been nominated for the award that recognized a player for his community service as well as excellence on the field.

This is now the third time Olsen has been nominated the award.

The NFL had some incredibly kind words for one of Panther fan’s favorite players:

“On the field, Greg is one of the NFL’s best tight ends. A four-time team captain and three-time Pro Bowler, he is the first tight end in NFL history with three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons (2014-16). Greg ranks in the top 10 all-time in receptions (625) and receiving yards (7,393) and is approaching the top 10 in receiving touchdowns among NFL tight ends.

In 2009, after watching his mother tackle and survive breast cancer, Greg Olsen founded Receptions for Research: The Greg Olsen Foundation. The Foundation’s Receiving Hope program focuses on cancer research and education programming. The program has distributed over $524,000 to six hospitals and foundations nationwide, with funding generated by events executed entirely by Greg. The program’s most notable and largest fundraiser, Kicks for a Cure, has raised over $850,000 in its eight year history.

In early 2013, Greg and his wife Kara founded the HEARTest Yard Fund after a routine examination of their unborn son, T.J., revealed the infant had Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS), a congenital defect marked by an underdeveloped left ventricle and aorta. The HEARTest Yard Fund is a family service program administered in conjunction with Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte. The cutting-edge program provides families of babies affected by congenital heart disease with services including in-home, private nursing care, physical therapy and speech therapy, all at no cost to the families or hospital. The program provides about $25,000 – $30,000 worth of nursing care (approx. 460 hours) per family during the first six months of the baby’s life. Since its inception, the fund has distributed nearly $1.7 million in support. In November 2017, the HEARTest Yard’s cutting-edge programming expanded when Greg and Kara announced the initiative’s new cardiac neurodevelopmental program – the first of its kind in the region.”

You can read the NFL’s entire description of Olsen here.

The winner of the Man of The Year award will be announced in Houston at NFL Honors, a two-hour primetime awards special to air nationally the night before The Super Bowl on FOX.

The winner will receive a total of $500,000 donated in his name, with $250,000 going to a charity of his choice and $250,000 supporting the expansion of Character Playbook across all NFL markets.

They’ll also be running a separate “Charity Challenge” on social media – if you love Greg Olsen, please post #WPMOYChallenge and ‘Olsen’ on social media between Dec. 11 and Jan. 7. If Greg receives the most hashtag mentions, he’ll win an additional $25,000 donation to his charity, the runner-up will receive $10,000 and the third-place winner will receive $5,000.

Panthers Graham Gano Shares Video Of Bullied Boy Now Going Viral

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Panthers Graham Gano Shares Video Of Bullied Boy Now Going Viral

Panthers’ star kicker Graham Gano just posted a powerful message of hope to all those struggling with being bullied.

He shared the now-viral video of middle-school student Keaton Jones that’s already been viewed over 20 million times in less than 2 days.

Graham told all his followers to “Be positive role models for kids in your life and encourage them to stand up for others as well.”

Here’s the original video of Keaton;

The video was initially recorded in Keaton’s mom’s car after she picked up out of fear of more abuse at lunchtime.

In the video, Keaton Jones asked the question, “Just out of curiosity, why do they bully? What the point of it? Why do you find joy in taking innocent people, and finding a way to be mean to them? It’s not OK.”

As he was describing the physical and verbal abuse he’s received over the years, tears started to well up in his eyes.

“It’s not OK,” Jones said. “People that are different don’t need to be criticized about it. It’s not their fault. But if you are made fun of, just don’t let it bother you. Just stay strong, I guess…It’s hard, but it’ll probably get better one day.”

Other sports figures and celebrities have also been showing their support for Keaton Jones and all others who’ve ever been bullied.

The day after the video was posted, University of Tennessee quarterback Jarrett Guarantano even contacted the Jones family to see if he could spend some time with Keaton;

Please help spread hope and encouragement to all those who’ve ever been bullied or made fun of!

The NCDOT Just Approved A New Bridge To Gaston County

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The NCDOT Just Approved A New Bridge To Gaston County

The Wilkinson Blvd’s World War One Memorial contrete bridge over the Catawba River, first built in 1926, is finally about to be replaced after almost 100 years in operation.

“In some surprisingly good news from Raleigh, the NCDOT has fully funded a replacement bridge on Wilkinson Boulevard over the Catawba River. The NCGA created a “high cost, high impact” fund that will be used to build two 3-lane bridges on Wilkinson. The project is scheduled to begin in 2022, although NCDOT is working to expedite it,” according to a statement from Belmont City Councilman Richard Turner. “This had been a candidate project for the (GCLMPO) Gaston Cleveland Lincoln Metropolitan Planning Organization for some time and one I have advocated for during my service on the MPO.”

When asked about the construction of the highly anticipated new bridge that would extend West Blvd. into Gaston County, Turner commented, “The Catawba Crossings bridge had to be removed from the candidate project list as the D.O.T asked for a feasibility study to be done the day of our MPO meeting. The addition of the feasibility study stalled the progression of this project. It is still on the long-range plan and could be reconsidered as soon as 2021.”

The Wilkinson Blvd. bridge over the Catawba was first built using a $50 million “Good Roads” bond, issued by Governor Cameron Morrison in 1921. Morrison tasked State Highway Commission director William Cook Wilkinson with its construction.

When Wilkinson Blvd first opened in 1926, it became the first four-lane paved highway in North Carolina’s history. It was so impressive at the time that it was given the nickname “The South’s finest highway.”

Wilkinson Blvd. served as Charlotte’s western “front door” until the 1960s, when I-85 was built.

Stewart Sets Career Record and Cam Runs For 70 Yards in Epic Win Against The Vikings

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Stewart Sets Career Record and Cam Runs For 70 Yards in Epic Win Against The Vikings

Yesterday the Panthers pulled off what might be a season-changing win against one of the best teams in the league.

The fact that we led for most of the game, and ended with a score of 31-24 against a Vikings team that just came off eight straight wins shows incredible promise for our playoff hopes.

Jonathan Steward had one of his best games of the season, running for a total of 103 yards and 3 touchdowns and breaking a 10-year career record for the most touchdowns in a single game.

He set the pace early in the first quarter with the biggest breakaway of the game for 60 yards;

Cam Newton was also in top form for most of the game with some incredible pocket moves;

and some even bigger breakaways;

Cam ran for a total of 70 yards and passed for 137 yards with 1 touchdown.

The Panthers will be hosting the Green Bay Packers (7-6) next Sunday afternoon at 1pm – with Aaron Rogers anticipated to return from his injury, it’s turning out to be one of the most anticipated games of the season. Ticket prices are now starting at $91.75 each.

Charlotte Is Now Ranked The 10th Least Pet-Friendly City in America

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Charlotte Is Now Ranked The 10th Least Pet-Friendly City in America

no-dogs-in-charlotte-breweriesIn spite of Charlotte’s multiple dog bars, dog spas, and dog parks, we’re still lacking way behind most other cities when it comes to pet amenities, veterinary costs, animal shelters, and walkability.

With National Homeless Animals Day approaching, WalletHub decided to take an in-depth look at 2017’s Most Pet-Friendly Cities in America.

Analysts compared the creature-friendliness of the 100 largest cities across 21 key metrics. The data set ranges from minimum pet-care provider rate per visit to pet businesses per capita to walkability.

Here’s how Charlotte stacked up in each category (1=Most Pet-Friendly; 50=Avg.):

  • 89th – Veterinary Care Costs
  • 41st – Veterinarians per Capita
  • 28th – Pet Businesses per Capita
  • 51st – % of Pet-Friendly Hotels
  • 44th – Dog Parks per Capita
  • 98th – Walk Score
  • 82nd – Animal Shelters per Capita
  • 47th – Pet Caretakers per Capita

The Queen City was ranked #91 out of 100, just behind Reno, NV (#86), Jersey City (#87), Detroit (#88), Norfolk, VA (#89), and Milwaukee, WI (#91). To add insult to injury, Charlotte was also recently ranked among the worst cities in America for postal worker dog attacks.

Here’s where every large city in the country lands in terms of pet friendliness;

You can read the full report here on WalletHub.com

What do you think Charlotte should do first to improve the lives of its pet owners?

Piedmont Natural Gas Named a Most Trusted Utility Brand

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Piedmont Natural Gas Named a Most Trusted Utility Brand

via Siemens

Piedmont Natural Gas has been designated most trusted utility brand among residential customers, according to a new report based on surveys of customers of the nation’s 129 largest utilities.

The Cogent Reports 2017 Utility Trusted Brand & Customer Engagement: Residential study ranks utilities based on their relationships with residential customers. Among the factors measured are operational satisfaction, product experience, and brand trust.

Piedmont’s score on Cogent’s Brand Trust Index placed it second among all natural gas utilities nationwide and also second among all utilities. Piedmont also placed second in Cogent’s 2015 study.

“We are thrilled to be recognized as the nation’s second most trusted utility brand for the second time in only three years,” said Frank Yoho, executive vice president and president of natural gas operations for Duke Energy. “We strive to earn our customers’ trust every day by maintaining a safe and reliable distribution system, providing excellent customer service and being a good community partner. We are pleased to know that our customers are aware of these initiatives and value our relationship.”

Duke Energy ranked among the bottom half of the list for trust among electric companies.

Click here to see the full ranking.

State-Wide Silver Alert Issued For Missing Concord Teenager

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State-Wide Silver Alert Issued For Missing Concord Teenager

A North Carolina Silver alert has just been issued for a Concord teenager.

Police are now asking the public to be on the lookout for 15-year-old Precious Maxwell, who is believed to be suffering from dementia or some other cognitive impairment, according to the North Carolina Center for Missing Persons.

Maxwell was last seen on Roberta Road in Concord, NC, wearing a burgundy long sleeve shirt with Gastonia in white letters, pink pajama pants and white slip-on shoes.

She’s described as being a black female, who’s about 5-foot-3, and weighs 140 pounds, with long brown and black hair and brown eyes.

If you have any information about Maxwell’s whereabouts, please call the Concord Police at 704-920-5000.

Charlotte’s Second Oldest Movie Theater is About To Shut Down

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Charlotte’s Second Oldest Movie Theater is About To Shut Down

The second oldest movie theater in Charlotte is about to close its doors.

The Regal Cinemas Park Terrace will be closing its doors for good next weekend – its last day of operation will be Sunday, December 17th, according to a manager.

The historic cinema first opened in 1964 as the Park Terrace Theater (25 years after Charlotte’s first cinema opened – Dilworth Theater). Consolidated Theatres spent $2 million on renovating the theater in 1996, doubling its number of screens from 3 to 6. Regal then bought the theater from Consolidated in 2008.

Sometimes life is just too flippin' pretty. @parkroadcenter #charlottesgotalot

A post shared by QueenCharlotte'sPimentoCheese (@qccheeseroyale) on

The theater is one of South Charlotte’s most recognizable landmark, and the cornerstone of the Park Road Shopping Center…it will certainly be missed…

What’s your favorite memory from Park Terrace?

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