Several Carolina Panthers players, including Thomas Davis, Luke Kuechly, and A.J. Klein have just joined up with Harris Teeter and other volunteers to fill meal bags that will be given to needy families around the Charlotte region this Thanksgiving season.
In total, they bagged up over 2,000 ready-to-cook meals, which included; chicken, stuffing, buttery mashed potatoes, gravy, yams, corn, green beans, cranberry sauce, rolls and cookie mix.
This is now the seventh year that Harris Teeter is hosting their bag assembly as part of their annual Harvest Feast programming in Charlotte.
Each assembled meal package will provide an entire Thanksgiving dinner for a family of four.
Over the next two weeks, Harris Teeter will also be taking donations for their Harvest Feast Food Drive – you’ll be able to add $1, $5, or $20 to your next grocery bill, which will then go directly to help less fortunate families in our region this Thanksgiving.
As the drought continues to linger in the South East, wildfires are now spreading throughout the Blue Ridge mountains, and now into the Piedmont of North Carolina. Evacuations have even begun to take place around Lake Lure, which is about an hour and a half west of Charlotte.
Emergency personnel are now going door-to-door to evacuate residents in Rutherford County.
Dozens of parks, including the South Mountains State Park are now closed due to the fires.
Charlotte’s fire department just announced that it will be sending a task force of 17 firefighters, three tanker trucks, and two brush trucks to western North Carolina to help fight the growing wildfires. Their press release stated that they will be prepared to remain deployed for several days.
CFD has deployed a Task Force to western NC to assist with the wildland firefighting effort; 10:50 am; RCannon pic.twitter.com/ZyBEU9zH1l
According to the North Carolina Division of Air Quality, a Code Orange Air Quality Alert has been issued for all counties that makeup the greater Charlotte area.
“If you can smell smoke outside, or if you’re in a situation where you’ve got a lot of eye or throat irritation just from going outside, then the recommendation is to stay inside as much as possible,” epidemiologist Dr. Melissa Overman commented.
Nearly 1,600 firefighters are currently working to contain what has now been counted as 20 ongoing fires. Among these, Party Rock Fire in Rutherford County is currently the number two priority fire in the country. Firefighters from as far as Alaska have flown in to aid with the situation.
Smoke from Party Rock fire rising from hillsides earlier tonight. Fire now at 4,400+ acres, 19% contained – per NCFS. @WXIIpic.twitter.com/NAssBjYW2h
A total of over 45,000 acres have now been burned from North Carolina’s historic wildfires, causing a large portion of our state to be covered in a blanket of smoke, including the Charlotte region:
taken 11/16/2016 by Lewis Norman
North Carolina environmental officials have just raised the air quality alert to Code Red across the region Wednesday morning.
Experts are now warning against staying outdoors for long periods of time and avoiding strenuous activities at all costs – code red conditions can be especially harmful to children and the elderly.
UPDATE 11/20/2016:
Yesterday was one of the most challenging day for thousands of firefighters across western North Carolina as wind gusts of over 35 mph blew the fires in unpredictable places.
Large containment lines have been cut around both the Lake Lure Fire and the South Mountain fires, and crews are hoping that the lines will hold out through the heavy winds this weekend.
Here’s some footage of what the South Mountain fire looked like yesterday.
In total, 16 large NC wildfires have now burned over 30,000 acres across our state, including a 14,000-acres in the Nantahala National Forest, 6,300 acres in South Mountain State Park, and over 7,000 acres around Lake Lure.
Moisture levels in the soil are at historic lows, and it’s now been 50 days since any significant rain has fallen in the region – if the drought doesn’t break, the wildfires could last until March, according to NC forestry officials.
UPDATE 11/21/2016:
Firefighting crews from all over the South East are currently on scene of two separate wildfires in McDowell and Ashe Counties.
via Brad Panovich’s Facebook Page
Shortly before midnight Saturday, a massive new wildfire was reported on Curtis Creek Road, approximately one mile from U.S. 70 West. The fire is estimated at 60 acres with 50 percent containment.
UPDATE 11/27/2016:
As of this morning 5 out of 11 North Carolina wildfires were more than 50 percent contained. Two of the fires also were affecting parts of South Carolina and Georgia.
A video posted by NC Dept of Public Safety (@ncpublicsafety) on
One of the largest wildfires in the state, the ‘Party Rock Fire’, is considered to be over 80% contained. Parts of the Chimney Rock State Park have started to reopen, but firefighters are proceeding cautiously due to fears that falling leaves could re-ignite hot-spots on the ground.
The two biggest fires that are currently less contained are the The Pinnacle Mountain Fire and the Rock Mountain Fire, which are currently both about 40% contained.
According to a weather service forecast map, many parts of Western North Carolina are now expected to get several inches of rain in the next week, which could spell the end of the wildfires for good.
UPDATE 11/27/2016:
A massive new wildfire has just started in the Appalachian mountain range on the Tennessee side in the Pigeon Forge area.
Emergency officials in Tennessee said late Monday that spreading wildfires have set 30 structures ablaze in Gatlinburg, including a 16-story hotel, and that flames are at the edge of the Dollywood theme park.
Evacuations are underway for Downtown Gatlinburg, and also Mynatt Park, Park Vista and Ski Mounty in Gatlinburg, and for the south part of Pigeon Forge close to Sevierville.
We will continue to update this article as we receive new information.
One Charlotte mother is pleading for help after months of seeing her daughter come home with stories of being bullied, and even bruises. After trying everything in her power to get her daughter transferred, Evelyn Padilla says that CMS leaders are still refusing to relocate her daughter.
“I’m fighting for everybody, I’m fighting for everybody in that school. I want to go to school where I can learn and be safe,” Aliviya commented in her recent interview with Charlotte’s local NBC station:
Here is the most recent correspondence that Evelyn has had with the superintendent of Sedgefield Elementary:
Evelyn is now saying that if CMS continues to refuse to transfer her daughter to another school with a bus route to her home, she will be forced to take them to court.
A new pizza place, set to open next month, will be featuring our city’s first permanent “self-serve beer wall”.
Firestorm Pizza has already signed a lease and is currently renovating their new location at 9330 Center Lake Drive, across from the NorthLake Mall:
The artisan-style brick-oven pizza parlor will offer custom, 12-inch individual pizzas made with a wide variety of sauces and over 30 different toppings, according to their press release.
Firestorm also has 2 other locations in Mooresville and in Mount Airy.
Catawba County Police just uncovered their largest drug operation in history after finding over 5 1/2 pounds of crack in an apartment complex on Sherlock Street. The drugs are estimated to have a street value of over $250,000, once broken up.
An informant’s phone call led detectives to the complex, where officers now think a drug cartel has been running their operations.
Over the past several weeks there have been several suspected drug dealers seen coming and going from the apartments:
This is what 5.5 pounds of crack looks like. Packaged in 1-3 ounce quantities. Catawba says largest in dept history pic.twitter.com/G67PGoFEdb
After local drug task force officers were issued a warrant, they began searching through trash piles when they came across a peculiar smelling black bag. Inside, they discovered the massive crack stash.
Whoever hid the drugs were also watching them with nearby cameras, which the police are currently reviewing for additional clues.
Officers are now hoping that several more arrests will be made in connection to the case.
NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. may be sidelined from the race track with concussion-like symptoms, but that hasn’t seemed to stop his need for speed.
Earnhardt’s fiancee, Amy Riemann, just tweeted a picture of him getting pulled over for speeding by a Texas police officer.
According to ESPN, the racer was pulled over “while driving to Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday morning before the AAA Texas 500.”
Riemann’s tweet states that he was let off with a warning:
After over 3 months of not racing due to his concussion-like symptoms, he’s now planning to return in the No. 88 Chevrolet for the start of the Daytona 500.
The Rev. Billy Graham was born in Charlotte, NC on November 7th, 1918 – he just turned 98 years old.
He has preached for over 60 years in most countries around the world, and has been instrumental in helping to calm many political tensions through the decades (including the cold war).
Billy Graham is often called “America’s pastor” – he’s personally advised every US President since WWII:
A birthday banner is now hanging in the Billy Graham Library, where guests can sign it and wish Rev. Graham a happy birthday.
At the Epic Fest Family Festival, thousands of families from all over Charlotte gathered to meet their favorite writers, and celebrate their love of reading.
Last Saturday, The Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Foundation held Epic Fest for a second year at ImaginOn: The Joe and Joan Martin Center. Young Charlotte readers met and heard from award-winning children’s authors and illustrators.Ten author’s presented this year including Tom Angleburger; Linda Ashman, Kathleen Burkinshaw, Nancy Cavanaugh, Jessica Khoury, Matt Myers, Kelly Starling Lyons, LeUyen Pham, Adam Silvera, and Tui Ti. Sutherland.Wells Fargo, with Read Charlotte and the Charlotte Hornets sponsored the event.
The literary festival was a two-day eventpacked with shows.Silvera and Khoury hosted Epic Fest Teen Night on Friday at the Google Fiber building. At the Saturday’s festival, authors read to happy young fans, and signed autographs and books in ImaginOn’s Spangler library. Books were available for sale by the Black Forest Book company. The Charlotte Hornets Book Bus also stopped by to give each lucky rider a free book.
Besides stories, Epic Fest offered many other free family activities. Face painters and balloon artistsentertained visitors.Book characters like Baby Llama from “Llama Llama Red Pajamas” greeted fans. Children could make fun art like bookmarkers and play dough figures at early learning stations. Families snapped digital backdrop pictures at the Tap Snapbooth. Arobotics display occurredat Time Warner Cable Tech Central, anda live DJ and free Henna hand tattoos wasopen to visitors in the Teen Loft.
Festival activitiesextended out onto 7th Street. Workers from the Community School of Arts helped children draw stories in color chalk and spot paint in the group art section, and an inflatable bounce castle was nearby to hop around in.
Snacks and refreshments were available for event patrons. Just Fresh provided free coffee and herbal tea. Johnson and Wales University students demonstrated how to make pineapple salsa. Several local foods trucks such as Taco Green Go and Buffalo’s Best served outside.
Epic Fest officials were happy with the festival’s growth. Mark West, Chair of the UNC Charlotte English Department, said this year has been a tremendous success, with over 3,000 more people attending. He attributes this with the event’s accessibility.
“It’s totally free, so all sorts of people can come,” West said. “You don’t have to spend a fortune, and there’s a lot of activities.”
West serves as an “Author Wrangler” on the assisting committee, by arranging for author appearances. As English chair, he also coordinates UNC Charlotte English students to volunteer at the event.
He said the festival evolved from the ‘Word Play Saturday,’ event that took place during the former Novelo literary celebration. When the library foundation decided to bring it back, it became Epic Fest.
Although for children, many parents said they appreciated the festival just as much. Lilian Mayer said many parents complemented her beautiful Henna tattoo. This year, she brought her two sons along. Her oldest son break-danced with the Teen Loft DJand her youngest met the mouse from “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.”
As anImaginOn teen services specialist, Mayer usually facilitates programs in the Teen Loft. However, today, she says she is happy letting her children plan everything.
“My son is running the show,” Mayer said. “I’m not even telling him where to go. It’s just so much to do that he’s just making me follow him.”
Mayer said she enjoyed creating play dough figures with her son, making him a grown, and taking pictures together for Facebook. Her favorite part was the pineapple salsa.
She said the event brings families closer together and shows that literacy can be fun. Her youngest son is a big reader, with “Chica Boom” as his favorite book. She says events like Epic Fest show that kids like to read.
West said reading could be intimidating for some children, who often associate it with homework, but Epic Fest makes the literary process fun. He’s grateful to reach so many different children, and will continue to help do so in the future.
The world’s first ‘smart trampoline’ maker, Springfree Trampoline, is now coming to Charlotte to open it’s 8th store in the US.
They are about to open in the Blakeney shopping center off Rea Rd.
The new store will feature their revolutionary new patented trampolines, as well as a massive chalkboard of interactive activities to keep children entertained and active while large LED screens play engaging videos educating visitors about their products.
They’ll also offer families the chance to test the recently integrated outdoor digital game system, tgoma (take games outside and make them active). This innovative interactive game technology offers 10 signature games designed to engage kids and adults with options including educational games, interactive fitness option and playful activities.
There will also be what the company is calling ‘trampoline experts’ on-hand this weekend to help families identify the best trampoline size and shape for their own backyards, and how to ensure complete safety for their children.
The company is now also selling their trampolines to Charlotte residents online starting this week, you can find out more about trampoline sizes and specific pricing for your area here on their Amazon.com page.
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have each been campaigning vigorously in North Carolina, which is now turning out to be the state on which the 2016 presidential race could be decided.
For Hillary, this could be her party’s best chances of winning a state that Mitt Romney carried back in 2012.
For Trump, whose path to a majority of 270 electoral votes may be in jeopardy, winning North Carolina is crucial.
If Trump doesn’t win North Carolina, he’d have to overtake Hillary in some combination of blue-leaning states like Colorado, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, as well as the majority of the other battleground states:
Now that the election is only two days away, both candidates are pulling out all the stops and focusing most of their energy on what is now being called the ‘super battleground state’ of North Carolina.
On Monday (11/7), the day before election day, both Hillary and Trump will be campaigning in our state (in Raleigh), as well as Mike Pence (in Raleigh), Tim Caine (in Charlotte and Wilmington), and Bill Clinton (in Greensboro).
According to the latest RCP average poll numbers, Trump is currently leading in North Carolina by 1 1/2 points.
Will this change, however, now that the FBI has announced that they have just completed their investigation of the latest Clinton emails without issuing any new charges?
Our state has already broken a record with more than 3 million early votes cast – have you voted yet?
Several Carolina Panthers players, including Thomas Davis, Luke Kuechly, and A.J. Klein have just joined up with Harris Teeter and other volunteers to fill meal bags that will be given to needy families around the Charlotte region this Thanksgiving season. 
A massive new wildfire has just started in the Appalachian mountain range on the Tennessee side in the Pigeon Forge area. 
At the Epic Fest Family Festival, thousands of families from all over Charlotte gathered to meet their favorite writers, and celebrate their love of reading.
Besides stories, Epic Fest offered many other free family activities. Face painters and balloon artistsentertained visitors.Book characters like Baby Llama from “Llama Llama Red Pajamas” greeted fans. Children could make fun art like bookmarkers and play dough figures at early learning stations. Families snapped digital backdrop pictures at the Tap Snapbooth. Arobotics display occurredat Time Warner Cable Tech Central, anda live DJ and free Henna hand tattoos wasopen to visitors in the Teen Loft.
“It’s totally free, so all sorts of people can come,” West said. “You don’t have to spend a fortune, and there’s a lot of activities.”
The world’s first ‘smart trampoline’ maker, 
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have each been campaigning vigorously in North Carolina, which is now turning out to be the state on which the 2016 presidential race could be decided. 