Good deal at Waxhaw Massage

Michelle Karmon of Waxhaw Massage is running a pretty good sale right not for massage aficionados.

Get 2 hours of massage for only $60, but they need to be used by the end of September.

Details are here:

*This offer is available for purchase through 8/31/11.
*The sessions need to be used by 9/30/11.
*The appointments can be broken down into 2 one hour massages or 1 two hour massage.
*These can be used as gifts. (Just have the person you are gifting let me know when they make the appointment.)
*Limit 5 per client. (10 hours of massage total)
*2 hours for $60, 4 hours for $120, 6 hours for $180, 8 hours for $240, or 10 hours for $300

I purchased a massage for my wife from Michelle for Christmas (detailed here) and she was very pleased with the results. I imagine I'll be getting a couple hours for my wife to use. So if you're looking to get a massage, you might want to consider a nice local massage by Michelle. You can't beat the price.

I'm back

Well, I'm back. Sorry for the lack of posting for the last couple weeks. I had a 10th anniversary trip to the Caribbean that was fantastic. Upon my return, I spent a week getting back into the swing of things here at home while putting off posting to this blog.

Anything exciting happen in Waxhaw during my short blogging sabbatical? Other than the tree falling across the road up near Harris Teeter and blocking Providence Road most of yesterday?

Friday nights at MSG

No, not Madison Square Garden, but the local MSG -- Main Street Grill.

Apparently dinner on Friday nights will soon be available and they will be closing on Monday's, per a recent Facebook update.

Here is the update in all its glory:

Don't forget friday night dinners start july 29th!
Main street grill will close mondays starting august 1st.

Time for a break

Just an FYI that I'm taking some much needed time off, so there won't be much happening here for a week or so.

I had lots I wanted to get posted before I take a breather, but just couldn't get it done. I wanted to touch upon the following among other things:

* the Discover Factory event going on this weekend in the park
* adding additional members to my list of Andrew Jackson Historic Foundation board members
* discussing the censored town document, comparing the original to the censored version
* discussing Alan Jenkins' attack on Facebook for facilitating links to the Enquirer-Journal.
* June's crime report

Marathon #6

Tim has completed marathon #6 for those following his mind-boggling attempt to run 12 marathons in 12 months. This one was up a mountain no less.

In other news, I went running with my wife for a second time a couple weeks ago and my knee couldn't take any more beating after 2 miles. I told my wife to go on without me.

Enquirer-Journal's Reader's Choice

For anyone interested in voting for Union County's best (read Waxhaw's best), you should find your way over to the Enquirer-Journal's Reader's Choice ballot.

A couple comments:

* There's no space to vote for best blog. What's up with that?

* I tried to fill out a ballot, but there was so many blanks that I abandoned this idea. Kudos to anyone who can vote in all these categories.

Voting ends on 7/27/11.

Don't forget it's a BBQ night in Waxhaw

Well, not in Waxhaw proper, but on the outskirts of Waxhaw at 521 BBQ.

If you've got a hunger for BBQ, eating there tonight between 5 - 8pm will help support local Cub Scouts, who by the way, took best overall in Waxhaw's recent Independence Day parade.

Elisabeth's back

...and she's got a reputation.

Elisabeth Arriero is back on the Waxhaw beat -- at least for one article. She provides a follow-up on the Scott Farb dismissal.

Worth snippeting:

Although the board did not disclose the reason for the firing, an email sent from board member Ron Cook to Farb suggests it was over Farb's decision to complain to the state about the museum's operations.

"Your manner of dealing with your frustrations was not productive and, in fact, was counterproductive," said Cook in an email dated June 3. "Because you apparently prefer to attempt to use intimidation and threats to express your concerns rather than open and deliberative discussion, it was felt that your presence was no longer needed and that you should be dismissed."

...

The board also wants to increase the number and quality of exhibits that will attract community members as well as appeal more to the private sector for donations, she said.

But there still appears to be a large gap between revenue and expenses. According to the museum's 2009-10 tax exempt form for their 501(c)3 designation, the museum's revenue totaled $65,671 while their expenditures totaled $111,034.

The majority of the museum's expenses - or $82,042 - went to occupancy, rent, utilities and maintenance. The next largest amount of $15,600 went to bank service charges, office equipment, advertising and other items.

...

But Farb said the museum's lack of long-term planning is why the museum is chronically short on funds.

"My complaint has always been that the state gave you a lot of taxpayer money, and I don't think you've been good stewards of that money," said Farb.

Every year, the county and the town of Waxhaw gives money to the museum. During fiscal year 2010-11, the county gave $4,500 and the town gave $10,000.

From my conversation with Scott a couple weeks ago, he mentioned that the Andrew Jackson Historical Foundation board was responsible for the fundraising at the Museum of the Waxhaws. Based on the numbers provided by Elisabeth, the revenues totaled only roughly $65000. Does this number include the nearly $15000 donated by the town and county?

If so, even with all that taxpayer money, the eighteen members of the board were well short of the approximately $82000 to cover just occupancy, rent, utilities and maintenance, let alone the total expenditures of approximately $111000.

On another note, the radio silence mentioned by Gay Diller didn't last long as both her and Sandra Glenn appear to have spoken with Elisabeth for this story.

A little more on Scott Farb and the museum

A few things worth mentioning:

* The Enquirer-Journal's article that ran (but that was strangely excluded from the E-J's website) was also fittingly on the front page of the Waxhaw Exchange a couple Sunday's ago. I OCR'd the entire article, but I'm reluctant to share it lest Alan Jenkins yell "Off with his head!" in my general direction.

That all being said, there was not a lot in this unlinkable article that couldn't be found in Brian Carlton's article in the Union County Weekly. A couple items of note from Gay Diller indicates the Andrew Jackson Historical Foundation (AJHF) is maintaining radio silence since Scott's termination -- except for Gay in this instance I guess.

Board members have been advised not to comment about the incident involving Farb, Gay Diller, a member of the museum's board of directors, said.

Since Farb's departure, a new museum director has not be been chosen.

Board members have been taking turns keeping the museum open, she said.

Attempts to contact Sandra Glenn, president of the board of directors, were unsuccessful.

* I put out an email to Sandra Glenn (President), Tommie Wall (VP), and Ron Cook (position TBD) with a few questions, but was directed to Chris Duggan, who is the attorney for the AJHF. He got back to me after a couple days.

* It is my understanding that there are 18 members currently on the board of the Andrew Jackson Historical Foundation and that it's had as many as 26 board members. I was wondering how many board members were required to terminate Scott's employment. Chris Duggan responded with "Majority of the quorum present at the meeting." Since he did not share how many members are necessary to have a quorum per the AJHF charter, this isn't particularly informative. Unless I missed something, which is a possibility, since I have no experience with boards, quorums, etc.

* One of my questions to Chris Duggan is exactly who comprises the board of the AJHF. From what I can gather, here's a partial list of AJHF board members:

Sandra Glenn (President)
Tommie Wall (VP)
Ron Cook
Gay Diller
Joe Hudson

At 18 members, the board is rather large, so there's lots of people missing from this list. If you've got anyone to add to this list, drop me a note.

When I asked Chris Duggan for a complete list of board members, he told me he'd look into it. Since I've yet to hear back, I suspect there isn't one available for public consumption.

* I spoke with Scott Farb briefly a few weeks back and he stressed a couple things:

1. 1) He wasn't accusing anyone on the board or the board in general of being involved in any intentional wrongdoing
2. 2) As museum director, he had no say in how the money raised by the AJHF for the Museum of the Waxhaws was used.

* The board is moving forward with fundraisers with an upcoming August corn hole tournament

and a evening concert and dinner.

* It'd be nice if there was some way the AJHF board could reconsider their decision so the museum can move forward in a positive manner, but I doubt that's a realistic possibility at this point.

I will say they will be hard-pressed to find someone as enthusiastic to fill Scott's shoes and the many unpaid hours he put towards the museum. During our conversation, Scott suggested he was only getting paid for about 17 out of 40 hours on a weekly basis and it had been recently requested by the board that he spend additional time helping them with fundraising.

New businesses

A few new businesses are coming to town. Most of you have probably noticed these, but for those who haven't...

* The Bean and Belle, a kid's art studio, is taking over The Quilting Nook's old location. They participated in the parade and will apparently be opening in August.

* Designer Consigner is opening across the street from Ice Cream & Pizza Works. It appears to be an designer clothing consignment shop, which I imagine will be focusing mainly on women's clothing. The sign on the window says they'll be opening on July 11th, but the friendly folks at Pizza Works said they had a couple open houses and a wine & cheese social.

* The rumor mill at Union County Mommies was wrong this time. There's a sign at the old Marino's location that a restaurant called Cafe Italia will be coming soon. I didn't notice an ETA as I was driving by.

* I believe Waxhaw Art & Chocolate has been replaced as well, but cannot remember for the life of me what's taking its place.

I'm probably missing a couple more; if so, feel free to add them via the comments.

Another BBQ fundraiser

There will be another fundraiser at 521 BBQ and Grill supporting the local scouts of Pack 53. The last fundraiser at 521 BBQ was quite beneficial to the pack, so if you've got a hankering for BBQ, please try to hold off until Monday and find your way to 521 BBQ between 5-8pm.

Here's the flyer with the details.

As the flyer says, hope to see you there!

Cane Creek suspect identified

WCNC has some more details on the early morning assault in Cane Creek Park. A snippet:

Union County Sheriff Eddie Cathey says that's when 42 year old Scott Lavoie left his camp site, walked to another site, got inside a tent with one girl, and then got inside a second tent with another girl.

Authorities say he also assaulted a woman before leaving and going back to his campsite, pulling a handgun and walking into the woods.

...

He's being charged with two counts of Indecent Liberties with a Child and one count of Assault on an Adult.

Plus video.

Southsiders burgers are a go

I got that tidbit from this rather glowing review on my earlier post.

Here's the details pulled from their online menu:

Introducing SouthSiders Burgers….$8.49

Grilled to order with the toppings of your choice on a toasted Kaiser roll – served with a side of freshly cut natural fries sprinkled with sea salt

Burger or Chicken Sandwich toppings:

Green leaf lettuce, tomato, red onions, grilled onions, sautéed mushrooms, creamy coleslaw or chili, mustard, mayo, chipotle mayo, bbq sauce or ketchup

Choice of one cheese: American, Swiss, Provolone, Bleu Cheese, or for a real kick try Boar’s Head’s newest 3-Pepper-Colby-Jack

Fresh avocado or bacon…add $1.25

Anyone else tried these yet?

UPDATE: Cane Creek Park area on lockdown

Per the mayor's Facebook update, Cane Creek Park has been evacuated and appears to be on lockdown as police search for an apparently armed suspect in an assault.

WCNC has the early story.

Be careful if you're in that area. And if you're planning on going to Cane Creek Park today, it might be a good idea until the area has been cleared by law enforcement.

UPDATE 11.44am: WBTV has a few more details:

According to the Union County Sheriff's Office, two men got into an argument Wednesday morning near Cane Creek Park which is located in the southern part of the county.

One of the men ran into the woods armed with a gun and authorities are fearful the man is suicidal.

UPDATE 12:25pm: The mayor is a machine when it comes to Facebook updates; per her latest, the suspect has been caught.

Mankini jogger in Waxhaw?

My wife was outside with the neighbors one evening a couple weeks ago and a jogger in a Borat-style mankini went running through the neighborhood, which needless to say shattered the peaceful tranquility of our idyllic 'hood. Shattered it with laughter if the stories I've been told are true.

She unfortunately was unable to get a photograph.

Anyone else see this guy?

First a naked jogger and now this.

4th of July parade

The wife and I attended the 4th of July parade in Waxhaw. It'd been quite a few years since we'd been able to attend the Independence Day parade as we've frequently traveled over the fourth.

Along with the neighbors, we grabbed a shady spot on West North Main Street. It helps if you park the cars there the night before.

* There seemed to be a healthy turnout. Since I've missed the last few years, my opinion is based more off of Christmas parade turnouts versus the Independence Day parades though.

* Our neighbors brought their young-ins up from Monroe for the second straight year. Although they couldn't give a specific reason, they thought last year's parade was better for what it's worth.

* This parade was much shorter than the Christmas parades. It makes sense that less bands participate since it's summer and harder to get all of the kids together.

* Where were all the beauty queens? The Christmas parade consists of no fewer than five beauty queens of varying ages, but I didn't see one this parade. There were a couple little girls riding on top of a car complete with tiaras, but I didn't notice their title.

Can someone tell me what happens to all the beauty queens in summertime? Are they traveling the beauty pageant tour or something?

* You know you have a pretty good parade when neighboring towns have their own float in your parade.

* I've got a boatload of photos; every year I think it'd be nice to share them on Flickr, but I never have done it. I usually get stymied by the fact that I need to resize them before I can upload them. Maybe this time.

* The Henn Automotive float, which appeared to either be bullying parade goers via water gun or helping keep them cool on a hot Waxhaw day, was going to town on the the crowd. However, there was a well-prepared contingent of parade goers stocked with water guns that let loose on the Henn Automotive float. They unleashed a barrage of water on the float riders. It looked like great fun, s0 I made a mental note to bring lots of water guns next year, which someone will probably need to remind me about next year.

* Handing out popsicles rather than candy was a nice touch to all those who did it.

Fireworks

We squeezed in the back seat of our neighbor's car to go see the fireworks. We'd been keeping an eye on the the town's Facebook and Twitter updates after the rain started falling. But we were happy that the fireworks were still on at 9.30pm, clambered into the car, and away we went.

I imagine the crowd was much sparser than normal due to the rain immediately preceding the fireworks. We hunkered down on the empty field on North Church Street, which was nowhere near capacity. The delays (the 9:30pm fireworks were pushed backed to 10:45pm or later) allowed us to watch a slow procession of cars heading back into town.

We ultimately joined this procession a little after 10:30p and headed home. As we were falling asleep, we could here the muffled sound of sporadic fireworks.

The next day, there was quite the conversation on Facebook about the problems involving the fireworks. This prompted town manager Mike McLaurin to respond with an explanation/apology that was pretty well-received.

Here it is:

As Town Manager, I would like to share some thoughts regarding last night’s fireworks. For many years our fireworks show has gone off without a hitch and both the show and the attendance has grown in numbers. Last night was an exception.

Putting on Town events requires many hours from both town employee time and volunteers. We do so in the spirit and hope that you will visit our events, have a good time and return with your friends and neighbors. Some of our employees have worked approximately 50 hours in the last three days. On July 4th some started their day at 5:30 a.m. in the morning and concluded around midnight.

Many of you came to enjoy our parade and looked forward to the evening’s events. Many of you were disappointed and I apologize.

Last night’s storms before the fireworks show were expected to blow through quickly, but unexpectedly hung around for at least two hours. If they had moved through as was hoped we may not have had the water saturation or length of delay that ultimately postponed the fireworks for an hour and fifteen minutes. As the delay wore on many of us grew cold and tired. As a parent and grandparent, I can testify firsthand that when kids get tired, they get cranky.

There was a delay and you are owed an explanation. As you might imagine setting up a fireworks event requires a number of hours of tedious planning and wiring. The rains totally soaked a number of components needed for the show. We were initially told that everything was dry but this proved not to be the case. The heavy rain also caused the timing of the fireworks to be off or in some cases not fire at all.

At 9:00 p.m. it appeared that the rain was letting up and we were told that the show could begin around the scheduled time of 9:30 p.m. We were happy to learn we could still give you the fireworks show of which you are proud, but the fireworks tech need to recheck/rewire everything due to the dampness. This was paramount for safety reasons and took much longer than expected. Erring on the side of safety was the correct thing to do, and all of the work is done in coordination with the Town and the County Fire Marshal. We use a professional pyrotechnic company to do our fireworks and they have done an outstanding job in prior years. It’s why so many make the trip to Waxhaw with children and families for this event.

Throughout the event we relayed information we received from the technicians via Facebook and Twitter. With that being said, we now realize that many of you didn’t have access to that information and were left waiting for some answers.

Earlier today I conducted the first set of several meetings with key staff to look at what worked and what we need to do better. The first meeting yielded some ideas that we will follow up on to give you the best show possible. We will also be meeting with the fireworks company to discuss last night’s event and identify ways that future issues could be prevented.

I want to thank each of you who have commented, both those satisfied and not satisfied. Everyone’s thoughts can help the town build a better plan. In conclusion I want to again apologize for your disappointment but hope that you understand why the delay occurred.

Personally, I was a little disappointed, but didn't feel it was the end of the world; there was no anger directed at the town or fireworks technicians from me.

The only thing I found a little strange is that there seemed to be a lot less Twitter updates on the town's Twitter feed the next morning than what my wife and I recalled the night before. I recalled 2-3 more Twitter updates (tweets if you will) than what was present in the morning. I specifically recall an update about replacing fuses that I could not find either on the town's Twitter feed or on its Facebook page the next morning

I emailed Mike McLaurin and he initially told me that no one deleted any tweets, but he said he'd look into it. Does anyone else recall more Twitter updates the night of than what's showing currently on the town's Twitter feed or are my wife and I slowly going insane? Perhaps it's the mercury in those CFL light bulbs?

UPDATE: Elections in November

The Enquirer-Journal has an article about seats open for election this fall in Union County. For those following every twist and turn in Waxhaw politics, the election is scheduled for 11/8 and three positions will be open.

The mayor position is up for election as mentioned long ago when Lisa Thornton announced her intention to run for the position.

Two seats on the town board are also up for election -- Martin Lane's & Phillip Gregory's.

I've got emails out to the three of them to see if they all plan on re-running. I vaguely recall Phillip Gregory saying he wouldn't run for another term when filling Brian Haug's old seat, but I couldn't find a quote along those lines when I looked.

UPDATE 6/29: I heard back from Mayor Gardner that she does intend to run for re-election. Does anyone else out there intend to run or can local media start working on their Daune v. Lisa graphic art now?

I still have received no word on whether Martin Lane or Phillip Gregory plan to run for re-election. Maybe they're looking to keep the oppo researchers off their heels for as long as possible. Such is the life of a of a politician in the cutthroat world of Waxhaw politics.

UPDATE 7/3: Yet another update: Martin Lane responded to me last week and while he thought he'd likely run again, he hasn't made an official decision yet. Phillip Gregory also emailed me yesterday to let me know he intends to file for re-election as well.

Cooking for a Cure

This is a little late notice, but tomorrow evening, Butch Kelly of Butts 'R Us and Frank Aikmus are spearheading a BBQ fundraiser to raise money for the Duke Sarcoma Program. (Thanks for the heads up, Lori!)

Here's the nitty-gritty details from the Facebook invitation I received today:

Many of you may know Angie Aikmus of Waxhaw, NC. What you may not know is that in November 2007 Angie was diagnosed with a rare type of sarcoma called, Leiomyosarcoma. LMS as it is often called, is a cancer of smooth muscle cells, effecting only 4 in 1 million people. Since her diagnosis Angie and her husband Frank have been traveling to Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC for chemotherapy, clinical trials and observation by a sarcoma specialist.

When Frank and Angie were approached by Butch Kelly of 'Butts R Us', of Waxhaw, NC offering to raise funds for sarcoma research they immediately thought of Duke. "I have been blessed to have Duke in my backyard so to speak. My cancer is so rare and to have someone like Duke and Dr. Riedel, so close with so much understanding of this disease, I can't imagine being anywhere else, " said Angie. "It's nice to know that we can give something back."

Mr. Kelly and 'Butts R Us' has graciously offered to donate 100% of the proceeds from Monday's event to the Duke Sarcoma Program.

We hope that you will come out and enjoy the 4th of July with us in Waxhaw. In addition to 'Cooking for the Cure' you and the family can enjoy an old fashioned downtown parade at 10 am. We will begin serving BBQ at 5pm along with live music, face painting and of course a magnificent fireworks display at 9:30pm.

Menu items will include BBQ plates, Ribs, sandwiches, and more. We'll also have Coke, Sweet Tea and Water on hand.

Come out and have a day of fun with us in Waxhaw and support us in our Cooking for the Cure event.

So stop by sometime tomorrow before, during, or after the fireworks to enjoy some good local BBQ and all for an excellent cause. It runs from 5pm until 11pm tomorrow night.

New Waxhaw Gazette

John Tiley's put out another new issue of the Waxhaw Gazette.

He's got all the details on Monday's events from the parade to the music to the fireworks, so check it out for the specifics.

Delivery man attacked and robbed

A Domino's pizza delivery guy was attacked with pepper spray and a taser before being robbed by two Waxhaw minors. WCNC and the Enquirer-Journal have the story. A snippet:

The delivery man arrived at 7909 Mccall Road in Waxhaw about 8:45 p.m. with two pizzas when the teens approached him, Detective Brian Keziah of the Union County Sheriff’s Office said.

...

They stole the two pizzas and fled on foot. An investigation led to the arrest of Sherwood Alan Schaffernoth, 16, of 704 Carver Pond Lane, Waxhaw, and Cody Scott Whittaker, 17, of 4312 Applewood Lane, Waxhaw, on Tuesday.

Their charges include various counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon, breaking/entering felony, larceny after breaking and entering, bel/theft from motor vehicle, larceny-misdemeanor, first degree burglary and larceny-felony.

Seems like a long list of charges to acquire in the pursuit of $20 worth of pizza. Unfortunately, I suspect a lot of these charges will be dropped since it involves two minors, but hopefully there will still be substantial punishment for these two.

More bad news from New 2 You

First there was the break-in.

And today my wife got a call today from New 2 You saying that they're closing and to come pick up our items that hadn't sold.

After Here We Grow Again closed up shop, I think that just leaves one more remaining consignment shop in Waxhaw - Sweet Repeats.

First Friday is upon us

Today is First Friday for those who haven't heard. But you wouldn't know it by looking at the rarely updated STMSPC Facebook page.

I don't have a flyer to share again, so I'm not 100% sure what is going on this time around. Dorothy Maloney's (unlinkable) column last week in the Waxhaw Exchange contains some details.

Besides the usual discounts at local restaurants, the Southport Gift Shop is hosting local author Philip Morehouse for a book signing of "The Recluse."

And "Iron Man" is to be shown as well.

Hooray! Gas taxes going up

I heard this on the radio today; they added that it gives us the ninth highest gas tax in the country.

They mentioned that it you'd barely notice it since prices were going down. I'm not so sure that's a good thing.

A snippet:

The North Carolina Department of Revenue increased the variable gas tax by 2.5 cents per gallon, according to AAA Carolinas spokesman Brendan Byrnes. The state gas tax will be 35 cents per gallon effective today.

...

Travelers heading through South Carolina can fill up there, where they’ll find much lower prices, thanks to a state fuel tax that is half that of its neighbor to the north. The Palmetto State’s gas tax is 16.8 cents per gallon, according to AAA.

Hmm, I'm curious what percentage of Waxhaw denizens actually fill up their tanks in North Carolina when South Carolina and the desirable 521 stretch are so very close.