Belk BBQ a success?

I can only assume it was. My family showed up late in the afternoon (after a day filled with making Christmas cookies) to get dinner, but were told that the BBQ had run out pretty early. I neglected to get a specific time as to when it had run out.

Anyone know for certain? I imagine one of the local news outlets will have some word on it here the next couple days.

It's too bad because I had a big hankering for BBQ at that point. We headed to SouthSiders only to realize seconds later that they're closed on Sundays. So we headed home and had chicken patties. It wasn't the same.

So much to post, so little time

During the Christmas season, I'm having a hard time keeping up with posting. There's so much I wanted to post on, but cannot seem to find the time. Generally, I write my posts in the late evening after the kids go to bed.

But in recent weeks, that time has been devoted to work, our family's annual Christmas letter, entertaining out-of-town visitors, and plenty of online gift shopping or research into said gifts; there's just not enough hours in the day.

Hopefully some more time presents itself or else how else am I supposed to wax poetic about our first trip to the Waxhaw Fresh Market.

Waxhaw police officer gets DWI, resigns

My wife is probably my greatest source during the week & she was the first to tell me a couple days ago about this the unfortunate story of one of Waxhaw's finest running afoul of the law.

Elisabeth Arriero and The Enquirer-Journal have the full story.

WAXHAW — A Waxhaw police officer resigned early Thursday after crashing her Jeep when her blood alcohol level was nearly twice the legal limit.

Patrol Officer Samantha Byers crashed into a brick column at the entrance of a driveway on Davis Road just outside of Waxhaw at about 10:45 p.m. Wednesday.

...

Trooper Will Winchester, who responded to the scene, charged Byers with driving while impaired and careless and reckless driving after Byers took a Intoxalyzer blood alcohol test that indicated her blood alcohol content was 0.13. In North Carolina, it is illegal to operate a motor vehicle with a BAC of 0.08 or higher.

It's unfortunate that one mistake has ended Officer Byers career so abruptly, but if anyone is to be held to a higher standard, it is the police.

Waxhaw Gazette giving me too much credit

I journeyed over to The Waxhaw Gazette & was pleasantly surprised to see a link on his main page to my little site. If you require proof, follow the link soon as his main page updates updates every week or two, although I imagine it will be moved to his archive for posterity's sake.

He quoted some of this post, but I do want to say most of what he attributes to me was actually from this News 14 article on injured Waxhaw police officer Richard Belk. That being said, I do appreciate the link.

More importantly, read any of the aforementioned links for details on how you can help with Officer Belk's medical bills. I'll give you one hint: BBQ cookoff.

All that being said, I do appreciate the link.

SouthSiders still the only game in town?

If you're looking for a pint, it appears that Southsiders is your only option within walking distance -- for now.

The Enquirer-Journal has the story:

Mark Kennedy, co-owner of SouthSiders, said he had the fire marshal at his store two days after the election to make sure he was up to code. Soon after, Kennedy drove to Raleigh to get his malt beverage permit.

His restaurant was the first to offer alcohol in Waxhaw; they’ve been serving it for two weeks.

“We were really ready to go,” he said. “It’s definitely improved our bottom line, obviously.”

And now, Kennedy doesn’t have to shut down his restaurant with the rest of the town in the early afternoon on weekends: he’s staying open until 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

“Last Saturday we had a live band. People just came in and had a grand time,” he said.

Kennedy said he’s waiting to apply for his liquor permit until he can find a place to store the liquor bottles. For now, he has 13 beers to offer his clientele.

Anyone been there for the live music? For the life of me, where do they put the band? There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of room in there? Under the TV?

Later on in the article, it appears that Elisabeth Arriero did the leg work by calling various restaurants in Waxhaw to if they applied for or received permits for beer, liquor, or wine. The results for our town:

In Waxhaw

• Southsiders

• Mama Lena

• Rendini’s Pizza and Pasta

• Mingfu Sushi and Chinese

I'm surprised Rippington's wasn't on the list.

Injured Waxhaw officer

My wife tipped me off to this story (video at link).

WAXHAW, N.C. -- A Waxhaw police officer is recovering after he nearly lost use of his left leg during a training exercise about six weeks ago. With two surgeries to go and mounting medical bills, the law enforcement community as well as the community is stepping up to get Officer Richard Belk back on the force as quickly as possible

Belk says he was about a half-mile into a department training exercise when something felt a bit off.

"I had shin splints, which isn't that uncommon, so I continued the run,” he said. “(I) got done, tried to stretch it out and couldn't get it stretched out."

The cramping continued after Belk went home so he saw his doctor the next day. The doctor thought he might have a blood clot, so he referred Belk to an orthopedic specialist who had him in the emergency room as quickly as possible.

...

Six weeks and 10 surgeries later, Belk is on crutches. It turns out what he thought was shin splints was actually exertional compartment syndrome, so rare his doctors told him they'd only known of two documented cases in their careers.

Fellow officers have been donating sick leave. Details on how you can contribute involve a BBQ cook-off on Dec 20th, so it's a win-win for everyone.

To further help Belk with his medical expenses, the police and fire departments in Waxhaw are having a barbecue cook-off on Sunday, Dec. 20 in front of Old Firehouse Station 18 on the northeast corner of Main Street near the railroad tracks.

The cook-off runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. There's a $5 minimum donation per person.

What's Your Beef moving to Ballantyne

I heard the other day that the What's Your Beef butcher/deli is moving to Ballantyne; the grand opening is Jan 9th or so says their website.

I've got an email to Vic trying to see the last day in business in Waxhaw; if he responds, I'll update the post.

UPDATE 12/3/09: Vic was kind enough to get back to me. Their last day in Waxhaw is Dec 31st.

Thanksgiving break in Waxhaw

Haven't spent much time in Waxhaw proper (read "historic downtown Waxhaw") during the much-appreciated Thanksgiving break.

With family in town, we decided to hit Mama Lena's on Wednesday evening rather than cook dinner before the big dinner. I must say that place was hopping. I believe every table was seated, but perhaps not surprising given the date.

A significant portion of the next three days was devoted to putting up the Christmas lights and decorations, inside and out. I did run out of some supplies so had to hit Ace for a little Black Friday shopping in the late afternoon.

My son & I stopped briefly at the Festival of Lights, but dinner was cooking, so we couldn't stay to see the show. But we were there long enough for him to score a Christmas glow stick and candy cane lollipop, so he was happy. For those interested, the town's put up some photos on their Facebook page (they're accessible without a Facebook account).