A Waxhaw flash mob?

We were going to & coming back from Cuthbertson Middle School Friday night (2/26) when my boys & I saw a crowd of young people dressed in costumes outside the antique shop at the intersection of Broome & 75. I think that's the Waxhaw Antique Mart, but don't hold me to that.

Around 7.00pm, I'd say there were about 10-15 people dressed in costumes apparently singing & dancing. The person dressed as the Stormtrooper stood out, although (s)he was eventually joined by a cow and someone in a Santa hat. Around 9.00pm on our return home, I'd estimate there were at least double those numbers.

My first thought was that this is Waxhaw's answer to a flash mob, but the fact they were apparently stationed outside the antique shop for at least 2 hours seems to suggest otherwise.

One further clue that essentially rules out a flash mob is that my wife had seen something similar in recent months but neglected to tell me. What kind of self-respecting flash mob would perform the same stunt at the same place multiple times?

Anyone have any idea what was going on?

Vexing Waxhaw question: Broome vs. Broom

My second in a series of basic unanswered questions about Waxhaw. (Here's the first.)

Any one know the reason the green street signs spell it as "Broome Street" while the white street signs spell it as "Broom Street?" Did someone get a deal on a misspelled signs or is there some historical explanation for the alternate spellings only a block apart?

The Town of Waxhaw appears to think "Broome" is the proper spelling based on the address on their website. Which to me is at least a little strange as I would've put money on the fact that the town of Waxhaw was responsible for the white street signs featuring the "Broom" spelling.

Any ideas? This issue obviously has massive implications regarding the name of this blog.

Man charged in Waxhaw bomb hoax

Per Elisabeth, a man has been charged with felony bomb hoax.

A man whose home had recently foreclosed was arrested Tuesday for planting a fake bomb in the house earlier this month, Waxhaw Police Chief Mike Eiss said.

James Jamar King, 33, of 6022 Stonepath Lane in Waxhaw, was charged with felony bomb hoax.

Police evacuated two blocks of homes in Waxhaw after sheriff’s deputies found what looked like dynamite in the home, at 2017 Dunsmore Court, on Feb. 1.

I wrote about this here & here.

I'm a little confused by this article though. My first impression was that James Jamar King was evicted from the home in Harrison Park, where the bomb hoax occurred. However, this article gives his address of 6022 Stonepath Lane, which is past the elementary school as this map illustrates. And per the article, the owners of record of the Harrison Park house during foreclosure were Evangelina Rodriguez & Caroline Evangelina Latchison.

So what's the relationship of James Jamar King to that house? Tenant? Friend of the owners before foreclosure? Prankster? If only I spent as much time cleaning my garage or my desk as I do on these vexing Waxhaw questions...

And from what I could find, it looks like it's not Mr. King's first run-in with the law.

UPDATE: I just realized my link to the Sheriff's Daily Bulletin doesn't work. For those curious, change the date to 1/8/2010 & update the page.

Waxhaw Exchange broadens its reach

The Enquirer-Journal has recently begun delivering The Waxhaw Exchange in my neighborhood. I'm not sure why all of the sudden we've started receiving them, but I couldn't be happier.

Well, that's a lie as I would be much happier if they actually put the article online so I could link to them. While recent past issues appear to be available here, it's difficult to link to the articles. But beggars can't be choosers I suppose.

On a side note, the Waxhaw Exchange has a new columnist by the name of Dorothy Moloney who could best be described as "vehemently pro-Waxhaw." Interesting articles on her Waxhaw sojourns. I'd link to them, but well, you know...

News flash: Movie Gallery closing

Well, not quite breaking news at this point as the rather large signs have been in the windows for a few weeks now.

But my family stopped by last weekend to check out discount Wii games. While the Wii games appeared to have been thoroughly picked over, it wasn't a total loss as we walked out of there with a couple Batman cartoons & a copy of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. So the boys & I made out like bandits, but the missus not so much.

The fact that Movie Gallery is closing its doors is not terribly surprising in the age of Netflix & Redbox. I can honestly say this was our first visit, but my family may be an outlier. Over the last year, our rentals have been a combination of Blockbuster (via free rental coupons), Redbox, and Amazon & I suspect they didn't total much greater than one per month.

Waxhaw football player getting lots of attention

It looks like Marvin Ridge has an up-and-coming WR named K.J. Brent who's starting to get lots of attention. Per an Inside Carolina premium article dated February 8th:

“The obvious thing that jumps out is he’s 6-4,” Marvin Ridge head coach Scott Chadwick said. “He uses that size very well. Obviously at 6-4 he’s a big target to throw to.

“The thing that separates him the most is a thing we call his ‘ball skills.’ He has the best ‘ball skills’ of any kid that I’ve ever been around. He catches everything. He makes difficult catches. We had him for one official drop this season – he just catches everything.”

Within the last couple of months, Brent has collected scholarship offers from Duke, East Carolina, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Wisconsin. Additionally, representatives from Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Maryland, NC State, Oregon, Virginia, and Wake Forest have visited Marvin Ridge during December and January.

For someone who keeps an eye on recruiting for my favorite northern school, that's a pretty impressive list of offers & interest at this point. It'll be interesting to see if he blows up with any solid camp showings or a strong senior year performance.

Fake bomb update

The fake bomb found in the Harrison Park neighborhood (mentioned previously here) was apparently made of one of man's least dangerous substance, Play Doh. The Charlotte Observer has the short scoop.

Sheriff’s deputies serving an eviction notice Monday in Waxhaw found a fake bomb made of Play-Doh and wires, prompting them to call in a local bomb squad and federal authorities.

But it appears their scoop came from Western Union County Scoop, a website I'd never run across before. Here's a snippet of their more definitive scoop, including their own video clips. (Check them out but be prepared to wait for them to load. They're a little too large as far as video clips go & when I watched them, the video & audio weren't synced. Minor quibbles considering they're blowing the socks off of the Observer so far on this story.)

Union County Sheriff Deputy Sgt. Pauline Lucore and Deputy Brandon Wicker discovered what appeared to be an explosive device while serving eviction papers due to foreclosure this morning at 2017 Dunsmore Ln. The owners of record at the time of foreclosure were Evangelina Rodriguez & Caroline Evangelina Latchison.

The house was vacant. Upon finding the device in an upstairs room, Sgt. Lucore evacuated the home and called Waxhaw Police. The ATF and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Bomb Squad were called in to investigate. Over 30 homes in the immediate area were evacuated.

A Char/Meck Bomb Squad technician suited up and entered the home. Once entering the home, the Bomb Squad technician determined the device was made of children’s play doh and wires, designed to look like an explosive device. Play Doh is a child’s clay like moldable toy that it is primarily a mixture of water, salt and flour.

And for those who want the entire fake-bomb-in-Waxhaw multimedia experience, here's a link to a WSOC slideshow and a video shot from helicopter as well.

All in all, I for one learned something from this whole sordid affair: Western Union County Scoop seems like a site worth keeping an eye on.

So that's why helicopters were buzzing over Waxhaw

I spotted them first around lunchtime, picking out two, one circling and one hovering in place, and then a 3rd (news copter?). The one resembled a police helicopter but I couldn't say for certain despite the high-end optics of my son's Ranger Rick binoculars.

Elisabeth Arriero has the scoop in The Enquirer-Journal, but I'll give you a two-word teaser: fake dynamite.

Police evacuated two blocks of homes in Waxhaw after sheriff’s deputies found what looked like dynamite in one home.

Officers were serving eviction papers on the Harrison Park foreclosed home, at 2017 Dunsmore Court, when they found the fake explosives in a closet about 10:30 a.m.

Police Chief Mike Eiss said nobody was in the house but on top of a work bench in one closet was a bundle of four or five lead sticks banded together with tape and yellow wires coming out of it.

The Harrison Park neighborhood is the one near the new fire station -- this one.

Since we've moved to Waxhaw, I must say it's been more exciting than I expected -- a drive-by, a couple murders, a counterfeit electronics ring, and now a fake bomb. I can't help but wonder what's next.