New BBQ place in town

You can never have too much good BBQ.

I heard today that a Rock Store BBQ has opened in Waxhaw. Who knew?

I haven't seen it with my own two eyes, but I suspect it's located in the new BP that was constructed between Lowe's and McDonalds.

Anyone have any thoughts on how it compares to 521 BBQ & Grill?

Carolina Raptor Center deal

I'm always on the hunt for cheap family day trips and here's another for those of you interested, especially those of you who enjoyed the Raptor Center stand at the recent spring festival.

LivingSocial is running a deal now where you can get a family membership for a year to the Carolina Raptor Center for half price - $25. This isn't too bad when you consider the fact that two adult and two kid tickets at regular price will run you $32 for just one visit. Go 2-3 times a year and it becomes a great deal.

You have 5-6 days before this deal runs expires.

Problem commenting?

I got an email from someone saying that Blogger was not letting them log on to comment on this blog; when trying to logon with a Google account, it just kept asking for them to logon again and again.

I was just wondering how many of you have had this problem. I'd say to leave a comment, but those of you having the problem obviously can't. Feel free to email me if you are.

UPDATE: Like pizza?

This Wednesday June 29th is Pack 53 night at Fox's Pizza, so if you like pizza (and who doesn't?) and you are interested in helping support one of Waxhaw's most active Cub Scout packs, then

A portion of the proceeds that night will help support. I've got an email out to Pack 53 for specifics; once I receive them, I'll pass them along.

In the meantime, if you're looking to grab a bite to eat on Wednesday, pencil in getting some takeout from Fox's Pizza that night.

UPDATE 6/29: I received some more details about this fundraiser. It's good on dine-in, carry-out, or delivery orders. Just make sure you mention Pack 53 when ordering. It apparently has been running since 11:30am today and goes until the end of the night.

If you were planning on throwing a pizza party, tonight would be the ideal night. Thanks to anyone who participates!

UPDATE x2: We've got updates on top of updates here at the Broome Street Blues today. Here's a flyer with a couple special coupons that are good for today only.

May's crime report

I've been negligent with my monthly crime report, but I guess this is becoming something of a tradition at this point.

So here's May's crime report in all its criminal glory.

What are the odds I get June's done in a reasonable amount of time? Not good, I suppose.

In other crime news:

* Per an Enquirer-Journal article, we learned a suspect had been arrested for break-ins at Couick's Marine and New 2 You. A snippet:

Police arrested McClure on the probation warrant in the pre-dawn hours of June 22 after seeing him riding a bike on Providence Road near Blythe Mill, according to the press release.

“He had a purse on him with change in it and the price tag hanging on it,” Detective Sgt. Bobby Haulk of the Waxhaw Police Department, said.

McClure claimed the purse belonged to his girlfriend but it was later found to have been stolen from the New 2 You consignment store, Haulk said.

At the time of his arrest, McClure gave a fictitious name and attempted to flee on foot before being caught a short time later.

Other property from New 2 You and Couick’s Marine was later found and returned, according to the release.

You'd think he'd at least remove the price tag from the purse.

The story neglects to say when the actual break-in occurred. According to Crime Reports, it's tagged the break-ins at 12pm and 6pm on June 22nd respectively. Obviously if Michael McClure was arrested in the pre-dawn hours on June 22nd, those Crime Report dates are inaccurate.

I'd send an email out to those businesses to clarify the actual date and time of the break-ins, but this seemed like a lot of work to ascertain how long he was biking around with a purse with a price tag on it. I'm going to let this one drop.

* Per another Enquirer-Journal article, the Waxhaw Women's Club, whose windows were on the receiving end of some rocks as noted last week, has been vandalized 4 times in the last year. The snippet:

The club has had four acts of vandalism in the last year that have caused it to pay a lot of money to repair and preserve the historic Belk Building, where the club is located, Carol Holtzclaw said in an e-mail.

I definitely don't recall of three previous acts of vandalism in the last year. Does anyone remember the previous instances of vandalism? I imagine they weren't heavily publicized.

Groupon-like deal for Riverbanks Zoo

This isn't Groupon, but something similar.

If you're looking to take the family, friends, or even hard-working under-appreciated local bloggers to the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia by August 31st, this seems to be a pretty good deal.

4-Pack of Tickets, Plus Gift Shop Discount, at the Riverbanks Zoo and Garden for $23.50 ($47 value)

The only thing holding me back from getting this for the family is the deadline of 8/31/11. It's a pretty busy summer, so I'm not sure we'd get there by that time. I will have to pow-wow with the missus to see what she thinks.

Oh, and one more thing -- you've only got 31 hours left to decide. Bwahahahahah!

UPDATE 9:42 PM: After a lengthy conference between my better half and I (in which I may or may not have laid out a thorough list of pros and cons), we decided to get this one. Nice family day trip.

Chick-Fil-A now open

The 521 Chick-Fil-A previously mentioned opened last Thursday. My wife and I were driving by last Wednesday evening when the tents filling the parking lot threw us for a brief loop before the missus remembered the yearly giveaways at each new Chick-Fil-A opening.

I tried to get a picture on the way back, but my phone camera did not take into account the super speeds at which my wife would driving. And for that, I apologize.

See what I mean? You can just make out a tiny subset of those tents next to the giant leaf air freshener.

It was a sight to see though; a year's worth of Chick-Fil-A is quite a draw. Can anyone clarify what that means? A meal a day? A meal a week?

UPDATE: Went running on Saturday

Maybe it's all this talk of marathons or maybe it was the lure of butterscotch scones from Heavenly Baked Goods at the Farmer's Market, but my wife was able to drag me out to go running with her on Saturday morning.

After running to Harris Teeter to take advantage of some of their Super Double coupons (double coupons up to $1.98), we took off. We weaved our way around Waxhaw for approximately 4 miles with me consistently lagging behind. So if you saw a couple running with a blogger-looking fellow a few steps behind struggling mightily, that was me.

The ultimate carrot was the butterscotch scones from Heavenly Baked Goods at the Waxhaw Farmer's Market. Unfortunately, when we got there, it became clear that the scones were not.

I've got an email out to find out if they're still participating in the Farmer's Market. Either way, it's going to be a lot harder for my wife to drag me running next time.

UPDATE 6/27: It turns out that Heavenly Baked Goods does not participate in the Farmer's Market anymore. Bummer.

Could internecine squabbling at the Waxhaw Farmer's Market have scotched another victim - my butterscotch scones?

UPDATE: Waxhaw Marathon post-mortem

On Saturday June 18th, Tim Junkins of Get Fit Carolinas won what I imagine is Waxhaw's first marathon. It matters little he was the only participant to run the entire 26+ miles. I've mentioned it in earlier posts here and here.

Well, being a 21st century blog, it's only fitting that I actually bling this site up with some images of the historic event. I just got my hands on pictures my wife took.

Here's the Waxhaw 1-Man Marathon shirt:

And here's Tim being escorted home by some members of his Blue Ridge Relay racing team.

And the bling picture of Tim's bling:

I find it utterly amazing that Tim has yet to update his blog on this marathon yet. If he's anything like me, he's likely still recovering from running 26 miles.

UPDATE 6/27: Tim's firsthand account of Waxhaw's 1-Man Marathon is now online. Check it out.

NBA'er buying home in Waxhaw

Just stumbled across this when reading about former Davidson star Stephen Curry, but apparently he and his fiancée have purchased a home in Waxhaw.

More importantly, there's his future. He will marry Ayesha Alexander on July 30 in Charlotte. The two met in a church youth group when she was 14 and he was 15 and have dated since Curry was a sophomore at Davidson. Curry, 23, has purchased a house in Waxhaw and plans for that to be the young couple's home base.

Since he plays for the Golden State Warriors, I imagine they won't live here year round. So certain celebrity Waxhaw bloggers can breathe a sigh of relief in the fact that Stephen Curry likely won't be taking an inordinate amount of the local media's adoring limelight from them.

Redbox raised price in Waxhaw

We rented a movie out of the Redbox in the Waxhaw Harris Teeter the other day ("True Grit" if you must know). On the boxes were signs indicating prices had been raised to $1.15 per day starting June 13th. A quick web search seems to suggest Redbox has been raising the price in various markets since at least May 2010.

Anyone know if the CVS Redbox price has gone up similarly?

While not quite highway robbery, it is a 15% price increase. It's just another thing that has gone up in price the last few years.

It will be interesting to see how long Blockbuster's blueboxes can hold the line at $1/night movie rentals. I must say it is nice to have one of them in Waxhaw at the Food Lion. Less far to drive for townies and gives us a close place to take advantage of free coupon codes when you can find them.

UCW on Scott Farb's termination

Brian Carlton of the Union County Weekly has an informative article on Scott Farb's termination in this week's issue. For what it's worth, apparently the Enquirer-Journal article had an article in the Tuesday edition, but it's not online for some reason.

A few snippets, but for those interested in Scott's firing, the whole article is a must-read:

Three weeks after firing museum director Scott Farb, the Andrew Jackson Historical Foundation board faces questions, both about what triggered the termination and the way funds are used. The board fired Farb during their June 2 meeting, after he informed them via email that he had filed a complaint with the North Carolina Secretary of State’s office, in regards to the board’s methods of handling funds.

...

Even before the complaint was filed, there appears to have been a contentious relationship between the board and their museum director. In a May 16 email, Farb wrote to board members, asking what their fundraising plans were for the rest of the year, as he was working on a projected budget. If there wasn’t a long term plan in place to fund the museum, Farb wrote, he wasn’t sure he could afford to stay.

Former Waxhaw Elementary principal Tommie Wall, the foundation’s vice president, responded to everyone on the board list, including Farb, in an email that appeared to be meant for President Sandra Glen only.

“Sandra, let’s don’t plan any fundraisers, so he can exit,” Wall wrote.

...

Farb’s complaint is one of four that have been filed with the state since March concerning the board. The Secretary of State’s nonprofits division granted the foundation its charter and monitors their tax exempt status. Division spokeswoman Liz Proctor said she could only speak to the first two of the four complaints, as the last two haven’t been completely filed yet.

The first complaint was anonymous, Proctor said, filed in March with no supporting documentation.

“(The division) looked into it, but they didn’t find anything,” Proctor said. “With no supporting evidence, that complaint was dismissed.”

The second was filed earlier this month by Farb and Proctor confirmed there were supporting documents and evidence to go along with it.

“I cannot comment on things I don’t know about,” Cook said. “The only complaint I am aware of is the one that Scott notified the Board that he had filed and he didn’t give us any specifics.”

Go read the whole thing so Brian doesn't get mad at me quoting so much.

And who knows, maybe the Enquirer-Journal's article may appear in this Sunday's Waxhaw Exchange. Of course, whether your copy gets delivered is another question entirely...

Vandalism at the Waxhaw Women's Club

Some vandals broke a bunch of windows at the Waxhaw Women's Club (ie. Belk building) early Monday morning. Rowdy teens are heavily suspected if you examine the Facebook buzz; I suspect troublemakers of some kind.

WCNC has the story.



My first question based on the beginning of this clip: a "spree" of vandalism? Has there been a lot of window-breaking in Waxhaw recently that I haven't heard about or is WCNC mistaken in using this term?

Anyone with information as to the perpetrators should call Waxhaw police at 704-283-5600 or Crime Stoppers at 704-283-5600

On a side note, here's a little discussion of the history of Belk building that may be of interest to some of you. Also, per the town's historic pamphlet:

R.J. Belk Store

Originally called “New York Racket,” the Waxhaw branch of the Belk Store was one of the first two branches to be located outside of Monroe, NC; the other was in Charlotte. Founder William Henry Belk’s cousin, Ralph, operated the Waxhaw branch until the branch closed in 1936. Since that time, the building has served many purposes, most notably Gambles Drug Store. The Belk family donated the building to the Waxhaw Woman’s Club in 1971. The Waxhaw Woman’s
Club has made repairs to the building and uses it for meetings and special events.

Additionally, the apparently defunct (or at least inactive for the last half year) Waxhaw Natives group on Facebook has some interesting discussions and pictures for those of you interested in Waxhaw of yesteryear.

After skimming through it, I am very interested in learning the true story behind the big brown jug, which per Miss June Plyler, is Waxhaw's third best kept secret. And it goes without saying I want to know the first two as well. If anyone's got a contact email for Miss Plyler and you don't think she'd mind getting an email from me, please pass it along to my email address. As for the other best kept secrets in Waxhaw, anyone want to take a stab as to what they are?

Another Waxhaw Groupon

There's finally another Waxhaw Groupon today, this one for Carolinas Dental Center, one of the newer dental practices near Lowe's at Cuthbertson.

The details: $79 for cleaning, x-ray, exams, and a Cosmetic Smile Analysis, whatever that may be.

Scott Farb out at the Museum of the Waxhaws

I'd been meaning to post more on happenings at the Museum of the Waxhaws and eventually planned to email director Scott Farb to include me on any kind of press release emails that went out so I was aware of what was taking place.

While camping this weekend, I got an email about the museum. Based on the subject, I figured it was simply meant to inform me about some upcoming event and I thought now would as good a time as any to get started on keeping tabs on their happenings.

Unfortunately, I was shocked to be informed that Scott Farb had been let go by the museum's board of directors. I don't have a specific date when it occurred, but the earliest reference on the museum's Facebook page to his being let go was June 8th. Perhaps more notable is the fact that the museum's last update on its own page was June 3rd.

I haven't been able to find one mention of this fact in any of the local media outlets, such as Union County Weekly, Waxhaw Exchange, or the Waxhaw Gazette. Perhaps they're working on the story as we speak or perhaps this is one my rare exclusives (thanks purely to readers who send me tips, of course)

That all being said, this clearly is a net loss for the museum. He has graciously hosted local Cub Scouts for camping events and den nights. I'd only spoken briefly with Scott on a couple occasions and I'm sure he did not realize he was speaking to Waxhaw's most secretive blogger. On both occasions, he was dressed in full historic garb and I honestly can say I've never seen him in regular clothes.

His enthusiasm for history seems readily apparent based solely on the Union County Weekly columns and constant Facebook updates for the museum, which went quiet in early June as I mentioned earlier above. I'm sure others could detail his many other contributions to the museum or history in general better than I; feel free to leave a comment if you'd like.

I've got a note out to Scott to see if he can provide any more details. In the meantime, is there anyone out there with a list of those on the board of directors for the museum? They seem to be the ones responsible for the decision, so queries for clarification from those seeking answers should be directed their way. If anyone happens to get a response, please pass it along to me if you'd like to share.

Like BBQ?

Looking for a way to support local Cub Scout Pack 53 in Waxhaw?

Well, then listen to me when I say there's a way to kill two birds with one stone.

On Monday June 20th, 10% of the proceeds between 5-8pm at 521 BBQ and Grill support Pack 53.
So I urge you to make Monday your BBQ night to help support the local scouts.

I'm a big fan of 521 BBQ, mentioning them few times on this blog before. I'm usually not moving too fast when I leave that restaurant.

Waxhaw marathon still scheduled for Saturday

I mentioned it earlier, but I just wanted to remind you that Waxhaw's first(?) marathon is a go for early Saturday morning.

Starting at 6.30am on Saturday morning, Tim's marathon of one begins and ends in Waxhaw. A map of the course is available for those of you interested in cheering him on. He'll have Gatorade and water stations every three mile to help him along the way.

I'll end by quoting Tim:

"The competition is fierce this year, but I am hoping to pull out my first marathon victory!!"

School uniforms at Parkwood Middle?

I've been too busy to follow this closely, but apparently Parkwood Middle School is planning on implementing some sort of uniform policy.

I was added to the following Facebook group, Rescind the PWMS Uniform Policy!, an apparent online gathering spot for parents who are against the currently proposed changes.

I'm not clear on all the details as I've been slightly busy the last few weeks, but it's definitely something worth checking out, especially if you're from one of the feeder schools.

As a parent of a Waxhaw Elementary student, I don't recall hearing one iota about the changes for what it's worth.

Main Street Grill menu

In an selfish effort to drum up business for the Main Street Grill in the hope that it hastens dinner hours so I have more opportunities to get more of their patented cheeseburgers, I figured I'd share their menu.

Their website has their menu minus pricing, but here's the menu with the whole shebang.

Page 1



Page 2

New Hayes Carll video

The title of this post should be a dead giveaway that this has nothing to do with Waxhaw, but Hayes Carll has a new video out for "Another Like You."

I'm not a big fan of the song, as it's more a campy one-off I'm never really interested in listening to, along the lines of his earlier song "She Left Me For Jesus". It's video is here.

Neither really does much for me, but the latest has a nice cameo by James Carville and Mary Matalin at the end.

Waxhaw marathon?

Word has it that there will be a Waxhaw marathon next weekend. First ever?

I've been following Tim's blog of Get Fit Carolinas fame as he attempts to run 12 marathons in 12 months - earlier posts here, here, here, and here. Apparently there were no nearby marathons to attend so Tim decided to make his own here in Waxhaw for next weekend.

Sounds like a fun idea. If I can get some more details, I'll share them here.

In other news, I'm attempting a similar goal of running one 5K in the next 12 months, so I will try to keep you posted on how that goes. We're about three months away and I've yet to start training.

First Friday

I meant to post something a couple weeks ago, but another First Friday has come and gone. It didn't help that the STMSPCC hasn't sent me a flyer in a while and their Facebook page hasn't been updated since March.

Other than that, I don't have much to add since I was setting up my tent near the TN/VA border as First Friday got underway so was unable to attend.

In other news, the Waxhaw Exchange ran an article last Sunday about how First Fridays were hit or miss for local businesses. I'd link to it, but the Exchange stubbornly refuses to make its pieces available online.

Celebrate the end of the school year

The Well Fargo Family Fun Fest will take place tomorrow at the Blakeney Shopping Center from 4-9pm. We went last year and had a pretty good time.

I recall the kids getting their pictures taken with Luigi of Super Mario fame as well as a couple Carolina Panthers cheerleaders.

Then there was the rock wall, the bounce slides and obstacle courses.

This year, Kid's Zone Fun passes will run $5, which is a pretty nominal fee to keep them busy for a while. And it goes to a good cause, benefiting the Boys & Girls Club and the Salvation Army.

New Waxhaw Gazette released

John's got a new issue of the Waxhaw Gazette out (well, it's been out for a week now, I imagine).

He's got tidbits on the Farmer's Market and the Independence Day festivities among other things. And for those First Friday aficionados, he's got the list of movies to be played at upcoming First Fridays.

Of note, apparently the movies are no longer being displayed against the wall of the Cockinos Building. They are apparently being shown in the park near the skate park.

No more elementary school Spanish

We heard from our oldest yesterday that there will be no more Spanish classes at Waxhaw Elementary. The Enquirer-Journal has the story:

The elementary Spanish program will be absent from Union County Public Schools curriculum next year. The school board voted on the move Tuesday.

UCPS has 27 elementary Spanish teachers. Some rotate between schools, offering weekly lessons on language and culture.

This sort of stinks, but given the budget problems, something needs to be cut. Back in my day, we didn't learn different languages in elementary school, so I think the kids can overcome this.

Burgers coming to Southsiders?

Southsiders posted the following Facebook update on June 1st:

As we grow some more, we find it neccesarry to close our kitchen one more day. As we do electric work install a fire suppression system and a range,fryer and char grill to enhance or menu. we look forward to this projects conclusion and our expanding menu!

We'll be open for regular business tomrrow.

Supposedly an expanded menu is forthcoming.

If my prognostication isn't letting me down, this would be the fifth non-fast food restaurant in Waxhaw to offer up a burger. They'd join such local luminaries as Main Street Grill, Maxwell's Tavern, The Stuffed Olive, and Stack's Kitchen. I've only tried the burgers at the first two.

I'm thinking it'll soon be necessary to post a poll so we can all vote on this important matter.

Weather.com links

I've noticed over the last half year that I get a small amount of traffic via weather.com.

I go there relatively frequently for weather updates, but have never found exactly where it links to this humble blog.

Does anyone know?

So very busy

Work has me a little discombobulated as of late, so I've posted hardly anything.

I've got a bunch of small posts I've been meaning to share (nothing earth-shattering, of course), but just cannot seem to find the time to do it.

There was a slight lull this weekend with the Cub Scouts when I had no cell service. Normally, a weekend with the Cub Scouts isn't the most relaxing endeavor I can think of, but this weekend, it was just what the doctor ordered.

In other news, if you're looking for a good family bike ride, I strongly suggest considering the Creeper Trail in VA.