Ghost walk follow-up

I wasn't sure if we'd make it or not, but the kids voted at the eleventh hour to go on the Waxhaw ghost walk. We met up with the others outside Waxhaw UMC. I have no training in estimating crowds, but I suppose there were about 100 people give or take a few. Most everyone in attendance were adults or teens, but there were a smattering of younger kids throughout the crowd.

Cecilia Neal led us on the ghost walk where she passed along tales of death and true crimes that are still apparently leaving their mark on Waxhaw today. She started out with a story from a house that once stood at the Waxhaw Farmer's Market regarding a father who just couldn't take his four kids anymore and hung himself out the window. (By the way, these are just my recollections so some of the details may be off. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.)

Upon hearing this, my wife and I exchanged glances as we weren't sure our kids (youngest in kindergarten) needed to be hearing about stuff like this. But thankfully it didn't appear they were listening real closely and the stories didn't seem quite so bad for the most part.

My youngest was cold and tired, so he only lasted about 25 minutes and spent the rest of the time waiting in a warm car with my wife. My oldest and I lasted one hour before heading home.
My goal next year is to hear the entire thing.

But it was definitely interesting to hear about the apparitions floating around Waxhaw. We heard stories of them from Stewart's Village Gallery, the old surf shop, and a slew of tales from the stretch of businesses starting with the used book store.

Donna took some photos during the ghost tour and posted them here. I personally haven't examined them closely, but it wouldn't surprise me if a specter popped up in one later upon closer examination.

By the way, the Union County Weekly had an article on the walk before Friday. It contained a handful of interesting tidbits on Waxhaw, including this one:

Many may be surprised to learn, according to Neal, that one of our nation’s last witch-hunts occurred in Waxhaw. In the 1700s, the townspeople accused Nancy Craighead of witchcraft after her preacher husband died. To arrive at a verdict, those in charge dug up his body and forced his wife to touch his skull. A finger bleed would be proof of her true witch identity. Lucky for Craighead, her finger never bled, and town leaders dropped the charges.

Santa Picture Groupon

Since we moved to the Charlotte area, we've been getting pictures with Santa at Carolina Place Mall in Pineville. The Santa there has been the same since 2003, so we've been going back year after year.

This weekend there's a Groupon deal for a photo package with Santa at Carolina Place Mall, Concord Mills Mall, or Monroe Crossing Mall. So if you plan on getting your Santa picture at any of those locations, you may want to consider the following deal.

$11 for Photos with Santa Claus and a Dasher Print Package ($22.99 Value)

The Dasher package gives you (1) 5 x 7 and (2) 3.5 x 5 pictures for $11. We've always just gotten the single 5 x 7 in the past and while I don't remember the specific price, I seem to think it alone was over $11 in years past.

This deal expires Tuesday at midnight, so there's still a couple days to get it if you're interested.

WAA Monster Bash @ Kensington tomorrow

The Waxhaw Athletic Association is having a Monster Bash for youngsters this Saturday at Kensington Elementary. I had planned to take the kids there, but it appears the family schedule is already booked for these hours.

If you're looking to drop the kids off and get some dinner with your sweetheart, it sounds like a win-win for everybody involved.

South Providence update

Here's my belated update on Rick Giarla's rooftop fundraiser from a couple weeks ago. From an Elizabeth Belk update over at the Waxhaw PTA Facebook page over a week ago:

THANK YOU to everyone who was able to help support Rick in his effort to raise money for South Providence School this past weekend. He raised right around $5000.00!!!! What a great thing for this school and the kids.

A little way off from the $30000 goal, but in this economy it is still a significant chunk of change I bet South Providence appreciates immensely.

The fundraiser web page is still up, so I imagine you can still contribute if you haven't already done so.

Village Scribe on candidates

The Village Scribe, a blog that focuses on Union County politics, has put up an election guide. It is also one of the handful of select sites I link to on my sidebar. The site is run by Mark DiBiasio, who freelances at the Union County Weekly as well.

Without further ado, here's his guide as it currently stands:

If you visit his actual election guide and hover your mouse over the icons, you can see what each of them mean. I recommend doing so because it's not necessarily clear as to what each mean. For example, the recycle symbol does not mean Gary Underwood is the greenest candidate.

Ideally, it'd be nice to get further explanations for some of these icons, because it likely isn't clear to many how a candidate gets tagged as "developer friendly" for example. If you visit, check the comments where Phillip Gregory recently wrote a defense against being labeled as such.

Otherwise, based on the current guide, which has changed slightly from a week ago, it appears Mark is leaning towards favoring Daune Gardner for mayor and Sean Poccia and Mike Stewart for town board. Of course, he hasn't broken out a "thumbs up" for any Waxhaw candidates, which would be an official endorsement.

I'll try and check back to see if anything changes before the election.

Waxhaw bouncing back

WCNC has an article on the small business atmosphere in Waxhaw, which has improved. A snippet:

Mayor Daune Gardner says Maxwell's was one of the first to start a new business movement in the quaint downtown.

"A couple years ago we had over a dozen empty store fronts on Main Street. Last year we had seven. This year now we have two," added Gardner.

Here's the corresponding video clip from which the article derives, which stars the mayor and some of the newer local businesses.

UPDATE: How was the candidate forum?

Unfortunately, it appears Jim was unable to broadcast the forum from the Waxhaw Woman's Club so sickies like me will likely never know how it went down. Unless someone else made a recording of the event.

So any thoughts on how things went, not just for the potential mayors, but also for the potential board members?

If you have trouble commenting, just drop me an email and I can add the comment for you.

UPDATE 9.52a: I heard from the mayor yesterday and this was apparently the format of last night's forum, for those who weren't able to witness it firsthand. This seemed the ideal post to include this information.

Moderated by the League of Woman Voters. They will accept questions prior and will choose which to ask in the forum. There will be no direct questions from the audience and no debate between the candidates. Each question will be given to either the mayoral or commissioner candidates and each will be given an equal amount of time to respond. Some questions may be given to both sets of candidates.

Reminder: Candidates forum tonight at WWC

I just wanted to give you a reminder that the candidates forum is tonight at the Waxhaw Woman's Club. It kicks off at 7p.

I think I will have to sit it out as I've been fighting a cold since camping last weekend and a packed room will have little desire to have a local blogger hacking and blowing his nose throughout. To prove I'm not exaggerating, last night my better half described my cough as "annoying." I'm already walking a thin line with some of you as per the comments of this recent post and my sniffling attendance would likely only make matters worse.

Jim Black plans to stream the whole thing on Land of the Waxhaws if he can get an internet connection, which would be neat. I've never watched a LotW broadcast live before, but if Jim's there tonight with gear in hand, I may have to try it this time around.

Anyone know the format of the forum? Debate? Audience questions? Short spiels from each candidate?

UPDATE: Has Leo's Kitchen opened yet?

I've blogged about them before a couple times (see the latter for a coupon). On the way home from work yesterday, it looked to be open but there was nothing official saying it was open. Call it my blogger's intuition, which is oftentimes wrong for what it's worth.

No word on their Facebook page yet, which hasn't been for two and a half weeks.

UPDATE 11/1: To answer the question in the title, yes, Leo's Kitchen is now open and apparently the grand opening is set for November 19.

3rd man charged

A third man has been charged in the card game killing last weekend.

The Enquirer-Journal has the story. It contains a tidbit that they weren't playing poker as I had originally assumed or read, likely the former. A snippet:

Quenthoney Kegan Black, 22, of 9931 Waxhaw Highway, Waxhaw, has been charged with first-degree murder and discharging firearm into an occupied dwelling. Black was taken into custody at his residence without incident after investigators obtained a warrant for his arrest, according a Union County Sheriff’s Office prepared release.

...

Tonk is a version of gin rummy that was popular among jazz musicians in the 1930s and 1940s. Writing on the games website www.pagat.com, John McLeod warns, “many players seem certain that their own way of playing is the only correct one. Before starting a game with unfamiliar players, it is wise first to agree what house rules are in force.”

Read the whole thing.

He, along with the initial two suspects, is charged with first-degree murder. Could bullets from all three guns have hit Michael Garlins? I've seen nothing to suggest police have released any kind of ballistics test or even if they have got the guns that the three suspects apparently were firing into the mobile home.

For more information on tonk, here's the rules page referred to in the article.

UPDATE: Poccia's website updated

I wandered over to Sean Poccia's website and see that it has been updated with questions from a citizen asking for his positions on various issues regarding Waxhaw.

I was particularly curious to read his response on the Waxhaw's historical preservation and was a little disappointed. Here it is:

Waxhaw historical district and preservation: As for the historical district, this is an area of great interest to me. We all know Waxhaw is rich in history and we have some phenomenal buildings that we need to ensure stay true to their heritage. I have participated in and closely followed the Waxhaw Historical Committee meetings and spoken with many residents who own, live in or operate out of a historical building. The several versions of the historical overlay are solid documents. As I recently stated in a Historical committee meeting, there are opportunities to continue creating excitement about the significance of historical preservation. One such idea that I have seen work brilliantly in other communities is establishing an annual (or bi-annual) historical preservation day whereas we create a city sponsored event and bring in experts from around our region who specialize in historical preservation. These types of events allow residents to learn about the techniques, products, services and participate in workshops etc. that will allow a home owner or historical building owner to learn of resources and techniques about preservation. It's been said that knowledge is power and if we really want to become a city where preservation isn't just something we talk about, the government needs to do more than just establish mandates and rules.

I wanted to get his take on the failed historic overlay to see where he would fall on the issue that I've written about before. After parsing this, it reads like he is a supporter of the failed historic district overlay that would've essentially shredded the property rights within the proposed district.

But it must be added that he never comes out and says exactly which side he comes down on. Perhaps the mark of a true politician; I think he's ready for the job.

In other Sean Poccia news, he became the third person running for office to appear on Jim Black's "Land of the Waxhaws," when he was interviewed by Mayor Gardner no less. Two clips here and here.

The fact that the mayor personally interviewed him likely removes any doubt that she's endorsing him, as if the sign at Creative Plus and the Facebook plug weren't enough of a tell already. She's practically showing us her hand. I could continue on with these poker-related analogies but trust me, they'll only get worse.

UPDATE 10/28: The mayor is one who always has problems commenting on this blog so she emailed the following comment:

Every candidate running for office in Waxhaw has been invited to appear on the Land of the Waxhaws internet tv program. You may have seen the spot with Martin Lane from a week or so ago and Mr. Poccia agreed to be interviewed. Our new intern, Jeff Hodge, has contacted the other candidates and extended the offer to them as well. At this point, I believe Mike Stewart is the only other candidate to express an interest in doing so. The offer was made to all but it is their choice.

As for the question of whether I support Sean Poccia for Waxhaw Commissioner, the answer is “Yes, without reservation!”

I've got some further clarifications on Land of the Waxhaws and candidate appearances that I hope to get up later today. Keep your fingers crossed.

Waxhaw homocide

I went camping this weekend with the Cub Scouts. When I got home, my wife informed me that murder was afoot in Waxhaw as I'm sure everyone has heard by now.

It occurred after a fight broke out over a poker game, so you must be thinking a lot of money was at stake. Uhh, no.

Elisabeth Arriero has the story for the Charlotte Observer:

The price for one Waxhaw man's life may have been as little as $2, some Waxhaw residents said Sunday.

According to investigators, Michael Leon Garlins, 38, of Waxhaw died early Saturday after an argument broke out following a Friday night card game in or near a home on Forest Green Drive.

"It was supposedly over a money debt for $2 or $3," said Richard Weaver, 47, who lives near the mobile home where the shooting occurred.

Investigators believe Garlins was struck by gunshots fired by at least three people during the altercation.

Read the whole thing.

According to an Enquirer-Journal article, two have now been arrested and charged with first-degree murder among other things. No word on if ballistics shows bullets from both men's guns actually struck Michael Garlins. A snippet:

The Union County Sheriff’s Office arrested Joshua Davarius McGill, 23, and Jonathan Alves Henry, 19, in connection with a Waxhaw shooting incident over the weekend.

...

Investigators said Garlins was struck when at least two people fired shots. He was taken to Carolinas Medical Center-Union where he was pronounced dead. The Sheriff’s Office lists Garlins’ residence at Pine Oak Road, Waxhaw, but the N.C. Department of Motor Vehicles has a Charlotte address on file.

Read the whole thing.

Latest Waxhaw Gazette

John has the latest Waxhaw Gazette up.

In Waxhaw-related news, John linkss to this article in the Charlotte Observer explaining that the Fill Good BP (new gas station near Lowe's) is the first gas station in Waxhaw to offer up E-85 ethanol gasoline.

I guess this is good news, although given gas prices in Waxhaw versus those in Indian Land, SC, the introduction of E-85 into Waxhaw might be met with little fanfare for a significant portion of Waxhaw residents.

There also are downsides to ethanol especially now that more corn is being used for fuel than for animal feed, which is most definitely a contributor to rising food prices.

Campaign sign garden status

When I left for work this morning, I was still holding at two campaign signs - one from Daune Gardner and one from Lisa Thornton.

I dashed off a quick email to Sean Poccia earlier today and there are apparently two unique Sean Poccia signs in my yard now as well. What can we garner from this? That Sean Poccia is a man who likes to get things done at least as far as it concerns placating local bloggers and the strange artistic demands that come with them.

Martin Lane planned to contribute as well and I've got emails out to Phillip Gregory and Mike Stewart too. I also emailed Gary Underwood, but he doesn't have any currently available.

On the neighborhood front, a representative of the homeowner's association knocked on my door to tell me that the signs couldn't be as close to the road as they were so I had to move them back. I put up quite the fight, screaming something about free speech and flailing my arms and whatnot. Actually, I was packing for a Cub Scout camping trip at the time, so some might say I was as meek as a kitten in agreeing to move them closer to the house.

He did mention that the signs weren't really allowed at all; the lack of political free speech by the HOA seems a little strange, but maybe this is par for the course as far as HOAs are concerned. I suppose I'll have to dig up the HOA contract one of these days and dig into it a bit. Time-permitting, of course.

Campaign website update

Just a quick update as I finally tracked down Mike Stewart's Facebook campaign page.

Here's the latest links to all the campaign pages in the order I found them:

Mayor: Lisa Thornton / Daune Gardner / Gary Underwood

Town board: Martin Lane / Sean Poccia / Mike Stewart / Phillip Gregory

That just leaves Phillip Gregory. Anyone know if he has a campaign page?

Waxhaw Pub Crawl?

Apparently the first annual Waxhaw Pub Crawl occurred Saturday night, but who knew? The philosophical side of me wants to ask "Does a pub crawl really occur if I haven't heard about it?"

I suspect I'm not the only person who heard about this fundraising event after the fact. I'm sure others are more well-versed in Waxhaw happenings than I, but I'm struggling to understand how I never caught a sniff of this until the day after. It's practically a part time job for me to keep up with beer-related town news and somehow this failed to enter my radar.

From Lori's Facebook page, the money raised benefited the Adam Faulk Tanksley Foundation to chomp out childhood cancer. I blogged about their annual AdamFest festival back in September. I concluded my thoughts with a note about how I wish I had more notice so I could've blogged about it beforehand.

And here I am once again wishing I had more notice to share the details of this fun fundraising outing for an excellent cause before the event and not afterwards. I suspect more money would be raised towards fighting childhood cancer if the respective parties would get the word out a little better. Who do I complain to at the apparently secretive Waxhaw Social Club?

I've got so many questions: how many attended? Where was one to find out about this event? How did money get raised for the Adam Faulk Tanksley Foundation? Koozie and tee shirt sales only? Or was there a participation fee? Did the bars contribute as well? How much was earned in all? And how fun was it? So many questions.

UPDATE: fixed typo

UPDATE: Waxhaw Ghost Walk / Lantern Tour

From the town's Facebook page:

WAXHAW GHOST WALK!! Saturday, October 29 at 9 pm! Hosted by CECELIA NEAL and assisted by UCAPS - UNION COUNTY AREA PARANORMAL SOCIETY.
Meet: Waxhaw United Methodist Church parking lot. This is FREE to the public although donations will be accepted for the MS Society.

Sounds interesting. I may have to try and drag the family out to this.

The Museum of the Waxhaws also is doing a Lantern Tour on October 28-29th. Per the description, it is a lantern tour of a Civil War battlefield put on by the NC 35th Regiment.

The Ghost Walk seems like the more kid-friendly event of the two. But according to the website of the NC 35th Regiment, it appears to be family-friendly as well.

Guided Tours will go thru the woods by candlelight stopping at several historic scenarios and watching for the Civil War soldiers battling throughout the woods. A must see event for the entire family.

Something about a spooky lantern tour of a Civil War battlefield (these were typically gruesome, no?) just screams not kid-friendly. Does anyone know for certain?

UPDATE 10/23: Don't miss Captain Jack's comment down below for an clarification on the Lantern Tours. The Cliff's Notes version: it will begin more kid-friendly and get "progressively realistic" as the night goes on when young children will be less likely to be present. Sounds neat.

Meet the candidates

Just a heads up that you can go meet all the local candidates at the Waxhaw Women's Club next Thursday at 7pm. Sponsored by the League of Women Voters.

Anyone know what the format is going to be? Are the candidates taking questions or will they just spend a little time telling us about them? One obviously more informative than the other.

Martin Lane on "Land of the Waxhaws"

I thought I linked to this a week ago, but apparently I just created a blank placeholder to be filled in at a later date. And the later date is this evening apparently.

Martin Lane became the second Waxhaw politician currently running for office to appear on Jim Black's "Land of the Waxhaws" internet video broadcasts, which stream live on the internet if you're lucky enough to check his site at the right time.

I pointed out earlier the lack of most of the candidates on Jim Black's "Land of the Waxhaws" internet video broadcasts. Before Martin Lane, Mayor Gardner was the only candidate who had appeared with any regularity and given her current position and the fact that her local business, Creative Plus, has been a supporter of "Land of the Waxhaws," I suppose that's not a surprise.

I contacted Jim a week ago and he sent me a message essentially stating that ideally candidates would buy time on his show. I emailed him a follow-up as to what this might cost each candidate a week ago, but have not heard back from him. So perhaps he has decided to refrain from charging candidates.

More evidence suggesting as much is the fact that Jim invited Martin Lane to appear on the show. However, this begs the question: have the other candidates (for mayor or the board) been invited to be on the show? If so, how come they haven't appeared yet? Other candidates, inquiring minds would like to know.

By the way, leaving comments on this blog is very flaky, so feel free to email me if you can't get through via the comments.

Letters supporting the new guys

Out with Martin Lane and Phillip Gregory, in with Mike Stewart and Sean Poccia. Or so says a couple letters recently published in the Enquirer-Journal.

Here's a selection for the letter supporting Mike Stewart, an unknown to me:

Mike is new to Waxhaw Politics, which is a blessing in disguise. Needless to say, it is refreshing to know he isn’t part of the good ole’ boy system or “politics as usual” that seems to be the norm in Waxhaw. Mike Stewart is quite intelligent with a strong dynamic personality and gentle soul that truly cares about the heart and soul of Waxhaw, the PEOPLE. Mike takes pride in being part of his community and is ready and willing to go the extra mile to work together with the people, board members and town staff to bring a better government to Waxhaw. Mike has fresh ideas to (1) encourage smaller businesses to come to Waxhaw, (2) STOP wasteful spending, (3) lower taxes, (4) have a smaller government, (5) encourage and initiate transparency, and most importantly (6) ensure appropriate actions are taken according to what the citizens of Waxhaw bring to the board for consideration.

Here's the one supporting newcomer Sean Poccia:

I met Sean Poccia at a meeting and greet and WOW but he is dynamic. Sean is running for town commissioner. New blood, this is what Waxhaw needs and he has it all. He is energetic, objective, analytical and the person to vote for.

Read the whole thing.

Is it safe to assume that neither has any artistic vision since neither Mike Stewart nor Sean Poccia have contributed a campaign sign to my artsy campaign sign garden? Probably not.

Campaign sign garden really coming along

I came home from work yesterday afternoon to find my first campaign sign, compliments of incumbent Mayor Daune Gardner. The initial piece to my earlier discussed campaign sign garden.

Mayoral challenger Lisa Thornton is set to drop one off as well and I'll graciously accept a sign from any Waxhaw candidate, so that means you Gary Underwood, Martin Lane, Phillip Gregory Sean Poccia, and Mike Stewart. Don't be a square and stand in the way of my artistic vision!

If you'd like to increase your presence in the campaign sign garden and have multiple unique signs, you can bring one of each if you'd like.

The Facade Grant Program

The Union County Weekly has an article on the new Facade Grant program that was recently approved by the town board. This grant program makes $7500 available to certain favorably-located area businesses interested in approving their façades, essentially subsidizing exterior repairs or renewal of favorably situated private property with taxpayer money.

Here's Brian Carlton's description:

The project is a scaled down and reworked version of the historic district proposal that failed earlier this year. By turning it into a grant program, the council made it a voluntary process this time around, so only those interested would be impacted. The project sets aside $7,500 from the town’s general fund, to be used as grant funding. If a business or property owner wants to restore his facility to the way it originally looked, he or she can apply to the Waxhaw Historic Preservation Committee. If the application is approved, the committee can authorize different amounts, up to $7,500 towards the restoration. To qualify, the restoration has to cost a minimum of $250.

I am not sure I agree with this description since the failed historic district proposal would've been imposed on homeowners with no subsidization of repairs; it just would've dictated what changes or repairs could be made to homes and business falling within the specified district. If I'm not mistaken, the only taxpayer money used for this program would be the salaries of the bureaucrats that maintain it.

The Facade Grant program, however, takes taxpayer money and uses it help pay for refurbishments to accepted applicants. I'm not sure money should be taken from taxpayers and doled out to individuals to improve the look of their personal property.

Brett Diller, Erin Kirkpatrick, and Martin Lane obviously feel differently as they provided the necessary three votes to pass this program. On the other hand, Phillip Gregory and Joyce Blythe voted against it, but hold back warm and fuzzies for them quite yet if saving taxpayer money is your thing.

The article seems to suggest Phillip Gregory and Joyce Blythe didn't vote against it because of the transfer of taxpayer money to a select few, but because they weren't entirely comfortable with the Waxhaw Historic Preservation Committee (WHPC) running the program. Personally, I have more of an issue with the fact taxpayer money will be subsidizing select individuals rather than who will be overseeing the program. Although I suppose the WHPC might be more inclined to favor historic properties, but that remains to be seen.

In the article, Erin Kirkpatrick is quoted as follows:

“It’s an investment in our economic development,” Waxhaw council member Erin Kirkpatrick said. “It’s money we’re investing to bring people to our downtown corridor.”

I honestly don't see how improving the exterior of buildings downtown will more than nominally improve economic development in Waxhaw. Will a handful of improved façades downtown make a significant impact in how much money is spent in downtown Waxhaw? Is there evidence to suggest it will?

Maybe offering up much more than $7500 will attract more people (and Brenda Stewart's comment beneath the article suggests they're already looking to expand the program before the ink is even dry), but a more significant economic development would be having shops that regular folks can shop at. I realize that's beyond the scope of the town board (or so I would hope), but I consider myself a regular guy and besides the restaurants, there are very few shops in downtown Waxhaw I would need to set foot in.

Like the Waxhaw Fresh Market before it, the loss of Southport Gifts removes another store I'd pop into periodically. Where is one to shop in Waxhaw for gifts and knick-knacks besides antique shops? Stewart's Gallery comes to mind, but my ventures in there have been limited as I've normally watched the kids outside (so they don't break anything) while my wife looks around.

Chili Cookoff @ Parkwood Middle

Just a note that there's a Chili Cookoff & Fall Festival at Parkwood Middle School this Saturday October 22nd from 11a-4p.

If you're looking for something to do next, it's only $5 to taste the chili. $10 to enter the cookoff and taste.

Campaign sign garden

So far no signs are in my yard, but one candidate has offered to drop one off. If a candidate wants to donate the campaign sign garden (mentioned here), drop me an email and I can send you my address. (Or you can just look it up in the Waxhaw GIS database, I guess, but that might be considered just a tad creepy.)

If the campaign sign garden does come to fruition, it may, nay will, be my greatest visual artistic accomplishment. That's not saying a lot but it is what it is.

So if you want local politicians to contribute a sign, I suggest contacting them to have one delivered post haste. They can't ignore the people forever.

#OccupyWaxhaw, anyone?

BBQ results

The results of Waxhaw's Grill'n & Chill'n BBQ Cookoff are available at the town website here. Unfortunately, it's a mish-mash of downloadable PDF and Excel files. Not very convenient for looking at the results.

So here they are in all their slightly-more-convenient glory:

Waxhaw Grill'n & Chill'n BBQ Cookoff
October 8-9, 2011
Kansas City BBQ Society PRO Results

Place Overall
1 Uncle Mac's BBQ Crue, Charlotte, NC
2 Palmetto Smokehouse, Greenwood, SC
3 Serial Griller, Yorktown, VA
4 Up in Smoke, Rock Hill, SC
5 Carolinas BBQ Co., Hildebran, NC
6 Red, White and Que, Waxhaw, NC
7 Rock Store BBQ, Indian Trail, NC
8 Bad Mother Smoker, Concord, NC
9 Smokin' Good, Fort Mill, SC
10 Texas Outback Cookers, Monroe, NC
11 Butt's R Us, Waxhaw, NC
12 Chubby's BBQ, Monroe, NC
13 Kick'n & Grill'n, Waxhaw, NC
14 521 BBQ, Indian Land, SC
15 Jo's Jo's Backyard BBQ, Monroe, NC
16 Just Good, Inc., Monroe, NC


Waxhaw Grill'n & Chill'n BBQ Cookoff
October 8-9, 2011
Kansas City BBQ Society PRO Results Chicken

Place Chicken
1 Uncle Mac's BBQ Crue, Charlotte, NC
2 Bad Mother Smoker, Concord, NC
3 Palmetto Smokehouse, Greenwood, SC
4 Carolinas BBQ Co., Hildebran, NC
5 Rock Store BBQ, Indian Trail, NC
6 Up in Smoke, Rock Hill, SC
7 Texas Outback Cookers, Monroe, NC
8 Red, White and Que, Waxhaw, NC
9 Butt's R Us, Waxhaw, NC
10 Serial Griller, Yorktown, VA
11 Smokin' Good, Fort Mill, SC
12 Kick'n & Grill'n, Waxhaw, NC
13 521 BBQ, Indian Land, SC
14 Chubby's BBQ, Monroe, NC
15 Jo's Jo's Backyard BBQ, Monroe, NC
16 Just Good, Inc., Monroe, NC


Waxhaw Grill'n & Chill'n BBQ Cookoff
October 8-9, 2011
Kansas City BBQ Society PRO Results Pork Ribs

Place Pork Ribs
1 Up in Smoke, Rock Hill, SC
2 Palmetto Smokehouse, Greenwood, SC
3 Uncle Mac's BBQ Crue, Charlotte, NC
4 Rock Store BBQ, Indian Trail, NC
5 Serial Griller, Yorktown, VA
6 Chubby's BBQ, Monroe, NC
7 Red, White and Que, Waxhaw, NC
8 Carolinas BBQ Co., Hildebran, NC
9 Butt's R Us, Waxhaw, NC
10 Bad Mother Smoker, Concord, NC
11 521 BBQ, Indian Land, SC
12 Smokin' Good, Fort Mill, SC
13 Texas Outback Cookers, Monroe, NC
14 Jo's Jo's Backyard BBQ, Monroe, NC
15 Kick'n & Grill'n, Waxhaw, NC
16 Just Good, Inc., Monroe, NC


Waxhaw Grill'n & Chill'n BBQ Cookoff
October 8-9, 2011
Kansas City BBQ Society PRO Results Pork

Place Pork
1 Smokin' Good, Fort Mill, SC
2 Uncle Mac's BBQ Crue, Charlotte, NC
3 Carolinas BBQ Co., Hildebran, NC
4 Serial Griller, Yorktown, VA
5 Rock Store BBQ, Indian Trail, NC
6 Red, White and Que, Waxhaw, NC
7 Bad Mother Smoker, Concord, NC
8 Texas Outback Cookers, Monroe, NC
9 Palmetto Smokehouse, Greenwood, SC
10 Kick'n & Grill'n, Waxhaw, NC
11 Up in Smoke, Rock Hill, SC
12 521 BBQ, Indian Land, SC
13 Just Good, Inc., Monroe, NC
14 Butt's R Us, Waxhaw, NC
15 Jo's Jo's Backyard BBQ, Monroe, NC
16 Chubby's BBQ, Monroe, NC


Waxhaw Grill'n & Chill'n BBQ Cookoff
October 8-9, 2011
Kansas City BBQ Society PRO Results Overall Brisket

Place Brisket
1 Serial Griller, Yorktown, VA
2 Uncle Mac's BBQ Crue, Charlotte, NC
3 Palmetto Smokehouse, Greenwood, SC
4 Red, White and Que, Waxhaw, NC
5 Up in Smoke, Rock Hill, SC
6 Kick'n & Grill'n, Waxhaw, NC
7 Bad Mother Smoker, Concord, NC
8 Carolinas BBQ Co., Hildebran, NC
9 Butt's R Us, Waxhaw, NC
10 Texas Outback Cookers, Monroe, NC
11 Chubby's BBQ, Monroe, NC
12 Smokin' Good, Fort Mill, SC
13 Rock Store BBQ, Indian Trail, NC
14 521 BBQ, Indian Land, SC
15 Just Good, Inc., Monroe, NC
16 Jo's Jo's Backyard BBQ, Monroe, NC


Waxhaw Grill'n & Chill'n BBQ Cookoff
October 8-9, 2011
People's Choice Award

Place Butts Team #
1 Carolinas BBQ Co., Hildebran, NC 9
2 Smokin' Good, Fort Mill, SC 15
3 Backwoods BBQ, Waxhaw, NC 1
4 The Sizzlin' Pigs, Monroe, NC 6
5 521 BBQ, Indian Land, SC 7
6 Butt's R Us, Waxhaw, NC 8
7 King B BBQ, Charlotte, NC 4
8 Butt Burners BBQ, Waxhaw, NC 3
Billy Bob Beamer BBQ, Waxhaw, NC 2
Meat and Heat, Waxhaw, NC 5
Chubby's BBQ, Monroe, NC 10
Kick'n & Grill'n, Waxhaw, NC 11
Palmetto Smokehouse, Greenwood, SC 12
Red, White and Que, Waxhaw, NC 13
Rock Store BBQ, Indian Trail, NC 14
Texas Outback Cookers, Monroe, NC 16
Up in Smoke, Rock Hill, SC 17


Place Ribs Team #
1 Carolinas BBQ Co., Hildebran, NC 9
2 Butt Burners BBQ, Waxhaw, NC 3
3 Uncle Mac's BBQ Crue, Charlotte, NC 8
4* The Sizzlin' Pigs, Monroe, NC 6
4* 521 BBQ, Indian Land, SC 7
4* Chubby's BBQ, Monroe, NC 10
4* Red, White and Que, Waxhaw, NC 13
Backwoods BBQ, Waxhaw, NC 1
Billy Bob Beamer BBQ, Waxhaw, NC 2
King B BBQ, Charlotte, NC 4
Meat and Heat, Waxhaw, NC 5
Kick'n & Grill'n, Waxhaw, NC 11
Palmetto Smokehouse, Greenwood, SC 12
Rock Store BBQ, Indian Trail, NC 14
Smokin' Good, Fort Mill, SC 15
Texas Outback Cookers, Monroe, NC 16

*Four way tie for 4th place



Waxhaw Grill'n & Chill'n BBQ Cookoff
October 8-9, 2011
Kansas City BBQ Society Backyard Results

Place Overall
1 The Sizzlin' Pigs, Monroe, NC
2 Butt Burners BBQ, Waxhaw, NC
3 Meat and Heat, Waxhaw, NC
4 Backwoods BBQ, Waxhaw, NC
5 King B BBQ, Charlotte, NC
6 Billy Bob Beamer BBQ, Waxhaw, NC
7 Somerset Smokers, Waxhaw, NC

Place Pork Ribs
1 The Sizzlin' Pigs, Monroe, NC
2 King B BBQ, Charlotte, NC
3 Butt Burners BBQ, Waxhaw, NC
4 Meat and Heat, Waxhaw, NC
5 Backwoods BBQ, Waxhaw, NC
6 Billy Bob Beamer BBQ, Waxhaw, NC
7 Somerset Smokers, Waxhaw, NC

Place Pork
1 Somerset Smokers, Waxhaw, NC
2 Backwoods BBQ, Waxhaw, NC
3 Butt Burners BBQ, Waxhaw, NC
4 Meat and Heat, Waxhaw, NC
5 The Sizzlin Pigs, Monroe, NC
6 King B BBQ, Charlotte, NC
7 Billy Bob Beamer BBQ, Waxhaw, NC

I wish I could've been there.

UPDATE: Rick's apparently on the roof

But still no Facebook pictures?!

What the heck is everyone doing in Waxhaw today? Make yourselves useful.

On a serious note, I've already touched upon Rick Giarla's efforts this weekend and urge you to contribute if you can spare a dime or preferably more. He's set a hefty goal, so it be nice to reach it or at least come as close to it as we can. Hopefully the entirety of the county chips in on this fundraiser as it benefits students from across the county, not just those from Waxhaw.

Here's the page to do it.

The Union County Weekly wrote up an article on this fundraiser, providing some specifics about how the money will be spent. A snippet:

Giarla will be on top of Stacks from 8 a.m. Friday to 8 a.m. Monday, while volunteers work down below, collecting donations. He hopes to raise $30,000 for the school. That would allow South Providence to buy eight Smart Boards for the classrooms at $3,400 each and two dozen TI 83 calculators at $85 each.

Read the whole thing.

UPDATE 8.58p: It appears that Jim Black is on the case and has some pictures up now on Facebook.

Another candidate page discovered

I discovered yet another candidate's campaign page, this time mayoral candidate and former Waxhaw mayor, Gary Underwood.

He has a Facebook campaign page set up.

Here's the latest links to all the campaign pages in the order I found them:

Mayor: Lisa Thornton / Daune Gardner / Gary Underwood

Town board: Martin Lane / Sean Poccia / Phillip Gregory / Mike Stewart

As far as I can tell, candidates without links do not have a campaign web page set up. If anyone is aware of campaign pages for Phillip Gregory or Mike Stewart, drop me an email.

Fox's Pizza Deal

Fox's Pizza is offering a pretty good deal right now on Eversave, a Groupon-like site. For those of us who enjoy their pizza (or those of you thinking of trying it), it seems like a no-brainer. EverSave is not as widely known as Groupon, but I've gotten a couple things from them in the past, so you can feel confident in using it if the deals interests you.

$10 for $20 worth of food and drinks at Fox's Pizza Den

There's another 4 and a half days left on this deal, so by my calculations you have until end-of-day Monday 10/17 to take advantage.

Too bad they didn't run this deal one day sooner as I had $5 EverSave bucks that expired one day prior, which would've given me $20 worth of Fox's Pizza stuff for only $5. I haven't yet decided if this is enough of a transgression to make my enemies list or not (EverSave, not Fox's Pizza).

I'd also like to add that Fox's Pizza has got to be the best local Waxhaw restaurant (or any business for that matter) to participate in programs that allow their customers to save money. I've blogged about their past participation in restaurant.com and their past Groupon we missed out on. No other business in Waxhaw has embraced social buying and other customer money-saving programs like Fox's Pizza, so hopefully it helps them expand their business.

Museum of the Waxhaws follow-up

This is extremely belated on my part, but the Union County Weekly ran a follow up to the investigation into the Museum of the Waxhaws. (I blogged about this here, here, here, and here.)

The Cliff's Note version: the Secretary of State has closed its investigation into the Museum of the Waxhaws, but forwarded the complaints onto the Attorney General, so apparently there was enough differences between the tax documents and the complaints that they felt the need to pass it along to the Attorney General. Or at least that's the way I read it.

For example, this snippets below suggests that at the very least not all the required financial information was included on their tax forms that should have been:

Union County Weekly obtained copies of both written complaints and the investigation report. The first complaint, dated April 6, pointed out that the Andrew Jackson Historical Society, the parent group that operates the museum, had two significant grants provided to them in excess of $200,000, as well as several smaller grants. Yet in the six day investigation that followed, department officials said they couldn’t find any evidence the museum had received state funds.

...

Proctor said the investigators missed that information because it wasn’t listed in the museum’s 990 tax return for those years.

“The 990 forms didn’t specify any grant money,” Proctor said. “(The investigators) were just able to look over what we received from the nonprofit.”

If anyone gleaned any other information from this article, feel free to share. I'm not ashamed to admit this is all a little confusing to me.

I've yet to hear any definitive results as to whether the Attorney General felt the need to pursue an investigation or not. If I hear anything more definitive, I will pass it along.

For what it's worth, apparently four complaints were made against the Museum of the Waxhaws, one of them originating from the since terminated Scott Farb.

Dorothy Maloney = video star?

I mentioned last week that Dorothy Maloney is back and I wasn't kidding.

She's now gone multimedia, showing up on Jim Black's "Land of the Waxhaws."

Somewhat local Groupon

Not in Waxhaw mind you, but in Monroe.

It's a deal for a winery tour at the Treehouse Vineyards for 2, 4, or 6 people.

I bought the 6-person version figuring it'd be a fun little trip to drag some friends along with us. So if you're friends with us, then you might want to consider buttering my wife and I up if you want to be selected as one of the exclusives guests to accompany us on this Groupon outing.

The specifics:

For $12, you get a winery tour for two, plus one take-home bottle of wine (a $25 value).
For $22, you get a winery tour for four, plus two take-home bottles of wine (a $50 value).
For $30, you get a winery tour for six, plus three take-home bottles of wine (a $75 value).

The winery-tour outing includes:

* A tour of the vineyard
* A wine tasting
* Wine glasses for each guest

This deal lasts through tomorrow so you've got about 24 hour to take advantage of it if you're interested.

Latest Gazette

John Tiley has another issue of the Waxhaw Gazette up now.

In Waxhaw-related news:

* Another mention of the fact he's only spoken with one of the mayoral candidates.
* He also publishes what appears to be Daune Gardner's letter to the editor (originally featured in the Union County Weekly). He's got in a handy-dandy one-page format for those who still haven't read it.

There's also an article on the ongoing Occupy Wall Street (and related) protests where John appears to approve of the ragtag bunch of hipster protestors and their wide-ranging demands, ranging from higher education being a human right. I personally don't see how they can be taken very seriously. There is much evidence this is just the latest attempt by the left to replicate the more conservative Tea Party, including the Occupy groups hodge-podge of historically liberal complaints and lack of protesting at the source.

Much of their complaints revolve around big business getting its hooks in government, but they've yet to protest occupy the very government that beds itself with big business. Strange. Especially since the head of the current administration has taken in more Wall Street money than any politician in the last 20 years. That's a lot of politicians he's one-upped with Wall Street money.

Don't forget the historic walk!

Just another reminder that Joyce Blythe and Melvin Faris are doing a historic walk this Saturday. She has a letter to the editor in the latest issue of the Union County Weekly to remind everyone.

Her description:

Waxhaw native Melvin Faris will be joining me again. He is a walking wealth of information when it comes to reminiscing about his boyhood days in Waxhaw. He will tell you about going to the “moving picture show” and the day he played hooky from school because he heard the town depot was being moved. A momentous occasion that he wasn’t about to miss.

We will share some early turn of the century history of Waxhaw springing to life after the railroad came through, and the town was incorporated. We’ll even go back a bit further and tell you a little something about the Waxhaw Indians and young Andy Jackson.

Now, we don’t claim to know all there is to know about Waxhaw’s history, but we’ll share some of the things we do know.

Read the whole thing for all the details.

The big question is what exactly does Joyce Blythe have against WAA families? Other than the historic walk she kindly did for some local Cub Scouts, it seems like every other walk has been scheduled during baseball season. And we've always got a game.

How can one become well-versed in local history if you cannot attend these walks?

Diary of John Osborne cont.

Scott Farb shares another portion of the diary of John Osborne in last Friday's issue of the Union County Weekly. The first column featuring excerpts from John Osborne's diary was mentioned here.

Both are definitely worth checking out if you have any interest in local history.

How was the festival weekend?

We were out of town last weekend so we missed Autumn Treasures, the associated BBQ cookoff, and whatever other numerous events were going on.

I hope everyone had as good a time in Waxhaw as we had at the beach. We stayed at a place called Dunes Village which featured an indoor water park, besides the beach that was a stone's throw away. The kids absolutely loved it.

In fact, my youngest told me this evening he liked Myrtle Beach better than Waxhaw. Waxhaw's going to have to work pretty hard to win him back.

Sorry for killing your son

This is somewhat strange story. Samir Khan at one time was a Charlotte supporter of Al Qaeda. He was discovered a few years ago and lived in Charlotte as an outed supporter of jihad for some time.

I eventually read that he had traveled to Yemen, which has become something of a haven for Al Qaeda and its offshoot, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsular (AQAP).

Another traitorous American, Anwar al-Awlaki, was the leader of this branch of Al Qaeda. Well, apparently these two hooked up and Samir Khan was killed in the strike that took out Anwar al-Awlaki.

Well, the State Department has now called the Khan family to apologize, per a Charlotte Observer article.

See here for some more details. If you want to see the text of the "I Am Proud to be a Traitor to America" article illustrated at the previous link, it appears to be intact here.

It seems odd to apologize to his family given how he openly aligned himself with Al Qaeda, but I suppose that's a consequence of him being an American citizen taken out by an American strike authorized by our president. I can only assume it's a disingenuous apology precipitated by legal and/or political concerns.

Leo's Kitchen coupon

Just a quick note that we received some Leo's Kitchen (mentioned earlier here) coupons last week in the mail before the store has even opened. Other local restaurants should take notes as Leo's Kitchen is putting you all to shame.

They came in one of those Valupack (or some other similar sounding name) that come periodically in the mail. One of those things where the vast majority get thrown in the trash, but there's one or two worth holding onto if you spend the time to look through them all.

And I can't find the coupon either at this point, so hopefully my wife didn't throw it out. If she did, she's well on her way to making a very powerful enemy.

Meet the potential mayors

The Union County Weekly Q & A with the Waxhaw mayoral candidates is now live, so go check it out.

I haven't had time to read through it yet, but will have to do so later.

Heartache

I got an email today from 'til-now-elusive town board candidate Sean Poccia and I'm sad to say that there appears to be no such thing as a "green" candidate in Waxhaw anymore. Sean has informed me that his campaign signs are now in and have started going up around town.

I'm still waiting for the first Waxhaw candidate to offer up a campaign sign for the proposed campaign sign garden I've yet to speak with my wife about. Could Sean be the first? The mayor or Lisa Thornton? Another? I'm on pins and needles here.

On another note, Sean provided me with his website, so if you'd like to learn a little more about him, pay it a visit. See here for links to the other candidates' pages I'm aware of.

Yet another WAA volunteer update

Rick Giarla sent out another update to WAA members. Here it is:

I promise, this will be my last plea for help. We were just made aware (today) that because of the large turnout that the Town of Waxhaw is expecting for this weekends Autumn Treasures event, they are asking for 24 more volunteers to serve as "block captains" on Saturday to answer questions and give directions to the various venus offered to the public. If you've had a change of plans for the weekend and find that you can give a few hours of your time on Saturday, please go to http://www.signupgenius.com/go/autumn14 and choose one of the available time slots. WAA stands to gain $7,000.00-$8,000.00 from our willingness to volunteer this weekend and I personally will be forever grateful. Thanks so much!

Nice of the town to drop this on the WAA at hte eleventh hour.

Adding the 24 new volunteers needed to the slots still unfilled, the WAA now needs 58 volunteers. So if you've got the wherewithal to volunteer, there's basically one more day left to give Rick and the WAA a hand. Please sign up if you can.

This will probably be my last plea for help as well.

In other Rick-related charity news, you can contribute to his South Providence school fundraiser here. Not many have contributed thus far and $30000 is quite a goal nowadays. Hopefully some local businesses can contribute to help him get closer to his goal.

Dorothy Maloney back

In print. And badder than ever, I suppose.

With the untimely death of the Waxhaw Exchange, I thought we'd seen the last of Dorothy Maloney, Waxhaw's social columnist. But at the Enquirer-Journal's site the other day, I discovered that her column has been resurrected there.

Read the whole thing if interested.

The highlight is that Commissioner Joyce Blythe is giving another town historic walk. The snippet:

Saturday, October 15th at 10:00 a.m., is the date Town of Waxhaw Commissioner Joyce Blythe, and Melvin Faris have scheduled their Historic Tour of Waxhaw. If you have not had the pleasure of one of these tours, you should not miss this one. Both Joyce and Melvin are superb tour guides. The tour takes about an hour and a quarter, starting at the Waxhaw Methodist Church. You will truly not regret attending this tour. Just show up at 10:00 a.m. on October 15th.

But once again, our schedule prohibits me from attending.

More on presidential candidates coming into town

The Union County Weekly had an article in last week's issue talking about mayoral candidate Lisa Thornton and cohorts bringing in Michelle Bachmann.

A snippet:

Bachmann traveled to Union for a fundraising breakfast at the France home, speaking with Steward, mayoral candidate Thornton and others who came out. The event came about through Jason Lambert, founder of Right Strategy, who said he hopes to bring all the presidential candidates through Union.

I've got an email out to Lisa to see if any other presidential candidates are in the pipeline to make a stop in Waxhaw. My thumbs are crossed that more can be convinced to make a quick stop in our humble little burg.

Read the whole thing.

First Friday

With the Autumn Treasures festival going on this weekend, it might be easy to forget that First Friday is upon us again.

Most of you are probably thinking 'Ho hum, another First Friday.' But no, a couple differences that stand out:

* Main Street Grill is offering a full menu this time around.

* Maxwell's Tavern is having a Pint Night, offering free glasses with purchases of their seasonal brew Mecktoberfest.

Good times.

Chip in for South Providence

I mentioned Rick Giarla's rooftop adventure atop of Stack's Kitchen. (Is that my best headline yet? I was pretty happy with it for what it's worth.)

He's looking to raise $30000 for South Providence school in Waxhaw near the library.

For those looking to contribute to the cause, a site has been set up to make it awful convenient to support the cause. Visit and contribute what you can.

By the way, the WAA still needs volunteers this weekend. Sign up and lend a hand (and score some BBQ at the same time.)

Local campaigns

Some more election-related observations:

* In my earlier observations, I noted that Lisa Thornton was the greenest candidate since I hadn't seen her signs out and about. But she's now passed the torch to Sean Poccia, supposed candidate for the town board, the now greenest candidate since he appears to be the only remaining Waxhaw candidate without political signs.

* Per Brian Carlton at the Union County Weekly, all the local candidates will be completing a questionnaire that should hopefully run next week. That should be interesting in getting to know all the candidates and especially the lesser known candidates.

* Lisa Thornton plans to provide the Union County Weekly with a introductory column like the incumbent's that ran in earlier issues. Will it run this Friday? We shall have to wait and see.

* The idea to have a campaign sign garden in my yard popped into my head today, perhaps much to my wife's and neighbors' chagrin. It's probably been done before, but I thought it sounded like a neat idea, especially since I've never ever had a single campaign sign in my yard before.

Of course, I'd need to get my hands on signs from all the candidates. Do candidates normally have enough signs to donate to the cause or do they essentially become a pseudo-currency around this time? From what I can tell, this would not violate the town's campaign sign ordinance (PDF) in any way. If any candidates want to donate a unique sign to the garden, drop me an email.

* My kids have taken to pointing out campaign signs as we drive. They made a point to tell me there was a Daune Gardner sign in our neighborhood the other day. I can only imagine how excited they'll be to see their first Sean Poccia sign.

UPDATE 10/20: Fixed two typos.

Update on WAA volunteers

Rick Giarla sent out another email to WAA parents requesting volunteers for the BBQ cook-off this weekend at the Autumn Treasures festival, previously mentioned here.

I'd estimate 20 volunteers signed up today, but by my count, 47 more are still needed.

Twenty out of forty tasting servers are still needed for 12.30p-3.00p on Sunday.

Twenty-one out of forty servers/clean up persons are needed for the 3.00p-5.30p shift on Sunday as well.

So if you can spare a small shift, either in one of the aforementioned shifts or the other slots where someone is needed, please sign up.

UPDATE 10/5: It's just updates on top of updates here at the Broome Street Blues. As of 12.42p, only 39 volunteers needed with a couple more days left to fill the slots. Keep 'em coming!

Hicks in stix support Rick on Stacks?

I mentioned the help the WAA and Rick Giarla could use for the BBQ cook-off at Autumn Treasures. I also briefly touch upon Rick's latest feat for the community, but wanted to expand upon it with further details. From the WAA's Facebook page:

Beginning Friday, October 14th, South Providence will be hosting its largest fundraiser to date, thanks to the innovation and dedication of Waxhaw’s own, Rick Giarla. Rick became aware of the needs of South Providence through a conversation with Gale Smith, a custodian at the school. Gale has known Rick and his enthusiastic community involvement through Waxhaw Athletic Association, of which Rick is president. Gale approached Rick at the beginning of the school year in hopes he could somehow help the school acquire some technological needs such as Smartboards. Being a supporter of the community and students alike, Rick was up for the challenge.

Rick has served as PTO president of Waxhaw elementary as well as Parkwood middle, but he saw this as an opportunity to help a school that serves students across Union County. “I can make a difference and help South Providence get the same technology that the more affluent schools receive.” Rick met with Barry Ross, principal of South Providence for coffee in Waxhaw where they discussed the needs of the school and how Rick could help. The idea of “Sitting for South Providence” was born!

Rick fashioned the concept of people around the county, sponsoring him with donations as he spent the weekend atop a local Waxhaw establishment. He spoke with the owner of Stacks restaurant on Providence Road and the two agreed that the restaurant was the perfect location. George, the owner, even offered to feed Rick for the duration of his stay on the roof. The only task left to do was to get the word out and attract supporters for the cause. “The key to success here is getting all Union County schools behind it” Rick stated. He has a goal in mind of raising $30,000 for South Providence and is hoping that the community backs up his effort.

Rick will start his crusade at 8am Friday, October 14th and hopes to make it through the weekend, coming down from the roof at 8am Monday, October 17th. Staff members from South Providence will be rotating in shifts in from of Stacks throughout the weekend, collecting donations and showing their support for the cause. We are hoping for a great turn out and would love to see you there, supporting some of the best students from around the county. “These kids are just like any other kid, they deserve the same benefits.”

As if you needed another reason to support Rick efforts for the South Providence school or the for the WAA at the BBQ cook-off, I'll provide you with a brief personal take, a story I rarely share. My oldest had just signed up for tee ball in the WAA a few years ago, attending a handful of practices if memory serves. Complaining of headaches, he had an MRI that discovered a golf-ball sized tumor in his brain. He was immediately admitted to the hospital and underwent emergency surgery to remove the tumor.

Post surgery, a stranger showed up with balloons (a baseball balloon was tucked in there as well) and it was Rick. Word must've filtered from our coach to Rick and he'd driven all the way from Waxhaw to Levine's Children's Hospital to deliver some balloons and wish our son, who he had never met, well. It made quite the impression on my wife and I.

I strongly suspect there's similar stories about Rick not yet told and my suspicion is that Rick likes it that way. I also suspect he wouldn't mind some support in his local fundraisers, such as this one or the BBQ cook-off supporting the WAA.

If Rick is supporting a cause, it's likely a cause worth supporting.

WAA needs volunteers!

I mentioned earlier that the proceeds of this year's BBQ cook-off at the Autumn Treasures festival will benefit the Waxhaw Athletic Association. However, they need a lot of volunteers to assist with the BBQ cook-off.

So all WAA parents and supporters need to step up and spare a few hours if at all possible to help out. They've set up a sign-up sheet through signupgenius.com that makes it pretty convenient to lend a hand.

Perusing the list, it appears the biggest need is tasting servers on Sunday October 9th from 12.30p-3.00p and Servers/Clean-up people on Sunday October 9th 3.00p-5.30p. Please sign up and lend a hand. If there's a local organization other than schools that affects more local kids, I can't think of it it right now.

And donating your time to the WAA will also score you some BBQ. Rick Giarla sent an email out explaining the details:

We were just notified that ALL volunteers at this event will receive $10 in tickets to be used at the BBQ Cook-off Public Tasting on Sunday, October 9 from 1:30-4:30pm. So, when you think about it, you are getting PAID to VOLUNTEER!

I suspect there's a lot of people who can pull themselves away from Autumn Treasures for a few hours to benefit a local organization and to score some free BBQ, so please sign-up as soon as possible.

If not for the kids, then do it to help out Rick Giarla who has done tons for this community. He needs his energy for the next weekend when he plans to spend a weekend on the roof of Stack's Kitchen to benefit the South Providence school in Waxhaw proper. He needs his energy for that task rather than running around harried filling in for a lack of volunteers during Autumn Treasures. Please sign up today to lend a hand!