The Pineville Pilot

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Vol. 4 No. 2 February 2016 WWW.THECHARLOTTEWEEKLY.COM News Briefs 6 | Faith 7 | Blotter 8 | Education 9 | Calendar 10 | Sports 11 Polk Site launches new program Pineville’s Historic Polk Site will launch its first-ever Black History Month pro- gram on Feb. 18. Page 3 Suburbs on the way out Baby Boomers and Millennials alike prefer walkable communities over suburbs. Page 4 Cougars stay strong Catholic suffered a heartbreaking two- point loss to Ardrey Kell, but rebounded to improve to 22-1. Page 11 South Meck, Catholic athletes celebrate Signing Day Student athletes from Charlotte Catholic and South Meck high schools inked their college commitments in a special celebration on National Signing Day, Feb. 3. South Meck athletes who signed included Zack Gilbert, Chance Kennedy, Moryah Johnson and John Brannon. Charlotte Catholic athletes who signed included Jaret Anderson, Emma Stump, Marnie Brown, Mollie Ray, Paul Slota, (Back) Constant Mangongo, Connor Miller, Patrick Hogan, Xander Gagnon and John Walton.

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Vol. 4, Iss. 2; February 2016

Transcript of The Pineville Pilot

Page 1: The Pineville Pilot

BY MARCH 31

704.889.2001|pinevilledsl.netcall for details

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Vol. 4 No. 2February 2016

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News Briefs 6 | Faith 7 | Blotter 8 | Education 9 | Calendar 10 | Sports 11

Polk Site launches new program

Pineville’s Historic Polk Site will launch its first-ever Black History Month pro-gram on Feb. 18.Page 3

Suburbs on the way out

Baby Boomers and Millennials alike prefer walkable communities over suburbs.Page 4

Cougars stay strong

Catholic suffered a heartbreaking two-point loss to Ardrey Kell, but rebounded to improve to 22-1.Page 11

South Meck, Catholic athletes celebrate Signing Day

Student athletes from charlotte catholic and South meck high schools inked their college commitments in a special celebration on National Signing Day, Feb. 3.

South meck athletes who signed included Zack Gilbert, chance kennedy, moryah Johnson and John Brannon.charlotte catholic athletes who signed included Jaret anderson, emma Stump, marnie Brown, mollie ray, Paul Slota, (Back) constant mangongo, connor miller, Patrick hogan, Xander Gagnon and John walton.

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Page 2 | February 2016 | The Pineville Pilot www.thecharlotteweekly.com

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The Pineville Pilot | February 2016 | Page 3www.thecharlotteweekly.com

Editor’s note: Information provided by the Charlotte Regional Realtor Association and

www.sales.carolinahome.com

Jan. 2016 Jan. 2015 Jan. 2014

Homes Sold 7 5 6

Average Sales Price $252,987 $258,535 $212,374

January 2016

Home Sales

28134

Cardinal Woods12112 Autumn Winds Jan. 5 $247,000

McCullough2427 Lochview St. Jan. 11 $401,912

Parkway Crossing12553 Druids Glen Drive Jan. 28 $240,000

Southcrest11628 Southcrest Lane Jan. 19 $282,000

Traditions417 Marie Way Jan. 6 $205,000

Woodside Falls14305 Blue Granite Road Jan. 26 $220,000

Woodside Village14315 Shale Court Jan. 15 $175,000

AddreSS dAteSold

SAlePriCe AddreSS dAte

SoldSAlePriCe

PINeVIlle – The James k. Polk his-toric Site, in conjunction with charlotte-mecklenburg libraries, will present “Shap-ing the tar heel Sound: how african americans shaped North carolina’s richest musical traditions from the 18th to 20th centuries” Feb 18 to 20. The three-part se-ries, in celebration of Black history month, will provide attendees with an in-depth look at how african american culture helped shape the sound of music found in this re-gion over time and create the distinct sounds of the carolina Piedmont and appalachian mountains.

lectures will discuss not only the history of music in the area, but also the evolution of popular music common today, such as bluegrass and rock. lectures will include audience discussion and some instrument demonstrations will be provided.

Feb. 18 – Michael Scoggins, culture and heritage historian

Scoggins will discuss african american folk music in the carolina Piedmont from the late 18th century to early 20th century. he will look at how the music grew roots from european and african folk music, as well as how black and white musicians in the carolinas learned from, and were influ-enced by, each other. The presentation will take place at South county regional library from 6:30 to 7:45 p.m. admission is free.

Feb. 19 – Bill Lawing, Davidson College music professors

Davidson college professor Bill lawing will explore how african americans shaped the distinct sound of North carolina’s ap-palachian mountain folk music. The lecture will take place at South county regional library from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m. admission is free.

Feb. 20 – Billy Stevens, N.C. Humanities Council Road Scholar

Stevens will demonstrate how interac-tions between european americans and african americans shaped american music. with roots in slavery and a fusion of musical traditions from africa and europe, ameri-can music is an outgrowth of the american South’s culture. Stevens will help his audi-ence understand the relationship between jazz, blues, ragtime and gospel. The lecture and demonstration will take place from 1 to 2:30 p.m. at west Boulevard library. ad-mission is free.

The historic Polk Site is located at 12031 lancaster hwy., and open tuesday to Sat-urday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. admission is free, but donations are accepted. make sure to follow detour signs as bridge replacement has closed the site’s main access point.

call the President James k. Polk State historic Site at 704-889-7145 or go to www.polk.nchistoricsites.org or www.jameskpolk.net for more information.

Staff Report

historic Polk Site, libraries celebrates Black history month

Photo courtesy of the James K. Polk Historic Site

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Page 4 | February 2016 | The Pineville Pilot www.thecharlotteweekly.com

charlotte – efforts to convert the sub-urbs into more walkable urban areas aren’t exclu-sive to south charlotte. a leading urban land-use strategist says it’s a trend happening nationally in cities.

“If you think you’ve seen a lot of great high-density walkable urban communities over the last 10 years, you ain’t seen nothing yet,” christopher leinberger said. “It’s going to increase by a factor of five-fold over the next 10 years. we’re seeing a structural shift toward a walkable urban future.”

leinberger gave the keynote address at the 2016 real estate & Building Industry coali-tion's Forum: reinventing the Suburbs on wednesday, Feb. 3, at the UNc charlotte cen-ter city Building.

after decades of demand for suburban de-velopment, leinberger believes the industry has overbuilt what the market wanted. he points to demographics showing why the industry is shift-ing toward meeting pent-up demand for more walkable urban projects.

millennials continue to favor urban environ-ments, prompting more businesses to relocate where the creative class wants to live. meanwhile, Baby Boomers are shedding suburban homes in favor of places where they can walk to the grocery store, restaurants and other shops.

Projects already under development

when Synco Properties considered redevel-oping the colony apartments several years ago, tim hose said the city’s planning director told his firm to focus on improving SouthPark’s pe-destrian experience.

The firm sought out to complete a high-den-sity project to take advantage of the 27-acre site’s value, while making the property more walkable and bike-friendly, hose said.

The redevelopment involves converting 353 apartments into 990 housing units, as well as up to 225 hotel rooms, 300,000 square feet of retail and 250,000 square feet of office.

“By having that mix of uses, people who live on the site, many of whom will be able to shop there, work there, recreate there,” hose said.

a pair of projects under development along Providence road will also turn farmland into places where people can live, work and play. waverly will combine apartments and single-family homes with restaurants, retail and office space on 90 acres at Providence and ardrey kell roads. crescent communities will build a similar mixed-use project with a culinary theme on 72 acres across the street.

The city has also gotten involved by combin-ing property around the site of the former east-land mall in hopes of partnering with a developer to revitalize the 80-acre area.

“we have an opportunity here to take that 80 acres in a way we don’t even have in SouthPark and really reshape the walkability and scale of that 80 acres to reconnect to the surrounding neigh-borhoods,” said ed mckinney, interim planning director for charlotte.

leinberger said such projects tend to gener-ate six to 12 times more tax value than suburban projects.

Projects come with improved street networks

overcoming the community’s traffic concerns remains one of the biggest roadblocks to redevel-oping drivable suburbs into walkable communi-ties, especially given the SouthPark area’s limited street network.

leinberger points to arlington, texas, where the wilson Boulevard connects to five walkable urban places, as well as a handful of light-rail sta-tions. The number of cars and the level of traffic has decreased, despite an increase in high-density development over the past 25 years, leinberger said.

People are getting around by walking, biking or taking the metro.

mckinney said the notion that the intensity of uses will lessen internal trips and yield oppor-tunities to walk is hard to believe now, but the numbers will prove true.

hose said the colony apartments redevelop-ment will extend rexford road through the site and connect it with Sharon road, allowing for traffic to be taken off busy streets like colony road.

chris Thomas, of childress klein, said his waverly project will create more of an internal street grid to mitigate traffic around I-485. com-muters could also see some relief with the exten-sion of ardrey kell road.

Affordability, rezoning pose challenges

The popularity of the suburbs in the late 20th century gave rise to neighborhood groups, which rally residents in opposition of new development, whether it be a neighboring subdivision or strip mall.

as a result, leinberger said the industry is de-livering only one-quarter to one-third of what the market needs, driving up social equity chal-lenges. Some worry that creating more walkable urban communities will drive up property values to a point where they will displace residents with lower incomes.

leinberger said walkable urban communities fall into one of two points of a spectrum: high opportunity-low affordability or low opportu-nity-high affordability. Developers are trying to reach high opportunity-high affordability proj-ects from two vantage points, he said.

Still, cities were built along racial lines, lein-berger said, which makes such challenges hard to overcome.

Zoning ordinances also can prove challeng-ing for redevelopment. leinberger has been part of 14 development projects, with each one “il-legal” when proposed. one project took several years and millions of dollars to come out of the ground.

collin Brown, a charlotte attorney, is part of the Piedmont Public Policy Institute, a group consisting of academic experts who tackle real es-tate issues such as community impact and hous-ing affordability.

“we have a zoning ordinance that’s big and thick, but one of the things I’ll say for it is: There is flexibility built in so that if there is the politi-cal will and community consensus, we can make this happen in charlotte,” Brown said.

Pineville Parks and Recreation

2016 Fun

by Justin Vick

[email protected]

retrofitting the suburbs

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The Pineville Pilot | February 2016 | Page 5www.thecharlotteweekly.com

Smoke alarms win awards at trade shows

PINEVILLE – Halo Smart Labs was honored at the Consumer Electronic Show and Interna-tional Builders Show for its two smart, connected smoke alarms, Halo and Halo+.

Halo won a Best of CES Award from Parent Tested, Parent Approved, in addition to a CES Innovation Award, at a show of more than 4,000 exhibitors.

Halo Smart Labs was awarded The Best In-door Living Product among more than 2,000 ex-hibitors at the International Builders Show.

“We started Halo Smart Labs with the singular focus of saving people’s lives, so to be recognized by two prestigious organizations like CES, and Parent Tested, Parent Approved, is both an honor and confirmation that we are headed down the right path as we launch our company,” CEO Ben Stagg said in a press release.

Halo and Halo+ will be available at Lowe’s Home Improvement, Amazon and halosmart-labs.com.

Halo Smart Labs, which is located at 520 Ea-gleton Downs Drive, develops life safety prod-ucts.

Dive N featured in TV reportPINEVILLE – FOX 46 profiled The Dive N last

month as part of a news story about the replace-ment of the South Polk Street Bridge over Little Sugar Creek.

Jenna Caiazzo reported how the restaurant at the intersection of N.C. 51 and U.S. 521 has seen increased traffic with the incoming develop-ment.

“Each year we just see more businesses come in, dealerships being built,” owner Sandy Katopodis told Caiazzo on the newscast.

The restaurant serves American cuisine, such as chicken, barbecue, hotdogs and sandwiches.

Firms form in county Registered agents filed the following cor-

porations in Pineville with the N.C. Secretary of State from January:

• Access Brain Wellness LLC – Amarie Lewinski, 705 Main St.

• Anna Medica LLC – Anna Medica, 13738 Bluffton Court.

• Daniell Aviation Inc. – Christopher Daniell, 319 Meyer Lane.

• Essex 4936 E LLC – Roberto Proczak, 12600 Rock Hill Pineville Road.

• Fruittopia Produce Inc. – Frank Herasme, 11128 Downs Road.

• Performance Plumbing Services Incor-porated – Ronald Jennings, 309 Lynnwood Lane.

• Queen City Liquidations Inc. – Brian Free-man, 413 N. Polk St., suite D.

• Rose Express Enterprise Inc. – Edgar Lo-pez, 534 Amon Lane.

• Sterling Worldwide Limousine LLC – Tameica Stephenson – Ramsey, 14634 Bridle Trace Lane.

• USA Glass Inc. – Alfonso Perez, 13550 Dansville Drive.

• Vinta Whitehall LLC – Milesh Patel, 11925 Southcrest Lane.

• William L. Enslow Jr. DO PLLC – William Enslow, 13522 Honey Tree Lane.

Call (704) 849-2261 or e-mail [email protected]

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Carolina Place Mall to hold ‘Safety Day’ with police, fire

PINEVILLE – Carolina Place Mall will hold a Safety Day on Feb. 27, a Saturday, from noon until 3 p.m. in Center Court. Pineville Police Department will have the Impaired Driving Awareness pedal cart set up for shoppers to drive in Center Court, and handouts will be available on safety information. Pineville Fire Department will be on site and plans to have a fire truck at the food court entrance of the mall. Pineville Communications Systems will have information on Internet safety, as well as games for participants to enjoy. Carolina Pub-lic Safety will give out children’s fingerprinting ID kids.

Call 704-542-4111 for more information.

Armed robbery at Pineville Wells Fargo location Feb. 10

PINEVILLE – Pineville Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division is looking into an armed robbery that took place after busi-ness hours in the Wells Fargo bank parking lot, located at 9420 Pineville-Matthews Road. The robbery took place on Feb. 10 at 9:30 p.m.

A male victim walked up to deposit an undisclosed amount of money into an ATM when an unknown white male, estimated to be in his thirties, approached the victim with a handgun and demanded the money. A sec-ond unknown white male in his fifties was nearby in a dark colored vehicle.

Anyone with any information on the rob-bery is asked to contact the Pineville Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division at 704-889-2231.

Monkey Joe’s celebrates birthdayPINEVILLE – Monkey Joe’s indoor enter-

tainment park hosted a birthday party and customer appreciation celebration on Feb. 15. The event featured free cotton candy, mag-

netic frames and $7 admission all day. “Our customers look forward to celebrat-

ing Monkey Joe’s birthday each year and we enjoy showing our appreciation to our guests during this celebration as well,” said Julie Arko, marketing manager at Monkey Joe’s, in a news release.

Monkey Joe’s is located at 601 N. Polk St.

N.C. voters must register by Feb. 19 to participate in primary

North Carolina voters must register by Feb. 19 to vote in the March 15 primary. Voters can request an absentee ballot for the primary until March 8.

Register to vote by mailing, emailing, or fax-ing a completed voter registration application to the county board of elections. Residents also can register to vote in-person at your lo-cal DMV.

In order to vote, residents must bring a valid photo ID. For a provisional ballot, voters must provide their date of birth and the last for digits of their Social Security number, as well as a document that verifies the residents name and address.

Visit www.voterid.nc.gov or call 866-522-4723 for more information.

Sara’s YMCA to open Feb. 27BALLANTYNE – The latest YMCA of Greater

Charlotte Branch, Sara’s YMCA in Ballantyne Corporate Park, will open earlier than antici-pated with a special celebration on Feb. 27, a Saturday.

“We believe people will come to Sara’s YMCA for health and wellness and we hope that they will also find a sense of community and a spirit of giving back,” said Steve Bowers, Y Community Vice President.

Features of Sara’s Y include: 24,000 square feet, cardio and strength training equipment, Wi-Fi, outdoor rooftop terrace, fitness yard with training equipment, hot yoga studio, group exercise classes, nutrition and well-ness seminars, café and community room.

Sara’s YMCA will serve as a tribute to Sara Harris Bissell, who inspired its community-fo-cused vision. It was made possible by a dona-tion from Smoky and Margaret Bissell.

The new facility is located at 15940 Brix-ham Hill Avenue.

Townhomes approved for Pineville-Matthews Road

CHARLOTTE – Charlotte City Council ap-proved a request Jan. 19 from Copper Build-ers to build 29 townhomes off Pineville-Mat-thews Road.

The project will replace a vacant church on about 4.5 acres between Rea Road and Wind-swept Drive. It would be a continuation of the Triveny townhome development, west of the site.

“This is the expansion of existing town homes into adjacent derelict land,” City Coun-cilman Ed Driggs said. “It will be a great ben-efit to the district.”

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Phone: 704-849-2261 • Fax: 704-849-2504www.thecharlotteweekly.com

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The Pineville Pilot | February 2016 | Page 7www.thecharlotteweekly.com

you remem-ber the blizzard of 2016 – 1 ¼ inches of snow. Schools were shut down. we all stayed home (we’ll find any snow excuse to stay home). Sunday we had to stay home. The aFc playoffs with Denver vs. New england determined who we played in the Super Bowl.

we had out-of-town guests from maine visiting us during the games. we both wanted the Patriots to win. he wanted his “home” team to win the aFc playoff. I wanted them to play the Panthers in the Super Bowl where we would beat them. you know the score. They lost. Denver went to the Super Bowl.

my guests had no interest whether my home team won or lost. Their beloved Pa-triots had lost. while watching the Pan-thers vs. cardinal game, they announced they wanted to watch “Downton abbey.” we would flip back and forth between commercials to see how the plot was doing.

I suggested they go to my mother’s side of the house and watch their show so I could watch the Panthers beat the cardinals. This was a “win-win” situation until my wife called us for dinner. my wife made home-made manicotti. Since there were so many of us, we decided to eat on my mother’s side. There we were at her dining room table. Be-hind my mother was the tV. on her set was “Downton abbey.” I couldn’t win.

I hurriedly ate and said I had to go back on my side of the house to watch the Pan-thers game. when half time was over, the sports announcer made some crude com-ment how the Panthers don’t do well in the second half of a game. he kept talking about how wonderful the cardinals quarterback was and this was going to be his chance to shine. I didn’t hear that much about cam.

while they watched “Downton abbey,” I had the pleasure of watching the Panthers disprove that announcer. In fact, we went so far as to put our backup quarterback into the game for the last few moments of play.

all season long, I sensed that the an-nouncers had a hard time saying something positive about the Panthers. when we were 4-0, they said if we lost that game, then all the other games were just “dumb” luck. If we had aaron rodgers or Peyton manning, they would have talked about us. But, we were the carolina Panthers in charlotte. Is that near charleston, South carolina or was

it charlottesville, Virginia?every day, I live with the same dilemma

of being misunderstood. I work with drug addicts and alcoholics – men and women who society sees as outcast. Some might say they are “drunks.” They’ve never held down a steady job, always caused family problems and cost all of us too much financially as a society.

Just like the Panthers, no one really talks about the residents of the rescue mission in a positive way. In reality, they are very bright, intelligent and funny. Prior to the mission, they are misunderstood. They complete our recovery programs and become fathers and mothers to their children. They are the sons and daughters parents are proud to show off. They learn they are loved. God deeply loves them and wants the very best for them.

I felt the Panthers were misunderstood all season long. I witnessed the sports an-nouncers not giving them credit for being a really good team. It bothered me but I un-derstood. The men and women I serve every day are also misunderstood, except by God.

I’ll be back in two weeks. Until then, live well my friend.

Rev. Tony Marciano is the executive director of the Charlotte Rescue Mission. He is available to speak to your group. Find more information at www.charlotterescuemission.org.

Faith

by tony Marciano

[email protected]

If only the Patriots had won the aFc playoffsCalvary Church honors Senior Pastor John Munro on 10th anniversary

CHARLOTTE – In a special service on Sunday, Feb. 7, the congregation of Calvary Church celebrated Senior Pastor John Munro’s 10th anniversary at the church. The Scottish pastor is the ninth pastor to lead the church since its foundation in 1939.

The Calvary Choir and Orchestra sang “Legacy of Faith,” a song written for the occasion by staff member Chelsea Hathaway. The rendition of “Amazing Grace” included bagpipes and Scottish drums as a tribute to Munro’s heritage. Munro and his wife, Gundy, were presented with gifts and a bouquet on behalf of the church’s leadership board and congregation.

After a brief vacation, Munro will return to the pulpit on Sunday, Feb. 28 for Calvary’s annual Missions Conference. On March 13, he will resume his current message series from the book of Revelation.

Munro was born and raised in Scotland. He graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a law degree and became a criminal prosecutor. When he received the call to full-time ministry, he resigned from his law practice, moved to the United States and attended Dallas Theo-logical Seminary. He has been a pastor for more than 30 years.

Rev. Tony Marciano

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The following incidents were reported between Jan. 11 to Feb. 7 in Pineville, according to the Pineville Police Department.

Property Theft• 12500 block of Sabal Point Drive: Armed rob-

bery. Jan. 12• Nakato Japanese Restaurant, 8500 Pineville-

Matthews Road: Larceny. Jan. 13• Belk, 11009 Carolina Place Pkwy.: Shoplifting.

Jan. 13• Dick’s Sporting Goods, 9600 Pineville-Matthews

Road: Shoplifting; aiding and abetting felony lar-ceny. Jan. 13

• Macy’s, 11001 Carolina Place Pkwy.: Shoplifting. Jan. 13

• 110 block of Reid Lane: Larceny. Jan. 14• Macy’s, 11001 Carolina Place Pkwy.: Shoplifting.

Jan. 15• 12000 block of Sabal Park Drive: Motor vehicle

theft. Jan. 15• Spencer’s Gifts, 11025 Carolina Place Pkwy.

Shoplifting. Jan. 15• 12000 block of Nations Ford Road: Motor vehicle

theft. Jan. 16• JC Penney, 11017 Carolina Place Pkwy.: Shoplift-

ing. Jan. 16• Belk, 11009 Carolina Place Pkwy.: Shoplifting.

Jan. 16• Sprint-Mobile Now, 11025 Carolina Place Pkwy.:

Shoplifting. Jan. 16• Belk, 11009 Carolina Place Pkwy.: Larceny. Jan.

16• South Charlotte Animal Hospital, 304 S. Polk St.:

Larceny from buildings. Jan. 18• 10600 block of Park Road: Felony larceny. Jan.

18• Macy’s, 11001 Carolina Place Pkwy.: Shoplifting.

Jan. 18• Spencer’s Gifts, 11025 Carolina Place Pkwy.:

Shoplifting. Jan. 18• JC Penney, 11017 Carolina Place Pkwy.: Shoplift-

ing. Jan. 18• Belk, 11009 Carolina Place Pkwy.: Shoplifting.;

trespassing. Jan. 18• JC Penney, 11025 Carolina Place Pkwy.: Shoplift-

ing. Jan. 18• Best Buy Mobile, 11025 Carolina Place Pkwy.:

Shoplifting. Jan. 19• 11000 block of Carolina Place Parkway: Shoplift-

ing. Jan. 19• Lowes Home Improvement Store, 10625 McMul-

len Creek Pkwy.: Shoplifting. Jan. 21• Belk, 11009 Carolina Place Pkwy.: Shoplifting.

Jan. 21• Destination XL, 10610 Centrum Pkwy.: Shoplift-

ing. Jan. 21• Sunglass Hut, 11025 Carolina Place Pkwy.: Shop-

lifting; warrant service; ban. Jan. 21• Belk, 11009 Carolina Place Pkwy.: Shoplifting.

Jan. 22• 7-Eleven/Sam’s Mart, 10222 Johnston Road:

Armed robbery. Jan. 23• 12600 block of Sabal Park Drive: Motor vehicle

theft. Jan. 25• 11000 block of Carolina Place Parkway: Shoplift-

ing. Jan. 25• 12900 block of Dorman Road: Larceny. Jan. 25• Spencer’s Gifts, 11025 Carolina Place Pkwy.:

Shoplifting. Jan. 26• Sears, 11033 Carolina Place Pkwy.: Shoplifting.

Jan. 26• Belk, 11009 Carolina Place Pkwy.: Shoplifting.

Jan. 27• Lowe’s, 10625 McMullen Creek Pkwy.: Shoplift-

ing. Jan. 28• Macy’s, 11001 Carolina Place Pkwy.: Shoplifting.

Jan. 29• Sunbelt Rentals, 10627 McMullen Creek Pkwy.:

Larceny. Jan. 30• Macy’s, 11001 Carolina Place Pkwy.: Shoplifting.

Jan. 30

• Hollister, 11025 Carolina Place Pkwy.: Larceny by employee. Jan. 30

• 100 block of Marine Drive: Possession of stolen property. Jan. 30

• Wells Fargo, 9420 Pineville-Matthews Road: Armed robbery. Feb. 1

• Belk, 11009 Carolina Place Pkwy.: Shoplifting. Feb. 2

• Hollister, 11025 Carolina Place Pkwy.: Larceny; obtaining money/property by false pretense; simple physical assault; shoplifting prevention of activation of control device. Feb. 2

• Victoria’s Secret, 11025 Carolina Place Pkwy.: Shoplifting. Feb. 2

• Rugged Warehouse, 8330 Pineville-Matthews Road: Shoplifting. Feb. 3

• 12500 block of Sabal Point Drive: Larceny from buildings. Feb. 3

• 420 block of Main Street: Larceny. Feb. 3• JC Penney, 11017 Carolina Place Pkwy.: Shoplift-

ing. Feb. 3• 10900 block of Park Road: Larceny from build-

ings. Feb. 4• Sprint-Mobile Now, 11025 Carolina Place Pkwy.:

Shoplifting. Feb. 4• Belk, 11009 Carolina Place Pkwy.: Shoplifting;

trespassing. Feb. 5• JC Penney, 11017 Carolina Place Pkwy.: Shoplift-

ing. Feb. 5• REI, 11067 Carolina Place Pkwy.: 11067 Carolina

Place Pkwy.: Shoplifting. Feb. 5• 12700 block of Windy Pines Way: Armed rob-

bery. Feb. 5• Belk, 11009 Carolina Place Pkwy.: Larceny. Feb. 6• Belk, 11009 Carolina Place Pkwy.: Larceny. Feb. 6• Victoria’s Secret, 11025 Carolina Place Pkwy.:

Larceny. Feb. 6• American Diva, 11025 Carolina Place Pkwy.: Lar-

ceny; simple possession of marijuana; warrant ser-vice. Feb. 6

• Macy’s, 11001 Carolina Place Pkwy.: Larceny. Feb. 6

• 11600 block of Stockdale Court: Armed robbery. Feb. 7

• 11020 block of Carolina Place Parkway: Shoplift-ing. Feb. 7

• 10900 block of Park Road: Larceny. Feb. 7

Home/Business Break-ins• 12500 block of Druids Glen Drive: Residential

burglary with forcible entry. Jan. 11• 12600 block of Sabal Park Drive: Residential bur-

glary with non-forcible entry. Jan. 25• 11400 block of Treebark Lane: Residential break-

ing and entering. Feb. 3

Vehicle Break-ins• 10100 block of Johnston Road: Breaking and en-

tering into a vehicle. Jan. 14• Four Points By Sheraton, 9705 Leitner Drive:

Breaking and entering into a vehicle. Jan. 14• 9800 block of Pineville-Matthews Road: Break-

ing and entering into a vehicle. Jan. 15• 12000 block of Nations Ford Road: Breaking and

entering into a vehicle. Jan. 16• 11020 block of Carolina Place Parkway: Breaking

and entering into a vehicle. Jan. 16• 10600 block of McMullen Creak Parkway: Break-

ing and entering into a vehicle, causing damage to personal property. Jan. 17

• 420 block of Towne Centre Boulevard: Breaking and entering into a vehicle. Jan. 21

• 600 block of North Polk Street: Larceny from a motor vehicle. Jan. 21

• 12600 block of Rock Hill Pineville Road: Break-ing and entering into a vehicle, causing damage to personal property. Jan. 25

• 12000 block of Sabal Park Drive: Breaking and entering into a vehicle. Jan. 28

• 10400 block of Osprey Drive: Felony larceny from vehicle. Feb. 2

• 10900 block of Park Road: Larceny from a motor vehicle. Feb. 3

• 8300 block of Pineville-Matthews Road: Break-ing and entering from an vehicle. Feb. 4

• 12700 block of Meadow Creek Lane: Breaking and entering into a vehicle. Feb. 5

Fraud• Four Points by Sheraton, 9705 Leitner Drive: De-

frauding an innkeeper; assault on a female; simple physical assault. Jan. 11

• 300 block of South Polk Street: Obtaining mon-ey/property by false pretense; counterfeit currency. Jan. 11

• Victoria’s Secret, 11025 Carolina Place Pkwy.: Ob-taining money/property by false pretense. Jan. 14

• 11000 block of Carolina Place Parkway: Credit card fraud. Jan. 12

• 11000 block of Carolina Place Parkway: Credit card fraud. Jan. 12

• 10400 block of Centrum Parkway: Credit card fraud. Jan. 12

• 11000 block of Carolina Place Parkway: Credit card fraud. Jan. 12

• 11000 block of Carolina Place Parkway: Credit card fraud. Jan. 12

• 11000 block of Carolina Place Parkway: Credit card fraud. Jan. 12

• 11000 block of Carolina Place Parkway: Credit card fraud. Jan. 12

• 11000 block of Carolina Place Parkway: Credit card fraud. Jan. 12

• 9600 block of Pineville-Matthews Road: Credit card fraud. Jan. 12

• 9100 block of Pineville-Matthews Road: Credit card fraud. Jan. 13

• Victoria’s Secret, 11025 Carolina Place Pkwy.: Fi-nancial transaction card fraud; possession of five or more fraudulent instruments; uttering a forged in-strument; possession of a forged instrument. Jan. 16

• BI-LO, 9101 Pineville-Matthews Road: Counter-feit currency. Jan. 18

• 1600 block of Centrum Parkway: Obtaining money/property by false pretense. Jan. 18

• Belk, 11009 Carolina Place Pkwy.: Credit card fraud. Jan. 19

• 11000 block of Carolina Place Parkway: Credit card fraud. Jan. 19

• 11020 block of Carolina Place Parkway: Credit card fraud. Jan. 19

• 11000 block of Carolina Place Parkway: Credit card fraud. Jan. 19

• Outback Steak House, 8338 Pineville-Matthews Road: Defrauding an innkeeper. Jan. 20

• BJ’s Wholesale Club, 11715 Carolina Place Pkwy.: Credit card fraud. Jan. 22

• 11040 block of Carolina Place Parkway: Obtain-ing money/property by false pretense. Jan. 24

• 10600 block of Centrum Parkway: Credit card fraud. Jan. 26

• 11000 block of Carolina Place Parkway: Credit card fraud. Jan. 26

• 300 block of South Polk Street: Credit card fraud. Jan. 26

• Forever 21, 11025 Carolina Place Pkwy.: Credit card fraud. Jan. 28

• Victoria’s Secret, 11025 Carolina Place Pkwy.: Credit card fraud. Jan. 28

• T.J. Maxx, 10404 Centrum Pkwy.: Credit card fraud. Jan. 28

• 11300 block of Carolina Place Parkway: Credit card fraud. Jan. 28

• 11000 block of Carolina Place Parkway: Credit card fraud. Jan. 29

• 11000 block of Carolina Place Parkway: Obtain-ing money/property by a false pretense. Jan. 29

• 11300 block of Carolina Place Parkway: Obtain-ing money/property by false pretense. Jan. 29

• The Buckle, 11025 Carolina Place Pkwy.: Obtain-ing money/property by false pretense. Feb. 1

• Victoria’s Secret, 11025 Carolina Place Pkwy.: Credit card fraud. Feb. 2

• Forever 21, 11025 Carolina Place Pkwy.: Credit card fraud. Feb. 2

• Foot Locker, 11025 Carolina Place Pkwy.: Obtain-ing money/property by false pretense. Feb. 3

• Champs, 11025 Carolina Place Pkwy.: Obtaining money/property by false pretense. Feb. 3

• Chick-fil-A, 11025 Carolina Place Pkwy.: Obtain-ing money/property by false pretense. Feb. 3

• 11000 block of Carolina Place Parkway: Obtain-ing money/property by false pretense. Feb. 3

• 100 block of Dover Street: Blackmail/extortion. Feb. 4

• 10400 block of Centrum Parkway: Obtaining money/property by false pretense. Feb. 4

• 8700 block of Pineville-Matthews Road: De-frauding an innkeeper. Feb. 6

• 200 block of Eden Circle: Obtaining money/

property by false pretense. Feb. 6

Property Damage• 12600 block of Sabal Park Drive: Damage to per-

sonal property. Jan. 12• 9100 block of Willow Ridge Road: Hit and run.

Jan. 12• Quality Suites Hotel, 9840 Pineville-Matthews

Road: Damage to personal property. Jan. 12• 10300 block of Osprey Drive: Damage to per-

sonal property; unlawful restraint; interfering with emergency communications; trespassing; larceny. Jan. 12

• Cone Mill, 400 Cone Ave.: Damage to real prop-erty. Jan. 14

• Taipei South, 10106 Johnston Road: Damage to personal property. Jan. 14

• 11020 block of Carolina Place Parkway: Hit and run. Jan. 16

• 10200 block of Centrum Parkway: Damage to personal property. Jan. 17

• 9800 block of Pineville-Matthews Road: Dam-age to real property. Jan. 26

• 10400 block of Centrum Parkway: Damage to property. Feb. 1

• I-485 Inner Loop Near Exit 64A: Damage to per-sonal property. Feb. 5

• 10300 block of Willow Run Road: Damage to personal property. Feb. 7

Drugs and Alcohol• 12000 block of Stratfield Place Circle: Simple

possession of marijuana; possession of marijuana paraphernalia. Jan. 11

• N.C. 51 at Park Road: Possession of drug para-phernalia. Jan. 12

• Lowes, 10625 McMullen Creek Pkwy.: Posses-sion of drug paraphernalia; drug violations. Jan. 16

• N.C. 51 at McMullen Creek Parkway: Drug viola-tions. Jan. 17

• 230 block of Vista Grande Circle: Possession of drug paraphernalia. Jan. 17

• McDonald’s, 8824 Pineville-Matthews Road: Possession of marijuana. Jan. 19

• 400 block of James Street: Possession of co-caine; possession of Tramadol; simple possession of marijuana; possession of stolen property; posses-sion of drug paraphernalia; possession of marijuana paraphernalia. Jan. 20

• Water Oak Drive, no address listed: Possession of drug paraphernalia. Jan. 21

• 9900 block of Pineville-Matthews Road: Posses-sion of marijuana. Jan. 25

• 100 block of Cranford Drive: Possession of drug paraphernalia; drug violations. Jan. 25

• 400 block of Main Street: Drug violations. Jan. 27• Johnston Road, no address listed: Possession of

marijuana with intent to sell and distribute; posses-sion marijuana; possession of drug paraphernalia. Jan. 27

• 10600 block of Park Road: Possession of sched-ule I controlled substance; possession of schedule IV controlled substance; possession of drug para-phernalia. Jan. 28

• 11200 block of Carolina Place Parkway: Posses-sion of schedule II controlled substance; possession of schedule VI controlled substance; open contain-er; possession of drug paraphernalia. Jan. 30

• Sammy’s Bar, 12740 Lancaster Hwy.: Possession of schedule II controlled substance. Jan. 30

• Miller Lane at N.C. 51: Possession of drug para-phernalia; simple possession of marijuana. Jan. 31

• 8400 block of Habersham Point Circle: Simple possession of marijuana; possession of marijuana paraphernalia. Jan. 31

• 9500 block of South Boulevard: Possession of cocaine with the intent to sell and distribute. Feb. 4

• 10600 block of Park Road: Drug violations; pos-session of drug paraphernalia. Feb. 5

• Park Road at Willowhurst Court: Simple posses-sion of marijuana; resisting, obstructing and delay-ing an arrest. Feb. 5

• Lancaster Highway at Danby Road: Possession of cocaine with intent to sell and distribute; posses-sion of marijuana with intent to sell and distribute. Feb. 6

• 8900 block of Pineville-Matthews Road: Pos-session of drug paraphernalia; resisting, obstructing and delaying arrest. Feb. 7

The Weekly

Crime Blotter

Page 9: The Pineville Pilot

The Pineville Pilot | February 2016 | Page 9www.thecharlotteweekly.com

most of what the public hears about the charlotte-mecklenburg Schools Board of edu-cation (Boe) these days revolves on the renova-tion of the student assignment guidelines.

however, the Boe has more on its plate than the assignment plan, including a super-intendent search and budget preparations, leaving some Boe members wondering if the board is taking on too much, while oth-ers say they’ll need to make multiple deci-sions concurrently.

Parents say ‘no busing’Parents were clear at the Feb. 9 Boe

meeting about what they don’t want to come from the student assignment plan: busing.

Parents worried their child will be bused miles away from their home school – a ba-sis for many families’ housing decisions – as well as fear their child will be used to boost the average of a failing school.

“Busing is a tool of getting kids to school. we bus as many miles today as they did with a court order years ago,” said roslyn mickelson, UNc charlotte professor and researcher.

The guidelines would affect student assign-

ments for the 2017-18 school year. Boe mem-ber tom tate said the board wasn’t sure exactly what the plan would look like at its completion, but wanted to nail down four goals, which in-clude reducing high concentrations of poverty, alleviating overcrowding, proving more options and preserving successful schools. The Boe held a public hearing regarding those goals at its Feb. 9 meeting.

Parents called for an additional goal to set neighborhood schools as a priority, while others urged for greater measures to help high-need students.

tate told community members last month the board enforced a deadline of may 24 to determine if they plan to make changes, or postpone the renovation until the 2018-19 school year.

tate said the board isn’t sure what they’re doing, but hope a consultant will provide suggestions of actions to fulfill the goals. The board will vote on its goals on Feb. 23, with the hope they can give those goals to a consultant, who will help work out a plan.

New superintendent coming next year

after months of minimal action by the Boe, members finally agreed in a 6 to 3 vote to extend Superintendent ann clark’s

Education

by Courtney Schultz

[email protected]

Bumpy road ahead for school districtCMS faces multiple big decisions in coming year

contract one year to give the board time to establish the student reassignment plan and carefully select a superintendent for the dis-trict. The board also voted they would estab-lish and vote on a specific timeline for the search at its Feb. 23 meeting.

many principals and community members urged the Boe to retain clark as a long-term superintendent, but clark clarified that since January 2015, she has had no interest in tak-ing over the superintendent seat. clark said she would stay in the position until the Boe finds a new candidate, but did not want to be considered in the search.

The superintendent search was a stark top-ic at the Boe’s retreat last month, in which the board remained divided as to how they plan to move forward with the search.

Some members believed the board could work on the superintendent search and stu-dent assignment simultaneously, while oth-ers believed the board should work on the student assignment first and then find a new superintendent.

Boe chairperson mary mccray said the board was “racially” divided regarding the search and potentially student reassignment. Black Boe members mccray, ericka ellis-Stewart, ruby Jones and Thelma Byers-Bai-ley urged for a superintendent to be selected by october, while the five white members tate, Paul Bailey, elyse Dashew, eric Davis and rhonda lennon all urged for a year-long search to hire someone next summer.

Bailey was outraged by the race accusa-tion, stating he had a tight bond with his black son-in-law.

“we need to get over this folks,” Bailey said. “It’s 200 years ago. Get over it. we

made mistakes, but this decision will be based on the belief of the right thing to do with the school system. I am not going to buy into anything that tried to take any-thing that divides the board on race.”

The board plans to establish a specific timeline for the search at its next meeting.

“There was skepticism out there that we aren’t going to do a search,” Davis said. “This timeline shows we will.”

The show must go onDespite any animosity around student

assignment guidelines and the superinten-dent’s fate, the board is legally required to create a budget to present to county com-missioners.

commissioners and Boe members haven’t agreed on the funding for cmS, and commissioners said last month they hope to build a greater bridge between the boards.

cFo Shelia Shirley said at the Jan. 26 Boe meeting the district’s operating bud-get, including increased student population and healthcare costs, has increased 12.7 percent since 2009, but the largest percent increase is from the federal government – cmS’s least flexible source of funding.

cmS is ranked last in the state’s per pupil ex-penditures and eighth in the percent of county expenditures, despite mecklenburg county ranking the highest in property tax collection.

Boe members hope to come to an agree-ment with county commissioners on greater allocations for schools.

The board also plans to look at its capital needs and potentially look into established a bond to accommodate those needs that haven’t been met by current allocations.

Call (704) 849-2261 or e-mail [email protected]

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ISSUE DATES:• February 19• March 4 & 18• April 8 & 22

Page 10: The Pineville Pilot

Page 10 | February 2016 | The Pineville Pilot www.thecharlotteweekly.com

February

18 Latin ConcertSharey El Showman sings Latin

dance music in a special performance. He’s been a featured performer at Charlotte ven-ues, such as Punta Cana and Margarona Mexican Bar and Grill. Preview his perfor-mances by visiting www.facebook.com/ShareyElShowman.

9 p.m.; Mama’s Coffee House, 716 Main St.

18 ‘Shaping the Tar Heel Sound’ Part 1

Historian Michael Scoggins talks about African-American folk music during the first installment of the three-day lecture series, “Shaping the Tar Heel Sound.” Scoggins will focus on the era between the late 18th cen-tury and early 20th century. The President James K. Polk North Carolina State Historic Site is partnering with the Charlotte Mecklen-burg Library to present this event. Go to www.jameskpolk.net or calling 704-889-7145.

6:30 to 7:45 p.m.; South County Regional Li-brary, 5801 Rea Road, Charlotte

19 ‘Shaping the Tar Heel Sound’ Part 2

Bill Lawing, a music professor at Davidson College talks about how African Americans helped shape the Appalachian North Caroli-na’s folk music during the second installment of the three-day lecture series, “Shaping the Tar Heel Sound.” The President James K. Polk North Carolina State Historic Site is partner-ing with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library to present this event. Go to www.jameskpolk.net or call 704-889-7145 for details.

3:30 to 4:45 p.m.; South County Regional Li-brary, 5801 Rea Road, Charlotte

19 5 on 5 Teen BasketballPineville Parks and Recreation of-

fers youth, 13 to 18 years old, an opportunity to play full-court basketball. Registration is free for residents with an ID card and $5 for others. Drinks and snacks will be provided. Participants must be driven home. Call 704-889-2400 for more information.

6 to 10 p.m.; Belle Johnston Community Cen-ter, 1000 Johnston Drive

20 PCAA Registration Children 4 to 15 years old can reg-

ister for baseball, softball and T-ball with the Pineville Community Athletic Association. Sign up at Dicks on Feb 20 or go to www.pcaasports.org.

Noon to 4 p.m.; Dicks Sporting Goods, 9600 Pineville-Matthews Road

20 ‘Shaping the Tar Heel Sound’ Part 3

Bill Stevens, with the N.C. Humanities Council, discusses how African Americans shaped popular music in the final installment of the three-day lecture series, “Shaping the Tar Heel Sound.” Stevens will explore jazz, blues, ragtime, gospel and blackface min-strelsy. The President James K. Polk North

Carolina State Historic Site is partnering with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library to pres-ent this event. Go to www.jameskpolk.net or call 704-889-7145 for details.

1-2:30 p.m.; West Boulevard Library, 2157 West Blvd., Charlotte

23 Lake Park Project The community can provide input

on the Lake Park project, which will include a dog park, splash pad and a connection to the Mecklenburg County greenway system.

6:30 p.m.; The Hut, 413 Johnston Drive

26 Youth Soccer LeagueChildren, 3 to 7 years old, have until

Feb. 26 to register for the co-ed Youth Soc-cer League at www.PinevilleNC.gov, Belle Johnston Community Center or [email protected]. Registration costs $50 for Pineville residents and $75 for others. Each player gets a jersey, shorts, socks and trophy. Volunteers are needed to coach teams. Call 704-889-2400 for details.

Belle Johnston Community Center, 1000 Johnston Drive

27 Safety DayThe Pineville police and fire de-

partments are pitching in to promote safety. Go through a drunk driving simulation, touch a fire truck or get a fingerprint ID kit for your children. Pineville Communications will also provide information about staying safe on-line.

Noon to 3 p.m.; Carolina Place Mall, 11025 Carolina Place Pkwy.

27 Independence Celebration

The coffeehouse hosts a family-friendly celebration marking the Dominican Repub-lic’s independence. The free cultural event includes food and music.

4:30 p.m; Mama’s Coffee House, 716 Main St.

28 Pineville PageantMales and females, 1 to 18 years

old, are eligible to apply for the Pineville Pag-eant, which benefits Dancers Against Cancer. Call Michelle Rogers at 704-507-7563 for de-tails.

Belle Johnston Community Center, 1000 Johnston Drive

29 Skating SchoolThe Pineville Ice House has

opened registration for the early spring se-mester of Skating School, which starts Feb. 29. Individuals 3 years old to adult can take beginners classes, as well as courses specif-ic to hockey, bridge and power performance. Call 704-889-9000 or go to www.pinevilleice.com for pricing.

Pineville Ice House, 400 Towne Centre Blvd.

March

1 Downtown Merchants Association

The merchants with businesses downtown convene to talk about ways to enhance busi-ness. They invite the public to learn what’s happening downtown.

5 to 6 p.m.; Two On Earth Bakery & Cafe, 333 Main St.

The Weekly

Calendar

Page 11: The Pineville Pilot

The Pineville Pilot | February 2016 | Page 11www.thecharlotteweekly.com

Charlotte Catholic girls take third at stateThe Lady Cougars’ string of swimming and diving state

championships ends after claiming 14 consecutive titles. While it’s disappointing for the Cougars, they still have much to be proud of with a third place finish, falling short to Hough (by 211.5 points) and Green Hope (by 45.5 points).

Sophomore Julia Menkhaus won the 100-yard butterfly, completing it in 54.12 seconds. Menkhaus also claimed first place in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 53.84 sec-onds.

Most of Catholic’s team, including the majority of its key contributors will return next season. Coach Tim Berens will have plenty of talent to work with as the Cougars begin the journey back to the Promised Land.

South Meck swimming takes state titleThe Sabres’ boys’ swimming and diving team brought home

its second straight state championship Thursday, Feb. 11.South Meck blew by its competition, defeating runner-up,

Hough, 378-242. Senior Nathan Murray, sophomore Jacob Rauch, senior Gra-

ham Cooper and senior Graham Weaver teamed to win the 200-yard medley relay, finishing it in one minute and 32.58 seconds.

Weaver won the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 20.76 sec-onds.

Murray was victorious in the 500-yard freestyle, finishing it in 4:30.38.

Senior Noah Cahan, Rauch, junior Luke Johnson and Weaver took the 200-yard freestyle relay in 1:24.89.

South Meck will lose Cahan, Cooper, Murray and Weaver, but coach Leslie Berens returns several proven and talented swimmers back to the fold. The Sabres will be back next year to defend their crown.

Cougar basketball set for postseasonRobert Conrad has Charlotte Catholic’s girls’ basketball

team playing at a high level. The Cougars have won three out

of their last four games, and are on pace for at least a share of third place in the So. Meck 8.

Catholic (15-8, 9-4 So. Meck 8) is playing for playoff seeding with the hope of drawing a home game in the first round. A win over Providence in the regular season finale combined with a strong showing in the conference tournament would help its cause significantly.

The Cougars are led by senior forward Carrie Eberle, a Vir-ginia Tech softball commit, who has shown her athletic prow-ess and talent extends outside the diamond.

She is averaging nearly a double-double night-in and night-out with 11.3 ppg and 9.6 rpg. However, Catholic needs more from it supporting cast if it hopes to make a deep run in the postseason.

Sabre girls basketball team eyeing playoffsRecords can be deceiving, but South Meck’s girls’ basket-

ball team (14-7, 9-4 So. Meck 8) is more than capable of im-proving on last season’s 15-9 (10-4 So. Meck 8) finish and first round state playoff appearance.

The Sabres have faced a daunting schedule and the gaunt-let of a difficult non-conference slate that features the likes of Ardrey Kell, Berry and Charlotte Catholic. South Meck should be more than prepared for the challenge of the playoffs, which will make it a tough draw in the first round or two.

Sophomore forward A’Lea Gilbert (15.9 ppg and 9.9 rpg), se-nior guard Ali Fitch (11.6 ppg), senior guard Aja Stevens (10.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg and 7.3 apg) and senior guard Courtney Anderson (9.2 ppg) can match up with anybody, and make South Meck a formidable ballclub.

charlotte catholic’s 9-16 finish in 2014 seems like a century ago, because the cougars (22-1, 12-1 So. meck 8) are one of the area’s top teams and have secured the So. meck 8 regular season title.

But this team learned from its past. They had to learn how to persevere through adversity, loss-es and the frustration that comes with multiple setbacks. It was a struggle, but they clawed their way to five wins in the last seven games of that season.

catholic still finished with a losing a record, but it matured as a team and showed promise for the future. That carried over into last season, where they went 18-8 (8-6 So. meck 8) before falling to North meck, 83-61, in the first round of the state playoffs.

But it gave them a small taste of success. com-bine that with the pain of losing, and those are the ingredients a team needs to come back stron-ger in its pursuit of reaching the pinnacle of its game.

what’s made the greatest difference is catholic returned nine veterans who have competed at the varsity level, and have been in coach mike king’s system for at least two – and three for some – years now.

his system has become a culture for the cou-gar program. It’s become a part of the DNa of his players.

king, who was born in charlotte, grew up in Blowing rock. he returned to charlotte to at-tend Queens University after he graduated from watauga high School. It didn’t take long for him to get into coaching once he finished college.

king always dreamed to be a high school bas-

ketball coach, so he jumped at the opportunity to join catholic’s coaching staff as an assistant 13 years ago, and gladly took the reins as head coach eight years ago. his fingerprints are all over the program he has poured himself into for nearly a decade and a half.

he’s intense, and demands much from his players. king admits he’s not easy on the guys, and can be rough at times, but they’ve bought into his team-first philosophy, and it has paid off.

This is the best team catholic has put on the court since the 2012 cougars, who finished 22-7 and made it to the third round of the state play-offs.

“when you go 22-1 to start the season that says a lot about the character of the kids, the drive,” king said. “That’s one of the things you can’t re-ally measure, the drive they have to be good. It’s not just one of them. It’s all the way through, all 15 guys, all the coaches. when it comes together it’s really neat and fun and exciting. It’s good to see these guys be rewarded, to have a good time with it.”

It’s more than just character, though. It’s sacri-fice. This is a deep and talented team with several players who are more than capable of going off for 20 points on a nightly basis, but they have laid aside their own individual dreams and goals for the betterment of the team.

For example, in catholic’s second win over South meck, the cougars’ leading scorers, senior point guard Josh Brodowicz and freshman center B.J. mack only had seven points between them, while four other players each had 13 points apiece.

“They’re willing to sacrifice for my vision for what a basketball team should do,” king said. “I’m not the only coach in charlotte or the state or the country that preaches team basketball and

sacrifice for one another, and they have to believe that. They have to trust myself, the other coaches, their teammates and they are.

“honestly, that says more about them than it does about what we’re telling them to do. every-body preaches, ‘help your guy on defense and hit the open man,’ but some kids don’t buy into that. ours have. That’s what’s made it really special.”

catholic’s first and only blemish of the season, a 60-58 loss to ardrey kell at home, came on Se-nior Night Feb. 9. But it won’t ruin the cougars or cause them to roll over and give up. They've been through worse, and overcome larger ob-stacles to get to where they are now.

Senior swingman owen winters said the loss

to the knights, along with their 22 wins, is be-hind them and they have their sights set on the conference tournament and playoffs.

“The postseason is always a clean slate,” win-ters said.

while the ardrey kell loss might have been a heavy blow many teams couldn’t overcome, catholic might be galvanized by it.

“as crazy as it sounds, after the game all the guys came together, and we realized it’s not going to be easy and that we can do something special this season,” Brodowicz said.

“It was the first time we realized it’s not going to be easy and that it’s going to be hard in every-thing we do and we have to work harder than we have in practice and we got to push ourselves to our max potential.”

These guys aren’t used to having it easy. Just go back to 2014, last season’s playoff loss, the daily decision to sacrifice self for the team and live up to king’s demands.

The loss doesn’t take away from what this team has accomplished. It will likely refocus it in its commitment and pursuit of success as a team.

after the game, king received text messages from former players, folks in the area and coach-es who have seen catholic play this season. The texts rattled off the characteristics of the cougars – “Fierce, battle to the end and resilient.”

“everybody throws those words around a lot, but there’s a lot of people who have just waited for us to falter and we’ve made them wait a long time,” king said. “we lost that one game, now what’s going to happen? I think our guys are go-ing to come back. They’re just very resilient, very tough, determined group of guys.”

The fight isn’t over. catholic just took a jab to the mouth, and it stung. But the cougars coun-terpunch might be stronger. It might carry them to the top.

Sports

by Ben doster

[email protected]

charlotte catholic boys secure league title, ready for more

The Weekly

Sports Shorts

Page 12: The Pineville Pilot

Page 12 | February 2016 | The Pineville Pilot www.thecharlotteweekly.com

National Signing Day is always a spe-cial day for student athletes, their families, coaches and schools all over the country, be-cause it puts them one step closer to making

their dreams come true.Student athletes from south charlotte

signed a national letter of intent, finalizing their commitment to further their careers with their respective colleges Feb. 3.

ardrey kell athletes who signed will be featured on www.thecharlotteweekly.com.

by Ben doster

[email protected]

local athletes celebrate Signing DaySports

JD Dellinger, graham Mcintosh, Ali gakenheimer and Julia Loesch,

Charlotte Country Day

Tommy Halkyard and Brady Whitmore, Charlotte Latin

eric Cal, Providence Day

(Front) Austin Kent, Jordan Fehr, Tyler Pistorio, Dru Seabrook, Jack King, (Back) elisa Hicks, Lauren ellis, Kayce Ransone and Jennifer Simmons, Providence

elijah Deveaux, Davis Waldrop, John Turley, Caroline Lubinsky, Ryan gilmartin, grant Ar-mistead, Alex Parker and Jeremiah White, Charlotte Christian

Annalise Heyward, Ardrey Kell

Bryce Maginley, Ardrey Kell Christian Van Horm, Ardrey Kell Henry Ryan and Austin Parsley, Ardrey KellJulian okwara, Ardrey Kell

Haley Pratt, Ardrey Kell

Kristen Nixon, Ardrey Kell

Taleni Suhren, Ardrey Kell