WAYBACK WEDNESDAY- A look at news Nov. 11-17, 2018

ASHEVILLE – Most of the cowbells had had been quiet in the stands throughout the night at R.L. Dalton Stadium. That’s pretty common considering Reynolds rarely needs the extra encouragement from a 12th man in the stands.

The noise swelled on Friday, late in the fourth quarter as the Rockets held a lead slim lead in the opening round of the Class 3AA playoffs.

CONCORD – It was the quintessential football matchup, and in the playoffs, no less: one of the state’s all-time greatest offensive weapons vs. one of the top defensive units in North Carolina 3A football this season.

In the end, the offensive juggernaut won out, as senior quarterback Sam Howell led his 10th-seeded Sun Valley Spartans to a 30-14 victory over seventh-seeded host Cox Mill Friday in the first round of the Class 3AA state playoffs, ending what had been of the best seasons in years for the Chargers.

CONCORD – Northwest Cabarrus football coach Brandon Gentry didn’t want his Trojans to allow their perfect season and conference title to go to their collective heads. He didn’t want them to overlook their opponent, North Buncombe, in the first round of the Class 3A state playoffs.

But Gentry didn’t have much to worry about Friday night, as Northwest Cabarrus ran away from the Black Hawks, figuratively and literally, during its 56-21 victory at Trojan Stadium.

CONCORD – The Jay M. Robinson football team fell just short of a fourth-quarter comeback, thanks to a shoestring tackle and a goal-line stand by Waynesville Tuscola, as the Bulldogs lost, 14-7, in the first round of the Class 3A state playoffs.

With fewer than two minutes to go, Jay M. Robinson quarterback Bryson Furr heaved the ball down the sideline that fell perfectly into the hands of wide receiver Chris Caldwell for 52 yards. There was nothing but green grass between Caldwell and the end zone, but Tuscola cornerback Ephraim Tice dove, fully extended, and managed to barely trip Caldwell up by the slightest of margins.

MOUNT PLEASANT – Belmont South Point scored two third-quarter touchdowns to pull away from the Mount Pleasant football team, then played a game of keep-away in the fourth quarter to defeat the Tigers, 28-7, in the first round of the Class 2AA state playoffs Friday night.

Mount Pleasant, the Rocky River 2A Conference champion, was seeded seventh in the West Region, while South Point was 10th.

A car drove into Joe’s Sports Bar & Grill in Concord Friday afternoon.

WBTV reported that emergency crews responded around 3 p.m. when a Chrysler 300 crashed into the front of the building, which is located on the 200 block of Exchange Street NW in Afton Village.

As he prepares to auction off 400 precious pieces from his classic television memorabilia collection gathered over 30 years, don’t feel too sad for James Comisar. The Los Angeles super-collector still possesses thousands of TV trinkets in his climate-controlled storage facility.

The auction is scheduled live for December 1 and is currently taking online bidding through the Prop Store (see www.propstoreauction.com).

Editor’s note: This is the third of a series.

One in five Americans works in or attends a K-12 school. If these schools were to adopt some existing but underused technology, we could see big reductions in the number of children and teachers needing expensive healthcare, and reduce the absenteeism rate in schools dramatically.

This is the first of a two parts.

I have always considered myself as a hunter.  My passion in my younger days consisted of a shotgun and a sky full of dove.  I was a decent shot; however, my dad was a fantastic shot.  I had seen him take a limit of birds with only one box of shells.  Add in the fact my grandfather hunted big game around the world and you can see I could easily be intimidated by my family’s hunting prowess.  In October of 2005 my grandfather, Papa as he was called, left this world to be in a better place.  My dad had never been fortunate enough to go on a big game hunt with Papa, so that Christmas we decided we would a special hunt in part remembrance and honor of Papa, and in part to do something together that Papa and Dad never had.

CONCORD – The N.C. Department of Transportation is holding a public meeting to gather input on a proposed project to improve traffic in a busy part of Concord.

A project is under development to realign Union Cemetery Road to cross U.S. 29 at Rock Hill Church Road. Improvements are also being proposed for a section of U.S. 29, along with a connector road between the existing and realigned Union Cemetery Road.

Grave Undertaking

By Mark de Castrique

TOPS 437 weekly best losers were Joyce Freeze (2), Libby Wilhelm (2), and Louise Clawson.  October best loser was Joyce Freeze. 

TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) 437 meets Tuesday Morning at 10 a.m. at Lakeview Baptist Church, 2532 Lane St., Kannapolis.  Weigh-in begins at 9:30 a.m. Visitors are welcome.

Last year, 108 million shoppers spent almost $13 billion on Small Business Saturday, according to the Small Business Administration. More than half of all sales in the U.S happen inside small businesses such as restaurants, boutiques, salons and shop.

That’s why Kinetic Business by Windstream is proud to support the most dynamic sector of the cities we live in, small businesses.

Editor's Note: This is the second in a series featuring local high school bands and their accomplishments during the fall competition season. We asked band directors to describe their show and season and for a listing of their awards and leaders.

Cox Mill High School Marching Band

CONCORD MILLS –  A “Hot Doughnuts Now” sign could soon be displayed on Concord Mills Boulevard.

Krispy Kreme could finally be coming to Cabarrus County after decades of rumors which only disappointed doughnut lovers in the area.

CONCORD— Tacos 4 Life, an Arkansas-grown taco restaurant with a mission to help end world hunger, will host its first MobilePack in Charlotte alongside charitable partner, Feed My Starving Children, this week at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord.

The event will run Friday, Nov. 16, through Sunday, Nov. 18.

A Rowan County student was arrested after found with a gun at school.

On Wednesday, Nov. 14, at about lunchtime, staff from Nazareth Children’s Home contacted Sgt. Scott Flowers of the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office with a concern that one of their students may possess a firearm at East Rowan High School. The information had come to the Nazareth staff from Wilkes County, and once contacted they immediately notified Flowers and East Rowan.

Late Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 14, the Kannapolis Fire Department was called to the scene of a house fire on Patterson Road in eastern Kannapolis.

Kannapolis firefighters, along with their mutual aid partners from Mt Mitchell, Cold Water and Concord fire departments, arrived to find smoke coming from the attic of the single story home.

A Spanish teacher at Woodlawn School in Mooresville who went missing while on a trip to Mexico two weeks ago was killed there, according to information his family posted Thursday on Facebook.

The Facebook post said officials continue to look for the body of Patrick Braxton-Andrew, 34, and his killers.

When Charlotte Motor Speedway opens its doors for the eighth annual Speedway Christmas presented by Disconnect and Drive this weekend, fans will be treated to the biggest and brightest holiday lights spectacle yet at the iconic speedway.

The twinkling track and the drive-thru runs nightly from Sunday, Nov. 18 through Dec. 31, but is closed Christmas Day.

KANNAPOLIS – Four years ago, the Cabarrus Health Alliance (CHA) was awarded the Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) grant funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Through the use of policy, systems and environmental approaches, the Cabarrus REACH project worked to reduce health disparities among African American and Hispanic populations.

Cabarrus Health Alliance was one of 49 REACH recipients nationwide, and the only awardee in North Carolina.

KANNAPOLIS – The City of Kannapolis has provided a proposed inter-local agreement to Rowan County which would result in the annexation of property and extension of Kannapolis utilities to the Old Beatty Ford Road interchange on I-85.

Louisiana-based Commercial Properties Realty Trust has approached Rowan County and City of Kannapolis officials regarding a large mixed-use development (medical, office, commercial and residential) which would be located on 318 acres of property at the Old Beatty Ford Road interchange on I-85.

A pedestrian was struck by a train and killed in Kannapolis on Wednesday.

City officials said shortly before 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 14 . a pedestrian was struck by a train near Ridge Avenue and D Street in Kannapolis.

Editor's Note: This is the first in a series featuring local high school bands and their accomplishments during the fall competition season. We asked band directors to describe their show and season and for a listing of their awards and leaders.

Central Cabarrus High School Marching Band

Officials believe a fireplace may have caused a structure fire on North Main Street in Kannapolis Tuesday night.

According to the Kannapolis Fire Department, firefighters receive a call about a possible structure fire in the 600 block of North Main Street at about 9:25 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 13.

Running back Jalin Moore will have the opportunity to represent Appalachian State one more time on the football field. Moore accepted an invitation to participate in the Reese's Senior Bowl — the first player to accept an invitation for 2019's event.

"The way Jalin Moore is attacking the rehab process in order to come back and play in the Senior Bowl needs to be commended, which is why he is our first official accepted invite," Jim Nagy, executive director of the Reese's Senior Bowl, said in a release on App State's athletics website.

CONCORD – A man has been charged with murder in the shooting death of man at a Union Cemetery Road party in August.

Tremaine Arnez Jackson, 28, was arrested and charged Wednesday, Nov. 14, shooting Willie Clarence Peck III, 31, of Salisbury and two other people. Peck was taken to the hospital where he died. Two other people were severely wounded, according to Concord Police.

Two women from Georgia are being held under $1 million bonds in Iredell County because troopers allegedly found more than 11 pounds of crystal meth in their car after their car crashed, officials said.

The crash happened on Interstate 77 North near mile marker 47, south of Statesville, on Nov. 5, the N.C. Highway Patrol said.

Authorities say a Lake Norman High School student wanted to get out of class early on Friday, so he told his mom in a text message that he was scared because another student had a weapon at school.

There was no weapon, and the 16-year-old student ended up being arrested because of the text.

Editor’s note: This is one of a series of columns profiling the many churches and communities of faith in Cabarrus County.

The first Christian congregation in Cabarrus County we now call St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church between Concord and Mt. Pleasant. Many Lutheran congregations in our region claim St. John’s as their mother church.

ORLANDO, Fla. — The expo had finally begun, and now hundreds of school administrators streamed into a sprawling, chandeliered ballroom where entrepreneurs awaited, each eager to explain why their product, above all others, was the one worth buying.

Waiters in white button-downs poured glasses of chardonnay and served meatballs wrapped with bacon. In one corner, guests posed with colorful boas and silly hats at a photo booth as a band played Jimmy Buffett covers to the rhythm of a steel drum. For a moment, the festive summer scene, in a hotel 10 miles from Walt Disney World, masked what had brought them all there.

KANNAPOLIS – Nineteen people have completed the Resident Session of Kannapolis 101. Kannapolis 101 is held once a year and focuses on educating residents about the city and its services.

For eight weeks, participants visit each of the city departments such as police, fire, planning, public works, etc. and are to see firsthand how each department meets the needs of residents. The class completes many hands-on exercises to give them an appreciation for the various jobs and functions of city employees.

The confused person on the radio was not someone typically associated with dodgy reports of extraterrestrial interaction. There were no claims that large-eyed green men crossed the cosmos to turn livestock inside out or too-detailed, breathless tales about cold metal tables and undignified alien probes.

The flummoxed person on the radio was simply an airline pilot who could not explain what she saw in the sky over Ireland.

CONCORD- Brian Center Health & Retirement in Concord celebrated its veterans with a pizza party on Veterans Day.

Over 30 guests including family members attended to help honor the center’s six veterans who each received a pin and certificate in recognition of their service.

MT. PLEASANT – On Sunday, Nov. 11 at 11 a.m., the Eastern Cabarrus Historical Society (ECHS) joined Americans across the country in tolling bells to recognize the 100th anniversary of the World War I Armistice. That day is now recognized every year as Veterans Day.

During the brief ceremony in front of the historical society’s museum, the Mt. Pleasant High School JROTC presented the colors and led the Pledge of Allegiance.

KANNAPOLIS — Rowan-Cabarrus Community College recently purchased land to expand its South Campus location in Kannapolis.

For several years, the college has been pursuing additional property to add to the acreage at South Campus, which is located at exit 55 off I-85. Dr. Carol S. Spalding, president of Rowan-Cabarrus, worked with Cabarrus County Manager Mike Downs to negotiate the purchase of three pieces of property, two of which are owned by the college, totaling 25.31 acres, located near the college’s South Campus on Trinity Church Road.

GREENSBORO — A Kernersville man faces charges after federal agents said he used a fake U.S. Marshals badge, identification cards and credentials that were of "such remarkable quality" that it would take more than a "cursory inspection" to deem them as forgeries. 

Michael Robert Kwasniewski, of Kernersville, faces charges of impersonating an officer or employee of the U.S., court documents state. 

The Consulate General of France in Atlanta has announced that six North Carolina veterans who fought in France during WWII will be decorated with the Legion of Honor, the country’s highest merit, and one of them is from Kannapolis.

The Legion of Honor is bestowed on French citizens as well as foreign nationals who have served France or the ideals it upholds, including individuals who have contributed to the country professionally, as well as veterans such as the Americans who risked their lives during World War II fighting on French soil.

Cooperative Christian Ministry announced that A.L. Brown High School and Kannapolis City Schools donated more than 2-and-a-half tons of food to the local relief agency.

The food was collected as part of the annual Bell Game food drive that takes place in conjunction with the football game between A.L. Brown and Concord high schools.

Concord Middle School held a Veterans Day Celebration and brunch for family members of students that served in the military on Friday, Nov. 9.

The school’s PTSO sponsored the breakfast and the Army Band provided music.

Kannapolis City Schools’ School Nutrition Department has earned praise from state inspectors who performed an audit of the program.

The auditors said they were extremely impressed with the high level of participation in the district's meal program. More than eight out of 10 KCS students, or 82 percent, eat a school-prepared lunch each day, and 61 percent of students eat breakfast at school. In addition, the auditors commended the district for offering healthy food choices that students enjoyed eating. The federal inspectors also praised the department's excellent customer service.

KANNAPOLIS – The City of Kannapolis was selected as a presenter at the prestigious National League of Cities Summit in Los Angeles, California last week. Kannapolis was chosen as one of four cities to present at the “Big Ideas for Small Cities” session.

The National League of Cities is an organization of more than 19,000 cities from across the United States which serves as a resource and advocate for municipalities.

CONCORD—As Thanksgiving Day approaches, Concord families are expressing their gratitude by giving back. Residents are filling shoeboxes with fun toys, school supplies and hygiene items to send to children in need around the world. For many of these children, it will be the first gift they have ever received.

During Operation Christmas Child's National Collection Week, which runs from Monday, Nov. 12, through Monday, Nov. 19, local residents will collect shoebox gifts at drop-off locations serving Concord participants. The Samaritan's Purse project, partnering with churches worldwide, will deliver these gifts to children affected by war, disease, disaster, poverty and famine. The South Piedmont NC Area Team volunteers hope to collect more than 31,000 gifts during the week.

Veterans across the country are honored during the month of November in recognition of Veterans Day. But what about those who have passed?

Central Cabarrus student Monty Hughes, 15, wanted to make sure that veterans buried in a local cemetery were also remembered.

Arthur Rogers loved taking photographs and he has a number of photo albums in his Mooresville home to prove it.

Some are of his four children as youngsters back in the 1950s and '60s. Some are of glamour shots he took while working as a fashion photographer during the halcyon days of Madison Avenue. Some are of national parks and creatures of nature in their natural setting.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — His father was a WWII veteran, his grandfather was a WWI veteran, and his great-grandfather fought in the Civil War.

So it seemed only fitting that Kenny Moore would enter the Navy after being drafted in the midst of the Vietnam War.

Norris Dearmon never wanted to join the military, but he wasn’t given a choice. However his time with the United States Army Air Forces during World War II gave him memories to last a lifetime, and he has a memory like no other.

Dearmon is a pillar of the community.

Nelson Lee, who will turn 76 this month, became a Gold Star Child when he was 2-years-old. His father, Ellis Nelson Lee, was killed by a sniper while serving in the United States Army in Germany during World War II.

As the only surviving son Nelson wouldn’t have been eligible for the draft, but he decided to join the Navy anyway because he wanted to serve his country.

Frank Seay only had one really close call during his U.S. Navy service in World War II. The young sailor was on his way to what was supposed to be his permanent assignment. He was going to be stationed aboard a ship, finally.

He was eager to go when his captain came to him one afternoon and told him to pack his gear. Seay hopped aboard the mail boat that was to take him to be reassigned.

The TRAIL (Taking Responsible Actions in Life) program is an intensive mentoring program that utilizes the Search Institutes asset building approach to improve the lives of teens in our community.

A select group of high school leaders are extensively trained and given opportunities to confidently serve as role models and educators to help instill positive attitudes regarding healthy decision-making. To be considered for TRAIL, individuals receive a community, peer, and school nomination.

Serves 8-10

I normally bake on a Sunday. This dates back to my childhood, when I used to bake with my mother every Sunday morning. Sundays were always the best day of the week for food in our home, just for the selection my mother would make. Roast dinner (lunch really) either beef and Yorkshire puddings, roast chicken and stuffing to lamb and freshly made mint sauce to roast pork and baked apples. Always followed by bread and butter pudding or freshly baked (yes baked rice pudding with a crust on top from the whole egg my mother would add to the rice as it cooked in the oven) to apple and blackberry crumble and custard. Afternoon tea was the “Greatest”. A selection of bacon and egg quiche, sausage rolls, pasties to freshly made sandwiches cut into wedges. But best of all, was my mother’s cakes; (her famous) chocolate cake (which was to die for), to lemon cake, orange cake, coffee cake to assorted fruit cakes, all delicious in their own right.

“Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”  (Romans 10:13)

Apple’s new releases of souped-up iPhones iPads and MacBooks turned my thoughts to Steve Jobs.  The company now has 250 billion in cash in the bank and most of it is due to Jobs’ genius.