Wesley Chapel News

“A whole band of storms that hit Atlanta last night came through this area”

Downed trees, fires, overwhelmed emergency dispatchers and more. All of this in Union County and all associated with severe weather. via WCNC-TV Charlotte

Wesley Chapel residents will likely soon be able to order mixed drinks at restaurants in the village.

Voters approved a liquor-by-the-drink measure by a wide margin Tuesday night -- 1,025 people voted in favor; 415 people against.

Wesley Chapel was the only Union County town with a liquor sales question on the ballot. Voters in the western Union County municipality defeated liquor-by-the-drink in 2004.

Observers predicted the initiative would pass this year because the town is trying to court upscale restaurants to accompany a Target store planned for the corner of N.C. 84 and Waxhaw Road. Read more

Tuesday's election results in Union County were mixed.

Most incumbents won back their seats. The few who didn't lost by wide margins.

Voters soundly rejected two countywide ballot questions. But in Wesley Chapel, they embraced liquor-by-the-drink by a margin of 2 to 1.

Turnout was low. But it was higher than in recent local elections.

Fewer than 20 percent of registered voters participated, elections director Shirley Secrest said. That compares to 13 percent in 2003 and 14 percent in 2005. Read more

“We now have a name for the new school. It's time for us to have a district”

The Davidson County Board of Education got its first look at the proposed boundary district lines for Reeds, Churchland and Tyro Elementary schools on Monday at its meeting. via The Dispatch

“I think it would be nice to get some good-quality restaurants, and they don't generally come in unless you have liquor by the drink”

Wesley Chapel is the only Union County town with a liquor sales question on the ballot. The town is reconsidering a liquor-by-the-drink measure that voters shot down in 2004.

This year, the issue has been quiet and may have more supporters.

Observers say the initiative is more likely to pass this year because the town is trying to court upscale restaurants to accompany a Target store planned for the corner of N.C. 84 and Waxhaw Road.

Mayor Tracey Clinton, who's running unopposed, supports the measure. So do two candidates for the Town Council, Jim Mullis and Brad Horvath. They all say it would be good for local business. Read more

“I would do anything to make it stop”

I am one of the 30 million Americans who suffer migraine headaches. The 30 million is probably low since there are many who haven't been diagnosed.

Medical research begun today will probably not offer me complete relief from the pain and neurological symptoms that I experience. I am told that it can take years to discover a small bit of information. But I pray that research will find a cure or at least total relief from pain and the accompanying neurological symptoms in time to help our sons and daughters who suffer from this awful disease. Read more

“It looks beautiful and is well-designed. We're very happy with it”

INDIAN TRAIL

Building to begin for Lowe's in Indian Trail

A new Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse is coming to Indian Trail, with construction expected to start as early as next month, according to town planners.The store is proposed for the south side of U.S. 74, at the corner of Wesley Chapel-Stouts Road. The 169,000-square-foot warehouse, to be built primarily of brick, will include a garden center. Entrances and exits will be on Wesley Chapel-Stouts and U.S. 74. Traffic improvements to the intersection also are planned. Read more

“It is pathetic that we continue to build.”

When Union County said last week it planned to ban all plant watering, Wesley Chapel resident Kristin Forrest shot off an e-mail to commissioner Lanny Openshaw.

'I am beyond angry,' she wrote. She described the hours and thousands of dollars she and her husband have spent on drought-resistant landscaping: They ripped up 600 square feet of thirsty sod and replaced it with mulch, trees and shrubs.

'Are we just supposed to let all that we have spent money on now die before it even has a chance to root?' she asked. Read more

“Amalia was planning to move to Wesley Chapel. She said she had prayed about the situation, and decided to leave most everything and start over with her new house”

Renee Hulsen, her 3-year-old daughter, Gianna, and 10 other family members and friends escaped a fire several months ago that burned the Hulsens' Thornblade house to the ground.

Thanks to the kindness of family, friends, and strangers, the family is now settled into a new home in Nottingham.

On Aug. 19, the Hulsen family's Thornblade house in Matthews burned to the ground. Billy and Renee Hulsen were enjoying a relaxing summer evening cookout with family. The burgers were hot off the grill, and the family of six, along with five relatives and a boyfriend, were eating in the dining room in the front of the house, unusual for a warm evening since most of their meals were enjoyed on the back screen porch. Read more

“The situation out there with the sewers has put us behind schedule about six months.”

Even if you didn't see the warning earlier this week in the Observer, the carcasses stiffening along Union County's roadsides in the next few months should be a tip: You live and drive in a danger zone for deer-vehicle collisions.

The N.C. Department of Transportation issued figures Monday ranking counties according to the number of deer-vehicle collisions reported from 2004 to 2006.

Union County ranked 10th with 1,034 deer-vehicle collisions during that period. Between 1999 and 2006, 2,697 deer-vehicle collisions were reported in Union County -- about 340 a year. Read more

“I didn't leave the classroom because I didn't love it -- because I did”

EDITOR'S NOTE: We thought we should get to know our school leaders better, so for the next few months we will be running short profiles of principals and headmasters in southern Mecklenburg. Look for them on Thursdays.

About three years ago, while living in Las Vegas, Tara Sullivan's heart was set on moving back to the East Coast.

She and husband Chris narrowed their choices to Baltimore, Jacksonville or Charlotte. The couple, originally from New York, wanted to steer clear of the cold. Read more

“We basically walked the creek”

Union County and an athletic association may have reached a solution to a floodplain dispute at Optimist Park in Weddington.

The Wesley Chapel Weddington Athletic Association has agreed to remove dirt the county believes was inappropriately placed in the floodplain along Twelve Mile Creek, association members said Friday.

The removal will not destroy any ball fields at the widely used park.

'We found areas where we could take dirt from without bothering the creek and without bothering our fields,' said Gary Hibler, the association's president. He said he does not believe the association did anything wrong, but is relieved to have found a solution to a long-standing dispute. Read more