On Feb. 14, the Porter Ridge football team was honored for its strong 2011 season, which included a 14-1 record and a trip to the Class 4A state title game. (Aaron Garcia/UCW photo)

It seems that two months after falling in the Class 4A state title game, the Porter Ridge High football team’s magical season still had some gas in its tank.

On Feb. 14, the team gathered at the Indian Trail Town Council meeting to be honored by Mayor Michael Alvarez and the town council.

The Pirates finished the season with a 14-1 record and claimed the Southern Carolina 3A/4A conference title before reaching the state championship game in Winston-Salem, where they fell to Scotland, 42-16.

“It’s very humbling,” coach Blair Hardin said of the recognition from the town council. “If you do things the right way and you’re around good people, opportunities like this happen. I’m fortunate to have good kids, good coaches and a good administration. I’m just happy to be part of this experience.”

Added kicker Matt Wogan: “It just shows we’re gaining the respect we’ve worked for. It feels good and shows that our hard work has paid off.”

It was the first time the Indian Trail Town Council had honored one of the town’s high school athletic teams. Such a recognition highlights the strides the Pirates athletics department has made since the school’s opening in 2004.

“I think it speaks highly (of us),” said athletics director Bill Rogers. “We’ve made some good progress in going on seven years now. When you look at the football program, we went from winless (in 2005) to the state championship game and were one win away from winning it all. I think it speaks highly of our program, and we’re happy for our kids and our coaches.”

The players were surprised to learn that many of the town council members were regular spectators at their games. That further fostered the feeling of community behind their accomplishment, said running back Najee Davis.

“It’s great because when you’re playing, you only hear from your fellow students and your parents; you never hear from a town aspect,” Davis said. “Honestly, I never knew most of them were there. For them to come up (during the town council ceremony) and know me by name and recognize me and my teammates, it lets us know we really accomplished something.” q

by Aaron Garcia

The Piedmont Panthers: 2012 Class 2A dual-team wrestling state champions. (Courtesy of David Wood, DandLphotographers.com)

Looking back, Piedmont High School wrestling coach Todd Stokes can actually trace the Panthers’ road to this year’s dual-team state title back to last year, when they rode a bus back to Unionville from Morehead City. For the second consecutive year, the Panthers had advanced to the Class 2A championship match. And for the second consecutive year, they left without a state title, twice succumbing to a tough Croatan High squad.

“After last year, driving six hours from Morehead City after losing a match you thought you should win, there weren’t a whole lot of motivational speeches said to our kids all (this) year,” said Stokes. “They wanted their shot at (Croatan) again, and they felt something was taken away from them last year because they didn’t perform to their level. I don’t think they ever wanted that to happen to them again.”

Stokes said that after looking at the eastern half of the state championship bracket this season, the Panthers penciled in Croatan as the favorites to emerge as a finalist.

“We knew if we got through (our half of the bracket), that would be the team we’d see,” Stokes explained.

And get through it they did. Piedmont entered the Class 2A state title match with a 37-0 record, which forced Croatan to travel to Union County on Feb. 11, giving the Panthers a home match.

“The gym was packed and the atmosphere was unbelievable.” Stokes said, adding that the match’s location wasn’t the only difference from last season.

“Last year (our wrestlers) had the deer-in-the-headlights look,” he said. “This year, they didn’t have that. They just looked like, ‘OK, we’ve been here before, we’re used to this.’ I think that was a big thing; that they were used to it.”

That experience certainly paid off, as the Panthers downed Croatan, 41-22, for the Class 2A state championship. The title came on the 25th anniversary of the program’s last state title, back in 1987.

“It was a really tough (opponent), and we wrestled the perfect match,” said Stokes. “All of our kids did exactly what we needed them to do.”

The Panthers won nine of the 14 individual matches at the meet.

Piedmont’s individual winners included 182-pounder Parker Von Egidy, who opened the match with a forfeit; 220-pounder Bryce Braswell, who beat Caleb Carpenter, 3-1; Kyle Eiss, who pinned Jonathan Rigsby in one minute, 36 seconds to clinch the 285-pound crown; 120-pounder Daylan Conner, who outscored Dustin McCaw, 6-4; 132-pounder Michael McLamb, who beat Josh Paderick, 16-0; 138-pounder Steven Bunch, who edged Sam Slater, 7-6; 145-pounder Lucas Smith, who pinned Brandon McCorkle in 3:35; Matt Maske, who downed fellow 160-pounder Robert Benson, 9-6; and 170-pounder Dylan Nelson, who pinned Andrew Colburn in 3:07.

The Panthers roster also included Wes Auret, Dustin Baucom, Stephen Black, Rhett Byrum, Dalton Graybill, Will Groves, Kirby Haigler, Patrick Helms, Kris Rookard, Tyler Scott, Vassar Strickland and Josh Whitley. Mara Corbett, Morgan Lowder and Jensine Riggins were team managers.

While the undefeated record was nice, it came as a bit of a bonus, said Stokes, who has made a habit of scheduling the toughest competition he can find during the regular season. This year was no different, as the Panthers vanquished teams such as Class 3A Charlotte Catholic, Class 4A Matthews Butler and private-school power Charlotte Latin. Generally, with a slate such as that, taking a few losses along the way is expected, said Stokes.

“What’s more important to me is this is a group, especially the seniors, that was the first group that won a (Rocky River 1A/2A) conference championship for us,” Stokes said. “We’ve been working so hard the last three years to get to the state finals. To get there two times and lose, to overcome that and actually win the state title, it’s just unbelievable.

“I’m just so happy for the kids and the assistant coaches who put in all the time and effort. It means more to me than a record. I wouldn’t have cared if we were 22-22 if we still made the finals and won. That’s the emphasis we put on our team.”

by Brian Carlton

The town of Weddington is once again looking at what it would take to create a municipal fire district. Council members voted 3 to 2, with Daniel Barry and Werner Thomisser in opposition Monday, Feb. 13 meeting, to start preliminary contract discusssions with the three fire departments that serve Weddington, while collecting more information from the state.

Council members also heard from the Providence Volunteer Fire Department’s board of directors, who announced that at their Sunday, Feb. 12 meeting, they voted unanimously to reject any consideration of a merger with the Wesley Chapel fire department.

“After a year of diligently evaluating a merger in connection with representatives from Wesley Chapel VFD, the board of Providence feels strongly that a merger would not be in the best interest of the citizens of Weddington and therefore will no longer be considering this as a viable option,” Providence board president Jack Parks told the council. His comments were also included in a letter, sent to the county fire commission, fire marshal Neal Speer and county commissioners. In other comments before the town council, Providence board members presented an offer, also from their Sunday night meeting. The board offered to provide first response EMT medical services for the areas identified as closest to the Providence station, as additional aid to the Wesley Chapel and Stallings departments, without any compensation from the town.

Parks was one of several people who spoke about fire services before the council vote. Many argued for or against creating a municipal district.

“We all want the best services (and) we all want the closest station to serve us,” Weddington resident Stephanie Belcher said, arguing that it was a county issue. “Union County’s not at the table. This decision affects way more than the town of Weddington.”

Her comments were echoed by fellow resident David Basiri, who pointed out that if the fire departments were companies, there wouldn’t be any discussion. If the most efficient way to run the business was to merge, Basiri said, they would be merged and things would move on.

Other residents argued that Union County has had years to fix the funding problem for fire departments and hasn’t.

“Union County has really dropped the ball on a lot of infrastructure projects,” Weddington resident Eric Anderson said. “I feel time and time again in the past, they’ve dropped the ball. There’s no reason to think next time will be any different.

The problem is that Providence needs funding in place for the fiscal year starting July 1, with a current budget estimated at $523,000. Revenues are only expected to drop between now and 2013, as the department looks to solve its compliance problem with the fire codes. In 2008, the Weddington town council agreed to pay for three firefighters to stay overnight, for a quick response time to local fires. The building has been out of compliance since then, as it doesn’t have a sprinkler system, a fire wall or a staircase to the sleeping quarters that have been used.

The question is how to find that funding. Creating a municipal fire district would mean Weddington would be responsible for drawing the fire lines and signing contracts with different departments to cover the area. The new maps, presented by Providence, doubles their coverage area, to include most of Weddington, to generate $1.3 billion worth of total property.

Under the plan, Wesley Chapel would lose $62,262, while the Stallings department would lose $9,266.

Losing property is what concerns Wesley Chapel, as the fire department is in the middle of building a new fire station, a move planned for by determining how much they would bring in through fire taxes, with a tax base currently worth $5.46 billion.

Weddington residents said it was time for the town to take care of itself and let other municipalities do the same.

“Government exits to support the people,” resident Brenda Stone said. “Weddington has evolved from a rural farming community to a more densely populated community.”

Fellow resident Andrew Moore said he was frustrated due to the fact that in the past year, the council had spent money on decorations and other items, while the infrastructure needs were shifted to the back burner.

by Brian Carlton

The town of Indian Trail will add one deputy now and consider adding another during budget sessions this year. Council members voted unanimously Tuesday, Feb. 14 for the motion, after discussions over how many to add and how the deputies would be paid for.

“My idea would be to bring one officer on now and bring a second officer on in October,” Mayor Pro Tem David Cohn said, after hearing that Lt. Chase Coble plans to apply for a grant with the Governor’s Highway Safety Program. “Hire one now and budget for two. If we don’t get the grant, you still get your two officers.”

Coble explained that with support from the town, he planned to apply for a grant to fund two deputies, to work traffic in town. That would be in addition to the one already approved by council members. Overall, Coble wanted to reduce the workload for existing deputies, some of whom worked as many as 61 felony cases since January 1. That’s compared to an average of 21 on the other side of the county. Coble said he also wanted to prepare for the influx of people coming later this year.

“We just saw a movie theater on the screen tonight,” Coble said. “I’m trying to stay ahead of the eight ball.”

Other council members questioned the need for more officers, saying they felt residents were content with what they had.

“I’m all about boots on the ground, but I would really like to get into that budget (first),” council member Robert Allen said, asking the board to hold off on agreeing to a second deputy. “I’m seeing improved response times, residents satisfied with what they have. I think it’s a rush to judgment.”

Allen referred to the numbers Coble presented earlier this year, showing improved response times since the town added deputies in 2010. In 2009, deputies took an average of 11 minutes, 8 seconds to respond to a call. In 2011, that time fell to 9 minutes, 35 seconds.

Currently the town contracts for 18 total officers, including 16 deputies, a sergeant and Coble, who is in charge of Indian Trail’s detachment. Indian Trail hasn’t added any officers since 2010. Instead of the town adding deputies to handle the traffic and any situations coming from the Stone Theaters complex, Allen felt that developers should chip in.

Residents speaking during public comments and after the meeting said they felt law enforcement should take priority.

Amanda Faulkenberry spoke during the public comments section of the meeting, warning council members that companies wouldn’t relocate to a place they didn’t see as safe.

Her husband Michael Faulkenberry said after the meeting that he  couldn’t understand where Allen was coming from. Adding that the town needs to plan ahead, before these projects open for business.

“(Things) are gonna change when that theater’s built.” Faulkenberry said. “If Allen wants to move (the town) forward, he needs to be proactive.”

Town manager Joe Fivas mentioned that Stone Theaters had discussed hiring off duty deputies, but multiple council members pointed out there’s a difference between security and paroling the neighborhood impacted by the theater, enforcing town
laws.

Coble said it would take two to three months before the new deputy was responding to calls, as equipment would have to be purchased. Additionally, Coble will submit a pre-application for the grant funding in March, then follow it up with the full application. The state will announce grant winners in October.

by Brian Carlton

The latest lawsuit against Wesley Chapel doctor Michael Land has been dismissed. Union County Superior Court Judge Mark Klass informed the parties of his decision Friday, Feb. 10. The order has yet to be filed, as both parties have to read through and agree to its wording before signing off.

Land declined comment on the decision, saying he preferred to wait until the order was filed to discuss the latest case.

Attorney Paul deMontesquiou, who represented 40 of Land’s neighbors in the lawsuit, did not return calls by presstime.

Last fall the plaintiffs filed suit, alleging Land owed them monetary damages for lowering their property values by operating his shooting range. The lawsuit also focused on the doctor’s use of machine guns, as well as alleged damage the plaintiffs say he’s caused to the community, labeling Land’s use of guns as an assault on the community. Land’s attorney Tate Helms argued that the residents didn’t show any evidence that his client caused damages.

Land bought his property, 1402 Bloomsberry Lane, in 1991 and built a shooting range. The village of Wesley Chapel incorporated in 1998 and annexed Land’s property in 1999. In May 2008, Wesley Chapel adopted an ordinance that makes firing weapons in the municipality illegal in most instances, and then ordered Land to stop shooting at the property. Land appealed to the Wesley Chapel Board of Adjustment, which ruled in the village’s favor. In 2009, Land filed an appeal asking the Union County Superior Court to review the decision. Superior Court Judge Erwin Spainhour ruled for Land, stating that, because the range was built before the village annexed the property, it’s governed by Union County’s zoning laws, not Wesley Chapel’s. In 2010, the North Carolina Court of Appeals also ruled in Land’s favor. Judge Robert Hunter Jr. wrote Land did not violate the county’s 1988 ordinance. Because Land bought the 5.68-acre property in July 1991, Union County’s 1988 zoning ordinance is in effect. That ordinance doesn’t list a shooting range as a regulated use. The 2000 version does.

The order is expected to be filed within the next week.

by Brian Carlton and Mark DiBiasio

Town councils from Weddington and Marvin don’t want to wait four years to re-examine the county’s property tax values. During their Feb. 13 and Feb. 14 meetings, both groups voted unanimously to send county commissioners a resolution, requesting a revaluation in 2012.

“It’s really not fair to the people in the west, specifically Marvin, who are paying a higher rate of taxes as our house values have gone down, our tax values have not gone down proportionately.” Marvin councilman Ron Salimao said, “From the village standpoint, it will be a challenge to make it work, but from the individual perspective, I think we owe it to our citizens force this issue as much as we can.”

The Marvin resolution cited the high volatility and severe depression of property values in recent years; it also focused attention to the abrogation of the county policy of conducting a property re-evaluation every four years, which had been in effect since 2000. Union County had conducted property revaluations in 2000, 2004 and 2008.

The Weddington letter focused on property values, pointing out that residents are paying taxes based on market values from four years ago.

“There seems to be some concern about high taxes in Weddington,” Weddington mayor Walker Davidson said. “I believe the market prices are not reflective (of the values).”

A county has to do a revaluation either every eight years or when its values are 15 percent or more out of balance with home sales. There are several loopholes to that law, NC General Statute 105-286. First, the law only applies to counties with populations of 75,000 or more. Counties like Union that do meet the population trigger are also exempt from the 15 percent requirement within the three years before or after a revaluation has taken place. For Union County, which held its last revaluation in 2008, that means 2012 is the last year the state could step in and force a change before 2016.

Since 2008, home sales have declined by 70 percent in Union County, with many sales taking place in neighborhoods with foreclosures. Union County uses a sales ratio to determine fair market property values, calculated by dividing the property assessment by the sales price. Although assessment equations do not include foreclosure sales, officials say there is no doubt sales figures in recent years were affected by homes sold at bargain-basement prices.

County commissioners voted to cancel the scheduled 2012 revaluation in March 2011.

“If you been taxed unfairly in the first place, you have to wait eight-years before it is addressed.” Marvin council member Lanny Openshaw said, “So a four year cycle makes a lot more sense. A reval is just a snapshot in time.”

Openshaw noted that most times government does not like to do revaluations, it is politically awkward, elected officials don’t like to deal with the ramifications of adjusting tax rates to balance the revenue needs.

“I think it’s honorable for Marvin to put forth a resolution like this as it will reduce the amount of money that the town will take in.” Openshaw said, “By supporting a reval, we are essentially limiting the size of government.”

According to the North Carolina Department of Revenue, the sales assessment ratio from Jan. 1 of last year shows Union County home sales at 111.16 percent of the market rate. The statute goal is 100 percent, so to trigger a revaluation, the county must be either lower than 85 or higher than 115 percent.

Department of Revenue officials say that even though the final numbers for 2012 won’t be released until possibly the second quarter, they don’t expect Union to meet the 115 percent trigger this year.

County commissioners (two seats open)

• Frank Aikmus

• Richard Helms

Register of Deeds

• Crystal Crump

NC House District 55

• Mark Brody

• John Barker

• Richard Johnson

NC House District 68

• Craig Horn (running for re-election)

NC House District 69

(current District Rep. Frank McGuirt announced he will not seek a second term)

• Jeff Gerber

• Dean Arp

US House District 9

• Dan Barry

• Andy Dulin

• Jim Pendergraph

• Michael Shaffer

• Michael Steinberg

Court of Appeals Judge

• Linda McGee (running for re-election)

Court of Appeals Judge

• Wanda Bryant (running for re-election)

• Martin McGee

Court of Appeals Judge

• Cressie Thigpen (running for re-election)

District Court Judge

• Aletha Tucker-Richardson

The filing period runs until noon on Feb. 29. The primary election in each race will be held May 8, with polls open from 6:30 a.m to 7:30 p.m.

by Saja Hindi

The town of Stallings wants to move forward with its park plans. With phase one of the Stallings Municipal Park improvements in its final stage, the town council voted to adopt phase two at its Monday, Feb. 15 meeting.

Bids opened Feb. 1, and the lowest bidder of 15 was Godfrey Construction Company, Inc. The council voted 5-1, with councilman Wyatt Dunn opposing, in favor of the lowest bidder, Godfrey Construction Company, Inc., for a base bid of $665,800 with alternates 2 and 4, totaling $695,400. After adding general contract costs, other project costs and a $30,000 general contingency for unforeseen circumstances, Phase Two will cost a total amount of $803,400.

Site Solutions, the town’s consultant for the project, and the Parks and Recreation Committee recommended the council approve alternates 1,2 and 4, making the cost of the project by Godfrey Construction a base bid of $715,400, with the recommended general contract other project costs and general contingency for a grand total of $823,400. The alternates – parts of the project that could be excluded or reduced for cost but wouldn’t affect the park drastically if eliminated – are alternate 1: benches and trash receptacles throughout the park, alternate 2: picnic shelter at phase 1 playground and alternate 3: security system and PA throughout the park.

The council decided to vote in favor of alternates 2 and 4, without alternate 1 in an effort to see if the company can reduce the price on the benches and trash receptacles. Other bidders had listed this alternate for a lower price, so Dunn asked that this alternate be challenged.

“I’m looking at a difference of $8,500 on benches and trash receptacles between Godfrey and the lowest, so obviously they’re using different suppliers, and I’d like for us to challenge their usage of $20,000 and see if you can find some that is just the same quality,” Dunn said. “They are benches and trash receptacles – they don’t need to be the highest and best quality out there. In my mind, they just need to be useful and aesthetically pleasing.”

Town Councilman Paul Frost also suggested the idea of having boy scouts build the benches as they’ve done in other town projects and Matthews said it was something that could be looked into but budget limitations as well as making sure there is a consistency in building was important.

Mayor Lynda Paxton raised the issue of whether the $30,000 for contingency would be enough since the last phased contingency required $50,000, and town manager Brian Matthews said they hope the soil issues won’t be as significant on this section of the park.

Other concerns council members brought up included having the security system communicate with the police force, the completion of correcting the sewage and drainage problems from phase one and tearing down the bathrooms structure and building a new one while making it handicap accessible.

According to Matthews, now that the town has selected the lowest bidder, the town’s engineer will develop a contract and put together a timeline to start construction some time in March.

“We anticipate having the remainder of the park completed before the summer – that’s in hopes that it’ll be ready for our Stallings Fest in September,” he said.

Matthews said the town council and staff are looking at the park as the town’s jewel and hope to use the park and other town improvements in downtown Stallings from Pleasant Plains and Potters Road all the way to Monroe Road to attract business development and shopping for residents.

“We want to tie all that in and create an aesthetically pleasing atmosphere,” Matthews said.

Frost said he believes the park is a really great development for the town and said the citizens on the Parks and Recreation committee have made this project what it is.

“Probably five years ago, the Parks and Recreation Committee wasn’t functioning well, and they’ve turned that into now this force of people that are really dedicated and put so much time and effort into making sure the park got built and got built as economically as possible and in such a way that’s really beautiful,” he said.

According to Frost, both citizens and people from other municipalities have been complimenting the park.

“It’s a wonderful first step for the town in this downtown corridor to develop this park into a place of beauty, a place that would attract the types of shopping, the types of people and the types of businesses we’d like to have,” he said.

by Saja Hindi

A private investigator will look into the complaints against Stallings Police Chief Michael Dummett. The town council voted unanimously Monday, Feb. 13, authorizing town manager Brian Matthews to make the hire.

Matthews placed Chief Dummett on administrative leave Sunday, Feb. 5, because the town’s personnel policy requires an investigation into any complaint. Several employees within the police department complained. As a personnel matter, the specifics of the complaints have not been released. For  purposes of an investigation, the town can hire an outside firm to report on the alleged issues.

During the public comments portion of the meeting, resident Larry Falcone, who ran for election for town council this past fall, spoke to the council and other residents in attendance. Falcone said “the opposition” had spread rumors during the campaign that he and Ira Bostic were trying to get rid of Dummett and the police department.

“We assured Chief Dummett at that time that the rumor was completely false,” Falcone said. “In fact, we overwhelmingly supported Chief Dummett and the Stallings police force to the point that I made it part of my campaigning that by having such a chief as Chief Dummett – who had transformed the department into a more disciplined force in the short time he had been there – that it gave Stallings a distinctive edge when it came to recruiting more businesses to relocate,” Falcone said.

Falcone said when he and his wife saw on TV that Dummett had been placed on leave, he was very surprised, and his phone calls the next day seemed to be in the dark about the issue, aside from hearing complaints about accusations against Dummett for creating a hostile work environment.

“The problem is that before Chief Dummett came on board, there was no discipline, and the lack of control by his predecessors created an environment that made the police force almost laughable, catering more to the ‘good old boy’ network, instead of following tried and proven police procedures,” Falcone said.

According to Falcone, something seems missing from the story, especially because Dummett was placed immediately on administrative leave.

“The whole charade smells of a political stacked deck scheme to get rid of Mr. Dummett, and once again let the ‘good old boy’ network run our police force again,” he said.

Falcone implored the council not to disappoint the citizens of Stallings who voted the members in and to continue supporting Dummett.

After the council members entered a closed session discussion about the personnel issue, councilman Harry Stokes made a motion that the town manager hire an outside source to conduct a private investigation of the matter, with a cap of $40,000, which received unanimous approval.

Matthews said Tuesday morning that he and the attorney were interviewing potential candidates and firms to conduct the investigation.

“I’m hoping that all the facts will come to light and that it will be enough information for the town council and myself to make an informed decision on this issue,” Matthews said. “We need to substantiate whether the complaints are valid or invalid.”

Depending on how thorough the investigation is, it could take from a range to two to four weeks, Matthews said, and could cost the cap of $40,000.

“We want to keep it below that, but it depends on how far the investigation has to go really,” he said.