I still do not understand how CMS could shut down what is considered one of the best magnet schools in the country … amazing.

They bonded over shovels.

It was a Friday in March, a day off for students. Parents and kids from two middle schools, Davidson IB and J.M. Alexander, met on the Alexander campus. They were partners in an arranged marriage. Davidson was closing at the end of the school year. Alexander would take Davidson’s students and faculty. Nobody was thrilled about it.

Back in the fall, when the school board made the decision, the feelings were bare and raw. Davidson families blasted the board for killing off one of the best magnet schools in America. Alexander families got mad at the idea that their school didn’t measure up. Board member Rhonda Lennon said Davidson parents seemed unwilling to send their kids to school with poor black students. Davidson parents threatened to walk away from CMS.

Now, a few months afterward, everyone had calmed down. But the relationships still needed tending. The principals of both schools thought sprucing up the Alexander campus might be the way to spruce up the mood.

via Starting with a clean slate – together | CharlotteObserver.com & The Charlotte Observer Newspaper.

I enjoyed my Labyrinth Walk #2 at Presbyterian Hospital while waiting for ET to wake from his liver biopsy on 5.26. Anyone know the source of the quote, “yet also: Be still for healing most likely whispers”?

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“I knew something good could come out of such pain. The new labyrinth will provide a point of focus to help people collect their thoughts during the grieving process,” said Linda Matney, donor and founder of the Jack and Linda Matney Family Foundation.

Dating back to the 14th century, a labyrinth is a geometric, flat surface with winding, circuitous paths. A labyrinth combines the imagery of the circle and the spiral into a meandering but purposeful course. Walking a labyrinth has been effective in reducing anxiety, lowering blood pressure and breathing rates, in addition to reducing chronic pain. Often people find peace, solace, release and a deep sense of joy as they reach the center of the labyrinth’s circuitous paths.

Designer, Tom Schultz, nationally recognized for his unique labyrinth designs, has patterned the Jack Matney Memorial Labyrinth after the 14th Century labyrinth at Chatres Cathedral in France.

The Jack Matney Memorial Labyrinth is supported by ongoing financial gifts from the community. In addition to the Labyrinth endowment, fundraising efforts continue for phase II of the labyrinth, projected to include a memorial prayer wall.

“My impetus in creating the labyrinth was to give patient’s families and caregivers the opportunity to focus on a spiritual connection, prayer or whatever could bring peace to each person.”

via New Presbyterian Hospital Labyrinth Puts Caregivers on Path to Peace.

Good article about a difficult issue – “I think everybody is trying to be faithful,” says Kate. “I think the trick is to be loving.”

Each also made their case eloquently. Kate challenged the nine Bible passages commonly used in the condemnation of homosexuality. Some passages, she said, were about lust, not sexual orientation, and none applied to people in committed, monogamous relationships. Robert urged that Christians not turn their backs on homosexuals, but he said that Kate’s challenges ultimately didn’t answer all of the questions the Bible presented about sin and sexual boundaries.

All of which wasn’t very different than the arguments others have made for and against homosexuality. But what they wanted to get across, said Robert, was this: “We really want you to listen to the other person, because we respect that person.”

And when they were done, they sat together again as others spoke for and against Amendment 10-A, which eventually passed, 162-154. It was a passionate and polite debate – perhaps because Kate and Robert had set a tone, but also because of something else they want their community to know: that good, smart, faithful people on both sides are struggling and sorting through this debate.

One conversation. A different conversation. It’s not that hard to have, if you’re humble enough to understand you might not be right. Which, by the way, Kate and Robert each know. And so they talk. And they listen.

“I think everybody is trying to be faithful,” says Kate. “I think the trick is to be loving.”

via Peter St. Onge: On homosexuality, a discussion that’s different than others.

5.20.2011 … A little local history for you … and now a “Charlotte Liberty Walk” is planned. Maybe next year …

The anniversary of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence of May 20, 1775 has been celebrated locally, state wide, and even nationally through the years.  In Charlotte, 49 anniversary celebrations have been documented, including every year since 1995.  In times past children were let out of school for Meck Dec day and sometimes for the entire week.  Four sitting US Presidents and countless Governors, Senators and US Representatives have appeared at these celebrations.  The centennial celebration in 1875 brought 40,000 people on special trains to this town of 6,000 souls.

For more detail on the Meck Dec celebrations, see The Charlotte Mecklenburg Story at the Charlotte Library web site http://www.cmstory.org/meckdec

via The Celebrations | MeckDec.org.

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At noon on May 20, 1775, Thomas Polk stood at the Mecklenburg Courthouse and read aloud the declaration to the public: “… the citizens of Mecklenburg County do hereby dissolve the political bands which have connected us to the Mother Country, and hereby absolve ourselves from all allegiance to the British Crown…” By this act, Mecklenburg declared itself “a free and independent people,” more than a year prior to the Declaration of Independence.

Original copies of the Mecklenburg Declaration were lost in a fire in 1800, causing some historians to question the validity of the document, even while many point to sources such as newspaper articles to prove its existence. As a proud descendant of Thomas Polk, I don’t need a document to prove the “Meck Dec” existed. The independent spirit of our local forefathers proves its existence.

It is this spirit and our fierce determination for freedom that caused English General Cornwallis to call Charlotte a “hornet’s nest” during the Revolutionary War. It is this same spirit that led us to name our streets “Independence Boulevard” and “Freedom Drive,” and a school “Independence High.” It is this spirit that moved state leaders to put May 20, 1775, on our state flag, and why it remains there today.

We should be proud of our history and independent spirit, teaching it to our children and to newcomers. Only by knowing where we come from can we know who we are and the great things we are capable of accomplishing as a community.

via The spirit of ‘Meck Dec’ still lives on | CharlotteObserver.com & The Charlotte Observer Newspaper.

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On the eve of today’s Meck Dec Day observance, a Charlotte history group unveiled plans for the Charlotte Liberty Walk, an interactive tour that celebrates the city’s role in the Revolutionary War.

The one-mile uptown tour, which begins and ends at Trade and Tryon streets, would consist of 18 sites that commemorate Charlotte’s role in the war for independence, said Scott Syfert, a Charlotte lawyer and vice chairman of The May 20th Society.

via High-tech tour would tout city’s Revolution role | CharlotteObserver.com & The Charlotte Observer Newspaper.

5.18.2011 Davidson is the name of a turtle donated to the traveling zoo exhibit … Did you know Charlotte is trying to get a zoo?

The organizers of the planned Charlotte Zoological Park (CZP) have big ideas about building a high-quality facility where the public can view and learn to appreciate creatures of the wild.

A first step in their plan is a mobile zoo of a few “ambassador animals” who will make educational sorties to area schools and civic groups.

And one of the first ambassadors selected for this duty is an eastern box turtle named “Davidson.”…

CZP is now hoping the college can help acquire other herpetological species for its educational program, including a corn snake and softshell turtle.

CZP is a non-profit organization founded in 2008 dedicated to the mission of creating a world-class zoological facility in the Charlotte. The group intends to educate, entertain and inspire people by bringing them face-to-face with wildlife and providing opportunities to participate in animal and habitat conservation.

via “Davidson” the Turtle Will Serve as Public Ambassador for Planned Charlotte Zoological Park

5.18.2011 … Coming on Friday, 5.20, Meck Dec Day …

This Friday, May 20th marks the 236 anniversary of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, known locally as the Meck Dec. Check out the public library’s page for some history and background.

Davidson, town and college, did not exist until the 62nd anniversary in 1837, but students and townspeople were soon joining the celebrations, either by traveling to Charlotte or hosting events on campus.

via The Davidson College Archives & Special Collections blog — Around the D.

5.17.2011 … Davidson’s new dorms … to accommodate growth to 2000!

Davidson College officials will be at the Design Review Board Wednesday, May 18, seeking final approval for a new 5-story dormitory that will house 250 students as the college boosts enrollment from the current 1,800 to 2,000 in the coming years. The Town of Davidson planning staff is recommending approval of the plan.

…

The new building would be completed by fall 2012. College officials weren’t sure Monday how much the building would cost. They said they’re still negotiating contracts with construction and design firms.

The new brick building will be designed to fit in with the college’s existing “Neo-Georgian” residential architecture. It would have one 5-story and one 4-story wing, connected by a 1 1/2-story entrance.

The building also would have a fitness center and a meeting space.

via College seeks design approval for new dorm | Real Estate.

5.17.2011 … Steph does others things besides play basketball beautifully … and his business ventures are with his Davidson friends … makes you realize that he was truly integrated into the college.

Stephen Curry becomes a video star today.

A former Davidson All-American, he is working with two of his former teammates, Dan Nelms and Steve Rossiter, in launching a website (www.amzini.com) designed to raise awareness of the many social networking sites available online.

Curry will be featured in two videos shot this year in San Francisco with the intention of drawing more people – and their videos – to the site.

“The idea is there are all these different social opportunities out there that people aren’t aware of,” said Nelms, president of Amzini Enterprises LLC.

via Curry & Co. launch website | CharlotteObserver.com & The Charlotte Observer Newspaper.

5.17.2011 … Kudos and happy 125th The Charlotte Observer!

Happy 125th birthday to The Charlotte Observer, a newspaper that first began telling Charlotte’s story when it was yet a dream.

Along the way, the Observer has put forward some dreams of its own, helping to shape our region in significant ways. Some will say for the better, others for the worse, depending on a particular issue or outcome. But there is no denying that the place where we live today is a blended legacy of an aspiring city and its newspaper.

That legacy continues now as Charlotte shakes off a devastating collapse of the banking industry and the Observer rewires itself for the digital age. Neither job will be easy, which makes it an especially good time to remember how far both have come.

via A part of your world, every day for 125 years | CharlotteObserver.com & The Charlotte Observer Newspaper.

5.16.2011 … “Go forth, do well, do good.” … Sounds like something Yoda might say … :)

Former Davidson College President Tom Ross returned to campus Sunday to help send off the Class of 2011, telling 436 graduates their Davidson degrees will create opportunities, but also bring a responsibility to lead.“Your Davidson diploma places you in a very privileged position compared most people in this world,” President Emeritus Ross told the crowd of students and parents.“But the position of privilege you occupy and the many opportunities that will come your way bring with them a responsibility to live lives of leadership and service.”Opportunity and responsibility “go hand in hand. Go forth, do well, do good,” he said during morning commencement ceremonies under the trees in front of Chambers Hall.

via Ross tells Davidson grads ‘do well and do good’ | DavidsonNews.net.