Union County
Wotell is big league ready
page 20
Waxhaw Kaleidoscope brings family fun to Waxhaw
page 2
Serving Indian Trail, Marvin, Stallings, Waxhaw, Weddington and Wesley Chapel
Locally Owned & Operated www.unioncountyweekly.com
Volume 10, Number 21 • May 21 to 27, 2015
Crooked Creek ready for its close up
Waxhaw commissioners stand with Waxhaw Volunteer Fire Department, needs more fulltime staff by Crystal O’Gorman crystal@unioncountyweekly.com
Local towns to compete at grand opening on June 30 Ryan Pitkin/UCW photo
by Ryan Pitkin editor@unioncountyweekly.com
INDIAN TRAIL – With crews wrapping up the first phase of construction at Crooked Creek Park, Indian Trail staff and residents are readying for a grand opening celebration on June 30 to show off the town’s newest amenity. The 35-acre park currently features four baseball fields; a 30,000-square-foot facility; a state-of-the-art “destination playground”; a paved, one-mile walking trail; and picnic areas that include rentable pavilions. In the coming weeks, a 1.5-acre dog park will be completed and designers will begin work on an 18-hole disc golf course, which will complete the first phase of the park’s construction. The baseball fields will be the center of attention during the June 30 grand opening event, as elected officials and staff
from four local towns will compete in a softball tournament. Town staff members from Indian Trail, Stallings, Waxhaw and Matthews have agreed to participate in the tournament for bragging rights, while the Miracle League of Indian Trail raises funds through concession sales. “We’ve done a lot of work with those towns in the past,” said Jason Tryon, assistant director of Indian Trail Parks and Recreation. “We have a lot of residents who live so close to the borders of Stallings and Matthews, and utilize the facilities of both towns. We wanted to invite all the communities out here to see the park and come together.” Natalie Jackson, director of Waxhaw Parks and Recreation, said the event is a good example of the collaborative spirit between many of the Parks and Rec. Departments in surrounding municipalities. “The Parks and Rec. staffs in Union County are already
At its May 12 meeting, the Waxhaw Board of Commissioners unanimously agreed to support Chief Rob Fitzgerald and the Waxhaw Volunteer Fire Department (WVFD) in asking Union County Board of Commissioners (UCBOC) for additional funds to hire more fulltime firefighters and Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs). The board appointed Waxhaw Town Manager Warren Wood to work with Fitzgerald to write a letter on behalf of the board that requests an additional $134,534 to fund two fulltime firefighter/EMTs to man Station 18 at night. The letter was signed by all board members and sent to UCBOC on Monday. Fitzgerald voiced several concerns about relying primarily on volunteers to the board last Tuesday. He said the volunteer model has “fizzled out” across the state due to training requirements and call volume.
(see Crooked Creek on page 10)
(see Waxhaw VFD on page 11)
INDEX: News Briefs, 6; Crime Blotter, 7; Education, 12; Arts, 16; Calendar, 18; Sports, 20; Classifieds, 23
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