Inside: Dreams push immigrant to open gas station • Page 5A
MONROE HAS SPOKEN AND I AM ALL EARS!!!
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Friday, Nov. 17, 2017 • Vol. 12 • No. 46
No kumbaya on superstreet project yet
ABOUT US P.O. BOX 1104 Matthews, NC 28106 (704) 849-2261 justin@cmgweekly.com unioncountyweekly.com
Indian Trail resolution denied by Matthews by Justin Vick justin@cmgweekly.com
Thanks, veterans Congressman details his latest efforts, 6A
Antioch Elementary School principal Tom Childers helps Kindergartener Katarina LoMonaco read a book about animals. Karie Simmons/UCW photo
Happy valley Howell, Spartans pull off upset, 1B
A day in the principal’s office A first-person look at the challenges of running a school Karie Simmons News Editor
D-D-Defense Independence may leave Sportsplex, 1B
Signing day Student-athletes taking talents to college, 2A
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s a young girl, I always coupled the idea of the principal with the feeling of being in trouble, and as a result, was terrified of whoever held the position. Despite his or her smile and cheerful demeanor, I knew the principal had the power to call my parents, so I kept my head down and was careful not to get too close. But what I didn’t know then is that principals do more than just sit in their offices doling out detentions. As the face of the school, the principal is always on the go and constantly being pulled in different directions. He works behind-the-scenes to keep the school running and has a frequent presence in the classroom.
I got to experience that first-hand when I participated in the Principal for a Day program on Nov. 15, shadowing Antioch Elementary School principal Tom Childers. I arrive at the school around 9:30 a.m. and Childers is already in principal mode. He’s been working since 6 a.m. and has already checked off a good chunk of his to-do list for the day, but then again, he’s no stranger to the responsibilities of public education. He’s been working for Union County Public Schools since 1991, back when he was a teacher and coach at Sun Valley High School. Since then, he’s worked at a total of nine schools (four as principal) including Wesley Chapel Elementary, East Union Middle, Wingate Elementary, Marvin Ridge Elementary, Sandy Ridge Elementary, Marshville Elementary and Walter Bickett Elementary. He took over as Antioch’s principal in 2016. “I liked being a teacher but want-
Kids care Cancer spurs Union Day School fundraising, 2A
Levi Bach, a first-grader at Antioch Elementary School, uses one of the school’s iPads during class. Karie Simmons/UCW photo
ed do something more, so I went back to school and got a degree in public school administration,” said Childers, who lives in Indian Trail. “I felt like I could have a bigger impact, that I could impact more kids, as a principal than being a teacher in a classroom.” Nestled just inside the Union County border, Antioch Elementary houses 730 students in grades K-5, boasts 33 classrooms and employs 65 educators, as well as other staff. Childer’s day, however, begins long before anyone arrives. He checks the staff list to make sure all teacher absences are covered by substitutes and then tackles a few emails and other responsibilities in his office, like creating a weekly newsletter and maintaining the school’s website. A self-described “list person,” Childers relies heavily on a to-do list to keep his tasks organized, but admitted it can be difficult to stick to. “There’s always something not on the list that comes up that you have to deal with,” he said. We spend the first half of the morning visiting classrooms and pop into a second grade dual-language class reading books in Spanish, a math class learning about area, a class researching animals on their iPads and a Kindergarten class rolling dice to learn how to count. In each room, Childers walks around giving students an encouraging high-five, thumbs up, fist bump, pat on the back or light squeeze on the shoulder. This, he said, is his favorite part about being a principal. “It’s really rewarding when kids have that aha moment, when they’ve see PRINCIPAL, Page 6A
MATTHEWS – Indian Trail’s attempt to establish consensus with neighboring towns over the abandonment of a superstreet design for the Old Monroe Road widening hit a pothole Nov. 13. The town adopted a resolution this month calling for the N.C. Department of Transportation to abandon the superstreet concept from the entire six-mile stretch and make Old Monroe Road a four-lane, signalized boulevard with medians. Indian Trail sent its resolution to Stallings and Matthews to approve in hopes of establishing a unified front, but Matthews commissioners thought the resolution was too specific and denied the request. All three towns have passed resolutions in hopes of eliminating the superstreet through their stretch of the project, but Matthews’ reasons have been more nuanced than merely not wanting to eliminate left turns. The highway goes through downtown Matthews, putting several older homes at risk. There’s all growing sentiment among residents not to widen the highway at all – at least until other state road projects in town are completed. Indian Trail’s resolution also stated a desire for the corridor to have a 35 mph speed limit, narrow lanes, protected leftturn lanes, curb and gutter, six-foot sidewalks, landscaped median with large trees, crosswalks, pedestrian refuge islands, ADA ramps with truncated domes, multi-use trails, no on-street bike lanes and full-movement intersections. Matthews Commissioner John Ross said he’d be in favor of drafting a substitute resolution reinforcing that Matthews supports the other towns in opposition to the superstreet design. “NCDOT needs to listen to everybody, and I think that’s been part of the problem,” Ross said. “I’m glad the other towns finally got religion, but see SUPERSTREET, Page 4A
Huckabee supports Harris for 9th District seat Leave it to God
by Justin Vick
Rev. Tony thinks he wed June Cleaver, 6B
INDEX Crime................................................................................ 3A Classifieds..............................................................5B Calendar.................................................................... 4A Faith................................................................................... 6B Sports.............................................................................. 1B Puzzles.........................................................................3B
justin@cmgweekly.com
MONROE – Mark Harris is getting support for his upcoming congressional campaign from prominent national Republican Mike Huckabee. Harris, former pastor at First Baptist Charlotte, served as Huckabee’s North Carolina campaign chairman when the Harris former Arkansas gov-
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ernor ran for President. Outside of politics, Huckabee hosts a weekly TV show on TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network), serves as a contributor to FOX News Channel, owns radio stations in three states and stays active on the speaking circuit. With so much going on, Huckabee doesn’t anticipate having a lot of time to travel the country over the next year endorsing candidates, making his support for Harris that more meaningful.
Huckabee took a few minutes Nov. 14 to answer questions from Matthews-Mint Hill Weekly at the Rolling Hills Country Club. Some of his answers were edited for brevity. Go to www.matthewsminthill weekly.com to read the interview in its entirety. I saw a video on YouTube of you endorsing Mark in 2016. He came close to winning that primary. Were you surprised he decided to run again? Not really. It’s one of the reasons I
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find it easy to support him. When people run for office and they don’t win and they are so disappointed that they quit, I kind of think they maybe never should have run, because politics is a process, not an event. If you look at it like, ‘I’m going to give it my shot, but if I don’t succeed, I’m out, I feel like you wasted the experience you learned from having run. Quite frankly, you learn a lot losing that you don’t learn winning. see HUCKABEE, Page 6A