Inside: 93 townhomes proposed for Chestnut Parkway • Page 3A
Indian Trail Spelling champion Vega wins again, 1B
New digs Hospital due in 2022, 1B
BY THE UNION COUNTY WEEKLY
Friday, Jan. 31, 2020 • Vol. 1 • No. 4
ABOUT US P.O. BOX 1104 Matthews, NC 28106 (704) 849-2261 justin@cmgweekly.com unioncountyweekly.com
PTA veteran runs for school board by Kayla Berenson kayla@cmgweekly.com
Sarah May has invested herself in helping Union County Public Schools since 2007. Now, she wants to go deeper and serve as an at-large member on the school board. “I want to be involved,” May said. “It’s a successful school system. I feel like I can contribute to that success because I really have a passion for children and having their education be top-notch.” Though May’s professional background is not in education,
she has been involved with several schools in the county since her family moved to Wesley Chapel 13 years ago. May served as the committee chair for the parent-teacher association at her daughter’s elementary, middle and high schools. She then started getting involved with other schools throughout the county, volunteering weekly at Sun Valley High and Walter Bickett Elementary. She currently volunteers at East Elementary and is helping the school get its PTO program on its feet. Seven years ago, she began at-
tending all school board meetings to get informed on the issues facing UCPS. “That’s just my heart,” May said. “That’s what I really like to do and put my time into wherever it’s needed. I just jump in and get involved.” May does not see many major
see SCHOOL, Page 6A
Sarah May has volunteered her time to enhance the educational environment at schools such as East Elementary, Sun Valley High and Walter Bickett Elementary. Photo courtesy of Sarah May
Celebrating milestones
Justin Vick Managing Editor
UCPS is tracking housing projects
Sun Valley is starting to pick up steam
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realm of possibility. Mason said the Spartans got on track after a 52-35 loss to Cuthbertson on Dec. 10. “What kind of turned us around was when we played Cuthbertson the first time,” Mason said. “They handled us pretty good and it was a big punch in the nose, but ever since then it’s kind of woken us up
chool boards generally catch a lot of flak from families during the redistricting process, but Union County Public Schools doesn't get enough credit on the amount of research that goes into these decisions. I have been particularly impressed with presentations delivered by UCPS Planning Manager Don Ogram Jr. in recent months during the facilities committee meetings, which are chaired by school board member Kathy Heintel. Ogram discussed enrollment and development data within the Sun Valley cluster during the Dec. 18 facilities meeting. He described the cluster as three major areas: Sun Valley campus, south to Airport Road and north to Indian Trail. Ogram identified 1,532 housing units that have yet to be built from five active developments and seven planned projects in the Indian Trail area as of August 2019. He then showed 1,459 units waiting to be built from two active developments and three planned projects in the Sun Valley portion of the cluster as of August 2019. “In this cluster, you’ll notice that we have a heavy dose of apartments and townhomes,” Ogram told the facilities committee. “This is a change from what we’ve seen in Union County over the past decades. Most of these are in plan-
see SPARTANS, Page 5A
see VICK, Page 5A
TOP: Seniors Justin Morton (0) and Michael Grovanz congratulate each other as their win over Cuthbertson last week becomes more obvious. All eight of the team’s top scorers are seniors, a trend that’s helping the Spartans play well. ABOVE: Justin Morton (0) defends the inbounds pass in Sun Valley’s tight win over Cuthbertson last week. Defense and senior leadership has helped spur the Spartans late run. Andrew Stark/ITW photo by Andrew Stark andrew@cmgweekly.com
INDIAN TRAIL – The Sun Valley boys basketball team no longer resembles the club that began the season with a 4-5 start. Spartans coach Keith Mason has led the team to eight wins in their past nine games, including a 6545 win over Parkwood on Jan. 24 that netted Mason his 200th ca-
INDEX Classifieds..............................................................5B Regional..................................................................... 1B Loud&Live.............................................................4B News Briefs......................................................... 2A Dining Scores..................................................3B Puzzles.........................................................................4B Readers Respond.................................. 4A In the Know......................................................... 2A Fine Print.................................................................. 4A Athlete of the Week..........................3B
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I don't get transfer guys. I get guys who are homegrown here. It goes to show that they buy in and they stay here."
reer coaching victory. That surge has put the Spartans right back in the thick of the Southern Carolinas race, which has them alone in third place with a 6-3 league record and 13-7 over-
– Coach Keith Mason all mark. They are currently looking up at Weddington (14-5, 9-0) and Charlotte Catholic (14-3, 8-1), but with both teams still on the schedule, nothing is out of the
School district names Teacher of the Year finalists
MONROE – Superintendent Andrew Houlihan, cabinet staff and school board members revealed 10 finalists for Union County Public Schools Teacher of the Year on Jan. 27 by visiting the nominees at their schools. UCPS recognizes a teacher who is not only dedicated and capable of inspiring students of all backgrounds and abilities to learn, but
also establishes an environment conducive to academic excellence. The district will reveal the winner at an April 28 banquet. The following finalists came from a pool of 53 school-wide winners: • Lindsey Weycker – The English teacher at Cuthbertson High is teaching students to value the written and spoken word. Her classroom culture is centered around helping
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develop skills to think, read, listen and speak critically. • Dareion Malone – The choral music teacher at Marvin Ridge High helps students sharpen their leadership skills through a structure designed to include student voice in their learning experience and music curriculum. • Coleen Owens – The eighthgrade language arts teacher at the
Health Sciences Academy at Monroe Middle works to create an environment for students that promotes thinking and encourages them to make choices. • Tiffany Medford – The studio arts teacher at Piedmont High helps students build networking opportunities, share their work and learn see TOY, Page 5A
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