Currents Magazine October 2022

Time to Chase Some Dreams

Fall has always signaled a time of transition to me. We transition from scorching temperatures to cooler morn ing temperatures, and I know people who were asking last month if it was too soon to break out all things re lated to Halloween. The kids head back to school, even though here in the south those kiddos will be wearing their shorts most of the year with a hoodie as their “fall” transitional piece of clothing. We look forward to apple picking and visiting pumpkin patches.

This month brings a new transition for me. Two months ago, we dropped our oldest off at college seven and a half hours away, to begin her own new adventure (Roll Tide and the Million Dollar Band)! Sorry, I had to slip that one in there. And after juggling various passion projects over the past several years, I decided the time has come for me to shift my focus from magazine editor, freelance writer, and part-time podcaster and aspiring novelist to full-time podcaster and novelist and true crime writer. This issue will be my last editing CURRENTS Magazine. We profile so many people in this magazine who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals, and I’m ready to achieve my dream of publishing full-length fiction.

I have mixed feelings over this decision because I’ve written or edited for this magazine in some form or fashion since 2009. I’ve enjoyed all the people I’ve been able to meet and interview over the years, as well as all the great organizations and local businesses I’ve had the pleasure to collaborate with on stories.

When I was a young journalism student many years ago, I never dreamed I’d have the opportunity to hold an editorial position at a magazine. Just the thought of meeting one deadline for a solo article made me anxious. Being an editor is so much more than editing articles and proofreading the layout of a magazine. It requires staying connected to the com munity you serve, the ability to discern whether or not a press release is a viable story idea, working with dedicated writers, photographers and a sales team to plan and produce the best issue possible, month after month, excellent project management skills, and so much more. Because of these reasons and more, having the title of Editor of CURRENTS Magazine has been an honor that has helped me grow in the publishing industry, and one that I don’t take lightly. Getting stopped by friends and acquaintances who tell me they’ve enjoyed this letter on a certain month (or receiving e-mails) never fails to brighten my day.

Two seasoned professionals named Lori Helms and Tony Ricciardelli will be taking over as co-editors starting with the November issue, and they are well-connected in the Lake Norman community and excited about continuing to produce content that will continue to spotlight the very best and brightest in our area. You can reach them at lori@LNCurrents. com and tony@LNCurrents.com. I’m excited to see what they do!

to see you around the towns!

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Contributing Writers

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Advertising Director

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IN

Channel Markers

Keeping Watch in Davidson

by Allison Futterman

The Dog Walker Watch is a nationwide program in which citizens assist local law enforcement by recognizing and reporting any suspi cious or crime-related activity. The purpose of the program is to train local residents to be an extra set of eyes and ears while walking their dog. Davidson is a great match for this program because of the high level of pedestrians and dog owners.

Leading the Dog Walker Watch efforts are two Davidson Police Department officers who are invaluable to the community in their roles as school resource officers (SRO). Officer Kanita Boone is the SRO the Community School of Davidson. She spearheaded the pro cess of bringing the Dog Walker Watch to Davidson and held the first training session in the summer of 2019.

About 25 residents showed up to that first class, with local residents excited to be a participate. The one-time, one-hour session teaches citizens how to be aware of potential criminal activity. It might be someone going from car to car trying to open doors, an individual walking around backyards without proper identification, or some body walking away from porches with packages—the dog walkers may be witnessing something that needs to be reported.

Officer Michael Prather also runs the program. An SRO at Davidson K-8, he says that about 90 percent of criminal arrests are the result of citizens informing police about a crime. He stresses that Davidson residents care about their community and are a valuable resource in

Officer Kanita Boone Officer Michael Prather

keeping the town safe. Dog walkers are especially well suited for this type of program because they are out and about at all different times of the day and night.

Both officers emphasize that dog walker participants shouldn’t confront anyone. They are not there to replace the police. They are supposed to call 911 if there’s an imminent situation, while there is an online method to report non-urgent (but still important) matters.

Dog Walker Watch is not the only way these officers have taken the initiative to make a difference. At his school, Officer Prather noticed that on Friday afternoons the students would walk to the local phar macy to buy snacks and drinks. At times, it overwhelmed the store. So he started working with local businesses to set up on the Green, where they would sell items the students wanted. This was a win for everyone, including the pharmacy, local small business, and the students.

Officer Boone’s involvement with helping youth predates her law en forcement career. Prior to becoming a police officer, she worked with a nonprofit that helped families and children in need. Always looking for opportunities to make a positive impact, she brought the D.A.R.E. program to the Davidson Police Department and her school in 2019.

They welcome anyone who would like to get involved to go to https://www.townofdavidson.org/1195/Dog-Walker-Watch.

Around the Lake News

Southern Distilling Company enters multi-year deal

A Statesville-based distilling company has signed on with Charlotte Football Club in a partnership designed to elevate the fan experience in the stadium and beyond. Southern Distilling Company, which Vienna and Pete Barger founded in 2013, has entered a multi-year deal with the sports organization as an official partner in the alcohol whiskey category with its Southern Star family of spirits.

Five Southern Star products — Double Rye, Paragon Wheated Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Standard High Rye Straight Bourbon Whiskey, White Whiskey and Double Shot Coffee Bourbon Cream Liqueur — are now available in the stadium behind the bar, at coffee stands and in signature frozen cocktails.

Two cocktails featuring Southern Star whiskey, created by award-winning mixologist Justin Hazelton of Top Shelf Co. and Leah & Louise, are exclusively available in the pitch-level VIP bars at The Vault and The Gallery. Numerous locations through out the stadium are also serving Southern Star products, includ ing the fan favorite blue frozen drinks, appropriately named the Southern Star Slushie, which features Southern Star White Whiskey. Learn more about the products at www.southerndistill ingcompany.com.

Plant-based Barvecue products expand into Harris Teeter

The plant-based brand Barvecue, based in Cornelius, recent ly announced a major new retail expansion with Harris Teeter Supermarkets. Barvecue’s product offering attracts vegans, veg etarians, and flexitarians looking to put a plant-based option at the center of consumer’s plates. Their wood-smoked, plant-based Pulled BVQ and Carnitas will be placed within the frozen section of 191 Harris Teeter stores. Pulled BVQ is a plant-based meat with traditional BBQ seasoning.

With Harris Teeter’s presence throughout the Carolinas, Virginia, Georgia, Maryland, Delaware, Florida, and the District of Columbia, this new retail distribution significantly expands Barvecue’s availability in the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic U.S. market areas.

Lee Cooper founded Barvecue in 2017, along with Zack Werner, when he saw the need for suitable vegetarian/vegan options for one of his favorite meals, a barbeque sandwich. In addition to retail locations, products can be purchased online or at 10308 Bailey Road, #427, in Cornelius. www.barvecue.com.

MDC gives back in more ways than one

The Mooresville Downtown Commission announced a donation in the amount of $4,500 to FeedNC, a food-focused resource that seeks to end the cycle of hunger and poverty with extensive programs for those in need. The contribution was made possible from proceeds generated from this past spring’s Shamrocks & Shenanigans: A Downtown Mooresville St. Patrick’s Day Festival & Bar Crawl. The event, new to MDC’s list of signature events and happenings, debuted on March 19, 2022, and sold out all 400 tickets required to participate. The MDC also contributed $11,500 to Mooresville Arts, a donation made possible by pro ceeds amassed from the past three Uncorked & Artsy events. It ranks as the largest MDC donation to date.

Above: Carnitas tacos made with Barvecue. Right: Cornelius-based Barvecue products are now available in Harris Teeter Supermarkets. compiled by Renee Roberson

The Mooresville Downtown Commission presented FeedNC with a check for $4,500.

Pete and Vienna Barger, founders of Southern Distilling Company.

Go for Disc Golf!

Walk along a scenic wooded course as you send some discs soaring through the air and you’ll get an excellent cardio and strength-training workout in. Disc Golf is ageless, economical and you can play it with others or solo. It’s also fun! Like golf, the object is to throw frisbee-like discs down the fairway into “holes” or metal chain baskets. Courses, usually nine or 18 holes, wind through trees or up and down hills. Along with pickleball, it’s one of the fastest-growing sports worldwide.

“If you’re looking for a new activity to switch it up, Disc Golf can be very peaceful and a great exercise,” says Nolen Peterson, own er of Chain Reactions in Cornelius. “You’ll do a lot of walking, a couple miles, through the woods at sunset or sunrise and not even realize it.”

Whether you’re just getting started or ramping up your game, you’ll want to visit Chain Reactions. Peterson carries everything from Innova, Dynamic and DiscMania discs to used ones that start at just $3.99. He recommends beginning with slower-speed, lighter discs, and going heavier as you gain power. If you’re inter ested in lessons, the store’s associate “Bobcat” Buckley can help. They can also equip you with full disc pro attire, bags, shirts and hats. Check out their website to meet their tournament team.

Peterson began playing Disc Golf in 2005, and has since compet ed in 50 state tournaments, mostly in the western region. “It’s a very competitive region. I’ve won three, and the wins don’t come

Nolen Peterson, owner of Chain Reactions.

by Karel Bond Lucander photography by Jon Beyerle

easy.” As his passion for the sport grew, in October 2021 he left his job in pest control to open Chain Reactions. His love for the game has also inspired his family, including his parents, to play. He’s been playing with his wife, Kerri, since they met in 2014. “She can bomb a disc!” he says. “I’ve played a lot of sports and there’s nothing quite like the slight of a disc. It’s very inexpensive to get started and that kind of drew me to it. The courses are in beautiful natural areas in woods and parks.”

Lake Norman is home to several fine courses. Peterson suggests starting “With a beginner friendly course, like Bailey Park in Cornelius. Robbins Park is an intermediate level course, and Bradford Park or Stumpy Creek are intermediate to advanced.” When you stop by Chain Reactions, you’ll see his other passion: Basketball, football, Pokémon and some baseball cards. He buys, sells and trades them.

And, hey, if you’re not in a hurry and the rain is coming down

hard for Disc Golf, the store even has a lounge room with an Xbox

a craft beer fridge.

back

encourages customers

The Statesville Pumpkin Fest will take place on Nov. 5 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

A Hometown

Favorite

The Statesville Pumpkin Fest celebrates 19 years

Nothing says “autumn” quite like a pumpkin. The big, orange gourd has been a symbol of the season for centuries over, and with good reason—there’s so much to do with them! From bak ing, to carving, to smashing, there’s no shortage of fun to be had with fall’s favorite fruit. That’s why the Statesville Pumpkin Fest is gearing up for its 19th year of celebrating the town’s history, the season’s change, and of course, pumpkins.

Hosted by the Statesville Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by local organizations, the festival features a variety of funfilled, fall-themed activities such as street decoration, games, live entertainment, food, and artisan vendors for the commu nity to enjoy. The 2022 Pumpkin Fest will be held on Nov. 5 in Historic Downtown Statesville from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is free to attend (vendor goods, as well as some rides and attrac tions will have and entry fee). Previous years have seen turnouts of a few hundred exhibitors, and as many as 5,000 visitors from near and far.

Adults and teens will be able to participate in free games includ ing cornhole, spikeball, crossnet, polish horseshoes, kan jam, disc golf, and bocce, while the Kid’s Zone will feature attractions for younger festival-goers. With the purchase of tickets or a wrist band, the little ones can enjoy slides, obstacle courses, and a

moon bounce, among other rides and activities.

A classic car cruise-in will see Court Street turned into a show road for local automobile enthusiasts; from 9:30-10:30 a.m., guests are welcome to drive in with any make and model dating back to at least ‘94. Casual spectators and car aficionados alike are encouraged to join in on the fun.

Not one, but two stages will provide live entertainment by over a dozen different groups, with performances rotating every 30 min utes to one hour. The Main Stage, hosted by WAME Real Country, will feature Carolina Ridgeline, American Holler, and Red Dirt Revival. The Community Stage will be treated to shows from local organizations such as Centre Ballet, Phoenix Martial Arts, ACROFITNESS, Carolina Dogwood Queens, the Thai Kickboxing Organization, and many more!

Artisan vendors will line the streets, making Pumpkin Fest the perfect opportunity to pick up locally-made, one-of-a-kind goods. Everything from spa products to baked goods, pet wares, clothing, jewelry, fine art, and other handicraft will be available for purchase. Visitors will also find a variety of food booths offering goodies like BBQ, wings, polish sausage, gyros, steak & cheese, hot dogs, pizza, fries, funnel cakes, apple pies, and much, much more.

by Abigail Smathers | photo courtesy of Downtown Statesville/Facebook

More than Just a Building

Lingle Hut’s Dedication Celebration

by Karel Bond Lucander | photography by Jon Beyerle

An important piece of history has come back to life in Davidson. After three years of renovations, Reeves Temple AME Zion Church is excited to invite everyone to their Lingle Hut “Dedication Celebration” on Oct. 8 from 2 to 4 p.m. at 219 Watson Street.

This little Rustic-Revival-style structure is one of only four commu nity-built buildings that still exists in all of Mecklenburg County. Built in 1932, mill workers, Davidson College students and church members worked side-by-side to construct it.

“Lingle Hut tells the story of the mill community as we lose most of our mill houses,” says Stewart Gray, historic resources program manager for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission. “It helps to tell the blue-collar history of the town. And it also tells the evolution of the African American community. Today, Lingle Hut is pulling the community together and helping everyone understand the importance of maintaining the history of the endur ing African American community of Davidson.”

Castella Connor, long-time Reeves Temple congregant whose moth er helped the church purchase Lingle Hut decades ago, says, “To see where we started and where we are now is a blessing!”

In 2018, Reeves Temple congregant Lela Johnson told her friend Maria Naas about the hut’s deterioration. The foundation was crumbling, and it needed extensive overhauls. Naas and Connor recruited volunteers to help publicize and raise funds for the hut. David Holthouser, director of facilities and engineering at Davidson College, provided renovation guidance. In 2019,

McMillan Design Build began working on major reconstruction. In 2020, Pacific Builders poured the concrete floor and rein forced the foundation. JM Builders installed a new roof. Now, Patrick Parente of Poppys Handyman Service is handling final restorations.

It has taken a village to get it to this point, and Connor says there are so many to thank. Funding has come from Covington Foundation grants and individual donations. To help finance the last necessary repairs, anyone can purchase a brick to honor a loved one. These will be displayed near the hut. Volunteers will also continue fundraising with an upcoming carnival and future fish fries.

This project has had challenges. Everything was put on hold during the pandemic shutdown. And there was a setback in September 2021 when six juveniles and one adult vandalized the hut multiple times. “The floor was covered with fire-extinguisher remnant, some ceiling was torn down and logs chucked out,” Conner says. The court system is currently addressing this crime. Yet, they’re close to the finish line. It’s been a long time coming, but this historic Davidson treasure will now stand for future generations. “Lingle Hut will be used not only as the church’s social hall but also be made available to the public,” says dedicat ed volunteer Kurt Naas. “It is a unique opportunity to restore a sense of community and explore history.”

Contact Castella at 704.605.1298; castellaconnor@gmail.com; fundraisingbrick.com/reevestemple/

Historic Lingle Hut is one of only four community-built buildings still in existence in Mecklenburg County.

Editor’s Note:

Best of Lake Norman

we

little more behind-the-scenes

Mooresville Golf Club

This BOTL favorite began as a nine-hole-course located in close proxim ity to the Burlington Industries 230,000-square-foot mill in downtown Mooresville. In 1948, Legendary golf course architect Donald Ross designed a course specifically as an amenity for friends and family of the textile company. The Town of Mooresville purchased the course in the mid-1970s and the name was changed to Mooresville Municipal Golf Course. In 1978, the town received a federal grant which helped add a back nine designed by Porter Gibson and clubhouse to the property. In 2014, the course received yet another facelift with the help of recreation bonds that included a rede sign by Kris Spence in 2016 and a name change to Mooresville Golf Club.

Golfers continue to enjoy the link-style golf experience, 18,000-square-foot clubhouse, which houses the popular fine dining restaurant On the Nines, practice facility, pro shop, and garage facility for golf carts that boasts top-ofthe-line GPS systems. All amenities continue to be open to the public.

Want to learn more? Visit www.mooresvillegolfclub.com or 205 Golf Course Drive, Mooresville.

The club offers public tee times to anyone wishing to play.

The 18,000-square-foot clubhouse.

Mental Health is Physical Health

Take TIme each day To care for yourself

by Dr. Rajal Patel, Concierge Physician - WellcomeMD Mooresville

There’s no denying that the pandemic has taken a toll over the past two and a half years. A study by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 1 in 4 U.S. adults reported symptoms of anxiety and depressive disorder during the pandemic, more than double from 2019 where depression was estimated in 1 in 10 people.

Often overlooked: Helpful support for you or your family can be as close by as your primary care doctor.

As the season changes and we return to our normal routines, it’s a great time to reflect on how closely linked our mental health is to our physical health. The clinical definition of “good” mental health is more than just not having a mental illness. The World Health Organization defines it as being able to cope with the normal stresses of life, work productively, realize your own abilities, and contribute to your community.

In a national poll on healthy aging by the University of Michigan, 29 percent of adults said they were unsure or had reservations about seeing a mental health professional. There is so much more to be done nationwide to address the stigma associated with the topic of mental health, and it’s important to remember many mental health related issues can manifest in the body physically.

A trusting relationship with your primary physician is key. If you’re not sure how to broach the subject with your doctor about feeling blue or stressed at work, you may find it easier to open up about sleepless nights that are beginning to add up, fatigue or a worsening chronic condition. A good physician won’t immediately prescribe medication. Instead, he or she will take the time to ask questions that reveal patterns behind new or worsening ailments.

On the flip side, suggesting a 30-minute meditation routine isn’t realistic for someone with a busy schedule or brand new to these techniques. But taking time for yourself every evening to work in the garden or take a walk along the beach may be the perfect prescription to help clear a busy mind and increase melatonin for a good night’s sleep.

Small changes like establishing routines, maintaining a regular sleep schedule, incorporating regular exercise and natural light, and min imizing alcohol can all help improve mental health and well-being. Deep breathing techniques like “box breathing” are a great way to manage stress and anxiety. It may seem like pseudoscience but numer ous studies show these techniques can help you cope with panic and stress when you feel overwhelmed. Focusing on your breath helps lower blood pressure and decrease cortisol, a stress hormone.

A Second Act? An Encore?

Dr. Bill Lawing

As Bill Lawing steps away from Davidson College, his music (and more) continues…

by Mike Savicki | photography by Eric Keith/Davidson College

For nearly the past five decades (46 years to be exact), Dr. Bill Lawing’s footprint on the Davidson College campus has brought music to more than could possibly be imagined. His work with students has changed lives. His performances have impacted many more. And his work in the community, mostly unnoted, has shifted the way music, and the lives of those in need, continue forward.

Truth be told, I struggled to find a hook for this story of Bill Lawing. How do you summarize what someone has accomplished for so long? How do you qualify something so personal as music? And how do you put into words the impact that his performances have had on so many, including musicians across genres, countries, and cultures?

Sitting with Lawing, as we chatted about not only his past but what his future life after retirement might entail, he summarized it in one word. Relationships. To build a life in music, a life teaching, and to shape a lifetime beyond retirement, he says it is all about relationships. As he explains it, relationships exist not only with the musical note but also with the audience.

“Psychologically, you hear about retiring and you hear about the mantra ‘you need to have a plan when you retire’ but I can’t say that’s wholly true for me,” Lawing, DMA, inaugural holder of the J. Estes Millner Endowed Chair in Music at Davidson College, shares. ‘It’s more fluid for me. There is a lot in my life which is changing,

like not being in the classroom, but there is also a lot not changing at all. Those things that drive my passions outside the classroom, they will remain.”

On campus, he will miss a tremendous amount. He will miss directing the jazz ensemble and overseeing the college’s jazz program. He will miss teaching courses about America’s varied musical genres. And he will miss being on stage, performing concerts and recitals, creating those moments of magic that leave audiences wanting more.

“But I won’t miss that intensity that comes, as a teacher, with that August transition back to the classroom,” Lawing says with a smile. “You’d think it would get easier after so many years, but it doesn’t. That stress, that anticipation, it always builds.” But what Lawing will continue in music after retirement is enough to fill a career.

Almost annually he has taught with Davidson Learns and plans for it to continue. His Appalachian music class will transform into a year-long community learning series. Before each concert, students will get an opportunity to meet the musicians and hear Lawing speak how this form of music impacts and shapes lives.

“That interaction with the performers,” he shares, “I want the stu dents to see the other side of the performers and that is something I can continue to teach.”

His music performance won’t change much either.

“I still feel very good about my ability to play at a high level. I see that continuing for the foreseeable future,” he says. “There’s something about doing things with musical notes that fills my heart. ‘That feeling that comes with performing is so satisfying. I want to stay active, up there on stage, challenging myself and playing with those around me.”

So as a performer, Lawing will continue on stage doing what he loves. He will remain present in the orchestral trumpet section of the Western Piedmont Symphony in Hickory performing a half dozen concerts in the air. Playing the cornet, performing in a British style, he will continue as a permanent member of the North Carolina Brass Band, too.

“Those two opportunities are wonderful experiences for a musi cian like me,” Lawing says.

And more locally, at Davidson’s St. Albans, where he has played in a brass quintet named Carolina Brass for over 40 years, he looks forward to this fall.

Lawing says, “I’m the last guy from the original group, a really top-notch drawer level of musicians who have come and gone, and it is so special to me to have the opportunity to play at that level when I’m not a full-time musician.”

Away from music, Lawing is excited to continue the work he has done assisting area refugees with education, moving through high school and into college. For the last decade, in partnering with Catholic Charities, he has worked closely with an annual handful of high school seniors, quietly, behind the scenes, helping them develop marketable life skills, and a love for education that often leads to a more full and complete life in a community and a country far distant and different from the one they knew.

“This work reflects the reality that there are many here in our community who are doing all they can just to understand how to live,” Lawing says.

“When you get down to it, in terms of relationships, it has been, and will continue to be my relationship with the trumpet, the musical note, and the people I work with every single day that will continue to move me forward,” he says. “There is pleasure in conducting, and teaching, but now I’m starting to see it differently.

“There is more to it all,” he continues. “Musical notes will al ways fill my heart, that feeling that comes with performing that is so satisfying, and all the people around me. While some may change others will remain.”

For Bill Lawing, now in retirement, the hope and promise of music, and teaching and leading and guiding, will continue to bloom and blossom.

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Women InBusiness

The Lake Norman area is home to many powerhouse female business leaders in a variety of fields. From medical care for you, your families, or your pets, employment services, banking professionals, interior designers and home stagers, these woman have so much to offer. We know you’ll be inspired to support them once you read their stories.

Dr. Astle’s Story

After finishing our training in dermatology in the early 1990s, my husband and I researched areas with a strong medical community and a family-oriented city where we would enjoy raising our daughters. While we felt sure we had found what we were looking for in Charlotte, we still felt like we were taking a leap of faith when we purchased a retiring dermatologist’s practice in Gastonia and within a few months started our own practice in Cornelius. It was a lot of work establishing and running two practices, but over time we were rewarded with loyal patients many of whom we came to admire as we learned about their lives and families. My husband and I shared the responsibilities of the practice learning what each of us was best at administratively and maximizing those strengths for the benefit of the practice and our employees. Running a medical practice changed over the years as we transitioned to electronic medical records, HIPPA, and increasing regulations. Through it all, we adapted and continued to enjoy our independent practice. While it was challenging to continue the practice on my own once my husband passed, I did have an intimate knowledge of the practice and loyal staff that allowed me to stay as a solo practitioner so I could maintain a work/life balance that allowed me to care for my daughters on my own. Four years ago, I was approached by Piedmont Plastic Surgery and Dermatology to join their organization. This merger has allowed me to relinquish the day-to-day responsibilities of running a practice while I continue to enjoy seeing my patients and practicing general dermatology. I know my patients are very appreciative of the access to inhouse dermatologic surgery along with cosmetic and aesthetic procedures. Our patients, the physicians and our staff are thrilled with our recent move to the new state of the art dermatology facility in the Huntersville business park.

Dr. Astle

Medical School – University of Alberta, Canada Residency – University of Michigan

Dr. Mu’s Story

Our skin makes us uniquely human, connecting us to the world around us. In the same way, we aim to practice dermatology in a way that connects our patients with the surrounding community. Growing up in North Carolina, I knew this is where I wanted to build my career and my family after finishing training. Within dermatology, I chose to specialize in Mohs micrographic surgery, which combines same-day pathology and surgery for the treatment of high-risk skin cancers. Each year, 5.4 million Americans are diagnosed with skin cancer, which far outnumbers all other cancers combined. It is our mission to find and remove skin cancers with the most effective and cosmetically sensitive techniques available.

The area offers a wealth of medical practice models. I found Piedmont Plastic Surgery and Dermatology (PPSD) the most ideal setting for diagnosing and treating skin cancers given the group

practice’s multi-specialty collaborative approach. I joined PPSD in 2018 and have been grateful for the opportunity to help expand the Lake Norman offices. We have grown from two to six providers in dermatology and plastic surgery, recently opened a state-of-the-art surgical center and outpatient office in Huntersville and expanded our facilities and services in Denver. We each aim to work closely alongside family members, primary care physicians, medical specialists, and the local community to provide skin care in the context of all that makes us human.

Dr. Mu Medical School – Johns Hopkins University Residency – New York University

Dr. Seminara’s Story

Nicole Seminara, MD graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School. While there she joined a leading psoriasis research lab where she authored numerous ground-breaking studies in psoriasis. She was awarded the Research Prize for Outstanding Research, the Moskowitz Prize for Excellence in Clinical Epidemiology, and the Memorial Prize in Dermatology for the greatest contribution to the department.

After graduating she completed her medicine preliminary year at NYU followed by her dermatology residency at Stanford University. While at Stanford she was fortunate enough to train with world experts in dermatology and put those skills to use when she returned to NYU to join the dermatology faculty as an assistant professor.

While at NYU she served as the director and head instructor for the extremely successful dermatology basic science curriculum taught to every medical student graduating from NYU. She was very actively involved in the residency program and was voted “Teacher of the Year” by the dermatology residents. She has been invited to be a speaker at numerous national meetings as well as a guest lecturer at other medical schools and the NIH.

She is a recurring guest host on the nationally broadcast Dermatology Show on Sirius XM Doctor Radio and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Fox News, Smithsonian Magazine, NY Daily News, Cosmopolitan magazine, and Vogue Business.

After five wonderful years at NYU she moved to Lake Norman to raise her young family and renew her love for rowing crew. She joined PPSD where her good friend, and former NYU colleague, Euphemia Mu had joined years prior.

Dr. Seminara

Medical school – University of Pennsylvania Residency – Stanford University

Marcyne Touchton graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a degree in fashion and apparel design. She’s always had a keen eye for detail and design trends. While most people who regularly view HGTV now know what home staging is, Marcyne Touchton, Principal Stager and Designer of Domaine Staging & Design trained with Barb Schwarz, Creator of Home Staging and founder of Stagedhomes.com, before the concept was mainstream. She was the first Master Stager® in the Carolinas, which is the highest designation in the home staging industry. Touchton spent the first five years of her business educating agents and

homeowners on what staging was and why it is essential to selling a home.

Touchton has won several industry awards, including “Best of the Best” from the International Association of Home Staging Professionals, The Best of Staging Client Excellence Award and Staging Excellence Award. She is often a featured speaker at industry events and a regular expert for local news outlets. She’s been featured on WBTC and CBS News, among other places. In 2010, she was chosen as one of the in-house National Designers for Kirkland’s through the MyKirklands Designer Contest. The company selected her as one of six designers from a contest that included thousands of contestants.

Selling a home can be stressful, and home staging can be just one more line item in a long list of things that should be done to ensure your home presents at its very best. During the pandemic, when her staging services were forced to shut down, she found people calling her to do full design work, which she was already doing for home staging. It has been about 95 percent of her services up until now. Domaine Staging & Design offers full-service design, including remodeling and project management services, alongside Luxury Home Staging. The company is passionate about bringing value to your property, value to your experience, and value to the most cherished commodity of all, your time.

In her spare time, Touchton,

who has lived in Cornelius for the past eight years, is passionate about assisting with organizations that helps with housing, so she can then, help furnish with old goods from her clients that are not taken by Goodwill/Habitat to be able to provide families with function and dignity to have a space they are proud of. She would love to partner with an organization such as Goodwill or Habitat for Humanity in providing used furniture items that are still in good condition to families in need. She has spent many summers scuba diving, and passed the baton to her children. Now that K-pop and all things Korean are getting more mainstream, she gets asked a lot to cook Korean food, and Korean BBQ is one of her favorites.

Marcyne Touchton Principal Stager and Designer of Domaine Staging & Design

From her freshman year at The Ohio State University, Kelly Cruz knew interior design was the right career path for her. She is now in her 26th year of being the owner and principal designer at Kelly Cruz Interiors.

Based in Lake Norman, the company offers space planning, architectural and interior and exterior selections for new remodeling. Kelly Cruz Interiors also provides furnishings to clients that are price-point appropriate to the value of a home in turn-key fashion. The firm begins many of these projects before construction or remodeling begins and assist with space planning and

construction selections for the interior and exterior of the home. Ordering manufacturerdirect offers furniture pricing competitive with big-box discount stores, offering a thorough and complete design service to the high-end and luxury markets.

Cruz feels treating each project and client with respect is a core value that sets her apart from other competitors. “I treat the home with the respect I would give if it were my own and expect the same from my team members, vendors, or subcontractors. This starts with integrity in billing, and even picking up junk mail blowing around the lawn when the

homeowners are away.”

Kelly Cruz Interiors won the 2022 Best of Lake Norman CURRENTS reader favorite award for Best Interior Design and has received regional awards and for local showhouses. “The greatest award we receive is our clients’ satisfaction with their home when the project is complete and they are enjoying their home,” she says. “It’s a personal process to design someone’s home to their liking while applying good design and a splash of creativity.”

Cruz has donated her design talents to help nonprofits design and organize their spaces so they will be more functional. She recently received an e-mail

from Hope of Mooresville (HOMe), an organization that provides temporary housing and support to women and children escaping abusive situations.

“They moved to a new facility recently and are still able to use the shelving we provided,” she says. “I was so completely humbled by this thoughtful e-mail. We were rewarded by being able to help a local organization that does so much for others.” She also helped the nonprofit UMAR, dedicated to promoting community inclusion, independence, and growth for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, plan and organize their facilities and space.

Kelly Cruz Owner and Designer at Kelly Cruz Interiors

Banking is in April Patterson’s blood. After graduating Magna Cum Laude from UNCCharlotte with a double major in Economics and Sociology, she began her banking career at First Union in Charlotte. She’s been working in the Lake Norman market helping clients reach their financial goals since 2003.

Founded in Western North Carolina in 1926, HomeTrust Bank is a full-service Community Bank that offers customized financial services for commercial, business, personal, and mortgage. The concierge boutique banking experience taking a wholistic consultative relationship driven approach to guide clients and grow their balance sheets. Whether you are a business owner or consumer, HomeTrust Bank is available to help you meet your financial goals. This is a phenomenal team with great energy who works so well together using each bankers’ strengths to ensure a positive experience all the way around.

For two years in a row, HomeTrust Bank has been named the “Best Small Bank in North Carolina” by Newsweek in their ranking of financial institutions that best serve their customers’ needs in today’s ever changing financial landscape.

Patterson believes in being a dedicated member of her community. She serves as Team mom and Treasurer for NL Knights Lacrosse teams and will be serving on the Chamber Board of Directors in 2023. She’s also served as Secretary for the Mooresville Exchange Club.

“Staying active in the community and aware of issues we are facing and partnering with others to support our market area and thrive together is a privilege,” says Patterson.

While Jamie McNeilis, Owner of Centerpiece Home Staging LLC, spent the first half of her career working in the banking and investment management industries, she realized she had a gift in home decorating and organization after becoming a homeowner. She founded her company in 2007 and has since earned multiple staging certifications, including the Accredited Staging Professional Master (ASPM) and Certified Luxury Home Staging Specialist designations.

Centerpiece Home Staging is a fullservice staging company that offers consulting services to realtors and their clients. They offer supplemental staging packages for owner-occupied listings and specialize in fully or partially furnishing completely vacant listings, including new construction

and investment properties. In addition to these traditional staging services, they also offer holiday decorating, and the entire team holds certifications in professional home organization.

The company has received numerous accolades, including Best ASP® Staged Vacant Property in Charlotte, six Best of the Lake awards from the LKN HBA, and several Best of Houzz awards.

“Our 15 years of experience definitely sets us apart from our competitors,” says McNeilis. “We have been through multiple real estate market ups and downs and fully understand how the process works. Every home is different, and we have experience staging them all. We have many real estate and investor clients who have been with us for more than a decade and some even since our inception in 2007!”

Stacy White earned a master’s degree in education and spent 30 years teaching middle and high school math, but after retiring, she still wasn’t ready to slow down. A love of food and service prompted her to join the Famous Toastery franchise on Brawley School Road in 2015 and a second location in downtown Mooresville in 2018. Open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. for breakfast, brunch, and lunch, both have received numerous local awards for “best breakfast” from the community.

With more than 30 Famous Toasteries located along the East Coast, the company continues to grow. “There are a few things I feel set us apart,” says White. That includes the quality of the restaurant’s food and service.

“We make everything fresh in house and you can taste the difference. Our motto is ‘every server is your server,’ so our entire staff will take care of everyone. We dedicate so much to developing relationships with our guests. We feel like we are ‘the Cheers of Breakfast.’ Our customers really make us who we are,” she adds.

White nurtures that relationship with community by making sure the Famous Toastery gives back whenever possible, whether through sponsoring athletic groups in the local schools or holding fundraisers throughout the year. “We have worked with Make a Wish Foundation, Relay for Life, American Cancer Society, Stand for Animals, Alzheimer’s Association, The Hope House, Children’s Hope Alliance, and March of Dimes,” she says.

Anna Stowe, Manager and Interior Designer at Great Design 4 U, developed a love for architecture and design from a young age. After graduating from High Point University with a degree in interior design, she still frequently takes continuing education courses in her field to stay current on the latest products, trends, and practices in the design industry.

Great Design 4 U is a full-service interior design company equipped to help you from conception to completion. Whether you need window treatments, paint consultation, and/or new furniture, the company services an array of clientele all the way to full renovations or new construction.

“We try to explain our design decisions to clients and make them feel comfortable every step of the way,” says Stowe. “We don’t only design, we try to educate on design

decisions. Our goal is to guide and provide information so that our clients feel empowered to make informed decisions for their lifestyles.”

Since the pandemic, the company has offered complimentary 30-minute Zoom consultations to get to know prospective clients and establish a rapport before a client fully commits to hiring Great Design 4 U. Stowe says their ultimate goal is to remove stress from the design process— they want to make sure that once a project is finished, you enjoyed the experience and love the result.

Great Design 4 U has donated services and worked with organizations such as Ada Jenkins Center, the Rotary Club, and Business Leaders of Charlotte. The company enjoys collaborating with business owners to help them have a welldesigned environment for their employees and clientele within LKN and the surrounding communities.

Drs. Nicole Sheehan and Carrie Uehlein have been practicing medicine together since 2005. Their experience in the veterinary field led them to the realization that they’d need to open their own practice to create a culture where staff can grow, and patients receive top notch care through an integrative approach. That’s when, in 2013, The Veterinary Hospital of Davidson was born, and Dr. Uehlein joined shortly thereafter in 2014. With integrating both Eastern and Western medicine to get to the root of patients’ ailments and prioritizing the care of employees, growth was inevitable. This led to an expansion to Wilmington in 2020 and Charlotte in

2021. With the expansion also came a name change to encapsulate all that they are – Whole Pet Veterinary Hospitals. They pride themselves on treating an animal’s mind, body, and soul.

Giving back to the community has always been a priority for Drs. Sheehan and Uehlein. The HOPE fund was the first step in being able to provide medical care to those that may not be able to afford it. From this Dr. Sheehan created Whole Pet GO, a non-profit that aids in rescuing animals in underserved areas like Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. 2022 has brought an expansion of the Davidson office to include a street side coffee bar to help raise money for pets in need.

D

aly Mills Family Law & Estate Planning offers all services related to family law, estate planning, and estate administration. For family law, this includes divorce, alimony, child custody, child support, and equitable distribution (property division). For Estate Planning and Administration, this includes wills, trusts, guardianship matters, Medicaid and long-term care planning, as well as litigation surrounding those issues.

Managing Partner Miranda Mills is proud to call herself a “Double Deac.” She graduated from Wake Forest University in 2006, where she majored in English and minored in International Studies. She graduated from Wake Forest University School of Law in 2010 and began practicing family law that same year.

Associate Attorney Danielle Feller attended Campbell University School of Law and graduated in 2016. She joined Daly Mills Family Law & Estate Planning in 2019 and is now the lead attorney for the firm’s Estate Planning practice.

Mills is an experienced courtroom litigator and graduate of the prestigious Gerry Spence Trial Lawyer’s College. In 2022, she served as the Program Chair for the North Carolina Advocate’s for Justice “Family Law in the age of COVID” seminar. She was also a guest speaker at the event, where she presented information regarding ThirdParty Custody cases. Feller has been published in Wealth Counsel’s second edition of “Estate Planning Strategies,

Collective Wisdom, Proven Techniques.” She is an AV Preeminent Rated Attorney in Estate Planning.

As an all-female firm, Mills and Feller support issues close to their hearts, and proudly participate in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure every spring. They also believe

engaging in utmost care in

aspect

practice.

“We pride ourselves on providing personalized service for each of our clients,” the two women say. “Clients often come to us in some of the most difficult times (if not the most difficult) in their lives. Then, on top of the emotional

turmoil, they have to talk to someone about private subjects like family conflicts, children, and money. During a time like that, our clients should know that we care. We consciously keep our caseloads small so we can provide the best service possible to the clients that we serve.”

Miranda Mills, Managing Partner, and Danielle Feller, Associate Attorney Daly Mills Family Law & Estate Planning

Jamie Ottinger trained as a headhunter for Mortgage Banking, which taught her how to help the newly skilled and executive-level candidates with job placement across many industries. She joined Express Employment Professionals in 2005, beginning her career in Hickory and opening a Mooresville location in 2009.

From short or long- term workers to direct, full-time hires, Express Employment places candidates in a wide variety of jobs to support every area of business, including Administrative/Office Services, Commercial/Industrial, and Professional positions at all levels. Ottinger feels transparency is key in building and keeping relationships.

“With that transparency comes a level of honesty in our recruiting and vetting process that many of our competitors fail to achieve. And we never charge a fee to the job seeker. We’re ethical!” she stresses.

Candidates clearly appreciate the care Express Employment Professionals takes in their work. They’ve received the 2022 Best of Staffing Awards Winner recognition and client satisfaction scores are 9 or 10 out of a 10 from 66 percent of their clients, which is significantly higher than the industry’s average of 41 percent.

Outside of work, Ottinger says she’s passionate about child abuse prevention and financially supports and volunteers with Pharos Parenting whenever possible.

Jamie Ottinger

Lake Spaces

How We Live at the Lake

p. 44 A local registered architect dreams up the perfect home renovation in Davidson for her family.

A Modern Cottage

The front door lets light in and gives guests a welcomed feel and a glimpse through to the kitchen and the wood ed lot beyond.

Before

The Perri family home is located one mile east of Main Street in Davidson, accessible to town, and backs up to nature trails.

davIdson archITecT creaTes a Woodland reTreaT for her famIly

by Bek Mitchell-Kidd photography by Kelsie Elizabeth Photography

Nicole Perri, a Davidson resident and registered architect, took on a project close to her heart when she reimagined a 1970s ranch into a sleek and beautiful family home.

“We chose to do a renovation versus a teardown to reclaim the place and preserve the surrounding landscape and elements of the house,” she says. “By using the existing foundation, we avoided the clear-cutting and leveling that usually happens with a teardown, and we benefited from the shade of mature trees.” Through the process, she sourced other local reclaimed items, such as heart pine floors and beams from the home that formerly stood where

the Community School of Davidson built their athletic fields, and a newel post from the Houston house at Pine Lake Prep’s campus.

“With a 1970s era home, there was not much on the inside to preserve other than the existing woodburning fireplace,” Perri explains. “The original living/dining/kitchen was opened up into one kitchen and dining space with the fireplace as a keeping room element alongside our locally made 10-foot walnut table.”

She says she specifically chose the angled roof for its cottage feel. With the second story in the roof, it keeps down the scale of the

3,900-square-foot home and adds depth and character to all the elevations. The front of the house is on the southeast corner, so Perri positioned the windows to provide natural light but also preserve privacy from the street. The front porch beckons its res idents (and visitors) to sit and enjoy the front yard with a basket ball court, fire pit and gardens.

The backyard is accessed through a four-panel slider to a covered porch with a small hearth. A few months a year, the family leaves the doors wide open to enjoy the nature sounds of the birds and frogs cavorting in the nearby creek. There’s also a secondary ac cess point, a garden door across from the pantry, which connects the back mudroom and dog entry.

“The sun sets at the back of the house so the large window in the gathering room faces more northwest to avoid the western sun angle. Clerestory windows let in the southern light. Whenever possible I tried to filter light from room to room or from at least two sides to give sunlight to our family and many house plants,” says Perri.

The staircase is open and two-stories high, and the anchor of the home. While the home is open concept there are many inten tional gathering spaces. Nooks, small spaces, and arch doorways epitomize the cottage feel. There’s definition of space without

anywhere feeling constricted.

There are three fireplaces in the home, each with a different scale and feel; the gathering room has the grandest rising 12-feet tall, with a reclaimed mantle with supports cut to show the end grain and rings of the heart pine.

The primary bedroom is on the main level, and feels like more like a retreat, even for the family’s two blue weimaraners. “The dogs love all the windows and watch intently for intruders or squirrels,” says Perri.

It’s not just the dogs who love the home. Perri’s design recently received an American Residential Design Grand Winner Award in the Renovation (Built) Reclaimed Modern Cottage category, with Perri’s peers praising the biophilic design.

“Above all we all feel connected to this home and this site, having all contributed to the design and witnessed the construction process (with all of its challenges and joys). It was a family en deavor, and we are thankful that our children have this memory of building a house in the woods. I pray it holds generations to come. It has especially given me empathy for my clients, with the stress of budget, schedule and construction parts of the process,” Perri says.

The color palette is greens and gray which draws in the nature hues surrounding the house, even all the tile selections have movement with herringbone and curved chevron patterns or are handmade and perfectly imperfect. The soft white walls provide the ideal backdrop for the collections of local and regional artists and family heirlooms on display throughout the home.

The family refers to the kitchen and dining area as the keeping room, which Perri says feels right whether it’s just their family of five or they’re hosting 20 guests. The gathering area encompasses movement between spaces, through an arched threshold and down two steps to a space with a vaulted ceiling and a painted brick hearth.

“Our goal is to share the gift of hospitality and open our home up to neighbors and friends,” Perri explains. “Each family member hosts their people weekly either on the court or in the bonus room. The island sits seven to eight comfortably and has been a wonderful way to cook and greet guests informally as they arrive. We like to be all together; we enjoy the comfortable and meaningful spaces.”

The sea haze painted shelves are tucked under the stairs and designed to frame the Cole Family pottery col lection, including the signature shape “Rebecca Jug.”

Selling YOUR Home Furnishings

Open

Having a Ball

The Bocce Friends of Mooresville practice twice a week on Wednesdays and Sundays, April through November, at Mooresville’s Bellingham Park.

by Tony Ricciardelli photography by Jamie Cowles

Sports talk often leads to spirited debates about favorite teams, favorite players, favorite spec tator moments, and the competitive aspects of sports in general. While modern gamesmanship represents the latest progressions of a particular sport, some fans remain steadfast in acknowledg ing the past, when sports seemed more about the game and less about the drama.

Mickey Mantle, Jim Brown, Bill Russell, Arnold Palmer, Wayne Gretsky, and Pele are but a few of sport’s im mortalized achievers. All major sports recognize their respective legends, so why not celebrate the icons of bocce? Although there is no official Bocce Hall of Fame, bocce is a popular sport enjoyed throughout the world.

The Bocce frIends of mooresvIlle enjoy compeTITIon, camaraderIe

Ancient Roots

In its earliest forms, bocce dates to Egypt 7,000 years ago, long before the outset of professional sports we know today. During the millennium, bocce evolved throughout the Mediterranean, with its current form and popularity attributed to Italy since the mid-1800s. Fortunately, however, one doesn’t have to travel to Europe enjoy the game. Bocce clubs and organizations are prevalent throughout the United States, in big cities and small towns. Locally, Bocce is gaining popularity around the Lake Norman Region, with active Bocce teams in Davidson, Cornelius, Mooresville, and Denver.

Playing bocce

The standard bocce court is a fine-graveled, bordered rectangle 91 feet by 13 feet; some prefer smaller courts, 8 to 10 feet wide by about 60 feet long. Bocce requires two to four to eight players on a team, with each player receiving two balls. The target ball (pallina) is rolled onto the court and, subsequently, players roll their balls until they get closer to the pallina than the opponent’s balls. The balls, including the pallina, can be targeted for re-posi tioning by the balls of any player. Players are awarded one point for each ball closer to the pallina than the opponent’s ball nearest the pallina.

“The game is player-friendly,” says The Bocce Friends of Mooresville team captain Fran Andrich, “Anybody who can

roll a ball can play bocce. It’s a spirited game that brings people together.”

Recreation for the taking

The most impassioned bocce advocate in the Lake Norman area is the man who furthered the game in Mooresville: John Elia. Elia hails from Palagonia, Sicily, and, as a boy, he de veloped a love for the game, while learning all things bocce from his father and grandfather. He came to America in the 1974, operating a successful pizzeria with his wife Connie, in Norwich, N.Y., until moving his family to Mooresville in 2010. In 2014, Elia met local paving and excavating contrac tor Mickey Pedulla; the two discussed their affinity for the game and the benefits of promoting bocce in Mooresville. Subsequently, Pedulla donated materials to help improve the bocce courts at Mooresville’s Bellingham Park, and his compa ny sponsors The Bocce Friends of Mooresville, which boasts a roster of sixty-five players. Team member Sally Nardone emphasizes, “It’s about enjoyment, friendship, and learning. Bocce is an all-inclusive game; nobody is left out.”

“We have three teams including a women’s team established in 2021,” says Elia, who also coaches bocce for the Mooresville Special Olympics. “There is a friendly competitiveness when we play, and the game provides a chance to connect with others. We welcome and encourage everyone to participate.”

During the past two years, The Bocce Friends of Mooresville were one of sixteen teams competing in the Western Carolina Bocce Tournament in Valdese.

Team coach Cathy Petriano points out, “Most of our players are retirees and new Mooresville residents. Bocce is a perfect venue for those seeking fresh air and social activity.”

Elia is proud of each team’s improvement. During the past two years, The Bocce Friends of Mooresville were one of sixteen teams competing in the Western Carolina Bocce Tournament in Valdese. “The Valdese tournament is the real deal,” says Elia. “Certified referees monitor the game, and the competition is formidable. Our next tournament will take place in Valdese on Oct. 10.”

With rising skill and notoriety, The Bocce Friends of Mooresville just might be the impetus for establishing the Bocce Hall of Fame.

The Bocce Friends of Mooresville practice at Mooresville’s Bellingham Park on Wednesdays at 10 a.m. and Sundays day at 5 p.m. The season runs from April through November. For more information about The Bocce Friends of Mooresville, contact Cathy Petriano at cpetriano@gmail.com.

CONTACT US TO LEARN

Planning

Goal Setting Preparing for Retirement Security for your family

Jeff Kendall, CFP®

13420 Reese Blvd W, Huntersville, NC 28078 704- 659- 2195 www.triumfs.com

Securities and Advisory Services offered through LPL Financial, a Registered Investment Adviser. Member FINRA/SIPC.

be great if you had your own personal CFO

Bocce requires four to eight players on a team, with each player receiving two balls.

Planting Seeds for

Davidson’s Access to Success opens youth center in Nigeria

by Renee Roberson | Photography provided by Access to Success

A2S founder and executive director Andrew Lovedale feels a close kinship to the youth in Nigeria, where he was raised. Change

After 12 years of developing their primarily educational and entrepreneurial programs in Nigeria, this past summer A2S opened up a designated youth center facility.

Andrew Lovedale grew up one of eight children in Benin City, Nigeria, and his parents were both educated and held positions in public service. They firmly believed in the value of education for their children. But when Lovedale was 14 years old, his father unexpectedly passed away, and his world changed in an instant. He couldn’t understand why they had done everything right and yet, his mother had to sell all their possessions in order for them to survive.

His brothers rallied together and introduced him to the sport of basketball, where hard work and dedication to improving his skills resulted in him participating in the Amaechi Basketball Centre in Manchester, England. That’s when he met Davidson College men’s basketball coach Bob McKillop.

shoes for all

While playing alongside fellow Wildcat Stephen Curry, Lovedale noticed how many extra pairs of athletic sneakers he and team mates had access to, and it sparked an idea in his brain. He asked if he and the team could collect all of their worn shoes, which were still in great shape, so he could give them to the youth in Nigeria when he returned there that summer. In his final season they held the first annual Kicks from ‘Cats’ Shoe Drive during their Brackbuster game on ESPN. With help from Samaritan’s Feet, the drive collected more than 10,000 pairs of shoes and raised $15,000.

Lovedale says he returned from that trip to Nigeria thinking, “I just can’t give the kids less than I’ve been given.” He recognized that all the people that have put in his path have been there to move him from one point to the next. “Thinking through that, I came back, met with our co-founders, and we started Access to Success (A2S). We wanted to love on the people and be consis tent. We wanted the people on the ground to let us know what they needed.”

The nonprofit’s mission is “to provide sustainable programs that generate positive change for Nigerian children and their commu nities.” In June 2011, their small team visited schools, led basket ball clinics and volleyball clinics, and worked with a local church to create an afterschool enrichment program. They started with 50 children in the After School academy. There are now more

than 240 students, and the nonprofit supports approximately 10,000 community members each year.

recognIzIng roadBlocks

Lovedale knew Access to Success (which is based in Davidson) could provide resources to support the school, but he also recog nized the quality of the education was a roadblock. He says that in Nigeria, a family spends more than 56 percent of their income on food. The After School Academy provides a hot meal to the students, with foods purchased fresh from the local markets, often prepared by the students’ own mothers. The program offers the students activities such as sports, music lessons, technology exploration, and lessons in entrepreneurship. Their Scholars Program offers scholarships for primary, secondary, and universi ty level education, ensuring that 100 percent of the children that attend the After School Academy are enrolled in formal schools; with many scholars traveling to the United States for educational opportunities.

This past summer, Access to Success continued to support Lovedale’s beloved Nigerian community by opening up a dedicat ed Youth Center facility. Their annual fundraiser, Soulful Supper, will take place on the Davidson College campus on Oct. 8. This event will celebrate the latest milestone in Nigeria and help fund the first year of operations.

faIThful parTners

Through it all, Lovedale, who now serves as executive director for Access to Success, pro bono, knows the community of Davidson has been a strong and faithful partner in helping him support his friends and family in Benin City.

“They gave me the resources to go do this—these people p who I’d never met before,” he says. “Davidson sent me on an errand, and it’s one that’s continued to shift our very existence. My pur pose in life is well rooted in Davidson’s story.”

Visit www.a2sfoundation.org/soulful-supper-2022 to learn more.

Dine

What’s in a Name?

a loT, If you’re a BIg, presTIgIous WIne company

by Trevor Burton photography by Trevor Burton

Size matters. Even if it defies common sense and reality. As demon stration, let me take you through the experience of a small American Viticultural Area (AVA) in the Santa Barbara region of California—an AVA which produces spectacular Pinot Noir wines.

The AVA, Santa Rita Hills, is part of the larger Santa Ynez AVA. It got its start in an unusual way. The region’s pioneer was Richard Sanford. Sanford dreamed of discovering a West Coast climate zone similar to that of the Burgundy region of France and pro ducing wine that would rival the best in the world. His interest in the geography of wine compelled him to research 100 years of weather reports from Burgundy. Then he drove through the Santa Ynez Valley with a thermometer outside of his car window. Not very scientific, but it did okay. “I was interested in finding a place that was cool enough for Pinot Noir,” explained Sanford.

Santa Rita Hills is bordered by an East-West mountain range, an unusual orientation. That mountain range is what’s key. The mountains direct the fog from the Pacific Ocean, directly into the valley. This fog and ocean breezes help moderate summer heat. They lengthen the growing season by allowing grapes to ripen slowly and without developing diseases.

And it’s not just the climate. There’s something fishy about the soil. Santa Rita Hills’ soil goes back in time. It’s made up from the remains of ancient sea creatures which accumulated and dissolved on the, then, ocean floor. There is limestone and other stuff. The soil is low-vigor, which benefits wine quality. Soils, like this store water from winter rains and dole it out as needed

during the growing season. Extensive irrigation is unnecessary.

Just what Pinot Noir grapes dream about. Sanford and several others began lobbying for the designation of Santa Rita Hills as an AVA. They succeeded. The region was granted AVA status in 2001, the appellation went under the moniker “Santa Rita Hills.” Then wine politics intervened.

Size matters. A powerful Chilean winery, Viña Santa Rita, con tended that the new AVA’s name was diluting its international trademark. It used its clout to remove the “Santa Rita” name from the AVA title. A common sense approach would be to include “Santa Barbara County” on a label. And the reality is that Santa Rita in California preceded the establishment of Viña Santa Rita. No matter, common sense and reality didn’t stand a chance.

The solution was to change the name of Santa Rita Hills to the unwieldy “Sta. Rita Hills.” The governing body for American AVAs agreed with the proposed change and, as of 2006, Sta. Rita Hills became the official name of this appellation. This was good and bad. The bad part was the inconvenience to winegrowers in Santa Rita. The good part was that the intervention showed the importance of American AVAs in the new global world of wine.

Sta. Rita Hills produces some of the world’s most exquisite Pinot Noirs. It was one of the “stars” in the cult movie, Sideways. I’m definitely in its corner. I’m a great fan of quality Pinot Noirs. And I’m a great fan of underdogs. I’ll be sipping on a lot of Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noirs from now on.

Trick or DRINK!

Brewery fun and more for October

by Lara Tumer | photo courtesy of Carolina Renaissance Festival

Lake Norman is gearing up for some family-friendly fall fun, with a bunch of Halloween and autumnal centric events this October. Costumes are elective at some, while the consumption of craft beer is encouraged for all. Check out the details on the below list of local events this month.

10/1 – Primal Brewery Fall Fest

Kick off October with live music from 12:30 p.m.-10 p.m., face painting, pumpkins from Howard Family Farms for sale (jack o’ lanterns, heirlooms, and mini pumpkins/gourds available while supplies last), and B’s Grill Food Truck.

16432 Old Statesville Road, Huntersville

10/15 - 10th Annual Laketoberfest Music & Brew Festival

Taking place from 4 – 9 p.m., gather to enjoy life music, beer from local breweries, a variety of food trucks (including favorites like Dumpling Girls, Tenders, Sunset Slush, and Carolina Smash Truck), a kids’ zone with craft and games, and more. Admission and parking are both free.

Bailey Road Park, 11536 Bailey Road, Cornelius

10/22 – A Taste of Davidson

This annual event is a fall festival to celebrate the flavors of Davidson and will feature food and beverages from our great restaurants as well as beer, wine, and live music. Admission to the event is free with plenty of public parking. Local restaurants will offer tastes of some of their most popular menu items for a small fee.

Jetton Street, Davidson

10/22 – Fall Fest Pop Up Event

Shop a variety of small businesses from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Merino Mill. Attendees can also enjoy face painting for the kids and adults , jam to music, and grab some cold brew from King Canary Brewing Company. Children, adults, and fur babies can take part in costume contests.

Merino Mill, 500 South Main Street, Mooresville

10/27-10/29 – Boos & Brews

This popular 10-minute play festival returns for its sixth year. There will be spooks, laughs, and of course, beer for purchase!

Shows begin at 8 p.m. and cost $15 plus tax.

DCP Actor’s Lab, 20700 N. Main Street, Cornelius

10/29 – Fall Flower Fest

Enjoy some farm festivities at Blackberry Ridge Farm in Huntersville. The one-day celebration includes a flower bar, field games, hay rides, pumpkins, live music, as well as food and beverage from local breweries and food trucks. Admission is $15 online and $20 at the gate and runs from 1 p.m. – 6 p.m. 14820 Beatties Ford Road, Huntersville

10/30 – Ghostface Brewing Halloween Extravaganza

In celebration of Halloween, join Join Love It To Death - The Ultimate Alice Cooper Tribute band for a fun filled evening full of snakes, electrocutions , smoke, fire, general mayhem, and of course, great food and brews.

215 S Broad St., Mooresville

Weekends Through 11/20 - The Carolina Renaissance Festival

Quite possibly the biggest costume party you’ll ever attend, the festival returns and is a full-day of entertainment and pageantry as history comes alive with hundreds of costumed characters re-creating a 16th Century European Marketplace. No pets, please. Free parking; tickets are $20-$32. Saturdays and Sundays from 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

16445 Poplar Tent Road, Huntersville

Fletcher Moon and his lessons on the Culture of Beer.

Dinner is

Lara Tumer lives in Cornelius with her toddler twins, husband, and two Labradors. In addition to cooking and recipe development, she loves traveling, running, event planning, and a nice glass of red wine.

Served

Sausage, Sundried Tomato & Artichoke Pesto Penne

The name of the game is easy dinners, and as a parent of two kids and a picky spouse, I can promise you that this simple pasta dish is a winner. Pantry items make up the bulk of this recipe, so even if you haven’t made it to the grocery store in a while, you can have dinner on the table in no time.

Ingredients:

1 pound mild Italian chicken sausage (or pork sausage if you prefer)

4 tablespoons pesto (my favorite brand is Gotham Greens from Whole Foods)

½ cup marinated artichoke hearts, chopped ¼ cup sundried tomatoes, chopped

1 pound dried penne pasta

Grated parmesan cheese, optional garnish

Fresh basil, optional garnish.

Instructions:

1. In a skillet, brown the sausage over medium heat, breaking up the pieces into a crumble as it cooks.

2. Meanwhile, in a large pot, boil water and cook penne according to package directions.

3. Drain pasta and add in cooked sausage, artichokes, and sundried tomatoes. Add in pesto and stir until coating the past.

4. Garnish with fresh basil and/or parmesan cheese.

Trick

Food, Friends, and Family

The Neighborhood Café loves its locals

by Tony Ricciardelli photography by Lisa Crates

Tim Fadul isn’t a clairvoyant, nor does he possess a crystal ball; however, he is astute enough to recognize a winning opportunity when he sees one—one that provides jobs, satisfies local diners, and celebrates community. A former Division Vice President for a commercial waste company, Fadul currently owns The Neighborhood Café in Huntersville, located in the building which previously housed Café 100.

“I was a regular customer at Café 100 for several years, and I certainly felt at home there. When the restaurant closed this past January, I saw an opportunity to champion a hometown establish ment, and I felt obliged to meet the challenge.”

The perfecT sTaff

While planning his new venture, Fadul knew he wanted to hire the previous Café 100 staff, some whom he knew well from the previous establishment. “I knew they worked well together, and they had been in the business long enough to hit the ground run ning,” says Fadul. “Some of our cooks have been cooking at this location for more than ten years. They’re a dynamic, dedicated group and, after six weeks of preparation, I knew we were ready.”

With a promising customer base and a well-seasoned staff, The Neighborhood Café opened on Fri., July 29 to a full house. The restaurant, which accommodates up to ninety-five guests, offers indoor and outdoor dining, with the open-air seating situated beneath the shade of trees, and concealed behind border greenery. Occasionally, music is provided from the deck

overlooking the outdoor area.

Indoors, the restaurant—which was once a family home—fea tures refurbished hardwood floors, updated restrooms, and walls displaying locally-produced artwork for purchasing. Several ground-floor rooms serve as the dining areas.

Kathy Diehl, the restaurant’s manager responsible for its overall operation, is excited about the new venture and coming to work every day. “I worked for Café 100 for two and one-half years prior to their closing, and I knew that our customers missed us as much as we missed them. When we re-opened as The Neighborhood Café, it was like a reunion. Our customers gener ously support and appreciate us. I love working here.”

The aptly named Neighborhood Café is a place where one can dine, socialize, and feel at home, without the impersonal climate of strip mall dining or shopping mall eateries. The restaurant, located in downtown Huntersville, is a straightforward, local establishment with an amiable feel.

“We moved here two years ago, says customer June Dutka.” “We found this place and became regulars. The food, the staff, and the service are great.”

Devon Britts, who lives nearby asks, “Where can you go for breakfast and hang out with people who are like family? The food and staff are phenomenal.”

When Tim Fadul found out Cafe 100 was closing, he decided to purchase it and rehire many of the previous staff.

cheers To a delecTaBle menu

The broad menu offers a multitude of plates and specialty dishes including five types of eggs benedict, breakfast burritos, quiche, stuffed French toast, and lobster mac and cheese. Signature drinks include the Sunrise (mimosa with vodka and cranberry juice). Sandwiches, paninis, wraps, salads, and a children’s menu are also available.

“Our food is high-quality,” says Fadul.” “I know because I’ve tried everything on our menu, and our customers will agree. On a busy weekend, we can serve up to five hundred plates a day, and it’s common to go through twenty cases of champagne between Friday and Sunday.”

dInner comIng soon

Fadul looks forward to this coming fall, when The Neighborhood Café will provide a dinner menu on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays along with extended bar hours. The restaurant will also be adding a Filet Benedict plate to the break fast menu.

Although The Neighborhood Café has been open only for a brief time, Fadul is thankful toward his customers, grateful for his staff, and feels blessed to be a part of a cordial, supportive community. “We’re here for our customers,” he emphasizes. “Ensuring their satisfaction and providing them with excellent service, quality meals, and welcoming arms will always be the main catalyst in our future plans.”

The Neighborhood Café, located at 100 Huntersville-Concord Road, Huntersville is open daily from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., serving breakfast, brunch, and lunch. On Fridays, the restaurant re-opens from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. For more information go to www.thencafe.com, or call 704.464.1021.

Above: People love to gather with friends and family at The Neighborhood Cafe. Below: Choose from a variety of breakfast, brunch, and lunch items, and a dinner menu on Fridays.

They’re Just Like Us!

A chat with Jodi from “TJ and Jodi’s House”

photography by Lisa Crates

If you’ve been in the area for a while, you’ve probably heard about Ace & TJ, who’ve produced a syndicated radio show for years and are now on a variety of streaming platforms, including iHeart Radio, along with being involved in multiple charities. Mooresville residents TJ and his wife Jodi also have their own podcast and YouTube show called “TJ and Jodi’s House.” We asked Jodi to share what it’s been like being in the spotlight, their favorite places in LKN, and a bit about what their home life looks like these days.

CURRENTS: You and TJ have a weekly podcast/YouTube show called “TJ and Jodi’s House.” What has the response been like to the show? What are some of the toughest aspects of being in the public eye along with your husband?

Jodi: The response to our show has been overwhelming. The lis teners have been so kind to me. I still can’t get used to people rec ognizing me in public. He’s been in the public eye for 30 years. It has taken a while for me to get accustomed to being on that side of it. Even doing this interview has been a little intimidating for me. He and I have always had defined roles in our partnership. He’s the entertainer and I’ve always been the normal, everyday stay-at-home mom.

CURRENTS: Having recently built a house on the lake, what were some important elements you wanted included in the design and do you think you’ll retire here?

Jodi: We love the simplicity of the home we just built. Our daughter recently graduated from Belmont University in Nashville and our son is in his second year at Western Carolina University, so most of the time it is just the two of us. My two favorite things about the house are the double sliding glass doors leading out onto the screened porch; I love the peacefulness of sitting outside and the appliance pantry we added. All of our big appliances stay in that room, so they don’t take up counter space in the kitchen. It did take a little getting used to going into another room to use the microwave. We grew up in Louisiana, so my husband loves to cook, he even does a cooking show as part of the new network. It’s called “Fend For Yourselves” and it’s on AceTJ.TV. They film the cooking show in our kitchen, so he was particular about the stove we put in the house.

It has been a great blessing to have been able to raise our family here, but we are ardent beach lovers. Our dream is to retire to a quaint little town on the ocean, while maintaining a small home here for hurricane season.

CURRENTS: What are some of your favorite places to eat and shop in the Lake Norman area?

Jodi: Some of my favorite restaurants are Table 31, Novanta, Pellegrino’s Trattoria, Toast, Epic, Daniel San, Flat Iron Grill

and probably too many more to name. I love shopping at Airlie Square for home and gift items and Cozy Boutique for clothes, but my husband accuses me of living at Target, TJ Maxx and Home Goods.

CURRENTS: You and TJ became empty nesters in 2021. What has that experience been like, both good and bad?

Jodi: Our listeners wouldn’t believe this, but we actually enjoy spending time together. Our dinners are a lot more simple and quiet now. The freedom to pick up and go somewhere last minute without having to consider what the kids are doing has been nice as well. As far as the bad, I have always been in charge of how our home runs. I am very organized and routine driven and let’s just say TJ is not. He and Ace work from a studio in Mooresville now instead of Charlotte so he is usually home and in my way by 10:30 a.m.

CURRENTS: What are some of your favorite things to do with TJ, both in the LKN area and outside of it? Favorite places to travel?

Jodi: We love visiting beaches all over Florida, the North Carolina mountains, Wild Dunes and the entire Charleston area. Every sunny weekend during the spring and summer you can find us on Lake Norman with our friends and when it rains we search for any sports bar in the area that has shuffle board. We try to find as many festivals in the area that we can attend as well. We were just discussing the other day how great it is to live here where we are surrounded by nearby beaches, mountains, wineries, festivals and the best lake in North Carolina.

TJ from the Ace & TJ show, and his wife Jodi. The two share tales from their home life together in a podcast.

Fall Fun!

Arts + Culture

The Downtown Davidson Fall Arts Festival (Oct. 8) The festival includes local artists, live music and more. Free. 4-7 p.m. Downtown Davidson, www.townofdavidson.org.

Murder on the Orient Express (Through Oct. 9) Just after midnight, a snowdrift stops the Orient Express in its tracks. The luxurious train is surprisingly full for the time of the year, but by the morning it is one passenger fewer. Isolated and with a killer in their midst, the passengers rely on detective Hercule Poirot to identify the murderer in case he or she decides to strike again. Students, $15, Seniors, $18, Adults, $20. Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m. Armour Street Theatre, 307 Armour Street, Davidson, www.davidsoncommunityplayers.org.

The Lakeside Artists Studio Tour (Oct. 28-30) Six studios and neighborhood sites in Mooresville will open their doors to allow the public to meet and support visiting artists displaying their creations. Fri. and Sat. from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Sun., Noon-4 p.m. Find locations on website. www.lknstudiotour.com.

Halloween

Huntersville Halloween (Oct. 23) Boo! It’s time for balloon twisters, face painting, games, local craft vendors, food trucks, and a costume contest. The costume contest begins at 5:30 p.m. See website for a list of the contest categories. Free. 5-8 p.m. Huntersville Athletic Park, 11720 Verhoeff Drive, Huntersville, www.huntersville.org.

Downtown Mooresville Candy Grab (Oct. 28) Kids and adults alike have a great time visiting the Downtown businesses that are handing out candy. Dress up and have fun, but don’t be late! The event ends promptly at 5 p.m. Free. 3-5 p.m. Downtown Mooresville, Mooresville, www.downtownmooresville.com.

Davidson Halloween March (Oct. 28) Celebrate Halloween with the Town of Davidson during the traditional Halloween March along Main Street. Families need to line up at Town Hall, dressed in their favorite costumes, to parade along main street and receive treats from local merchants and organizations. Free.

5 p.m. Davidson Town Hall, 216 S. Main St., Davidson. www.townofdavidson.org.

Scarrigan Farms (Through Oct. 31) On select October nights, the 275-acre farm is transformed into the scariest haunted trail in the region. Ages 12 and older. Reservations are required. Tickets are $20 - $40. Thurs.-Sun., and Halloween. Times vary by date. Carrigan Farm, 1261 Oak Ridge Farm Hwy, Mooresville. www.scarriganfarms.com.

Fall Fun

Hooked on Cornelius (Oct. 22) In a partnership with the Town of Cornelius, Lake Norman Wildlife Conservationists and North Carolina Wildlife Resources, this year’s event is free for ages 7-12 years, but registration is required. Fishing rods will be available for participant use. 10 a.m.-noon. The upper pond at Robbins Park, 17738 W. Catawba Ave, Cornelius, www.cornelius.org.

Fall Flower Fest at Blackberry Ridge Farm (Oct. 29) Visit Blackberry Ridge Farm for an afternoon of flowers, pumpkins, food trucks, live music, hayrides, and artisan goods. Tickets are $15 - $20. 1-6 p.m. Blackberry Ridge Farm, 14820 Beatties Ford Rd, Huntersville. www.blackberryridgefarmnc.com.

The Maze at Patterson Farm (Through Nov. 4) Come out and test your navigational skills in the corn maze and enjoy fam ily-friendly activities, plus delicious food at the Snack Silo and seasonal produce, gifts, and more in the market. The Corn Maze is included with all weekend and weekday afternoon admis sion. Tickets are $14 - $16, children under 2 are free. Mon.-Fri. from noon-5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Patterson Farm, 10390 Caldwell Rd, Mount Ulla, www.visitpat tersonfarm.com.

Amazing Maize Maze (Through Nov. 5) One of the largest corn mazes in the Southeast returns. Try the Historic Rural Hill phone app where you can collect your map pieces, fill in your crossword puzzle, and figure out the words scramble to complete the ultimate challenge. Night mazes begin this month. Ticket prices range from $9-$17. Check website for available time slots. Historic Rural Hill, 4431 Neck Road, Huntersville, www.ruralhill.net.

Left: The Lakeside Artists Studio Tour takes place on Oct. 28-30. Right: Visit Scarrigan Farms Thursday- Sunday through Oct. 31.

compiled by Bek Mitchell Kidd

Photo by Lisa Crates

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INFLATION.

HOW TO STARE IT DOWN

by Jeff Winke

With inflation at a 40-year high, it makes sense to figure out how best to cope. General advice suggests “Return to the basics: Know what you’re spending your money on, have a long-term investment plan, and consider ways to increase your income.” To which, the snarky response is “Yep, I’ll get right on that and magically increase my income.”

We settled down, turned off the sarcasm, and sought out several nearby experts to get their learned counsel on what to do in light of high inflation. Here is what we learned.

“At the end of the day, stock markets are cyclical, as is inflation,” stated Jeffrey P. Kendall, CFP, with Triumvirate Financial Services, Huntersville, North Carolina. “For the long-term investor, it may be in their best interest to make sure their portfolio is allocated to their personal risk tolerance and their personal goals. Of course, there are certain invest ments that historically have performed better in rising interest rate / high inflation environments, like floating rate bonds, but every investor is unique, so one investment may be better for some and not for others.”

Timothy Alessi, managing partner, with Derse Morgen Financial Advisors, Huntersville, North Carolina offered insights.

“An investor should keep in mind that during times of inflation; higher prices often lead to a decrease in consumer demand, which means companies sell less of their product or services, which then leads to lower company profits and a general decrease in a company’s stock price. This is especially true for high growth companies. Investors in those type companies can continue to hold their positions until inflation and interest rates decline and stock prices rebound. However, it may also be a good time to rebalance their portfolios to tilt away from pure growth stocks and add exposure to more value oriented stocks that pay dividends. Including utility, healthcare, and energy stocks can also provide some protection against market declines in the event that inflation leads to a recession.”

Zar Razack, owner of Purpose Driven Financial Services, Huntersville, North Carolina had advice.

“Inflation somewhat depends on the rate of growth. Smaller in flation is good for the market and staying in equities is the right move as in theory the company’s revenue will increase because of the increase in pricing while maintaining demand. The problem with this strategy right now is that we are in a hyperinflation state and thus the Fed is having to raise interest rates as well as monetary supply in order to try and slow inflation. There is some thought that they might have to almost stop the economy to do so. This is bad for stocks (equities) overall. Usually the shift would be to bonds, however the bond market is not pricing in the rate increases to last and thus bonds are very volatile right now. We have advised clients to look at money market accounts for the time being or to look into tactical asset strategies where money managers have the ability to move in and out of various categories on a daily basis. Some of these managers also have

the ability to participate in options trading which can also help as a hedging strategy.”

Sound advice from all the experts for dealing with inflation is to make certain an investment portfolio is diversified and that there is a long-term plan in place.

“Look to invest in things people will always need, such as con sumer staple stocks like medicine and food,” stated Shauntae Funkhouser, CPRS, investment advisor representative, A4 Wealth Advisors, Huntersville, North Carolina. “Ask your advi sor if you could benefit from investing in alternative investments like REITS and commodities which tend to have less volatility.

“Consider that up to $10,000 can be invested in a 30-year term I bond, which is currently paying 9.62% through October, the rate is reset every 6 months. These bonds need to be set up on your own through the US Treasury Department, so you can’t purchase them through your brokerage account. This is a solid investment, if liquidity is not a major concern, since they must be held for at least a year …cashing out prior to holding the bond for 5 years will result in forfeiture of the last three months of interest. The biggest thing investors need to avoid is having an emotional reaction and locking in losses by selling off all of their portfolio and putting it into cash or to just stop investing altogether. Investing is for the long haul. Over time, the market will rebound … it always does.”

David Hedges, president at Bookman Bright, Inc., Davidson, North Carolina, offered perspective.

“Given high inflation, it’s more important than ever that you maximize return on your capital and remain within your risk pa rameters. Keeping lots of money in a bank savings or checking account only guarantees that you lose more purchasing power. There are other alternatives that carry very low risk and some none at all for cash that you don’t need.

“The types of investments that work better than others during inflationary times has a lot do with your risk tolerance, liquidity needs, etc. I can tell you that any money that you don’t need for the foreseeable future is likely not well-served in money market and savings accounts.”

Hedges offered a conclusion that all the experts are likely to concur. He offered three top tips to follow when the inflation rate ticks up?

“Review your investment portfolio to try and identify what may do poorly during high inflation. Maximize interest earned on money. With few exceptions, stay away from mid to long term bonds.”

Coping with high inflation is always a struggle. To panic won’t help, but it won’t hurt to check your cash reserves that are stuffed under your mattress. The consensus has always been to have three to six months of funds to cover expenses. To sleep better on a softer mattress choose lower denomination currency that can be fluffed up contributing to a better mattress base.

Soup Season

Kathy Dicken lives in Huntersville and is the author of the food blog, The Tasty Bits. For more meal ideas that are simple and delicious, you can follow her blog at www.thetastybits.com or on Instagram @thetastybits.

BEEF AND VEGETABLE SOUP

It’s Fall y’all, and that means it’s Soup Season! Is there anything better than a warm bowl of hearty soup on a chilly day? I think not!

With only seven ingredients, this simple Beef & Vegetable Soup is hearty enough to be a meal, and made super EASY with a combo of canned and fresh veggies, ground beef, and the secret ingredient – classic V8 juice! If you are looking for ways to stretch a pound of beef to feed the whole family a delicious, wholesome meal, then look no further!

Simply brown your ground beef and add fresh veggies. Sauté for about 5 minutes, then add the canned ingredients, a bottle of V8, and simmer for 1 hour. That’s it! You can easily double the recipe if you’re feeding a crowd or want to freeze some for later.

I have been making this one on repeat, and I bet you will too! Enjoy!

Servings:6-8

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef

1 onion - small diced

3 carrots - chopped

2 medium potatoes or 12 small Yukon gold potatoes - cut in bite size pieces

1 (46 oz.) can tomato juice (such as V8)

1 (14 oz.) can whole kernel corn - drained

1 (14.5 oz.) can green beans - drained

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp grated fresh ginger (optional)

For garnish: Fresh chopped parsley

Instructions:

In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, brown ground beef over Medium heat, until no longer pink. Remove browned beef and drain most of the grease before adding beef, onion, carrots and potatoes to the pot. Sauté until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes.

Add in tomato juice, drained corn and green beans. Add ginger and season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then adjust heat to low and simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally.

Delicious served with crusty bread or cornbread muffins!

Helping Cancer Survivors

Thrive

Healing Dragons of Charlotte Paddle for Wellness

by Jennifer Mitchell | photography courtesy of Healing Dragons of Charlotte

Arrive at Mountain Island Lake in the Latta Nature Preserve at just the right time, and chances are you will see them. A focused and determined group of cancer warriors and supporters, taking to the water. Their team is known as the Healing Dragons of Charlotte. They compete in the fasting growing water sport –called dragon boat racing – first originating in southern China, dating back more than 2,000 years ago.

The Charlotte area team was founded in 2009 and over the years has included more than 200 plus members competing in more than 70 races. The paddling competitions involve teams pow ering 40-foot-long, canoe-style boats, with 22 people to a boat including paddlers, a helmsman and a drummer.

Pam Boileau, team president and a cancer survivor herself, says Healing Dragons is a sport for any age and provides a true sense

of community. “Our team is very much like an extended family,” explains Boileau. “We practice and travel to races together, but also have dinners together, come together for meetings, kayaking and other activities. It’s all about supporting one another.”

Membership grows each year and includes both men and women ranging in age from their 20s to 70 and older. Not only cancer survivors, but their supporters, caregivers, spouses, and friends. Practices take place at Mountain Island Lake on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The team competes in a variety of locations across North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, averaging about six to eight races a year.

Approximately one third of team members are breast cancer survivors, but others have battled skin, eye and cervical cancer to name a few. New paddlers are always welcome and prior experi

The team at a race in Beaufort, SC., where they picked up bronze medals.

ence is not required. As coach, Sienna Wyniemko (who happens to be an international world championship Gold Medalist in the sport) explains, she will teach you everything you need to know.

“It’s often easier if someone doesn’t have experience because I can teach the paddling technique on a clean slate,” Wyniemko jokes. It’s all about working in sync and teammates supporting each other every step of the way. “Just being around others who have gone through something similar provides such sense of confi dence that there is nothing we can’t do.”

Healing Dragons is a non-profit organization with community, diversity and inclusion, and teamwork among its’ core values. Organizers say the friendships created establish a special sup port network that becomes a valuable part of a cancer survivor’s wellness journey. Building upper body strength and a tighter core

From left to right: Zan Bui, vice president, Pam Boileau, president, captain Jackie Biddle, and Gina Meli, cancer survivor.

The Healing Dragons will compete at the 22nd Annual Charlotte Asian Festival and Dragon Boat Race on Oct. 8. The event is held at Ramsey Creek Park, 18441 Nantz Road, in Cornelius.

are some of the physical benefits. But the emotional bonds and camaraderie will last a lifetime.

Boileau explains that cancer survivors and their supporters are welcome to come out and practice with the group two times before determining if they want to join the team. “Being on the water several times a week has such a calming effect,” Boileau adds. “People love the physicality of the sport, working in rhythm to reach goals and sharing the team spirit. I have made many new friends that are now like family. It has been one of the best decisions of my life.”

To learn more about Healing Dragons of Charlotte visit their web site www.healingdragons.org, Facebook page or MeetUp page to sign up for a practice.

It’s all Greek to Me

sanTorInI Is specTacular, InTeresTIng and exasperaTIng

by Trevor Burton photography by Trevor Burton

Santorini is, quite simply, stunning. There are villages that seem to defy gravity. They are built into the side of high cliffs. And the views of the Aegean Sea from them are out of this world. Santorini has become one of the most popular destinations on earth and, to me, that’s a problem—too many tourists. But there’s a way to evade tourist hoards and to enjoy what the island offers.

Cruise behemoths are a real problem. Thousands of cruisers come in at the town of Fira, the capital of Santorini. To get up the steep cliff and into the town there are a couple of options. The most palatable option is to take a cable car up the side of the cliff. When a cruise ship disgorges passengers, a huge line builds up at the cable car entrance. Waiting in line in the hot sun is not my idea of fun. Especially when cable cars take you up to a town that’s filled with tourists and just walking down the street is laborious. I avoid it, I head away from it. I head for the Old Port and a restaurant named, Lombranos.

Lombranos is a little bit of a hike down some zig-zag steps but it sure beats the cable car line. It’s best described as an old seafood taverna. Given the island’s location, you can be confident that all the seafood is fresh. It’s cooked very simply, my preference is grilled. Sitting by the Old Port with a meal of simple seafood along with a glass of local wine and contemplating the cable car line is my idea of perfect.

And that brings me to another reason I like Santorini so much, wine. The spectacular vistas on Santorini owe a lot to the way the island was formed. In about 1,600 B.C. there was a huge volcanic eruption that covered the island with volcanic soil. This soil is infertile and thin. Grapes have to struggle to survive. And that’s where unique tastes come from. Vines dig deep down into the earth for sustaining moisture. Along the way, they extract

all kinds of goodies from the soil. Tough for the vines, great for us. Also, Greece has created an incentive for the preservation of traditional varieties of grapes. That’s important, it creates an environment that produces distinctive wines.

So, my other way of avoiding tourist hoards is to visit some local winery and hang out with the winemaker. I like exploring the local grapes, rarely seen at our neighborhood wine merchants. On one visit, I was drawn to one particular wine, a dessert wine called Vinsanto. The wine can be confused with an Italian wine, Vin Santo—Holy Wine. Vinsanto is, by no means, a holy wine. The story is that its name can be traced back to the 16th Century, when wine was exported in barrels branded as wine (vin) from Santorini (Santo).

Vinsanto is still produced in Santorini’s traditional method. It’s made from indigenous grapes. Wines are at least 50 percent Assyrtico, with smaller percentages of Athiri and Aidani. After harvest, grapes are left to air-dry in the sun for one to two weeks. They undergo a long and slow fermentation. Then they are bar rel-aged for several years. The wine will typically take on darker, amber colors. Several bottles of Vinsanto accompanied me home.

There’s a non-touristy side to Santorini that’s delightful. When cruise ships sail away and the all-inclusive crowd goes home, the place calms down. The views are still there and are beguiling. And a glass or two of local wine definitely helps.

An indigenous wine from Santorini.

Creating Lifestyles, Building

Living Well

Acupuncture

Best Acupuncture

Deleon Best LAc

Tom Cohen LAc

Raven Seltzer LAc

8213 Village Harbor Drive

Cornelius NC 28031 • 704 655 8298 bestacupuncture.com

Audiology

PHC – Lake Norman Ear, Nose & Throat

Megan Mathis-Webb, AuD

Susie Riggs, AuD

Del L. Hawk, Au.D

140 Gateway Blvd. Mooresville, NC 28117 • 704-664-9638

Cardiology

PHC – Heart & Vascular

Jips Zachariah, MD

Naveed Rajper, MD

359 Williamson Road Mooresville, NC 28117 • 704-235-1829

Dermatology

PHC – Mooresville Dermatology

Center

Naomi Simon, MD

Michael Redmond, MD

Sarah Carlock, MD - Summer 2022

Kristin Prochaska, PA-C

Gina Noble, PA-C

Heather Hollandsworth, FNP

Susan Stevens, RN, BSN

Michelle Caamano, RN, BSN

Laetitia Cloete, Licensed Aesthetician 128 Medical Park Road, Suite 201 Mooresville, NC 28117 • 704-235-1827

PHC – Wolfe Dermatology

Steven F. Wolfe, MD

Molly Small, PA-C

114 Gateway Blvd., Unit D Mooresville, NC 28117 • 704-663-2085

Riva Dermatology

“Imagine your skin at its Best!”

General Dermatology for the Family, Botox, Fillers, Laser/IPL & more Kerry Shafran, MD, FAAD

Lindsay Jayson, MPAS, PA-C

Erin Dice, MPAS, PA-C

Ashley Noone, MPAP, PA-C

Nikki Leahy, MSBS, PA-C Mari Klos, CMA, LME 704-896-8837

Cornelius, Mooresville, Denver www.Rivaderm.com

Ears, Nose and Throat

PHC – Lake Norman Ear, Nose, & Throat

Keith Meetze, MD

Thomas Warren, MD

Herb Wettreich, MD

Fred New, Jr., ANP

140 Gateway Blvd. Mooresville, NC 28117 • 704-664-9638

Endocrinology

PHC- Endocrinology

Elaine Sunderlin, MD

170 Medical Park Road, Floor 3

Mooresville, NC 28117 • 704-664-9506

Family Medicine

PHC – Nabors Family Medicine

Emily Nabors, MD

142 Professional Park Drive

Mooresville, NC 28117 • 704-696-2083

PHC – Lake Norman Family Medicine

Timothy A. Barker, MD

Heather C. Kompanik, MD

Bruce L. Seaton, DO

Amanda H. Bailey, DO

Sherard Spangler, PA

Kyle Babinski, DO

357 Williamson Road Mooresville, NC 28117 • 704-664-7328

PHC – Sailview Family Medicine

Tiana Losinski, MD

206 Joe V. Knox Ave. Suite J Mooresville, NC 28117 • 704-360-4801

PHC – Fairview Family Medicine

Golnar Lashgari, MD Jennifer Scharbius, MD 150 Fairview Road, Suite 210 Mooresville, NC 28117 •704-235-0300

PHC - Troutman Family Medicine

Amrish C. Patel, MD

Amanda Honeychuck, NP Janeal Bowers, FNP Kimberly Whiton, FNP 154 S Main Troutman, NC 28166 • 704-528-9903

Gastroenterology

Charlotte Gastroenterology and Hepatology

John H. Moore, III, M.D. Steven A. Josephson, M.D. Scott A. Brotze, M.D. Michael W. Ryan, M.D. Devi Thangavelu, M.D. Vinaya Maddukuri, M.D. Nicholas R. Crews, M.D. Lake Norman Offices: 13808 Professional Center Dr. Huntersville, NC 28078

115 Commerce Pointe Blvd. Mooresville, NC 28117 Appointment Line: 704-377-0246 www.charlottegastro.com

Locations also in Charlotte, Mint Hill, Matthews, and Ballantyne

PHC – Gastroenterology

Brandon Marion, MD April Lockman, NP 359 Williamson Road Mooresville, NC 28117 • 704-878-2021

PHC –Comprehensive Digestive Care Center

Vivek Trivedi, MD Tiedre Palmer, FNP-C 359 Williamson Road Mooresville, NC 28117 • 704-878-2021

PHC- Gastroenterology

Laila Menon, MD Gabrielle Miller, NP 170 Medical Park Road, Floor 3 Mooresville, NC 28117 • 704-664-9506

Internal Medicine

PHC – Fox Internal Medicine Jessica Fox, DO

Jacqueline Swope, FNP 435 East Statesville Avenue Mooresville, NC 28115 • 704-663-5056

PHC – Internal Medicine & Weight Management Manish G. Patel, MD

Julie Abney, PA

Andrea Brock, PA-C

128 Medical Park Road, Suite 101 Mooresville, NC 28117 • 704-658-1001

PHC – Lake Norman Internal Medicine John C. Gatlin, MD

LuAnne V. Gatlin, MD 548 Williamson Road, Suite 6 Mooresville, NC 28117 • 704-660-5520

Mental Health Services

PHC-Mastor Mental Health Jason E. Mastor, MD Kristin C. Brown, PA-C Megan I. Flott, PA-C Diana J. Remenar, PA-C 206 Joe V. Knox Ave. Suite F Mooresville, NC 28117 • 704-662-6500

Neurology

PHC – Neurology & Sleep Medicine Dharmen S. Shah, MD 359 Williamson Road Mooresville, NC 28117 • 704-873-1100

PHC – Lake Norman Neurology Andrew J. Braunstein, DO Ryan Conrad, MD Craig D. DuBois, MD Douglas Jeffery, MD Roderick Elias, MD 124 Professional Park Dr, Ste A Mooresville, NC 28117 • 704-662-3077

PHC – Lake Norman Neurology Andrew J. Braunstein, DO Ryan Conrad, MD Craig D. DuBois, MD Douglas Jeffery, MD Roderick Elias, MD 9735 Kincey Avenue, Ste 203 Huntersville, NC 28078 • 704-766-9050

Obstetrics/Gynecology

PHC – Lake Norman OB/GYN James Al-Hussaini, MD Laura Arigo, MD Katie Collins, DO Grant Miller, MD James Wilson, MD Nicole S. Wellbaum, MD Coral Bruss, ANP-C Pam Monroe, WHNP-BC 131 Medical Park Road, Suite 102 Mooresville, NC 28117 • 704-663-1282

Oncology

Southern Oncology Specialists

William Mitchell, MD

Poras Patel, MD

46 Medical Park Rd, Suite 212 Mooresville, NC 28117 • 704-659-7850

Orthopaedic Surgery

PHC – Piedmont Bone & Joint Scott Brandon, MD

Brett L. Feldman, MD

Alex Seldomridge III, MD

Kim Lefreniere, PA-C

359 Williamson Road Mooresville, NC 28117 • 704-235-1829

Orthopedic Surgery – Spine

PHC – Piedmont Bone & Joint

Alex Seldomridge, III, MD

359 Williamson Road Mooresville, NC 28117 • 704-235-1838

Pain Managment

PHC – Pain & Spine Center

Harsh Govil, MD, MPH

James Murphy, MD

April Hatfield, FNP-C 359 Williamson Road Mooresville, NC 28117 • 704-235-1829

PULMONOLOGY

PHC –Pulmonology

Enrique Ordaz MD

Jose Perez MD

Ahmed Elnaggar, MD 125 Days Inn Drive, Mooresville, NC 28117 • 704-838-8240

Rheumatology

PHC – Rheumatology

Sean M. Fahey, MD

Dijana Christianson, DO 128 Medical Park Road, Suite 101 Mooresville, NC 28117 • 704-658-1001

October 2022

Honestly, I am either bewildered by October or excited by it. I love the crisp breezes painting the Autumn leaves, and high school and college football are in mid-season. When I fished a lot, this was the perfect season. Jet skiers were no longer running up and down the lake, and the big fish were beginning to feed on the smaller fish as winter approached and were easier to entice to my lure. Coffee and conversations on the patio just seem sweeter.

However, I am not a fan of Halloween or any of the nonsense that goes with it. As a principal, Halloween gave me more than any other holiday. It comes at the height of football season, and the cheerleaders inevitably like to have “spirit week” during Halloween week.

One year the cheerleaders strong-armed me with their AllAmerican cuteness and good grades to have a “Halloween Day” during the middle of “Spirit Week.” I put them off for a couple of days, and as I thought about it, Halloween that year was on a Sunday night, and I figured we could endure one day early in the “Spirit Week” with kids with painted faces and funny costumes. Oh, how wrong I was!

The one thing I did not consider—I think it was because cheer leaders are not only All-American-cute and are All-American well-behaved—is that the “Cheerleader-effect” could not be applied to the other 1,300 students in our school.

On the second day of Spirit Week, the opening bell had barely stopped ringing when I saw my first temporary delinquent. He was dressed as a KISS band member, took what looked like a

by Mickey Dunaway

bottle of bourbon from under his costume, and took a healthy slug to start the day.

I could identify the bourbon bottle ( I only use the spirits me dicinally and in my famous pecan pies), but I could not identify the “perp” because he or she looked like half the other students dressed in KISS makeup that year. Trying to run him down was fruitless. I had learned early on that I could not catch a 15-yearold with a head start. So, employing a StarTrek Klingon prov erb—”Revenge is a dish best served cold—” I was pretty sure someone would rat him out before the day was done.

Sure enough, before the day ended, he had passed it to one too many fellow freshmen, and his 4th Period teacher caught him in the act and brought him to me.

After I brought him to my office, I sniffed the cork on the bottle of the Single Barrel 23-Year-Old Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon and had the perp breathe in my face. So, after his breathalyzer test, I told him that he had taken his last breath at school for the next ten days—including the football game on Friday night and the dance to follow. He seemed not bothered at all—not an unusual reaction from a high school freshman. However, less than an hour later, when his father arrived to pick him up, I saw a very different response, not from the son but from the father. I saw one of the saddest reactions by a parent in my career when I told that father he would have to go down to the Police lab and plead with them about getting back his bottle of prized Bourbon.

I am here to tell you that I saw tears come to that father’s eyes.

October 1, 1908

Henry Ford’s Model T went on sale. It was to be a universal car for the masses. The sale price was $825.

October 3, 1863

President Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day.

Not sure when the fruitcake became popular

October 4, 1957

Soviet Union Launched the first satellite, Sputnik I, into orbit. 4,852 satellites now orbit the earth. 2,944 belong to the U.S. Elon Musk has launched 46 Starlink satellites of his own.

October 12, 1962

Columbus landed in the Bahamas after 33 days and declared the land El Salvador in honor of the Spanish King. Thinking he had landed in India by sailing west, he named the natives he encountered Indians. And school kids have been confused ever since by Indians and Indian Indians.

October 11, 1939

The Manhattan Project, creating the atomic bomb for the U.S., began on this date when Albert Einstein warned FDR that his (Einstein’s) theories could lead Hitler to develop an atomic bomb. This tiny piece of history can only be categorized as a factoid. Yet, the quote “Great oaks from little acorns grow”—a 14th-century proverb according to the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations—has never been more accurate than the implications of Einstein’s warning to FDR 83 years later.

October 14, 1964

Martin Luther King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

He donated the $54,000 that came with the prize to the civil rights movement. We could use more of that altruism in our world today.

October 28, 1636

Harvard University is founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts. One might argue that Harvard and its sister institution, Yale,—found ed in 1701— have had undue influence on the politics of the United States, especially in foreign policy.

October 28, 1919

The Volstead Act created Prohibition in the U.S. Lasting 14 years, it was a significant source of income for organized crime who produced their own or imported European spirits through Canada.

October 29, 1929

After 13 million shares of stock were sold in a panic on the previ ous Thursday, 16 million more were sold on Black Tuesday.

The “Roaring Twenties” era of almost unparalleled growth ended with Black Tuesday. So significant were the events of Black Tuesday that the stock market only fully recovered in the 1950s.

October 31, 1941

Mt. Rushmore National Memorial was completed. It is located in the Black Hills of South Dakota and contains the heads of Washington, Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt, and Lincoln. Why these four? OK, Lincoln, Washington, and Jefferson seem obvious … but Roosevelt always appeared to be an outlier. However, below is what each represents to the nation in order. Washington: Birth Jefferson: Growth Roosevelt: Development Lincoln: Preservation

October is my favorite color. - Author is unknown.

leT’s look for a feW oTher ocToBer momenTs ThaT We mIghT compare To losIng a 23-year old BoTTle of pappy van WInkle BourBon.

Manhattan Project facility at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, ca. 1950.

Probate & Non-Probate

When considering your estate plan, you will want to categorize your assets into two categories: probate and non-probate.

Non-Probate Assets

Non-probate assets are typically set up with a named beneficiary designation, joint tenant with right of survivorship (“JT WROS”), or a payable on death (“POD”) or transferrable on death (“TOD”) designation. Your Will or state statute does not control the distribution of a non-probate asset, and it instead, passes accord ing to a contractual obligation or by state law at the date of your death. The executor or administrator of your estate does not have any control over non-probate assets, and they are not subject to probate court administration. Below is a list of common non-pro bate assets:

• Property held in the name of a Revocable Living Trust

• Bank accounts with POD or TOD designations

• Bank accounts held as joint tenants with right of survivorship

• Real property held as joint tenants with right of survivorship

• Life insurance policies that list another person as the beneficiary

Probate assets are held in the sole name of the decedent and does not have a beneficiary listed. Probate assets are controlled by the executor or administrator of an estate. The executor or adminis trator must follow specific steps before transferring probate assets.

• Real property owned by two or more people as tenants in common

• Vehicles, motorcycles, boats (that are not titled as JTWROS)

• Interest in a partnership, corporation, or limited liability company

• Life insurance policy or retirement account that either lists the

Knowing the difference between probate and non-probate as sets will guide you in the right direction as to what steps you need to consider while estate planning to make sure your belongings are

Danielle Feller is our lead estate planning attorney at Daly Mills Es tate Planning. Danielle is a native of Mooresville, an AV Preeminent Rated attorney in Estate Planning, Rising Star Super Lawyer, and is published in a chapter with Wealthcounsel’s second edition of Estate Planning Strategies, Collective Wisdom, Proven Techniques. Give Danielle a call today for a consultation at 704-878-2365. You can also visit our website at www.DalyMillsEstatePlanning.com.

Danielle Feller

Give Danielle a call today for a consultation at 704-878-2365. You can also visit our website at www. DalyMillsEstatePlanning.com.

at

Estate Planning for a Child with Special Needs

The best and most comprehensive option to plan for a child with special needs is to set up a special needs trust, also called a supplemental needs trust (SNT). An SNT allows a special needs child or adult to receive inheritances, gifts, lawsuit settlements, or other funds and yet not lose their eligibility for certain government programs, such as Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). An SNT can hold any type of asset, such as real estate, stocks or bonds. The SNT can be the beneficiary of a life insurance policy or retirement account and can be named as the beneficiary of a will or living trust. Assets in an SNT are managed by a trustee for the benefit of the disabled beneficiary who does not have direct control or access to the trust assets. The assets in an SNT are not counted when deter mining the beneficiary’s eligibility for government benefits such as Medicaid or SSI.

There are three main types of SNTs: (1) first-party SNT (2) third party SNT and (3) pooled SNT.

A first-party SNT is designed to hold the disabled individual’s own assets. These trusts are most often used when a disabled person receives a lump sum of money outside the protection of a trust, such as inheritance, gift or settlement. In the absence of proper planning, the disabled person could lose valuable govern ment benefits. While the beneficiary is living, the funds in the

trust are used for the beneficiary’s benefit, and when the benefi ciary dies, any assets remaining in the trust are used to reimburse the government for the cost of medical care.

A third-party SNT is most often used by parents or grandpar ents to provide for a loved one with special needs. A third-party special needs trust does not contain a “payback” provision. When the beneficiary dies, any funds remaining in the trust can pass to other family members.

A pooled trust is an alternative to the first-party SNT. A non profit organization pools the resources of multiple beneficiaries for investment purposes, while still maintaining separate accounts for each beneficiary’s needs.

Louise Paglen Estate Planning Attorney

The McIntosh Law Firm, P.C. www.mcintoshlawfirm.com

LKN community

MEDICARE

• What is Medicare? Medicare is made up of two parts; Part A, which covers inpatient needs and Part B, which covers outpatient needs like office visits, medical testing, and procedures. Part A and Part B are commonly known as “Original Medicare”

• Can I delay Medicare? Maybe! Those over 65 who continue working or are enrolled in employer health insurance have the option to delay coverage. If you have “credible coverage”, you can delay enrollment in Part B. Get with your employer to see if your plan is considered credible, if not, you could pay a penalty.

• Can I get more coverage? Yes! There are two main paths you can take. One, a Medicare Supplement AKA “Medigap” plan that works along with your Original Medicare and a separate Prescription Drug plan. Or two, you can enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan that contracts with Original Medicare and provides Part A and Part B coverages, most include prescription drug coverage – many offer more benefits like dental, vision, and hearing!

• Am I stuck with my choice? No! You can make changes to most plans during the Open Enrollment period, October 15 – December 7 every year.

Scan for more of a guide through Medicare basics

704.507.5307 or 828.238.5766 E-mail: happytailsrescueinc@yahoo.com https://happytailsrescueinc.wixsite.com/ https://www.facebook.com/HappyTailsRescueInc

Layla

Happy Tails Rescue, Inc. is a small nonprofit 501c3 K9 rescue ran by a group of hard working volunteers. It is located in the North Carolina area. They do not have a shelter/facility but utilize foster homes to provide the care and safety of the rescues. This rescue does not adopt outside of a 75-mile radius and to families with children under the age of 7.

Familiarity with this breed is a must. Layla is a 4-year-old English bulldog. She is spayed, vaccinated, and has had a proheart injection. She is super sweet and okay with cats. Layla would do best as the only dog. If you would be interested in a big snuggle bug lovable old English Bulldog apply now!

Adoption fee is $400 with approved adoption application which includes age-appropriate shots, rabies, spay, micro chip, proheart shot. The adoption includes a goody bag of toys, treats, collar, leash, etc, along with 30 days of free pet health insurance.

Ozzie

Ozzie is a male Australian Cattle Dog/Red Heeler who was born in May 2022. He is friendly with other people and dogs, and is currently working on house and crate training. Ozzie is a working dog breed and will need an active family. The breed is known for herding, and may herd/nip members of his family and other dogs in the home. Please be familiar with the breed before considering adoption.

Adoption fee is $350 with approved adoption application which includes age-appropriate shots, rabies, spay/neuter, micro chip, heart worm test (treated if positive) started on monthly prevention if negative, along with dental care if needed. The adoption includes a goody bag of toys, treats, collar, leash, etc, and with 30 days of free pet health insurance.

Sydney

Five-year-old Sydney is super shy and timid, learning to walk on leash and house training. There’s no doubt she will come out of her shell quickly and make the perfect family companion.

Adoption fee is $350 with approved adoption application which includes age-appropriate shots, rabies, spay/neuter, micro chip, heart worm test (treated if positive) started on monthly prevention if negative, along with dental care if needed. The adoption includes a goody bag of toys, treats, collar, leash, etc., along with 30 days of free pet health insurance.

Josephine

Josephine is a 3-year-old female boxer mix. She is house and crate trained and friendly with other dogs, cats, and children. We believe this girl is about as perfect as you can get!

The adoption fee is $250 with approved application.

Anthem

Anthem is a 3-year-old male Shih Tzu poodle mix and weighs approximately 15 pounds. He is friendly with other dogs. Anthem is a bit shy at first but then will become your shadow! He is house and crate trained, and a fenced-in yard is a must for his new home.

Adoption fee is $350 with approved adoption application which includes age appropriate shots, rabies, spay/neuter, micro chip, heart worm test (treated if positive) started on monthly prevention if negative. The adoption includes a goody bag of toys, treats, collar, leash, etc., along with 30 days of free pet health insurance.

Steeped in

Mystery

Local student shares history of Davidson in ghost tour

by By Renee Roberson | photography by Jamie Cowles

As a true crime fan and person who is intrigued by ghost tours, I love checking them out whenever I’m traveling. Several years ago, I got the chance to stay at the Omni Grove Park Inn, where the mysterious story of “The Pink Lady” is shared by the staff. I’ve also taken ghost tours in Asheville and in Charleston, S.C., where I’m pretty sure I captured some paranormal activity in one photo of a church. The LKN area is also home to rich histo ry, so when I heard about Ghosts of Davidson, I reached out to the student who owns the tour company to learn more.

Andrew Knorpp was 15 years old when he went on a ghost tour in Williamsburg, Va. “I kept thinking about historic and beautiful Davidson was, and I was in the market for a job,” he says. He returned to Davidson and began his research. He asked every business owner he could talk to if they knew of any ghost stories, then he continued his research at the library. As a homeschooled student, he had time built into his schedule to work on the business and prepare for the tours. He got an LLC, created a website, and Ghosts of Davidson was born. Word quickly spread once residents began seeing a young man in a top hat carrying a fire lantern walking around town.

“I was so glad to be able to learn more about history,” he says. “It’s been fun ever since.” The tagline of Ghosts of Davidson is “Giving tours of Davidson, its histories, its stories, its ghosts.” I asked if he could share a snippet of what he discusses on the tour and Knorpp gave me this tidbit.

“Davidson is one of the safest towns in North Carolina,” he says. “In 1914, there was a bit of drama that led to a murder. Davidson still doesn’t know what happened. There was an affair that might have led to a murder.”

Knorpp runs the tours in fall and spring, and they are currently running on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. He even puts together a special themed version of the tour for the first few weeks of December. Each tour begins on the town green and lasts between 90 minutes to two hours. It’s a 1.8-mile walk, all wheelchair accessible. Knorpp says the tours, full of stories about murders, haunted train tracks, and college grave robbing incidents, are appropriate for ages 10 and older.

“I love meeting all the people,” he says. “I have people come all the way from Wyoming. It’s so interesting to hear people tell their own ghost stories.”

Learn more at