Matthews Messenger | January 2022

JANUARY 2022

Volume 4 — Issue 1

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Happy New Year!

In this issue...

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New transparency portal on Town website

Keep These Messages On Your Mind Engage and Connect: Follow the Town of Matthews on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, NextDoor and sign up to receive notifications.

Visit www.matthewsnc.gov for more info.

Welcome back Lt. Matthews!

MATTHEWSNC.GOV

@TOWNOFMATTHEWS

Photos from Board swearing-in ceremony

@MATTHEWSNC

TOWN OF MATTHEWS

@TOWNOFMATTHEWS

www.matthewsnc.gov

Matthews Messenger | january 2022

MANAGER’S MESSAGE I hope you all enjoyed a happy and safe holiday season with your friends and family. January traditionally signals new beginnings and that’s the case here in Matthews as well. The new Town Board of Commissioners was sworn into office in the first-ever outdoor ceremony on the steps of Matthews Town Hall. See page 5 for a photo from that evening.

The Board will hold its first regular meeting on Monday, January 10.

New Commissioners Mark Tofano and Gina Hoover join Mayor John Higdon and Commissioners Renee Garner, Ken McCool, John Urban and Larry Whitley.

Ken McCool was appointed Mayor Pro Tem (traditionally the Commissioner who receives the highest number of votes is appointed Pro Tem by the Board).

Join me in giving a warm welcome back to Lt. Jamie Matthews who returned to duty at the Matthews Police Department last month.

Lt. Matthews received his second kidney transplant earlier this year. Read more about this story and the importance of organ donation on page 4.

The COOL Vibes Concert Series returns this month.

This event features a jazz performance at the Fullwood Theater as well as beer and wine sales and hors d’oeuvres before the concert. Tickets are available now. See below for more details.

Check out the calendar on page 6 for Matthews’ events and Board of Commissioners meetings so you can stay involved and engaged in all that Matthews has to offer.

Hazen Blodgett HAZEN BLODGETT MATTHEWS TOWN MANAGER HBLODGETT@MATTHEWSNC.GOV

BECKY HAWKE ASSISTANT TOWN MANAGER BHAWKE@MATTHEWSNC.GOV

The first concert in the COOL Vibes Concert Series will be held on Friday, January 14.

A pre-concert social will begin at 6:00 pm followed by the concert at 7:30 pm.

We hope you can join us for this in-person event. Tickets are available for purchase on Eventbrite, or give us a call at 704-321-7275 and we can process your ticket purchase without the Eventbrite fees! Visit www.matthewsfun.com for more info.

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Matthews Messenger | january 2022

Transparency Portal on Town Website

The Town of Matthews is committed to an open, transparent and accessible government for all. In an effort to continue that work, we have developed an online portal on our website to provide easy access to important Town information and documents.

The portal includes information about the Board of Commissioners, financial information, and reports and policies of the Matthews Police Department. The portal also includes information on how to submit a public records request. Click below to check it out!

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Matthews Messenger | january 2022

MATTHEWS POLICE DEPARTMENT WELCOME BACK LT. MATTHEWS FOLLOWING MEDICAL LEAVE

The members of the Matthews Police Department received an early Christmas gift last month with a return to duty of Lt. Jamie Matthews.

Lt. Matthews has been out on medical leave for several months recovering from a much-needed kidney transplant. He has endured months of dialysis treatments, tests, and too many doctor’s visits to count. What makes Lt. Matthews’ strength and resilience even more impressive, is the fact that this is his second time going through this grueling process. In 2013, he received his first kidney transplant from his brother who serves as a Captain with the CMPD. Unfortunately, in 2019, that kidney began to fail which eventually put him in need of another transplant.

This time, Lt. Matthews’ other brother wanted to donate but sadly, he was not a match. However, doctors informed Lt. Matthews that there was a way that his brother could still help to save his life by donating a kidney. They both were given the option of participating in a “Paired Exchange” program through the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) which involves a minimum of two living donors and two recipients. This program is designed for situations just like theirs where someone wants to donate an organ to a loved one but is not a compatible match. In this program, since the donor is not a match to their chosen recipient, the donor will instead be compared to all the other transplant candidates on the waiting list in the attempt of finding a compatible match. The loved one (Transplant 4

Candidate) will in turn be compared to all other available donors and if they are both successfully matched individually to two others, a paired exchange will be performed to accommodate all involved.

The other goal of the “Paired Exchange” program is to utilize the Never Ending Altruistic Donor (NEAD) chain where each living donor in this system gives to a stranger, and the chain of donors is kept going as long as possible. In Lt. Matthews’ case, representatives from UNOS were able to extend the chain one more time in his process which ended up involving a total of six people in three states across the country.

Matthews Police Chief Clark Pennington said, “It’s hard to express how incredible it is to see someone go through what he has, twice now, with such a determination to not only fight for his health but to also be laser focused on getting right back here to work as soon as possible. To see him here and healthy, wearing that uniform, doing what he loves to do, should inspire us all.

The Matthews community is very fortunate to have him here serving, and most of all, his MPD family is very thankful that he’s back where he belongs, with us.”

Lt. Matthews and his family are passionate about organ donor donations and want to encourage everyone to consider registering to become a donor. Registration only takes an estimated two minutes out of your day. For more information on how to do so, please go to https://www. donatelifenc.org/

Matthews Messenger | january 2022

A swearing in ceremony was held on Monday, Dec. 13 on the steps of Matthews Town Hall. Mayor John Higdon, Mayor Pro Tem Ken McCool, Commissioners Renee Garner, Gina Hoover, Mark Tofano, John Urban and Larry Whitley will serve on the Board of Commissioners through December 2023.

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Matthews Messenger | january 2022

January 2022 Events Calendar Any questions? Contact us!

7:00 PM Veterans Advisory Committee remote meeting 7:00 PM Board of Commissioners Meeting

2:30 PM Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration

6:45 PM Matthews Committee on Education Remote Meeting

6:00 PM Crews Family Fun Night

6:30 PM Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resource Advisory Com. mtg

7:00 PM Appearance/ Tree Committee Meeting

7:00 PM Board of Commissioners Meeting

6:00 PM cool vibes winter concert

7:00 PM Transportation advisory Committee meeting 7:00 PM Planning Board Meeting 7:00 PM cultural diversity mtg

For additional details, please visit: www.matthewsnc.gov/calendar Town of Matthews Board of Commissioners

Have any questions about the community? Contact us!

Mayor John Higdon mayorhigdon@matthewsnc.gov

Commissioner mark tofano mtofano@matthewsnc.gov

TOWN HALL

Mayor Pro Tem Ken McCool kmccool@matthewsnc.gov

Commissioner John Urban jurban@matthewsnc.gov

PHONE

Commissioner Renee garner rgarner@matthewsnc.gov

Commissioner Larry Whitley lwhitley@matthewsnc.gov

E-MAIL

Commissioner gina hoover ghoover@matthewsnc.gov

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232 Matthews Station St. | Matthews, NC 28105 (704) 847- 4411 matthews@matthewsnc.gov WEB

www.matthewsnc.gov