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INSIDE ▼ 7 tips to ease back-to-school chaos
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PAGE 2A Friday, Aug. 14, 2026 • Vol. 26 • No. 32
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Project to make Waxhaw intersection safer WAXHAW – Construction for the Pine Oak Road and WaxhawMarvin Road realignment and traffic signal project is scheduled to begin Aug. 17. The project is expected to take about seven months. Pine Oak and Waxhaw-Marvin roads currently meet at a sharpangled T-intersection controlled only by a single stop sign for drivers turning from Pine Oak onto Waxhaw-Marvin. The
construction project will realign the roads so they meet at a safer perpendicular angle, add turn lanes on all three approaches to the intersection and install a new traffic signal. The intersection was identified as a top priority in the Waxhaw Safety Action Plan due to its dangerous turning angle and history of crashes, including a deadly crash. “The current intersection causes
a left turning angle movement, which is one of the most dangerous traffic movements especially when you combine high speeds and uncontrolled intersections,” Assistant Town Engineer James Kelly said. “Once these improvements are completed, this intersection will be much safer and get us closer to achieving our Vision Zero goal of eliminating all fatal and severe injury crashes in the Town of
Waxhaw by 2045.” The project is primarily funded by the Town of Waxhaw, with financial assistance from the Prescot Village and Belshire (Cottage Park) developments. The contractor is Widewaters Construction Inc. Pine Oak and Waxhaw-Marvin roads will remain open to traffic throughout construction. There are no planned detours. Most of the work will take place adjacent
Rally against cancer The Pink Cupcake Walk opens registration for 2026, see page 1B
Attorney says punishing towns for I-77 vote violates law by Daniel Peterson Matthews Town Attorney
Photos courtesy of The Pink Cupcake Walk
Monroe applauds bottler's growth MONROE – City of Monroe officials visited CocaCola Consolidated’s Monroe location in June to present the company with the first payment from a performancebased grant. This kind of grant rewards a company for following through. Coca-Cola Consolidated has done that, continuing to invest and grow in a community it has been part of since 1996, supporting more than 75 local
jobs. “Coca-Cola Consolidated’s on-site academy and its training and development strategies strengthen our workforce and Monroe’s economy,” said Teresa Campo, the city’s economic development director. The Monroe campus is where the company restores and remanufactures equipment for stores and restaurants across the region. Old coolers get a second life as furniture,
to the existing roadway, behind construction barriers, before shifting traffic onto the new alignment. Drivers may see occasional traffic shifts and short-term lane closures as work progresses. Drivers are encouraged to slow down when traveling through the area, watch for traffic shifts and follow all construction signage. On the web: waxhaw.com/ trafficprojects
retired equipment is rebuilt by hand and longtime employees come back after retirement to work as artists. The site is also home to the company’s technical academy, which trains employees in skilled trades like refrigeration, electrical work and plumbing. “Monroe has been an important part of Coca-Cola Consolidated’s story for nearly three decades, and we’re proud to keep investing
in this community,” said Jed Thomas, vice president of equipment services at Coca-Cola Consolidated. “From expanding our regional operations center to creating new opportunities for technical training and workforce development, we’re committed to building for the future while supporting our teammates, our customers and the communities we serve.” On the web: developmonroe. com
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would like to briefly report on a topic which has made some news and affects our community – the topic of legislation recently passed as part of the state budget whose sole purpose is to punish members of the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization who voted to rescind support for the toll lane project on I-77 South. This vote came after details of the toll lane project were released and then there was strong public outcry against the proposed project, including further destruction of historically AfricanAmerican neighborhoods in west Charlotte to make way for this project. Matthews is a member of that organization and has never supported the I-77 South toll lanes project; yet, is among those who, unless we change our vote of conscience now to support a project this town, again, has never supported, are targeted by this legislation to face a stiff financial penalty for failing to do so, for failing to heed the instructions of the state Legislature. My opinion on this matter is already a matter of public record, so I simply restate it tonight for the benefit of our community and for others. This legislation, in my opinion, is unconstitutional and violates federal transportation law. Over and over again, the sponsor of this bill has admitted publicly that the purpose of this legislation was to punish communities with whom certain powerful interests disagree on this topic. Legislators cannot retroactively punish legal conduct by declaring it illegal and punishing those who partook in the thenlegal conduct. It violates, again, federal transportation law that requires state and local governments to work cooperatively with one another in forming state transportation plans. Matthews, nor any of its fellow local governments in Mecklenburg County, sought this conflict. I think that’s important to remember. However, finding a resolution grounded in trust and cooperation is improbable or impossible where we are threatened in the way Matthews and other communities in Mecklenburg County have been by this legislation. To put it plainly, we are confronted by a doctrine that is simply “might is right,” of a kind that the founders of our nation saw see ATTORNEY, Page 4A