Morning Minute: Monday, June 3, 2019

News About Town: Matthews Police are looking for two men who recently stole nearly $900 in merchandise from Lowe's at Sycamore Commons. Both men are described as black males, approximately 6’00” tall, with medium to large builds. Security camera photos are available on the town website. The theft occurred on the heels of a recent cooperative sting between Matthews PD and Lowe's Security, where 14 people were charged and 21 cases were closed by netting members of an organized retail theft ring.  

The nearly finished Town 324 apartments.

News Around Town:  Town 324, developed by BrookChase Properties, is nearing completion, expanding the selection of apartments in downtown Matthews (the other downtown rental multifamily units are BrookChase's Matthews Lofts). Town 324 is located by Town Hall and consists of 24 " boutique, small scale apartment" units. Rezoning was approved in 2014 by current Commissioner John Urban. (Urban was not commissioner at the time of rezoning.)

One Fun Thing:  Spend summer break with the Matthews Library. Sign your family up online for the Summer Break read-along, log reading and activities throughout the summer, then earn badges and prizes (including a ticket to Carowinds!).

Matthews Library Recommends: Gardening Inspiration in Book Form

Spring has officially sprung and the weather is finally starting to reflect that! Celebrate Spring by getting out in your garden. You’ll find tips, tricks, inspiration and more from these great titles available from Charlotte Mecklenburg Library:

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Outdoor Gardening

• Get advice from one of America’s most creative gardeners in 101 Gardening Hacks: Eco-Friendly Solutions to Improve Any Garden by Shawna Coronado.

• Ever heard of no-dig gardening? You’ll be hooked after you read Organic Gardening the Natural No-Dig Way by Charles Dowding.

• Get landscape design inspiration from  Gardentopia: Design Basics for Creating Beautiful Outdoor Spaces by Jan Johnsen.

• You’ll be turning your dinner scraps into new plants after you read  No-Waste Kitchen Gardening: Regrow Your Leftover Greens, Stalks, Seeds, and More by Katie Elzer-Peters.

• Tour the stunning gardens of a renowned British institution in Oxford College Gardens by Tim Richardson and Andrew Lawson.

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Indoor Gardening

Indoor gardening is wonderful because we can do it year-round! Learn more from these titles:

• Your indoor plants will be thriving after you read How to Raise a Plant and Make It Love You Back by Morgan Doane.

• Everything you need to know to make your orchid happy is in  Happy Orchid by Sara Rittershausen!

• Learn how a spray bottle and a little sunlight can bring your indoor space to life in Living with Air Plants: A Beginner’s Guide to Growing and Displaying Tillandsia by Yoshiharu Kashima.

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Adult Fiction

Novels more your thing? We’ve got great fiction that involves gardening:

• A young widow’s grief is eased as she discovers a love of vegetable gardening in The Garden of Small Beginnings by Abbi Waxman.

• Science teacher and rose breeder Gal Garner learns lessons in love when she cares for her estranged teenage niece in The Care and Handling of Roses with Thorns by Margaret Dilloway.

• Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen is the first novel in a series about the Waverly family, who tend their magical garden in Bascom, North Carolina.

• The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton is an intergenerational family saga that will take you from Australia to England’s Cornish coast.

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For Young Readers

Share the joy of gardening and flowers with your kids with these titles:

• Kids learn to grow the vegetables they will use to make delicious dishes in Plant, Cook, Eat: A Children’s Cookbook by Joe Archer.

• Bloom Boom! by April Pulley Sayre is a celebration of springtime!

• There is so much activity, from burrowing animals to sprouting leaves, in Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt by Kate Messner.

• Learn how planting flowers can transform a gray city in The Curious Garden by Peter Brown.

• Lola’s parents show her how to tend her seeds in Lola Plants a Garden by Anna McQuinn.

• Enjoy a mother and child planting their flower garden in Lois Ehlert’s classic Planting a Rainbow.

• In Caldecott Honor-winning classic The Gardener by Sarah Stewart, Lydia Grace gains the love of gardening in spite of having to move to the city.

Morning Minute: Monday, March 11, 2019

News About Town: Do you recognize the jacket pictured below? Matthews Police need help identifying a body found in a ditch on the 1800 block of E. John Street (the outer side of John St. past I-485). A damaged silver and purple Huffy bicycle was found nearby. The victim, likely a white male, seems to have died several weeks ago. If you have any leads, call Matthews Police Department at 704-847-5555.

News Around Town:  As we inch toward spring and thoughts turn toward sowing seeds and planting flowers, native flora deserve consideration. Often requiring less upkeep and water than their exotic counterparts, native plants also support the local fauna. Want to learn more? Mecklenburg County Master Gardener Margaret Genkins will speak on the topic at the Matthews Library (230 Matthews Station St.) this Thursday from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.

One Good Thing: Kiwanis Club of Matthews is prepping for their annual Pancake Breakfast. We Beaconers love a good pancake, love all-you-can-eat pancakes even more, and love all-you-can-eat pancakes at a discounted rate most of all. Buy your tickets now and save $1 per ticket. The price goes up to $8 at the door. Plus kids under 8 eat free! March 30, 8:00 AM to noon. Matthews Presbyterian Church, 207 West John St.

Matthews Library Recommends: Reading for Women's History Month

In celebration of Women’s History Month, staff at Matthews Public Library have compiled a list of resources that enable you to explore the stories and experiences of women around the globe. You can also peruse the many Women’s History Month recommended reading lists available in our online catalog.

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 Adult Nonfiction

• She the People: A Graphic History of Uprisings, Breakdowns, Setbacks, Revolts, and Enduring Hope on the Unfinished Road to Women’s Equality by Jen Deaderick is an entertaining look at the 35+-year history of the Equal Rights Amendment’s ratification by U.S. states.

• Learn about the women recruited by Britain’s elite spy agency to sabotage the Nazis in D-Day Girls: The Untold Story of the Female Spies Who Helped Win World War Two by Sarah Rose Crown.

• The Woman Who Smashed Codes by Jason Fagone tells the story of Elizebeth Smith, who worked with her husband, cryptologist William Friedman, to expose Nazi spy rings in South America.

• The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women by Kate Moore exposes a groundbreaking workers’ rights battle that came about after women who worked in the radium-dial factors during World War I fell ill.

• Emancipation of Angelina Grimke by Katherine DuPre Lumpkin: Originally published in 1974, this biography tells the story of Angelina Grimke, 19th-century abolitionist and women’s rights advocate.

• The story of women who fought to bring their husbands, Vietnam POWs, home is told in The League of Wives: The Untold Story of the Women Who Took on the U.S. Government to Bring Their Husbands Home by Heath Hardage Lee.

• From the Vikings to the present, learn about womens’ roles in battle in  Women Warriors: An Unexpected History by Pamela D. Toler.

• Jewish women’s influence on social activism is explained in America’s Jewish Women: A History from Colonial Times to Today by Pamela Susan Nadell.

• Celebrate the struggles and achievements of some amazing change-makers in A History of the World in 21 Women: A Personal Selection by Jenni Murray.

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Young Adult Nonfiction

• Young women writers tackle big topics in Girls Write Now: Two Decades of True Stories from Young Female Voices. Interspersed is advice from women writers including Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Mia Alvar, and Zadie Smith.

• Get a glimpse of life for a 5-year-old girl who leaves Iran for refugee life in the U.S. in Taking Cover: One Girl’s Story of Growing Up During the Iranian Revolution by Nioucha Homayoonfar.

• Women who have contributed to our quest for space exploration are celebrated in Galaxy Girls: 50 Amazing Stories of Women in Space by Libby Jackson.

• Radioactive! How Irene Curie and Lise Meitner Revolutionized Science and Changed the World by Winifred Conkling addresses the lack of acclaim that history has awarded to these dedicated physicists.

• Learn about how a woman from Baltimore, Maryland became a hero of the Allies in The Lady Is a Spy: Virginia Hall, World War II Hero of the French Resistance by Don Mitchell.

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For Children

• Learn about 50 influential women in Anthology of Amazing Women: Trailblazers Who Dared to Be Different by Sandra Lawrence.

• Celebrate inspiring women throughout history, from Ada Lovelace to Zaha Hadid, in The A-Z of Wonder Women by Yvonne Lin.

• Emily Roebling was married to the chief engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge construction. When her husband fell ill, she learned every aspect of the project and oversaw its completion. Learn about her in Secret Engineer: How Emily Roebling Built the Brooklyn Bridge by Rachel Dougherty.

• Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly is a wonderful children’s edition of the famous adult book that was adapted as a movie.

• You’ll be introduced to one of the first entomologists and scientific illustrators in The Bug Girl: Maria Merian’s Scientific Vision by Sarah Glenn Marsh.

• Wilma’s Way Home: The Life of Wilma Mankiller by Doreen Rappaport tells the story of the first female Chief of the Cherokee Nation.

• Never Caught: The Story of Ona Judge, George and Martha Washington’s Courageous Slave Who Dared to Run Away by Erica Armstrong Dunbar tells the story of Ona Judge, who escaped the Washington’s household and fought their attempts to reenslave her.

Black History Month at the Library

In honor of Black History Month, staff at Charlotte Mecklenburg Library have some suggested reading (and viewing) to help you learn about and explore the people and moments that have shaped our collective past.

HistoryMakers

Check out The HistoryMakers Digital Archive, an oral history collection highlighting the accomplishments of individual African Americans and African-American-led groups and movements.  It is unique among collections of African American heritage because of its large and varied scope, with interviewees from across the United States, from a variety of fields, and with memories stretching from the 1890s to the present.

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Adult Nonfiction

• In A Girl Stands at the Door: The Generation of Young Women Who Desegregated America’s Schools, Rachel Devlin tells the story of young black women who led the movement to integrate schools.

• Read the true story of Josiah Henson, immortalized in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin, in The Road to Dawn: Josiah Henson and the Story That Sparked the Civil War by Jared Brock.

• Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, by Ibram X. Kendi, winner of 2016 National Book Award for Nonfiction, exposes the origins of racist ideas and their role in rationalizing policies that promote racial inequality.

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Adult Fiction

• Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad, the story of a young slave woman’s bid to escape the Antebellum South, won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for fiction.

• Jesmyn Ward won the 2017 National Book Award for Fiction for Sing, Unburied, Sing, an exploration of history and racism through the lens of a multiracial family in the rural South.

• Another Brooklyn, by Jacqueline Woodson, was a 2016 National Book Award finalist; it is a picture of life for a young African American woman growing up in Brooklyn in the 1970s.

• Imbolo Mbue’s Behold the Dreamers, winner of the 2017 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, tells the story of a Cameroonian immigrant’s pursuit of the American dream in Harlem in 2007.

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Young Adult Fiction and Nonfiction

• Jason Reynold’s Long Way Down, longlisted for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, takes place during an elevator ride of a 15-year-old boy determined to avenge his brother’s shooting death. 

• Monster, Walter Dean Myer’s classic, tackles issues of race, class, gender and the judicial system with a 16-year-old black teen on trial for murder.

• Dreamland Burning, by Jennifer Latham, tells intersecting stories of present-day Tulsa, Oklahoma and the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921.

• Tony Medina’s I Am Alfonso Jones is a tale of police brutality and Black Lives Matter told in graphic novel format.  

• Presented in graphic novel format, the March Trilogy is Congressman John Lewis’ narrative of his experiences in the civil rights movement.

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Pre-Teen Fiction and Nonfiction

• Learn about Depression-era life in the South in Stella by Starlight by Sharon Draper.

• Mildred D. Taylor’s classic Logan Family series is set in post-Civil War Georgia and features classics The Land and Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. 

• Linda Williams Jackson’s Midnight Without a Moon gives readers a glimpse of race relations in rural Mississippi in the 1950s.

• In Freedom on the Menu: the Greensboro Sit-Ins, author Carole Boston Weatherford envisions the 1960 Woolworth’s lunch counter sit-ins through the eyes of a young African American observer.

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Young readers

• March Forward, Girl: From Young Warrior to Little Rock Nine by Melba Beals

• Let It Shine: Stories of Black Women Freedom Fighters by Andrea Davis Pinkney and Stephen Alcorn

• What Color Is My World? The Lost History of African-American Inventors by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Raymond Obstfeld

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Picture Books

In the Resources section of our website you’ll find Books & Authors, where you can browse the complete list of winners of the Coretta Scott King Award, which recognizes African American authors and illustrators who express the African American experience in works for young people.

Introduce little ones to important figures in African American history with picture books like: 

• The Youngest Marcher: The Story of Audrey Faye Hendricks, A Young Civil Rights Activist by Cynthia Levinson

• Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History by Vashti Harrison

• Let the Children March by Monica Clark-Robinson

• Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly

• Nina: Jazz Legend and Civil-Rights Activist Nina Simon by Alice Briere-Haquet

Morning Minute: Wednesday, February 6, 2019

News About Town: Monday, February 11 the Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Resource Department will host a workshop with MSW Robert Hughes on the “Seven Habits for Parents.” The workshop draws from Stephen Covey’s “7 Habits for Effective Families” among other resources. If you (like some Beacon writers) feel like you could use some more tools in your parenting toolbox, registration is $10 for Matthews residents and is open now on the Parks & Rec website.

News Around Town: Many of us leave limbs and bagged leaves at the curb for waste pick up. If pick up is delayed or if you have more yard waste than the town’s service collects (20 bags per week), you can take it to Compost Central (140 Valleydale Rd., Charlotte). This Mecklenburg County facility accepts leaves, grass clippings, and brush (should be unbagged or in clear or paper bags); clean pallets less than 5' in length; limbs and bamboo less than 5' in length; and logs over 5 inches in diameter. Curbside collection will not accept logs over five inches diameter. Other no-nos include food waste; yard waste with items contaminated with paint, plastic, or metal; tree stumps, large root balls, sod, or dirt. Root balls smaller than a basketball are acceptable.

One Fun Thing: This one is so much fun we posted a full article about it, so mark your calendar. Join Tony Lombardino and Backyard Bird store owner Laurie Horne on Saturday, February 9, 2019, at 8:00 AM, for a bird walk at Colonel Francis Beatty Park. Bring binoculars, a camera, and be ready to learn a few things. Tony has led many bird walks at the Rockefeller University Field Research Center and knows the unique spots for interesting finds around the park.

Morning Minute: Tuesday, February 5, 2019

News Around Town: If you have a bachelor's degree in accounting or business and five years of public finance administration, the Town of Matthews wants to hear from you. The Town is seeking an experienced Finance Director who will manage a staff of three and will report to the Assistant Town Manager. Knowledge of municipal finance practices and the ability to work effectively within the Council-Manager form of government are important attributes. Learn more here. 

News Around Town: Seaboard Brewing, downtown Matthews craft beer brewer and wine bar, participated in Queen City Brew Festival this past weekend. Seaboard took just a little luster out of the Queen’s crown by bringing the Best in Show award home to Matthews.

One Fun Thing: Have you ever wanted to truly talk with your hands? This Wednesday at 3:00 in the Community Room the Matthews Library kicks off a 5 week Learning Circle on American Sign Language. The Learning Circle offers interested members of the community the opportunity to use the library’s Universal Class access to take an online course in a group setting. The course is free and lightly facilitated. No experience with ASL is necessary. Register here.

Morning Minute: Monday, January 7, 2019

News About Town: If you haven't already, you'll soon see police zipping around town on motorcycles. The department just added a three motorcycle Motor Unit to the Patrol Division. The Chief expects the mobility and quick response capabilities of motorcycles to be a great benefit to the reduction in traffic accidents. Of the three, two are Harley Davidsons purchased from the Char-Meck Police Department and the electric unit was purchased with grant monies received from N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center. Let the CHIPs jokes begin!

Image courtesy Matthews Police Department

News Around Town: Edison Inigo Beier was the first baby born in 2019 at Novant Health Matthews Medical Center. Congratulations to parents Alejandra and Christopher Beier.

One Fun Thing: It’s Family Story Time at the Matthews Library (230 Matthews Station St.) at 7 p.m. tonight. Put the kids in their pj’s, load up the car, and head over to the library for quality time spent with a good book. Need more incentive? Cookies and milk will be served. The event is limited to the first 25 children registered so get there early enough to sign-up at the Train Desk (sign-up begins 15 minutes before each program).

Morning Minute: November 26, 2018

News About Town: The Town of Matthews broke ground on Rice Road Park this past August. As a part of the park’s construction, a contractor will be laying a new pipe under Rice Road between November 26 – 30.  That portion of the road will be closed to through traffic during this period. Residents in the area will still have access.

Drivers are instructed to use Williams Road and Sam Newell Road as the alternate routes.

Rice Road Park is expected to be complete in early 2019. 

News Around Town: Deer mating season typically occurs during the month of November in the NC Piedmont region. This means their behavior will be more erratic than usual, especially between 5 to 8 AM and 6 to 10 PM. Since suburban roads cross through habitat areas, and deer behavior can be unpredictable, auto-to-deer collisions increase significantly during the mating season. Use extra caution when driving at dawn and dusk, particularly on roads through wooded areas. (H/T to Charlotte Haryan on nextdoor.com for the info.)

One Good Thing: If you’re already feeling overwhelmed by the holiday fury, Joanna Clausen of NEST Organizing has just what you need. In her workshop Organizing Skills and Tips: Organizing for the Holidays Clausen will provide tips to organize everything holiday-related. She’ll cover organizing your time and events, give tips on getting holiday cards out the door, and ways to make sure all the presents get wrapped. 

Organizing Skills and Tips: Organizing for the Holidays, Wednesday, December 5, 2018, 6:00pm to 7:30pm, Matthews Library Community Room. Register here.