In The News: Our cover story continued...

MLK Volunteer Ops: cont’d Using tools such as loppers, pruning shears, and mat-tocks, students would cut off vines as high as they could reach and then follow the rest of the vine to the soil. After some persistent digging, they would find the vine attached to a root crown. Once the root crown was removed from the soil and all attachments severed, the remaining vine will die. These ‘Kudzu Warriors’ took great pride in a day of service to help McDowell Pre-serve and honor Martin Lu-ther King, Jr.

See back page for a close-

up of the Kudzu removed in

‘Scenes from Events’

Park and Recreation Commemorates the Life of

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with Service Project

this issue

Park News P.1

Enterprise Services P.2

Nature Preserves & Natural Resources P.4

Community & Recreation Center Services P.5

V o l u m e 2 I S S U E

J a n u a r y 2 5 2 0 1 3

4 WEEKLY

NEWSLETTER OF THE

PARK AND RECREATION

DEPARTMENT FridayFridayLetterLetter THE

Nature Preserves and Natural Resources: Volunteer Ops On Monday, January 21st in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, over 40 volunteers from Queens University of Charlotte and Right Moves for Youth joined McDowell Nature Center staff for a day of service work. This energetic group was led by Gary Marshall, Natural Re-sources Coordinator, to stop Kudzu in its tracks at a playground within the preserve. Kudzu, an invasive plant that was brought to the United States for erosion control from Japan and China, is an extremely fast growing vine that quickly climbs over trees and shrubs. During the growing season, Kudzu vines can grow over a foot a day, making it a very difficult invasive to con-trol. Gary introduced the students to a chemical-free control method that turned out to be a lot of fun for these volunteers.

Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center Charlotte Catholic, East Gaston, Olympic, Phillip O’ Berry, and West Mecklenburg High Schools participated in their conference championship swim meet from 6:30pm – 9:30pm at the Mecklen-burg County Aquatic Center on Friday, January 18th . One hundred sixty-six (166) swimmers par-ticipated in the swim meet. Charlotte Catholic won the conference championship. Two hundred five (205) masters swimmers swam in the 39th Sunbelt Swimming Championship on January 19 and 20. U.S. Masters Swimming (USMS) is a national organization that provides organized workouts, competitions, clinics and workshops for adults aged 18 and over. The swim meet had swimmers from North and South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and Georgia. The swim meet ran from 8:45 – 5:00pm on Saturday and from 8:45 – 2:00pm on Sunday.

Athletic Events: Queens University of Charlotte The Queens University of

Charlotte men’s and women’s teams were both victorious on Saturday Janu-ary 19th against the visiting King Tornado. The women’s team rolled to a resounding 78-53 win behind four play-ers who scored in double figures. The Royals’ high pressure defense forced King into 24 turnovers on the day, and the Tornado failed to get closer than 12 points in the second half. The men’s team followed with a 66-54 victory behind Antonio Stabler’s 29 points and seven rebounds. The Royals’ stifling defense held the Tornado 25 points below their season average. Fresh-man Tre McLean added 12 points and eight rebounds to help the Royals establish a lead from the opening tip. Despite a late push by King that brought the deficit to three, Queens held on for an exciting conference victory. _______________________

American Legion Memorial Stadium On Saturday, the Grady Cole Center hosted the Charlotte Mini-Con Heroes Aren’t Hard to Find Comic Book Festi-val. Over 850 people attended over the course of the whole day, including many patrons who dressed as their fa-vorite comic book characters. Every hour, door prizes were given away and a “best costume contest” was also held. Comic books ranging from $0.50 all the way up to $12,000 were available for purchase as well as collectibles such as action figures and paintings. The event also gave back to charity by taking donations for the Second Harvest Food

Scenes from Events: (LEFT) Charlotte Mini-Com guests pause to be photo-graphed by our staff. ________________________

Scenes from Events: LEFT: Park and Recreation Employees pose with Imperial Storm Troopers ________________________

Super RAY!

Miniature Gardens at Reedy Creek Nature Center Last Sunday visitors came to Reedy Creek Nature to learn about miniature gardens, using recy-cled materials like soda bottle everybody walked away with a “garden in a bottle”. This is a great idea to brighten the winter days and recycle materials along the way. The program was so suc-cessful that we are already planning on offering this program again.

4H Theatre Arts at Ivory/Baker Recreation Center Fifteen youth are participating in 4-H Theatre Arts at Ivory/Baker Recreation Center. This three week program consists of acting, puppetry, and stagecraft.

Did You Know? Vivariums A vivarium (Latin, literally for "place of life"; plural: vivaria or vivariums) is an area, usu-ally enclosed, for keeping and raising animals or plants for observation or research. A vivarium may be small enough to sit on a desk or table, such as a terrarium or an aquarium, or may be a very large structure, possibly outdoors. A Terrarium, simulating a dry habitat, for instance desert or savannah, can also be formed to create a temperate wood-land habitat, and even a jun-gle-like habitat. This can be created with pebbles, leaf litter and soil. By misting the terrarium, a natural water cycle occurs within the envi-ronment by condensation forming on the lid causing precipitation. Many kinds of plants are suitable for these habitats, including bromeli-ads, African Violets and Cras-sulaceae.

Recreational News from Mecklenburg Communities

MeckTeens Joint Ski Trip On Monday, January 21, Out-door Recreation Staff, Albe-marle Road Recreation Cen-ter and Methodist Home Recreation Center Staff took forty-five [45] teens skiing and snowboarding in the Ap-palachian Mountains. Teens were able to participate in a unique fitness day while en-joying the great outdoors.

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Recreational News from Mecklenburg Communities

The Martin Luther King "A Day of Service" On Monday, January 21, Queens University, Right Moves For Youth, Carolina Support Services and the KinderCare Learning Center – W.T. Harris location) partnered with Sugaw Creek Rec-reation Center to conduct the event for over fifty (50) stu-dents ages 7-14 years old. They were empowered with various activities: opening ceremony, team building, Black History Quiz Bowl, sports stations, African Art, music, Black Inventions and cooking activities. The students learned about famous African American’s contributions to the community and they were ex-cited during discussions surrounding President Obama’s Inaugu-ration. Participants enjoyed healthy snacks and a nutritional lunch. Volunteer Services provided outstanding volunteers from Queens University and Right Moves for Youth Organization.

Sugaw Creek Recreation Center For more information about programs contact the Sugaw Creek Recreation Center at (704) 336-7655 or IvoryBakerRecreationCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov.

Teens from Burma Visit Ivory/Baker Recreation Center Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Department teamed up with North Carolina AAU to pro-vide basketball training for International Athletes with the U.S. State Department Sports Visitors program. Six boys and six girls from Burma were in Charlotte, NC sponsored by the U.S. State Dept. The athletes ranged from ages 14- 17 years old and were selected by the U.S. Embassy for the trip. The program’s intent is to train young athletes who are encouraged to return home and conduct in-country clinics with their newly learned skills. The visitors participated in clinics and scrimmages side by side with local youth at Ivory/Baker Recreation Center.

Ivory/Baker Recreation Center For more information about programs contact the Ivory/Baker Recreation Center at 704-432-4580 or IvoryBakerRecreationCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov.

NCDT After School Remembers MLK! Tom Sykes College Tour: Davidson College and UNCC On Tuesday January 22, Tom Sykes Recreation Center took 20 students representing 4 High Schools and 3 Middle Schools on a college tour! They visited Davidson College where they re-ceived a guided tour and met with admissions staff. At UNCC participants ate lunch with the col-lege students and toured the campus. Tom Sykes Recreation Center will be offering another col-lege tour February 18.

Tom Sykes Recreation Center For more information, contact TomSykesRecreationCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov or 704.432.4803. .

Recreational News from Mecklenburg Communities

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day: National Service Day Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a United States federal holiday marking the birthday of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It is observed on the third Monday of January each year, which is around the time of King's birthday, January 15. King was the chief spokesman for nonviolent activism in the civil rights movement, which successfully protested racial discrimination in federal and state law. The campaign for a federal holiday in King's honor began soon after his assassina-tion in 1968. Ronald Reagan signed the holiday into law in 1983, and it was first observed on January 20, 1986. The national Martin Luther King Day of Service was started by former Pennsyl-vania U.S. Senator Harris Wof-ford and Atlanta Congressman John Lewis, who co-authored the King Holiday and Service Act. The federal legislation challenges Americans to trans-form the King Holiday into a day of citizen action volunteer service in honor of Dr. King. The federal legislation was signed into law by President Bill Clinton on August 23, 1994. _______________________

The Start Smart Sports Develop-ment Programs The Right Start…Start Smart Start Smart Programs, cre-ated by the National Alliance for Youth Sports, help kids get ready for sports…and succeed in life. It is an innovative step-by-step approach that builds confidence and self-esteem in a fun and safe sports environment. Start Smart offers two dis-tinct types of programming with curriculum specifically designed for the following groups: Recreation Agencies: Start Smart Sports Develop-ment Programs provide rec-reation agencies with a com-prehensive motor skill devel-opment program that can be implemented easily. Pro-grams include Baseball, Bas-ketball, Football, Golf, Soccer, Tennis and a general skill de-velopment program.

Start Smart Basketball Arbor Glen Outreach Center held its first NAYS Start Smart program for 12 participants on December 4-January 15, 2013. Start Smart Basketball teaches children (ages 3-5) the basic motor skills necessary to play organized basketball while they work one-on-one and spend quality time with their parents. The program focuses on teaching children and their parents skills in dribbling/ball handling, passing/catching, shooting and running/agility without the threat of competition or the fear of getting hurt.

Arbor Glen Recreation Center For more information about programs at Arbor Glen, contact (704) 432-1531 or email Arbor-GlenOutreachCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov.

MeckSeniors: January Leisure and Learn Senior Citizens from across Mecklenburg County participated in the January 17th session of Leisure and Learn at William R. Davie Conference Room. Charlenea Duncan with the City of Charlotte presented information about the Low Income Energy Assistance Program(LIEAP). Sen-iors that qualified for the program were given the opportunity to apply for funding assistance paying their heating costs. The seniors also enjoyed a presentation in honor of the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday. The next MeckSeniors Leisure and Learn is Thursday, February 21 from 9:30am-2:00pm at William R. Davie Conference Room. This program has been themed “Happy Healthy Hearts” and will feature presenters and information in observance of Heart Disease Awareness Month. For more information on MeckSeniors programs email MeckSeniors@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov or call 704.336.8105.

MeckDSS

Recreational News from Mecklenburg Communities

Park and Recreation News:

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Please submit all news for the

Friday Letter to your Division

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for publication assistance.

The Friday Letter Volume 2 • Issue 4• January 25, 2013

Mecklenburg County

Park and Recreation

Senior Leadership Team

Jim Garges, Director

Michael Kirschman, Deputy Director

James Alsop, Enterprise Services

Renea Barber, Human Resources

Mario Chang, Budget Administration

Lee Jones, Capital Planning

Lola Massad, Community Services and

Recreation Centers

Jeff Robinson, Park Operations

5841 Brookshire Blvd.

Charlotte, NC 28216

(704) 336-8840

Recreate All Year! As the weather changes, look forward to new and exciting way to continue recreating during the fall and winter months. Subscribe to the Park and Recreation E-Newsletter to stay up to date on activities that may be available to you.

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Scenes from Events: