Horse's Mouth for June 13, 2013
"Overall, it actually was a very pleasant year. I was blessed not to be sick all the time."
— Hough High School graduate Torie Costa, who began her senior year with a diagnosis of a rare form of cancer. Although she spent much of the school year at home, she graduated with her classmates earlier this week.
"This brought my family together. It brought my friends together. It brought the community together. It makes you want to fight so much more, knowing there's so much to fight for."
— Costa, on the net effect of her battle with cancer on her family.
"That wasn't much of an answer."
— Attorney Scott Leo, bond counsel to the Town of Cornelius, after a lengthy answer to commissioners about strategies that might provide the best chance of voter approval of various bond categories but stopping short of actually telling them what to do.
"The idea is to draft it so there is some flexibility. This is a bond issue over 10 years and things naturally change."
— Leo on how to draft bond referendum language that doesn't tie the town to specific projects but does obligate spending in specific categories.
"You can combine categories, and you can tell a lawyer wrote this, if they're not unrelated. They used a double negative."
— Leo on whether it is permissible to place public works spending with parks and recreation spending in a single bond issue, indicating they must be voted on separately to meet the letter of the law.
"So the answer is not no."
— Cornelius Mayor Lynette Rinker to Leo, using a double negative of her own.
"Does it bother you that some voters might add the numbers and you have $11 million in parks and recreation in a town where I think we have great parks because we have two county parks, and $9 million on roads in a town where everyone would agree we need road improvements?"
— Cornelius Commissioner Chuck Travis on the original balance of the recommended total bond package favoring parks and recreation. That balance was later shifted to $11-plus million for road and sidewalks improvements.
"I think roads are our number one issue and I think we need to be careful that what we're focusing on our needs and not wants."
— Commissioner Jeff Hare, regarding Travis' comment.
"It still hasn't really hit us yet that we're going to the College World Series. It's crazy."
— University of North Carolina shortstop Michael Russell, of Huntersville and Hopewell High, after the Tar Heels' 5-4 win over South Carolina Tuesday, clinching a spot in this weekend's College World Series.
"It was a great experience for a bunch of kids who had never been anywhere."
— Cornelius resident Clem Huffman reflecting on his time as the second baseman on N.C. State's 1968 College World Series team.
Horse's Mouth June 7, 2013
"There was one day when (former Cornelius Mayor and now State Sen.) Jeff Tarte stopped by my office. We sat down, looked at each other and asked each other the same thing."
— North Carolina Speaker of the House Tom Tillis, on whether he asks himself how he rose to the top of political power in Raleigh in less than 10 years after being elected to his first office as Cornelius town commissioner
in 2003.
Horse's Mouth for May 30, 2013
"I like to think of it as passion. We've got two or three sides that are passionate about their position, and some of these folks are disadvantaged in that we as a department have been developing these RFPs (requests for performance) for over a year and they are just beginning to be able to absorb 1,200 pages of text. What we see a lot of times is picking and choosing what is understood in the RFP without understanding all of the ramifications."
— North Carolina Department of Transportation Director of Transportation Program Management Rodger Rochelle on the months-long, often contentious debate regarding toll lanes and private investment to widen I-77 north of Charlotte.
"If we were able to piecemeal some funds together and do what we have done in the past, and that is widen for six miles and then come back and widen more when money is available, somebody commuting from Mooresville to Charlotte would be in a construction zone for 15 to 17 years versus three to three-and-a-half years."
— Rochelle on the alternative to toll lanes.
"We told them about our community and they just want to come and see for themselves. That was what the trip was about, making sure we had a seat at the table. And I think this shows we made a strong impression."
— Huntersville Mayor Jill Swain on her recent fact-finding and bridge-building trip to China to visit with manufacturing companies there.
"The intent was to build stronger relationships with Chinese manufacturing and technology corporations. We wanted to let them know we're open for business."
— Swain on the message conveyed on the trip to China.
"I never really drank that much in college. I know that sounds bizarre but it's true. I didn't really start drinking until we had four kids."
— Bonnie Jesseph, owner of W.I.N.O.S. (Women In Need Of Sanity), a wholesale operation new to the Lake Norman-area that specializes in a variety of wine-themed items.
"All of this was fun, and a lot of hard work. But being out there, in the pilot house, cruising down the lake and waving at the folks stopping and taking pictures, that was, well, just really cool."
— Bill McComb of Davidson on the rewards of completing the construction of, and finally launching, his replica tugboat on Lake Norman.
"Can I hold this for the rest of my life? I'm not letting it go."
— Lake Norman Charter goalkeeper Carolyn Huddy after her team's victory over Raleigh Charter in Saturday night's 1A state championship game.
"I don't know if you can describe it, it's the complete opposite. I hurt for the girls. I'm still as proud of them as I was when we got off the bus today."
— Hough girls soccer coach David Smith shortly after his team's 4A state championship game loss to Cary Green Hope last Saturday night.
Horse's Mouth May 24, 2013
"When I first started working, I was worried about paying the bills, and now I'm just worried about paying it forward."
— Lori Tackitt, manager of the new Walmart in Huntersville, on remembering how she rose from sporting goods sales clerk to manager in 10 years.
Horse's Mouth for May 16, 2013
"Not to be too personal, Mr. Blythe, but you're no spring chicken."
— Huntersville Commissioner Danny Phillips, explaining he was just trying to determine if the town should begin thinking about adding to its one-man legal department, Bob Blythe, who is in his 50th year as the town's legal advisor.
"Not unless you want me to."
— Blythe, when Phillips asked him if he plans to
retire soon.
"It's not the ideal situation with what we were originally looking for, but it gives us what we need. It allows us to grow and employ more people and do more business."
— Lake Norman Hyundai owner Rick Zoerb during his presentation to the Cornelius Town Board two weeks ago. He was petitioning for a conditional use permit to expand his dealership in a public hearing.
"This looks more like a fancy parking lot to me."
— Cornelius Commissioner Jeff Hare to Zoerb.
"Kalamazoo is part of a region with a very strong design community. We love Huntersville and are very happy here. This is more about elevating a key capability of our company — product design."
— Newell Rubbermaid spokesperson David Doolittle discussing the reason for the relocation of three dozen design positions from Huntersville to Michigan.
"I didn't mean to push it, although I guess I probably did."
— A smiling Huntersville Mayor Pro Tem Sarah McAulay acknowledging that the town's proposed budget is the subject of a public hearing on Monday with a June 3 target date set for final adoption.
"You mean we had to wait until page 111 to find something you did wrong?"
— Huntersville Commissioner Charles Guignard, joking with Finance Director Janet Stoner (recognized even among professional numbers-crunchers as notoriously precise) about one set of figures placed on the wrong line in the town's 143-page budget package.
"Vegas is great. I just didn't want to raise my (twin) girls there."
— New Hopewell Football Coach Matt Jenkins, speaking about a previous coaching and teaching job. He moved to Cornelius four years ago.
"Success is not something that could happen here. It's something that should happen here."
— Jenkins on Hopewell's football prospects.
Horse's Mouth May 10, 2013
"You can't rank the project by itself. It has to be in comparison to all the others. The widen I77 folks do a great job and do great research, but what they are talking about is not a project. It's not been ranked and when you lop off the southern end of that project, it's going to change a whole lot on how that ranking is going to score. That puts you in a situation of increased uncertainty and the likelihood you will not be delivered a project until much later than you want. You're talking about a truncated project and you're trying to score a truncated project."
— Lake Norman Transportation Commission Executive Director Bill Thunberg on wideni77.org leader Kurt Naas' contention Monday night that by reducing the scope of the project to only expansion through the Lake Norman area, the project will score higher on the MUMPO
ranking system.
Horse's Mouth for May 2, 2013
"I'm a doctor. In every doctor there is a fighter. This is easy to imagine when you picture a doctor in a white coat fighting against cancer. But in behavioral health, we also fight against the cultural forces that are truly enemies, true barriers to the excellent health care our patients with mental illness deserve."
— Dr. John Santopietro, Carolinas HealthCare System's chief clinical officer for behavioral health services. He was discussing the building of a new behavioral health facility in Davidson.
"When you boil it down, I decided to pick up my family and move halfway down the coast to the Carolinas for one reason. I came because there is a cultural moment here like no other in the country right now. There is something important happening here. .... There is a moment of great opportunity."
— Santopietro on why he left his position as medical officer at Community Health Resources in Windsor, Conn., to join CHS.
"Behavioral health, as a science, is about the head. But this fight, in this moment, is all about the heart."
— Santopietro.
"Davidson can be a little quirky but it is that quirkiness that makes this town unique. Instead of a bouncy house, you'll find a house made out of recycled materials that the local school children made. At the cake walk, you'll find home-grown, organic, vegan, gluten-free baked goods."
— Davidson community and economic development manager Kim Fleming, on the town's personality that is reflected in its annual Town Day celebration.
"We have a community that is willing to do things differently. We have citizens who are passionate about finding improved ways to do things. I think Town Day is an example of how that thinking permeates the lives of Davidson's citizens."
— Fleming on Town Day.
"He's taken it to an incredible level. He's a great statement to continuing to work to become the best you can become. He's elevated his game to another level since he left Davidson, and he's done it year by year."
— Davidson College basketball coach Bob McKillop on former Wildcat Stephen Curry's third pro basketball season and first playoff appearance with the Golden State Warriors.
"It's like a yo-yo. He has such a great feel with the ball."
— McKillop on Curry's uncanny ball control while dribbling.
"As soon as they determined she needed a transplant, I put myself down as a candidate. I figured if she needed a kidney, it just made sense for me to be the first in line to see if I was a suitable donor."
— Lake Norman Charter faculty member Brandon Bates about his decision to volunteer as a donor when he learned his wife needed a kidney transplant.
"I like to believe that, for whatever reason, whoever was taking care of him just couldn't do it anymore and they wanted to leave him with someone who could."
— Dr. Lori Hoe of Main Street Veterinary Hospital in Cornelius talking about Sam, an abandoned and injured Jack Russell Terrier in need of medical care.
Horse's Mouth for April 25, 2013
"When you factor 'mental health' into the equation, it adds another dynamic, another layer of complexity, an unfortunate element of fear in the minds of some people, and a risk of controversy that can be disheartening."
— Carolinas HealthCare System CEO Michael Tarwater on the lingering stigma tied to behavioral health.
"Regrettably, we have not yet achieved universal consensus on how best to work together as a community to address the mushrooming need for behavioral health services."
— Tarwater.
"One of the things I like about the way Elevation Church approaches their building is that they're not 'churchy.' There is no stained glass and no crosses, so it works well for secular uses. ... I really see this as a second life for Kenton Place."
— Developer Gary Cangelosi, who has developed some of Kenton Place, where Elevation Church has has received approval from the Cornelius Town Board on a request for a conditional zoning amendment that allows it to convert the former Palace Theater into a satellite church location.
"I don't think we can consider the exempt nature of (property tax) when considering land uses."
— Cornelius Town Attorney Bill Brown on Commissioner Jeff Haire's concern that permitting the Palace Theater to become church property would remove it, at least partially, from the town's tax rolls.
"It was a worthless meeting, actually."
— Cornelius Town Manager Anthony Roberts on a recent session with representatives from the Mecklenburg County Tax Assessor's Office in an effort to better quantify the negative impact the adjustments on property values within the town will have on the current budget cycle.
"From what I understand, Pearson's and the county staff aren't getting along too good. They don't believe in each others' numbers."
— Roberts on the current relationship between the remnants of the Mecklenburg County Tax Assessor's staff and Pearsons Appraisal Services, which was hired by the county to evaluate the 2011 revaluation, which could result in a 6.9 percent reduction in the overall property value in Cornelius.
"Probably junk mail from the election season."
— Davidson Commissioner Rodney Graham speculating on an unexplained spike in the town's garbage collection in 2012.
"Farmers work every day, artisans work every day, and unfortunately right now some of the items they provide are only available to area residents one day a week."
— David Meeks of Flying Fish Seafood & Company and founder of Eden Street Market in Davidson, referring to the fact that some of the vendors now part of the Eden Street venture previously relied on weekly community markets — like the Saturday morning Davidson Farmer's Market nearby — for the chance to sell their products.
Horse's Mouth for April 18, 2013
"I looked at you young men, and I said, 'Thank God we are not lost.' It's your job to to be leaders. You're going to take our place. Make us proud."
— Mecklenburg County Commissioner Vilma Leake, addressing the newest members of the Gentleman's Club at Hopewell High School.
"The Gentlemen's Club to me is simply our way out. It's more than just a club, it's a brother/fatherhood of a group of gentlemen who wish to make a difference not only in their own lives but also in the lives of those who are beside them and those who shall follow our lead. I took a pledge and it feels good to be making a difference and to also help my fellow brothers realize the same."
— Hopewell High School senior and Gentleman's Club member Elsadig Muhamed, writing to the Citizen about his experiences as a member of the group and his ambitions for the future.
"CMPD is a part-time lake enforcement unit and does not have resources around the lake if their lake unit is not available. Once they go home, there is no lake patrol. Our argument was that even if we did not fund a full-time unit, we could still provide a reasonable call-back response because we have officers working the shoreline all the time and could respond to all emergencies must faster."
— Cornelius Police Chief Bence Hoyle on his ambition for local authority in coves and near the shoreline on Lake Norman.
"B-O-A-T. Bring Out Another Thousand. I've been a boat owner all my life, I just never learned. It's that hole in the water that you keep pouring money into."
— Perry Weir, owner of Freedom Boat Club, on the virtues of boat club membership versus boat ownership. The organization will begin operating on Lake Norman this boating season.
"So, to the people who make North Meck Soccer Club run and tick. We have recently joined the Colorado Rapids. We are now officially part of the Rapids Adidas Alliance."
— North Meck Soccer Club Executive Director Thomas Finlay during Monday night's private announcement to key club members regarding the new alliance with the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer.
"The badge has changed, but those four pillars behind it haven't changed a bit, and they fall exactly in line with what we want and strive to be and who we are as a club, so we're excited to be a part of this."
— Brian Crookham, senior director of youth development for the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer.
"It's amazing to be here, but part of what's amazing is I know more people's names than Thomas does. I'll introduce you to a couple of people later on. Key players in the room."
— Crookham, taking some good-natured jabs at North Meck Soccer Club Executive Director Thomas Finlay after he missed recognizing some key club members during Monday night's private announcement of the new alliance.
Horse's Mouth April 19, 2013
"I looked at you young men, and I said, 'Thank God we are not lost.' It's your job to to be leaders. You're going to take our place. Make us proud."
— Mecklenburg County Commissioner Vilma Leake, addressing the newest members of the Gentleman's Club at Hopewell High School.
