Tuesday night, new Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Superintendent Heath Morrison announced that Michael Jones would fill the Hopewell High School principal's post vacated by Washington, D.C Public Schools-bound Louise Jones, and Chad Thomas would move from Long Creek to become principal at Bailey Middle School.
Jones comes to Hopewell from a zone administrator position with CMS, but he does have thorough knowledge of the Huntersville school, having served as assistant principal at Hopewell during the 2010-11 school year.
Jones was an interim principal at Vance and Garinger high schools during the 2009-10 year and was an assistance principal at Vance in 2008-09. Like Louise Jones, who was Hopewell's principal the last five and one-half years, Hopewell's new Jones also worked as an educator in Virginia before joining CMS in 2008.
Jones is currently studying educational leadership in the doctoral studies program at Gardner-Webb University. A 1994 graduate of William and Mary, Jones earned a masters of education degree from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2004.
Thomas has been at Long Creek since 2007 and was previously principal at Pawtuckett Elementary for five years. Thomas is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and holds a masters degree in school administration from UNC Charlotte.
Morrison's announcements, including the appointment of John Wall from Southeast Raleigh Magnet School in Wake County as the next principal at West Charlotte High School, were made during the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education meeting. Also at that meeting, the CMS Board adopted a final budget package for the 2012-13 fiscal year that includes a three percent pay raise for all employees and provides funding to restore staff positions and add instructional technology positions at CMS high schools. It also included raises upwards of $17,000 for some administrators, the result of a "market adjustment" on salaries.
The presentation of the $1.2 billion budget included a review of CMS cost-cutting measures that have reduced or redirected $212 million in district spending the last five years. Since 2008, CMS has reduced its workforce by 2,000 positions and closed 11 schools. The district has also saved $16.5 million in transportation costs by altering bell schedules and bus routes and $22 million through energy conservation practices involving more efficient lighting and heating and cooling operations.
Supply drive to help NMHS
What If Everyone Inc. and Mosaic Church will hold their third annual Teacher Supply Drive July 29-Aug. 12. The local groups will collect school supplies to help teachers at North Meck High School stock their classrooms. Donation bins will be available at Mosaic Church, which meets at North Meck, each weekend to collect the supplies.
Among the items needed are red, blue and black pens, pencils, markers, facial tissues, Expo white board markers, Post-It notes, paper towels, hand sanitizers and notebooks.
If you have questions or need to drop off donations during the week, call Ashley Fazal at 704-345-8185 or send an e-mail to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Flag retirement ceremony set
Boy Scouts Troup 615 will host an American Flag Retiring Ceremony Wednesday, Aug. 1, at 7 p.m. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 7036 McIlwaine Road in Huntersville. If anyone has a flag to retire, e-mail Patti at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to arrange a drop-off time. The scouts will prepare the flag for the ceremony.
Some CMS offices move to new spot
The student placement office for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is in the process of relocating and will be back in business at its new headquarters, 1600 Tyvola Road in the newly named Smith Family Center, by Wednesday, Aug. 1.
Starting in June, several CMS departments at the Family Application Center began moving to the Smith Center. Pre-kindergarten programs, English as a Second Language and the magnet schools office are now at the Smith Center. The phone and fax numbers have not changed.
Contact numbers are: student placement office, 980-343-5335; magnet programs, 980-343-5030, English as a Second Language/International Center, 980-343-0432; Pre-K programs, 980-343-5950; and the Spanish line 980-343-5138.
Huntersville's 911 transition complete
On June 27, the Town of Huntersville transferred dispatch service from the North Mecklenburg Communications Center in Cornelius to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
After the first few weeks of operation, the transfer has been smooth, according to Huntersville Police Department representatives, and residents dialing 911 should not have noticed any change in the handling of these calls. Police Chief Phil Potter reminds residents, "Anytime someone thinks they need Huntersville police or animal services to respond to their location for an issue, they should call 911."
While 911 calls are now handled by the CMPD, the Huntersville police business/records office can be reached, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., at 704-464-5400.
On nights and weekends, callers can still use that number, and the calls will be forwarded to dispatch automatically. The previous non-emergency dispatch number 704-892-7773, should be removed from contact lists to avoid confusion.
Callers requesting to speak to a specific officer, follow up with investigations, file a complaint against an officer, ask a question about the town ordinances, request a copy of a report or request a permit for a special event should call the business numbers for the most efficient response
Residents should call 911 in response to threats to life or property, domestic confrontations, fires, traffic accidents, medical emergencies, situations involving weapons, crimes in progress, noise complaints, careless and reckless driving, burglar alarms, neighborhood problems, solicitors, requests for a report to be made and animal control issues.
Law enforcement officials have provided a basic "things to do" sheet outlining steps callers should remember:
• The most important thing to remember when calling 911 is not to hang up. Stay calm and speak clearly. Give the operator as much information as necessary under the circumstances and remember that caller cooperation could mean the difference between life and death or serious injury.
• The first information requested of callers by 911 professionals will be to list their specific kind of emergency such as a police, fire or medical emergency. Next, callers will be asked to list the location of the incident. Be as specific as possible, and look for street names, addresses or a business nearest your location.
• Callers should also, when asked, provide a contact number to be reached in case the officer cannot find the location or the call gets disconnected.
• Advise the 911 operator of the number of people involved in the incident and any type of suspect description you can provide, being as specific as possible.
• Let the operator know if you see or suspect that weapons are involved as this is very important information to ensure the safety of the officers and other possible victims or bystanders at the scene.
• Advise of any adverse conditions that would prevent law enforcement or any other emergency personnel from rendering services such as an address that is not properly displayed, vehicles blocking the roadway or vicious dogs on the premise.
