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Green Pieces Recycling visited Fun-N-Learning Daycare in Locust recently to teach the children about what it means to recycle trash and take care of the earth. Fun-N-Learning uses Green Pieces services at the center and felt it would be a good way to show the children why they collect daily items to recycle. Green Pieces showed his recycling truck, how to crush and break down recyclables, and where it goes once it leaves businesses, homes, and community. His mascot “Binny” the Recycling Bin came out to enjoy the festivities as well. The children spent the week talking about recycling in honor of Earth Day.

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High school students received an up close and personal look at the realities of the physical and emotional damages of drunk driving last Wednesday morning at West Stanly High School.
Safe Kids Stanly County and SART conducted a mock car crash with the assistance of students from the West Stanly Players, along with local fire departments, EMTs, and police from the county. The event was funded through the Albemarle ABC Board in an effort to open the eyes of underage students about the dangers of drinking and driving. Continue reading »

West Stanly Players are hard at work on their forty-first spring production Splendor in the Grass Friday, May 4, at 8 pm at the West Stanly Players Theatre at West Stanly High School. It runs May 4, 5, 11, and 12 at 8 pm and Sunday, May 6 at 2:30 pm.
General admission tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door. Reserve seats can be purchased for $15. To purchase a ticket or for ticket information please contact Judy Tucker at 704-485-3200 or WSHS at 704-485-3012.

Dr. Samuel DePaul will be leaving Stanly County Schools beginning in July. DePaul was officially voted in as the new Colquitt County Schools Superintendent in Georgia on Monday, April 19.
DePaul will be going to a demographically smaller county with roughly a 20,000 less population count and fewer schools. Stanly County has 21 schools: four high schools, one early college school, four middle schools, and 12 elementary schools. Colquitt County has 12 schools: one high school, one junior high school, one middle school, and 10 elementary schools. Continue reading »

Early College High school:
An experiment that works
By Eric Chappelle
Contributing Writer
Early college is still a fairly new idea. The initiative to create high schools that include two years of college credit began in 2002. Since then more than 230 schools in 28 states and the District of Columbia have been redesigned and opened for this idea.
These schools were created so that low-income students, first-generation college applicants, minorities and others can earn a high school diploma and two years of credit toward a Bachelor’s degree in science or the Arts at the same time, tuition free. Students have access to high school classes from North Carolina Virtual Public School and college classes from Rowan Cabarrus Community College (RCCC).
According to the Cabarrus County Early College principal, Vance Fishback, students are chosen must complete an application during January of their eighth grade year. “After the applications are submitted, students are scheduled for interviews. It is a combination of the application and interview that determines who is selected. Early Colleges target students in several different categories including students who are first generation college students, in underrepresented college populations, can’t financially afford college, or those seeking a different school experience.”
High school freshman begin the program on a community college campus. Each year they take more and more college level classes, except for English which remains at the high school level.
Students apply in the eighth grade to attend ninth grade at the school. Getting into the school is a long process involving applications for the school and for college, interviews and waiting for results. A student must pass all their classes in order to get in and at least a three on their EOGs.
Going to school here is harder academically. You have to worry about high school and college classes. There are higher expectations of students who elect to go here. No work can be turned in late. You have to maintain a 3.0 level or higher. Honors level classes start at 5.0. You can only be absent eight days a year. There can be extra tutoring involved before and after school that each student is responsible for. Students can be sent back to their intended high school for these infractions.
For some students, the loss of sports, after school events and other extracurricular activities make this a tough choice as well.
But for students who choose this path, it will mean a shorter route to finishing a traditional degree. Classes are smaller and there are more opportunities for students to make friends. There are only about 50 students in each grade. Students are more academically challenged and statistics show this means fewer dropouts. The schedule for each class day is nontraditional. For the past two years we have not had any drop outs.
Cabarrus County hosts their Early College program at RCCC. Each student is give a laptop for school use only. The program began here in 2009. More than 150 students are enrolled currently. The laptops are funded locally by the school district.
“While students do use the computers for access to online classes, the laptops are primarily used as instructional tools,” said Fishback. “In addition to gathering research and creating projects using the laptops, all ECHS students create electronic portfolios of their class work and experiences during the year. The portfolios are used at the end of the year for students to show in student-led conferences how they have mastered the 21st century skills necessary for success after graduation.”
In Stanly County, the Early College program is held at Stanly Community College in Albemarle. This is a five-year program with free college tuition and textbooks. Stanly Early College High School, one of North Carolina’s 70 early colleges, was recognized June 24 as winner of the annual Innovator Award, presented by the North Carolina New Schools Project
Start-up funding for the Early College schools is from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Ford Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and Lumina Foundation for Education. Private funding for the Early College High School Initiative totals more than $130 million.
“It seems like a great educational challenge and I like challenges,” said rising ninth grade student, Christine Cline, who will attend Early College High School this fall. “It is a fantastic opportunity that I hope will open many doors for me and find a place where everyone fits in, helping many students get a start on life.”

Old Bethel School gets a new name
By Joyce Lavene
Senior Staff Writer
Cabarrus County Commissioners agreed to sell the Old Bethel School campus on Hwy. 24/27 in Midland to Woodson University last week. The price was $10,000, a sharp decline from the original asking price of more than $2 million.
The county decided last year that they would open bids on the property with a base of $200,000. But the bids were much lower and the county changed its mind.
Earlier this year, there was a proposal from a group that called itself A New Beginning. That group wanted to make the school into a community center. There was also a bid of $10 and $1,000 made in March.
The county estimated that the property was worth about $1 million but would cost between $3 and $4 million to renovate. The property has been vandalized through the years since the school closed in 2007 and has sustained heavy damage as well as the expense of removing asbestos from the old building.
The new university’s main campus will be at this site and will be known as Woodson University-Old Bethel Campus.
Woodson University began in April of this year with five students enrolled in a class called Theories of Leadership, an online course for its bachelor’s degree in Christian Management and Leadership. The university eventually plans to offer certificates and bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees in Christian studies.
A. L. Fleming is the president of Woodson University. He spoke to the Town of Midland at their monthly meeting about his plans for the 10 acre, five building campus. “We look forward to working with school alumni, the citizens of Midland, Cabarrus County, and local government. Our purpose is clear—we are here to add to the local economic and academic landscape of our community.”
The university will work with county staff in the coming weeks to finalize the acquisition and transfer of the facility, said Fleming. He said he expects it to be 18 to 24 months for completion of renovations after closing on the purchase. Woodson University will continue to occupy their current offices and academic space in Concord until the completion of renovations.
“First steps should occur after the closing of the sale, within 60-120 days,” Fleming said. “Site cleanup and landscaping is scheduled to occur. The timeline for occupation, active academic course work and administrative work, is unable to be adequately determined until the pre-design phase is completed.”
The university is named after Carter G. Woodson, who founded Black History Month. Fleming was previously employed as an academic counselor, special assistant to the chief financial officer and assistant to the chief development officer at Elizabeth City State University. He was a presidential fellow in the University of North Carolina system.
He was also the chief advancement officer and interim chief financial officer for Barber-Scotia College, before leaving last year to spend time as the director of development at Saint Augustine’s College.
Why Midland? Fleming said the campus is a gem in the community. “The school has provided educational opportunities for citizens of all ages for the past three quarters of a century, approximately. The campus is also a historic beauty in the manner of its construction, and is strategically located near four counties and direct access to major N.C. roadways and Interstates. Therefore its history and location suit our needs in our long range plan to inhabit a small physical campus.”
There seems to be no bitterness about this once devisive issue. Midland Town Council member Mike Tallent, who is on the Old Bethel School Committee, said he and his family support the initiative.
“We feel this would be an appropriate use of the old school. How better to show respect and appreciation to the students that roamed these halls in the past than to honor them by the use of this facility as a university. We look forward to the County Commissioners’ support of this community opportunity.

According to the May 17 referendum, Cabarrus County residents are willing to put out some money for their schools. A one-quarter cent sales tax passed 2261 to 1530.

More, in depth, coverage of the referendum in next week’s The Weekly Post!

Scout project beautifies Locust corners
By Joyce Lavene
Senior Staff Writer
The City of Locust had plans on tap for landscaped plant beds on the corners of Hwy. 200 South and Hwy. 24/27 since the roadwork was being completed. But the recession and budget cuts kept them from realizing that goal. Landon Morrison, a 16-year-old sophomore at West Stanly High School, was looking for an Eagle Scout project. It seemed like a perfect fit.
Morrison came up with a team of workers who were onsite for about 25 hours over the last few weeks, digging up the ground, adding soil, plants and mulch. He used the plans the city had already drawn up. The result were two perfectly landscaped corners which are in a highly visible location in the city.
Helping Morrison were his brother, Evan, and his sister, Hannah, his mother Cindy and father, Tim. Even his grandmother, Bernice Morrison, helped out. Troop 63 at Carolina Presbyterian Church also worked on the project as did David Parsons, the troop’s scoutmaster. The Junior ROTC sent some volunteers and the Tri M Music Honor Scoiety. Josh Hartsell and Charlie Hinson gave of their time to help Morrison as well.
Locust Mayor Scott Efird was very happy with the landscaping. “I am thrilled that there are still young people who get involved in things like this. The corners at the square really look great.”
The project saved the city more than $9,000, according to Locust City Administrator James Inman. Those were the bids the city had sent to them. Locust supplied the plants for the project. Work on the project started March 19 with the first loads of topsoil being spread. Project work was completed during seven days, final mulch was spread on April 20. There were 25 volunteers, working various hours ranging from two to 26, totaling 218 man hours.
Landon is participating in the Air Force and Navy summer academy. He hopes to get in to the Air Force and become a pilot. He is on the track team, in ROTC and band, loves math and science. He is an Honor student, a band captain and Tri M Music Honor Society as well as a track and field long distance runner.
“I am grateful to the City of Locust for giving me this opportunity and to those who generously volunteered their time and energy to the project,” Landon said.
His mother, Cindy, said the project was a lot of work. “But we had fun too.”

As springtime arrives the West Stanly Players are hard at work preparing their 40th annual spring production. This year, in honor of that milestone, the players once again revisit the past with the staging of the crowd-pleasing comedy, You Can’t Take It with You, by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman.
“We wanted to do something really special to mark our 40th anniversary,” said director Wes Tucker. “Last year, with the sold out production of Grease, we paid tribute to a past musical. This year we pay tribute to one of our most popular past non-musical plays.”
You Can’t Take It with You opened on Broadway in 1936 and ran for 837 performances, winning the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The popular 1938 film version, starring Jimmy Stewart, brought home the Academy Award for best picture. Since then, it has been a mainstay in community, regional, and professional theatres around the country with successful Broadway revivals in 1965 and 1983.
“The play was written in the heart of the Great Depression to remind people of what is truly important in life,” says Tucker. “With its eccentric and often hilarious characters combined with the message of family before wealth, it hits home in 2011 as much as it did in 1936.”
Production dates are May 6, 7, 13, & 14 at 8 pm and May 8 at 2:30 pm at West Stanly. Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door. Reserved seats can also be purchased for $15. For ticket information please contact Judy Tucker at 704-485-3200 or West Stanly High School at 704-485-3012.
Story and photo by Wes Tucker

Children learn about recycling

Students see reality of drunk driving

West Stany Players presents Splendor in the Grass

DePaul says farewell to Stanly County

Early College High School

New Life For Old Bethel School – Midland, NC

Bethel Bengals Race, Midland, NC

Cabarrus County residents pass sales tax

Locust Eagle Scout Project

West Stanly Players present 40th Spring Production

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