Things To Do | The Weekly Post

The 2012 primary election will be Tuesday, May 8. Early voting occurs now until May 7.
Two Democrats, Larry Kissell and Marcus W. Williams, and five Republicans, Richard Hudson, Scott Keadle, Vernon Robinson, Fred F. Steen II, and John M. Whitley are running for U.S. House of Representatives District 8.
For N.C. Senate District 25 two Democrats, Gene McLaurin and Daniel Wilson, and two Republicans, Gene McIntrye and Jack T. Benoy are facing off.
In the primaries for N.C. House of Representatives for District 67, Kevin Furr and Gail Williams are running on the Democratic Ballot and Darrell E. Almond and Justin P. Burr are on the Republican Ballot.
There are five candidates running for two seats on the Stanly County Board of Comissioners: Tony M. Dennis, Jann K. Lowder, Peter Asciutto, Heather Boles Couick, and Dorian Creeden. Voters may vote for two candidates running for County Comissioners.
Tanya Barbee Livingston and Suzanne Lowder are running for County Register of Deeds.
Constituents will also have the chance to vote in favor or against Amendment One in the primary ballet. The amendment, if passed, would define marriage as between one man and one woman in the North Carolina State Constitution and would ban any other types of civil unions and domestic partnerships.
A second primary, if needed, will be held June 26 or July 17 and the general election will be November 6 of the coming year.

The Third Annual Spring Alive Locust Festival will be Saturday, May 5. The event is sponsored by Piedmont Natural Gas and will run from 9:30 am through 6 pm. There will be inflatables, games and activities, food, arts, and crafts. There will also be live music by Jim Quick and Coastline, Carson Hill, and the Chris Marks Band.

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.

A war at Oakboro Park
Story and Photos By Joyce Lavene

There was a war going on at Oakboro District Park last weekend. If the sounds of shots fired from the pond seemed a little less than rifle fire and a little more like BB gun pellets, that was because the war was between W.W. II model ships.
The IRCWCC, International R/C Warship Combat Club, was founded in 1978 by a group of enthusiasts who wanted to have fun with radio controlled, semi-scale model warship competition.
These ships are battery operated, 1/144 scale models of warships which operated between 1905 and 1946. They are equipped with CO2 gas powered cannons and take place in mock battles as they attempt to damage or sink their opponents.
Rob Stalnaker, of Mt. Pleasant, was the host for this year’s national competition. Members from Boston, Greensboro, Charleston, S.C., Georgia, Florida and as far away as California, took part in the battle. Stalnaker said he likes Oakboro Park. It’s well maintained, the bathroom facilities are great and the town is easy to work with. Plus the pond isn’t so deep. “I can almost walk all the way across it,” Stalnaker said.
That comes in handy when your ship has been sunk, which happens frequently as the battles rage. BB pellets are shot from the ships’ mini cannons, trying to take down their opponents. Players and spectators must wear safety goggles because sometimes the BBs don’t fly exactly where they shoot them, Stalnaker explained. He has the BB shots on his legs to prove it.
There are awards for the winners—staying afloat the longest, doing the most damage, the member who came the farthest to battle.
It’s a little pricey to set up a boat that can battle against the ones that were on the pond. The basic ship costs about $1,000 to get started. Stalnaker said they are not as expensive to maintain. But there is the cost of CO2, BBs, and any damage that comes from being sunk. Sometimes the electronics gets the bad end of the battle.
The club had a good time this year and vow to come back again next year. The paths were blocked around the pond to keep pedestrians from accidentally getting fired upon by the warships. Stalnaker said he is always thinking about safety—except maybe when his ship is about to go under.

Hot, Hot, Hot
While there are still plenty of things to do in the garden, even during this hot weather, let’s take a moment to consider ourselves. High temperatures and humidity have created dangerous heat indexes and Code Orange days in the past few weeks.
Since it is only just past the middle of July, the weather isn’t going to get cooler for a while. Garden early in the morning and follow the shade around as the sun gets higher. Or go out in the early evening. Don’t take chances.
Slather on some sunblock. Wear a hat. Take a bottle of water outside with you and remember to drink some every so often. Plan rest breaks in between projects.
Your plants will get extra thirsty as we approach the dog days of summer. Be sure they get plenty to drink as well. Possibly move the more tender plants that are in pots to areas where they get part shade during the day. If you have a plant that is getting too much sun, you can use a tarp to create shade for it, if it can’t be moved.
Watch out for whiteflies right now. They appear to be mold on the plant but if you shake them, they fly up. They love hibiscus, lantana and gardenias as a snack.
When you see this, and yellow leaves on your plants, cut those branches back and be sure to discard so they don’t spread. You can spray plants with insecticidal oils to get rid of these pests. Spray in the morning—and watch your vegetables for these too.
This is a good time to clean up the garden. Get rid of old plants which have died. Do some mulching to get ready for some fall flowers to perk up your garden. Wait until later, maybe September, to prune roses.
But no matter what you decide to do outside, be careful. It’s better to look at gardening on TV and in magazines and plan for cooler weather than to get heat stroke.

Photo and Story by Joyce Lavene

The Stanly Arts Guild annual art show “Summer Art Explosion” opened at the Falling Rivers Gallery 119 West Main St. in downtown Albemarle on July 12 with judging completed by Bill Colt. Mr. Colt is an award winning artist from Monroe who studied art at the University of Virginia. Bill Colt is represented by the Wilde Meyer Galleries in Arizona and the A.T. Hun Gallery in Savannah, Georgia. The show will conclude on August 5th with an artist reception to be held from 6PM until 8PM in the Gallery. The awards will be presented to the artists at that time and the public is encouraged to attend. Musical entertainment will be provided by Matt Steed of Albemarle.

Stanly County Agri-Civic Center

26032 Newt Road

Albemarle, NC 28001

(704)986-3666

www.stanlyciviccenter.com

Our daughter Madison is trying to win a college scholarship by holding a blood drive in Locust Town Center. The blood drive will be held in the building next to Whitley Realty in Locust on Market Street, June 3rd from 4:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. Will you help??

Blood Drive with the Community Blood Center of the Carolinas

Time

Friday, June 3 · 4:00pm – 9:00pm

Location

In Locust Town Center

Created By

Maddie Inman

More Info

If you are 16 years or older you can help save 3 lives by donating a one pint of blood! Thanks!! If you have any questions let me know, I would love to help!!

Stella Day wows the crowd
The Town of Locust turned out in a big way for little Stella Griffin who is six years old and has acute leukemia. She has already begun chemo treatments. Her friends, neighbors and strangers alike have been working on her behalf to help her family with medical bills and whatever else they need. Saturday was Stella Day in Locust. Teams of motorcycles donated money to ride to Morrow Mountain after taking time to talk with Stella there. The afternoon crowds moved to the Town Center where many people had locks of their hair dyed purple to show their support for her. Money for everything from daylilies to food and bouncing house fees were donated to help Stella and her family.
Stella took it all in with the air of a princess wearing a purple hat and matching dress. She smiled at everyone and was gracious to all. There were few dry eyes after prayers were offered for her health. It was an event that won’t be forgotten soon in the community.
Story and Photos by Joyce Lavene