TABLE OF
CONTENTS

THE GRAPEVINE '04

IMPORTANT
INFORMATION

04/17/04
The following is a public service announcement from Chief Charlie Watts of the Valdese Fire Department. The Valdese Fire Department will be conducting their annual service of fire hydrants within the Town limits of Valdese beginning on April 19, 2004 and continuing for approximately (8) weeks. This process could cause some water customers to experience water discoloration. Should this occur, you should turn your faucet on and allow it to run until the discoloration has cleared. If anyone has any questions concerning the above information, please contact Chief Watts of the Valdese Fire Department at 879-2103.

The East Main Street Park is seeing noticeable change now with the sod having been laid out, the pathways defined, and some trees planted along the bank above the waterfall. Final details are being added to the mural. The plan is to have the park complete in time for this year's Waldensian Festival.

04/05/04
The Town Council had a full agenda last night, running until about 8:30 p.m. One of the first items was a presentation by The Piedmont and Western Railroad Club to explain its plans for the club's displays. They added some new information that I didn't include in the last posting, including: there will be a diorama of the original settlers arriving in Valdese in 1893 and a glassed in section in the hallway will allow visitors to "call out" some trains from inside to travel around a short route. They also have established an "on-call host system" to allow tourists to arrange a tour upon arriving in Valdese if the facility isn't open at that time.

The town is exploring, in the event of future catastrophe's, the feasibility of merging it's water and sewer systems with Hickory or Morganton. This is only a worst-case scenario, but having the information already available will make the decision process easier should a problem occur in the future.  According to Mr. Morse, 90% of the town's water and sewer revenues are attributed to five industries and two contracted services. Obviously losing any of those customers would have a major impact on the town's finances.

Also in a case of looking forward, the town had Robert Salisbury draw up a concept for a new Town Hall building. As stated previously, the building would be across Faet Street from the current facility. It's just under 6,800 square feet and includes a drive-through payment window. The new council chambers would seat eighty-four persons. I'm not sure why, but the Community Development office (Larry Johnson) is larger than the Town Manager's office (Jeff Morse.) Mr. Hatley reiterated that any money used to pay for the new facility will not come from a tax increase and challenged Mr. Morse to "find the money."

The subdivision being planned by David Metcalf, just off Church Street has tentatively been named "Cottian Way" for the Cottian Alps the Waldenses called home in Italy.

03/22/04
The Piedmont and Western Railroad Club has some big plans for it's space in the basement of the Old Rock School. Not only are they planning to expand the rail line into an adjacent room, but they are also proposing to use the halls on the western side of the building to create a display area with memorabilia from railroad history and even a ticket booth "depot." These displays will come out from the existing walls and, I believe, will look like the outside of a building; as if you are walking down a sidewalk.

The Community Affairs office is getting an extreme makeover thanks to the designing eye of new administrative assistant, Barbara Hefner. Not only will the walls be repainted in cream and hold new pictures, but some of the partition walls will be removed and the desks will be rearranged. It certainly didn't take long for Mrs. Hefner to make her presence known. I know she's certainly kept Chuck busy.

The Calendar under Important Information on the right is in Adobe Acrobat form and is a twelve month calendar of events taking place in Valdese. It will constantly be updated as new events are submitted so you may want to check it every few weeks if you are interested in attending or taking part in the local events. If you have an event that is open to the public, including those charging admission, please e-mail me at rostan@valdese.com and I'll put it on the calendar. No birthdays, etc... however.

Old Colony Players is hosting a Baked Spaghetti Dinner/Fund Raiser on Friday, April 16th at the LPDA clubhouse on Laurel Street (near the Community Center.) Dine-in and take-out will be available. Meals include: baked spaghetti, salad, bread, tea, and dessert and will be served between 4:00 and 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $6 each.

Speaking of OCP, don't miss it's newest production, Steel Magnolias, beginning this Friday evening at 8:00 p.m. at the Old Rock School. Even if you saw the movie, seeing it as a play is a totally different experience. OK, so I didn't see the movie. But I do plan to go see the play. Hope to see you there!

03/16/04
I get a weekly report of the number of daily visitors to the site and noticed an abnormal spike on Monday. I'm thinking a lot of people were looking for results from Saturday's Triathlon. I don't know if I'm allowed to post the results, so I'll put a link to the Setup, Inc. web site in the Table of Contents soon. For now, you can click here to view the results. They also have some race photos which are available for purchase. I was out of town during the event and couldn't get any pictures.

On the subject of the triathlon, congratulations to the 260 or so competitors on helping to make this first-time event a success. There were, by my count, eleven entrants from Valdese. Of these, Sonni Dyer placed second overall, Clay Giese was first in the 16-19 age group, Jeff Morse was first in the 50-54 age group, and Courtney Morse and Laura Stevenson finished 4th and 7th in the female 20-24 age group, respectively.

There will be a special Town Council meeting on Friday at noon at Town Hall. The purpose of the meeting is to adopt several resolutions pertaining to the closing of the U.S. Rural Center Development loan for the new fire truck. The loan closing is scheduled for Monday, March 22nd.

The Burke County School system held a speech contest among elementary school students. Congratulations to Kristen Church of Valdese who took first place in the Interpretative Prose category with her speech entitled, "A Mom's Life."

East Burke High School will have it's band concert on Thursday evening at the Old Rock School. I promise you that even if they don't play your favorite songs, at least a lot of the notes will be the same.

Oh, and Happy Saint Patrick's Day. Got your green on?

03/09/04
A lot has happened since my last post. I was out of town or preparing to go out of town all of last week and didn't have a chance to do an update.

The triathlon, which occurs this weekend, has 228 registrants as of today. The goal of 200 has been passed and the limit of 300 is within reach. I've seen a lot more people out jogging and biking lately. I assume they are swimming too, but I'm not a swimmer so I haven't been to the pool to check.

The town is looking at making a number of changes to some of its services to make them more equitable and to keep from losing money while providing them at a reasonable cost. Most of the changes are with respect to sanitation and brush and garbage collection. These are highlighted in the cover story on the front page.

At last Monday's town council meeting, the Mayor proclaimed Sunday, April 25th as Red Hat Society Day in Valdese, recognizing Jeanette Norman as Queen Mother (coordinator) of the organization which will form a new chapter in Valdese. I think I even saw someone riding a horse down the street shouting, "The Red Hats are coming..."

The town has interviewed three marketing firms to assist with tourism efforts for Valdese. They are currently reviewing proposals and chose two firms Paragon and VanOppen to develop five-year marketing plans for the town.

Besides the triathlon Saturday, there is also a bluegrass concert at the Old Rock School as well as the annual Rotary Club Auction. The auction is to raise money to fund scholarships for students wishing to continue their education. The goal is to raise $10,000. It begins at 6:30 p.m. at the American Legion building on Church Street.

02/23/04
East Burke's boys basketball team continues to impress as it won the conference tournament Friday night in Marion with a second straight victory over Freedom. East Burke was ranked seventh in the state before the game and looks to move up when the next poll comes out, assuming a victory on Thursday in the State Playoff's sectionals.

The town received a grant to make cosmetic and functional improvements to exit #112 off Interstate 40. It looks as if drainage issues have been addressed with several tons of surge stone placed below the pipes on the sides of the road beneath the bridge. A lot of the overgrowth has been cleared away and small bushes and shrubs have been planted. Since the exit goes downhill, the improvements will only be visible to those coming into and leaving Valdese, but it's much nicer to look at now.

A new antiques store is coming into Valdese, across from Wachovia Bank. They are currently fixing up the inside of the building adjacent to Z&R Cabinets where Dolls and Designs was previously located. I'm not yet sure about the opening date.

Be sure to check out the new downloadable calendar of events for Valdese. It's in the top right corner of every page. You'll need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to open and print the file. The calendar will be regularly updated and the date of the most recent update is posted at the top of each page.

02/16/04
Congratulations to East Burke High School, for defeating Freedom who was ranked number one in the state at the time. I'm sure it was a very special moment for the seniors in their last regular season home game. It's unfortunate that a coin flip decides who gets the tournament's first round bye.

Rutherford College hosted a 5K race on Saturday (Valentine's Day) to help build a gazebo (not an amphitheater as I previously reported) that will be named for former Valdese Town Councilman Richard Oxentine. I also mention this because town councilwoman Vickie Oxentine, who was appointed her husband's seat after his death and subsequently won reelection, was the honorary chairperson and also participated in the race. She finished second in her age group. Also representing the Town of Valdese was Administrative Assistant Frances Hildebran who took third place in her age group. It wouldn't be proper to mention what these age groups are, but you can find the times in the Sunday News Herald or by clicking: http://www.running.net/calendar/NorthCarolina.html. About 136 people participated in the race which wound around the back streets of Rutherford College and briefly onto Connelly Springs Boulevard.

Speaking of Frances Hildebran, she will be leaving the Town in June to pursue an opportunity in Long View. It is well known how valuable an asset she has been to Valdese for thirty years and she will be missed. This news comes within a week of the retirement of Evelyn Bounous at the Old Rock School who was replaced by Barbara Hefner.

Instead of a big snow this year, we seem destined to get frequent dustings that cancel or delay school and are pretty much gone by the afternoon. About an inch fell over Sunday afternoon, which was sufficient to create a two hour delay for students on Monday.

02/10/04
We finally get to see both the sun and the ground as the last of the ice should melt away this weekend. It's been a really messy couple of weeks with school delays and cancellations. I'm not sure of the exact make-up schedule, but I know that some of the one-day holidays are being used to make up for the missed days.

It looks like Old Colony Players has a hit on its hands with its latest dinner theater, The Cemetery Club. All five shows sold out and the weather, for the most part, cooperated and didn't cause any cancellations. Tonight (Saturday) is the final performance and I have heard a number of good things about the show. It takes a lot of time to prepare and put on a show and the majority of the time, these people are working for free and out of a love for acting. I suppose it's like being a volunteer fireman, you don't do it for the money, but for the satisfaction of helping others. Also, of course, you get a cool little flashing light for the dash of your car.

Rutherford College Elementary is building an amphitheater to be named for former Valdese Councilman Richard Oxentine. To help raise awareness and money for construction, there will be a "Chasing Cupid's Arrow" 5-K race on Saturday, February 14th, at 10:00 a.m. I'll post more details as I can get them, but I do know that the early entry deadline is Monday, February 9th.

East Burke has its rematch with Freedom on Friday and I expect a packed house in Icard. The boys team has revenge on its mind and a tie for first place in the conference standings, after they got past Watauga on Monday evening (postponed from Friday.) The Freedom game falls on Friday the 13th, so you know anything could happen. If you can't get to the game, hear all the action on WSVM 1490-AM.

01/31/04
A correction to last week's statement that 150 entries had been received for the March triathlon. According to Jeff Morse, the number is actually closer to 100. I did a quick count of the entries at the official web site and came up with about 85, but there is plenty of time to reach the goal.

The Olga Pascal estate is on the verge of being sold, at least the land that does not include the house and cabin. Dan Metcalf is close to closing on the remaining 15.5 acres which he hopes to develop into a subdivision with homes that reflect the heritage of Valdese. According to Mr. Metcalf, he would like the homes to be 1600-1750 square feet and probably in the $150,000 - $180,000 price range. There would be about seventeen homes in the development with a minimum lot size of 3/4 acre. The entrance will be on Church Street, just past the Harris Street turn. The town is looking at the cost of assisting with water/sewer, curbing, and other items, as it does for all new developments.

The Valdese Cemetery may be underpriced, but it's going to stay that way. The council voted 3-2 against raising the price for a lot from $300 to $500 for citizens and from $500 to $700 for out-of-towners. About twelve lots are sold each year, which is not enough to cover the estimated cost of maintaining the property. According to Steve Morrow, the land is mowed thirty-six times a year and each time takes two people eight hours. Using a conservative $10/hour per person and that's getting close to $6,000 per year, not including Steve's time and other incidental costs. The council did, however, approve a $25 transfer fee for anyone transferring ownership of a lot. This, in part, helps to keep people from buying lots to resell at a profit.

The town will submit an application to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for a 2% interest loan of up to $2 million that would be used toward construction of a new administrative building and renovation of the existing building for use by the fire and police department. The application does not bind the town to taking the loan, but it would have a two year window to use the money, if approved. Last month, it was estimated that a new facility would cost approximately $1 million to construct so I'm not sure if the remaining $1 million would be used to substantially renovate the existing building or if the plans for the new building were expanded to something more substantial. A quote of $45,173 to repair the roof on the current building was received. According to Town Manager Jeff Morse, repairs will likely be necessary soon.

Renovations that will definitely occur will be to the restrooms at the Old Rock School. The cost is being covered by a grant from a local foundation which respectively requested that the restrooms not be named for them.

In other news, a guard rail has been requested along Tunnel Road, which runs beside the new Pizza Hut and the entrance to Morgan Trace. There is a severe drop-off on the western side of the road and someone coming out of Morgan Trace could conceivably slide right down the embankment.

Employees at Mimosa Beauty Shop requested a handicapped parking spot outside their store on Main Street, but the DOT will not allow one that opens into traffic. Keith Ogle volunteered to approach Larry Earp about donating a spot in his parking lot across from Myra's. The town would then pay for constructing a ramp, if necessary.

Congratulations to Barbara Hefner, who will be replacing Evelyn Bounous in a few weeks as the Administrative Assistant for the Community Affairs department. I know her through Old Colony Players and am sure she will do a great job. Evelyn is retiring after seventeen years with the town.

01/26/04
Many of you know Jackie Deaton as a talented artist and vital member of our community, but did you know that she is part fish? Well, maybe not exactly, but she recently told me that she competed in her first swim meet in Charlotte and did quite well. I'll have to let you get the details from her, but she has rejected any notion of competing in the town's upcoming triathlon. Though Steve Morrow might want to see about getting her on the swim team.

Speaking of the triathlon, I was recently told that there are now about 150 applicants, close to the town's goal of 200. I think maybe since it's slightly smaller scale than a typical triathlon, a lot of local people are signing up to "get their feet wet" and test their athletic abilities in a familiar environment. I've been thinking how nice it would be to have the triathlon scheduled for the weekend of the Founders Festival to help draw people in, but that would put it during the warmer months and away from it's first-of-the-season status.

Another segue: planning has begun on this year's Founders Festival so if you have a unique craft and would like to take part, e-mail me at rostan@valdese.com and I'll put you in touch with the right people. Remember, this is a crafts oriented festival and the food vendors have already been chosen.

I've been impressed with the attendance at East Burke's basketball games. Though I admit I don't have experience from prior years to judge it against, they really do a good job of supporting their team and are very enthusiastic. The boys team has thus far had much better success than the girls, but the crowds are behind them.

The U.S. has the strongest armed forces in the world, but mother nature is even more powerful. The two inches of snowy stuff we got on Sunday canceled the Air Force Jazz Ensemble's performance at the Old Rock School. Last year, you may remember, a similar concert by the Air Force String Quartet (or something similar) was canceled for the same reason. Seems someone doesn't want the Air Force in our town.

01/20/04
If you're looking for Dolls and Designs, Sandi Walker has found a building on the other end of town, close to the Bargain House, across from McDonald's. She was temporarily storing things in the Old Rock School, but apparently an opportunity arose and she moved back onto Main Street.

East Burke's boys basketball team faces Freedom tomorrow night in what could be hailed as a "Clash of the Titans." Both are undefeated in the conference and East Burke has the sole overall loss (non-conference) between the two. I don't have the results on hand, but East Burke has had at least three or four fifty-point wins and Freedom is really capable of putting up some big numbers. Tomorrow's game is at Freedom.

Another big bluegrass concert at the Old Rock School over the weekend as Doyle Lawson returned to a sold-out crowd. Even though he's raised his prices slightly, he can still pack them into the auditorium.

Old Colony Players hosts its now-annual dinner theater at the end of January and beginning of February. It's being directed by Sean Harklerode, who was a year behind me at East Burke and spent some time on the west coast managing a "Comedy Store" and (I believe) doing some stand-up. You may remember Sean from his appearance on "Beat The Geeks," a trivia-based game show. There was confusion about the broadcast date, so I don't know if anyone locally saw the show, but he did make it to the final round where he was defeated by a geek. Anyway, the play is a dark comedy titled, "The Cemetery Club" and both the dinner and play take place in the Waldensian Room at the Old Rock School.

There's a new gym in town, but it's a little different than your typical iron-pumping sweatshop. It's called Curves and is located in the Trail of Faith office building, beside Major Electric. It's a circuit-based workout where all the equipment is arranged in a circle and you jump into an empty spot and make your way around the loop three times, changing stations every thirty seconds. It's women-only and membership-based. Look for full details in an upcoming issue of Voice of the Foothills or stop by and meet owners Brian and Shannon Drake. I'll have a page on this site added in the near future.

01/06/04
To correct information reported last time, the Rotary Club will not be taking over the room at the Old Rock School for use as a museum of its history. It actually only wants the wall space to hang pictures and plaques. They intend to fix up the room, hang sheetrock, add a sink, put in new carpet, and make some other improvements. The room will then be available for any group needing a space for meeting.

The discussion on a new Town Hall focused primarily around the problems with the current facility. There are some cosmetic issues where metal reinforcing wire is rusting and causing the mortar to be pushed out of the bricks. According to architect Robert Salisbury, replacing the wire is possible, but would be a labor-intensive process and would eventually have to be done to the entire building. There are also some issues with the roof which is allowing water to seep down into the bricks and into other areas of the building. Fixing the problem areas there would not be too expensive, but eventually a new roof will be necessary. The mayor asked town manager Jeff Morse to investigate alternatives for a new facility or for bringing up the current building to current standards. One option is to move the administrative offices across the street into the current town parking lot and giving the current building to the fire and police departments. Whatever route is chosen, cost will be an issue. Total cost for a new administration building could easily reach $1 million.

As Community Affairs Director Chuck Moseley continues to redefine his retirement, his former assistant, Robert Heilman, has been  named Rock School Facilities Director, with responsibility for managing and maintaining the Old Rock School and all the activities that take place within. The town is also seeking a new administrative assistant at the Rock School to replace Evelyn Bounous who will be retiring in February.

FYI - The new brush truck the town purchased will allow them to pick up leaves curbside at all times. In other words, you will no longer have to bag your leaves in January.

The town is looking into offering online bill paying. It's unknown how many people in Valdese would take advantage of the service, but they want to stay current with other communities. They may try to coordinate with the county or other towns to help alleviate some of the cost and labor.

Mr. Morse reported that fifty athletes pre-registered for the triathlon during the first few days and that his goal of 200 entries should be easily met. The town's consultant on the triathlon, Sonni Dyer, has been named Regional Development Director for the Southeast for the USTA, which should be helpful in the pursuit of establishing a regional training facility in our area.

Finally, Meridian Dye and Yarn will announce expansion plans that include sixty new jobs and $2 million in capital investment. The town is preparing an incentive package.

01/02/04
Sorry for the long delay in an update. It's been fairly busy between the holidays and other things going on around town.

There are two interesting items on Monday's Town Council agenda. The first is discussion of a project at the Old Rock School by the Valdese Rotary Club. The club will be taking the room downstairs, behind the ramp on the eastern side of the building to use for a museum or hall of fame (I can't remember exactly what, at the moment.)

The second item is discussion of a new town hall. No plans have been made, but Mayor Hatley has previously noted that he thought the town should set aside some money each year to go toward a new building.

Congratulations to East Burke's Marching Band who will be performing at halftime of the Carolina Panthers/Dallas Cowboys football game Saturday evening. They were invited after impressive showings at are band competitions and in the Charlotte Carousel parade where they marched just before Santa. The game is at 8:00 p.m. on ABC and a number of students and parents will be making the trip. Though ABC may cut away from the broadcast at halftime, they will still be playing before 70,000-80,000 people.

Dolls and Designs by Sandi has temporarily relocated to the Old Rock School as she awaits construction of a new building by Larry Earp that would be located on Bobo Street, behind her previous location. I believe she is selling and holding classes at the school, and I assume she is in the room that the Rotary club will be using in the near future.

Have you seen this picture? While looking around on eBay for Valdese and Waldensian items, I came across a set of pictures by Mary Ellen Mark and one said it was from Valdese, around 1990. The picture is a little girl (maybe 8-10 years old) in a bikini standing in an inflatable swimming pool, smoking a cigarette. There is another little girl sitting in the pool. I thought this picture had appeared in Time or Life magazine, but never heard of it being taken in Valdese. It's titled "Amanda and her cousin Amy." Has anyone seen this picture and is it really from Valdese?

Speaking of eBay, I use the name "kurdsenwayfarer" as my eBay ID, so if you begin bidding against me, let me know. I try to get things that are related to Valdese or the Waldenses, but I'll back off if it's another person from Valdese I'm bidding against.