The

Solid Waste is sponsoring a booth at The Southern Spring show Feb. 20-21 and Feb. 27-Mar 1. The booth times and shifts for both weekends are: Friday: 9:30 a.m.-8p.m. Volunteer shifts are 9:30a.m.-11:30a.m.; 11:30a.m.-1:30p.m., 1:30p.m.-3:30p.m.; 3:30p.m.-5:30p.m.; 5:30p.m.-8p.m.

Saturday: 9:30a.m.-7p.m. Volunteer shifts are 9:30a.m.-11:30a.m.; 11:30a.m.-1:30p.m., 1:30p.m. - 3:30p.m.; 3:30-5:30p.m.; 5:30p.m.-7p.m.

Sunday: 9:30a.m.-5p.m. Volunteer shifts are 9:30a.m.-11:30a.m.; 11:30a.m.-1:30p.m., 1:30p.m.-3:30p.m.; 3:30p.m.-5p.m.

In exchange for your time, you’ll get free admission to the show after your shift (that’s the big perk), and credit toward vacation hours under the County’s Green Guardian program. If you are interested in vol-unteering to staff the booth please contact Nadine Ford by Friday, Feb. 6 with your availability.

WE MISS YOU ALREADY!!!

Without promotion,

something terrible happens... nothing!

- P. T. Barnum

Mecklenburg County News

In case of a power outage, please print out this printable emergency contact list.

Charlotte Mecklenburg Emergency Management

With predictions of cold, wintry weather right around the corner, Mecklenburg County residents are

encouraged to practice the following winter safety tips:

At Home

Keep alternative heating sources prepared. If you have a fireplace, store a good supply of dry, sea-

soned wood. Keep fire extinguishers on hand, and make sure your family knows how to use them.

Make sure to turn off alternative heating sources when leaving the home.

Properly vent kerosene heaters and keep any electric generators OUTSIDE and away from any

open windows or doors to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning. Also, do not burn charcoal indoors.

Carbon monoxide poisoning can result from charcoal fumes indoors.

Keep fresh batteries on hand to use with flashlights and weather radios.

Always keep at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food in your home.

If your pipes are vulnerable to freezing, i.e., they run through an unheated or unprotected space,

consider keeping your faucet at a slow drip when extremely cold temperatures are predicted. Keep a supply of candles available in the event of a power outage. Make sure to keep candles away from flammable objects, such as curtains, and out of the reach of children. Find more tips and information here.

Helpful links

Charlotte area forecast and weather advisories

American Red Cross - Charlotte

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools

Flood safety tips

CATS Rider Alerts

Mecklenburg County updates

Traffic accidents

Mecklenburg County News

A Little ‘Healthy’ Competition Helps Lead to a Healthier Lifestyle Almost 500 employees committed to focusing on nutrition, activity, hydration, well-being and sleep as part of the 30 Day Lifestyle Challenge during September. They tracked their habits daily and used healthy recipes and weekly “get fit tips” along with some healthy competition to create a healthier life-style. Congratulations to the grand prize Inspiration Award winner, Savannah Anderson, Health Department nurse case manager. Savannah showed an extraordinary commitment to the Challenge and went above and beyond by encouraging and motivating her team members and serving as an example by preparing a healthy lunch to bring to work every day. More information about the County’s employee wellness program offerings is available here.

It’s Not Too Late To Vaccinate: Good Reasons to Get a Flu Shot Flu season is in full swing and by now, chances are you’ve been asked “Have you had your flu shot?” countless times. But there’s good reason for the hype. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), over the past few years, the influenza vaccine has prevented millions of flu cases and tens of thousands of related hospitalizations. Flu season generally runs from October through April and getting a flu shot -- along with frequent hand-washing, covering your cough and staying home when you’re sick -- is the best defense against getting the flu. If you’re still not convinced, click here for five reasons why you should get vaccinated.

More information on flu prevention is available here.

GC/MS, Youth & Adult Athletics, RPSA

Adult Men's Basketball: Men’s B basketball league will be starting back next month with their winter season. The season will start on February 2nd games will be played at Bette Rae Rec Center on Mon-days and at Rays Splash Planet on Thursday evenings. Registra-tion is now open until January 28th. For more information on adult leagues please visit our website at www.parkandrec.com, or call us at 704-432-3095 or 704-336-7639.

Adult 30 & Over Basketball: Men’s 30 & over and Woman basketball will continue their winter season this Sunday Janu-ary 25th. 30 & over games are played at Bette Rae Recreation Center starting at 2pm. Wom-en’s games are played at Tom Sykes Rec Center starting at 2pm. For more information on adult leagues please visit our website at www.parkandrec.com, or call us at 704-432-3095 or 704-336-7639.

GC/MS, Youth & Adult Athletics, RPSA

Adult 30 & Over Basketball: Men’s 30 & over and Woman basketball will continue their winter season this Sunday January 25th. 30 & over games are played at Bette Rae Recreation Center starting at 2pm. Women’s games are played at Tom Sykes Rec Center starting at 2pm. For more information on adult leagues please visit our website at www.parkandrec.com, or call us at 704-432-3095 or 704-336-7639.

Aquatics

Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center: The South Meck 8 conference held their championship swim meet at the Mecklen-burg County Aquatic Center on Friday, January 16 from 6:30pm – 10:30pm. Three hundred twenty-four (324) swimmers from Ardrey Kell, Charlotte Catholic, Olympic, Phillip O. Berry, Providence, South Mecklenburg, and West Mecklenburg High Schools competed for a chance to qualify for the Regionals held in February. The Frosty Invitational Swim Meet took place from 8:30am – 5pm, January 17 and 18. Twelve (12) teams and four hundred fourteen (414) swimmers participated in the two day meet. Teams from Catawba, Gaston, Rutherford, Lenoir, Watauga and the Charlotte area competed. The Frosty Invitational is open to all levels of swim-mers that are members of the Blue Ridge Swim League.

New Ball Fields Coming to Berewick Recreation Center: The ground has been broken for Berewick’s new Ball Fields! We’re looking to have the project completed by end of this year and ready for play by Fall of 2016. This allows us to accommodate the increasing population in Southwest Charlotte and continue to grow our programs.

Community & Recreation Center Services

Community & Recreation Center Services

Martin Luther King Jr. Parade in Charlotte:

We would like to thank MCPRD Staff (Malcolm Sanders, Terence McMurray, Chris Hunter, Antonio Murphy, and Craig Louallen)for helping out with Charlotte's Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Parade on Saturday. The parade featured more than 80 local and regional organizations and had about 4,000 participants, including Charlotte Mayor Dan Clodfelter and THE KEN KOONCE.

MLK Workday at Elon:

Elon Recreation Center hosted the MLK Pond Clean Up Workday on January 19th. Volun-teers from One 7 Academy came out to help staff clean up the beloved Elon Pond. Each student that volunteered will earn a credit to go towards the MECKTEEN Ski Trip in Feb-ruary. A special thanks to Miss Rachel and the One 7 girls for doing a great job in help-ing to clean up our pond! For more information on programs or volunteers opportuni-ties, please call 704-540-2426 or email ElonRecreationCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov.

Community & Recreation Center Services

Please submit all news for the

Friday Letter to your Division

Director for review and routing.

Park Partners may contact The

Friday Letter Team at

Kier. Harrison

@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov

for publication assistance.

The Friday Letter Volume 3 • Issue 52 • January 23, 2015

Mecklenburg County

Park and Recreation

Senior Leadership Team

Jim Garges, Director

Michael Kirschman, Deputy Director

James Alsop, Enterprise Services

Renea Barber, Human Resources

Mario Chang, Budget Administration

Lee Jones, Capital Planning

Terri Stowers, Community and Recrea-

tion Center Services

Jeff Robinson, Park Operations

Chris Matthews, Nature Preserves and

Natural Resources

5841 Brookshire Blvd. Charlotte, NC 28216 (704) 336-8840

Recreate All Year! Subscribe to the Park and Recreation E-Newsletter to learn of new and exciting way sto continue recreating during the spring and summer months. Subscribe to the Park and Recreation E-Newsletter to stay up to date on activities that may be available to you.

www.parkandrec.com

CHARMECK ALERTS The CharMeck Alerts Notification System relays accurate and timely emergency notifications. You control how you’re contacted—whether it’s on your cell, work or home phone, via text, email or voice message. You can receive up-to-the-minute notifications about events and emergencies that may affect your home, work-place or other points of interest—anywhere in Mecklenburg Coun-ty. Sign up here or call CharMeck 311. To receive CDOT-specific alerts, you must sign up for that item in the list.