Spring doesn't get any better than this!
Glad April fool’s Day is behind us and we can put the worries about a nudist colony in Davidson to rest. Bad day when the editor of DavidsonNews.net pulls the wool over the eyes of one of his employees! Now we can also put college basketball aside for another year (congrats to UConn’s Huskies) and think golf, NASCAR and baseball for months to come. In the meantime, we applaud the beauty of nature at every corner in our town. What a wonderful time of year.
A number of exciting projects are getting under way this month. We showcase two of them today. One is the Marnie Jude Foundation Day this Saturday and the second is an online vote for a new car for the Greene family. We also have an agricultural note about baby chicks and ducklings.
Sitting with her Mom Robbie and Dad Ken, Marnie wears a big smile and a special "Miles for Marnie" bottle cap necklace.
MILES FOR MARNIE
A cancer diagnosis strikes fear into each of us. And when your child is five and facing surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, your life is turned upside down. Such was the case for Ken and Robbie Howiler and their daughter, Marnie. Following the second day of kindergarten, Marnie’s intense pain sent her to the emergency room. Hours later at Presbyterian Hospital in Charlotte, her parents heard that biopsy confirmed a Wilms tumor on her right kidney. Nine months later, a smiling Howiler family heard the news that Marnie’s cancer was in remission.
A thankful Ken and Robbie Howiler are now committed to helping others by raising money for childhood cancer research through The Marnie Jude Foundation. Their inaugural fund-raiser happens this Saturday, April 9, when “Miles for Marnie” will be held at Hough High School on Bailey Road (www.marniejudefoundation.org/events/) . There will be a 5K Run/Walk and a Kids Fun Run as well as a USAT sanctioned Duathlon for individual and relay teams. The Duathlon requires USAT membership and is a 3-mile run, 17-mile bike course, and another 3-mile run under the watchful eye of race director, Paige Hauff, of PR Race Management.
The Miles for Marnie fund-raiser includes a silent auction of artwork including this collage done by Marnie while she was being treated for cancer.
There will be silent auction items, raffle items, and kids’ activities beginning at 7:30 a.m. Donations will be accepted and all proceeds benefit childhood cancer research. Ken and Robbie will have lots of family in town for the event coming from South Carolina, Georgia and the Hickory area. Davidson’s Dr. Steve Mange will be the on-site physician. Major sponsors include K&K Insurance, Eland and Coca-Cola with local sponsors too many to mention.
Was Saturday’s “Miles for Marnie” a big job to organize? Just ask Robbie and Ken. Robbie feels that planning a wedding for Marnie some day in the future will be a “piece of cake” compared to Saturday’s celebration. Stop by Hough this Saturday morning if you are in the neighborhood. All activities are free for this happy occasion. (For more about Marnie, access http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4Of_lK8d_g. And you can read previous coverage of Marnie on DavidsonNews.net. )
Vote today for the Greenes so they can use their front porch Leviton to charge their Leaf!
GOING GREEN WITH THE GREENES
While you are sitting at your computer reading this column, take a minute to vote for Melinda and Jeff Greene so they can win a Nissan Leaf! (Davidsonnews.net has a great online voting track record with Sam Barger’s first place win for Rascals – fighting childhood obesity, and Ali Stenhouse’s second place win with her elementary school art.) Now we are moving up to the big time with a chance for the Greene family to win an electric car.
Nissan sponsored a nationwide promotion called The Drive Tour to interest people in their new electric car, called the Leaf, which goes 90 miles on a charge. With 23 stops across the US, interested persons had to sign up, take a 30-45 minute tour, drive the car and record an optional 30 second video on the spot. Easy going Jeff and Melinda thought, “Why not?” Jeff owns a company named Spec-Electric that deals in energy management including electric vehicle charging stations for placement in parking garages, hotels, and stores. A Leaf would be perfect for his business. They took the Nissan tour at Concord Mills on a Friday, the 20th of the 23 stops and received a copy of their 30 second video on Monday. People had 30 days to cast votes for them; voting ends next Tuesday, April 12.
If the Greene Leaf video wins, it will represent the Concord Mills stop in the national competition with the other 22 top videos from the tour. At the end of the national voting, one Leaf is awarded to the top vote getter. As Melinda says, “Greenes going green? … Well, we sure aren’t going Hollywood after watching our acting skills in the attached link. What follows is the humbling contest entry Jeff and I shot during Nissan’s Drive Tour. The car is amazing and perfectly suited to Jeff’s business.” So be sure to access the link, watch the Greenes and vote. (https://www.drivenissanleaf.com/Win/Vote.aspx?b=X7TAQ6PGYXJU) We will let you know the results.
A few notes about the Greenes. They have lived in Davidson for two years with their four children, Georgia (13), Cooper (12), Clayton (10) and Jeffrey (6). Dad Jeff grew up in the Mt. Ulla area where his parents, Brenda and Scotty Greene, still live on enough land to raise a few beef cows and carve out dirt bike trails for the grandchildren.
Melinda is a stay-at-home mom trying to keep up with all the sports activities of the family. Jeff has his office in Concord, loves to coach football and baseball, and is the area representative for Leviton, a level 2 universal charger for commercial use. With an electric car or hybrid, you pull up to the dedicated parking space, plug your vehicle in, put the “charge” on your charge card, and continue driving. The Leviton chargers are already available in Charlotte, Raleigh and Charleston. (Maybe the sidewalk in front of Summit will be next!)
Make way for Ducklings
CHICK DAYS
Don’t start thinking “chick” days mean sitting on Main Street in Davidson and ogling young ladies passing by. Rather think Chick Days mean heading up the road to Statesville and choosing day-old baby chicks to provide fresh eggs for the family.
A recent stop at Tractor Supply (at the end of the Wal-Mart Shopping Center north of I-40 between I-77 and Route 21) provided a delightful lesson in agriculture pertaining to baby chicks and ducks. This farm equipment store is selling 500 baby chicks a week and close to 100 baby ducklings. Minimum purchase of chicks is six @ $1.99 each or two ducklings @ $3.99 each. Then comes the feeder, waterer and brood light. These fluffy little bundles need to stay warm under the brood light for 12 to 16 weeks until their feathers molt. Featured yesterday were “Americauna” chicks which lay multi-colored eggs when mature. This store has everything you need to start your flock – even putting you in touch with tractors local craftsmen who make chicken tractors. (Remember the Jennifer and Greg Coleman and their chicken tractor workshop? AD on January 4, 2011)
Day old chicks are adorable!
Need more information or want to order chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys or guineas? Just go to www.TractorSupply.com/ChickDays and check out the information from “Quick Fowl Tips” to a “How To” for Backyard Poultry from The Chicken Whisperer. Amazing stuff! Place an order online and the post office will be only too happy to hand you your very own box filled with “cheep, cheep” music. Or visit the store in Statesville and select your own fowl.
Only drawback for those considering fresh eggs is start-up cost for equipment and the fact that these baby chicks are “straight run” meaning you get a random mix of roosters and hens. Tractor Supply employee Tim can help with your selection with his folk formula for testing the sex of the babies. For sure, these Americauna chicks and Peking ducklings are adorable…but your correspondent thinks she will stick with beef!
Send us your news
Have news for Around Davidson? Write to Brenda Barger at hbarger@bellsouth.net.
