Bikers snuggled with a polar bear mascot before Saturday's ride launched from the parking lot at Bailey Middle School. (Ron Donson photo)

Quite a weekend for area sports fans as we saw the Panthers self-destruct for their first home loss this season, watched the Tar Heels tumble in the national rankings, and saw Steph Curry and the Wildcats struggle, too. On the bright side, milder temperatures were perfect for the Rocky River Road Club’s Annual Polar Bear Ride Saturday.  Who can resist the sight of hundreds of bright biking jerseys streaming down Davidson-Concord Road?

Today’s Around Davidson brings news of the ride, plus reports of local winners in the Young Authors’ Book Writing Contest, Steve Justus‘ medical work in Tanzania, and an invitation to learn more about Mike Hess’s work in Nepal.

PEDALING WITH A PURPOSE

Winding through local roads, Polar Bear riders enjoyed the sunny weather.

Hats off to the Rocky River Road Club (RRRC) for sponsoring its 11th Annual Polar Bear ride on Saturday, Jan. 11.  The 100K (62 mile) and 50K (31 mile) rides through the North Mecklenburg/Lake Norman area a popular event for cyclists of all ages.  Entry fees included a Polar Bear hug, a Jersey Mike’s sub, hot soup and hot chocolate and helped support the Ada Jenkins Center in Davidson.  President Jim Mead hopes this year’s good weather and 464 riders will result in a generous donation when all expenses are paid.

The early morning riders gathered at Bailey Middle School to begin registration at 8:30 a.m.  A colorful stream of riders came down the hill through the Bailey Springs development just after 10 a.m. and filled the lanes of Davidson-Concord and East Rocky River roads.  Many thanks to the well marked route, plentiful police and RRRC volunteers who added this year’s ride to their many successes.  More information is available on www.RockyRiverRoadClub.org.

YOUNG AUTHORS AT WOODLAWN

Each year Charlotte Parent Magazine sponsors a Young Authors’ Book Writing Contest with awards for writing and illustrating books written by students in the elementary grades. (For more information, go to the program’s website.)

Top illustrator for grades 4/5 is Woodlawn's Matthew Shaw.

This past Sunday at a reception at Charlotte’s Imaginon Theatre, the winners read their books to an audience, with images of their work displayed behind them.   Matthew Shaw, son of Pat and Brian Shaw of Davidson and a fifth grader at Woodlawn School, was named the top illustrator in the Grades 4/5 category and read his book, “Sammy, the Speedy Sloth,” aloud to the gathered crowd including his mother and brother, John Patrick.  Matthew’s winning illustrations were done with paint and hand-made sponge stamps and drawings.

Other winners from Woodlawn who wrote and illustrated their books were fifth graders Cameron Latten, son of Paul and Sherry Latten of Huntersville, who placed second, and Sidney Metcalf, daughter of Kevin and Evelyn Metcalf, also of Huntersville, who placed third.  Nice to note that Sidney’s mom is also the 4/5 Language Arts teacher at Woodlawn School.  Congratulations to these three winning authors.  They certainly had a wonderful time Sunday receiving not only applause from the crowd but also hugs from Sir Purr of the Panthers and many nice prizes.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN AFRICA

Some might call it a mid-life crisis – but there is no red convertible in the driveway of Steve and Phyllis Justus’ home in Davidson.  Rather, the kitchen table displays a passport, a health card showing a current Yellow Fever vaccine and a vial of anti-malaria tablets.  After 22 years as an emergency room physician in the Charlotte area, Steve is making a mid-life career transition. He is taking his medical knowledge to the Eastern shore of Lake Victoria and working in the Weill Bugando hospital in the city of Mwanza, Tanzania.  Under the umbrella of the Touch Foundation, Steve first completed a diploma course in tropical medicine and hygiene in London last year before embarking on a 90 day assignment in Aftica.

Steve with a Tanzanian doctor at the Bugando Medical Center.

In his blog, Steve writes of his first days in Bugando Hospital: “I am trying to place myself in the shoes of the Tanzanian physicians. The picture is skewed at a teaching hospital with hallways full of medical students, thanks in large part to the Touch Foundation.  But…what must it be like to be one of fifteen hundred m.d.s in a country of thirty seven million people? What must it be like to come to work every day to a place where babies die and surgery is canceled because the elevator is broken or the rains have soaked the surgery linen? What must it be like to wait for donations to equip your department or have an experienced nurse transferred from your understaffed unit to a more understaffed unit? Could I have a long term perspective and continue pushing hard to move three steps forward only to find myself two steps back soon thereafter?”

During his three months in Mwanza, Steve worked regular hours Monday-Friday and weekends took lessons in Swahili.  Housing was provided for him near the medical school/hospital.  Finding it difficult to barter for food in the markets, he hired a young Tanzanian to do his shopping and cooking, resulting in wonderful meals and a chance to put his language lessons into practice. Touch Foundation rotates doctors home after each three month assignment.  For Steve, this meant a homeward bound stopover in Dubai to visit his oldest son, Luke, who is working there.  Returning to Davidson for the winter gave Steve a chance to “recharge his batteries” and spend time over the holidays with his wife, Phyllis, and children, Sara, a junior at North Mecklenburg High School and twins Ben, a sophomore at Davidson College, and Bekah, a sophomore at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Steve was able to visit a child and his mother in Mwanza through his family connections to Operation Compassion.

Steve will return to Tanzania later this month for another three months continuing to build relationships and hoping to work with an orthopedic surgeon there to create a trauma center in Bugando Hospital. He will also try his hand at teaching in the Bugando Medical School.  In addition he again will visit a young school girl in Mwanza who it turns out is one of the two African children sponsored through Operation Compassion by Phyllis Justus’ brother’s wife of Greensboro.  Amazing connections in a continent as vast as Africa!

We wish Steve the best as he returns to his work in the Casualty Department of Bugando Medical Center in Mwanza, the fastest growing city in Africa.  Around Davidson applauds the work you are doing to address the suffering of people with limited education, poor nutrition and a healthcare system overwhelmed by patient load.

Jumping rope at an orphanage in Nepal.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN NEPAL

Around Davidson has highlighted the work of Mike Hess, brother of Davidson resident, Peter Hess, in previous columns.  This Thursday evening, January 15, from 6-8 p.m., Peter and his wife, Boo, will be sharing photos and talking about the difference Mike is making in the lives of disadvantaged children halfway around the earth.  Take a look at Mike’s column, “Welcome to Papa’s House” on the Nepal Orphans website.  Plan to drop by the Davidson College Presbyterian Church’s Congregation House on Concord Road across from the church and learn about another person who is making a difference in the education and nuture of young girls and boys.

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Have news for Brenda? Write to her at hbarger@bellsouth.net.