Back in 1957, a group of area youth baseball supporters got together at Davidson Town Hall to talk about the need for a baseball field in town. They found a piece of land at the end of South Street and with volunteer labor constructed what is now McEver Fields.  Now nearly 57 years later, a group of former players and coaches is planning a reunion to coincide with next summer’s PONY tournament here. See the full story in SPORTS»

Cannon School senior Allie Gray of Huntersville (left) and elementary student Naomi Amani of Charlotte spent the morning of Dec. 11 wrapping gifts together, before learning about the organizations that will benefit from their service. (Cannon School photo)

CONCORD – Cannon School students recently organized their annual Project Wrap-In gift drive, collecting 930 new gifts for needy children of their own ages in the Concord and Lake Norman areas. A a Dec. 11 wrapping event, younger students paired with older “buddies” to prepare all the gifts for delivery to five charitable organizations that provide underprivileged children with presents for the holidays. Read the full story

Davidson-Cornelius Child Development Center on Davidson’s West Side is accepting applications for is early childhood learning and development programs, for children ages 2 to pre-Kindergarten, a program it calls “one of a kind.” Read the full story

Shovels of dirt marked the start of construction at the new Aquesta Bank branch on Sam Furr Road. From left, architect Roger Layman, David Goodrum of J.D. Goodrum Construction, Aquesta Insurance President Denis Bilodeau, Huntersville Mayor Jill Swain, Lake Norman Chamber President Bill Russell, Aquesta CEO Jim Engel, and Aquesta board chair Charles Knox. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

HUNTERSVILLE – Aquesta Bank broke ground Thursday for its newest branch, a 3,045-square-foot office building off I-77 Exit 25 in Huntersville. It’s the Cornelius-based community bank’s first branch in Huntersville and comes as the bank says it’s ready to expand as the economy improves, with a goal of dominating the Lake Norman community banking market. Read the full story

Heavy flames lit up the sky as a fire burned home off Torrence Chapel Road Wednesday night. Cornelius, Davidson and Huntersville fire companies responded to the blaze, which started just before 8pm at 21321 Country Club Lane. See the full story on CorneliusNews.net.

Two-term Cornelius Commissioner John Bradford says he’ll run for the 98th District statehouse seat of House Speaker Thom Tillis (R-Cornelius), who is stepping down to run for U.S. Senate. Bradford’s announcement on Wednesday sets up a May primary with Bradford’s fellow Republican and former colleague, Cornelius Mayor Lynette Rinker. See the full story on our ELECTION NEWS page.

Firefighters burned a house in Cornelius for training in 2012. (Thomas Christy/DavidsonNews.net)

Firefighters from Davidson and five other area fire departments will burn a vacant house on East Rocky River Road this Saturday, Dec. 21, in a “joint training exercise.” Officials said the house has been donated for the all-day training. Read the full story

Fire burned this home off Torrence Chapel Road Saturday. More below, and on CorneliusNews.net.

The Davidson Fire Department had a busy week last week, responding to unauthorized openings of a fire hydrant at Davidson Day School, a brush fire started by a cigarette, and a house fire in Cornelius. Read on for those and other incidents, as well as a summary of this week’s medical calls. Read the full story