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Davidson College grad and Statesville native Tom Marshburn and two fellow crew members lifted off Wednesday, Dec. 19, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft headed to the International Space Station.  Flight Engineers Tom Marshburn, Roman Romanenko and Chris Hadfield were scheduled to orbit the Earth for two days before docking to the space station module at 9:12 a.m. Friday, Dec. 21. The new trio will join Commander Kevin Ford and Flight Engineers Oleg Novitskiy and Evgeny Tarelkin who have been at the orbital laboratory since Oct. 26.

WATCH the launch video above, or here

READ MORE about Tom Marshburn and the mission on DavidsonNews.net, Dec. 19, 2012, “Davidson grad Marshburn heads back to space”.

Tom Marshburn is back in space today after lifting off at 7:12am EST (6:12pm local time) aboard a Soyuz rocket from Kazakhstan. The 1982 Davidson graduate and NASA astronaut is a flight engineer on a 6-month mission to the International Space Station, where he’ll help with medical studies of astronauts on an extended space mission.

Evening temperatures were below freezing as the rocket sped away from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, according to a NASA announcement. Along with Dr. Marshburn are Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield and Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko.

(WATCH the launch video here.) Read the full story

By GREG COLLARD
WFAE

The top headline in the October 1st, 1959, Mecklenburg Gazette proclaims “Great Economic Progress is Seen.” A few days earlier, Gov. Luther Hodges visited the Catawba River to set off the first dynamite blast for construction of the Cowan’s Ford Dam – the site of a Revolutionary War battle.

The writer of the story called it the “beginning of a new era in the history of the Catawba River Valley.” Read the full story

LISTEN to an audio version of this story we produced for Sunday morning newscast on our news partner, WFAE-FM, with sounds from Saturday’s event. Can’t see the player or hear the audio? CLICK HERE> (MP3, 2min, 10 sec)

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By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

It was a somber moment as the sun set Saturday night outside Davidson Elementary School, where the community came together to remember those who died in Friday’s shootings at an another elementary school, in Newtown, Conn. About 125 parents, students and staff, elected officials, clergy, and public safety officers held candles and listened as the names of the dead were read aloud, a handbell ringing after each name.

The candle-light vigil was organized by families from the school and included remarks from local clergy as well as a couple of local students. It came as people across the area struggled to make sense of the tragedy. Read the full story

Volunteer builders from Saussy Burbank and JCB Urban are working this week to present 84-year-old Matty Mundy with a much needed holiday gift. Ms. Mundy has lived in her home on Westside Terrace in Davidson for 20 years, but not been financially able to properly maintain it. Bill Giduz reports on the annual project with the Davidson Housing Coalition’s HAMMERS emergency home repair program, in REAL ESTATE & HOME»

The Jewish Council of Lake Norman held a community Hanukkah Celebration on Sunday evening at the Charles Mack Citizens Center in downtown Mooresville. The annual event included potato latkes, crafts for kids and a “high stakes” dreidel competition. Photographer Gayle Shomer was there to capture the scene. Read the full story

An estimated 25,000 people flooded Main Street over the three nights of Christmas in Davidson last week, according to town officials. The Nov. 29 to Dec. 1 festival brought folks from around the Lake Norman area, Charlotte and beyond for shopping, dining, performing and all around holiday cheer.

This year’s festival picked seasonally-dressed pets in the Doggie Fashion Show and the ugliest sweater in town (see below). Read the full story

Many of our canine residents brought their owners out this past weekend for Christmas in Davidson, while some other local creatures were stars in Saturday’s 30th annual North Mecklenburg Christmas Parade.  The action included Friday night’s Doggie Fashion Show on the Davidson Village Green. See a photo gallery today on PETS & ANIMALS»

Also today on Pets & Animals:

• “Photo of the Day: A fellow greenway traveler.” – A local runner encountered a slithering obstacle on a local greenway Monday. So he photographed it.
• Cornelius Animal Shelter Pets of the Week – How about adopting a kitty or a doggie for the holidays?