The United Way of Central Carolinas’ board of directors on Tuesday approved the 2010-2011 funding recommendations of United Way’s volunteer-led Community Investment Councils, including $981,000 in aid for nonprofits in the Mooresville/Lake Norman Area – an increase of about 9 percent.

Local agencies that got funding include Davidson’s Ada Jenkins Center, the local office of United Family Services, and Our Towns Habitat for Humanity. (Full list below.) Read the full story

Jerry Hancock tries to reach men with the message that an active spiritual life matters to them and to their spouses. (Robert Lahser/The Charlotte Observer)

Jerry Hancock’s Men in Balance ministry helps men open up to each other

By AMBER VEVERKA
The Charlotte Observer

As a pastor, Steve Kirby knows well the challenge of getting men to talk to each other about spiritual struggles. Even in men’s groups or Bible studies, “anything deep, we just don’t get there,” he said.

But not long ago, Kirby participated in a new men’s gathering at his church, Union Grove United Methodist in Iredell County. The men in the room talked about knowing God. About sex. About their own fathers, some of them loving, some of them cruel. Read the full story

MI-Connection donated a check Friday to Davidson Cornelius Day Care. From left: esentation this morning with MI-Connection General Manager Alan Hall, Davidson Mayor John Woods, and center director Courtenay O'Neil, along with some of the center's students. (MI-Connection photo)

MI-Connection, the local cable and internet system, on Friday presented a check for $1,400 to Davidson-Cornelius Day Care as part of its “Operation Outreach” community initiative.

The cable system has been airing 30-minute programs each month this spring focusing on non-profits in its Cornelius-Davidson-Mooresville service area. “Operation Outreach” is hosted by former Carolina Panther Mike Minter and airing on the MI-Connection community channel, Channel 4. Read the full story

Nearly 50 people from six organizations that share space at Calvary Church met there for a recent gathering. They included, from left, Kyle Wallace of Church of the Good Shepherd, Jan Blodgett of Davidson Friends Meeting, Rabbi Michael Shields of Lake Norman Jewish Congregation, Reid Montgomery of Calvary and Karen Fesperman of Girl Scout Troop 363. (Photo courtesy of Karen Fesperman)

Now is a beautiful time to walk down South Street. The trees that border Mimosa Cemetery are in full bloom. Kids on the playground in front of Davidson Elementary School are soaking up sunshine and counting down the school days. And the covered bridge that connects Davidson to Cornelius could be on a postcard.

You may not even notice an unassuming, one-story brick building, in the shadow of the school. But if you were to look closer, you’d notice people coming and going all week. Read the full story

See the full photo on our Sports page, CLICK HERE>

Lake Norman YMCA next week will begin a free series of monthly “Ask the Attorney” legal advice sessions featuring experts from Davidson’s McIntosh Law Firm. The series begins Thursday, May 13, at 6 p.m. with a session on “The Yellow Brick Road to Your Estate: Will, Powers of Attorney, Trust – Oh My!” with Amy Isaacs and Erika Erlenbach. Read the full story

Davidson BuzzKill, a 3-on-3 basketball tournament and auction led by Davidson College player Bryant Barr, raised more than $38,000 Sunday to help send mosquito nets to Africa. Read more about the event and see a photo gallery in Sports, CLICK HERE>

Tyler Hampton has opened Davidson Cycle Center on Main Street, supplying motorcycle, personal watercraft and ATV parts and accessories. Meanwhile, Market Properties of Davidson has merged with Lake Norman Realty, adding a Davidson location to its existing offices covering the Lake Norman region. Meanwhile, And if you head downtown Friday afternoon, you can grab a free hot dog at a celebration behind the Fifth Third Bank. Read on for the details. Read the full story