By LUKE AND THOMAS CHURCHILL

There was a large crowd in the parking lot at Ben and Jerry’s Friday night, July 20, when people throughout Davidson came to Main Street for a movie, a trivia contest, and the unveiling of Harry Potter No. 7 (“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”).

Harry Potter fans snake through Main
Street Books before midnight Friday waiting
for the new book. (Suzanne Churchill photo)

Read the full story

Participants pray near Fuel Pizza on Saturday before the Davidson Empowerment Walk, organized in part by Town Board candidate Lenny McAllister. (David Boraks photo)

Ten people walked, including Mr. McAllister, the Rev. Dora Dubose, Ruby Houston, Sam Spencer IV and other residents. Mr. McAllister said the walk was aimed at promoting a safer town for all residents as fear of crime seems on the rise, particularly on the west side of town.

The ballot is set for this fall’s local elections in Davidson, with the close of campaign filings on Friday. The town will see a two-way race for mayor between current Town Board member John Woods and William E. Jackson Jr. Meanwhile, two incumbents and seven challengers are in the race for five seats on the Town Board. The general election will be Nov. 6.

Candidates for town board are incumbents Margo Williams and Evan Webster along with challengers Rodney Graham, Brian Jenest, Lenny McAllister, Ian Robb, Laurie Venzon and Fountain Walker. Read the full story

Kay Kincaid, wife of Davidson Mayor Randy Kincaid, died Friday, July 20, at age 67 of ovarian cancer. She was a long-time resident of Davidson, moving here with her husband in 1967. A memorial service is planned Monday, July 23, at 3 p.m. at Davidson College Presbyterian Church. Read her obituary on Charlotte.com.
Friends may send memorials to the Town of Davidson, Kay Kincaid Fund, PO Box 579, Davidson, NC 28036.

Davidson College gallery director Brad Thomas steadies Antony Gormley’s 2005 iron sculpture “You” as the newly acquired piece is installed Friday between E.H. Little Library and Chambers Hall. The college moved a William Tucker sculpture it already owns and installed another new work, by Joel Shapiro, as it builds a world-class contemporary sculpture collection. The William Tucker piece was a gift of the Class of 1993. The Shapiro was a gift of Katherine Belk-Cook and of the artist. The Gormley was a gift of outgoing President Bobby Vagt and wife Ruth Anne Vagt, in honor of their daughters, Ashley ’94 and Lindsey ’01. (Photo by David Boraks)

WATCH AN AUDIO SLIDE SHOW ABOUT THE PROJECT (Requires free Apple Quicktime software)

An “empowerment walk” and a community meeting are planned Saturday afternoon in West Davidson as part of the community’s response to a June 24 home invasion and gunfire on Sloan Street. Read the full story

Barriers block the end of South Street last week. Completing the covered bridge roof (background) is all that remains before the road can open into Cornelius, developer says.

By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

The South Street extension, which will link Davidson with a new 1,000-home development across the town line in Cornelius, will open to traffic within days, the developer’s spokesman and Davidson town officials said this week.

The impending opening, and a marketing campaign that plays up the project’s Davidson connections, are rekindling concerns among Davidson residents about traffic, both in the South Street/Walnut Street neighborhood and on Main Street and other town streets. Read the full story

Advertisements, websites and other marketing materials published by the Antiquity developers emphasize the project’s Davidson connections, rather than its location within the Cornelius town limits. A map on the AntiquityNC.com website even shows South Street as a cul-de-sac (illustration), irking residents who have long worried that the development would be pitched as a Davidson project.

(See related story: “With South Street opening soon, residents raise old concerns”) Read the full story