Alex Phillips (left) of Restaurant X serves Davidson resident Margaret Goode. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

Eight area restaurants brought their best soups Davidson College Saturday afternoon for the eighth annual Souper Bowl, a soup cook-off among local chefs that raises money for the Davidson Housing Coalition‘s HAMMERS emergency home repair program.

More than 400 diners were there, tasting the soups and picking winners in a variety of categories from most creative to best vegetarian. There also was a silent auction of pottery, jewelry and other art objects. And the Rusty Knox, Sands of Tyme, and Davidson College acapella groups provided musical accompaniment. Read the full story

Will Arctic air bring us this in a few weeks?

Happy New Year to all!  Hope you had generous helpings of black-eyed peas, collards and ham hocks. Beautiful warm weather graced our New Year’s festivities but what does January have in store?  Will we soon look like the home in this photo?  Cold weather this week will put us in the mood but at least no snow predicted.  Just in case better keep the sleds and snow shovels handy.

Catching up on some 2011 news, we have reports today on a Christmas birthday for Scotty Nicholls, a scout project helping the Davidson Housing Coalition, an award for Dee Gardner and a few notes on Davidson road rules. Read the full story

Commissioner Margo Williams and her dog Gracie on the steps of her Concord Road home last week. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

When Davidson Commissioners meet Tuesday night to take the oath of office for a new term, it will be the first time since 1995 that Margo Williams isn’t in the picture. As she steps down after eight terms, her unwavering and Texas-accented pleas for thoughtful planning, preserving Davidson’s unique character, and ensuring affordable housing will be absent. Read the full story

Luminaria stretched the full length of Rollingdale Lane in River Run Saturday night. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

Updated Dec. 15
From Naramore to North Main and Winged Oak to North Downing, thousands of luminaria lined the streets and sidewalks of Davidson Saturday night in the annual Noel for Neighbors fund-raiser for Davidson Housing Coalition. The candle-lit displays raised more than $16,500 for the organization, which provides affordable housing and home ownership education programs. Read the full story

A young South Street resident strolls through rows of luminaria toward her front door in the December 2010 Noel for Neighbors. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

On the night of Saturday, Dec. 10, Davidson sidewalks and homes will light up with the glow of thousands of luminaria in an annual fund-raiser for Davidson Housing Coalition. 2011 is the 11th year for Noel for Neighbors, which began among neighbors in the McConnell neighborhood who wanted to celebrate and help a good cause. Read the full story

The table and tree designs ranged from classic Christmas to avante garde, whimsical to international Friday at the North Mecklenburg Woman’s Club’s annual “Over the Table Top” holiday fundraiser at the Peninsula Club.  Hundreds of design fans turned out to see what local designers and businesses came up with at the event, which this year was a fund-raiser for the Davidson Housing Coalition’s HAMMERS emergency home repair program. Read the full story and see photos on CorneliusNews.net.

North Mecklenburg Woman’s Club
Enjoy seeing different holiday decorations? Then you will love “Over the Tabletop – 2011 Holidays.” This year more than 25 area designers, shops and florists will take “fork on the left, knife on the right” to a whole new level at The Peninsula Club in Cornelius on Nov. 11. Read the full story

Sammy Sherrill

N.C. Center for Nonprofits
Sammy Sherrill and his mother needed a place to live in their hometown of Davidson. Rent was rising fast. When the Davidson Housing Coalition helped him find a house on Sloan Street, Mr. Sherrill said, “I didn’t just get a rental house, I joined a family. The DHC people watched out for me and my mom, and took care of us.”

Years later, he took the organization’s financial management class and qualified to move with his two sons into a brand new, two-bedroom unit in the Creekside Corners duplexes. A 10-year employee in Ingersoll-Rand’s shipping and receiving department, Mr. Sherrill said the reduced DHC rent allows him and his boys “to keep our heads above water.” Read the full story