Top Charlotte Area Local News Stories
Source: MedleyStory
A former teacher accused of having sex with an East Gaston High School student is out of jail.
Bradford Mulkey, 32, posted a $100,000 bond Friday afternoon.
Gaston County Police arrested him earlier in the day and charged him with one count of indecent liberties with a student. Police told Eyewitness News the incident happened at the school.
Police interviewed several students at East Gaston High School before the criminal charges were filed against Mulkey. They told Eyewitness News they didn't expect to file any more charges against him, unless other students came forward.
"I think it's sickening and I think he should not be allowed back at the school," said parent Sherry Charles.
Charles, along with other parents and students, was outraged by the news of Mulkey's arrest.
"I can't really believe it, because all the students liked Mr. Mulkey, you know," said student Haley Cloyd.
Many students at the school told Eyewitness News Mulkey was a good teacher and many of them knew about the alleged incident for weeks.
Mulkey was suspended without pay in December, after the school's principal found out about the alleged incident from another student. She filed an incident report with Gaston County police.
Eyewitness News knocked on Mulkey's door in Gastonia Friday, but no one answered the door.
Some neighbors said the news was especially disturbing because Mulkey lives right across the street from a day care center.
"It's shocking and upsetting. We have a lot of children in the neighborhood," said Ken Jenkins.
During the investigation, Mulkey, who worked with Gaston County Schools since 2007, resigned from his job. He is scheduled to appear in Gaston County Court for a first appearance Monday at 1:30 p.m.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:25:04 -0500
Iredell County Sheriff deputies stopped a speeding van on I-77 early Friday morning and found more than $66,000 worth of drugs.
Sheriff Phil Redmond said the Interstate Criminal Enforcement Team stopped Lespeth McDonald Foster, 45, of Hollywood, Fla., for speeding and failing to stay in his lane while he traveled north on Interstate 77.
After the stop, deputies searched his van and found about 440 grams of cocaine, a street value of $66,000, and 184 grams of marijuana, a $920 street value.
Foster was arrested for trafficking and possessing drugs. He is being held in the Iredell County Detention Center.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:41:35 -0500
William Adams Sr. and Veronica Short waited three-and-a-half years for their son's killer to be brought to justice.
A sentence was handed down Friday afternoon, but it was not enough for Adams.
"My son did not deserve what happened to him. He did not," Adams said.
Fifteen-year-old William Adams Jr. was shot and killed at Five-Points Park off Beatties Ford Road in August 2008.
For three days, then 22-year-old Reginald Johnson terrorized communities in west Charlotte.
Police said Johnson went on a violent crime spree from Aug. 19 to Aug. 21.
He stole cars, then randomly pulled up to people on the street, got out of the car, and robbed them at gunpoint. He car-jacked at least two people, and seriously injured two others, shooting a 16-year-old in the back as he tried to run, and another man in the stomach.
Then, within 24 hours the crime spree turned to murder.
Adams was shot and killed when Johnson asked him for money on the afternoon of Aug 21.
Within five hours, Johnson came upon 42-year-old Angela Davis and her husband on Keswick Avenue.
She refused to give him her purse and told him he would have to shoot her. He did, hitting Davis in the chest and killing her.
A massive manhunt quickly followed and Johnson was later found after police got a tip about the make and model of the stolen car he was driving.
He was caught after a high-speed chase.
In April 2011, Johnson appeared in court to plead guilty to all the charges against him, nearly two dozen. In court, he changed his mind and said he did not kill anyone.
The victim's family members were outraged, and had to be escorted out of the courtroom.
On Friday, Adams said he was disappointed at the court system, and how his family was treated.
"You have to keep coming to court, and coming to court because you have a defendant that's playing games with the system. I hate to say it, but he ran this show," Adams said.
After losing his teenage son more than three years ago, Adams said he does have some peace now that it's over.
However, he saw no sympathy in the eyes of Johnson.
"The man has no remorse, that man doesn't have a heart. He doesn't care about any of it," he said.
As part of the plea deal, Johnson was sentenced to two life sentences without the possibility of parole. Adams said he deserved the death penalty, but it was taken off the table as part of the plea deal.
"That man still gets to eat, sleep, breathe. He gets to do all of that. My son is dead," he said.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:44:20 -0500
Thousands of drivers were stopped on I-77 Friday night during rush hour as emergency crews cleared a crash near Lake Norman.
All lanes of I-77 South were shut down for hours, and traffic on I-77 North stretched from Lake Norman to Huntersville.
Not only was traffic backed up for miles on the interstate, but all side streets were clogged up for hours as well.
Chopper Nine Skyzoom showed that several cars were badly damaged in the wreck. The rear end of one silver car was gone, and the back of a black car was smashed in.
Stacey Hess said she moved less than five miles in the hour between 6 and 7 p-m. Her in-laws are visiting from Michigan, and she was supposed to cook dinner.
"It's not looking real good. First impressions are (going to) be real well, with me running late and not there," Hess said. "My husband is not real happy."
At least four vehicles were involved in the crash. Eyewitness News saw a wrecker towing away a Budget rental truck with front-end damage.
The Highway Patrol hasn't told Eyewitness News how the crashes started. But the wrecker driver told Eyewitness News the Budget truck caused the crashes.
Mark Lancaster is a Lake Norman Marine commissioner, and he was stuck for hours Friday night as he tried to return to work and help his crew unload barges.
"It's kind of frustrating. I've got men on the clock, and I'm trying to get back down there and get back to work," Lancaster said.
Medic said one person is in the hospital tonight with potentially life-threatening injuries.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:15:39 -0500
A Wilkes County man says a mistake in the court system made him a victim of mistaken identity once. He said Friday he was not about to let it happen again.
Carl Otto Boggs Jr. received a criminal summons for not sending his 15-year-old mentally disable daughter to school.
But when he looked at that summons, he saw it had the name Carl Dean Boggs along with Carl Dean Boggs' date of birth and Social Security number.
And Carl Otto Boggs had seen it all before.
In 2009, he was facing the same charges, and the other Carl Boggs' name showed up on the paperwork. He is convinced that brought him a stiffer sentence because Carl Dean Boggs had a criminal record.
"I'm trying to show them that I'm not this man because it's getting ready to start all over again," Boggs said.
On Friday, a judge ordered prosecutors to correct the name on the summons and reschedule Boggs' court date for March.
As for how the mistake happened, a magistrate said it is possible that the magistrate who signed the summons had pulled up the wrong Carl Boggs from the court’s computer system.
Eyewitness News was not able to reach Carl Dean Boggs, whose last address was in the town of Boomer.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:47:40 -0500
State labor officials say they are "sending a message" about unsafe working conditions after a Marshville chicken plant is fined more than $100,000 for labor violations.
"We'd like to get the attention of other employers with similar work environments," said Dolores Quesenberry with the North Carolina Department of Labor.
The 34 violations are outlined in a long report by labor officials following an investigation into Pilgrim's Pride chicken processing plant after an explosion and ammonia leak on Aug. 16, 2011.
In the report, investigators say after the explosion, management failed to notify workers in the plant that an emergency had occurred.
"[The investigators] looked at the hazardous emergency response plan, and there were some issues with that," Quesenberry said.
Plant officials are also charged with failing to inform proper emergency officials and leaving four workers inside the plant during a mandatory evacuation.
Two weeks after the blast, investigators said two employees experienced "severe respiratory irritation" after they were exposed to toxic chemicals while cleaning the plant.
The employees were not provided with face or eye protection while scrubbing the area with a highly acidic solution that was 50 percent water and 50 percent bleach, according to investigators.
The workers sought medical attention.
The violation also said the employees using the bleach solution were instructed to remove their rubber gloves; leaving them with cotton work gloves as their only skin protection against the bleach.
According to investigators, plant management also failed to provide adequate hearing protection to all employees, asking them to pay for protective earphones.
An ex-employee confirmed the investigators' findings.
"Yeah, [the money for the earphones], it come out of your check," said Marquis Merriman.
Other violations included failure to annually train employees, missing guardrails around dangerous equipment, and exits blocked by wooden pallets.
Residents said they have heard similar stories from friends and family members who work at the plant.
"I wouldn't want nobody that I loved, that I cared about working there because that's dangerous. They might not be alive tomorrow working in a place like that," said Marshville resident Darlene Havey.
A Pilgrim's Pride spokeswoman sent out a statement that read, in part, "Safety is a core value at Pilgrims. In everything we do, we are strongly committed to ensuring the safety of our employees and the communities in which we live and work."
Eyewitness News contacted officials with specific questions about the alleged failures to adequately protect employees. A spokeswoman did not return emails seeking comment.
Pilgrim's Pride has 14 days to contest the violations or pay the $107,100 fine.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:31:45 -0500
A Cornelius commissioner said leaders should abandon the Red Line railroad project and move onto other solutions for relieving traffic congestion in northern Mecklenburg County.
The Red Line, the proposed commuter rail line from Charlotte to Mooresville, has come under fire lately. Several local leaders, including Iredell County commissioners and well-known transit experts, have cast doubt on the plans, mainly because of financial concerns.
Dave Gilroy, a Cornelius commissioner, said leaders should focus more on a couple of concepts mentioned earlier this week when a well-known rail critic came to town, blasted the Red Line plans, and offered alternatives to relieving congestion.
One idea makes use of driverless cars.
They have been developed and tested by Google in California. Using video cameras, artificial intelligence, and a variety of sensors, the car drives on its own.
Gilroy said driverless cars are the wave of the future and can triple of the capacity of congested roads here.
"There's a science behind how we drive and with humans behind the wheel and reflex and reactions we simply have stop and go that wouldn't exist if we were all computer-controlled,” Gilroy said.
Martin Nordenstam wasn't so keen on the driverless car idea.
"Do what we can today and keep the rest of the stuff on the back burner," he said.
Gilroy agreed, saying driverless cars are worth researching, but the focus first should be on more realistic projects, like widening I-77 and adding HOV lanes, two ideas that have been widely discussed already.
Another alternative that has not been talked about much is buying a new fleet of buses.
Unlike the ones run by CATS now, the new buses would be privately run and offer high-end features such as leather seats, Wi-Fi access, electrical outlets and even food.
The schedules and routes would change to meet user demand, too.
Gilroy said the plan for a new fleet would be less expensive than the Red Line.
"In orders of magnitude, it's cheaper than the rail line," he said.
John Woods, the chairman of the Red Line Task Force, said it is too soon to pull the plug on the project and think about other options. Woods said the task force is in the midst of a three-month review in which members are looking at every issue and concern raised regarding the Red Line.
They expect to have a final consensus plan in April.
Cindie Howard, a Davidson resident, said she is hoping the Red Line will still work. She thinks it is crucial when it comes to luring people and businesses to move to the area.
"What they need is a rail system like all big metropolises have," Howard said.
Other commissioners in Cornelius said it is likely that alternatives to the rail line, such as the bus fleet and driverless cars, will be discussed at town board meetings in the next few months.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:27:17 -0500
The Democratic National Convention Host Committee named 12 sites it plans to show off during the convention.
While many of the sites are widely known, such as the NASCAR Hall of Fame, there is only one site that is privately owned.
At 100 years old, the Wadsworth Estate is a piece of Charlotte history. It was the first home built in Wesley heights. During the DNC, it will be a gathering place for delegates.
Shirley Fulton noticed its charm more than 20 years ago. The home was not for sale then, but she made an offer anyway.
It took a decade for her to get a response.
“Ten years later, (the owner) died. He had kept my letter in his possession, and his family found it and sent a realtor to find me,” Fulton said.
Now, it’s a place the DNC wants to show off to help tell visitors the story of the Queen City.
Delegates will take in its stained glass, cozy rooms and rocking chairs. And Fulton is excited to share the gem she found decades ago.
“We’re just overjoyed,” she said. “We are close enough to see the city, but far enough that we are not in the midst of it. I like that feeling and I think they will like it, too.”
The Wadsworth Estate has been preparing for this moment for years, hosting numerous weddings, retreats and meetings.
To learn more about the Wadsworth Estate, click here.
Fore more information on the delegate selection process, click here.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:21:01 -0500
Corporal punishment is not allowed in North Carolina prisons but it is in some N.C. public schools. Nineteen of the 115 districts in North Carolina allow corporal punishment as a form of discipline for children as young as age five.
WATCH Behind The Story with Dave Faherty
Channel 9 Eyewitness News discovered hundreds of instances when corporal punishment was used and cases involving children with disabilities. An overwhelming majority of parents in districts that allow corporal punishment support the policy and often prefer their child receive corporal punishment over traditional in-school suspension. Would you allow a principal or teacher to discipline your child with a wooden paddle? Tomorrow starting at 5pm on Channel 9 Eyewitness News.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:19:36 -0500
Corporal punishment is not allowed in North Carolina prisons but it is in some N.C. public schools. Nineteen of the 115 districts in North Carolina allow corporal punishment as a form of discipline for children as young as age five.
WATCH Behind The Story with Dave Faherty
Channel 9 Eyewitness News discovered hundreds of instances when corporal punishment was used and cases involving children with disabilities. An overwhelming majority of parents in districts that allow corporal punishment support the policy and often prefer their child receive corporal punishment over traditional in-school suspension. Would you allow a principal or teacher to discipline your child with a wooden paddle? Tomorrow starting at 5pm on Channel 9 Eyewitness News.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:19:36 -0500
Investigators were called to a Lincoln County home for a suicide, but later found out the woman inside was killed, they said.
Police spent Friday afternoon searching the home and questioning Jerry Black, a man who lived in the house, about the killing inside.
The investigation started with a 911 call from Black’s home on Untold Way in Lincolnton. The caller told dispatchers someone had committed suicide.
Police said when they opened the doors, they knew immediately that the female victim did not kill herself.
Police have not said how the woman was killed.
One of Black’s neighbors said she called police around 1 a.m. Friday because of loud music coming from the house. She told police she heard a strange noise coming from the house a few hours later.
The officer who responded to the loud music complaint said Black and a woman were inside the home and both were OK.
So far, police have not charged Black with any crimes.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:12:36 -0500
This year’s mild winter kept patients from knocking down doctors’ doors with concerns about the flu, but doctors say the season is long from over.
And they said the lack of concern could cost a lot of money and affect patients well into next year.
"Last year, it was so cold, and we all got the flu shot, and this year me and Kevin opted out of the flu shot,” said Ashley Walling.
Dr. Charles Bregier from Matthews Urgent Care said two-thirds of the people he sees are not getting the flu shot this year. He said they have only given 100 flu shots this year.
Last year, his office had given out several hundred.
Unused flu shots will be thrown away in June, when they expire.
Dr. Stephen Keener at the Mecklenburg County Health Department said they also have a lot of unused vaccines.
“Every year there are millions of millions of doses of flu vaccine that are destroyed,” he said.
This year, the North Carolina Department of Health spent $6.5 million on 550,000 doses of the flu vaccine.
The agency currently has 30,000 doses still on the shelf, a $290,000 loss.
But Keener said the health department must be prepared.
“It may not be the worst year in history, but it will be coming,” he said.
For information on where to get a flu shot, click here.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:09:59 -0500
New construction along Interstate 85 is projected to save the state millions of dollars, but some say they are ready to see the project complete.
"I just want to get home, and you still have to wait on the traffic," said Stephanie Briones, who drives I-85 every day.
All the construction is impossible to miss.
There are three separate projects scheduled to happen at the same time: the construction of I-485, the widening of I-85 and a new interchange that will link the two.
It's a new type of design which, at first, looks more like a knot.
But Ryan Lowder with Lane Construction says it's called a turbine interchange, and it is the first of its kind in the state.
One of the benefits of the turbine interchange is that cars can maintain highway speeds as they change interstates.
"The reason we got this job was the cost savings to the DOT," Lowder said.
Originally, the plan was to build what's called a stacked bridge interchange, similar to the one on Interstate 77 near Carowinds.
However, the turbine interchange uses fewer materials and, as a result, is less expensive to construct.
The new turbine design will save the state about $30 million. The cost of all three projects will come in almost $100 million under the original projected budget.
Construction is expected to be complete in June 2014.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:39:11 -0500
A nonprofit wants to create a history trail through uptown Charlotte but is asking taxpayers to help pay for it.
The May 20th Society -- better as known as the Meck Dec group -- imagines a self-guided walking tour called the Charlotte Liberty Walk.
The whole loop would stretch three-quarters of a mile and highlight 15 Revolutionary War locations, 12 of which are already marked.
The May 20th Society has a Facebook page devoted to the project.
The group thinks it will cost $130,000 but said it can only raise about $10,000 on its own, so it's asking for help. It wants Charlotte Center City Partners to pitch in $30,000, the Arts and Science Council to pitch in $30,000, and city taxpayers to pitch in $60,000.
Since all of the historical spots are on city property, the group would like the city to cover the ongoing maintenance costs of about $1,000 each year.
Many people like the idea. They picture a smaller version of Boston's Freedom Trail, or something you might see in Bob Piontek's hometown of Philadelphia.
"Absolutely. Absolutely. There is never a downside to remembering our heritage," Piontek said. "We got to remind the kids where this city has come from, and I think to the extent that we can do that, we should."
"Anything that kind of increases the cultural aspects of the city, that kind of builds out, gives people a better sense of what the city's about, I think is a positive,” said Steve Antal.
Others heard they may have to pay for it and paused for a second.
"It's a little pricey for three-quarters of a mile, but it's not too bad compared to other things. $60,000 is not that much," said Kevin Meagher.
Center City Partners says it's OK with paying its share of the costs.
The Arts and Science Council says its board has to vote on anything over $5,000, so it will not know until March at the earliest.
City Council plans to vote on its $60,000 Monday.
The Liberty Walk could be up and running by July 31.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:17:31 -0500
Police are looking for Carlton Ardrey, who is accused of shooting Gregory Tillery in the Northlake Mall parking lot.
In the attack Monday afternoon, one person was shot in the leg and stray bullets went flying.
Police said the gunman was waiting for Tillery to come out of the Dick's Sporting Goods store at the mall.
Police said when Tillery exited the store, Ardrey fired several shots, hitting him once.
Ardrey, who has been arrested more than 40 times, has been confirmed by officers as armed and dangerous.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:02:09 -0500
Something unexpected happened on the way to North Carolina's vote on a gaymarriage ban this May: Democratic Gov. Beverly Perdue decided not to run for re-election, meaning more voters who oppose the ban could turn out at the polls.
Before Thursday's development, mostly Republican voters were expected to show up to pick their nominees for governor and president, and likely make North Carolina the last state in the Southeast to block same-sex marriage.
Now gay rights supporters hope they have a better chance of shooting down the constitutional amendment with more Democrats showing up May 8 to pick a candidate for governor at the same time. Gay marriageopponents believe they have the votes sewn up anyway and it won't make much of a difference.
"I'm sure that supporters of the amendment thought that, strategically, putting the question on the May ballot was their best chance," said Michael Bitzer, a professor of politics and history at Catawba College. "That strategy just got blown out of the water."
People on both sides of the question see the referendum here as having significant national implications: Gaymarriage will either be banned in a clean sweep of the South, or there will be a stunning Dixie rejection.
"Given the fact that this amendment won't be decided by such a narrow slice of voters as it would have been previously, it increases the optimism from our side," said Michael Cole-Schwartz, spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, a national gay rights group. "It's something we have to consider carefully in light of all the other issues in other states around the country this year."
If Perdue's departure hurts the ban's chances, it would be ironic, given that her objections to its appearance on the November ballot helped convince lawmakers to move it back to spring.
Perdue opposes the amendment and said she didn't want to see it on any ballot, but she worried that Republicans wanted it in November to help their chances in the general election. Turnout for primary elections is historically lower than in November, and without a contested Democratic primary in either the gubernatorial or presidential races, there was little reason for Democratic voters to turn out in large numbers this spring.
"Democrats didn't want it on the November ballot because they feared it would be bad for them in the presidential and gubernatorial races," said John Dinan, a professor at Wake Forest University. "Nobody could have predicted at that point that the May primaries would be much more contested. Nobody planned it this way."
A Democratic primary could bring out voters more likely to oppose bans on gay marriage, said Richard Matland, a professor at Loyola University Chicago who co-authored a paper last year that analyzed every single state referendum on gay marriage.
All 34 of those votes were in favor of banning gay marriage, except for a 2006 referendum in Arizona where the measure was narrowly defeated, although Arizona would ban same-sex marriage in a subsequent vote.
Although the results are essentially uniform, Matland said there are important distinctions, especially regarding turnout. In general, higher turnout means closer elections featuring more "episodic" voters like young people, who tend to be more supportive of gay marriage.
"Turnout really does drive the process," he said. "If there does turn out to be a big campaign with a lot of candidates able to get up and running, it might make the North Carolina referendum a lot more interesting."
Supporters of same-sex marriage hope that's the case.
"Having a Democratic governor's race definitely helps our chances," said Jeremy Kennedy, campaign manager for the Coalition to Protect North Carolina Families, the group leading the opposition to the ballot measure.
Gay marriage opponents, though, say the issue cuts across party lines, and has significant support among Democrats and unaffiliated voters as well as Republicans.
"I don't think it'll have any effect," said the Rev. Ron Baity, president of Return America, one of the groups working to secure passage of the measure. "I'm sure the amendment is going to pass."
Tami Fitzgerald, co-chairwoman of the Vote FOR Marriage NC coalition, which supports the amendment, said she welcomes the prospect of a contested Democratic primary.
"The more folks that turn out on May 8, the better," she said.
Certainly, there are complexities among Democratic voters that may work in favor of amendment supporters like Fitzgerald.
The emergence of a black candidate such as Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx, who is considering a bid, could attract a disproportionate number of black voters, according to David McLennan, a political science professor at William Peace University, who tend to be more conservative on gay marriage.
The primary "creates some confusion to what's going to happen," he said. "It could go any number of ways."
More Information:
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:49:03 -0500
Meteorologist Katie Virtue says the Charlotte area is heading into the coolest stretch of weather since mid-January.
The first shot of cool air will kick off snow showers in the mountains along with light rain showers near Charlotte this evening.
Then a cold front pushes in on Saturday, followed by the second push of arctic air that will send temperatures plunging to 20 degrees by Sunday morning.
High temperatures will struggle to reach the low 40s by the end of the weekend.
With chilly air in place, the next storm will bring a small threat of wintry weather on Tuesday.
Meteorologists say snow is not likely near Charlotte, but they are watching the storm closely.
Meteorologist Keith Monday invites you into the studio for a closer look at what’s to come.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:22:07 -0500
An early morning fire destroyed a 100-year old home in Watauga County Friday.
The family who lived in the home told Channel 9 that their daughter saved their lives.
The family of four said they were saved after their 12-year-old daughter woke up her father who alerted the rest of the family.
SLIDESHOW: 100-year old house destroyed by fire
The father said they only got out of the house with the clothes on their back.
Neighbors stopped by throughout the morning bringing them clothing and a Bible, which the family also lost in the fire.
“God woke my little girl up. There is no doubt in my mind. I was able to get everybody else awake and we tried what we could but it went so fast, so quick. There was nothing anybody could do,” said the father, Scott Proctor.
The Red Cross of Watauga County is helping the family and putting them up in a local motel for a few days and also trying to collect some clothing.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:18:26 -0500
Delegates to the Democratic National Convention will get the chance to hit and field at Knights Stadium in the Fort Mill area - and the proceeds will benefit children's hospitals in Charlotte and Chicago.
It's the fifth straight time delegates, especially those who love baseball, get the chance to test their athletic abilities. It is the first time, however, they will do it at a minor-league ballpark.
"This is the first time at a AAA ballpark. We're impressed with the venue. It's a great place to entertain," said LeeAnn Petersen, founder of Convention Sports and Entertainment Group.
Previous sites were Wrigley Field in Chicago, Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Fenway Park in Boston and Coors Field in Denver. Delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte will get the chance to hit and field at Knights Stadium in the Fort Mill area in September. The event is one of a number that likely will take place in York County, said Bennish Brown, executive director of the York County Convention and Visitor's Bureau.
"The good news is other events are coming here, the things we expected," Brown said.
But, because of confidentially agreements with venues, "we don't have a lot of details."
The event at Knights Stadium is private and not open the public. The event is not affiliated with either the Democratic National Committee or the host Charlotte committee.
Petersen expects between 800 to 1,000 people to attend what she describes as a "open house style event." In addition to the baseball there will food and entertainment.
Because the Knights are the AAA affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, the Illinois congressional delegation has been invited to host the event, she said.
Dan Rajkowski, general manager of the Knights, said the team was approached about the event the week after Charlotte was officially selected for the 2012 convention.
He said the club will charge a "small rental" for the facility, but benefits of hosting the event are the prestige and helping children.
Levine Children's Hospital of Charlotte and Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago will share in the proceeds. Levine was selected, Petersen said, because it one of the organizations the Knights support.The Knights' regular season ends with a two-game homestand against the Durham Bulls on Sept. 2 and 3, Labor Day. Rajkowski said he hopes the team can work with the convention to attract early arriving delegates and guests to those games.Should the Knights have a stellar season, the AAA playoffs would begin on that Wednesday, Sept. 5.
If the Knights don't make the playoffs, Rajkowski said it is possible some of the team's players could pitch batting practice.
Petersen said retired major-league players have attended the event.
In 2008, Steve Garvey, the former Los Angeles Dodger star, was the master of ceremonies at Coors Field in Denver.U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler, D-N.C., a former University of Tennessee quarterback, knocked one out of the park at Coors Field. Petersen hopes Shuler, who announced he will not seek re-election, tries his luck at Knights Stadium.
The Fort Mill-area ballpark would present Shuler with a different set of challenges from the rarified air of Coors Field, which has a reputation as a home-run park.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:01:17 -0500
Channel 9 Eyewitness News investigates state workers caught stealing money and selling your personal information for their own profit. Our investigation has uncovered 39 cases involving more than 77,000 of your tax dollars being stolen by North Carolina workers.
WATCH: Linzi Sheldon takes you inside the story
Channel 9 Eyewitness News is going through hundreds of records and holding the state accountable. We’re asking what’s being done to protect your personal information and stop workers from stealing. See the full investigation Monday on Channel 9 Eyewitness News, starting at 5pm.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:39:16 -0500
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