Antiquity: Repairs to Old Canal St. will take longer

May 24 It looks like there’s no immediate fix for the sinkhole on Old Canal Street in the Antiquity neighborhood — this, a month and a half after it opened up.

The road, built on top of fill, has been closed since April 15. It is still owned by Venture Properties, based in North Wilkesboro, and the developer, Cam Finley, says it will take “a few more weeks” to stabilize the man-made hillside, rebuild the retaining wall and resurface the road.

The Town of Cornelius has engineers visiting the site, which is on the main entry road from Cornelius into Antiquity, according to Mayor Lynette Rinker

New geotechnical borings were completed recently to determine how much of the wall needs to be torn down. Apparently it’s more than anyone anticipated, which means more testing.

“There are structural engineers looking at this for us,” Rinker said. Roads built by private developers are important to the town. After some period of time — it varies according to the build-out of the neighborhood — roads built by private developers are “accepted” by the town as municipal streets.

Indeed, just before the sinkhole opened up, Town Commissioners accepted Advocates Court, Riddles Court, Crew Cottage Court, Potters Row, Writers Way, Gardeners Way; and portions of South Street, Chapel Way, Talleys Way and Old Canal Street.

Fortunately the portion of Old Canal did not include the area that collapsed, said Commissioner Chuck Travis.

The costly repairs to Old Canal will be borne by Venture Properties, Travis said.

Back in April, town officials were looking at a matter of days for the repair. Rains have slowed down repairs, Finley said.

“I have taken responsibility to fix the road initially while we figure out why that happened,” Finley said. “It’s going to be fixed.”

Travis said it would have been virtually impossible to determine whether the road substrata was compacted sufficiently during construction.

Old Canal was built on fill along a ravine that runs under the picturesque covered bridge that connects Antiquity with Davidson.

Travis said he will look into how roads are inspected before they are turned over to the town. “There is always a risk in everything in life,” he said.

The worst-case scenario, Travis said, would have been if the town had already accepted that portion of Old Canal. “It would have been on us to fix it,” he said. “Before we take a street, we need to make sure we are not inheriting a problem.”

Town Planning Director Wayne Herron said Mecklenburg County has high standards for road work and construction. “When you are dealing with earth, once in a while, things are going to happen,” he said.

Tyler Beardsley, project manager for the town, said Antiquity developer Venture Properties has communicated openly around the sinkhole repairs. “They are open with all the next steps and steps they have taken to this point,” Beardsley said.

New masthead designed with new and old Cornelius in mind

May 23 Cornelius Today has a new masthead. In the newspaper business, that’s the proper term for the logo at the top of Page One or the cover of a publication. The masthead, designed by Robert Keith Blankenship of PaperGhost Design, is both a refinement and update of our old logo which was our second update in almost nine years of publishing.

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Memorial Day observance

May 24 Cornelius will officially observe Memorial Day with a ceremony 11 am Monday at the Veteran's Monument at Rotary Plaza next to Town Hall. Sponsored by American Legion Post 86, the service is free and the public is invited to attend. Memorial Day observations began Wednesday with Shelley Little and Woody Washam performing a medley of patriotic songs at the Rotary Club of North Mecklenburg.

Mt. Zion Confirmands

May 22 Twenty young people became full members of Mt. Zion United Methodist Church: Parker Arens, Austin Atkinson, Samantha Benz, Elizabeth Boger, Zach Cranor, Danielle DePaolis, Samantha Edlund, Liza Eller, Wyatt Freeman, Melanie Hall, Seth Kerr, Elizabeth Lankford, Carly Lawing, Cami Lee, Mackenzie Morris, Brandon Poag, Jake Ryan, Jonathan Sarver, Brian Smith and Bryson Walcott.

Be careful on lake as boating season officially gets under way

May 23 Memorial Day weekend, the traditional start of the summer recreation season, means lots of traffic on Lake Norman. Duke Energy encourages everyone to practice safety while boating and enjoying other activities on the lakes along the Catawba River.

Each year, thousands of people die or are injured, and millions of dollars of property damage occur because of preventable recreational boating accidents on U.S. waterways.

Everyone can make a difference by knowing and following all state-required safety rules and guidelines for boat operation, and ensuring each boat has the required safety equipment for the number of occupants and activities planned.

Duke Energy reminds people overnight camping, fires, littering, removal of any vegetation and permanent structures are strictly prohibited on any of the lakes’ public recreation access areas, islands or along the shoreline.

“As you make your Memorial Day plans, we remind boating and camping enthusiasts to pick up after their day on the lake, respect the access areas, the islands and their neighbors and enjoy the outdoors safely,” said Scott Jolley, public safety recreation and design project manager for Duke Energy. “Camping is prohibited on the access areas and islands. Help us promote safety and keep these recreational resources clean.”

Please follow these other guidelines while enjoying the lakes:

• Parking at public recreation access areas is permitted in marked spaces only. Vehicles and trailers should not park along the highway. Vehicles found in prohibited areas may be towed without prior notice, at the owner's expense.

• Keep the environment safe and clean by leaving no trace of your visit to the lakes. Handle gasoline and oil with care to avoid spills, and please don't litter.

• Always wear a personal floatation device – one should be available for every passenger. Ensure children are wearing the appropriate size.

• Remember to stay hydrated, and keep children hydrated. Wearing a flotation device for a long period of time can accelerate dehydration.

• Don’t overload a boat. Seats do not indicate capacity.

• Keep track of the weather. If caught in rough water, keep low in the boat and head into the waves.

• Alcohol and water don't mix. Alcohol distorts a person's judgment and slows down reaction time. Don’t mix alcohol with boating or swimming.

• Always be attentive on the water, and focus on operating the boat. Remember an accident can happen very quickly. Stay alert for other boaters and skiers.

• Use caution upstream and downstream of hydro dams, and observe posted signage.

• Carry all the proper equipment including a cell phone, drinking water (to prevent dehydration) and let your friends and family know where you are going and when you will return.

• Take advantage of the boating expertise that is available. The Red Cross, NC Wildlife Resources Commission, the marine commissions and other organizations offer a variety of safe boating courses. Free boat inspections are also available.

For questions, please call Duke Energy Lake Services at 1-800-443-5193.

Mayor makes stop at ribbon cutting

May 22 Mayor Lynette Rinker with Perry Weir, co-owner of the new Freedom Boat Club franchise. The Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce christened the business with a ribbon cutting Wednesday morning.

Café Elie hosts Main Street Art Exhibit

May 23 The Main Street Art Exhibit will be this Friday and Saturday at Café Elie, 20700 N. Main St. in Cornelius. Works by seasoned and emerging artists will be on display at the café and art studio in the Old Chair Factory just north of downtown Cornelius.

The reception runs from 5-8 pm on Friday and from 3-8 pm on Saturday.

Owner and artist Elie Bou Zeidan said artists showing their work include Donna Johnson, Lynn Manis, Anna Olivier, Pattie Lagouna and Carol Knight.

St. Jude Charlotte Golf Classic comes to Cornelius

May 21 INT Technologies, an IT staffing company, was the sponsor of hole #7 during the St. Jude Charlotte Golf Classic, supported by Wells Fargo Wholesale Services Group, held at The Peninsula Club to benefit St. Judes Children's Research Hospital. INT Technologies hired Mac's Speed Shop to provide food and refreshments to golfers as they played through. Already, the one-day event has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the charity.