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By Jessica Groover
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Elaine Williams of Harrisburg met Mayor Tim Hagler for the first time on Wednesday when he came to her house and delivered two meals.

“I’ve never laid eyes on him,” Williams said. “Right here (at home) is where I stay.” 

Williams is one of the 350 residents of Cabarrus County who receive food and beverages from Meals on Wheels. She was one of the many clients who met her mayor when he participated in Mayors and Others For Meals Day.

“It’s a national program that the national Meals on Wheels does,” said Kimberly Strong, executive director for Cabarrus Meals on Wheels. “Mayors across the nation participate. There are over 1,000 mayors and other council members delivering today.” 

And in Cabarrus County, mayors Hagler, Scott Padgett, John Crump and Troy Barnhardt and County Commissioner Jay White participated, each riding along with one of the almost 700 volunteers for the organization. Kannapolis Mayor Bob Misenheimer usually participates but was out of town.

The event began in 2006 as a way to raise awareness of senior hunger and promote community action. 

Before the mayors rode with the volunteers on Wednesday, they talked about how surprised many of the people who received the meals from them in the past were when they saw their mayor at the door.

“When I do this, I get to see the people I know, and they are surprised, but the credit goes to the people that do this on a regular basis,” said Padgett, mayor of Concord.

Padgett also saw the other perspective when he visited his aunt and uncle in South Carolina who are homebound and receive food from Meals on Wheels.

“They were excited to see me, but when the Meals on Wheels people came, that was the focus,” Padgett said. “That Meals on Wheels person is a regular part of their life, and I will never forget that simple meal and how much it meant.”

Meals on Wheels has noticed an increase in the amount of people it serves. Paula McManimen, a volunteer with the organization for four years, delivered food and beverages with Hagler to the 11 stops and 15 people on her route. 

“This route has grown quite a bit in the past eight months,” McManimen said. “At first, it was about seven (stops).”

McManimen said she thought the rising need was due to the economy and the aging population. Most of the clients she and Hagler delivered to were elderly residents.

She and Hagler said it was important to remember homebound residents and help in any way possible.

“There’s so many different ministries, and this is one of the great ones,” Hagler said. “It’s sad to know if you weren’t getting in the car and hand delivering (a meal) to them, they may not eat that day. You could impact a life today.”

In his past few years of participating in the Mayors and Others for Meals Day, Hagler was surprised at how inviting the clients were to those who delivered meals.

As he went to the 11 stops on Wednesday, he spoke with the residents about the weather, their health, and he was even recognized as a former Central Cabarrus High School football player.

“That was unbelievable,” Hagler said about being recognized. “Those are the kinds of surprises you like.”

At the last house, he received another surprise when he and McManimen delivered a meal to Jean Hamm of Harrisburg, who met him two years ago and had her picture taken with him. Hamm had saved the published photograph and showed it to him.

“This is the only way I see the mayor,” Hamm said. “I thank (Hagler and McManimen) for coming. Meals on Wheels has been a lifesaver for me.”

• Contact reporter Jessica Groover: 704-789-9152.

Funeral director by day, comedian by night

By Robin L. Gardner
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Stop me if I’ve told you this before. A stand-up comedian and a funeral director go into a bar… No wait they’re both the same person. Oh, and that person is William “Whit” Whitley Jr. of Whitley’s Funeral Home in Kannapolis.

No it isn’t really a joke. Whitley, who, at 53 years old, has found a way to release some of the tension that goes with the seriousness of his day job as funeral director and vice president of a third-generation, family-run funeral home. 

Growing up, Whitley had a love for entertainment, and he would make Super 8 movies with his friends. 

“I was always a happy-go-lucky guy. Kind of adventurous,” Whitley said.

In college, such fancy took a back seat to a more serious future. Whitley wanted to be a dentist, but eventually he graduated from mortuary school in 1979, and joined the family trade. 

In 1980, he was asked to talk to a nursing home about the funeral business. 

“I didn’t feel right going and talking about that at a family event,” Whitley said. 

He called and told them he would be more comfortable talking about something else and answering questions about the funeral business if they had any, but they insisted. 

Whitley found an amusing story in a “Reader’s Digest” about how the moon affects your mood. 

“The beauty of the whole event was the faces, Whitely said. “If you could be in my body and see the disappointment of having to hear someone talk about the funeral business, then hearing me talk a bit and seeing their faces light up.”

He was severely stricken by the entertainment bug, and created a series of revues that he would put on at churches and schools. There was a 1920s style revue, with singing and dancing, and he also played a cowboy called “Black Bart” in what he described as a one-man show. 

“I had a monologue about cowboys, and a gun that shot blanks that I would use. That was before schools kept me from coming in with it. It was great. 
Then I would play ‘Happy Trails’ on a guitar,” Whitley said as he described the revue.

In 2003, he was in “Animal Crackers,” the first of three productions he was involved in for the Piedmont Players through 2006. 

Stand-up came along in 2007. Whitley took a class at the Comedy Zone in Charlotte. They offer a six-week course to learn stage presence, timing, delivery and writing. The classes are open to anyone. It helped Whitley develop his routines, which he types out and keeps folded neatly in a book.

“He is a character. He’s very different. Like a one-man Saturday Night Live,” Comedy Zone head booker Joel Pace said. “He definitely has a future if he sticks to it. The Comedy Zone has 50 locations nationally. It depends on the person just how quickly they move up.”

It’s important to Whitley to respect his family business, and never uses it in his stand-up.

“I won’t go there. It’s disrespectful,” Whitley said.

“I don’t really follow the rules of stand-up. I don’t do current events or self-deprecating humor,” Whitley adds, “I like character sketches, humorous routines, monologues and props.”

Besides stand-up, Whitley worked on a musical short that won the International Indie Award for Best Musical Short. It was called “The Mesmerizing Affair” about a girl who wishes to be a famous harpist and vocalist and who meets the strange and mysterious Svengali who promises her fame. Patty Lake plays Tribly, the young girl, and Whitley plays Svengali. 

Whitley’s father, William L. Whitley Sr., who is an 85-year-old WWII vet, comes from a different time.

“He doesn’t really comment on what I’m doing,” said Whitley. 

Whitley’s wife, Karen, who is a court coordinator in the Superior Court, is very supportive, and so are their four daughters, who range from 22 to 30 years old, and all enjoy watching their father perform. The other funeral directors in town may not be aware of what Whitley practices on his off time.

“I didn’t know he did it. It’s a little unusual, but as long as it’s clean comedy it’s great,” Steve Clark, of Clark Funeral Home, Kannapolis, said.

He was a bit surprised at what his colleague was doing, since he hunts and fishes in his spare time. When he can find spare time.

“Everyone needs a release. Comedy is a good way to do it.  Death and dying seven days a week, you need something to help you get away from it,” Clark said.

“I’m a novelty nutty buddy. I get a rush when I do it. It is a thrill.” Whitley said.

Whit Whitley will be appearing at Club Alive in NoDa, on Thursday, March 26. He will perform his routine in the David L’s Fresh Faces Comedy Showcase, at 2909 N. Davidson St., Charlotte. Seating will begin at 7:45 p.m. with the show starting at 8:15 p.m. For more information call 704-930-2200.

• Contact reporter Robin L. Gardner: 704-789-9140.

By Jessica Groover
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Four-year-old Lexi Purser, from Indian Trail, did not realize that her first pony ride on Sunday would go toward finding a cure for juvenile diabetes. But the $5 her parents paid for the ride will do just that.

The Purser family and others went to Hollow Oak Farm for pony rides hosted by the farm’s Kickin’ Tails 4-H Club. 

The club participates in several community service events a year, and when 12-year-old Midland resident Lauren Buchanan joined in the fall, the club added another cause.

Combining two of Buchanan’s interests for the event fit.

“We wanted to support the cause, and Lauren loves horses,” said Laura Harper, owner of Hollow Oak Farm. “We had the idea to host some pony rides and send the proceeds to juvenile diabetes.”

Lauren was 5 years old when she was diagnosed with juvenile, or type I, diabetes. Since then, she has participated in walks to benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Lauren and her family and friends participate in a variety of fundraisers to donate money to the foundation on behalf of her team, Lauren’s Gallopers for a Cure. Her team raised $7,500 last year.

The Buchanan family will continue to raise money for the cure.

The team will participate in an April 18 walk at Carowinds and an April 25 walk at Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium. Leading up to those walks, Lauren’s mother, Angie, and Peak Fitness in Harrisburg will host an open house on March 30 from 4:30 to 7 p.m.

As for Hollow Oak Farm and its 4-H Club chapter, Harper said Sunday’s pony rides may become an annual event.

“It’s good to see people enjoy the horses and help people like Lauren,” Harper said.

To donate to Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation on behalf of Lauren’s team, visit http://www.jdrf.org or call Angie Buchanan at 704-888-3507.

• Contact reporter Jessica Groover: 704-789-9152.

Editor’s note:For his senior project, required for graduation, Hickory Ridge High School senior Albert Chang is studying photojournalism and working with Harrisburg Horizons editor Jonathan E. Coleman to improve his skills as a photographer and learn about the history of photography. Throughout the remainder of the year, some of his photos, and self-reflections about his project will be published and shared with our readers. Below is his first self-reflection.
By Albert Chang
Special to Harrisburg Horizons
What are your initial thoughts about the Graduation Project?
I find this project to be somewhat irritating at first, which leads me to being very ambivalent towards this project. I personally find it to be a complete distraction from real English class as a whole and this leads me to be distracted from more worthwhile pursuits. The work isn’t necessarily hard or demanding, but I don’t like how the due dates are so squished among each other. I guess that being busy with many pursuits and coupling that with this project takes away from my precious free time, but that is the price I pay to become someone big in life. I feel that this project is only there for me to just keep busy and prevent senioritis.

What goals and objectives do you hope to achieve with your specific research topic and product?
I want to be able to pursue and develop the artistic and linguistic parts of myself through this project and research. I find that this project will let me pursue something of interest, and also possibly discover another passion I want to explore as a whole and become wholeheartedly into it. From these discoveries of my passion and development of my artistic and linguistic parts, I can possibly develop lifelong hobbies and thoroughly enrich myself as an individual.

Now that you have started the research process, describe an interesting fact or idea that you have discovered about your topic.
Since I started researching this process of photojournalism, I learned that photojournalism is extremely involved. When one takes a picture, one often encounters several questions that stem from the law and ethics. What rights do I have to represent this subject of my photograph? How will I portray this subject in my story? Will I stay with the truth? A perfect example of how this can possibly come into play was the photographs of the explosion of the Maine before the Spanish-American War. We often credit William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer for starting “yellow journalism”, which incited the start of that very war. That “yellow journalism” stated the Spanish attacked us, but it distorted the truth in that we did not know what truly caused the Maine to explode.

Evaluate the work you have completed to this point and discuss the challenges you are facing.
I am very pleased with the progress I have made so far. I have finished the research process for the required research paper. I shall be starting that very soon. I have already begun completing the required product. This requires 15 hours worth of work, and for my product, I will be covering several events for the Harrisburg Horizons and possibly, the Independent Tribune. I will collect the papers that feature my pictures to present to the committee along with a videotape of me in action. The challenges I have to face are simply managing how I use my time, finding events to cover, and bringing the equipment of camera and camcorder around. Don’t forget to remember my press badge on top of that! 

By Jessica Groover
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It was confidence, repetition and a close bond that cheerleaders from the Victory! Cheerleading all-star senior team credit for their recent win at the 2008-09 Cheersport National Championship in Atlanta.

The team of 20 girls, ages 14 to 18, competed against eight teams in the senior small, Level 4 Division II. There were 842 teams at the entire championship.

The team was judged on tumbling, stunts, dance, presentation and other factors during its routine, which was two minutes and 32 seconds long. 

Lauren Peetz, the co-owner and director of Victory!, choreographed the routine, and Jazmin Skipper and John Tomlinson are the coaches.

After the first round of the championship Feb. 14, team members found out they were in first place.

“It was definitely a lot of pressure knowing we had to keep up that (placement) and not mess up the second day,” said cheerleader Kelly Tinsley, 17.

The next day, the team finished and won by 18.5 points.

“It was amazing because we really wanted it, and we worked hard for it,” said cheerleader Katherine Dry, 18.

For Tinsley and Dry, the win was especially important because they, along with six other team members, are seniors in high school, and it was their last time participating on this team in the competition. 

It was also memorable for Victory! after nine years of competing in the championship and coming in seventh place last year.

“To say it is a big deal is an understatement,” said Jason Peetz, co-owner and director of Victory! “It’s something we’ve waited for for nine years.”

• Contact reporter Jessica Groover: 704-789-9152.

By Jessica Groover
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The Cabarrus County Board of Education received a unique visitor at last week’s meeting. 

Buster, the robotic school bus, greeted board members and reviewed safety tips as a part of “Love the Bus” week, a national campaign that began Feb. 9.

Throughout the week, Buster visited R. Brown McAllister, Harrisburg, Pitts School Road and Wolf Meadow elementary schools, as well as Long Pre-School.

Buster is a miniature version of a school bus with a stop sign arm, yellow lights and big eyes that move and blink when he speaks. He has a remote control attached to him and speaks through an operator with a microphone.

Jim Helf, assistant principal at Wolf Meadow Elementary School, arranged for Buster to visit kindergarten and first-grade classes. 

“The kids seemed to be mesmerized,” Helf said.

Helf said having Buster review tips, such as where to stand when children are waiting for the bus and how to sit on the bus, are important to learn early.

“When we start teaching them at young ages, we hope it continues,” Helf said. “Transportation is the one area, when you’re talking about education, that can be potentially fatal.”

At Wolf Meadow Elementary, the teachers reviewed the safety tips in the classrooms after the presentation. The school also honored its bus drivers with certificates as part of “Love the Bus” week.

Some school board members recognized Buster last week from past safety events. That’s because Cabarrus County Transportation had borrowed another robotic bus from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction office in Raleigh.

Cabarrus County now has its own robotic school bus, thanks to an $8,000 grant NCDPI received from the Governor’s Highway Safety Program.

George Douglas, transportation director for Cabarrus County Schools, introduced Buster to school board members and thanked Derek Graham, transportation chief at NCDPI for helping the county receive Buster. 

Graham told the board why Buster is so effective with young students. “When it comes to talking to young children about school safety, there’s something special about getting down on their level,” he said. 

Board member Andrea Palo agreed.

“I saw (Buster) last year, and you could hear a pin drop when the kids were listening to him,” Palo said.

• Contact reporter Jessica Groover: 704-789-9152.