The Belmont Front Porch

The Belmont City Council last night approved the request from the Downtown Merchants Association to expand the “beer garden” for Friday Night Live. The new area extends from the Caravan parking lot and Airline Avenue to include all of the street and sidewalk in front of Stowe Park.

As a result, the merchants association also approved a new cup size that will be available on July 11:

Friday Night Live organizer and Belmont Man About Town(BMAT), Vince Hill, explained to council that the real purpose of Friday Night Live is to provide five $500 scholarships for South Point HS students. After all the expenses of each event, the group clears about $200. The merchants association also sells t-shirts and accepts donations as a 501(c)3 organization.

Council members engaged Mr. Hill with ideas to help make more money. Former police chief Flowers suggested using a gambling scheme commonly known as a 50/50 to help. Mr. Hill countered with a request to have the city police donate their time to reduce the $375/event cost. Ron Foulk suggested that Mr. Hill and Chief David James, “get together and work out a plan”. After it was all said and done, the beer garden gets expanded to Mill Street and the sidewalk fronting Stowe Park. The merchants also decided later to increase the cup size - as noted in the photo above.

While this is all well and good - certainly should increase the crowd size and lower the age demographic for attendance - the police will have much more to patrol. We hope the discussion in the “work things out” plan notices that once on the sidewalk, the city ordinance against alcohol in the park will be severely tested. Even though no police-related incidents have occurred through eight previous Friday Night Live events, the group is inviting something to happen.

Funny how an event planned outside of government supervision now needs/wants taxpayer money to make money - for scholarships no less. City Council is quite proud that they could help - already covering the overtime for the public works personnel who provide cleanup after the event, and providing 5 off-duty policeman ($25/hr paid to the officers).

After all the brouhaha of last summer when the project was first proposed - “state road, can’t have alcohol in the street” and “program to increase downtown awareness and traffic outside of government sponsorship”, we now have a fun product offered by merchants who aren’t seeing the (rubbing fingers together motion) the dollar for dollar return.

How sad.

It’s a great event series. We hope it doesn’t get out of hand and hope that the purposes are clearly defined. Charlie Flowers even has a line item for the newly created Belmont Tourism Authority, $3000 allocation to the downtown merchants - talk about tax and spend.

Well, graduation weekend has come and gone in the little berg of Belmont, NC.

Many ‘lil darlin’s are down at the beach - well pretty much strung out from Carolina Beach to Kiawa Island, but they are mostly there.

From student reports: The Friday afternoon picnic at Stowe Park went over well with the approximately 160 students who gathered to hug, complain about the heat, eat hotdogs and hamburgers, and participate in the slip’nslide down the hill in front of the gazebo. Several students promised to submit photos, so we waited until today to write about it… guess the photos have to be found on one of the many facebook pages of SPHS students.

The graduation was done very well this year. While the weather was VERY HOT (93 degrees at the beginning of “Pomp and Circumstance”), the packed home side of Lineberger Stadium seemed to hold up well. Only 3 or 4 reports of heat-related fainting occurred.

This year, the students were seated on the football field facing the vistors side with the podium facing toward the home section (and the seated graduating class). Large coolers of water were spaced at the end of every third row of chairs. As the students processed in, most of them got a cold bottle of water, and after they were announced they got another bottle of water. Seems to have been pretty well orchestrated.

The concession stand was open as well and - yes, you guessed it, water was for sale.

Six student speeches, welcoming from Lindsay Hawkins and Christine Ellington, representing the student council, and salutatorian speeches by Katie Dare Payseur and Phillip Rinehart. Payseur and Rinehart talked about the 4 years at South Point and the things the graduates would remember. Co-valedictorians, Amy Cordell and Andrew Pierce talked about their futures and the limitless possibilities.

Mrs. Little thanked the South Point community for her years of work as principal at the high school. The students and parents gave her a standing ovation for her leadership and guidance over the years.

Several interesting points to this graduating class: over $6.5 million of scholarship money was awarded, more than 160 students graduated ”cum laude” or better, with just over 60 with highest honors, “summa cum laude”. This was the largest  SPHS class with 304 graduates - only seven droputs, and 20 transfers out in the 4 year class of 2008.

Congratulations Class of 2008 - always remember your roots, and know that you are welcome home any time!

South Point Seniors put on their traditional Senior Show this afternoon during 4th period - and was received with much success.

Loud, rowdy, and possibly over the top student performances, parodies of teachers and administrators ruled the last official day of classes before final exams next week.

South Point seniors recognized Mrs. Collins as “educator of the year” and presented her with a plaque. They thank Mrs. Little for “putting up with the largest graduating class for the past four years”, and got down to having fun through the rest of the afternoon.

Matt Crane and Wilson Nguyen co-hosted and introduced the various acts.

Mallory McCarn did an outstanding interpretative dance, Pria Patel performed a traditional Indian dance, and Cameron Matthews/Jonathan Howland/Aaron Pegues performed a Garth Brooks song, “I’ve Got Friends in Low Places” inviting the crowd to sing along - which they did enthusiastically.

The students performed a take off on “The Next Top Model”, who knew those boys were so pretty!

Paul Stillwell reprised his Mr. South point performance of “It’s not Easy”, with his superman rendition and video.

The teacher parody of “So You Think You Can Dance”, pitted, ”the teachers”, Mrs. Pierson, Mrs. Lawing, Mrs. Mac, Mr. Cavnar, and Mr. Grelis in a dance off competition. Nathan Francis, Erica Jordan, and Aaron Pegues were the judges. The students nailed the mannerisms and words of the real teachers spot on.

The final dance performance of the show was Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”. Both entertaining and engaging with a number of dancers, again getting the choreography just perfect.

Thank you seniors for another entertaining show - we hope this tradition remains alive and well with new adminstrators in the coming years.

Thank you Mr. Grimes and Mrs. Hall for putting up with this “crowd” of seniors - they definitely keep pushing the envelope as they have for the past thirteen years.

We are all looking forward to graduation next weekend!