The City of Concord joins the rest of the community in mourning the
passing of former Mayor George Liles.

Dr. Liles was the Mayor of Concord from 1993 to 2001. He championed
many major initiatives that contributed to the economic vitality and
quality of life in Concord during his terms in office. His achievements
were many, but among the examples are the adoption of non-partisan city
elections, working to site what became Concord Mills at the present
location and laying the groundwork for the construction of the Concord
Convention Center by being an early advocate of the need for such a
facility. Due to his accomplishments, the Concord City Council
recommended to the North Carolina Department of Transportation that the
Concord portion of the Westside Bypass be named the George W. Liles
Parkway. Today this is a major connector linking western Concord to
I-85 at the Exit 54 Interchange.
 

CONCORD -Sundrop Murder to be featured on America’s Most Wanted on May 23, 2009

In a continuing effort to locate the Sundrop Murder suspect, Concord Detectives contacted the Fox Television Show America's Most Wanted. The AMW production crew was in Concord on Wednesday April 22nd to produce a segment on its weekly television program. The scheduled air date for the Sun-drop case is Saturday, May 23, 2009 on FOX 9pm EST/8pm CT.  Detective Brian Hathcock will be on hand in Washington DC to work with the staff of America’s Most Wanted to take calls from the public in reference to this case.

On June 13th 2008 at approximately 10:00AM officers of the Concord Police Department responded to a call of an assault at the Sundrop Bottling Company on Branchview Drive in Concord.   When officers arrived they found two victims in the office area.  Both of the victims had apparently been shot.  Robbery was the apparent motive for the shootings.  Witnesses described seeing a B/M with dreadlocks leaving the business in the direction of the intersection of Branchview Drive and Cabarrus Avenue.  The suspect was described as wearing a white t-shirt and blue jeans.
 

Opening ceremonies for the 15th annual Food Lion Speed Street will kick off the three-day festival at noon on Thursday with speakers and special guests including Mayor Pat McCrory; Bruton Smith, chairman and chief executive officer of Speedway Motorsports Inc.; Mike Crum, chief operating officer of the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority; Dave Godfredson, director of advertising and promotions for Food Lion LLC; and Jay Howard, promoter and producer of Food Lion Speed Street.

The U.S. Census Bureau is seeking applicants to fill management positions in 10 local census offices scheduled to open this fall in North Carolina to support 2010 Census operations.  The new offices will be located in Asheboro, Boone, Concord, Durham, Gastonia, Hickory, Raleigh, Rocky Mount, Wilmington and Winston-Salem.  Applicants must live within a specified geographical area surrounding each local office.  For this and other information about the jobs, applicants can go to www.census.gov/rocha/www/2010emply.html.

Job candidates must be U.S. citizens, reside in the area where the local office will be located, clear a FBI background check, pass a written management test, complete the application process, and address the evaluation criteria listed in the job announcement.

Five early local census offices opened late last year in Asheville, Charlotte, Fayetteville, Greensboro and Greenville to build an address list for the 2010 Census.  The address list will be used to mail or deliver census questionnaires next March.
 

HARRISBURG, N.C. – May 18, 2009 – Each year, Food Lion Speed Street entertains approximately 400,000 fans with a variety of award-winning musicians and artists, appearances and autograph sessions with NASCAR’s brightest stars, and vendor displays from sponsors such as Food Lion, Coca-Cola, Miller Lite, Chevrolet and many more. This year’s event proves to be no different.

From May 21 to May 23, Food Lion Speed Street will heat up with performances by Gavin DeGraw, Clint Black, Bell Biv DeVoe, Jason Aldean, Lifehouse and Rodney Atkins. Fans also will have access to racing’s best with the likes of Richard Petty, Kurt and Kyle Busch, Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick and many more. For a list of performances and appearances, visit www.600festival.com.

Food Lion Speed Street offers engaging activities for all ages. The Food Lion Kids’ Zone presented by General Mills provides a safe and fun area for children and features household brands such as Cheerios, Honey Nut Cheerios, Chex, Lucky Charms, Hamburger Helper, Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Totino’s.
 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – May 14, 2009 – UNC Charlotte’s College of Computing and Informatics today announced a new collaborative research project between its Department of Bioinformatics and Genomics and BioCytics, Inc., out of Huntersville, N.C.

The collaboration will develop methods for the molecular analysis of circulating tumor cells. CTCs are cells that have “broken away” from a solid tumor and travel through a patient’s bloodstream. Although CTCs are a rare cell type, they can be isolated and analyzed to reveal details on the growth or regression of these tumors. This information then aids the physician in determining the best treatment course for the patient.

“This is groundbreaking research,” said Larry Mays, chairman of the Department of Bioinformatics and Genomics.  “Through this work customized medication will be developed by pharmaceutical companies for cancer patients. Ultimately this research will begin the march toward treating the patient rather than simply the disease.”
 

HARRISBURG, N.C. – May 11, 2009 –Food Lion Speed Street today announced the lineup of NASCAR’s brightest stars appearing at the 15th annual, family-friendly event May 21-23. Food Lion Speed Street will satisfy any NASCAR fan’s appetite for driver access with racing legend Richard Petty, 2004 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion Kurt Busch, Clint Bowyer, Reed Sorenson, Kyle Busch, Jamie McMurray, Talladega-winner Brad Keselowski and several special guests. 

Drivers and guests will appear at a variety of locations within Food Lion Speed Street, beginning at noon, Thursday, May 21 EDT and concluding at 11 p.m. EDT, Saturday, May 23. Admission to Food Lion Speed Street is free.

Located in the heart of Charlotte, Food Lion Speed Street delivers an unprecedented experience to an estimated 400,000 fans by means of live entertainment, access to NASCAR’s brightest stars, and vendor displays from sponsors such as Food Lion, Coca-Cola, Miller Lite, Chevrolet and many more.
 

Concord - DeSales Wagster, chief executive of the Cabarrus County Convention and Viistor's Bureau (CCCVB), is leaving to join Speeway Motorsports, Inc. (SMI).  On May 18, Wagster will take her new post of Vice President of Strategic Alliances at SMI.  She leaves her office at the CVB after taking the position about 18 months ago.

Mooresville, NC -- Amateur beer brewers from throughout the Carolinas have an opportunity to showcase their original brews at the 19th annual US Open Homebrew Competition, on May 16th.  The competition will be judged at Carolina Beer & Beverage in Mooresville.

The US Open competition will be open to 27 nationally recognized beer categories and prizes consist of ribbons for each category, and then narrowed to three Best of Show awards.  Also to be awarded is the highly coveted Gambrinus Cup; the opportunity for a winning recipe to be brewed on a commercial scale by Carolina Beer & Beverage and offered to the public as a premium beer at the 2009 Carolina Renaissance Festival, weekends October 10th – November 22nd . 
 

Greensboro - Former Account Executive for Cabarrus Business Magazine, Lauren Brower, lost her long battle with cancer on Saturday, May 2.  Brower was known for her energetic and vigorous appraoch to life and to fighting her disease.  She worked for the publication in 2002.