InChem Corporation of Rock Hill Launches New Website

InChem Corporation of Rock Hill, S.C., a leading supplier of custom
and specialty chemicals to some of the world's leading corporations,
has launched a new website at www.InchemCorp.com to promote its global
chemical business.

"Our company is best known for supplying phenoxy resins to major
manufacturers of adhesives, coatings, electronic products, composites,
abrasives and more," said Steve Crownshaw, president of InChem
Corporation. "We currently have a website at www.phenoxy.com created
several years ago to support our phenoxy resins business, particularly
from a technical perspective."

"But in recent years we have expanded significantly, producing a wide
range of custom, contract and specialty chemicals using our primary
production facility, which has 12 reactors, a wide variety of chemical
processing equipment, extensive new laboratory facilities and pilot
plant. The new InChemCorp.com website outlines these capabilities, as
well as our plant, equipment and technology base. We also have a team
of some of the leading chemists, engineers and industrial safety
experts in the country, whom we highlight on the new site."

Major chemical manufacturers, including many well-known international
firms, come to InChem to save time, money and risk, Crownshaw
explained. "It takes millions of dollars and many months or years to
set up a production facility for a new chemical product," he said. "We
offer the opportunity to make the products these customers need in the
required quantities without that capital expense, and with a faster
start-up. We allow these customers to better control their costs, as
well as decreasing the risks inherent in making a significant
investment of capital and other resources."

InChem Corporation has a 46-acre site at 800 Celriver Road just off
Interstate 77 in Rock Hill. It is part of a $150 million global
corporation with other plants in Lisbon, Portugal, and Johannesburg,
South Africa.

The new website was created for InChem by Lawrimore Communications
Inc. of Charlotte (www.Lciweb.com), a marketing and web design firm.

MECKLENBURG COUNTY ANNOUNCES CLOSINGS FOR MEMORIAL DAY, MAY 31, 2010

Mecklenburg County government offices and agencies will be closed on
Monday, May 31, for Memorial Day and open on a normal schedule
Tuesday, June 1. This includes all units of the Department of Social
Services, the Tax Office, Elections Office, the Register of Deeds
Office, and the Land Use and Environmental Services Department. The
Department of Social Services will also be closed on Saturday, May
29. CharMeck 311 is available for assistance 24 hours a day, and
seven days a week.

Mecklenburg County Substance Abuse Center (Detox) is open 24 hours a
day, seven days a week.

The Department of Social Services Care Line (704-336-CARE or
704-336-2273) operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week to receive
reports of suspected abuse or neglect of children and elderly or
disabled adults.

The Health Department will be closed on Memorial Day, May 31.

The Main Library and all library branches will be closed on Memorial
Day, May 31.

Solid Waste's administrative offices and all facilities, except
Compost Central, will be closed on Memorial Day, May 31. Compost
Central will operate from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Park and Recreation administrative offices will be closed Monday, May
31. County parks, recreation centers, and nature preserves/centers
will operate regular hours. Aquatic facilities will operate as follows:
· Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center and Marion Diehl Pool: 8
a.m. – 5 p.m.
· Ray's Splash Planet: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
· Outdoor pools will open on May 29 (11 a.m. – 5 p.m.), May 30
(1 p.m. – 5 p.m.), May 31 (12 Noon. – 6 p.m.). Swim all day for a
dollar! Pools are generally not open weekdays until school closes.

Lake Norman Wine and Food Festival will Include a Wide Variety of Local Restaurants

Lake Norman Wine and Food Festival's Acting Executive Director, V. Tom
Gardner, shared a preview of the local favors attendees will have a
chance to savor at the upcoming festival. In addition to the dozen
confirmed wineries, six restaurants also plan to participate in the
event, June 5-6, 2010, at Kenton Place in Cornelius, NC.

Up to three signature dishes will be provided by each of the
restaurants, allowing attendees to try several small servings with
event tickets. Participating restaurants currently include: Brooklyn
South Neighborhood Pizzeria, The Creole House on Main Street,
Dressler's Restaurant, Kernel T's Korn Krib, Mayo's Ristorante and
Sangam Indian Cuisine.

"We are fortunate to have such a diverse group of participating
restaurants. With American, Creole, Indian and Italian inspired menu
items, there is a little something for everyone. It is a great
opportunity for residents to try a variety of restaurants that they
may not yet have had a chance to visit," stated Gardner.

In addition to restaurants, the Lake Norman Wine and Food Festival
will feature area wineries and vendors. The event will include a
number of distinct areas including: the Fogle Insurance Group Wine
Tent, wine tastings from local wineries; the Restaurant Galley, small
dishes from local restaurants; as well as a Merchants area, regional
vendors and boutique offerings.

The Lake Norman Wine and Food Festival was founded to benefit local
charities in need and has filed for its 501(c)(3) nonprofit status.
The festival will be donating proceeds to Angels and Sparrows, Hope
House and the Mooresville Soup Kitchen.

Prospective attendees, as well as vendors, restaurants, and sponsors
can get up-to-the-minute information by
visitingwww.lakenormanwineandfoodfestival.org.

Wingate University students give cast-offs to local UW agencies

Wingate University recently held a two-day community give-away event
called Don't Dump, Donate to assist local human services
organizations and support the University's recycling efforts.

Before students left campus at the end of the school year, they
donated their unwanted items from their campus residence halls instead
of throwing them in the dumpsters. Some 214 students volunteered
438 hours of community service collecting items such as furniture,
clothing, shoes, books, food and appliances.

The event benefitted 50 clients from 13 local agencies who came to
campus May 5 to select free items. Students collected voluntary
donations for electronics which raised $259 for a student-led service
organization on campus called UCAN.
"Several agencies also selected items for their clients who were
unable to attend the event," said Caroline Twiggs, director of
service at Wingate University.

After opening the doors the following day to the University community,
remaining items were donated to Turning Point and Operation Outreach
in Monroe. Don't Dump Donate is one of several service projects that
has qualified Wingate University to receive the President's Higher
Education Community Service Honor Roll for the second consecutive
year.

Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a private four-year
co-educational institution of 2,159 students offering active learning
opportunities through personalized instruction, world travel, career
discovery and community service.

Wingate offers 34 undergraduate majors in arts and sciences, business,
communication, education, fine arts, music and sport sciences. It also
offers graduate degrees in business, accounting, education, physician
assistant studies and sport administration. In addition, the school
awards the Doctor of Pharmacy and the Doctor of Education degrees.

Bulldog student-athletes compete in 19 NCAA Division II sports.
Wingate University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols
Athletic Excellence Award for the past four years.
www.wingate.edu

Charlotte's E.R. Plumbing Services Launches New Website and 24-Hour Service

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - E.R. Plumbing Services of Charlotte has launched a
new website at http://www.erplumbingservices.com to provide more
helpful information to existing and new customers about its broad
range of services.
"We're proud of our growing business, serving commercial and
residential customers in both North and South Carolina since 1997,"
said Dave Parker, president. "As a further demonstration of our
commitment to outstanding service, we now offer to meet customers at
their home or business any time of the day or evening at no additional
charge. This is a huge convenience as we work around customers'
schedules instead of expecting them to work around ours."
E. R. Plumbing Services is one of the highest-rated Charlotte plumbing
companies on Angie's List and other local contractor rating services.
It is also a leader in installing tankless water heaters, which save
energy, and qualify for a Federal tax credit up to $1,500 due to their
energy-saving features.
E. R. Plumbing Services provides installation, repairs and service for:
· Regular and tankless water heaters
· Sewer and drain lines
· Sinks, faucets, and toilets
· Tubs and showers
· Waterlines
· Appliances
· Drain cleaning
· Gas piping
· Leak detection
Some of the company's service features include:
· Never closes, open round the clock
· 60-minute E. R. (emergency response) or less guaranteed
· 100% written guarantees
· Preventative maintenance programs and discounts
· A variety of payment and financing options
· Open billing accounts for commercial clients

To learn more visit http://www.erplumbingservices.com or call (704)
846-5371.

Apartment Owners and Dwellers Can Pull the Plug on Energy Costs

The City of Charlotte is accepting applications for the Multi-Family
Energy Efficiency Retrofit Grant, designed to reduce energy use and
costs in existing apartment complexes. The program is open to owners
of apartment complexes within the City's Business Revitalization
Geography, including its five priority corridors; Wilkinson/Freedom,
Rozzelles Ferry, Beatties Ford, North Tryon, and Eastland area. Under
the grant, energy efficiency retrofits and renovations can include:

· new lighting
· HVAC replacement
· weatherization of units
· retrofits to accommodate a multi-family recycling program
· installation of Energy Star appliances
· energy efficient lighting and thermostats
· low-flow showerheads
· tank less hot water heaters and solar/thermal hot water heaters
· bicycle racks and bicycle storage
The City will reimburse a percentage of the cost of eligible
retrofits. The total grant funding is $600,000; however no individual
grant award will exceed $200,000. Applications will be accepted until
October 31, or until all funds are committed, whichever comes first.
Applications for the first round of projects are due by June 30.
Projects must start within 90 days of the award date.

Applicants seeking to do the most thorough energy-efficiency upgrades
will be given priority over projects with a single-faceted approach.
Those projects which affect the highest percentage of residents will
also receive stronger consideration. For detailed information on the
grant and the application process, visit http://nbs.charlottenc.gov or
call 704-336-3862.

Funded by a grant from the US Department of Energy, the Multi-Family
Energy Efficiency Retrofit grant is one of 17 City of Charlotte
projects to receive funding through the Energy Efficiency and
Conservation Block Grant Program, part of the American Resource and
Recovery Act. To learn more about Charlotte's energy strategy, visit
the city's economic recovery web site at www.charmeck.org.

Rick Hendrick Receives Honorary Doctorate from Wingate University

Wingate University awarded an Honorary Doctorate degree to Rick
Hendrick during the University's 114th Commencement on May 8.
Hendrick owns several NASCAR stock car teams as well as Hendrick
Automotive Group.

Wingate University recognized Hendrick for his dedication to the Haiti
relief efforts. For one month, he flew his plane daily from North
Carolina to Haiti and back to deliver food, water, medical supplies
and medical personnel. On return flights the flight team brought
orphaned children to safety and care in the United States.

Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a private four-year institution
of 2,159 students offering active learning opportunities through
personalized instruction, world travel, career discovery and community
service.

Wingate offers 34 undergraduate majors in arts and sciences, business,
communication, education, fine arts, music, and sport sciences. It
also offers graduate degrees in accounting, business, education,
physician assistant studies and sport administration. In addition, the
school awards the Doctor of Pharmacy and the Doctor of Education
degrees.

Bulldog student-athletes compete in 19 NCAA Division II sports.
Wingate University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols
Athletic Excellence Award for the past four years.
www.wingate.edu

Girls on the Run, based in Charlotte, offers tips for young girls for the summer

Girls on the Run, a non-profit based in Charlotte, and its founder
Molly Barker are on a mission to inspire 3rd to 8th grade girls to,
"Celebrate their bodies, Honor their Voices; Embrace their Gifts and
Activate their Power."
As a mother to a pre-adolescent girl, Molly understands the importance
and need for conversations around puberty and growing up, especially
as girls cross the bridge from little girl to woman-hood.
She has the following tips on how girls can stay healthy, motivated
and be fearless as they celebrate their Amazing Arms, amazing legs and
amazing spirits with total confidence during the Summer:
· Wearing a good sports bra, athletic shoes that fit fast-
growing feet and wearing a good antiperspirant/deodorant like Secret
Scent Expressions—for strong wetness and odor protection really do the
job to help girls stay focused on staying active.
· The key to not just staying active, but BEING active is having
fun with it! If running isn't your thing, do something that is.
Zumba is fast becoming one of the most inspiring and fun activities
you can do to have fun, keep moving and get your groove on! The best
places to get out and move? Freedom Park offers a fabulous side-walk-
trail around the well-known "duck" lake.
· Figure out whether you enjoy exercising alone or with people.
Some exercisers/runners prefer the company of friends. Meeting a
friend at the park for a morning run makes you more accountable. If
she is going to be waiting for you at 8;00 a.m., you feel a greater
sense of needing to "show up"!
· It's downright HOT in Charlotte in the summer. So keeping
cool, hydrated and comfortable is key to having fun while being
active. Running, walking and hanging out in the outdoors is something
you might consider doing first thing in the morning. Or hit the well-
shaded trails out at McDowell Park or the Davidson College Cross
Country Course.
To learn more check Girls on the Run, check out at
www.girlsontherun.org!

Pancake breakfast to help transplant patient

Kings Mountain native Terri Mullis deBruin needs a lifesaving lung
transplant, and volunteers are planning a pancake breakfast to help
with the expenses.

In 2004, deBruin first noticed troubling symptoms, such as redness and
swelling in her hands. She saw a rheumatologist and was later
diagnosed with systemic scleroderma, an autoimmune disease causing her
immune system to attack her body, especially her lungs. Doctors say a
lung transplant is her only hope.

A lung transplant costs approximately $450,000. Even with health
insurance, deBruin faces significant medical expenses. For the rest of
her life, she will need follow-up care and daily anti-rejection
medications. The cost of post-transplant medications can range from
$2,000 to $5,000 per month, and they are as critical to her survival
as the transplant itself.

Once she receives her transplant, she must temporarily relocate more
than 200 miles from her home to be closer to the transplant center in
Pittsburgh, adding to her financial strain.

To overcome these financial challenges, deBruin turned to the National
Foundation for Transplants (NFT) for assistance. NFT is a nonprofit
organization that helps transplant patients raise funds to pay for
transplant-related expenses.

Friends and family are planning a pancake breakfast, Saturday, May 22
from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. at David Baptist Church, 2300 David Baptist
Church Rd. Admission is a suggested donation of $6.
For more information, please call 704-300-9989.

To make a donation in honor of deBruin, please mail a tax-deductible
gift to the NFT Delaware Lung Fund, 5350 Poplar Ave., Suite 430,
Memphis, TN 38119. Please be sure to write "in honor of Terri deBruin"
in the memo line. Secure donations also can be made online at www.transplants.org
. Donors should click on "Patients We Help" to locate deBruin.

NFT is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization based in Memphis, Tenn. that
has been helping transplant patients overcome financial obstacles
since 1983. NFT provides fundraising expertise and advocacy to
transplant patients by organizing fundraising campaigns in the
patients' own communities. In the past 27 years, NFT has helped
generate more than $56 million to assist patients with their expenses.

NFT currently assists more than 1,000 transplant candidates and
recipients nationwide. For more information about NFT, please call
800-489-3863 or visit www.transplants.org.

Students by day, producers by night

An after-school program at Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle is grooming
100 students for careers in video production. The students
participate in Citizen Schools, a national after-school program that
organizes apprenticeships for low-income students.

Since January, students have been working with volunteers from Bank of
America, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Latta
Plantation to learn about finance, dance, forensics, video game design
and event planning.

For their final project, each student wrote and produced a segment for
a 40-minute video related to the topics they learned about during the
10-week session. The segments include a public service announcement
on disaster relief and lessons on how to purify water, camping safety
tips and learning African dance.

The students will reveal their final video project during a showcase
Thursday, May 13, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Spirit Square, 130 N.
Tryon St.

"Our students are learning skills they can use throughout life," said
Tusday Dudley, Citizen Schools' campus director. "We want the
community to see how these students are achieving."

The apprenticeships, which are led by community volunteers, expose
students to careers and teach them about teamwork, technology,
leadership, communication skills and data analysis. The program also
offers intensive academic support.
Citizen Schools has sites in Massachusetts, California, New Jersey,
Texas, New York, New Mexico and North Carolina. In CMS, the program
is offered at Eastway and Martin Luther King, Jr. middle schools. For
more information, visitwww.citizenschools.org.