The Peninsula News

CORNELIUS POLICE SEARCH FOR SUSPECT IN APARTMENT SHOOTING

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 19:47:14 -0500

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2:30 PM February 16, 2012

Det. Lt. Jennifer Thompson
Phone: (704) 892-1363

On Thursday, February 16, 2012 at approximately 2:49am Cornelius Police were dispatched to the Cornelius Village Apartments at 19317 Meridian Street in reference to multiple gun shots. Witnesses saw a red, compact car leaving the scene.

Upon investigation, Detectives discovered four occupied apartments were struck by stray bullets but no one was injured. Officers have increased patrol in the area of the Cornelius Village Apartments.

Cornelius Police are asking anyone with information to contact the North Meck Crime Stoppers at 704-896-7867. You can remain anonymous.

Slow Down on Harbor Light Blvd!

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 21:04:22 -0500

Despite the posted 25 MPH speed limit on Harbor Light Blvd, many residential and commercial vehicles have been clocked doing upwards of 65 MPH on this street. Harbor Light, like may in the Peninsula, is heavily populated with children. In fact, one of our only playgrounds is a few feet off this road.

As a result of numerous complaints, Jim Duke has asked Bench Hoyle, the Cornelius Police Chief, to step up enforcement of speeders in this area. Chief Boyle responded:

“Absolutely. I’ll get that on our the traffic unit list. I would definitely encourage to you tell residents we are going to be doing enforcement there. The goal of course is to slow people down, not cost people money, so if we can get the word out that’s great. We will still have the commercial traffic to focus on if everybody else slows down.”

So SLOW DOWN everybody, children are playing. The Cornelius PD will be patrolling and monitoring Harbor Light Blvd due to a resident complaint about speeding.

Poll: New Mailboxes. Love em or Hate em?

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 08:06:05 -0500

We have received a bunch of feedback with *strong* feelings regarding the new mailbox colors. Given the prominence and importance of keeping not only a consistent look and feel in the neighborhood but also making the majority of residents happy with how things look, we thought this might be a good time for a poll. Tell us what you think…

What's going on with the trees!?

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:56:09 -0500

Many of you have noticed large gapping holes on Jetton Road right past Meta where trees used to live. Have no fear, they will be back. According to Jim Duke, our PPOA President:

“The trees are well past their normal life span and some are not healthy. The cost to maintain them is significant and our consultant recommends removal and replacement. “

For now, just enjoy the view of the golf course :)

Neighborhood Foxes

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:06:06 -0500

A neighbor, Gail Golightly, writes:

“My husband and I understand that animal control and the club are aware of the presence of a couple of fox families living around the Peninsula. We also gather that people have been feeding the foxes and that the foxes appear friendly and are not fearful of people. Because of the wildlife laws and that the foxes have not harmed anyone (nor are they currently rabid) the folks at animal control say they cannot trap and relocate them. We are concerned that people feeding the foxes are creating a potentially dangerous situation for residents’ children and/or pets not to mention it is never a great idea for wildlife to lose their natural fear or humans. We know that the club’s newsletter has noted the presence of the foxes, but were hoping that you might also try to alert people of the potential hazard of feeding and befriending these wild animals rather than letting them retain their natural wariness of humans and ability to fend for themselves. Thank you.”

Thoughts about the wolf situation?

Please Help The Scouts!

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:55:22 -0500

This week Scouts from Cub Scout Pack 72 and Boy Scout Troop 72 (Both from Bethel Presbyterian Church) will be placing bags in the newspaper slots for residents to fill up with non perishable foods. If residents will be so kind as to fill the bags and place them out by their mailboxes, the scouts will pick them up on Saturday morning Feb 4^th starting at 9:00 AM, so please have them out by 9:00 AM.

Traditionally the Scouts have placed bags out to roughly 1,000 homes in Cornelius but due to the increase need at the Ada Jenkins Center and Loaves and Fishes, the scouts will be placing over 4,000 bags through a number of neighborhoods in Cornelius.

Banks Dupree, a Boy Scout from here in The Peninsula, is heading up the drive. We do hope you will support the Scouts in their efforts to help those in need.

As a homeowner with an open area directly across from my home, I would emphatically oppose a "waterpark" across the street from my home. I may be jumping to conclusions, but had one neighbor to inform me that it was "planned" for this open spot on Flying Jib Road. I have three kids and believe that is nice to go to Birkdale for the fountain fun, but do not want it across from my house nor would I expect any of the homeowners want to have to deal with all the issues that is would bring.

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:25:29 -0500

Scott-

Thank you for the feedback and I completely understand. From what I understand the “six acre park” at the end of Jetton would be the most likely spot for this amenity, which is quiet and shielded from any homes. I believe a community garden and greenhouse with walking trails is also on the table for consideration.

Thoughts?

Proposed Community Splashpad!

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 08:06:05 -0500

One of our neighbors, who also sits on the PPOA Board, Elise Redmond, is in the early phases of exploring the development of a community splashpad, similar to the amazing one at Birkdale. Our community DESPERATELY needs new and exciting amenities such as this to help us compete with newer communities popping up right outside our door.

As part of the board, she is in the early phases of gathering feedback. This is just one of many ideas proposed and she welcomes your thoughts and feedback (as do we!). Please click on this link to let us know what you think.

The PPOA Board Election - Cast Your Vote!

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 14:52:35 -0500

By now, you all should have received the ballots from Hawthorn for the PPOA Board elections. The candidates running are:

Jim Duke - current PPOA President
Joshua Lippiner - editor ThePeninsulaNews.com and volunteer for GSF
Troy Stafford - attorney and BOD Ronald McDonald House
Richard Thrush - former consultant consumer soft goods
Karen Tovar - commercial Realtor and volunteer PARC Commissioner

A more complete bio is available in the paperwork. We STRONGLY encourage everyone to read the material, this site, and anything else provided and vote soon, vote early!

(disclaimer - Joshua Lippiner, who runs this site, is one of the candidates running)

Boat Slips Available

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:01:12 -0500

The Peninsula Island Boat Slip Association has 48 slips located in a marina off John Connor Road. The 10 X 24 slips are individually owned, have water and electrical outlets and are managed through the owners association. Only Peninsula property owners are eligible to own or rent slips. Anyone interested in either purchasing or renting a slip should contact Morten Nygaard at piba.inquiries@gmail.com or send written inquires to Peninsula Island Boat Slip Association, PO Box 2002, Cornelius, NC 28031.

Spotlight - Just Baked Cupcake and Coffee Shop

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 21:10:00 -0500

It’s often amazing how many times we either introduce our neighbors to places just around the corner or are introduced to these places by others. One of these places, Just Baked Cupcake and Coffee Shop, deserves mention. Just Baked recently moved from a small location within the Cornelius Art Project to a large, comfortable “house” right on South Main Street in Cornelius. You literally head down Catawba towards Davidson till you hit the end, turn right and Just Baked is right there.

The wonderful thing about Just Baked is that it’s what is called a “third place.” Like Starbucks, Just Baked is a comfortable spot with warm chairs and tables to simply go and relax, talk or work. The cupcakes are great and the coffee and and teas are even better. If you are tired of the crowds at Starbucks or just looking for a nice new spot to check out, go stop in and say hi to Chris and Missy Wallace, who own the place. Tell them we sent you.

Just Baked Cupcakes & Coffee House

19901 South Main St

Cornelius NC 28031

Phone: 704.892.3350

Resident Question - Does this replace emergency emails?

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:19:21 -0500

One of our neighbors wrote in asking:

“Are you saying there won’t be any notification in an emergency other than on website? That won’t work. An email needs to be sent in the case of an emergency.”

The answer is simply no. There are two reasons for this:

ThePeninsulaNews.com is NOT run by the PPOA board. It’s run by a group of Peninsula residents who wanted to give back. As such, we don’t represent the board or usurp anything they might also be doing.
We don’t have an email list :) The email some of you might have received from Jim was sent by Jim Duke as the head of the Communications Committee because he is behind what we are trying to do. We don’t have access to that.

It is possible, however, that over time this site works with the PPOA Board in a joint effort to keep everyone informed. If that happens and we do have access to your emails, rest assured that any immediate, need-to-know bulletins will be sent out by every means possible from us - web, email, twitter and carrier pigeons if they would sit still!

Hope this answers your questions. Please keep asking them!

Lake Levels Dropping

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 08:08:05 -0500

Some of you may have noticed that the lake levels have been dropping over the last ten days. About a week ago the lake was over 97% full and is not hovering around 96%, well above the 93% minimum imposed by Duke but obviously not as full as many of us would like.

According to Jim Duke, President of the PPOA, “Lake levels are controlled by a board that sets levels based on seasonal factors. Sometimes they will accelerate the withdrawal for a pending spate of rain, but not normally. They will drop it down as spring approaches in anticipation of snow melt and spring rains. I don’t think the current draw down is related to anything other that standard practice.”

Let’s hope for some rain (or snow!) soon!

Do the Cell Towers Work?

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 07:38:47 -0500

Jody Turek, who lives in Sailpoint, asks:

“Hello. Have the cell phone towers been turned on in the Peninsula? So far, myself (Verizon) and my husband (AT&T) have not had any upgrade to our service in the area where we live. We have zero to one bar in our house and most times, we have to go outside to take a phone call. Do you have any news on this?”

The answer comes from Jim Duke, our PPOA President:

“All of the cell nodes are operational. They are AT&T units. There is room on the poles f or an additional carrier.”

Sorry :( I know we have trouble with our calls on Verizon from time to time as well.

What do y’all think, should we focus on getting more towers and better reception or deal with poor reception but fewer towers? Click Ask above and let us know!

Joshua Lippiner of ThePeninsulaNews.com Running for PPOA Board

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 07:31:29 -0500

With the January 20th deadline behind us, the applications are in! One of our founding editors and contributors, Joshua Lippiner, is running for a position on the PPOA Board. Josh has lived in the Peninsula for the last five years with his wife Lisa and his two little girls, Emma (4) and Ellie (2). He currently runs Noctivity, an Internet business consultancy that helps businesses bring impossible business initiatives online. He’s currently working with Lowes on their new MyLowes initiative. Before that Josh lived in LA where he ran Lowfares.com, a large online travel marketing company and NY where he ran an online market research firm for Gartner.

If elected, Josh wants to focus on enhancing our sense of community, transparency with decisions that are made and initiatives that will enhance our life and home values.

Thank you Jim Duke of the PPOA Board

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:33:50 -0500

Most of you know Jim Duke, our PPOA President and Communications Chairman for the last number of years who has done an OUTSTANDING job for this community. Jim sent out a very nice email tonight letting everyone know about ThePeninsulaNews.com. We’ve already had some solid traffic and, more importantly, very interesting questions and feedback from our neighbors.

So thank you Jim and thank you to everyone who is already asking questions about everything from cell phone towers to mailbox colors. We will try to cover it all.

Please click on the “Ask” button at the top of the page if you have any questions, thoughts or issues you want to discuss.

How did you get this name

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 18:17:58 -0500

A little bit of luck and a lot of experience in the domain name field :) PeninsulaNews.com is taken but ThePeninsulaNews was fortunately available so I didn’t need to buy it off a “squatter.”

Do you like it?

Cornelius PD and ThePeninsulaNews.com

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:36:43 -0500

Great news! The Cornelius PD has graciously agreed to alert us via email and telephone the moment and breaking or important town news happens. We will do our best to post those alerts ASAP so all of our neighbors know what is going on.

Community Announcement: Mecklenburg County Solid Waste...

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 11:42:00 -0500

Community Announcement: Mecklenburg County Solid Waste Management Planning Meeting -Jan 27, 28th

Spotlight - Cookies 4 A Cause

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 10:01:00 -0500

It’s often amazing to learn of the incredible things the people right next door are doing. For the last few years, Elise Redmond, a Peninsula Resident, has run the foundation her and her husband created - Cookies For A Cause, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization where participants host their own cookie exchanges anywhere in the United States, put money in a cookie jar and donate the cookie jar proceeds to their favorite charitable cause.

In 2011 she threw a huge gala that brought in $25,000 for The Ronald McDonald House. This year she is focused on helping to stock Barium Springs Children’s Home and Angels & Sparrows Soup Kitchen with cookies.

Please show your support by clicking here to buy a tub of cookies today!