I’m thrilled to share that The Friday Five is back — just with a new home. Mark Plemmons’ beloved weekly mix of local news, observations and commentary will now be featured every Friday in The Cabarrus Compass.
Friday Five – it’s back
By Mark Plemmons
There is a new era of the Friday Five. As many of you know, I lost my job with The Independent Tribune. I am taking the Friday Five with me. This week, the Friday Five will appear in two places. Chris Miller’s The Cabarrus Compass and my website, RadioFreeCabarrus.com
Chris does a great job covering local news, and his stories offer real depth. The Friday Five and most of the stories I write are like Joe Friday from Dragnet: “Just the facts, ma’am.” Well, that’s not exactly true. I will rant and carry on from time to time.
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s jump into the Friday Five.
No. 1
A couple of weeks ago I mentioned hidden stoplights, and places where the shrubbery and landscaping obscured drivers’ vision. Well, the City of Kannapolis is taking care of one spot I mentioned.
The intersection of Ashdale Court and Glen Afton Boulevard (a back entrance to the Afton Ridge shopping center.) The crossover on Glen Afton is blocked while improvements are made. The crepe myrtles I complained about have been cut down. It looks pretty sad right now.
I can’t take credit for this. The week I wrote about it, Kannapolis already had plans in place to fix the situation.
No. 2
The grass is high along the road everywhere. We went to the beach on the first of August, and the grass and weeds were high all the way to North Myrtle Beach. Readers asked why, after the Friday Five, the signs were obscured.
I have reached out to NCDOT to find out why. I think I know. Rain and high temperatures make the grass grow faster than they can mow. I think that’s what they told me last summer.
My wife, Kim, and I saw a crew mowing one roadside. The fellow looked like he was struggling to keep his mower from getting stuck on the curb.
And while I’m complaining, have you noticed how bad the roadside looks on Derita Road, heading to the Scott Padgett Regional Airport? All those nice sidewalks are being overgrown by the grass. Who is supposed to maintain that area?
No. 3
Let’s balance this out a bit. Hats off to Bae’s Burgers in the District Exchange. Last Sunday evening, the McGill Baptist Youth and a few adults delivered some packages to 1CAN’s new office on the corner of Spring Street and Corban Avenue. The teenagers and company also helped 1CAN director and founder Sheryl Kluge unpack and organize the new setup.
The McGill group then walked up to District Exchange for supper. Bae’s Burgers allowed the 20-person order quickly and accurately while still serving other customers. Honestly, I doubt that many other restaurants would have handled it so well.
No. 4
Does anybody have a photo of the old Cabarrus Food Centre? The address is 74 Spring St. SW. Sheryl is looking for a photo of the old grocery store from the 1960s.
In the warehouse area, she found prices stamped on the wooden columns.
The new location for 1CAN is a big improvement over the apartment garage, which wasn’t air-conditioned.
No. 5
Here are a couple more restaurant notes. Fresh Off the Grill, on Poplar Tent Road and George Liles Parkway, has new murals installed on the walls. They aren’t painted, but they still look good.
One wall has what looks like the restaurant staff ready to serve. It’s got an AI look to it.
The other wall features a collection of Concord and Cabarrus landmarks and the Concord Police.
The restaurant once featured pennants from colleges and universities across the country, especially in the Carolinas. They took down that display when Fresh Off the Grill remodeled last year.
The old TGI Fridays at Concord Mills is gone. Workers tore down the building in the past few weeks, and work is beginning on the new Raisin’ Cain’s chicken tenders restaurant. We don’t know the opening timeframe.
No. 5A
Did you see all the Mustangs driving around last week? It was Mustang Week, the first held somewhere other than Myrtle Beach. I saw a couple of online complaints about the cost of one event. They said everything was free.
We ran into some of the Mustangers at the new McDonald’s on Concord Parkway on Saturday and asked them about it. They didn’t mind the extra cost and said being based at Charlotte Motor Speedway created more opportunities for the drivers, including running down the zMAX Dragway.
If you have something for the Friday Five or something for me to rant about, email Plemmons.mark@gmail.com or call or text 704-786-0001.
Hip, hip, hurrah! Thank you, Chris and Mark, for your love of our county and love for journalism! Without you two, we would all be in the dark regarding local news, opinions, and information. You keep us aware as to what is happening. Thank you both so much!
Doris Redding
What a great partnership! Talk about making lemonade from lemons. Thank you, Mark and Chris for your dedication to keeping us informed. And I love the Friday Five.