I am working on this newsletter in St. Augustine, Florida, at a family reunion…so today’s newsletter may be a little brief. And yes, it is super hot here too.

Today's weather: Periods of clouds and sunshine, with a thunderstorm in spots in the afternoon. The high will be 85. At this point, 85 seems like a blessing…

Tonight: A thunderstorm in spots in the evening; otherwise, clouds breaking, with a low of 67.

Over 120 restaurants around the metro area will showcase their cuisine via multi-course dining deals, with prix fixe prices ranging from $30 to $55 per person. Customers can visit CharlotteRestaurantWeek.com to view the list of participating restaurants and their special Queen’s Feast menus and make reservations.

Participating restaurants this month can be found in 9 area counties: Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Gaston, Cleveland, Union, Lincoln, Catawba, Stanly, and York. Local restaurants fetured this year are: Drift, Old Stone Steakhouse, and Southern Artisan Spirits.

Gaston County has bought a roughly 560 acres tract near Lake Wylie with the intention of protecting it. The land had been considered prime real estate property. According to Gaston County, the land is one of the largest undeveloped tract of land near a major city in North Carolina.

According to the Catawba Lands Conservancy, the land, known as the Catawba Cove property and located along Catawba Creek, will eventually become a public recreation destination with trails for hiking and mountain biking. The property will also provide public access to Lake Wylie and a connection to the Carolina Thread Trail.

Conservation partners say the property will also play an important role in protecting the environment. The land includes floodplains and wetlands that can filter stormwater runoff. It also provides wildlife habitat including nesting grounds for osprey and bald eagles, among other species.

ALVOskin opened Saturday in Dallas, and they opened with a bang. They had food trucks, raffles, and more. Way to go ladies!

They offer a variety of skincare and beauty services including customized facials, HydroFacials, Glo2Facials, chemical peels, dermaplaning, microneedling, brows, lashes, full-body waxing, spray tanning, and permanent jewelry.

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How exciting! A lot of cool stuff is happening in Gaston County, and this is one of the coolest! Gaston Aquatics new facility and 50 meter competition pool are making major progress.

@gastonaquatics stopped by the job site recently with cookies and Gatorades for the crews. It was a simple gesture, but they wanted the crew to know how much they appreciate the hard work, long hours, and craftsmanship they're putting into creating a facility that will serve the community for generations.

Very sad…we were members here when I was a kid. I know a lot of kids learned to swim here, and were on the swim team. The Aquatic Center in Dallas should be open this fall, but it won’t be the same! Maybe the City of Mount Holly or private citizens/corporations could fund a municipal pool.

From their Facebook page: It is with a heavy heart that we have to announce the days at Mt Holly pool have come to an end. The most recent leak test findings revealed the piping system under the pool has failed.

This failure makes the repair of the pool unfeasible.

In 2018, The Mt Holly Pool, being in financial duress but wanting to continue our proud history, sold the property to Trident who shared our passion to keep our community’s pool open as long as sustainable.

Unfortunately that sustainability has come to an end.

Trident Pool Group was successful in taking on our debts and keeping us afloat for 8 years beyond our resolve as a community pool.

The closure of the pool has come quicker than had hoped as dictated by the water use, water restrictions, and the cost of repairs. The cost to operate this season are under computation and All members will be refunded the difference.

We are so sad to share this communication and hope that you will all keep the Mt. Holly Pool in your memories forever!!

Trident Pool Group

At Miami Fusion in Lowell we have the best Cuban food- but we also serve breakfast until 2 PM, and we cater!

Sunset Slush has opened at 538 Charles Raper Jonas Highway in Stanley. Owned by Stanley residents Chris and Amanda Wall, the new shop offers Italian Ice, Ashby Ice Cream, milkshakes, sundaes, banana splits and other dessert treats. They plan to eventually add an arcade.

The couple also has a Sunset Slush location in Lincolnton, and a Sunset Slush food truck.

William B Beam Intermediate School will be open for the upcoming school year, to the delight of many parents. In the last several months, Gaston County School officials had considered closing William B Beam Intermediate and John Chavis Middle School because of a multi-million dollar budget shortfall. It is unclear what will happen to the schools in 2027-2028 school year.

The School Board says they will still move ahead with some consolidation measures for the 2026-2027 school year. The schools affected are: Gaston Early College High School and Gaston Early College of Medical Sciences, Gaston Virtual Academy, McAdenville Elementary School and Stuart W. Cramer High School.

Gaston County Commissioners had already approved a $10 million bailout to help the district avoid hundreds of layoffs and finish the school year.

Shelli's She Shed is a home decor boutique full of floral stems & arrangements and unique, vintage, antique, retro, farmhouse styles and the perfect gift items.

New Hours: Fri & Sat 10am-3pm
980-318-3816

106 W. Dallas Rd.. Stanley , NC 28164

All jobs are in Gaston County, or within 15 minutes of Gaston County

CT Technologist II-Inpatient, CaroMont Health

Optometrist, Gaston Eye Associates

Licensed Psychologist, TKW, Charlotte: $110k-$130k

Animal ID 61144576
Species Dog
Breed Bully American - Standard/Mix
Age 3 years 1 month 4 days
Gender Male
Size Large
Color Brown/White
Declawed No
Housetrained Unknown
Site GCACE
Location Dog Rescue
Intake Date 6/8/2026
Stage Rescue only

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