201 5
Union County Serving Indian Trail, Marvin, Stallings, Waxhaw, Weddington and Wesley Chapel
Volume 10, Number 6 • Feb. 5 to 11, 2015
A waiting lane
Locally Owned & Operated www.unioncountyweekly.com
New I-485 lanes look ready for drivers, but state says they’ll have to wait by Ryan Pitkin editor@unioncountyweekly.com
While the expansion of Interstate 485 has created some rush-hour relief on the southwestern part of the highway, extra lanes built by the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) to be opened well in the future have created unrest among some drivers. When NCDOT opened a lane on each side of I-485 between Interstate 77 and Rea Road in December, it became clear to drivers that the department actually constructed twice that amount, with another lane to be saved for use as a toll lane that won’t open for another five
Ryan Pitkin/UCW photo
(see I-485 on page 11)
Teenage entrepreneur launches bow tie business from Waxhaw home Marvin Ridge graduate auditions for ABC’s ‘Shark Tank’ by Hannah Chronis hannah@unioncountyweekly.com
Brandon Etheridge was a sophomore at Marvin Ridge High School when his love of bow ties spurred an idea that would make him one of the area’s youngest entrepreneurs. Two years later, Etheridge launched “Deck Head” – a company featuring the world’s first patent-approved interchangeable bow tie.
Deck Head bow ties are sold in halves so consumers can mix and match different patterns and colors to create a unique look. While designer Brandon Etheridge bow ties like Ralph Lauren and Vineyard Vines average $60 to $85 per bow tie, Deck Head’s 100 percent silk bow ties are available
for purchase in packs of three bow tie halves creating six different looks for $75 – averaging just $12.50 per combination. “When I was at Marvin Ridge, I was really into bow ties and I loved wearing them,” Etheridge said. “I came into a problem, though, because if you only have a few traditional bow ties and you wear them over and over again, it doesn’t have the same effect when people see you wearing them regularly. “The only alternative is buying a
new bow tie and that’s a very expensive decision if you keep buying new ones. I thought, ‘There has to be a better way.’ I started researching ways to make a cost-effective bow tie with a fresh look.” Etheridge called on his family and friends to help make his idea of an interchangeable bow tie a reality. He began picking out fabric at Mary Jo’s Cloth Store in Gastonia and spent hours at his grandmother’s house making his first batch (see Deck Head on page 4)
INDEX: News Briefs, 6; Crime Blotter, 7; Scores, 8; Education, 12; Rev. Tony, 16; Summer Camps, 18; Calendar, 22; Sports, 24; Classifieds, 27