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Serving Indian Trail, Marvin, Stallings, Waxhaw, Weddington and Wesley Chapel
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Volume 10, Number 7 • Feb. 12 to 18, 2015
A place to call home
Local towns among the best in the state to raise a family, says research study by Ryan Pitkin editor@unioncountyweekly.com
In a recently released ranking of the best cities for young families in North Carolina, national finance consultation firm NerdWallet recognized western Union County as a hotspot, with local municipalities landing four of the top five spots. The company announced the rankings on Feb. 3, and Waxhaw was named the most desirable community in the state for young families based on schools, friendly neighbors and affordability. The study lists Marvin, Stallings and Indian Trail as the second, fourth and fifth best cities, respectively. Kamran Rosen, an economics writer who worked on the research study, said it’s not surprising to see a cluster of communities land at the top of the list, as many of the top-ranked cities in each state are suburbs surrounding a major city. Top-notch schools and good opportunities for prosperity in the four listed Union County communities were major factors in their high rankings, setting them apart from other suburbs in the greater Charlotte area, he said. “Geography is an important factor,” Rosen said. “But perhaps surprising for North Carolina is that A child enjoys the interactive fountain at Stallings Municipal Park. UCW file photo the top 20 cities have some of the best school
Valentines for Veterans Indian Trail, Rea View elementary schools send Valentines to Camp Lejeune by Josh Whitener josh@unioncountyweekly.com
Veterans who have dedicated their lives to serving their country will have something to smile about this Valentine’s Day, thanks to students from two Union County
elementary schools. For five consecutive years, students in Cathy Reese’s fourth-grade class at Indian Trail Elementary School have participated in the Valentines for Vets project, an annual endeavor that sends student-made Valentine cards to service members with the Wounded Warrior Project at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. What started as a one-classroom project has grown to
rankings we’ve seen in the entire country.” NerdWallet used GreatSchools, a resource that grades schools based on data, to decide which communities fed into the best schools. Marvin and Stallings scored 10 out of 10 based on Great Schools’ ratings, with Waxhaw and Indian Trail scoring 9 and 8, respectively. Other factors that contributed to the NerdWallet rankings included: home affordability, based on median home value and monthly homeowner costs; prosperity and growth, a look at current and past home incomes and projected population growth; and family friendliness, which looks at the percentage of families with school-aged children in the community. NerdWallet analyzed 147 North Carolina towns with populations over 5,000. Union County Weekly spoke to elected officials and volunteers in each of the county’s four topranked towns to discuss why their towns made the list and how they can continue to attract young families to their respective communities.
Waxhaw “The Core of the Region” In 2009, Waxhaw was named a Small Town (see Families on page 4)
a school-wide effort in which Indian Trail Elementary students of all ages send cards to the heroes at Lejeune. “The fourth grade sponsored the project (this year) as a community service project, and other classes were invited to participate,” Reese said. “So, it was a schoolwide project.” Reese invites a military representative to visit her class each year to collect the Valentine cards and talk to her students about how the cards benefit the Wounded Warriors. The Valentines for Vets project didn’t just expand (see Valentines for Vets on page 12)
INDEX: News Briefs, 6; Crime Blotter, 7; Home Sales, 10; Education, 12; A&E, 16; Calendar, 18; Sports, 20; Classifieds, 23
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