Mooresville: Feb. 23
Mooresville residents have an opportunity on Feb. 23 to learn more about and provide input on how to best implement The Thread in Mooresville. A meeting was held on  Feb. 21; the final meeting will be held Feb. 23 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Read more.

Cherokee County: Feb. 28, March 1 and March 6
Cherokee County is hosting another round of community meetings to get feedback from residents on preliminary trail recommendations for the Cherokee County Greenway Master Plan. The meetings will be held Feb. 28, March 1 and March 6. Read more.

Shelby: March 8
We’ve been working with residents, community groups and property owners in Shelby for the past several months and we’re now ready to present the final trail alignment recommendations for a trail along the First Broad River. Read more.

Please mark your calendars for the following race/walk events and activities: 

April 21 – Run For The Money: You can register now to run, walk or donate to the Catawba Lands Conservancy – the lead agency for The Thread – via the Gaston County Community Foundation’s annual fundraiser, Run For the Money. When you register and select CLC, your race donations and proceeds will benefit Catawba Lands Conservancy and of course The Thread too. For more information, go to http://www.cfgaston.org/runforthemoney/default.aspx or the CLC website.

April 28 – Belmont Rail Trail 5K Run: The City of Belmont and Belmont Abbey College are sponsoring the first Rail Trail 5K Run to raise funds for the city’s rail trail project that will become part of the Carolina Thread Trail. The race will be held on April 28, from 9-11 a.m., on the campus of the college. Please contact AdrianMiller at amiller@cityofbelmont.org
if you are interested in volunteering or participating in the race. For more information about the rail trail project, please visit the city’s trail project website.

“Run For Your Life” Trail Club: Looking for a group of runners to run trails with? If so, “Run For Your Life” is looking for you. They have a new trail club and are looking for more runners. The next time you’re at one of their four local store locations, just ask for a list of trails and trail club information. Soon, we’ll add sections of The Thread to their list. In the meantime, enjoy your run on a local trail and like “Run For Your Life” on facebook or follow them on twitter.

The grant award amount, community information and the use of the grants follow:

• Town of Stanfield, Stanly County – $20,000
Funds awarded to the Town of Stanfield will be used to construct approximately 2,000 linear feet (.5 miles) of paved Carolina Thread Trail through Pete Henkel Park in Stanfield. This segment of The Thread, as part of an overall master plan for the park, will connect Stanfield Elementary School, new sidewalks and residential walkways with the center of town. The town has sought grants from other entities to support the construction of the trail.

• City of Shelby, Cleveland County – $75,000
Funds awarded to the City of Shelby will be used to acquire land and trail easements along an 8-mile segment of the First Broad River corridor. This corridor has been identified as a priority segment in the adopted Carolina Thread Trail Master Plan for Cleveland County Communities, and is currently undergoing a corridor design to further define a route for the trail along the corridor. Land acquisition will be focused on the First Broad River corridor from the Historic Trestle in Shelby south to the YMCA Riverbend Golf Course.

These grants were the first to be awarded as part of The Thread’s new quarterly implementation cycle. Grants from The Thread will help communities build trails that will add to the 85 miles of trails that are currently open to the public throughout The Thread’s 15-county footprint. Both Cleveland and Stanly counties have adopted county-wide master plans, making their cities and towns eligible for grant funding from The Thread.

To date, The Thread has awarded more than $6.1 million in catalytic grants to Carolina Thread Trail communities and trail projects, including grants from the Clean Water Management Trust Fund for land acquisition.

Grant applications for the second quarter of the 2012 implementation grant cycle are due April 5, 2012. For more information, visit carolinathreadtrail.org or contact Carolina Thread Trail Grants and Community Coordinator Randi Gates at 704-376-2556 x217 or randi@carolinathreadtrail.org.

Three meetings will be held throughout the county; the same information will be provided at meeting. Each community meeting will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. with a formal presentation beginning at 6 p.m. A question-and-answer session will follow the presentations. The community will have the opportunity to learn more about the county’s greenway master planning process and where potential trails may be built or identified for the county and The Thread. The meeting dates and locations follow:

Tuesday, February 28: Spartanburg Community College, Gaffney Campus – Community Room, 523 Chesnee Hwy. (Hwy. 11), Gaffney, SC

Thursday, March 1: Blacksburg Community House, 103 S. Shelby Street, Blacksburg, SC

Tuesday, March 6: Corinth Baptist Church, 190 Corinth Road, Gaffney, SC

Meetings to launch this planning effort were held in the summer of 2011 to educate Cherokee County residents about the master plan and obtain initial feedback and trail suggestions. From those suggestions and other planning information, a more comprehensive greenway master plan was developed.

Trail master plans provide a long-term vision for the development and implementation of trails and greenways within a county and its communities. Cherokee County is one of three counties within The Thread’s 15-county target region yet to adopt such a plan. Currently, 85 miles of The Thread are open to the public in North and South Carolina with 14 active corridors under development.

For more information about the meetings or the plan, contact Carolina Thread Trail Community Coordinator Randi Gates at 704-376-2556 x217 or randi@carolinathreadtrail.org.

The first of two community open houses will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2012, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the Media Room of South Elementary School. The school is located at 839 S. Magnolia Street in Mooresville. A second community open house will be held on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2012 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the fellowship hall of Coddle Creek Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. The church is located at 2297 Coddle Creek Highway (NC 3) in Mooresville.

With funding from the Carolina Thread Trail, Mooresville is contracting with LandDesign, Inc. to conduct a trail corridor study. The study will help determine the best trail alignment along the Dye Creek and Rocky River corridor from Academy Street Park off of South Broad St. in Mooresville traveling south to the Mecklenburg, Cabarrus and Iredell County lines on the Rocky River.

Representatives from LandDesign, Inc., Town of Mooresville, Iredell County and the Carolina Thread Trail will be in attendance to provide a project overview, answer questions, address alignment concerns, and explain the corridor study and decision-criteria process.

“We are looking forward to this opportunity to introduce this project to the community and need residents’ ideas and feedback on how we can maximize the benefits of this trail for our community,” said Neil Burke, Transportation Planner for the Town of Mooresville and project manager for the Carolina Thread Trail corridor study. “We are in the initial planning stages for this trail, so this is a perfect opportunity for us to engage our community and get feedback on where the trail will go and the amenities that it will include.”

The project team will analyze and evaluate all public comments before recommending a final preferred trail alignment. At the conclusion of the study, another round of public meetings will be held to share that proposed alignment and explain the next steps in the implementation process.

In 2011, Iredell County – along with numerous municipalities, including Mooresville – adopted a county-wide master plan for The Thread. Trail master plans provide a long-term vision for the development and implementation of trails and greenways
within a county and its communities. Currently, 85 miles of The Thread are open to the public in North and South Carolina with 14 active corridors under development.

Run For The Money offers a special opportunity for the public to leverage their contributions to Catawba Lands Conservacy. When you donate to Run For The Money and designate Catawba Lands Conservancy as your chosen charity, the Community Foundation of Gaston County will match donations up to $10,000. The more money that’s raised through Run For The Money, the greater the match! From your contributions and support last year, CLC received $32,666 in donations!

Over the next several months, we’ll provide more information and race details. Please tell your friends and share this information to help raise even more money for CLC this year! We appreciate your help and contributions. Race registration and donations begin on Feb. 13. We’ll provide more information soon on our website. You can also go to the Run For The Money website for more information.

Nancy Pierce Photo

If your new year’s resolution is to exercise more and get fit, we’ve got 82 miles of trail for you to get moving on. In York County, grab your mountain bike and take on the Baxter Village Trail, or in Mecklenburg County, enjoy a run on the Clark’s Creek/Mallard Creek Greenway!

Taking a hike, run or a walk along a trail or greenway is a great way to incorporate more exercise into your daily routine. Get your family, friends and neighbors to join you. Involving others is a great way to keep you motivated and accountable. Regardless of your fitness level, trails and greenways offer everyone a great way to explore the outdoors while becoming healthier. Here is a trail and greenway to get you started:

Baxter Village Trail is located in Fort Mill, SC and is 2.25
miles long. It’s a rough natural-surface trail with a gravel portion leading to
the trailhead. While you are on the trail, don’t forget to stop at the Catawba
River Overlook. For more information: http://www.carolinathreadtrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Baxter-Village5-24ED1.pdf

Clark’s Creek and Mallard Creek Greenway is located in Charlotte in northern Mecklenburg County and
is more than seven miles long. It has a paved asphalt surface, so many people can easily run,
walk, or bike along this greenway. As you cross over several bridges, look for
signs of wildlife on the banks of the creek! Enjoy! For more information: http://charmeck.org/mecklenburg/county/ParkandRec/Greenways/OpenGreenways/Pages/MallardCreekandClark%27sCreek.aspx

While you’re out on The Thread, don’t forget to let us know you were there. Share your location at Foursquare.com/threadtrail or tell us about it on Facebook.com/carolinathreadtrail.

The level of community engagement and support for The Thread has been fantastic! The vision has come into focus through the master planning process, thanks to the great work of our local steering committees.  We will continue to work with our community partners to secure resources to convert planned trails to actual ones, adding to the 82 miles of The Thread
currently being enjoyed.  Our volunteers are also vital in progressing The Thread, as our success comes in large part from their dedication and support.

The Thread staff is committed to working in partnership with community and local governments to make The Thread a sustainable and growing reality for our region. Last year, 6.4 miles of new segments of The Thread were opened for public enjoyment: Little Sugar Creek (.7), Nation Ford Greenway (1.4), Bessemer City (.3), City of Albemarle (.3), Gastonia (.6), Toby Creek (2.0), Davidson (1.1).  Stay tuned for new trail this year in Cabarrus, Cleveland, Gaston, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Stanly and York counties.