Recession buster: Gem Theatre offers free movies at 7 p.m. Wednesday
February 24, 2009
BY EMILY FORD
What’s better than going to the movies?
Going to the movies for free.
The Gem Theatre in downtown Kannapolis is showing the 7 p.m. movie for free every Wednesday as a way to battle the recession.
N.C. Research Campus changes landscape
February 24, 2009
By Emily Ford
KANNAPOLIS — On Google Maps, the mill is still here.
The massive textile manufacturing complex that defined Kannapolis for generations still appears on Google’s satellite image of downtown Kannapolis, even though the mill came down in a series of implosions in 2005 and 2006.
In its place rises the N.C. Research Campus, an audacious science research center built by California business mogul David Murdock, who owned the mill in the 1980s and bought it back after Pillowtex’s 2003 demise.
What’s happening at the laboratories?
February 24, 2009
What’s actually going on inside those huge brick buildings? Check the Citizen & Researcher each month for updates from the institutes and programs at the N.C. Research Campus. It’s news direct from their laptops and Blackberrys to you.
Appalachian takes off: Treadmills, bikes drive research on exercise and nutrition
February 24, 2009
BY EMILY FORD
When they begin work this month in their new laboratory at the N.C. Research Campus, scientists from Appalachian State University will take the stairs.
“How would it look if people saw us in the elevator?” said Dr. David Nieman, the director of the ASU Human Performance Lab who has run 58 marathons and ultramarathons.
His lieutenant in Kannapolis, Dr. Andy Shanely, insists his boss is joking.
A tune up for athletes
February 24, 2009
BY EMILY FORD
KANNAPOLIS — Endurance athletes can pay thousands of dollars to consult experts and undergo tests to improve their performance.
But starting this month, athletes like marathoners, triathletes and cyclists can get a thorough workup at the N.C. Research Campus for less than 200 bucks.
Future scientists? 2,300 Kannapolis elementary students get hands-on experience at Research Campus
February 24, 2009
BY EMILY FORD
Meeting a real scientist at the N.C. Research Campus and touring one of the massive brick buildings made quite an impact on Kannapolis elementary students this week.
“They think it’s the coolest thing,” Nikki Wolcott said. “The teachers have enjoyed it, too.”
Wolcott, a science teacher at A.L. Brown High School, helped arrange for all 2,300 elementary students in the Kannapolis system to visit the UNC Nutrition Research Institute over five days.
MURDOCK study starts enrollment
February 24, 2009
BY EMILY FORD
Textile manufacturing gave Kannapolis a purpose and an identity for 100 years.
Now the mill is gone, replaced by the N.C. Research Campus, and a massive medical study offers Kannapolis a second chance to make a name for itself while making a difference for sick people across the globe.
Kannapolis adds community service manager
February 24, 2009
BY EMILY FORD
Get used to this smile. City officials say it’s the new way of doing business in Kannapolis.
Donie Parker became an icon when she started work this week as the city’s first customer service manager.
“She’s the face of Kannapolis,” assistant city manager Eddie Smith said.
RCCC works to finalize lease on Research Campus
February 24, 2009
Rowan-Cabarrus Community College has received authorization from the North Carolina State Board of Community Colleges to enter into a lease agreement with Castle & Cooke Inc., for a 62,332 square-foot building to be constructed on the North Carolina Research Campus (NCRC) in Kannapolis.
The building will house RCCC’s newly established biotechnology programs, developed by the college to train local residents for career opportunities at the NCRC. The state board gave its authorization at its Feb. 20 meeting.
RCCC President Carol Spalding reported to the college’s Board of Trustees that RCCC is resolving some final details with Castle & Cooke. Spalding said she anticipates the college completing negotiations and signing the lease agreement later this week.
Once the agreement is signed, Castle and Cooke will work with its lender, who will have 15 days to approve the deal.
“With the current economic conditions North Carolina is facing, this is a positive statement by the state board and an indication of its confidence in RCCC to meet the education and job-training needs of residents and the developing biotechnology industry in Cabarrus and Rowan counties,” Spalding said.
“We look forward to breaking ground for the RCCC building and seeing construction begin in the coming weeks.”
RCCC’s building at the Research Campus will house its associate-degree programs in biotechnology and agricultural biotechnology and continuing education programs related to biotechnology and clinical research.
RCCC hopes to open the building in time for its fall 2010 semester with the focus of providing instructional space for hands-on biotechnology training in a realistic research and development setting.
The facility will include multiple science and computer laboratories and multiple classrooms with a full array of technology to enhance teaching and learning. The cost of the building is expected to be approximately $26 million.
“We are excited to provide the training programs needed for the jobs of the future,” said Ray Paradowski, chairman of the RCCC Board of Trustees. “It’s important our local residents have an avenue to the career opportunities the NCRC is creating. RCCC is proud to provide such a link for our two-county region.”
Students can begin taking introductory courses this summer in RCCC’s biotechnology programs. The college’s associate in applied science degree program in biotechnology will prepare students for jobs in a biotechnology laboratory. Program graduates can pursue employment as lab technicians, research assistants and quality control associates. This associate degree will enable graduates to work with different types of employers.
including small testing labs, large manufacturers, government laboratories and research universities.
The AAS program in agricultural biotechnology will help meet the demand for skilled laboratory technicians in various fields of biological, chemical and agricultural technology. This program will prepare graduates to work as research assistants to biologists and chemists, laboratory and instrumentation technicians, and quality control/quality assurance technicians. Graduates will pursue positions with various industry, university and government employers, including jobs in research and development, manufacturing, sales, customer service, and the production of bioengineered crops.
“For every Ph.D. or MD position created by the NCRC, at least five other positions will be created for which RCCC can provide the needed education and training,” Spalding said. “RCCC’s biotechnology programs will provide access to local residents for opportunities at the NCRC. These programs also provide transferable credits for students who decide to pursue a four-year degree.”
Visitor Center getting facelift
February 24, 2009
BY EMILY FORD
KANNAPOLIS — Phyllis Beaver believes science, textiles and NASCAR can co-exist.
They just need the right presentation.
So the Visitors Center in downtown Kannapolis, which rather disjointedly displays renderings of the N.C. Research Campus alongside textile artifacts and Dale Earnhardt memorabilia, will close soon for an extensive renovation.
“It’s all a hodgepodge right now,” said Beaver, marketing director for the Research Campus. “Each of these entities deserves their own special focus.”
Campus developer Castle & Cooke North Carolina, not the city, owns and operates the Visitors Center.
Since Pillowtex closed in 2003, Kannapolis has morphed from a mill village into a biotechnology hub. But textiles remain a treasured part of the town’s history, as does native son and race car driver Earnhardt, who died in 2001.
Beaver said Castle & Cooke, owned by campus founder David Murdock, will keep all three parts of the Kannapolis story in the Visitors Center.
“It’s very possible to have all of those featured here and to give people good information about what we have in the community,” Beaver said.
Town historian Norris Dearmon said Castle & Cooke will take good care of textile artifacts in the center, including J.W. Cannon’s desk and many items bearing the Cannon brand.
The Kannapolis History Associates hopes to build a textile museum someday, but the economy has stymied fundraising efforts, Dearmon said.
Castle & Cooke angered NASCAR fans last year when the company and the Cabarrus County Convention and Visitors Bureau asked the city to remove flags along Dale Earnhardt Boulevard in preparation for a visit from Martha Stewart.
The city and developers quickly reassured fans they were not abandoning Earnhardt or his memory.
Murdock wants to honor both textiles and racing as he develops the Research Campus, Beaver said. He owned the textile mill from 1982 to 1986 and is still the largest property owner in Kannapolis.
Beaver pointed out that Murdock bought a bronze statue of Earnhardt that stands in the Research Campus.
The Visitors Center renovation will include roof repairs and other maintenance. A closing date hasn’t been set, but Beaver recently notified tenants in the Village.
Beaver and her staff will move into the Castle & Cooke office during the renovation.
She said a strategic planning committee will give advice during the process.
Constructed in 1941 as the Swanee Theater, the building re-opened in 1974 as a visitors center.
The building includes a 100-seat auditorium, and several groups have upcoming events scheduled. Castle & Cooke will fulfill its commitments, Beaver said.
“The space will be useable to some degree,” she said.
The old Bank Building is available as backup, she said.
