On Saturday, October 1st, residents throughout the Catawba River basin from Lake James all the way down to Lake Wylie gathered to help clean up their waterway. Boaters, fisherman, kayakers, scouts, retail associates and many other volunteers rolled up their sleeves and helped retrieve trash and other debris from the River’s shorelines and islands. At Lake Wylie alone, twenty tons of debris, glass, plastic and other wastes were removed by 1,000 volunteers dispersed at eleven sites around the lake’s shoreline.

“This was such a fun experience, and I got to give back to my community and River at the same time. Plus, seeing everything we pulled out of the River showed the positive impact we made in just a few hours,” stated Bridget Laszlo, a clean-up participant at Lake Wylie Riversweep.

“The Catawba River supports our lives with drinking water and precious family recreation time; it is inspiring to see our communities come together to help clean it for now and for generations to come,” stated Catawba Riverkeeper David Merryman, in response to volunteer actions.

Volunteers found an abundant supply of tires, metal drums, glass bottles, StyrofoamTM, plastic lawn furniture, tackle boxes, hooks, motor oil containers, lighters, batteries, propane fuel canisters, hats, underwear, diapers and much more. Volunteers even pulled out a sunken jet ski and a 55-gallon plastic drum of Armor All® Tire Cleaner.

Mark your calendars for next year’s clean-up events on October 6, 2012. Come to the lake, stream or creek closest to you for a few hours of cleaning up your local waterway.

Professional soccer returns to the Cape Fear region with the resurgence of the Wilmington Hammerheads. A full season begins in April 2011. The Hammerheads will be facing 16 teams from various parts of the country as well as Puerto Rico and Antigua. The US teams in their conference include Rochester, New York football club, Dayton, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Richmond, Charlotte, Charleston, Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando and Los Angeles.

Bill Rudisil, a previous owner, is the new president and majority owner of the new Hammerheads. Other partners involved include Dr. Clyde Harris, Cindy Harris, Dr. Mario Basegoda, and Dr. Sara Bocherding. “On behalf of the new ownership group, I am very excited to be a part of bringing the Hammerheads back.  It is our hope the community will support us as in years past,” said Rudisil in a statement.

Coach David Irving, who is returning as head coach for the team said, “We are actively recruiting for our first game. That gives us about 4 months to put a team on the field that Wilmington will be proud of!” Coach Irving is actively recruiting and will be hosting player tryouts at a date to be announced. Applications for 2011 tryouts are still being accepted and the coach and management anticipate new player announcements soon.

Season tickets are now available along with merchandise from previous years, including jersey replicas in limited numbers and various sizes.

For tickets and merchandise, please contact the Hammerhead office at 420 Raleigh Street, Suite E, Wilmington, NC 28412 or phone 910-777-2111, or visit the Hammerhead website: www.WilmingtonHammerheads.com.

Nautical Marketplace

The South Carolina Marine Association is holding its Nautical Marketplace on September 24, 2011 at St. Johns Yacht Harbor on Johns Island, SC, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The buying and selling will be followed by a BBQ and silent auction with a portion of the proceeds going to the Harry Hampton Wildlife Fund. There will be food, music and nautical bargains from antiques and art to new and used boats. For more information, email SCMarineAssn@gmail.com or visit www.scmaNauticalMarketplace.org.