By Mike Savicki In the dark and quiet pre-dawn hours before the Opening Ceremony of the 1996 Summer Paralympics in Atlanta, Georgia, Mark Wellman and a team of technical experts gathered around the base of the cauldron for a top-secret torch-lighting dress rehearsal. Only…
By Mike Savicki “One equal temper of heroic hearts, Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will, To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.”– from Ulysses, Lord Alfred Tennyson On the morning of April 21,1975, 24 year-old…
Friday nights at the Carolina Speedway showcase speed with a uniquely dirt track flair By Mike Savicki It is a Friday night at the Carolina Speedway in Gastonia and things are about to get loud. They are also about to get dirty. As the…
By Mike Savicki Early in the morning of June 19, 2004, U.S. Army Captain Dawn Halfaker and soldiers from her military police platoon were on a reconnaissance patrol in a convoy of four Humvees near the police station in Baquba, Iraq. Several hours later, as…
Life Lessons from a Man Named John Connor By Mike Savicki A small grove of fruit trees sits peacefully atop a small hill on John Connor Road in Cornelius as it has for nearly ninety years. Surrounded by million dollar homes and priceless sunset…
Lake Norman’s cycling sub-culture is on a roll By Mike Savicki The stools adjacent to the bicycle service bay at The Cycle Path in Cornelius are full of eager cyclists picking up free tips on mountain bike repair. At Cool Breeze Cyclery in Mooresville,…
Making every ride count at Stegall’s Arena By Mike Savicki The chute gate swings open quickly. The rider holds the bull rope tightly and bolts into the arena. Trying to impress the judges with a show of skill and balance, he sits tall and…
NHRA Top Fuel Driver Doug Herbert shares life lessons for the road By Mike Savicki Doug Herbert makes his living by driving fast. Really fast. In his seventeen years behind the wheel of an 8,000 horsepower dragster, he estimates he has gone over three…
Local decorators have tips for guys when it comes to interior design By Mike Savicki It was love at first sight. Me, a soon-to-graduate young business professional relocating without furniture to Charlotte and her, a black leather couch displayed prominently on a High Point…
Carolina Diving Academy raises local diving to new heights By Mike Savicki From his poolside coaching position, Aaron Hintz shouts encouragement to ten of his elite divers as they take turns twisting and flipping their way through the air during a springboard and platform…