Moses managed to get past her nerves, however, and was crowned Miss Race City at the end of the evening.

“I was shocked to win, but it feels good,” she said.

Watching Moses win her crown was a small but enthusiastic audience of friends and family, who gathered to watch the six contestants for Teen Princess and Miss Race City compete.

Kaitlan Cook, Miss Statesville for 2008, said that the pageant — which awards a scholarship to the winner — was organized to offer more opportunities for young women.

“You might be asking, ‘Why does Mooresville need a queen?’ ” Cook said. “Well, personally, being a festival queen has been a highlight in my life. Being able to travel and learn about the state has been an amazing opportunity for me. This was the inspiration for my mother and Marcia to organize this.”

In the pageant’s first event — personality — the contestants took the stage in an outfit that represented one of their interests and answered a question.
The first two girls, Emily Outen and Rachel Calhoun, were going for the Teen Princess title.

Outen, a varsity cheerleader at North Iredell High School, answered a question about social networking Web site MySpace.

“Myspace can be a good way to communicate with friends, but you need to be careful about what you put on your page,” Outen said. “Too much information could be dangerous. I personally had a friend that was stalked, but luckily the Iredell County Sheriff’s Department tracked him and put a stop to it.”

Calhoun, an athletic trainer and a junior at Mooresville High School, was asked about her job working with the football and wrestling teams, Her duties included icing down injuries, cleaning up after practice and giving team members water when they needed it.

Erin Rummage, a queen hopeful and junior Olympic volleyball participant; Bridget Riebe, a 24-year-old cosmetology specialist and nail technician; and Lindsey White, a dancer from Mooresville High School, were the other contestants for Miss Race City. They fielded questions on national politics and learning disabilities.

After the questions round was completed, Karen Shore, the Chamber of Commerce’s Executive Director, said a few words.

“I’m proud to see what has been organized and pulled together,” she said of the pageant. “I hope you all come and join us (this Saturday) for Miss Race City’s first event, the Race City Festival.”

Before the girls glided across the stage in swimsuits and evening gowns, the judges for Miss Race City were introduced. Amy Davidson Brookshire, a dance instructor for Tilley’s Dance Academy; Brenda Wells, the junior business manager for the Miss Mecklenburg County Scholarship Pageant; and Sandra Jordan, an EPIC international judge and a member of the Miss Statesville Scholarship Committee; made up the panel.

After the last girl crossed the stage in their gown, it was time to crown the winners.

The Miss Congeniality award was presented to Riebe, followed by the Photogenic award, which was given to Rummage.

The Teen Princess title was given to an excited Outen, who was showered with flowers and gifts for her win. The most anticipated title, Miss Race City, was earned by contestant number six, Laura Moses.

“I was anxious to compete, and now I’m really excited,” said Outen, who was glowing. “I’m really looking forward to the year ahead and I think it’ll be fun to have new opportunities and help raise money for our sponsors.“

Moses was equally as thrilled with her victory.

“I’m looking forward to meeting people and touring North Carolina,” she said. “I want to see more of the state and volunteer more of my time helping people.”

Moses will make an appearance for the Race City Festival at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.

Faye will be attending the national Scholastic Awards ceremony at Carnegie Hall in New York City on June 4, 5, and 6, where she will receive the American Voices Award.

The camp, which caters to kids in grades two through five, will be held Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Troutman Elementary School.

The grief camp is free to kids between the ages of 7 and 11 who have experienced the loss of a loved one. The event is open to children regardless of whether the family was served by Hospice.

Berryhill said too often children are left out of the grieving process.

“Self-help groups are typically for adults; in fact, most human service agencies cater to adults,” he said. “Too often our youngest generation gets overlooked. Yet, they too experience the gamut of emotions of grief, and especially when it comes to grieving, no man is an island,” Berryhill said social interaction is vital in grief recovery, especially interacting with those in the same boat.

That’s the reason behind the all-day camp for kids only.

Child psychologist Lura McMurphy will facilitate the heart of the gathering. Hospice staff and volunteers will help lead other grief-related activities, some of which will be serious and others, fun.

Registration is required. For more information call Berryhill at 704-873-4719, extension 4353.

Gambill and Smith will draft a Memorandum of Understanding and a repayment plan, which will outline the exact details. CVB officials hope to be able to put six fields on the land, but that is contingent upon purchasing six additional acres abutting the current property.

Planning Director Tim Brown said the town’s planning department needs more time to study the layout of the land before committing to the proposed number of fields. “We can’t guarantee what the land can support,” he said.

The CVB purchased the property, which was put up for auction because its former owner went bankrupt in February. At the time, Ron Johnson, chairman of the CVB, said he hoped that construction could begin in early April and be complete by the end of the summer. Johnson estimated the land, construction of the fields, and parking would cost between $1.2 million and $1.5 million.

The financial arrangements for the complex have not been finalized, but a likely plan is for the CVB and town to share the cost of the purchase or development of the land and that in 15 years the town would take over ownership of the property.

Officials said the project will not use recreation bond money, which is earmarked for several proposed town parks.

Another condition of the project is that the 1902-era Brawley Mansion will be kept intact. The Mooresville Historic Preservation Commission is exploring landmark designation status for the mansion.

Johnson said that the project is making progress. “We’re doing everything we need to do to make an informed decision,” he said.

2. Worst Starter — Chili’s Awesome Blossom (2,710 calories, 203 grams fat, 194 grams carbs, 6,360 mg sodium.)

Not that you would order one just for yourself, but even shared between four people is a meal’s worth of calories and most of your fat for the day.

3. Worst Breakfast — Bob Evans Caramel Banana Pecan Cream Stacked and Stuffed Hotcakes. Need I say more?

4. Worst salad — On the Border Grande Taco Salad with Taco Beef (1,450 calories, 102 grams fat, 78 grams carbs, 2410mg sodium).

Don’t forget — not all salads are healthy. When you get taco salads, opt for no taco shell or dressing.  Choose a reasonable amount of guacamole or sour cream as your topping instead of dressing. And, chicken or fish tacos would be healthier than beef most of the time.

5. Worst sandwich — Quiznos large classic Italian (1510 calories, 82 grams fat, 106 grams carbs, 3750 mg sodium). No one needs that big of a sandwich.
6. Worst Kids Meal — Macaroni Grill Double Macaroni ’n’ Cheese (According to the Web site: 1,200 calories, 62 grams of fat, 108 grams carbs, 3440 mg sodium).  Your child might be better off ordering something off the adult menu.

7. Worst fast food chicken meal — Chicken Selects Premium Breast Strips from McDonald’s (five pieces) with ranch sauce (According to McDonald’s Web site: 870 calories, 61 grams fat, 3.5 grams trans fat, 44 grams carbs).

Go for the grilled sandwich or snack wrap instead. If you really want nuggets, opt for the six-piece chicken nuggets with honey sauce which comes in at 300 calories, 15 grams fat, 1.5 grams trans fat, 15 grams carbs and 670 mg sodium.

8. Worst Mexican entrée — Chipotle Mexican Grilled Chicken Burrito (1,179 calories, 47 grams fat, 125 grams carbs, 2656 mg sodium). Opt for a bowl (minus the burrito shell) and watch the portion and toppings.

Remember that healthy portions throughout the day on a 2,000-calorie diet range from 225-325 grams carbs per day, 50-175 grams protein and 56-78 grams fat.

“I was someone who never looked at prices,” Shifke says. “Suddenly, my whole existence was how much food cost.”

Shifke thinks back to those hard times and sees similarities to the economic downturn being experienced nationwide this year. She worries that escalating prices for all food items — especially staples such as butter and wheat products — already are putting in a bind those living on fixed or limited incomes. The 5-pound bag of carrots she used to buy for $1.88 is now $2.50.

Shifke thinks money problems might compel people to change their behaviors out of necessity.

“Economics are going to force people back in the kitchen,” she says. “I guarantee it.”

Her family’s financial fortunes have improved since those lean times, but she still applies the lessons she learned when shopping and cooking for her husband; son Steven, who’s now 17; and daughters Genevieve, 15, and Victoria, 11.

“You do what you have to do,” she says. “To stretch the dollar, you have to plan. It isn’t something that happens when you’re going up and down the grocery store aisle.”

Part of that plan involves extending the components of one meal into two or three.

Shifke buys two roasting chickens for $7.50. Instead of roasting one at a time, she’ll cook both simultaneously, filling the cavities with sprigs of rosemary, garlic cloves and a quartered lemon. (The rosemary comes from her backyard. She bought a couple of small plants a few years back and now has a bush to pluck from.)

“My family is only going to eat one chicken, with mashed potatoes and gravy and carrots, which I’ve roasted at the same time. I have this leftover chicken. I can then throw chicken from that second bird on pasta.”

She then takes the carcass of the two birds and refrigerates the bones until she can make chicken stock on the weekend. From that stock, she’ll make her favorite Mexican tortilla soup recipe from “Barefoot Contessa” Ina Garten.

“Most people don’t want to make chicken stock, but when you’re forced to do it, you just find the time,” Shifke says. “When I had no money, McDonald’s wasn’t even a consideration. The biggest treat was going to the convenience store and getting a Slurpee for a dollar.”

Pasta, rice and beans also go a long way, Shifke says. For a 20-minute dish on a weeknight, she’ll grate some zucchini or summer squash, add Parmesan cheese and sauteed onions, and spoon it on top of a plate of penne. Or she’ll drain a few cans of black beans; add chopped tomato, onions and bell pepper; and then add it to a bed of pasta.

“It is incredible,” she says. “It gives a whole different flavor and is just so much more satisfying. You’re not having to eat as much of the pasta, and you’re eating a healthier meal.”

“If I ate Chinese, he cried,” Leslie said of breast-feeding her son. “When I ate chocolate, he cried.”

She ordered a McDonald’s salad and had just a little bit of salad dressing. Ashton cried for three days.

When Ashton was finally diagnosed with a food allergy, it put problems she and her other two sons experienced in a whole new perspective. Leslie, 31, had suffered with fibromyalgia. Five-year-old Cameron suffered headaches, leg aches and tummy aches for much of his life — he had eczema so bad in his first year he looked like he had a constant sunburn.

It turned out Leslie is gluten intolerant; her middle son, 4-year-old Colton, is milk protein intolerant; Ashton has a milk protein allergy; and Cameron is allergic to soy (which he drank the year he had eczema) and an intolerance to gluten and milk protein.

It was a lot for Leslie and her husband Chris to digest. All these years taking their sons to doctors and nobody made the connection between their symptoms and food until Ashton’s allergy became so severe. Chris is the only family member who does not have any food intolerances or allergies.

“The hardest part is trying to figure out what it is and getting someone to listen to you,” Leslie said.

There are more than 12 million Americans who have a food allergy — 6.9 million are allergic to seafood and 3.3 million are allergic to peanuts and tree nuts, according to the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network. Eight foods cause about 90 percent of food allergies in the U.S. — milk, eggs, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, shellfish and fish. And when one family member is diagnosed, let alone four, it usually alters life for the entire family.

Once the Payne family removed gluten, milk protein and soy from their diets, their individual conditions improved. Ashton is a happy 1-year-old. Cameron and Colton are playful, inquisitive little boys. And Leslie’s fibromyalgia? It’s gone.

The Paynes had to completely change their lifestyle. Eating out is virtually impossible, and shopping is a challenge. Milk protein, known as casein or whey, is used to enhance color and flavor of some foods. Gluten is in wheat, barley, rye and sometimes oats. And to make things tougher, these foods can be listed under a variety of names on ingredient labels.

Just having pizza for supper is not as simple as calling for a delivery. Leslie uses tapioca or rice flour for the crust. And cheese is not even an option.

The only restaurant the family goes to in town is Outback Steakhouse, which has a gluten-free menu.

Kim Bradshaw has known the Paynes for a few years. Kim remembers when Leslie and Chris first received the family’s diagnoses. Little did she know her family would be hit with similar news.

Bradshaw has three daughters. The oldest, age 10, is lactose intolerant. Her 2-year-old cannot have dairy or soy. Her 5-year-old has a long list of foods she cannot eat — no gluten, dairy, corn, soy, nuts as well as some fruits and vegetables.

Like the Paynes, Kim and her husband knew something was wrong, especially with their 5-year-old daughter. At a day old, she stopped breathing. She had acid reflux. There were behavioral problems. Nobody, not even the doctors, even considered a food allergy.

“They never did put it together,” Bradshaw said. “They did tests on her. They had a sleep apnea monitor on her. They never knew what was wrong with her.”

Bradshaw said that it’s taken a lot of adjustment for the family.

“First, you have to eliminate about everything and slowly re-introduce everything,” Bradshaw said of food. “Before all this, I put no connection between food and how the your body would react.”

Allergy or intolerance?
There is a difference between a food allergy and a food intolerance. A food allergy is when the immune system identifies a food protein as a threat and attempts to protect the body against it by releasing chemicals into the blood. This release leads to an allergic reaction, which in severe cases could be life-threatening if anaphylaxis occurs. A food intolerance — such as lactose intolerance — may have some of the same symptoms of a food allergy such as upset stomach and diarrhea, but it does not involve the immune system.

Source: The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network, http://www.foodallergy.org

Facts about food allergies:
Peanut allergy doubled in children over a five-year period between 1997 and 2002.

A 2007 study has shown that milk allergy may persist longer in life than previously thought. Of 800 children with milk allergy, only 19 percent had outgrown their allergy by age 4, and only 79 percent had outgrown it by age 16.

More than 12 million Americans have food allergies. That’s one in 25 or 4 percent of the population.

Symptoms of an allergic reaction to food can include tingling, itching, a metallic taste, hives, wheezing, vomiting and cramping. The severity of symptoms can vary with each reaction.

In the U.S., food allergy is the leading cause of anaphylaxis (a severe allergic reaction) outside the hospital setting. Each year in the U.S., it is estimated that anaphylaxis caused by food results in 100 to 200 deaths. Death can be sudden, sometimes occurring within minutes.

Even trace amounts of a food allergen can cause a reaction.

Early administration of epinephrine (adrenaline) is crucial to successfully treating anaphylactic reactions.

Watauga County proposes to spend $3.15 million to buy land needed to keep Tweetsie Railroad operating, provided the theme park would eventually buy the land back from the county government for the purchase price, plus interest and expenses.

The deal is part of an incentive package aimed at keeping the family-owned theme park open. The proposal also says that the Watauga County Tourism Development Authority would spend $1.1 million — most of it on marketing Tweetsie and the surrounding area. The tourism authority raises money mainly through an occupancy tax on cabin and cottage rentals in the unincorporated portions of Watauga County.

Once the county buys the land, Tweetsie would lease the land for $1 a year for six years. After that, Tweetsie would lease the land at the market rate, until it buys the land back from the county government.

As part of the agreement, Tweetsie would invest $13 million in improvements and expansions to the park over 20 years, and would build a portion of the Middle Fork Greenway across its property for public use. The greenway will eventually offer a bike and pedestrian connection between Boone and Blowing Rock.

Officials from the county, the tourism authority and Tweetsie have all signed a nonbinding letter of intent describing the Tweetsie deal. The county will hold a public hearing on the issue May 20, before county commissioners vote on whether to approve the agreement.

Rob Holton, the chairman of the tourism authority, said that the arrangement would help Tweetsie and be good for the local economy.

“Our goal is to put more heads in beds to help our lodging and restaurant establishments,” Holton said. “By keeping Tweetsie it makes a huge difference in attracting our tourism up here.”

Tweetsie Railroad drew more than 235,000 visitors last year. An economic study shows that it helps generate about $27 million a year for the local economy. The theme park has 26 full-time employees and employs more than 300 people during its operating months from May through October.
Tweetsie Railroad Inc., the theme park’s operating company, owns 87 acres and leases three additional parcels that make up 188 acres.

The 50-year leases might not have seemed much of an issue when the park was founded by Grover Robbins Jr. and a partner in 1957, but disputes about what to do with the land when the leases expired have threatened to derail Tweetsie. A compromise agreement is keeping the leases in place to allow the theme park to remain open through 2010.

A sometimes bitter family history and a new legal requirement to sell Tweetsie’s controlling stock are adding to the complexity of negotiating a future for Tweetsie.

The proposed agreement says that the county has obtained contracts to purchase the portion of Tweetsie’s leased land that is owned by Grover Robbins Jr.’s children Janice Robbins Elder and Mike Robbins for $3.15 million by the end of the year. The park has already obtained renewed leases for other portions of the park land, and the new leases extend through 2065.

Chris Robbins, the general manager of Tweetsie, said that the park can’t buy the land without the county’s help because its cash is tied up in ongoing improvements, stock buyout and higher lease payments.

The agreement would be good for the county, he said.

“A lot would go away if we weren’t here,” he said, discussing employment figures and the park’s economic impact.

But there’s also a sentimental factor at work in preserving something that’s been part of the cultural identity of the mountains for more than 50 years.