Top Stories for Sept. 11, 2024

Mecklenburg County provides this weekly rundown of top stories from the Board of County Commissioners meetings and the Public Information Department’s newsroom. The Board met on Tuesday, Sept. 10. The agenda is available online and the meeting can be viewed on MeckTV. The Board’s next regular meeting is scheduled for Sept. 17 at 6 p.m.

1. Health of Mecklenburg County: The Board of County Commissioners heard from Public Health about its State of the County Health Report. The report provides an update on several health indicators, new or emerging community health trends, and the priorities of the Community Health Improvement Plan. The report indicates that access to health care has steadily improved over the past few years, while mental health benchmarks have worsened. The report also indicates that the number of adult smokers has declined since 2018. Also, the Community Health Improvement Plan addresses health inequities and priorities and aims to improve the health and well-being of residents. Priorities include access to care; chronic disease prevention; mental health; violence prevention; and maternal and infant health. View the full reports.

2. Communicable Diseases: Public Health presented its annual communicable disease report which encompasses a variety of categories and emerging diseases. Highlights include:

• As of July 2024, Mecklenburg has reported 293 Mpox cases, most of them in 2022. Case reports dropped dramatically in 2023 before resurging this year. 
• Mecklenburg County is seeing a resurgence of “vaccine preventable diseases,” such as measles and mumps. Between Jan. and June 2024, one case of measles and three cases of mumps were reported in Mecklenburg County. Reports for pertussis (whooping cough) and varicella are higher than three years prior.
• Between 2019-2023, new HIV cases have held relatively steady at about 29 cases per 100,000 people, with the rate of new diagnoses appearing to grow among Hispanic residents.
• Early syphilis rates increased between 2019-2022, with rates decreasing in 2023.

3. Leeper-Wyatt on the Move: The historic Leeper-Wyatt building will be physically moved to its new home on Thursday, Sept. 12, beginning around 7 a.m.  The Leeper-Wyatt building was once the oldest surviving retail brick commercial building in Dilworth’s original South Boulevard business district. With the pending redevelopment of the block, the Historic Landmarks Commission, Tonidandel-Brown Restaurant Group, and other partners worked together to orchestrate the relocation of the building to Cleveland Avenue, where it will be revitalized as a restaurant. The Leeper-Wyatt building was designated a historic landmark in 1989.

4. Needed Now: Foster Parents: The final training session of the year for prospective foster and adoptive parents begins Sept. 25, and interested families are invited to submit their applications now. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mecklenburg County has seen a marked decrease in the number of families willing to foster children and has worked hard to recruit licensed foster families. Anyone interested must attend the 10-week training; an application is due by Sept. 18. Visit MeckNC.gov/KIDS or call 704-336-KIDS (5437) to begin the process.  

5. Wanted: Hazardous Waste: Mecklenburg County Solid Waste and Recycling invites small businesses, nonprofits and other nonresidential organizations to drop off their hazardous waste for a reduced fee during a special collection event. It will take place Sept. 18, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Mecklenburg County’s tire and metal facility at 5740 Rozzelles Ferry Road in Charlotte. Hazardous waste includes fluorescent light bulbs, pesticides, rechargeable batteries, paints, and more. Organizations need to make an appointment to participate. Due to EPA regulations, full-service recycling centers can only accept residential hazardous materials, so the County offers these special events for schools, businesses, and other non-residential organizations.