What's happening

On May 1, Statesville, Mooresville and Lake Norman will launch what will be the most comprehensive community calendar in the county (and clearly the most alliterative).

Not only will you be able to search by ZIP code, category, venue or price, you will also be able to submit your own events for inclusion.

Want to start submitting your events? The form is available here. Remember, it launches on May 1, so people won't start seeing your events until then.

Our hope in launching this new calendar is to make the search for things to do easier. The partnership among the three publications will give our readers the most bang for their Internet buck.

Beginning on May 1, the calendar seen on the right will be posted on each Web site. To get started, click the day, click the advanced button to get more search options or click add event to submit your own.

Will online submissions be printed in the newspaper?

Yes and no. Yes, each newspaper will print a community calendar as they always have. The online calendar allows venues and organizers to post more information than the print editions can fit onto their community pages. In that sense, not everything from the online calendar will make it into print.

We look forward to serving our readers with this new feature, and we hope you will embrace it as your one-stop destination for what's happening in Iredell County.

Beyond words and photos

The R&L and Lake Norman Navigator are moving beyond words on paper. Learn more about events and stories through slideshows and video. Here are some highlights:

See a photo slideshow of life at Fort Dobbs through a re-enactment held this weekend.

Take a tour of Statesville's $10 million estate, which includes more than 200 acres and two homes.

See what Lake Norman Elementary School students are using new technology to learn.

MerleFest

Do you go to MerleFest? Are you planning to go this year? We want to hear from you.

Send an e-mail to jnorman@statesville.com if you'd like to be interviewed for an upcoming feature on MerleFest.

County track meet

This week's Game of the Week comes to you from Lake Norman High School. North Iredell, West Iredell, Statesville, South Iredell, Mooresville and Lake Norman track and field athletes convened at Lake Norman Thursday.

For video highlights and stories, visit www.statesville.com.

Photo reprints

In case you needed another reason to get excited about www.statesville.com, we have several new features on the horizon.

First, users will soon be able to order photos taken by our fine photographers. Not only will you soon be able to order photos, but you can have photos printed on different surfaces. I'll have more information on this later.

Second, ever wish there was a comprehensive list of events and activities around the county. Ever wish you could easily search this list? Ever wish you could easily add to this list? You soon can! Yes, statesville.com, mooresvilletribune.com and navigatethelake.com will soon have a fully-functioning calendar feature. You'll soon be able to search by location, price or family friendliness of events all over Iredell County.

Have ideas for what could make our sites better for users? Comment here.

What happened to our Web site?

Most of you already know that there was a major shooting incident at Virginia Tech. As we and our sister publications scrambled to get you the latest news, we overloaded our servers.

We're not out of it yet! Be sure to check www.statesville.com for the latest. Our collegues in Virginia are coordinating coverage, including video feeds and up-to-minute updates.

We also hope to find parents of Virginia Tech students in our area. If you are a parent, or know someone who is a Hokie parent, e-mail editor Mike Fuhrman at mfuhrman@statesville.com.

Thanks for reading!

Week in photos

If you haven't yet noticed, our photographers capture a lot in a week. Now you can review the week through our photo gallery. The photo above was shot by O.C. Stonestreet.

Reviewing a week in photos isn't all we have in our gallery. Check out the recent WalkAmerica fundraiser, or an Easter pageant hosted by a local church.

Game of the Week

Sorry to all the Iredell sports fans out there.

Weather caused the cancellation of Thursday's Game of the Week, a baseball matchup between West Iredell and South Iredell.

Never fear! The Game of the Week will return next week.

Ever wonder how we choose the game of the week? It's a very scientific process involving derivatives, hyperbolas and everything else we learned in college math class. In layman's terms, it's what the sports desk thinks is the best game involving county teams.

Friday the 13th

Tomorrow isn't any normal Friday.

It just happens to be Friday the 13th.

BetUS.com came up with some stats to put the day in perspective.

The World to End: 1,000,000/1
You lose your job: 100/1
Your spouse leaves you: 500/1
You throw out your back: 250/1
You go bankrupt: 500/1
You get a flat tire: 50/1
You break your leg: 100/1
A bird will poop on you: 100/1
You will get sick: 50/1
You will get locked out of your house/apt: 50/1
Your car will get towed: 100/1
You will get a ticket (speeding, parking, etc.): 50/1
You will lose all your hair: 250/1
Your car will get stolen: 100/1
You will find money: 50/1
You will slip on banana peel: 100/1
You will win the lottery: 500/1

Is the day inherently unlucky? That's what I want to know.

Tell me your Friday the 13th stories. Tell me who you are so I can get in touch with you to make a cool video feature on your stories.

Here's what I've received so far:

I do not think Friday 13th is bad luck. I met my husband, Sandy, on Friday 13th on a blind date. He was about 45 minutes late, but we have now been
married 45 years. We feel that this was our lucky day.
Ann Cline

Yes, I think Friday the 13th's can be bad luck especially for me!

In 1969, my luck on a Friday the 13th went from uneventful to BAD. It was a cold, snowy night in my hometown of Roanoke, Virginia. I was 19 years old
and was out with my then boyfriend in my newly painted 1965 Volkswagen. Another words, my first real car, all mine and yes I was paying for it! He was driving and as he paused to go over some railroad tracks, we got bumped from behind. My car was damaged and then spend about 2 weeks in the repair shop.

Also on this same night, when I arrived home, before I could tell my father
about the car, he told me that he had been hunting for my dog. Hokie was a mixed breed from the pound given to me by my boyfriend, a Hokie from Virginia Tech. There was no leash law at thetime so he would frequently roam the neighborhood. He always came home. But not on this Friday the 13th. It was a little past midnight and my father said he had driven around the neighborhood, but Hokie was nowhere to be found. We both decided to go to bed and hoped that we would hear him during the night wanting in from the snow. The next morning, no Hokie. At that point my father and I drove to the pound and as I sat in the truck, I saw something I did not expect to see. My father returning to the truck with Hokie's collar in hand. He was told that a neighbor had called them when they heard gunshots and saw another neighbor shoot Hokie for eating his cats food which sat on the back porch. (There was a law about shooting a firearm in the city limits.)

The unfamiliar neighbor was fined for shooting the firearm and along with the SPCA, we took him to court for destroying private property. Hopefully, a lesson learned.

Several years passed along with several Friday the 13th's. The number 13 was a constant in my life. I married in 1970 and our first apartment number was 13. Then on August 10, 1971, I gave birth to a 6 weeks premature son. My parents were vacationing in Myrtle Beach, SC and were expected home in a couple of days. When they got the phone call about a new grandson, they cut their trip short and arrived home late on August 12th. On the morning of August 13th, after having a few brief moments to hold my son for the first time, and waiting on my parents to arrive to see him for their first time, the peditrician came into my room and said my son was not doing good and that they were running some tests. Young, alone and scared, I tried to reach my husband, then my parents and his to no avail. It seemed like hours and as I was walking into the hallway, I was met by the doctor who informed me that my son did not make it.

These 3 events have always remained as vivid as the days they happened. It is not something I talk about with anyone anymore. But the number 13 and the association with Fridays are not among my favorites. Who knows, maybe things will turn around and there will be something very good that happens to me or someone I know, on a Friday the 13th. Should I be so hopeful that it could happen if a few days? If you are optimistic, think about me on Friday!

Pat Blake

Online scheduling

There is a method to our madness here at www.statesville.com.

Weekdays at 5 p.m.
We publish 5@5, our comedic look at Statesville characters with host Jim Munoz-McNally. He also gives a sneak peek at the next day's headlines.

Mondays
We take down the poll before noon and replace it with a new question. The results of the poll are published in Tuesday's R&L.

Fridays
We compile the week in photos, from the previous Saturday through Friday, and post it in our photo gallery.

Once a week
The R&L sports desk picks the best game of the week and we post video highlights.

Daily
If there are traffic troubles, we'll post them as soon as we know of them. The same goes for breaking news stories.

Have anything you think we should add to www.statesville.com? Post your comments with ideas and suggestions.