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Midland Calendar of Events

Wed
16 May Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre Event: Alvin Ailey American Dance TheatreVenue: Knight TheatreStart: 5/16/2012 7:30:00 PMCategory: THEATRE DANCE…

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Thu
17 May Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre Event: Alvin Ailey American Dance TheatreVenue: Knight TheatreStart: 5/17/2012 7:30:00 PMCategory: THEATRE DANCE…

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Fri
18 May Billy Currington Event: Billy CurringtonVenue: Time Warner Cable Uptown Amphitheatre (formerly Road Runner Mobile Amphitheatre)Start: 5/18/201…

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Midland Area News

Mother says disabled son was put in cardboard box at school as punishment

A mother said a Caldwell County teacher put her son in a cardboard box to punish him while at school.

Joy Amatuccio showed Eyewitness News a photo of the time-out box at Hudson Middle School she said was made for her disabled son.

“I was mortified,” she said. “I was absolutely mortified. I think I was in disbelief at first, like, ‘Why would they put him in a box?’ There must be another explanation for this.”

Her son, Jacob, is mentally and physically handicapped and partially paralyzed after a traumatic brain injury when he was a toddler.  That injury causes him to have outbursts, and the school has an individual education plan to calm him down. It does not include placing him in the cardboard box, which is big enough to hold a refrigerator and has a flap that can be closed. 

“It's dignity. That's his dignity,” Amatuccio said. “These are all his peers. People can walk by and see, there's a child in the box.  ‘Look at the disabled boy in a box.’”

Amatuccio said the principal removed the box when he found out about it last month, but she didn't learn about it until she got a photo from another parent this week. 

The school district said the teacher has been placed on paid administrative leave for three days while an investigation is under way at the school.

“The Caldwell County School System would not allow a student to be in an isolated area or secluded area as a form of discipline,” said Libby Brown with Caldwell County Schools. “This is not in adherence to school board policy or procedure in Caldwell County Schools.”

Amatuccio said the principal apologized, and Jacob was placed in a different special needs class for the remainder of the year.

“When you think it is acceptable to put a child in a box, I don't think you should work with children. I think she's chosen the wrong career,” Amatuccio said.

_{Wed, 16 May 2012 14:43:59 -0400}

Conflicting schedules: MTV books VMA show on same night as Obama’s DNC speech

First it was the opening night of the professional football season. Now MTV has tried to lay claim to Sept. 6 by booking the 2012 Video Music Awards.

However, politicos and pundits are quick to point out President Barack Obama’s speech to accept the Democratic Party’s nomination is slated for the same night.

That means that some of the biggest names in popular music will be gathering in Los Angeles as some of the biggest names in the Democratic Party gather in Charlotte.

According to CNN, MTV executives are aware of the timing of the awards show and pushed the awards show up an hour to 8 p.m., “to avoid conflict with the Democratic National Convention.”

The Obama campaign has not commented on the awards show schedule.

_{Wed, 16 May 2012 14:04:55 -0400}

Cabarrus Co. CVB launches early push for DNC memorabilia sales

One North Carolina county’s visitors bureau isn’t waiting for September to market Democratic National Convention merchandise.

On Wednesday, the Cabarrus County Convention and Visitors Bureau announced it was the exclusive retail provider for all official DNC merchandise in the county.

The agency has shirts, water bottles, car magnets and buttons, it said in a release.

"Our visitor center will be very busy over the next few weeks with the races, so it will be convenient for those guests that want official DNC merchandise to pick  something up here while they are staying in Cabarrus County," said Donna Carpenter, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Cabarrus Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The Cabarrus County Convention and Visitors Bureau is located at 10099 Weddington Road, Suite #102 off exit 49 at Interstate 85.

Cabarrus County hotels will play host to delegates from nine states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, the CVB said.

_{Wed, 16 May 2012 13:48:54 -0400}

News Source: MedleyStory More Local News Stories