SALISBURY — After 18 years, Carpet Deals and More at 1103 Lincolnton Road is going out of business.
Owner Dick Earnhardt said sales plummeted when new home construction dried up during the recession and they never recovered.
“The politicians may talk about the economy getting better, but it’s not true,” said Earnhardt, 79. “I see it every day.”
The store at the intersection of Lincolnton Road and Mitchell Avenue will start a going-out-of-business sale Monday. Earnhardt, who has operated the business with his son, Cash, said they expect the closing to take six to eight weeks.
When the housing market was booming, the construction of one new home necessitated new carpet, vinyl and other floor coverings in about two and half houses, Earnhardt said, including the newly constructed home as well as houses that were sold and bought in the process as families moved. That domino effect has not returned, he said.
SALISBURY — Darin Damme, who works at Jerry’s Shell Service, recently won first place in a statewide competition sponsored by Skill USA and Rowan-Cabarrus Community College.
Skills USA held the event in Greensboro, recognizing the best RCCC students in several categories. Damme has attended RCCC automotive classes for two years and won the top award for automotive service technician. He will compete in the national competition in June in Kansas City.
Damme is married with children and lives in Salisbury.
FastMed Urgent Care, the sixth largest urgent care provider in the United States, has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for accreditation by demonstrating compliance with the Joint Commission’s national standards for health care quality and safety in ambulatory health care.
FastMed has a Salisbury location at 1361 Klumac Road.
The accreditation award recognizes FastMed’s dedication to continuous compliance with the Joint Commission’s state-of-the-art standards. FastMed is one of 37 of the 5,250 non-hospital based urgent care centers in the U.S. and is the largest urgent care operator to earn the designation.
Jason Epley, a partner with Kannapolis based Benchmark, will speak at the American Planning Association’s 2014 National Planning Conference in Atlanta later this month.
The conference, which will be attended by more than 5,000 planning professionals representing local, county, regional and state governments, brings together planners from across the United States each year to engage in professional development and continuing education.
Epley was invited by the American Planning Association to speak at a session that will explore the process and results of a regional trail plan for the area around Dubuque, Iowa, that he and his firm helped develop.
A native of Lexington, Epley is a 1996 graduate of the Master of City and Regional Planning program at Clemson University.

The Jesse C. Carson High School Marching Cougars have been invited to represent North Carolina in the National Memorial Day Parade in Washington, D.C. on May 26, and the band needs to raise at least $60,000 for all band members to participate.
Band boosters need businesses to sponsor a golf tournament May 10 at McCanless Golf Club.
The band also has been invited to participate in the American Legion National Convention this summer.
Business sponsors will help defray the costs of the two events and the expense of moving the band to each competition or football game, as well as providing music and supplies for all of the band programs. For more information contact Elaine Barton at elainebarton5@gmail.com or 704-209-1073.

SPENCER — Starting May 2, the Green Goat Gallery in Spencer will host Wine Down and Create every Friday from 6 to 8 p.m.
Bring your own wine and snack or reserve a dinner next door at Pinocchio’s and come early to eat and then wander over to the Goat for two hours of fun. Everything is supplied — paints, brushes, aprons and two excited local artists ready to guide you though painting something like you have never imagined.
Canvas is purchased at the Green Goat for a minimum fee. At the end of the two hours, walk out with a piece of original artwork. No prior painting experience is needed.
Reservations are required due to limited seating. The cost is $25.
Contact Patt at 704-762-9647 or at www.WineDownandCreate.com or Carol at 704-636-0633 or cdunkley3@gmail.com.
Jay Whittington, president of Central Carolina Insurance Agency, has been selected to serve on the 2014 Agents Advisory Board with the North Carolina Department of Insurance. Wayne Goodwin is insurance commissioner.
The committee is made up of 24 agents across the state and voice concerns and ideas to the commissioner and his staff.
 Central Carolina Insurance Agency was established in 1931 and has 27 employees with offices in Salisbury and Mooresville. 
CONCORD — The Silverman Group will begin construction of two speculative buildings in the Concord Airport Business Park.
The project will consist a 400,000-square-foot spec building at 7035 Northwinds Drive and a 150,000-square-foot spec space at 7055 Northwinds Drive.
Construction on both buildings will start in May and should be complete by December.
Concord City Council agreed to offer a property tax incentive grant, which includes a three-year tax rebate at 85 percent of the property taxes due once the buildings are complete. The value of the buildings is about $22 million.
Ken and Blake Silverman, owners of the Silverman Group said the location of the buildings at the Concord Airport Business Park offers potential for a variety of businesses looking to relocate to the area.
On Saturday, May 3, from 6 – 10 a.m. Belk locations are offering local charities all proceeds from each $5 ticket sold.
The first 100 customers at each store get Belk gift cards
You can also purchase the latest spring fashions at discounts ranging from 20 to 70 percent with limited exclusions.
Participating charities and schools will be registered to win one of three $1,000 donations from Belk. Charity representatives should contact the local Belk store manager. Organizations must have an IRS Section 501(c)(3) designation.
Kimberly Bartnik has a new franchise of The Maids in Concord after 25 years in the financial industry.
She purchased the residential cleaning business with the services of Guidant Financial, which helped her roll retirement funds into starting her franchise.
The Maids of Concord is at 306 Church St. N. Call 704-793-1982 or email Kimberly@themaidsofconcordnc.com
Comfort Keepers and Bethpage Presbyterian Church are holding the free monthly Coffee Perks seminar on Thursday, May 1, at Bethpage Presbyterian Church, 6020 Mooresville Road, Kannapolis, from 10-11 a.m. 
Kelly Sheppard, doctoral candidate with the Department of Psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will discuss research at the David H. Murdoch Core Lab., including BERRY (Blueberry: Exciting Research Relevant to You.)
Refreshments will be served; RSVP your plans to attend to 704-640-5152, 704-630-0370 or email annmeasmer@comfortkeepers.com 

CHARLOTTE — Park Sterling Corp. has declared a cash dividend to shareholders of 2 cents per common share, payable on May 20, to all shareholders of record as of the close of business on May 6.
Net income was $3.6 million, or 8 cents per share, compared to $3.2 million, or 7 cents per share, in the same period last year.
It was down from fourth-quarter income for shareholders of $4 million, or 9 cents per share.
Park Sterling Bank also announced it has released the latest version of its mobile banking app that expands services on mobile or tablet devices. Working with Malauzai Software, the bank now offers customers the Picture Pay mobile photo bill pay solution and debit card management.
LEXINGTON — Plans for a 27,000-square-foot indoor sports facility called Goal Line Sports have been announced.
The facility will be at 4095 Old Salisbury Road near interstate 85.
GLS will offer specialized training as well as leagues, tournaments, camps, clinics, strength and conditioning and open play for all ages from youth (3 to 18) and adult (18 and up). The facility will contain two indoor fields featuring turf for soccer, lacrosse, volleyball and dodge ball.
Another field turf area will be targeted more for skills training for golf with a simulator and pitching mounds for baseball and softball.
 Drew Whitaker is co-owner of Goal Line Sports. Jacquelin White is facility manager.
Contact Whitaker at 336-669-5727 or email: drew@goallinesportsnc.com. Website www.goallinesportsnc.com
 The North Carolina Retail Merchants Association has named four Retailer of the Year recipients.
They are:
• Harris Teeter – founded in 1936, Matthews
• Lanier True Value Hardware – founded in 1940, Lexington
• Lowe’s Companies — founded in 1946, Mooresville
• Person Street Pharmacy — founded in 1910, Raleigh
 The Association will develop a feature article on each of these award recipients to publish in its newsletter and share with the media.
?Submit information about new businesses, honors and management promotions to bizbriefs@salisburypost.com. Include a daytime phone number.