More time for family - Carolina Weekly Newspapers

News
Huntersville man killed
in wreck was protector
by Josh Lanier
josh@mooresvilleweekly.com
If it had wheels, Jeremy Talbot Scheffer
wanted to toy with it. If it was broken,
he wanted to care for it.
“He was someone who was just drawn
to someone who was picked on or who
was left out,” his mother Jean Hoffman
said. “If that person needed someone,
Jeremy was the first person to be by their
side. He was just one of the most caring
people you could know.”
Scheffer, 28, of Huntersville, died on
Dec. 1 in Mount Mourne when his motor
scooter collided with a car around
9 p.m. at the intersection of N.C. 115
and Fairfiew Road. Nathaniel Dalton,
of Mooresville, the driver of the car, was
not injured. Police are still investigating
the wreck.
Scheffer recently moved to Huntersville
from New York to work at The Spirited
Cyclist, and he made fast friends.
It was his passion for bikes and extreme
sports that endeared him to the cyclists
around the area, his mother said.
On Hookit.com, a site dedicated to
extreme sports, Scheffer posted: “I love
getting on something and teaching myself
how to master it. From there, I want
to prove my abilities by competing.”
He was passionate about whatever he
Jeremy Scheffer
did, family said.
It was a passion he carried with him
through his life. After graduating from
North Davidson High School in 2000,
Scheffer left for East Tennessee State University
and then entered the U.S. Navy. After
a brief stint in New York, he moved to
the area to be closer to his family.
“At the wake and funeral, so many
people came up to me to tell me how
much he meant to them,” Hoffman said.
“I didn’t realize how much of an impact
he had, but that was just Jeremy. He
could change your world by just being
around you. He was a great man.”
He is survived by his mom and dad,
Jack Scheffer, and his sister, Jillian
Scheffer, Charlotte; and stepfather,
Scott Hoffman.
A funeral was held Dec. 3 at St. Mark
Catholic Church in Huntersville. q
Red Line
(continued from page 1)
Jeter said using the commuter rail for
freight across the corridor would make
for a good sales pitch to Norfolk Southern,
but he expressed concern whether
local companies could derive benefits
transporting materials short distances
from Statesville to Charlotte.
“In theory, it sounds great, but my
concern would be that you have to hire
additional labor,” said Jeter, president of
a Cornelius-based logistics company. “If
I’m NGK Ceramics up in Mooresville
or the companies up in Statesville that I
deal with, I doubt there is really cost efficiencies
for them to move freight on the
rail.”
Town Manager Steve Husemann said
Mooresville has talked to companies with
interest in locating near the tracks – not
because they anticipate doing any kind
of shipping but because they favored the
flexibility.
“When prices go crazy on trucking or if
there’s a national truck strike, they don’t
have to shut down their business because
of that,” Husemann said. “Using rail
makes some sense.”
On Nov. 17, the Metropolitan Transit
Commission favored pursuing federal
funding for the Blue Line Light Rail
Extension to northeast Charlotte, while
seeking public-private partnerships for
the Red Line.
Morris said the public has perceived
proposed commuter rail, light rail and
streetcar projects to be in competition
with each other for funding. But he
hopes to convince people to think about
transit in terms of layers, with commuter
rail serving as the backbone by linking
the Charlotte region’s north and northeast
corridors.
Estimated costs batted around for the
Red Line have hovered around $350 million,
but Morris believes planners could
cut the price by $50 million on account
of deferring parts of the project, among
other measures. The remaining amount
would be split among local, regional and
state funding sources.
Adding freight to the rail could operate
state-level interest, Morris said, which
could attract funding beyond the 25 percent
match used to support regional passenger
plans. Officials said the project
could attract state funding set aside for
projects involving freight modernization
or traffic mitigation, since the rail could
reduce the number of vehicles traveling
on Interstate 77.
Morris also shared some financing
strategies with leaders, mentioning that
transferring publicly owned land into an
investment portfolio of real estate could
quickly generate funding.
No action was taken during the Lake
Norman Transportation Commission
meeting. Morris told the commission that
the Metropolitan Transit Commission’s
Red Line Task Force would continue
serving as “quarterback” for the commuter
rail effort. That group is scheduled
to meet mid-month in Charlotte q
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Page 14 • Mooresville Weekly • Dec. 10-16, 2010
www.mooresvilleweekly.com