RALEIGH – Is it really necessary to put over 31 garbage cans on one city block in downtown Raleigh? Evidently the state government thinks so.

Visitors to the Bicentennial Mall in downtown Raleigh have recently noticed a slew of new garbage cans lining both sides of the walkway. The one block long walkway connects the NC Museum of History and the NC Natural Science Museum between the NC Legislature Building and the old NC Capitol Building.

Although there didn’t seem to be much of a trash problem before, the state government obviously thought there was enough of a garbage issue to place at least 31 garbage cans on both sides of the street.

The shiny black Rubbermaid plastic cans are only ten feet apart or less in some cases, leaving some visitors to wonder if they went overboard.

“Was someone related to the garbage can vendor?” joked one NC resident who was visiting the NC Natural Science Museum when asked what they thought about the new garbage cans.

“They really stand out and I think they look worse than the garbage,” said another visitor.

“The new garbage cans look like they were picked up at Wal-Mart and it doesn’t really match the rest of the mall,” they added. “At least the old ones blended in a lot better.”

They pointed out an older metal garbage bin that is gray in color moved off to one side.

According to stickers placed on both sides of the cans that almost seem like advertisements, the cans are “Property of the Facility Management Division.”

“Questions? Need A Pick-up? Visit WWW.NCFacilityManagement.net or call Work Control at 919-733-3853,” says the sign on the cans.

Looking down the Bicentennial Mall at the distant horizon, one is impressed by the marble slabs of the NC Legislature Building and the American and North Carolina flags.

Then looking downwards, the long line of black plastic garbage cans with big white stickers that say “TRASH ONLY” seems to serve a reminder that the beautiful Bicentennial Mall that is part of the Main Street of North Carolina doesn’t appear quite as grand as it used to be.

Inquiries through a telephone call and e-mail to the NC Facility Management office about the garbage cans were not immediately returned.

SOURCE:Raleigh Chronicle

Popular Christian singer is an ordinary guy with extraordinary good humor

In some ways, singer-songwriter Mark Schultz seems to be a guy with the ability to do extraordinary things — bringing in a quarter of a million dollars for widows and orphans, or causing a packed house to erupt in cheers. But for many of his Christian music fans, Schultz’s main draw comes from his guy-next-door sense of humility.

Wearing shorts and a T-shirt, with sunglasses perched on the top of his head, Schultz, 36, talks about his success in the music industry with a tone that suggests he is still a little surprised by it all himself.

Schultz, who has eight No. 1 Christian singles to his name, has been a Durham resident for the past year. This spring and summer, he was on the road as part of a charity bike trek.

And local residents will get to hear his radio-friendly rock strains and pop melodies in person on Sept. 19 at a sold-out show at Wake Cross Roads Baptist Church in Raleigh.

Schultz’s songs often chronicle true-to-life events. Lyrics on his newest album, “Broken & Beautiful,” speak of the fine line between sin and salvation, ruin and redemption. They are powerful in their humanity and sense of inclusiveness.

“I just love his music. It’s energetic, it’s fun and it always brings home a point at the end of all of his songs. He’s a very good storyteller,” said Scott Bernard of Nashville, who plays guitar on some of the singer’s songs.

It was Schultz’s wife, Kate Celauro, who brought him from Nashville to the Triangle. She’s a resident at the N.C. Women’s Hospital at UNC.

“Whatever I do can’t be compared to what she does,” he said. “She works so hard.”

But Schultz’s fans think he works pretty hard himself. No matter the size of an arena, Bernard said, Schultz has a way of making each live performance seem like an intimate gathering.

For Schultz, this is what making music is about.

“To be able to hold an audience to [the point] where you can feel them breathe … it’s just a beautiful thing,” he said.

A musician’s journey

Schultz, as a Kansas high school quarterback with an affinity for sports, always hoped he would get the chance to make music professionally. But he knew the odds of doing so were slim.

Still, after graduating from Kansas State University with a marketing degree, he decided that he had to at least give Nashville a try.

“I didn’t want to get to be 70 years old and look back on my life and say, ‘You know, if I only took a chance,’ ” he said.

He gave himself a year in Music City to make it, moving there in 1994. The year passed without success.

So he gave himself another.

And then another.

During the third year, his father, Gary, in Nashville for a visit, told Schultz he would play at the city’s historic Ryman Auditorium one day. With no real musical prospects to speak of, Schultz said he took the vote of confidence as the prediction of a proud, but overly optimistic, father.

But two years later, Schultz did play the Ryman.

Stepping out on faith

As youth director at Nashville’s First Presbyterian Church at the time, Schultz and his music had an enthusiastic following among the congregation. On a hope and a prayer, he decided to rent out the Ryman and pay for the rental through ticket sales — a move that carried a hefty $20,000 price tag.

The cost of the rental was more than his entire annual salary as a youth director — a fact that became even more burdensome when he saw only 300 people in the 2,362-seat auditorium when the show was slated to start.

A traffic jam outside had pushed back the starting time. By the time the show began, the auditorium was packed with people from his church and those that had heard his CDs from friends in the congregation.

By the end of the show, Schultz was on his way to a record deal.

Now, he plays 175 shows some years and has earned honors such as the 2006 Gospel Music Association’s Dove Award.

“He’s very focused, but at the same time, he’s got a great sense of humor,” said Shaun Shankel, a producers of “Broken & Beautiful” who has worked with such artists as Kimberley Locke, Hilary Duff and Clay Aiken.

Read More: News & Observer