- [Narrator] This is a production of PBS Charlotte.

- Just ahead on Carolina Impact, North Carolina's youngest office holder is right here, in Mecklenburg County.

He says, "How you look at jobs and schools "and affordable housing, "may depend on how old, or how young you are."

Plus Charlotte's fight against pediatric cancer has gone to the next level.

We'll give you all the details.

And we'll introduce you to a new game, and the Charlotte couple who created it.

Carolina Impact starts right now.

(theme music) - [Narrator] Carolina Impact, covering the issues, people in places that impact you.

This is Carolina Impact.

(theme music) - Good evening, thanks so much for joining us, I'm Amy Burkett.

Every election, there's lots of talk about the youth vote.

Why younger voters often don't turn out, and when they do turn out who they vote for?

But some are doing more than just voting.

5 years ago, Ken McCool was in high school, 3 years ago, he announced he was running for town commissioner, 2 years ago, he barely lost his first election.

And now at age 22, McCool is North Carolina's youngest public office holder.

Carolina Impacts, Jeff Sonier, has more on how youth is served and is serving in the town of Matthews.

- Yeah, small town politics a little different than politics say in Charlotte where even the closest races are often decided by hundreds, or thousands of votes.

In a small town, with fewer voters, even a dozen or so ballots, can make a big difference in some elections, and an unknown or a newcomer, ("Small Town") can come along and really shake things up, and that's kind of what's happening here in small town of Mathews.

("Small Town") ♪ Well I was born in a small town ♪ ♪ And I live in a small town ♪ - No one knew who I was a year and a half ago.

- Ken McCool says, when you're half the age of the other town commissioners here in Matthews, you see the town's problems differently.

You were how old, when you ran for town board?

- When I announced I was 20, when I was actually running I was 21 and- - McCool actually lost that 1st election by 13 votes, but when a town board member later resigned, well McCool was next in line.

- I uphold my office as commissioner... Before there wasn't necessarily a voice exactly like mine on the board, so I add a dialogue to our town meetings that necessarily wouldn't be there.

(members clapping) - [Jeff] Not just a younger voice, but a blue collar voice.

A lifelong resident of Matthews, who like many others can't afford his own Town's high priced homes.

- I have a family right now, we're looking for housing, and if I'm feeling it, an elected leader in the town of Matthews, I am 100% sure that there's residents here who are feeling the exact same thing.

("Small Town") ♪ And all my friends are so small town ♪ ♪ My parents live in the same small town ♪ ♪ My job is so small town ♪ ♪ Provides little opportunity ♪ - I work a trade job, I work with my hands, I'm a contractor doing painting work.

You know, it's sometimes hard.

- [Jeff] It's a Monday morning and McCool is on the job.

You know, one of those jobs you can't do from home during the pandemic.

- It's not a terrible job, it pays the bills and it's somewhat enjoyable.

- [Jeff] Painting one of those apartments, that's out of his price range.

The town of Matthews' economy and our tax base is doing great through COVID.

Great through COVID!

It's been hard for people like me who work trade jobs and people who have been laid off.

(machine roaring) And that's something I care about a lot is making sure no one gets left behind, because we have to look at more attainable housing, not affordable housing, but attainable housing, that young professionals like myself can use and buy, you know, going into the future.

♪ Educated in a small town ♪ - [Jeff] Education is another issue that Matthew's youngest town commissioner knows from the inside.

♪ Used to daydream in that small town ♪ - You know, I went to an overcrowded high school, I understand what it's like.

♪ But I've seen it all in a small town ♪ - [Jeff] When you talk about kids in overcrowded classrooms, you feel the pain, fairly recent.

- Yeah, fair recently, not too long ago, I was in that classroom.

- Mm-hmm.

- [Ken] You have that one-on-one with your teacher, you're able to make a relationship, but when you're in a classroom of 45 kids, it's really hard to have that one-on-one personal relationship.

And so these decisions, we're putting our kids at risk.

- [Jeff] That was in 2016, when McCool was one of those kids, graduating from CMS.

Now the future of CMS in Matthews, is one of his top priorities.

Do you get more respect or less respect on an issue like education because of your youth?

- I come from it, with an actual perspective, from being in that classroom.

But our class sizes were getting larger and larger each year I went to school, and I've called out CMS when it needs to be called out, but it's about being collaborative and having that back and forth.

I've heard that some teachers who teach in Mathews schools feel left out.

- [Jeff] In fact, that's why McCool ran for town commissioner in the first place, after the previous Matthew's town board supported a split with CMS, to build their own charter schools, and CMS responded by putting all Matthews' schools on a low priority list for new construction.

(overlapping chatter) (ball bouncing) - So, why would we push ourselves away from them, when it's the best for our kids?

You know, you kind of forget, you get lost in this partisan politics, as we talked about that earlier is, it was a very partisan feeling decision, and it hurt, it hurt the families it hurt the students, and I came to a point where the decisions being made, I knew for a fact, weren't the decisions that the people wanted.

And so I had to, I like I had to interject myself.

- The discussion, all in favor?

All opposed, that passes unanimously.

- Decisions that are being made are going to affect me, in the next 10, 20, 30, 50 years.

- [Jeff] That's why in the next election, Ken McCool is hoping a lot more voters who are his age, join him in line at the polls, and maybe even on the ballot.

McCool says, local races, city councils and town boards, are where young voters and young candidates, can really make a lot of difference, in their own lives and in the quality of life.

- When you focus on municipal and local politics, you get real things done, get real changed on it.

It all starts from the bottom up.

- I will entertain a motion for adjournment, Commissioner McCool.

- [Jeff] Even though serving as the state's youngest public office holder, still takes a little getting used to.

- I'd like to make an adjournment, all right, motion to adjourn.

- I you need to work on that a little bit.

- Yeah, I'm sorry.

- You got a second, you got a second?

- Second.

- Seconded by Commissioner Whitley, all in favor?

All opposed?

(gavel bangs) (indistinct) (country music) - For Carolina Impact, I'm Jeff Sonier reporting.

- Thanks so much, Jeff.

In Mecklenburg County, the City of Charlotte, and all six Mecklenburg towns, including Matthews are holding elections this fall.

Six seats on the Charlotte Mecklenburg board of education are also up for grabs in November.

You'll find links to more info on this year's election, on our website at pbscharlotte.org.

The battle to fight pediatric cancer has ramped up considerably in Charlotte, thanks to the Levine Children's Hospital and a partnership with the Isabella Santos Foundation.

A world renowned pediatric oncologist will lead the new effort, as Carolina Impact's Suzette Rhee tell us, "Many believe, it will be a game changer."

(overlapping conversation) (whooshing) - WOw!

(upbeat music) - [Suzette] To see 11-year-old Lucy Wright at a playground, is to see the joyful, full of fun girl that she is.

She loves school, her friends, and of course her phone.

- I do some dances, and I also love scrolling through my friends' TikTok.

(soft piano music) - [Suzette] But Lucy has come all the way from England to receive specialized cancer treatment.

She was diagnosed with neuroblastoma 3 years ago, a pediatric cancer of the nervous system.

- She's a happy child, she always has been.

And to see her in so much at pain was really difficult.

- [Suzette] Lucy and her parents went all over England for cancer treatments but knew they needed to bring her to Charlotte.

- And as parents, we just want to give her every opportunity of not relapsiing and getting on with her life.

- High five, (hands clap) Nice, way to go, you are strong!

(upbeat music) - [Suzette] And that's where Dr. Giselle Sholler comes in.

Sholler is an internationally recognized pediatric oncologist known for her groundbreaking research.

Parents like the Wrights, find their way to her.

The Wrights have fundraised for 2 years, so Lucy could begin clinical trial drugs with Sholler.

- The work that she's doing is exclusive to the States, and so we had no choice, but to come.

- [Richard] So lots of different treatments, we've traveled all over the UK to get to this point, and now obviously we've come to the U.S. to fix it once and for all.

- [Suzette] In the last 10 years, Sholler's work has helped to improve the survival rate of neuroblastoma, from once 35%, to now up to 70%.

(Sholler screams excitedly) - That's really the power of research, it brings hope, that we can do better and do more, and we're seeing that happen.

- With the partnership (dramatic music) of Atrium Health Levine Children's Hospital, the Isabella Santos Foundation, and the Beat Childhood Cancer Foundation, Sholler work, is now headquartered in Charlotte, and joins the cancer team here.

- The Levine Cancer Institute has a huge program for adult cancers, and now we can, you know, work with them, and to expand that into pediatric cancers.

Beyond just neuroblastoma, we're now doing pediatric clinical trials and also tumors.

- We've been able to now tie in the clinical piece of seeing all the patients, to the science piece of all of that.

And so those two things together for pediatric cancer, is how we should be doing things.

So, I do think it's a game changer.

(indistinct) (chuckles) - You have a safe trip back to UK, okay.

- [Suzette] She adds, the work now includes a new treatment pathway called the precision medicine program.

- So now every child that's diagnosed here in Charlotte at our hospital will have their tumor sequenced, full genomic sequencing of the patient's tumor, to really understand more about the biology of each individual child.

- [Suzette] Colleagues like Dr. Javier Oesterheld say, it will be transformational.

- Instead of targeting where the tumor is, you're targeting actually the genetic code of the tumor.

which I think is the future of cancer care, which is where adults are today.

(Byrne shrieks) (Footstep clatter) - [Jason] Get one right there Bryne.

- [Suzette] 3-year-old Bryne Andrew is the perfect example of what precision medicine can do.

The toddler from Albemarle, was diagnosed with neuroblastoma in December of 2018.

- And then it was just boom, boom, boom, within a couple of days, she had her biopsy and then we knew it was neuroblastoma, and then, you know, she started chemo the day after Christmas.

- [Jason] It's just part of life, she loses her hair, that's who I came home from work, or go visit at Levine's or stay with her up there, that was our bald little Bryne, but that was our daughter.

And you know, it just got...

It was our normal at the time.

- [Suzette] Bryne and her brother Nash play in the backyard, dad blows bubbles to add to the fun, and mom Kelly share in this news.

- She is declared cancer free, we're so happy and so excited, in her most recent scans, were completely clear scans.

First time she's ever had clear scans, since we started all this.

- A lot of tears, a lot of, you know, self-reflecting on ourself on our relationship, or our family as a whole.

- Mummy, daddy!

(chuckles) - [Jason] You know at the day, I think we came out stronger.

- It's really easy to be down and to look at everything bad.

But if you sit around and look at everything that's good, you really do see so many wonderful things in life.

It makes a huge difference when you have that attitude.

It really does.

- [Suzette] When you see the Andrew family, it's hard to believe what they've gone through, but their daughter is proof of what pediatric cancer treatment in Charlotte can now do.

So now their precious daughter can enjoy life's childhood milestones, such as learning how to pump her legs on a swing.

- Up Bryne and Nash up!

- So, for families like the Andrews in Albemarle, and the Wrights from England, the pediatric cancer treatment here in Charlotte has been transformational.

And this new work will continue to help children, both here and from around the world.

For Carolina Impact, I'm Suzette Rhee reporting.

- Thanks so much Suzette.

There's a consortium of 42 hospitals sharing in this research, and not just in the United States, seven hospitals in Canada and one in Lebanon, are also participating in these clinical trials.

Well, preserving history is important to all of us, but the job isn't always easy, it takes time, effort and intention.

At one church in Lincolnton, conservation is a priority.

Carolina Impact's Todd Wallace, has that story.

(whooshing) (soft instrumental music) (pump squeaks) (sprays) - [Todd] Jason harp is adding a little life to a place for the dead.

- [Jason] The results are very gratifying when we do finish.

- [Todd] Jason preserves, what a many loved ones of the deceased may call precious, if not priceless - I'm responsible for most of our cemetery projects mainly the ones that involve the conservation and restoration of grave markers.

- [Todd] He is the director of cemetery conservation for Richard Grubb & Associates, and he takes great pride in caring for the only symbol of life, for those who are no longer living.

- One of the interesting things, or I guess exciting things about working in an area that you can revisit is, you know, I may have repaired something 5 years ago, and then go back and see that it's still intact.

- [Todd] St. Luke's Episcopal Church Cemetery in Lincolnton was founded in 1841, And many of the markers here, a well over 100 years old.

Parishioner of Mary wWhisonant says that means there is a mission behind the maintenance.

- I think it's important to carry a history on but we also have an obligation, to the families who have buried their families here.

We have an obligation to the people who founded this church.

(soft instrumental music) - So by no means then is this some simple job where you grab a bucket and brush and get to work, preservation also means learning about the material that needs to be cleaned, whether it's sandstone, slate or granite.

And then it's the kind of care, that each grave marker receives.

In order to restore it this piece of history, you must first do no harm.

- There's more than just maintenance when we talk about restoring gravestones and monuments, we really want to work in preservation methods, so that we do not cause problems down the road.

And that means proper materials, proper procedures.

- [Todd] Jason starts with a special cleaning solution called to D/2 to remove lichen, and other substances from the stones.

It's a biological mixture that does not have salts, bleach, or acids.

- So we wet the stone down completely with water, we apply the D/2, you can let it sit for 2 or 3 minutes or so, and then you completely cleaned from top to bottom.

(mid-tempo instrumental music) - [Todd] The St. Luke's Episcopal Church Preservation Committee, originally hired Jason to clean this cast iron fence on the cemetery property.

But both projects finding the right person to clean the artifacts is about as important, as the items themselves.

- When we have a question, or we want to do a project, Jason is who we go to, because we trust him.

He takes such care with these monuments.

- [Todd] Jane Goodson is the chairwoman for the preservation committee of St. Luke's Episcopal church.

She says for parishioners like herself, this preservation process is also very personal.

- I have family buried here, my mom, my dad, my grandparents, and my favorite aunt and uncle are buried here.

My grandfather's brothers are buried here, and this is where I will be buried.

- [Todd] And mixed with this respect for family and tradition, is the chance to learn more about the past.

- When we clean the markers, it's amazing!

They're completely different.

(brush scraps) You can read things.

We found things we didn't know, they were in the marker.

- [Todd] People contact Jason to work on cemeteries of all sizes, from finding rave sites or mapping, to locating boundaries for even abandoned cemeteries.

- They're interested in putting up a fence around it, but they don't know the boundaries of it so they're interested in having a ground penetrating radar survey to try to identify.

So, that when they put in an enclosure, they're not actually putting it on top of any potential burials.

- [Todd] For all that Jason does, the people that St Luke's Episcopal Church know the most important responsibility, is honoring the memory and memorials of those who've come before us.

- And people come here because there is a tradition, not only in the church, but in the cemetery.

It's our heritage.

- [Todd] A heritage that was created at this cemetery 180 years ago, and church members hope will live on.

For Carolina Impact, I'm Todd Wallace reporting.

- Thanks so much Todd.

Amazing to think, that Church is almost as old as our country.

Well, it's been a difficult year to find entertainment and that's brought back some old school options like cards, puzzles, and board games.

Recently a Charlotte couple, created a series of new card games.

As Carolina Impact's Jason Terzis shows us, thanks to COVID, the games are as popular as ever.

(whooshing) - So the sooner as you hear to quote, you can blurt out the answer, okay?

- [Terzis] It's game night at the Kent household in Huntersville.

- Won't you be my neighbor?

- Mr. Rogers.

- A bottle of wine, a bowl of popcorn and some good friends.

- When they go low.

- Michelle Obama.

- Finish it off!

(indistinct) - Yes.

(laughs) - [Terzis] But the game they're playing, isn't just another card game, it's a game that hosts Anthony and Chrissy Kent, create it themselves.

- See the way my checking integrity.

- Take a heart.

The greatest part about it is that it's actually real life.

- [Terzis] Chrissy and Anthony both worked full-time in the real estate industry, but in 2017, Anthony woke up from a dream with an idea.

- One morning he wakes up and he's like, "I think we should create a card game."

- [Terzis] It was ultimately the name of the game that Anthony chose, that caught people's attention.

- I had several names and "Passport to the Hood" seemed to be the most catchy, as a trendy game that I thought people would gravitate to.

So, that's where paths "Passport to the Hood" came from.

- [Terzis] In creating "Passport to the Hood" the Kents knew they had to get personal, taking their own real life experiences and those of friends and family to create the questions.

- So the cards are either facts, or majority vote, right?

- So, of course, if it's a fact, you have to get the exact right answer, if you get the answer wrong, you'll lose a point.

- There's something that didn't happen to us, it's something happened to a family member, it's something that a friend told us.

And it just honestly some of the fun stereotypes, that we all know about the urban culture.

So, it was just so much fun, just coming up with these questions, and thinking about the potential answers.

- I got into an entanglement.

- Jada Pinkett Smith.

- [Terzis] Naming their newly formed company SocialLaughs, the Kents started selling "Passport to the Hood" on Amazon, sales took off.

- Honestly, they were selling like hotcakes.

- [Terzis] Since the release of "Passport to the Hood," Anthony and Chrissy have created other card games, one is called "CELEBSAID," - Say hello to my little friend.

- Tony Montana.

- Mm.

(Chrissy laughs) - Scarface.

- No, it's the actor.

- Al Pacino.

- I'm a big movie goer, I love to watch movies.

And one thing about movies, you always remember the most quotable scenes done in those movies.

- He shot me in my pelvis!

- Tyrese.

- Third game in the SocialLaugh's collection is called "The Story of My Life," which was Chrissy's idea, and came about after a lady at her work, gave her a compliment, but in the process committed a big no-no.

- And braids at the time, and she walks up to me and she's like, "Oh my God, I love you hair!"

And in the process of her telling me that she loves my hair, she reaches out and she grabs it.

And that is like a stereotype, you never touch a black women's hair.

And I was livid!

- [Terzis] Chrissy channeled that anger into creativity, coming up with the concept for the new game.

- So initially it kind of started off as, you know, something that the black culture, black women deal with, but then as we started talking more about it, and coming up with the different questions, I said, "No, this is all women.

"We can all relate to certain topics in different things."

And that's really how that one sparked.

- [Man] What's the first thing dating websites should verify about men?

Wow, good one.

A, their height.

B, their relationship status.

C, their employment status, D, how old their profile pic is?

- Whoo!

- These are good.

These are good, the first thing though- - I really enjoyed that game just because it gives a different perspective to how women think, but also it gives more of an appreciation from a man's perspective of how women think and you know, questions they ask and conversations that they have.

- [Terzis] While most of the questions in each of the games are entertaining and funny, there are some, and they're designed specifically to spark a conversation.

- The whole premises of playing our game is to understand how other people think, and your understanding of how they think from their life experiences.

That's why we say, "Hey, you know a lot of questions are majority vote."

'cause want us to understand how other people view and see things.

- What's the first thing you should do when you're interrogated by the police?

A, blame it on your friend, B, ask for a lawyer, C, say you were not there.

D, confess to the crime, - B, Give me a lawyer.

- Not only do we want to make it funny, but we also want it to be a learning opportunity, you know, to kind of educate people, in terms of things that happen within the black culture.

- But it's definitely not meant to offend people to turn them off, is more so to spark a conversation.

- [Terzis] Chrissy and Anthony say you don't have to be black to play their games.

If anything, it's an opportunity for others to learn more about the culture.

- When you think about it, the urban culture impacts every aspect of your life, entertainment, education, movies, music, just clothing, fashion, all of that.

- [Terzis] Since the onset of the pandemic, sales of social labs games have increased by nearly 300%, with the games available on their website and on Amazon.

- Seeing him, and Chrissy work through the process of developing it and just seeing it go from an idea to where it is now, a beautiful thing, love it.

- I'm so, so proud of them, like they are amazing.

I think it's the coolest thing that I can say, "My friends made this cards, you know, you should buy 'em."

So, I'm so proud of them and I hope it does great things.

- And Chrissy and Anthony are already working on ideas, for new card games to be released later this year.

For Carolina Impact, I'm Jason Terzis reporting.

- Thanks so much Jason.

We're always for unique stories.

If you have a story idea, please let us know by emailing at stories@wtvi.org We'd love to shine the spotlight, on the interesting people and places from your neighborhood.

Well, that's all we have time for this evening.

We always appreciate your time, and look forward to seeing you back here again, next time on Carolina Impact.

Good night my friends.

(upbeat lively music) - [Narrator] A production of PBS Charlotte.

(outro music)