Highwinds and hail raked across the foothills and the Piedmont as a line of thunderstorms moved through the area.

Statesville had large hail and trees downed.

In the foothills, sheds were knocked off their footings and trees were toppled onto homes.

CHARLOTTE - Belk invites schools and other nonprofit organizations in the company's 16-state market area to participate in its semi-annual Belk Charity Sale, Saturday, April 16, from 6:00 - 10:00 a.m. The four-hour, in-store shopping event offers an excellent fundraising tool for participating organizations and an opportunity for customers to support local charities while taking advantage of special discounts on purchases during the event.

Belk Charity Sale tickets are available now to participating nonprofit organizations for sale in advance of the event. One hundred percent of the proceeds from each $5 ticket sold will be retained by the local charity. There is no limit to the number of tickets charities can sell, or to the amount of money they can raise.

CHARLOTTE – CMS will lease some of the schools that are being closed for the 2011-2012 school year, using a bidding process to select organizations to lease the buildings. The bidding will open March 4 and CMS will hold meetings on March 1 and March 3 to offer information and answer potential bidders’ questions.

“We hope these schools will continue to be used by the community, even though they are no longer housing students,” said Mike Raible, Executive Director of Planning and Project Management for CMS. “The money we expect to receive from the leases may not be substantial – it certainly won’t solve our budget shortfalls. But the leasing process will allow the buildings to continue to be used as a community resource. It’s an appropriate use for former public schools.”

Leaseholders will be responsible for all maintenance and operations of the buildings they lease.