Banner-News 5-13-21

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Gaston County’s

The Banner News / banner-news.com

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Thursday, May 13, 2021

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6600 Wilkinson Blvd.– Belmont, NC 28012

News from a neighbor! Volume 87 • Issue 19

• Belmont • Cramerton • Lowell • McAdenville • Mount Holly • Stanley

Thursday, May 13, 2021

Town & Country Garden Club pitches in at House of Mercy By Alan Hodge alan@cfmedia.info

Members of Belmont’s Town and Country Garden Club recently took on a much needed and heartfelt project. The ladies paid a visit to the House of Mercy in Belmont where they rolled up their sleeves, grabbed rakes and shovels, and set to work doing some serious sprucing up of the landscaping and grounds. The project is part of an effort to update and beautify House of Mercy on its 30th anniversary which is May 18. Work the club did included spreading mulch, planting flowers, and raking. “We are a non-profit and unfortunately, the grounds of

House of Mercy haven’t been attended to in a long time and needed some ‘TLC.’,” said Tanya Sastoque, House of Mercy director of development and communications. “These wonderful ladies spent hours of hard work in beautifying the grounds of House of Mercy.” Other work planned for House of Mercy this year includes new paint, lights, and furniture. “When I began helping Tanya with the House of Mercy 30th anniversary. It was clear the house needed a makeover including the gardens and landscaping. Everything was overgrown and in much need of TLC, ” said Judy Dobies, co-chair House See GARDEN CLUB, Page 5

Gaston County Police keeping the river safe By Alan Hodge alan@cfmedia.info

It’s no secret that booming development on both shores of the Catawba River has also increased the number of people who turn to its waters for recreation and the Gaston County Police Marine Enforcement Unit is on the job to make sure everyone who does so is safe. The unit got started back in 2002. It currently has seven members- six officers led by Sgt. Eric Knupp. “The county saw a need for safety on the river and its lakes,” Knupp said. The unit patrols from Mt.

Island Dam near Mt. Holly to near the S.C. state line and Buster Boyd Bridge as well as Mountain Island Lake. They stay especially busy during the summer. “We are on duty in twelve hour shifts from the time school lets out to Labor Day,” said Knupp.”Due to COVID last year we saw a large increase of boat traffic on Lake Wylie and Mountain Island Lake. We have also seen a large increase of boat traffic, whether it be paddle boarders, kayakers or your normal recreational motor boaters in and around the northern part of Lake Wylie, specifically See RIVER, Page 4

These ladies are among those who recently completed a landscape freshening up project at House of Mercy. Abby Peterson, Kendal Byerly, Ashley Falls, Christee King, Megan Wilhelm, Liz Ambrose, Katie McKenzie, Judy Dobies, Ann Brittian Green, Bergan Hightower, Jennifer Price, Susie Mark, and Helen Fleming.

Cramerton’s Central Park gets major makeover By Alan Hodge alan@cfmedia.info

After many, many, months of planning and hard work, Central Park in Cramerton has a fresh and exciting new look. The park is a seven acre or so spread of rolling hills near Washington and Brooklyn streets. It’s Cramerton’s oldest park and dates back to the 1980s. For years Central Park was on the back burner and its main feature was kudzu. The picnic shelter and restroom had become dilapidated. The ground in places was swampy. But now all that is a distant memory. “A ton of people are using Volunteer Barbara Thornton prepares to spray the wildflower butterfly bed at Central Park in it since the upgrades are being Cramerton. Photo by Alan Hodge See PARK, Page 6

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