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Serving Belmont, Mount Holly, Stanley, Cramerton, and McAdenville | Volume 79 • Issue 3 • Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Belmont’s brick boat ramp By Alan Hodge alan.bannernews@gmail.com
Fish can be found in schools, but what about taking a school to them? According to local historian and raconteur Benny Brown, that’s basically what happened back in 1972 when the circa 1920 East Belmont Elementary School was torn down. Thousands upon thousands of its red bricks were hauled to the Catawba River near the US 29/74 bridge and dumped in thus
forming the small peninsula and boat ramp that’s still there today. Brown says he saw the whole thing while he was working at a boat shop that once stood next to the bridge. “The shop owner heard that the people who were demolishing the East Belmont school needed a place to dump its bricks and concrete,� he said. “He asked them to bring them to the river and they started haulin’ and dumpin’. I watched them day after day for at least a week. East Belmont was a
big ol’ school and I guess every bit of it went in the river. They were glad to find a place to dump the bricks. It made a perfect fill-in.� Brown walked along the riverbank recently and recalled when boating was in its heyday near the bridge and shop, Carolina Boat Sales, where he worked decades ago. “Back in the 1950s we sold a lot of boats,� said Brown. “People were lined up buying boats. Once I made three trips to the Dixie Boat Works factory to haul new boats to
Belmont and they were sold as soon as I got back.� A concrete slab now obscured and overgrown by brush in the marshy woods along the riverbank was once the site of a launch ramp before sediment filled it in. “We used to launch 25-foot and 35-foot cabin cruisers there,� Brown said, pointing through the thicket to the old ramp. “The water there was deep back then. People fished there all the time. I saw folks catch as many as two hundred catfish a day. Those were the
Belmont Unity Day, set for Jan. 20 Belmont will hold its annual Unity Day event at Mt. Moriah Baptist Church, 110 Lincoln St., on Jan. 20 at 7pm. Refreshments will be served after the event. This marks the 23rd Unity Day event and it has attracted more people every year it has been held. It celebrates Dr. Martin Luther King and his efforts to promote equality for all races whether AfricanAmerican, caucasian, Asian or Hispanic. All people are welcome to attend because it promotes trying to get along without regard to ethnicity. Rev. Kenneth Alexander, Rev. Calvin Lewers, Rev. Kevin Ford, Rev. Bernard Sullivan and others will be involved in the program. The guest speaker will be Sister Jill Weber, RSM, with the Sisters of Mercy who are involved with many services to the needy and less fortunate among us. Sister Jill is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and has provided care and guidance to many citizens in the area. There will be two Humanitarian Awards given out at the event. Music will be provided by the Mt. Pleasant Men’s Choir who has performed its repertoire for many years to the pleasure of our attendees. Each year an offering is also given to a deserving group that serves a need in our community.
Flu not a problem in schools for now By Alan Hodge alan.bannernews@gmail.com
Flu season is here and not only adults but children as well can catch the nasty bug. So, what’s the situation regarding flu and local schools where the kids are packed in close proximity to each other and the germ only has a hop, skip, and jump to get from one unwitting and unwilling host to the next? According to Todd Hagans, Gaston County Schools interim director of communications, the flu has so far made only a light attack on the system’s students. “As of now, we have had no problems with a flu outbreak,� Hagans said. “There have only been a couple of cases reported since we came back from the holiday break.� Influenza, commonly called “the flu,� is a contagious respiratory illness caused See FLU, 2A
good old days.� But that was then and this is now. The brick-based parking lot and ramp has gotten a reputation as being trashy– despite efforts by some groups and individuals to keep it clean. An article in the October 16, 2013 BannerNews outlined troubles with garbage, tire dumping, drinking, and squatters holed up in blue tarp tents at the site as well as the search by City of Belmont Attorney Parks Wilson to find out exactly who has the deed See RAMP, 3A
UI benefits extension still up in the air NC folks still in need as drama plays out at federal level by MICHAEL E. POWELL Special to the Banner News
Photo by Alan Hodge
Tree workers Shane Burris and Larry Hiland were in Catawba Heights last Tuesday cutting branches and trying to stay warm. Burris said they were doing all right as long as they stayed busy.
Frozen pipes, school delays all thanks to arctic blast By Alan Hodge alan.bannernews@gmail.com
Pipe froze, kids at school bus stops shivered, car batteries balked, and folks generally tried to cope with record setting cold last week. By Thursday temps had moderated, but the trauma and damage caused by a low of six degrees last Monday night and a sweltering 24-degree high the next day was done. Hot on Monday’s
chilly heels was a low of 12 degrees Tuesday. Agencies and individuals took steps to deal with the arctic blast. Gaston County Schools delayed the start of classes by two hours Tuesday and Wednesday. The delay was made because of concern for children who would have to wait outdoors for school buses. Teachers, maintenance, and transportation See COLD, 5A
Crits returning to Belmont By Alan Hodge alan.bannernews@gmail.com
Last year’s highly successful inaugural Belmont Criterium professional bicycle race will be returning for a second time on Sunday, April 13, 2014. At last week’s city council meeting, a request by the Belmont Downtown Merchants Association (BDMA) for street closings as well as alcohol sales and consumption related to the event moved forward when approval was given for preparation of a resolution authorizing those factors. According to the request, the 2014 race route will be similar to last year – N. Main St., Glenway St., E. Woodrow Ave. Davis St., and Kenwood St. The streets will be closed from 10am until
USA Crits pro bicycle racers took to the streets of Belmont for the first time May 4, 2013. 8pm. The route should not interfere with church services. The first amateur race will be
at noon and the last pro race See RACE, 8A
If all goes as planned, it could be that thousands of unemployed Tar Heelers will benefit from an unemployment insurance benefits extension. However, a number of things have to fall into place before anyone sees any money, according to many local and national news sources, such as AP and others. On Dec. 28, 2013, roughly 1.3 million Americans previously out of work lost their unemployment benefits. At that time Congress decided not to renew an emergency aid program previously in place. Since then, according to the Jan. 8 edition of whitehouse.gov, President Obama and leading Senate Democrats have been saying it is time to pass “bipartisan legislation� to extend those benefits. In last week’s address, President Obama said Congress “should act to extend emergency unemployment insurance for more than one million Americans who have lost this vital economic lifeline while looking for a job. “Letting emergency unemployment insurance expire not only harms American families, but it is also a drag on the overall economy.� President Obama, in his address, urged both parties to pass the bipartisan three-month extension then under consideration in the Senate so that Congress, and the nation and its leaders, “can once again focus on expanding opportunities for the middle class and creating jobs for all hardworking Americans.� While that’s all well and good for those in desperate need of those benefits, it appears (as recently as Jan. 9) that Congress is back up to its old tricks: stalling on the real issues and playing the blame game, according to press wire reports. What is the extension really? If the two parties can agree and find a way to pay for the extension (a.k.a. The Emergency Unemployment Compensation Program), said payment, currently estimated from as small as $6 billion for a three months, not paid for extension, to a whopping $25.2 billion (for a year, as per the Democrats’ original target number), will still be up for debate, as is happening now. Senate Republicans want some realistic way to fund the extension without making more debt. Leading Senate Democrat Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and some of See BENEFITS, 5A
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