INSIDE..........
Sports
Belmont Police review pursuit policy 5A
Serving Belmont, Mount Holly, Stanley, Cramerton, and McAdenville
1B
Volume 78 • Issue 7 • Wednesday, February 13, 2013
75¢
1971 Red Raiders to be inducted into Belmont Sports Hall of Fame By Alan Hodge Editor Alan.bannernews@gmail.com
In 1971 the unemployment rate in Belmont was around 1.1 percent, a fact that made folks smile with happiness. That same year the South Point Red Raiders football team basically stomped every opponent they faced into the turf and that made folks delirious with joy. Recognizing that undefeated team, the Belmont Sports Hall of Fame will add it to the hallowed roster of local sports legends at a banquet and awards ceremony slated for Feb. 19 at 7pm at Park St. United Methodist Church. Guest speaker will be UNC-Charlotte football coach Brad Lambert. The 1971 Red Raiders football team was led by coaches Mike Hudock, Jim Biggerstaff, Earl Lingafeldt, and Phil Tate to a perfect 10-0 record in regular season conference play. It was the first time that record had been achieved in Belmont since 1953, and ironically, Coach Biggerstaff was a player on that squad. In addition to having the whole 1971 team added to See RED RAIDERS, 4B
Benefits could be slashed By Alan Hodge Editor Alan.bannernews@gmail.com
People drawing unemployment checks in the future in North Carolina got some bad news last week when the NC House voted 77-42 along party lines to approve a Republican-backed bill that would see their benefits sharply slashed. The bill was forwarded to the Senate floor last Thursday for further consideration. Republicans also hold a majority of seats in the Senate. Gaston County Republicans Dana Bumgardner and John Torbett voted “aye” on the bill. The bill is designed to pay down the $2.5 billion that the state owes the federal government for money it borrowed during the height of the Great Recession and tens of thousands of unemployed North Carolinians were availing themselves of benefits extensions that at one time went as high as 99 weeks total state and federal combined. With the unemployment rate still hovering around 9 percent, the state is still borrowing around $25 million a week to pay benefits. The bill that the House passed would cut the maximum benefits to unemployed workers by one-third. Maximum benefits would drop from $535 to $350 a week. The number of weeks a person could draw benefits would shrink from 26 to a shifting scale of between 12 and 20 weeks based on the unemployment rate. However, according to Larry Parker, acting public relations director at the NCESC, folks currently drawing a check will not see their weekly amount reduced. “The proposed reductions will apply to those who file new claims after July 1, 2013,” Parker said. Democrats had tried to get an amendment to the bill to make the date it would go into effect Jan. 1, 2014. See UNEMPLOYMNENT 5A
Photo by Alan Hodge
African-American Quilters Guild of Gaston County members are seen at the Belmont Historical Society with one of their hand made creations. The group currently has a featured display of other works inside the museum. From left, Jasha Crystal Hunter, Barbara Hart, Louise Keets, and Flossie Fox
From scraps of cloth to works of love By Alan Hodge Editor Alan.bannernews@gmail.com
Most people take old scraps of cloth and turn them into dusting rags, but members of the AfricanAmerican Quilters Guild of Gaston County turn them into works of art that warm folks’ hearts and bodies. The group currently has about
fifteen members and got its start back in 2005. Quilter Barbara Hart was one of the founders and described how the ladies searched for a home base. “We first started meeting at Mt. Moriah Baptist Church in Belmont where Rev. Kenneth Alexander and his wife extended a warm welcome,” Hart said. “After about six months we moved to a meeting place in a little house on Devine
St., also in Belmont. We finally moved to Unity Place in Gastonia at St. Stephen’s AME Zion Church where we’ve been for the past two years.” According to Hart, members come from a diverse geographical area that includes Belmont, Gastonia, Charlotte, and even South Carolina. Hart and several other members including Jasha Crystal
Hunter, Louise Keets, and Flossie Fox recently met at the Belmont Historical Society Museum where they talked about how what led them to the art and craft of quilting. “As a child I saw my mother and grandmother quilt, but it didn’t excite me all that much,” she said. “However, as an adult I took a quilting class at the Lucille See QUILTERS 5A
How hazardous is coal ash disposal? By Alan Hodge Editor Alan.bannernews@gmail.com
Last month Duke Energy representative Tim Gause went before the Belmont City Council and gave his firm’s side of the coal ash safety and disposal debate. Last week the council heard the other side of the coin from Catawba Riverkeeper rep Rick Gaskins who declared the coal ash ponds at Duke’s steam stations such as Riverbend near Mount Holly and Allen below Belmont were like a “sword of Damocles” hanging over the heads of the local populace. Now, for those of you who don’t know, Damocles was a courtier of the 4th century King Dionysius II of Syracuse, Italy. Damocles kept saying how swell it must be to have all that power and luxury and how gladly he would sit on the throne. For an answer, Dionysius gave Damocles a shot at the seat, but suspended a huge sword right over his head held
Photo by J. Wes Bobbitt Flight by Southwings
This aerial view of the Riverbend Steam Station coal ash ponds shows their proximity to Mountain Island Lake. by a single hair from a horse’s tail. In other words, what Gaskins meant was, in his opinion, the Duke Energy ash ponds are
something that look relatively benign, but could prove hazardous in ways such as water See COAL ASH, 2A
Rowing Club considering River Park as ‘home base’ By Alan Hodge Editor Alan.bannernews@gmail.com
When most folks think of rowing, or sculling as it’s also called, the image that pops up is that of Ivy-league college boys from Harvard or Yale straining at the oars of a skinny boat. However, there’s a chance that a recreational form of that activity could find itself taking place at Belmont’s planned River Park. “The Charlotte Youth Rowing Club coach, Byron “Doc” Walthall, gave an informative
OBITUARIES, 2A
presentation at the City Council’s Annual Retreat on Saturday, Jan. 26,” said Belmont Parks and Recreation Director Sallie Stevenson. “He proposed their club’s great interest in working with the City to make the future River Park their home base due to the river location there that is better suited for their sculling. The City is taking this under consideration.” Walthall is a semi-retired physician who lives in Charlotte and is executive director of the Carolina Rowing Foundation. He is also a US Rowing Level 3 coach.
Contributed Photo
Talks are underway concerning the possibility of having a rowing facility in Belmont near the planned River Park. This photo shows Charlotte Youth Rowing members enjoying a day on Lake Wylie. According to Walthall, the Park is to be located near WilkinCatawba River section in East Bel- son Blvd. would make a good mont where the proposed River See ROWING CLUB, 3A
INDEX
Patricia Eudy, Mount Holly
Belmont Police .....................................2A
Abbey Sports .......................................2B
Rachel Patterson, Gastonia
Business ..............................................3A
Miss SP Pageant ..................................3B
Opinions...............................................4A
Special Offers for your Valentine.......2,3B
Sports ..................................................1B
Classifieds............................................4B