Serving Belmont, Mount Holly, Stanley, Cramerton, and McAdenville | Volume 79 • Issue 11 • Wednesday, March 12, 2014
75¢
Fighting Yank move delayed By Alan Hodge alan.bannernews@gmail.com
Plans to have the Spirit of the Fighting Yank WWII memorial statue in Belmont formally rededicated during a ceremony on May 25 have been pushed back. The statue, currently on the campus of Belmont Middle School, is going to be moved to a new spot on S. Main in Stowe Park across from Caravan Coffee. But the amount of time it will take to prepare the pavilion and plantings is going to take at least two months, and possibly a little more than originally expected. Art Shoemaker who is on the committee that asked for and received permission from the City of Belmont to relocate the statue, had this to say. “We want to do it right and it is going to take a little longer than first thought,� he said. “The revised dedica-
tion event date will be announced as soon as possible.� Previously, Shoemaker had presented engineering plans for the pavilion to the Belmont Parks and Recreation Citizens Advisory Board and that group approved them. Last week, the city council voted unanimously to OK the plans. The pavilion will feature benches, shrubs, flowers, a stone wall, security lighting and cameras, flagpoles, and a pathway to the statue which will be placed in the center on its granite base. The landscape design was done by Rouse and Associates. There are several trees near where the pavilion will be built. Two of them will need to be removed. At last week’s council meeting, council member Martha Stowe asked that a note be See STATUE, 2A
Pinewood ‘Weathermasters’ crowned grand champions! alan.bannernews@gmail.com
also worked in the drafting
alan.bannernews@gmail.com
The Belmont Historical Society’s choice as Citizen of the Year, Frank Traywick, spreads good humor and vibes wherever he goes, whether its volunteering for a worthy cause or just being around other folks. Traywick, a 1957 graduate of Belmont High and lifelong resident of the town, is married to his wife Sharon and has two children, Stan and Emily, five grandchildren, and one great grandchild. His path to achievement began early. At BHS he was president of the student body, an athlete, and chosen as Best All Around, Most Popular, and Friendliest. “I knew in high school that Frank was special and I still feel that way,� says Sharon. “This honor for him confirms that at least some others agree.� Traywick attended Carolina Business College after which he joined Belmont Lumber Co. where he worked for ten years. He
Photo by Alan Hodge
By Alan Hodge
Traywick was, and is, ‘Best All Around’ By Alan Hodge
McAdenville Elementary “Team Dynamite� members Melissa McClure and Trey Pollard launch their team's Lego machine during the recent RoboGaston 2014 event. The Dynamiters got second place in the Teamwork Division.
You could hear the cheers and cries of delight coming from the gym at East Gaston High last weekend even before you opened the door and went in. The cause of all the excitement was the third annual RoboGASTON event that saw over 350 Gaston County Schools elementary and middle school
students arranged in 43 groups pit the motorized LEGO robots they had created against one another in a test of technology and teamwork. When it was all said and done, Mount Holly’s Pinewood Elementary robotics team, the “Weathermasters�, was named Grand Champion. “The Pinewood Family is extremely proud of our Weather Masters team and staff sponsors for being crowned as
overall champions of RoboGASTON 2014,� said Principal Jacob Barr. “Our team’s win is truly a testament of perseverance and teamwork!� Pinewood’s library media specialist and team coach Shay Whitlow explained the project her kids took on. “The students work all year to design, build, and program custom LEGO robots to run timed missions,� See RoboGASTON, 3A
City land purchase to enhance new park Frank Traywick was recently named the BHS Citizen of the Year. department of Ervin Construction Co. in Charlotte. In the late 1960s he joined Summey Building Systems in Dallas, N.C. and rose to the rank of executive vice president. In 1988 he joined the faculty at South Point High where he taught technical drawing for twelve years before retiring. He was also golf coach at South Point. Fellow educator Charlotte Sautner remarked on See TRAYWICK, 5A
Yes, there will be a spring break!
This aerial photo and design overlay shows how Kevin Loftin Riverside Park will be developed. The land in the upper left hand corner was recently purchased from Dale Willard and will see many safety and aesthetic improvements in the coming months. Photo City of Belmont website By Alan Hodge alan.bannernews@gmail.com
No snow days will be made up over break The Gaston County Board of Education voted unanimously last week to save spring break for students. School will not be held April 23-25 to make up for days missed during inclement weather, said Gaston County Schools spokesman Todd Hagans. Instead, students will attend full days of school on March 13 and April 3. Students were originally scheduled to be released early those days to make time for conferences between parents and teachers.
A piece of property that has sometimes been considered an eyesore, trash dump, and hangout for squatters has been purchased by the City of Belmont who has big plans to turn it into something swell. The land is a 1.5 acre plot on the banks of the Catawba River near US29/74 that has
served for several decades as a boat launching area. However, it’s also attracted its fair share of problems ranging from folks erecting makeshift shelters out of plastic tarps to massive amounts of litter. According to city manager Barry Webb, Belmont paid Dale Willard, whose business Dale’s Superette is also located at the entrance to the spot, $55,000 for it.
An extensive amount of research by Belmont’s city attorney Parks Wilson to find out just exactly who owned the property determined that Willard had the best claim to the land. The peninsular-shaped property was formed back in the early 1970s when rubble from the demolished East Belmont Elementary School was dumped into the river. Sedimentation built up and
filled in the gaps between the bricks and concrete thus forming a shape jutting out into the river not unlike the boot of Italy. The property is adjacent to the upcoming Kevin Loftin Riverside Park and one of the driving forces in getting it under the city’s control were concerns that unsavories that sometimes loiter at the boat ramp would
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