Serving Belmont, Mount Holly, Stanley, Cramerton, and McAdenville
Volume 78 • Issue 18 • Wednesday, May 1, 2013
75¢
A look back at Mount Holly • 3A
Bicyclists to hit the streets May 4 By Alan Hodge Alan.bannernews@gmail.com
This coming Saturday, May 4, will see scores of pro and Olympic hopeful bicycle riders turn the streets of downtown Belmont into a high speed race course. The event, dubbed Belmont Criterium, is part of the USA Crits Speed Week and is part of eight races in three states spread over a ten-day period. Organization of the race is a partnership between South Main Cycles, the City of Belmont, the Belmont Merchants Association, and Carolina HealthCare System. Criterium racing is a type of bicycle speed competition generally held on a short course of city streets. The
fast, close action, colorful outfits worn by the riders, and plenty of elbowing around the curves makes for a thrilling spectacle. Speeds will exceed 35mph. The races will begin with the women’s event at 4pm followed by the guys at 5pm. Both will start at City Hall and follow a course that will take them on a loop of several blocks and back again. Women will race for 45 laps and men for 75 laps. The awards ceremony will be at 7pm. Riders will be flocking to Belmont from far and wide. Mike Tamayo, director and manager of United Healthcare Pro Cycling Team, will be showing up with five riders including Hilton Clarke
and Karl Menzies from Australia, Carlos Alzante from Colombia, and USA riders Brad White and Danny Summerhill. “To prepare for the race we trained in Asheville where the mountains have an amazing landscape to ride,� said Tamayo. “We have won the past five criteriums in a row so it’s about keeping our winning streak going. We have never been to Belmont, but like many small towns in North Carolina and the southeast I am sure it has a great community and cool downtown.� Jaime Bookwalter is another Asheville area racer who will be coming to Belmont. She’s been road racing See BICYCLISTS, 2A
Photo by B.D. Andrews
Dozens and dozens of cyclists like these will be speeding along the streets of downtown Belmont May 4 when the USA Crits bike race event comes to town. The race will bring riders from as far away as Australia, Colombia, and Canada as well as many states.
Asmuths love digging up the past Board approves Photo by Alan Hodge
Kip Asmuth shows some of the items he’s found with his metal detector. The button is from a WWI military uniform and the badge was likely a prize in a candy or gum box.
ALAN HODGE alan.bannernews@gmail.com
For some folks finding treasure in the ground conjures up images of gold doubloons, but for husband and wife Kip and Stephanie Asmuth of Belmont, well, they’re happy finding anything from a rusty horseshoe to a button from a WWI military uniform. The treasure-hunting bug bit Kip in January when Stephanie bought him a metal detector device for their 21st wedding anniversary. Actually, the detector rekindled an urge to dig. “I had a metal detector when I was a kid and loved it,� Kip said. “Now, I’m having a great time again.�
An added benefit from treasure hunting that Kip has noticed is the fact that trekking in the fields and woods has helped him lose about forty pounds in weight. In addition to the detector, other equipment that the Asmuths use looking for goodies underground include a smaller, handheld wand that pinpoints where the object is in the dirt, a shovel, gloves, and kneepads. “Some of the hazards of digging are chiggers, snakes, poison ivy, and broken glass in the holes,� said Stephanie. But the objects that the Asmuths have been finding make the effort worthwhile. Some of the items they’ve recovered include silver coins, toy pistols from the 1950s, Boy Scout neckerchief rings, a 1965 James Bond 007 badge, old keys, wood burning stove parts, plow shares, horseshoes, and an iron buggy wheel rim they found in the woods off Reese Wilson Road. “He likes to dig coins,� Stephanie said. “I like the weird stuff.� Local places the Asmuths have been digging include sites where mill houses once stood, and near where the Church of God that dated to 1911 was in East Belmont. See TREASURE HUNTING, 5A
Boston Fundraiser at Belmont Central Belmont Central Elementary School student Bradley Haggai has organized a fundraising run/walk at 3 pm on Sunday, May 5 to benefit the family of Boston Marathon bombing victim Martin Richard. Bradley wanted to help the Richard family since Martin was killed and his sister was hurt in the bombing. The run/walk will be 2.62 miles to honor the 26.2 miles of the Boston Marathon. Participants will start and end at Belmont Central Elementary and will run through the Davis Park and Eagle Park neighborhoods. Participants are asked to wear yellow and blue, the colors of the Boston Marathon, and to bring a donation in any amount. All funds raised will go to the Richard Family Fund, a fund set up by the St. Mark’s Area Main Street organization in Dorchester, MA. Their website is http://www.smams.org/fund-to-assist-the-richard-family/.
Sarvis freshens up landmark fountain
Photo by Alan Hodge
Boy Scout Stewart Sarvis took on the task of painting and landscaping the fountain in Stowe Park for his Eagle project. In this photo he’s seen putting some finishing touches on the paint job. ALAN HODGE alan.bannernews@gmail.com
One of Belmont’s most recognizable landmarks, the fountain in Stowe Park, has recently received a muchneeded refurbishment. The job of freshening up the venerable fountain, its surrounding landscaping, and the encircling wrought iron fencing was taken on by 17-year-
old Stewart Sarvis of Belmont as a project toward earning his Boy Scout Eagle ranking. Sarvis is a long-time member of Troop 56 based at First United Methodist in Belmont. He’s been a Scout since third grade. “I went to city officials and asked if they had a project I could do,� Sarvis said. “They suggested the fountain.� Sarvis leapt into action right away. See FOUNTAIN, 5A
GC Schools budget request By Alan Hodge Alan.bannernews@gmail.com
The Gaston County Board of Education approved a FY2013-2014 budget request last week that included an $11 million boost over the FY2012-2013 figure of $41.5 million. The key word is “request� since the budget’s next stop is the Gaston County Board of Commissioners, who can approve or reject it when it comes before them on May 3 for a first reading. The new requested budget comes in at $52.7 million. Like school districts across North Carolina, Gaston County has had to do with less in recent years. In his budget letter to the Board of Education, Superintendent Reeves McGlohon laid out the situation. “We have absorbed almost $30 million in budget reductions, causing us to eliminate 500 jobs,� McGlohon wrote of recent times. “As we made these cuts we spared the classroom as long as possible. No area of our school system has escaped the impact of budget cuts including athletics, the arts, professional learning, travel, supplies, and materials and administration. We imposed a five percent across the board budget cut in all nonpersonnel line items in each of the past three years.� According to McGlohon, the 2013-2014 budget request is based on a number of factors, These include “the cumulative impact of past budget cuts, a growing lack of competitiveness in salaries to teachers, principals, and assistant principals, continued impact of inflation and increased operating costs, opening the new Stuart Cramer High School in Cramerton, unfunded instructional technology mandates, and $900,000 in federal sequestration cuts.� One area that the 20132014 requested budget does
not address is financing security and safety upgrades to schools as recommended by a special task force that looked into the matter following the Sandy Hook shootings. The proposed upgrades ranged from increased use of video cameras on school grounds to more stringent screening of visitors to schools. Capital outlay in the 2013-2014 budget request includes $150,000 for vehicles, $290,000 for roofing, $400,000 for general renovations and repairs to existing schools. Furniture and equipment added another $95,000 and paving/landscaping $52,000. With other costs the capital expenditures amount to $1.27 million. Budget request costs to get Cramer High cranking amount to $1.25 million. Personnel costs in this regard amount to $701,221. Instructional supplies and materials add another $98,220 and operating costs such as power and water bills and custodial supplies $457,000. Other GCS 2013-2014 budget requests in general are $2.9 million for 56 teacher assistants as well as salary supplements for teachers, assistant principals, and principals. Technology improvements adds another $3.5 million to the budget mix with $2 million of that earmarked for school connectivity and $1.5 million for laptops for student testing. A literacy program expansion at GCS accounts for $2.2 million of the 20132014 budget. This includes $1.8 million for 32 literacy teachers. Overall the 2013-2014 budget sees GCS doing a lot with what money it receives from the county, state, and federal coffers. “Although the fiscal condition of our school system is bleak, our students and See SCHOOL BOARD, 5A
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