Volume 78 • Issue 43 • Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Serving Belmont, Mount Holly, Stanley, Cramerton, and McAdenville
MH Detective Walker honored By Alan Hodge Alan.bannernews@gmail.com
In days gone by, the only education that a law enforcement officer needed was a high school diploma. That’s no longer the case, and Mount Holly Police Detective Tony Walker is proof that putting hundreds of hours into books and training can pay off not only for himself, but for the citizens he’s sworn to protect. Last week saw Walker receive recognition for all his hard work when he was presented with his Advanced Law Enforcement Certificate– one of the highest recognitions of its type in the state. The award was given to Walker by Mayor Bryan Hough at the city council meeting. To earn the certificate, Walker has accumulated around 1,100 hours of classroom time and training as well as many years of law enforcement experience. Walker is currently enrolled at Liberty University where he’s completing his Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice. Just a few of the many types of training that Walker
has received include interrogation scenarios, gang intelligence, field sobriety testing, and homicide investigation. The homicide investigation portion has come in especially handy. Walker has been in charge of the last two murder cases in Mount Holly. Choosing the law enforcement field for a career path and excelling in it is natural for Walker, a 38year-old Gaston County native who is married and the father of three children. “The reason I decided on a career in law enforcement was because of where I grew up,� Walker said. “I lived in the Highland Hills area of Gastonia and the Oak Ridge community near Lake Wylie and saw crime first hand like back in 1988 and 1989 when crack came in and ruined so many people’s lives.� One type of crime in particular gets Walker riled up. “The most disturbing is any crime against a child, especially sexual abuse,� he said. During his time on the police force, Walker has
By Alan Hodge Safety first. That’s the motto Debbie Rogers-Lowery spreads like a gospel throughout the towns in Gaston County via her safety consulting service Compliance Training Associates, Inc. For over 20 years Rogers-Lowery has worked with municipalities such as Belmont, Mount Holly, Stanley, Cramerton, McAdenville, Cherryville, Bessemer City, Ranlo, and Dallas to educate their employees in safety practices and procedures. Thanks to Rogers-Lowery’s guidance, last May the City of Mount Holly was given the prestigious SHARP Award by NC Secretary of Labor Cherie Berry. SHARP is the acronym for Safety Health Achievement Recognition Program. By way of thanks for all she has done to help Mount Holly workers stay safe and sound, the city presented her with a special certificate of appreciation at last week’s council meeting. City manager Danny Jackson has seen the results of Rogers-Lowery’s work with his staff. “I have known her for the 15 years that she has worked for the City of Mount Holly as its Safety Coordinator,�
Remember the rolling snack wagon? ALAN HODGE alan.bannernews@gmail.com
See WALKER, 8A
Rogers-Lowery lives by motto ‘safety first’ Alan.bannernews@gmail.com
Photo by Alan Hodge
Belmont Historical Society member Bobby Brown is seen with the dope wagon that was donated by Jerry Gibson of Stanley. The wagon was a rolling snack cart in the Perfection Mill for decades. Brown and Martin Murphy refurbished the cart for future display.
Jackson said. “She has been a great guide for the city when it comes to having a safe working environment. In my humble opinion Debbie’s greatest character features are loyalty and dedication to the City of Mount Holly. She goes beyond the call of duty when protecting the city’s best interest. It’s nice to work with someone that saves the city a lot of money by keeping our employees safe and avoiding needless medical expenses. The city’s recent awards and other recognition in the safety industry is a direct result of Debbie’s leadership. The City of Mount Holly is very fortunate to have Debbie as a consultant.� According to RogersLowery, it was a tragedy that spurred her interest in safety. “The chicken processing plant fire in Hamlet in Sept. 1991 was a big motivator in my choosing to go into the workplace safety field,� she said. The incident RogersLowery referred to was an industrial fire in Hamlet, North Carolina, at the Imperial Foods processing plant on September 3, 1991, resulting from a failure in a hydraulic line. Twenty-five were killed and 55 injured in the fire, trapped behind locked fire doors. The fire was North Carolina’s worst industrial disaster. Making sure workplaces are safe means inspections, and Rogers-Lowery does that by going in the field wearing jeans and boots. See SAFETY FIRST, 8A
There’s a new artifact in the collection at the Belmont Historical Society that goes by the name of “dope wagon� but it’s not what the modern use of that term might suggest. The dope wagon in question is actually a type of wooden, rolling snack
cart that was used in textile mills for many, many years and not a conveyance for controlled substances. However, certain products sold from the dope wagon when blended together did give workers a much needed “buzz� and took the edge off seemingly endless hours of doffing bobbins. The concept of the dope wagon was to give mill workers access to things
New market brings more than fresh food to McAdenville community
Photo by Alan Hodge
This group of students from Webb Street School had a great outing last week at the McAdenville Community Market where they planted flowers, had lunch, and fed ducks. Seen with them are teacher Angela Neal, Master Gardener Susan Jenkins, and market manager Carol Shrum. ALAN HODGE alan.bannernews@gmail.com
McAdenville has long been known as Christmas Town USA, but a new enterprise there is not only drawing attention, but doing good deeds as well. Take a drive along Wesleyan Drive to catch a view
of Santa’s Elves and the “McAdenville Christmas Light Engineers� and you will find the McAdenville Community Market located right in the middle of town. The market opened its doors this summer with the hopes of bringing a different style of a fresh fruit and veg-
etable market to McAdenville and so far is doing just that. While most farmer’s markets in Gaston and surrounding counties are open from spring until early fall, the McAdenville Community Market is open six days a week and starting Nov. 15
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of Stanley
such as cold soft drinks, sandwiches, crackers, cigs, snuff, chewing gum, and headache remedies like BC and Goody powders. The dope wagons were on wheels and just wide enough for the owner/operator to make it between the rows of spinning machinery. The operator of the dope wagon paid the mill a fee in order to have the “franchise�. See DOPE WAGON, 8A
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will be open every day. Carol Shrum, who also manages the Gastonia Farmer’s Market and was instrumental helping to start the Conover Farmer’s Market, wanted to help bring a new concept to the McAdenville area. See MARKET, 8A