Volume 78 • Issue 44 • Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Serving Belmont, Mount Holly, Stanley, Cramerton, and McAdenville
Graveyards... ghouls... and history By Alan Hodge Alan.bannernews@gmail.com
Cable crowned Brook Elaine Cable was crowned East Gaston High School’s Homecoming Queen during Friday nights festivities
Attempted abduction in McAdenville Cramerton police are investigating the attempted abduction of a 10-year-old boy. Police responded to the McDonald Athletic Field on Park Drive in McAdenville around 4:30 Saturday afternoon. The victim, a 10year-old boy, told police a white male grabbed him and attempted to pull him into a wooded area. Police say the boy was able to get away from the man and find an adult for help. The suspect is described as a white male between 30 and 40-years-old, weighing about 200 pounds with a
muscular build, short, reddish-brown hair and a beard. It’s reported the suspect was wearing khaki shorts and no shirt. The victim told police the suspect was driving an older model, faded blue, four-door Honda Civic or Accord. The suspect was last seen leaving in the vehicle in the Dixon Road area. If you have any information that may assist law enforcement in this case, you are asked to call the Cramerton Police Department at 704-824-7964 or Gaston County Crime Stoppers at 704-861-8000.
Help your trick-ortreaters stay safe By Atty Gen Roy Cooper Halloween can be a fun and creative time for families, but we also want it to be safe. Planning your kids’ trick-or-treat routes and checking their costumes and candy carefully are the keys to celebrating Halloween safely. If you’re a homeowner who expects trick-ortreaters to visit, take some simple steps to help keep neighborhood kids out of harm’s way. Tips for trick-or-treaters If your children plan to trick-or-treat, make sure they stick to neighborhoods they know well and visit only well-lit houses. A parent or other responsible adult should always ac-
company young children. Make sure older kids trickor-treat in a group, and set a curfew. Plan the route your kids will take and tell them how you expect them to behave. Make sure kids know not to enter a house or get in a car without your permission. Check the sex offender registry at www.ncdoj.gov when planning your child’s trick-or-treat route. You can view maps that pinpoint registered offenders’ addresses in your neighborhood, and sign up to get email alerts when an offender moves nearby. You can also download the free NC Sex Offender Registry mobile application (currently available for iPhoneŽ, iPadŽ and iPod touchŽ and coming soon for Android devices) to search for offenders by GPS location or street address from wherever you are. Trick-or-treaters should See HALLOWEEN, 2A
Old burying grounds and Halloween go together like black cats and pumpkins and you don’t have to go far in our area to find plenty of them. The oldest graveyard in the BannerNews region is Goshen Cemetery on Woodlawn St. in North Belmont. This plot dates back to the early part of the 19th century and was the burying ground for Goshen Presbyterian Church that was founded in 1764. It is said to be the oldest graveyard west of the Catawba River. The ground where Goshen Cemetery is located was originally owned by Robert Smith. It was part of a 650 acre piece of property that Smith had bought from two Catawba Indians that encompassed what is now most of Catawba Heights and North Belmont. In 1839 Smith sold 17-acres to the Goshen Church Trustees for eightyfive dollars. Smith and many of his relatives are buried in Goshen Cemetery. Joining Smith in the graveyard are about a dozen men who fought in the American Revolution. A plaque nam-
ing them was at one time affixed to the cemetery gate, but it is now gone. Most of the old tombstones in Goshen Cemetery have survived, including some going back nearly 200 years, but vandals have also desecrated several others. Other graves in the older portion of Goshen Cemetery hold members of Belmont area pioneers including names such as Armstrong, Abernethy, Fite, and Rhyne. Local legend has it that there were once Indian burial mounds and a village near where Goshen Cemetery is located. The Abernethy clan itself also has a small and very old cemetery at the end of Photo by Alan Hodge Turner Rd. off Hickory Grove This is just one the many ornate tombstones that Rd. not far from Goshen can be found in old cemeteries in our area. These Cemetery. graveyards have their own peculiar beauty and The Smith name also ap- window on history. pears on an old graveyard on Belwood Dr. off South Point Rd. This was neglected and had fallen prey vandals, nature, and Smith graveyard has dozens of graves to going back to the early 19th century. It See GRAVEYARDS, 6A
Russ charged in CVS shootout By Alan Hodge Alan.bannernews@gmail.com
The CVS Pharmacy at 6750 Wilkinson Blvd. in Belmont was the scene of a police shootout and hostage situation early Friday morning. According to Belmont police, they responded to an armed robbery call there at 1:47am and discovered Edward Scott Russ, 46, of 2680 Paula Dr., Gastonia, in the store and armed with an SKS assault rifle as well as several magazines of ammo. Police say when they entered the store, Russ began firing at them between the shelves. Police fired back then retreated back outside. No one was hit in the engagement. According to Belmont Police Chief Charlie Franklin, Russ told officers he had hostages. Police were able to establish communication with Russ and began negotiating release of the hostages. After several hours, Russ let two of them go, and released the third one around 4 am. All were unharmed. Negotiations with Russ continued until around 7am when he put down his gun and calmly exited the store.
“He came out with his hands in the air,� said Franklin. The incident saw a variety of law enforcement on the scene. In addition to Belmont police, the Gastonia police SWAT team, as well as Gaston County police and Sheriff’s office folks were there. Other agencies included Mount
Holly police. The incident disrupted traffic on US29/74 and Park St. Police tape surrounded the store and parking lot Friday as investigators worked the scene. Russ was placed in the Gaston County Jail under $5 million bond. He was charged with three counts
Photo by Alan Hodge
This CVS Pharmacy at 6750 Wilkinson Blvd. in Belmont was the scene of a hostage and shooting situation early Friday morning. No one was injured and the suspect, Edward Russ, 46, of Gastonia was taken into custody after a six-hour standoff.
Nuisance geese granted reprieve By Alan Hodge Alan.bannernews@gmail.com
There’s a flock of Canada geese that breakfast every morning on the football and soccer fields at North Belmont Park. Then they fly away, but not before leaving their calling cards in the form of poop. However, thanks to a decision last week by the Gaston County
Board of Commissioners, the North Belmont geese won’t be facing the death penalty for doing what comes naturally to them. They are luckier than the 140 or so geese that were rounded up last June at Dallas Park and euthanized. The geese were declared a nuisance due to their copious droppings where folks were attempting to recreate.
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of first-degree kidnapping, two counts of assault on an officer with a firearm, two counts of attempted murder, and one count each of robbery with a dangerous weapon and communicatRuss ing threats.
The incident brought cries of outrage from animal advocates and a demand that the head of Gaston County Parks and Recreation, Cathy Hart, be removed from her post. Adding punch to their point, the animal advocates circulated a petition calling for Hart’s ouster that gained 6,000 names and presented it to the commissioners, but See GEESE, 6A
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