Gaston County’s
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Thursday, December 16, 2021
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• Belmont • Cramerton • Lowell • McAdenville • Mount Holly • Stanley
Thursday, December 16, 2021
Dedication held for Mt. Holly Police Dept. Memorial Plaza By Alan Hodge alan@cfmedia.info
An official dedication ceremony for the spectacular Mt. Holly Police Dept. Memorial Plaza took place last Saturday. The event was attended by a wide variety of law enforcement and municipal officials as well as Mt. Holly citizens. The plaza is built on a knoll at the Municipal Complex and honors not only MHPD officer Tyler Herndon, who lost his life in the line of duty while responding to a larceny call on December 11, 2020, but other law enforcement officers as well. The location is exactly where Herndon’s patrol car was parked for a time after his death and covered with flowers and tributes. Mt. Holly police chief Don
Officer Tyler Herndon Roper was among the dedication speakers. “As we prepare to dedicate the MHPD Memorial Plaza, I am honored to have See MEMORIAL, Pages 6 & 7
Work on new Belmont Parks and Recreation facility gets underway By Alan Hodge alan@cfmedia.info
The dream of a new Parks and Rec. facility for Belmont finally took steps towards becoming a reality last week when, after years of planning and preparation, workers began construction of the $13.5 million project. A generous grant from the state will chip in $1.5 million. Belmont Parks and Rec. director Zip Stowe was full of glee and he watched men erecting a temporary fence on the grassy slope in front of the CityWorks building on E. Catawba where the new center will be constructed. A large bulldozer is on the site and ready for action.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Stowe said. “A lot of people are happy to see the work begin.” Belmont is the only town in our area without its own building where things like basketball games can be held. What currently serves the city as a parks and rec. place is the decades old J. Paul Ford Center on Woodrow Ave., but the city’s needs have far outgrown that one medium sized building. The new building will be two stories high and have 45,000 sq. ft. of space. The first floor will feature three basketball courts, a media room for gaming, an exercise studio, a kitchen, a kids See PARKS, Page 6
The MHPD Memorial Plaza with Herndon’s patrol car in front.
Photo by Alan Hodge
Belmont’s Minnie Grier hits 100 and is still going strong By Alan Hodge alan@cfmedia.info
“The Lord, He is my shepherd.” According to Belmont’s Minnie Grier, who hit the century mark on Nov. 30, that verse from the Bible has been her guiding light through a life filled with ups and down, happiness and hard work, fun and family. According to Grier, she was born in 1921 on a farm near Lincolnton to Eugenia and Thurman Smith. She had two brothers and two sisters. “We grew some cotton,” Grier said. “It was hard work. They wouldn’t let me hoe because they said I dug the
plants up. I had to carry a big bag around, pick, and put the cotton in it. At the end of the day I wouldn’t have 50 pounds. I didn’t like that cotton.” The family moved to Belmont and Grier attended Reid High. “It was a great school,” she said. Next, Grier went to work in local textile mills. “I worked at Dixie Yarns and Pharr Yarns,” she said. “It was a lot better than picking cotton. That’s for the birds!” While she was a mill employee, Grier played on a girl’s softball team. It was all African-American players. See GRIER, Page 4
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Minnie Grier and her great-granddaughter Taylor Rose Singleton.