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News from a neighbor!
Volume 84 • Issue 15
Thursday, April 12, 2018
• Belmont • Cramerton • Lowell • McAdenville • Mount Holly • Stanley
Belmont council recognizes teacher Bobby Cavnar By Alan Hodge
The Belmont city council recently recognized South Point High's award-winning English teacher Bobbie Cavnar for his dedication to the school and students. “We are very lucky to have a teacher like him at South Point,” said mayor Charles Martin. Cavnar, is a native of Florida who earned a bachelor’s degree in English Education in 1999 from Florida State University and a master’s degree in English in 2012 from UNC-Charlotte. He taught high school English and Journalism at Charles W. Flanagan High School in Pembroke Pines, Fla., and has been at South Point since 2003. At the council meeting he was presented with a City of Belmont proclamation citing some of his accolades and thanking him for his service to school and community. Cavnar is beloved at South Point. The student body voted him the South Point High School Most Influential Educator in 2004, 2006, 2009, 2011, and 2013. He was named the South Point High School Teacher of the Year in 2014 and Educator of the Year for Gaston County Schools in 2015. He was named North Carolina Teacher Award winning South Point teacher Bobbie Cavnar was given a pat on the back at last week’s Belmont of the Year in April 2016, becoming only city council meeting. Seen with Cavnar are his wife Jennifer, daughters Harper and Carson, and the third educator from Gaston County mayor Charles Martin. Photo by Alan Hodge Schools to do so. As the 2016-2017 North Carolina Teacher of the Year, Cavnar spent alan.bannernews@gmail.com
City of Belmont endorses school bonds By Alan Hodge
The City of Belmont issued a proclamation at last week's council meeting supporting the upcoming May 8 primary referendum for the $250 million, Gaston County school bond issue. The Gaston County Board of Education has identified over $650 million worth of school facility needs that need quick attention. The school bond referendum on the May 8 ballot will request authority to issue $250 million in new school bonds. The debt service for repaying the proposed 2018 school bonds will add an additional ten and one quarter cents over the next five years to the county's existing ad valorem tax rate, unless an additional one-quarter cent local sales and use tax is approved. The one-quarter cent local sales and use tax would be used for school bonds and other edualan.bannernews@gmail.com
cational capital needs. The tax could generate approximately $6 million in additional revenues above the current property tax receipts per year helping to reduce the tax burden on homeowners while providing for the educational needs of the children of Gaston County and meeting the demands for new classroom space, classroom improvements and other critical school infrastructure needs. The sales tax will not apply to groceries and gasoline. Last Monday's meeting also saw the council approve a resolution adopting an updated version of the Comprehensive Land Use Plan as recommended by the Planning and Zoning Board. The draft document is available for review on the city’s website, at City Hall, and the Belmont City Library. The city began the update of its 2007 Comprehensive Land Use Plan in December, 2016. The Comprehensive See SCHOOL BONDS page 2
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time traveling the state and country as a proponent for teachers, students, and public schools, speaking to educators, elected officials, community leaders, and others. He also served as an adviser to the North Carolina State Board of Education and the State Superintendent’s Advisory Council. Cavnar was also named the NEA Foundation’s 2018 NEA Member Benefits Award for Teaching Excellence. Cavnar, emphasized the importance of public education in his acceptance speech at the NEA presentation event in Washington, D.C. “Many of our great artists, thinkers, and inventors were born into poverty and were given the opportunity to let their genius show,” said Cavnar. “That’s how a public education equalizes life.” In addition to the Belmont proclamation, Mayor Martin also presented Cavnar with a key to the city- “I've always wanted one of those, it's a childhood dream come true,” Cavnar said of the key- as well as a framed photo of the original Belmont Central School and a copy of the book “Between Two Rivers” that traces the history of Belmont. As always, Cavnar was gracious and humble in accepting the council honors. “I've lived in other places but Belmont is my home and I'm not going anywhere else,” he said. “I am also proud to send my kids to school here. I will keep working hard for Belmont.”
Belmont, Mt. Holly hire community events and public relations staff By Alan Hodge
The City of Belmont puts on a number of public events each year and the list, as well as the number of folks who participate, is growing. Recognizing that fact, the city has hired Cassidy Lackey to tackle the challenging job of organizing and staging the shows and festivities. She began her new role two weeks ago. Lackey grew up in Hickory and graduated East Burke High. She went on to earn degrees from High Point University and the College of Charleston. Before accepting the Belmont community events directorship, she worked for a Hickory attorney as well as the Iredell County court system. She and her husband moved to Belmont from Cornelius back in November 2017. “We started looking at towns in the area and decided on Belmont,” she said. “We bought a house and love it. We are here to stay.” Her Belmont job will keep her busy, very busy, with an eclectic blend of tasks. “I will be in charge of the logistics for all the festivals and other events,” Lackey said. “That will involve a number of things including signing up venalan.bannernews@gmail.com
The City of Belmont has hired Hickory native Cassidy Lackey as the new community events coordinator. She will be in charge of organizing and pulling off the city’s growing list of special happenings. Photo by Alan Hodge
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