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Volume 86 • Issue 1
Thursday, January 2, 2020
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News from a neighbor! • Belmont • Cramerton • Lowell • McAdenville • Mount Holly • Stanley
Thursday, January 2, 2020
Blake Nance named MHFD Employee of the Year By Alan Hodge alan@cfmedia.info
Blake Nance, 21, is living his lifelong dream and achieving well deserved recognition to boot with the announcement that he has been named Mt. Holly Fire Department Employee of the Year 2019. Nance thought back to his childhood where the idea of being firefighter first showed up. “When I was in kindergarten I wrote on a piece of paper that I wanted to grow
up and be a firefighter,” Nance said. “I stuck with that dream and now I have the best job in the world.” Nance, a native of Mooresville who still calls that Lake Norman town home, got started in his firefighting career when he was just 18-years-old. “I began as a volunteer at Shepherds Fire Department in Iredell County,” Nance said. “I became full time at Mt. Holly in June 2018.” Nance has had a full regimen of training. “I attended Gaston Col-
lege as well as Mitchell Community College in Mooresville,” Nance said. “I received my Firefighter I and II certificates. I also have my EMT Basic, Technical Rescue, and Driver/ Operator certificates.” Nance gets a lot of personal satisfaction from being a firefighter. “I like being with the shift guys,” he says. “They are a great group of people. I also like helping the public on a daily basis.” See NANCE, Page 4
Firefighter Blake Nance was recently recognized as the “Employee of the Year” for the Mount Holly Fire Dept. MHFD photo
Local CAP cadets take part in Wreaths Across America
American Heritage Girl Chloe Billings is seen in the community garden she organized last July in Stanley. The garden is located at FUMC Common Ground on Hickory Grove Rd. Photo by Alan Hodge
2019: The Year in Review Part Two The second half of 2019 brought hot weather in summer and hot political races in the fall. By Alan Hodge alan@cfmedia.info
The July 3rd edition of the BannerNews heralded a scorching summer season.
A front page story on the construction progress being made at the new Belmont Middle School showed how far the project had come in just a few months. On the inside, a story profiled 102 year old Hattie Graham of Mt. Holly and congratulated her on her birthday. The July 3rd paper also ran a full page
spread of pics taken at the Mt. Holly July 4th fireworks jamboree where lots of folks were sporting red, white, and blue outfits. The July 11th BannerNews featured an article on Chloe Billings, 17, who helped organize and create a community garden in Stanley See REVIEW, Pages 10 & 11
December 14th marked the fifth year for Wreaths Across America in Gaston County, but the first time the event was held at Gaston Memorial Park. According to Wreaths Across America Location Coordinator, Sue Beutler, holding the ceremony at Gaston Memorial Park was a goal from the very beginning. “Partnering with Carothers Funeral Home this year had a huge impact on the number of wreaths we were able to place,” she said. With assistance from the Gaston County Honor Guard, Gaston County Veterans Council, Marine Corps League and American Legion Post 23, 2019 was a record year for Gaston County with the laying of 2,097 wreaths on veterans’ graves. More than 100 volunteers from throughout Gaston County came out to participate. A ceremony led by the Gastonia Squadron of Civil See WREATHS, Pages 6 & 7
EVERY THURSDAY
Placing of the ceremonial wreaths at Gaston Memorial Garden. Photo by Sue Buetler