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Thursday, March 12, 2020
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Volume 86 • Issue 11
Good news for great people! • Belmont • Cramerton • Lowell • McAdenville • Mount Holly • Stanley
Thursday, March 12, 2020
Belmont’s Main Street Program, volunteers recognized By Jamie Campbell The illuminated “GOBO” projections in downtown Belmont were recognized at the annual North Carolina Main Street Conference with the “Best Innovation” award. The lighted, highly visible “billboard” is used to market and promote local events and holidays in Downtown Belmont. The “Best Innovation” award was presented to representatives from the Belmont Main Street Board on
March 12, at the state conference held in New Bern, North Carolina. The North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Main Street and Rural Planning Center recognizes the hard work, dedication and success of Main Street communities and their achievements in the four points of the Main Street Approach to downtown revitalization: Organization, Economic Vitality, Promotion, and Design. The Best Innovation award
recognizes worthy examples of creative innovation in downtown utilizing new technology to address issues or strategies such as traffic, parking, or marketing. The Belmont Main Street program works with a professional stage lighting company to develop the GOBO images that are projected onto the side of a prominent building in downtown, right next to City Hall. The GOBO projections have See BELMONT, Page 2
Seated L-R: Emily Rudisill (Design Chair), Phil Boggan (Downtown Director), Sr. Nancy Nance (Promotions Chair), Angela Street (Board Chair). Standing L-R: Elizabeth Simcox (Board Member), Al Wall (Board Member), Mark Fisher (Economic Vitality Chair), Amy Bossard (Board Member), Cassidy Lackey (Events Coordinator). Photo by Dodie Huffman at Allure Wedding Photography
Primary election turnout was moderate By Alan Hodge alan@cfmedia.info
The Cat in the Hat (Andy Harley) reads to Belmont Central Elementary School fourth grade students during last week’s Read Across America event. Photo by Alan Hodge
Belmont Central Elementary hosts Read Across America event By Alan Hodge alan@cfmedia.info
Belmont Central Elementary School had some special guests and plenty of exciting fun last Friday when it hosted a Read Across America event.
Read Across America can be traced back to May of 1997. This is when a small group of people at the National Education Association (NEA) came up with the idea to create a day of the year that celebrates reading among children. They reasoned that
since many school football programs can get children engaged in the sport through pep rallies, then why couldn’t the same thing be done for reading? So they decided to advocate for a Read Across America program that would See READING, Pages 6 & 7
Last Tuesday’s primary election day in Gaston County was a soggy one but still about one in four registered voters made it to the polls. The total number of ballots cast was 34,398 out of 14,232 eligible voters- 24.53%. In the presidential primary’s Democratic Party contest, Joe Biden won with 7,874 votes- 47.04%. He was followed by Bernie Sanders with 3,992 votes-23.85%. Other top Democratic scorers Renee Sensing Ieft) and Pam Morgenstern braved the rain at were Michael Bloomberg the Cramerton polling place to campaign for their favorite canSee ELECTION, Page 2 didates during last week’s primary election.
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