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Volume 82 • Issue 29
Thursday, July 21, 2016
A Lifestyle For Active Adults See Our Ad On Page 11
News From a Neighbor
Thursday, July 21, 2016
• Belmont • Cramerton • Lowell • McAdenville • Mount Holly • Stanley
Belmont gets new rescue boat By Alan Hodge
alan.bannernews@gmail.com
The Navy has them. The Coast Guard has them. Other law enforcement agencies have them. Now, the Belmont Fire Department has one to add to its array of public safety equipment. What is it? A center console Zodiac rescue boat. The boat is 17 feet long, has a 90 horsepower engine, and can travel 40 miles per hour. Cost of the craft was $34k. Last week saw a group of fire department personnel led by Division Capt. Craig Austin gather at Riverside Marina on the Catawba River for a training session with the Zodiac. Firefighters took turns learning how to quickly launch and operate the boat and familiarizing themselves with that stretch of the river. The next phase of training will include night operation and learning how to load “patients” on board. All Belmont firefighters, about 20 total, will be trained on the Zodiac. Each deployment will see at least two firefighters and probably a paramedic go on board. One of last week's drills involved speeding upstream to Kevin Loftin Riverfront Park about a mile away. The Zodiac covered the distance in just a couple of minutes. The boat's beat will Several Belmont firefighters got together at Riverside Marina on the Catawba River last Wednesday for training on the department’s new Zodiac rescue boat. Photo by Alan Hodge See BOAT page 2
MacKenzie Harris transforms play room at Catherine's House By Alan Hodge alan.bannernews@gmail.com
The play room at Catherine’ s House transitional home for women and children on the Sisters of Mercy campus in Belmont has seen a lot of use over the past two decades and its rather weary appearance showed it. But now, thanks to hard work by 15-yearold MacKenzie Harris, that same space is bright, cheery, inviting, and inspirational. Harris, the daughter of Cavan and Cathy Harris, was looking for a project to tackle towards her Girl Scout Gold Award and chose to take on a floor to ceiling renovation of the room. The process to earn the Gold Award is challenging. First, the Girl Scouts have to approve the Gold project before it canmove forward. The candidate must spend a minimum of 80 hours working on the Gold project. Once the Gold project is done, the candidate must submit a final report to the Girl Scout committee for review. Harris, an “independent Scout” has completed the play room project but still has a couple of steps to go before the Gold Award is hers. Next,she will meet with the Girl Scout committee in mid-August or mid-September to provide a presentation in front of the committee. If approved, she will be awarded a Gold Award Pin upon receiving final report MacKenzie Harris (center) remodeled the play room at Catherine's House in her quest for approval at the mid-August or mid-September the Girl Scout Gold Award. Seen with Harris in the new, bright, environment are Catherine's committee meeting. House development director Jacki McCarthy (left) and volunteer coordinator/facility manager Sister Carmelita Hagan RSM. See CATHERINE’S HOUSE page 4 Photo by Alan Hodge
Because we
American Legion Post 144 to celebrate baseball milestone In 1956 Auten-Stowe American Legion Post 144 in Belmont restarted the baseball program that had been discontinued just before World War II. This summer is a special season for the baseball program as it marks sixty years of continuous play. In honor of this milestone, Post 144 officials have scheduled a special event to be held on Saturday, July 30 at Davis Park. The start time for this celebration of Legion baseball, being billed as “Throw Back Baseball”, is 6:00pm. The theme results from using prices from the early days of the program. Namely $1.00 admission to the game and $1.00 hot dogs and drinks available at the concession area. Several players from the 1956 team will be present with the first pitch being thrown by a star hurler from this team, Harold “Smoky” Woods. There will be a brief pre-game program emceed by Joe Lawing. Program participants include Mayor Charlie Martin and N.C. American Legion baseball commissioner Bill Murray. The National Anthem will be sung by former player, Scott Lee. See POST 144 page 3
our heroes.
For 25 years, the Fisher House Foundation program has provided a "home away from home" for military and veteran families. Show your support by visiting www.fisherhouse.org This message is provided by Banner-News and PaperChain.