INSIDE... Firecracker 5k ............ 3A Headstones Damaged .. 4A Obituaries ................... 5A Canoe Launch Opens ... 6A Athletic Awards ........... 8A
Serving Belmont, Mount Holly, Stanley, Cramerton, and McAdenville | Volume 79 • Issue 30 • Wednesday, July 23, 2014
75¢
Row, row, rowing in Belmont By Alan Hodge alan.bannernews@gmail.com
North Charlotte Rowing (NCR) organization is row, row, rowing their boats from a new headquarters at the Riverside Complex at 1500 River Drive in East Belmont on the banks of the Catawba River. NCR is a spin-off of North Carolina Community Sailing and Rowing where it helped establish the sport of crew/rowing in the Lake Norman region out of the site at Blythe Landing since 2009. In November 2013, the competitive, youth and masters rowing programs were transferred to NCR and programs were operated from the waterfront of the Lake Norman YMCA while NCR searched for a permanent location. Efforts to secure a site in the Lake Norman area proved more difficult than expected. When NCR became
aware of the Riverside Complex it recognized the benefits and opportunities the Catawba River offered to rowers. In May of this year, NCR relocated to Belmont and set up operations on the riverfront that is near Alternative Beverage and Muddy River rum distillery. NCR communications director Jude Starrett said she and her fellow rowers were looking for a place with calmer waters and less boat traffic than Lake Norman. “The Catawba is a delight to row on,” she said, “and we are thrilled to be part of the Belmont community.” According to NCR, the owners of the Riverside Complex have obtained a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission permit from Duke Energy, and all necessary approvals from the various local and corporate See ROWING, 4A
Unemployment benefits dry up By Alan Hodge alan.bannernews@gmail.com
For many folks the recent Great Recession has faded away, but there are still thousands of people still feeling its sting, and the recent decision by the State of North Carolina to drastically cut the number of weeks a person can draw unemployment benefits, as well as a reduction in the amount of money, is not helping.
The latest figures from the NC Employment Security Commission showed Gaston County's unemployment rate at 6.6 percent, Cleveland County at 7.0 percent, and the state average at 6.0 percent. Effective July 1, North Carolinians filing new claims will be able to draw unemployment benefits for a maximum of 14 weeks. The previous maximum was 26
Photo by Bill Barnes
Members of North Charlotte Rowing are seen on the Catawba River at last week's Corporate Cup Regatta. The NCR is now headquartered at 1500 River Dr. in East Belmont.
City of MH receives water award By Alan Hodge alan.bannernews@gmail.com A number of fresh faces were in evidence at last week's meeting of the Mount Holly City Council. The folks were new city employees as well as a group of young people who are working this summer as interns. The group was introduced by several different department heads and greeted by council members who welcomed all aboard and thanked them for their hard work. Interns included Cassidy Bailey, Juliana Perez, Madison Hawkins, Steven Dodd, and Octavius Otis. New employees are Allen Hurst, Jennifer Elmore, Zachary Dyer, Miles Braswell,
Jennifer Henderson, David Pearson, Patrick Brittain, Rodney Floyd, and Doug Beam. The council was pleased to hear that Mount Holly had gained a unique distinction regarding its water quality. Clinton Cook with the NC Public Water System was on hand to give the city an award for the low turbidity of its water. Turbidity is basically a measure of water clarity. The recognition Cook presented, the Area Wide Optimization Award (AWOP), recognized for the second year in a row the goodness that comes out of the Mount Holly Water Treatment Plant. “There are only 38 water treatment plants in North Carolina that met our
goals,” Cook said. Water treatment Plant OTC Brian Wilson and several of his staff accepted the AWOP plaque from Cook. “This is a great group of people who care about water quality in Mount Holly,” Cook said. In Gaston County, only Cherryville and Two Rivers Utilities measured up to the AWOP marks. The City of Mount Holly Water Treatment Facility was built in 1983 and is designed to treat up to 6 million gallons per day, drawing its water from Mountain Island Lake. Water is treated through coagulation, sedimentation and filtration and then disinfected See COUNCIL, 4A
Lowrance joins Belmont Police Dept.
See UNEMPLOYMENT, 7A By Alan Hodge alan.bannernews@gmail.com
Hollar to be inducted into Sports Hall of Fame By Kathy Blake Special to the Banner News
A.C. Hollar played football when many young athletes’ resumes already listed military service. A time when long-distance relationships involved hitch-hiking and stamped love letters, and game schedules were typed as “here” and “there,” not “home” and “away.” Hollar’s skills with Mount Holly High School, Belmont Abbey, the University of South Carolina and semi-pro Gastonia Volunteers have landed him a 2014 induction into the Mount Holly Sports Hall of Fame. “He was a fierce ballplayer. He really liked to
get with it,” said T e d Reece, 85, who played quarterback at B e l A.C. Hollar mont Abbey when Hollar was a 190pound defensive end, the last year the school had a football program. “He was a good, upstanding young man. He had high morals, and we respected him very much.” Frank Auten, 82, Boone, played left tackle at South Carolina to Hollar’s right tackle. “He was about as rough as you’d ever seen in college football. He was fast, and he was rough,” Auten said. “He was one of the finest, and he married a fine girl.” That girl, Jane, said “I do” to Hollar in 1953 in her hometown of High See HOLLAR, 7A
As one of the voices at the Belmont Police Department's dispatch center, and its newest officer, Pheap Lowrance, 33, helps a lot of people through their trying times and likes it just fine. According to Lowrance, it was the School Resource Officer when she was a student at South Point High that planted the law enforcement career seed in her heart and mind. “The SRO was Andy Smith,” Lowrance said. “I looked up to him. He was a positive role model for us students.” After graduating from South Point in 1999, Lowrance worked in a dental office for nine years, but her desire to put on a badge never left her. She attended Gaston College and earned her Basic Law Enforcement certificate last year. She was officially sworn in at the latest Belmont City Council meeting. “I always wanted to be a cop,” she said. The job Lowrance is currently doing involves staffing the dispatch desk. Don't think this is just about answering the phone. The
Photo by Alan Hodge
Belmont's newest police officer, Pheap Lowrance, is seen at her post on the dispatch desk. Lowrance hopes one day to be a School Resource Officer. Belmont PD dispatch room is a busy place 24/7. Lowrance sits in front of five computer monitors that have local maps and connections with other area law enforcement and emergency agencies on them. She can hear radio transmissions from the agencies as well. The incoming calls are varied and unpredictable. “We answer all 911 as well as non-emergency
calls,” Lowrance said. “It can be everything from someone asking where they can pay their power bill to serious calls such as domestics where people are screaming in your ear. The best part is helping anyone who needs it. When the phone rings you never know what kind of story you will get. There's never a dull moment.” As much as she likes her current duty on the dispatch
desk, Lowrance doesn't plan to spend her entire law enforcement career there. “I'd like to try out for other things,” she said. And one of those things is a flashback to her South Point High days. “My main goal is to be a School Resource Officer,” Lowrance said. “A lot of kids grow up without their parents around and I think I can help with that situation.”
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