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Volume 78 • Issue 47 • Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Serving Belmont, Mount Holly, Stanley, Cramerton, and McAdenville
After 50 years, memories of JFK remain ALAN HODGE alan.bannernews@gmail.com
This Nov. 22 marks the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Like the Dec. 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor or the Sept. 11, 2001 horror at the World Trade Center in New York, it’s a date and day that is forever etched in the minds of those who were around when it took place. Several BannerNews readers shared their recollections of that fateful day in Dallas, Texas a half century ago. The former Dorothy Jean Smith of Belmont was at home when she got the news. “I was in the yard cutting grass and the neighbor Mrs. Smith (no relation) came running out and told me,� she said. “I spent the next three days watching everything about it on TV.� Gearl Dean Page of Belmont was teaching sixth grade at Gastonia Central when she was informed of the tragedy. ‘The principal motioned for me to come out and he told me that the
president had been shot in Dallas,� Page said. “I nearly fell on the floor. He told me I had to let the children know. When I told them it was like a bomb had dropped. They went out on the playground and just stood quietly in little groups. They took it very hard.� Poochie Dotson was a student at Catawba Heights Elementary. “We got out of school early,� Dotson said. “I went home and the family sat around the TV. My mom and dad were very upset. Later, we watched the funeral procession on TV.� Melia Lyerly of Cramerton was in school as well when the news reached her ears. “I was in the 2nd grade at Paw Creek Elementary School,� Lyerly said. “I remember my teacher, Miss Haviland (who was in her early 20s) was crying when she told us. Most of the children in my class started crying too. I also remember that there were twins in my school. One was in my class. Their family went to Washington, DC to the funeral. They were just some of the huge number of peo-
The ‘Bicycle Man’ will be missed By Alan Hodge alan.bannernews@gmail.com
One of Belmont's most beloved and acclaimed citizens passed away on Veterans Day. Jethro Mann, also known as the “Bicycle Man�, died Nov. 11 in Florida at the age of 96. Mann was a long-time resident of the Reid community in Belmont where his garage was filled with bicycles he rebuilt and loaned or gave to local children. Mann's “Bicycle Lending Library� was featured on Charles Kuralt's “On the Road� TV series. He was
Jethro ‘Bicycle Man’ Mann also featured in “Our State Magazine�, “Reader's Digest�, and the CBS Evening News. Mann received the Good Samaritan Award from “National Enquirer� See BICYCLE MAN, 5A
ple who went to see the event and mourn the loss of JFK. When she came back, the teacher had her tell us about it.� Lois Kube was in class at St. Ann’s Catholic School when she first got the news about Kennedy. ‘The nun came in and told us he had been shot and we started praying,� she said. “It was a Catholic school and he was Catholic so it wass a big deal. It was a shock to all of us.� Mount Holly city council member Jerry Bishop was in the Air Force stationed at McDill AFB in Tampa, Florida when he learned of the assassination. “I was walking up some stairs in one of the buildings when I was told about it,� Bishop said. “We sat in the barracks and watched the Archival Photo
This story appeared in the Nov. 29, 1963 Mount Holly News and focused on a local lad who was chosen to stand guard over Kennedy's bier as it lay in the Capitol rotunda. See MEMORIES, 6A
Belmont hopes to revive Main Street Program By Alan Hodge Alan.bannernews@gmail.com
Visitors from the N.C. Main Street program made a stop in Belmont last week. The representatives toured the Chronicle Mill project on E. Catawba Ave. and lunched with local civic and business leaders. Melia Lyerly of the Lyerly Agency said the talks were productive. “They asked a lot of questions about what our plans are and what we thought needed improvement in downtown Belmont,� said Lyerly. “One thing we discussed was connecting the downtown area with East Belmont. The Chronicle Mill would be a big part of that.� The 100+ year old Chronicle Mill is currently in the midst of a redo by developer John Church. Possibilities for the brick structure could include offices, shops, a recreational facility, or
housing. The N.C. Main Street Center works to stimulate economic development within the context of historic preservation, using a comprehensive approach to downtown revitalization developed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and utilized by the National Trust Main Street Center to assist communities across the country. The Office of Urban Development is comprised of three programs: N.C. Main Street, Small Town Main Street and the Main Street Solutions Fund grant program. The N.C. Main Street program assists selected communities across the state in restoring economic vitality to their historic downtowns. Using a comprehensive downtown revitalization process developed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Main Street encourages economic development within the context of historic
Herns injured in accident
East Gaston High, community, mourn loss of McAbee
Rusty McAbee
See McABEE, 5A
Council approves borrowing $495k By Alan Hodge
By Alan Hodge
Church in Kings Mountain. He was a graduate of Kings Mountain High School and completed his undergraduate studies at University of North Carolina at Wilmington in
See DOWNTOWN BELMONT, 5A
Alan.bannernews@gmail.com
alan.bannernews@gmail
A pall hung over East Gaston High last week when news arrived that assistant principal Rusty McAbee, 40, had passed away at Wendover Hospice on Nov. 13 after a two-year battle with pancreatic cancer. McAbee was a native of Cleveland County and a member of Second Baptist
preservation. Main Street staff provide technical assistance, guidance and training to participating communities. While grant funds for specific projects occasionally become available, Main Street is a selfhelp program, and it is up to local communities to provide the human and financial resources necessary to operate their downtown programs. New Main Street communities are selected every three years through a competitive application process. Eligible communities must have a certified population under 50,000 and commit to hiring a full-time downtown manager and providing funding for operating the program for an initial three-year period. The City of Belmont was accepted into the NC Main Street program in 2000, but suspended its participation in 2009 during the recession.
Community VFD Photo
Teddy Joe Herns, 59, of Gastonia was seriously injured in this Friday morning accident on Hickory Grove Rd. near Mt. Holly. Herns failed to negotiate the curve near Redlair Lane and struck a tree. He was taken to Caromont Regional Medical Center in Gastonia then airlifted to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte. Community VFD 32 and the NC State Highway Patrol responded to the wreck which is still under investigation.
The City of Belmont has approved one of the largest installment financing deals for vehicles and equipment in a long time. The city council recently OKed a contract with BB&T to finance an amount not to exceed $495,000 for the purchase of a variety of machinery. BB&T’s proposal was for a 59-month installment plan with a 1.62 percent rate. Installment payments are to be made semiannually in arrears. US Bancorp had offered the city a slightly lower 1.612 percent rate but that firm wanted a $500 fee to set up an escrow account to hold the loan funds. Other companies that submitted financing proposals included PNC Equipment
Finance at 1.75 percent, Commerce bank at 1.88 percent, and Sparta Commercial Services at 3.416 percent. The biggest item that will be paid for with the loan is a 2007 Pierce Dash 105 Quints fire truck and its accessories. The money will also fund six sets of structural firefighting gear. A car is also in the Belmont city government’s future in the form of a new Chevy Malibu (or equivalent). The loan will also pick up the tab for a new seventon utility trailer as well as a Toro three-wheel, surfacedragging, tractor with a spreading rake attachment. Other items that will be bought with the loan includes DOT Type Three street barricades, two lighting towers, 20 crowd barricades, and two traffic arrow boards.
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