Gaston County’s
Page 1
CONGRATULATIONS!
The Banner News / banner-news.com
FREE!
Thursday, December 15, 2016
South Point Red Raiders WIN
HEADING TO
$4500 see inside
Volume 82 • Issue 50
3A State Championship See pages 10 & 11
Good news for great people • Belmont • Cramerton • Lowell • McAdenville • Mount Holly • Stanley
Thursday, December 15, 2016
Belmont's Stan Cromlish attends 75th anniversary Pearl Harbor events Editors note: Stan Cromlish just returned from a once in a lifetime trip to take part in events commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Here is his dispatch from the field.
on the question of the war. The nation came together in a manner not seen again until the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. This year marked the Seventy-Fifth Commemoration of the “date which will live in infamy”, and I had the opportunity to attend By Stan Cromlish and participate in the commemorative events in person. The trip was a once-in-a-lifetime Seventy-five years ago, a sleepy United experience for me as I had the opportunity to States Naval Base in the middle of the vast meet many Pearl Harbor survivors including Pacific Ocean awoke on that fateful Sunday four of the five living USS Arizona survivors morning to the sound and several score of of aircraft which were Dateline: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii – World War II vetshooting and dropping December 7, 1941 – 7:48 am Hawaii Time erans who spoke of bombs on the US Navy their willingness to fleet that was moored in “Yesterday, December 7, 1941, a date which do it all over again Pearl Harbor adjacent will live in infamy, the United States of America if the country needed to Ford Island on the was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval them. These men are island of Oahu. On that and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” all heroes to me befateful day, two thoucause their combined – Franklin Roosevelt in his speech to sand four hundred and resolve and indomiCongress on Monday, December 8, 1941 three servicemen died table spirit helped with one thousand one hundred and seventy- free the world from tyranny. seven killed on the USS Arizona alone when I arrived in Honolulu, Hawaii on Friday, it exploded after being hit by an aerial bomb. December 2, 2016 and received a traditional Up until this point in United States history, this lei greeting and was then transported to my Belmont's Stan Cromlish is seen at Pearl Harbor with the anchor of the USS Arizona. The was the worst naval defeat ever experienced hotel which happened to be the headquarters battleship's memorial is in the background. Cromlish attended a number of events commebefore or since, but the attack galvanized a na- of many of the commemorative events for the norating the Dec. 7, 1941 attack by Japan that plunge America into WWII. tion that was up until that point sharply divided Photo provided by Stan Cromlish See PEARL HARBOR page 8
Belmont Abbey looking for heroes
South Point senior Austin Ross keeps Scottish musical tradition alive By Alan Hodge Alan.bannernews@gmail.com
South Point High senior 18-year-old Austin Ross marches to the beat of a different drummer- and piper. Whereas most teen guys his age might look to the guitar as their musical instrument of choice, Ross has fallen in love with the bagpipes. Bagpipes are a wind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. Though the Scottish Great Highland bagpipes are the best known in the Anglophone world, bagpipes have been played for a millennium or more throughout large parts of Europe, northern Africa, and western Asia, including Turkey, the Caucasus, and around the Persian Gulf. Ross says his affair with the pipes came from, of all things, watching cartoons- the Simpsons to be exact. “I was in the sixth grade and there was a Scottish janitor character on the Simpsons and I liked his accent,” Ross said. “I started to learn more about Scottish culture so I went to the Rural Hill Scottish Games and heard the Loch Norman band. The sound of the pipes was so incredible and regal. That’s when I decided to learn to play them.” One of the first things Ross did in his Scottish culture quest was to get a kilt. “It’s clan Stewart tartan,” he said. “I was proud to wear it.” According to Ross, plunging into the world of pipers was challenging. “I went to the Grandfather Mtn. Highland Games and met a pipe seller there and he said I should get a chanter first,” Ross says. “That’s the part where your fingers make the tune.” It took Ross a year to learn his way around the chanter. “I felt frustrated at times,” he admits. He finally got his first full set of pipes when he was 13-years-old. The first tune he played was “Amazing Grace” for his mother. Moving along, Ross went to a bagpipe camp at Valle Crucis, NC where he honed his skills. See AUSTIN ROSS page 3
South Point senior Austin Ross celebrates his Scottish heritage in many ways including playing the bagpipes at a wide variety of events. Photo provided
MONTCROSS AREA’S
DINING Guide
On December 17th, as the Belmont Abbey Crusaders face the Limestone Saints in Conference Carolinas play at noon, Belmont Abbey College Athletics will be inviting all branches of military service, all police, fire, medic and first responders to attend the game free of charge as a Salute to Heroes celebration. Belmont Abbey Athletics is encouraging any and all police, fire and medic representatives that would like to be present to reserve your spots at the game by contacting Brian Rushing at 704.461.6235 or brianrushing@bac.edu. The game will also serve as a precursor to an exhibition coming up in January, as members of Gaston County’s Police and Fire will face off in the Wheeler Center to raise money for the NC Firefighter’s Burned Children’s Fund. The game, slated for January 28 at noon, will serve as a tripleheader of action as the Crusaders will play King University later that evening in a Conference Carolinas doubleheader. The Crusaders will be led against Limestone under the direction of new Head Coach Billy Taylor who will making his first appearance on the court. Taylor, a standout at Notre Dame, comes to the Abbey after a stint as an assistant coach at the University of Iowa. Taylor has coached two Division I programs (Ball State and Lehigh) to 165 wins in his career.
For all your Holiday Dining See Page 20