Serving Belmont, Mount Holly, Stanley, Cramerton and McAdenville
Volume 79 • Issue 51 • Wednesday, December 24, 2014
75¢
CaroMont set to open new Regional Medical Center By Alan Hodge alan.bannernews@gmail.com
CaroMont’s new $24 million Regional Medical Center at 451 East Charlotte Ave. (NC27) in Mount Holly is getting set to open January 13 at 9am. Over a year in the making, the facility is not only a state of the medical arts place where folks can get help for emergency situations such as an accident or chest pains, it will also offer in-house laboratory and radiology services as well for other patients. “It’s a blend of hospital, doctor’s office,and outpatient center rolled into one,” said Jodie Cook, RN, Manager of Emergency Services, at CaroMont Health. The building has 38,000 sq. ft. of treatment and administrative space. In addition, there are six Rapid Medical Evaluation (RME) rooms, ten treatment rooms, two resuscitation rooms, a results lounge, a laboratory, and an imagining suite for CT scan, X-ray, and ultrasound. The results lounge is a unique space that will allow non-critical patients to wait for further treatment or consultation in a comfortable environment. Board certified emergency medicine physicians and registered nurses certified in Advanced Cardiac Life Support and Pediatric Advanced Life Support will be Artwork by Jan Craft stands in front of the new CaroMont Regional Medical Center in Mount Holly. The facility is due to open for business on duty at all times. on January 13. Photo by Alan Hodge The convenient location about halfway between Charlotte and Gastonia will make the new facility popular. tal, they will be taken there by ambulance. of windows let light pour in, creating an are also dozens of art prints throughout the “We expect about 12,500 patients the Helicopter airlift will not be offered. Folks uplifting ambiance. Furnishings offer com- building. first year,” said Sharon Summer, RN, Carexperiencing chest pain or showing signs fortable seating for patients and others. Purchase of the art was made possible oMont’s Director of Emergency Services. of stroke or suffering from traumatic injury Art abounds both inside and outside of through donations. The building’s layout focuses on patient will be taken to the main CaroMont campus the new place. Original works include an “We wanted a calming environment privacy and efficient movement from one in Gastonia. outdoor sculpture by local artist Jan Craft. with a less institutional feel,” Summer said. treatment area to the other. The new facility is more than shiny Inside, there are pieces by Curt Butler, “The official ribbon cutting will be JanIf a patient needs care more appropriate to that which can be given at a larger hospi- equipment and well-trained staff. Plenty Jackie Radford, and Leigh Brinkley. There uary 6 at 10am.”
Economic recovery and patriotism tops 2014 news By Alan Hodge alan.bannernews@gmail.com
One of the top stories for the first half of 2014 was the rapid pace of work done on the new bridge on Lakewood Rd. in Cramerton. Photo by Alan Hodge
Study looks at ways to improve Wilkinson Blvd. By Alan Hodge alan.bannernews@gmail.com
Other than I-85, US29/74 (aka Wilkinson Blvd.), between the Catawba and South Fork rivers is Eastern Gaston county’s most important traffic artery. Last week, leaders from Belmont, McAdenville, and Cramerton got together to hear a presentation by Metrocology founder Demetri Baches on what the future could hold for that vital transportation corridor. “We held the meeting to bring the local elected officials up to speed on the study,” Baches said. “They were very receptive.” The study that Baches presented is the work of several months and examined the engineering and aesthetics of the boulevard as well as its impact on the communities it See STUDY Page 4
Economic recovery and patriotic fervor topped the local news scene in 2014. The January 1 edition of the BannerNews highlighted historic preservation of homes, churches, and other structures in Belmont, Mount Holly, McAdenville, Cramerton, Lowell, and Ranlo. The article focused in on the renovation that took place in the circa 1880s brick duplexes in downtown McAdenville as well as a visit to the Belmont Planning Board by UNCC professor of history Dr. Dan Morrill who discussed ways to balance historic preservation with downtown development in Belmont. The January 8 BannerNews lead story highlighted Crowders
Mountain and its designation as North Carolina’s Park of the Year. The front page also featured an article that looked at the visit author Martha Gellhorn made to Gaston County in 1933 as part of President Roosevelt’s New Deal. Gellhorn, the third wife of famed writer Ernest Hemingway, chronicled textile mill village living conditions for Federal Emergency Relief director Harry Hopkins. On the sports scene, Mount Holly Middle School won the county soccer title. January 15 came along and the BannerNews looked at how the boat launching area behind Dale’s Superette on Wilkinson Blvd. came to be. According to local historian Benny Brown, the peninsula had been created in the early 1970s when rubble from East Belmont Elementary See YEAR-END Page 2
Alliance for Growth says Gaston “Poised to Prosper” By Alan Hodge alan.bannernews@gmail.com
It’s a fact that too many folks see Gaston County as a land populated by “po folks” and an economic Rip Van Winkle. However, a group calling itself the Alliance for Growth, an initiative of the Greater Gaston Development Corp. is out to change that scenario. Bob Clay is chair of the board of trustees, GGDC. Last week, the GGDC presented a set of recommendations designed to get Gaston going to a group of area business and civic leaders. The information took many months and around 7,000 volunteer hours of work to develop and was unveiled at the Gastonia Conference Center. Ted Hall, president of the Montcross Area Chamber was one of the attendees. Eleven members of the Montcross Area Chamber Board of Directors volunteered to serve on one or more of the seven committees that created the report. “This new study and report by the Alliance for Growth gives Gaston County its best opportunity in years to make a giant leap forward,” Hall said. “We’ve trailed the rest of the Charlotte region in economic development for too long. But we must face the fact that it’s our responsibility to do what’s required to attract growth and economic prosperity. We must provide the business parks, infrastructure,
Duke Energy’s Tim Gause (center), presents a check for $50,000 to Carroll Gray, GGDC executive director (left), and Bob Clay, GGDC board chairman (right). Contributed photo transportation systems, business support, prepared workforce and all of the other things companies look for when choosing a site for a new plant or corporate office complex. See ALLIANCE Page 3