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Gaston County’s

The Banner News / banner-news.com

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Thursday, December 29, 2016

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Volume 82 • Issue 52

Thursday, December 29, 2016

• Belmont • Cramerton • Lowell • McAdenville • Mount Holly • Stanley

Growth, good deeds in our area characterized 2016 The following is part one of a two-part 2016 year end news wrap up. By Alan Hodge Alan.bannernews@gmail.com

The year 2016 is now a fading fact that brought many memorable moments. The economy continued a slow but steady uptick that saw a number of new businesses open in our area. The lure of small town quality of life also brought hordes of newcomers to the region. Here are some the top stories that appeared in the BannerNews during the first half of the year. January: January kicked off with a feature story on 18-year-old Luke Karagias who was named Cramerton’s Firefighter of the Year. Young Luke was a volunteer at the Cramerton FD while also attending classes at South Point High and EMT classes at Gaston College. The second week in January saw the City of Belmont name Adrian Miller as its interim city manager, replacing Barry Webb who retired. Miller had been serving as assistant city

manager since 2007. The 25th annual Unity Day event honoring Martin Luther King, Jr. was also held. A large crowd gathered at Belmont’s Foursquare church for an evening of music and recognition. January saw ground broken in Stanley for a new recreation center at Harper Park to replace a facility that was over 60 years old. Finally, a snowstorm during the last week of January saw folks heading to places like Stowe Park for some serious sledding while numerous other slid their vehicles into ditches. February: February 4 saw an interesting story on the front page story in the BannerNews about local educator 24-year-old Trey Whitesides who was teaching English to students in Wenzhou, China. Whitesides sent the BannerNews dispatches from China as well as numerous photos of the city and landscape there. February 4 also saw the Montcross Chamber of Commerce hold its gala annual banquet and prize-giving ceremony in the Mt. Holly Municipal Complex. Hundreds of folks

Grace Blumberg and her dad Brent enjoyed a local January snowstorm early in 2016. Photo by Alan Hodge attended to celebrate the Chamber’s fabulous growth over 500 members. Taking advantage of the increase in business and commerce, the City of Belmont took steps in February to boost the image of its downtown area including wayfinding signs

Belmont council tackles land use issues By Alan Hodge

and decorative banners. In Mt. holly, members of the Soul Patrol senior citizens group held a big pep rally to root for the Super Bowl bound Carolina Panthers. See 2016 page 10

Belmont names new deputy city clerk

Alan.bannernews@gmail.com

Land use issues have been the hot topic for recent meetings of the Belmont city council. At its November gathering the council approved a zoning text amendment to amend various sections of the Land Development Code relating to the new South Point Peninsula Overlay Zoning District. The council voted to have a residential dwelling density of three lots per acre with lot sizes of 1/3 acre (14,500 sq. ft.). The council met Dec. 5 and revisited the Rivermist subdivision request that had been brought before them in November and sent back to the drawing board at that time, one reason being that the plan did not meet the maximum block length in Section 3.4 of the Land

Belmont Police Department welcomed Kori Cumberland as its newest officer at the latest city council meeting. Photo courtesy City of Belmont Development Code. The residential development is planned for a 44.45 acre slice of land located on the

eastern side of South Point Rd. and bounded by the Belwood neighborhood on the north, Bowen Dr. on

the south, and the Catawba River to the east. See COUNCIL Page 4

The City of Belmont has named Jenaro “Jay” Jackson as deputy city clerk/office assistant. He will be assisting city clerk Debra Brown. Jackson is a native of Milwakee, Wisconsin. He graduated from Milwaukee Trade and Technical High School in June 1988. He joined the US Air Force and retired on January 1, 2013 after 24 years. After retirement, he and his wife Dana moved to North Carolina. They have three children- Bryonna, Jenaro Jr., Jay Jackson and Christian. Jackson says he has a variety of interests including taking part in or watching sports, listening to smooth jazz music, and spending time with his family. Jackson began working for the City of Belmont in July 2013. “I love the close knit friendly atmosphere that Belmont has,” Jackson said. “The pride that Belmont residents and workers have is infectious, and I am truly blessed and proud to be a part of what Belmont provides as a community and work place.”

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