Volume 114 • Issue 44
75¢
Wednesday, October 28, 2020
City’s J. Ralph Beam, Jr. Heritage Park getting a long overdue facelift by MICHAEL E. POWELL Editor michael@cfmedia.info
Small Town Kitchen co-owners, Billy and George Kakavitsas (front, center, with scissors and holding ribbon) at their Oct. 14, ribbon cutting. With them were various City of Cherryville staff, Council, and Chamber of Commerce officials, as well as Chamber members and friends and employees. (photos provided)
Cherryville’s newest eatery, Small Town Kitchen, now open Sit-down style restaurant ideally located on busy Hwy. 150 by MICHAEL E. POWELL Editor michael@cfmedia.info
Last week, co-owners and brothers Vasilios “Billy”, and Georgio “George” Kakavitsas cut a big red ribbon signifying they were soon to open
their restaurant, “Small Town Kitchen”, in Cherryville. The “sit-down” style restaurant is ideally located on busy Hwy. 150. The Kitchen formally opened its doors and began serving food on Tuesday, Oct. 20, and is located at 1011 E. Church Street. Billy, 31, said the reason for choosing Cherryville as a place for a restaurant was simple; “The landlord, Jimmy Vikas, is our uncle.” Mr.
Vikas owned the Milano’s restaurant that was previously in Cherryville, he added. In addition to Billy and George being on hand for the Wednesday, Oct. 14, ribbon cutting, other City and Chamber staff, personnel and Chamber members were there as well, welcoming the new business to the community. George, 32, said they plan on having the restaurant open six days a week, with lunch and See EATERY, Page 7
At a recent Heritage Park Committee meeting, the committee members discussed recent work being done on the old buildings by Mr. John Coley Houser, from Vale. Chairperson Rita Beam noted a large donation was given by a note former Cherryville native to help with the work being done on the historical buildings by Project Manager Houser. Mrs. Beam noted Mr. Houser had submitted a plan to them for approval. Members of the Heritage Park Committee are: Rita Beam, Chairperson; Mildred Beam Dail, Secretary; Hazelene Moss; Jack Bingham; Becky Ross; Councilman Jon Abernathy; and Cherryville Finance Director Dixie Wall. “Jeff Cash, Cherryville City Manager/Fire Chief; and Brandon Abernathy, Cherryville Public Works Director, are the City liaisons to our committee,” said Mrs. Dail, who added
Downtown Director David Day speaks at the recent J. Ralph Beam, Jr. Heritage Park Committee meeting at the Cherryville Community Building. Listening to him is HPC member Becky Ross. (photo by MEP/The Eagle) that Mr. J. Coley Houser is the project manager. “Mr. Houser is a knowledgeable parks, recreation, and tourist consultant,” she noted. Mr. Houser noted, via email, that he was contacted about the old buildings at the park by Mr. Brandon Abernathy. “Brandon Abernathy, with the City, approached Dr. Bob Hart, of Hart Square Village in Vale about how to go about restoration of
the buildings. “At the time I was working for the foundation he established to care for his village consisting of 100plus log cabins, etc. He mentioned that the city was seeking someone to do the restoration and I was looking to begin a consulting business specializing in historical restoration. The timing was perfect and I jumped at the opportunity.” Troop 323 Eagle Scout See PARK, Page 6
When it comes to trapping Cherryville woman is TOPS pesky ‘critters’, Shelby’s weight loss queen for 2019 Bradley knows his stuff Tina Flowers thinks of herself as being like the “little engine that could”, achieving her dream
Certified Wildlife Damage Control Agent offers humane wildlife capture and removal services
by MICHAEL E. POWELL Editor michael@cfmedia.info
by MICHAEL E. POWELL Editor michael@cfmedia.info
When it comes to quicky getting pesky critters out of your house or outbuildings, one might paraphrase the old “Ghostbuster’s” movie theme song from back in the day, “When there’s something weird, in your neighborhood (attic or crawlspace), who ya gonna call?” The answer in this case, is, not Ghostbusters, but rather, “Why, you call Scott Bradley, that’s who.” Mr. Bradley, of Belwood, in Cleveland County, is a Certified Wildlife Damage Control Agent who offers his humane wildlife capture and removal services, and bills himself as an “honest,
Certified Wildlife Damage Control Agent Scott Bradley with a couple of his “critter” traps, which come in various sizes, to accommodate various wild animals. (photo provided) dependable service,” offering, in addition to the critter’s removal, but also advice on preventable maintenance, especially when and where the little varmints get in and tear things up or destroy a garden
or under the home. He can handle jobs in Cherryville and Gaston County, and Shelby and Kings Mountain, in Cleveland County and the local See BRADLEY, Page 9
Cherryville’s Tina Flowers doesn’t think of herself as a role model or a mentor to very many people outside of her family and friends, but in truth, she absolutely is. Flowers, a bright, engaging woman, is full of exuberance when she talks about one of her biggest accomplishments – besides meeting the love of her life, getting married, having a beautiful family, and a great job with lots of friends, that is – losing an incredible 106.75 pounds through a non-profit organization known as TOPS, or Take Off Pounds Sensibly. TOPS, noted Mrs. Flowers, is a non-commercial weight loss, education, and support organization, which she said has helped her immensely. And, if that wasn’t enough, Flowers was recently crowned North Carolina (TOPS) Queen for her weight loss success, which simply
Cherryville’s Tina Flowers in her 2019 TOPS Queen attire, complete with a beautiful crown and sash proclaiming her as the NC TOPS Queen. (photo by MEP/The Eagle) means she lost more weight than any other female member in the entire state in 2019. She said she only recently received her crown and sash, due to the coronavirus pandemic forcing things to slow down somewhat so far as the organization getting to follow through with awarding her the honors. Flowers tells her story thusly, “I joined TOPS in
2016. First of all, I would like to thank my Lord and Savior for giving me the strength to do this journey as TOPS is a lifestyle change, not a diet. “A diet is something you do when you need to lose five to 10 pounds, while a lifestyle is something you will do the rest of your life. Philippians 4:13 says, ‘I can do all things See TOPS, Page 7
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