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Volume 115 • Issue 10
75¢
Wednesday, March 10, 2021
Cherryville’s Haynes works with Hospice helping veterans heal Retired Cherryville Fire department Driver/Engineer Barry “Heavy B” Heavner (fifth from left, holding helmet and award), with some of his CFD family. From left to right are: CFD Fire Chief Jeff Cash, firefighter Trent “Bam Bam” Rayfield, Driver/Engineer Colby Heffner, CFD Assistant Chief Jason Wofford, Heavner, Capt. Chris “Pudge” Cash, and “Capt. Kurt Black. (photo by MEP/The Eagle/CF Media)
“Heavy B” hangs up his (fire) helmet after 31 years with the CFD Barry Heavner decides it’s time to step down and let new blood lend the community a hand by MICHAEL E. POWELL Editor michael@cfmedia.info
Since 1990, Barry Heavner has worked at the job he has
loved so well and for so long; first as a volunteer, then later, starting in 1993, as a full-time employee. After all, 31 years of being constantly on call can have a tendency to wear a person out, no matter how tough they are. Oh, that job? Barry, or “Heavy B”, as he is known to his friends and
colleagues, is – or rather was – a Cherryville firefighter. You have no doubt seen Barry and his fellow smoke eaters; they’re the guys who rush into a burning building when everyone else is rushing out. Talk about guts! Talk about… well, talk about utmost professionalism; utmost care; and, perhaps more than See CFD, Page 6 & 7
Haynes distributes Shelby Middle School football players letters to Hospice of Cleveland County’s veteran patients by MICHAEL E. POWELL Editor michael@cfmedia.info
Cherryville native Krista Haynes, loves what she does, especially when it comes to young people stepping up and performing acts of kindness to hospice patients. As the Hospice Cleveland County Patient/Family Volunteer Coordinator, Haynes recently got to see first-hand a group of teens doing an act of great kindness last month. Haynes said she spoke to the Shelby Middle School Football Team about Hospice Volunteer Opportunities including the organization’s “We Honor Veterans Program”. The idea was the brainchild of their coach, Justin Bowden, she noted. Haynes said the team wrote letters to Hospice patients who served in the mil-
Cherryville native, Krista Haynes, is the Hospice Cleveland County Patient/Family Volunteer Coordinator. Here she is shown with examples of the letters written to patients who are veterans as part of their “We Honor Veterans Program”. (photo by MEP/CF Media) itary to thank them for their service. In the letters, the kid’s thanked the veterans for their service, saying they had a relative who served and made-
them proud of their country and their families. “Thank you for your sacrifice,” wrote one girl, while others said they were praying See HAYNES, Page 3
Local author’s first book a Number One bestseller “Quarks of Light” (2021/ Ignite Press/Fresno, CA), is that last type of experience and better describes why he wrote the small, 235-page tome. The back cover calls
the book a “self-discovery and spiritual awakening.” You see, Mr. Gentile, the son of Italian immigrants and a steel industry See AUTHOR, Page 2
Kintegra nurses and volunteers help move recipients of the Moderna vaccine through the line at the Feb. 27 COVID-19 event, held at the Cherryville Fire Department. (photo by MEP/The Eagle/CF Media)
440 vaccinated at Feb. 27 COVID-19 vaccination event
Local author Rob Gentile with a copy of his first book, “Quarks of Light”. (photo provided)
“Quarks of Light” about his own near death experience
All who came received their first dose of the Moderna vaccine’s two-injection regimen
by MICHAEL E. POWELL Editor michael@cfmedia.info
It takes a lot to inspire someone to write a book. It could be anything from just simply wanting to tell a story or see your name in print. For others, it’s something much more personal; say a personal tragedy or a life- or soul-changing experience. Local author Rob A. Gentile’s just-released book,
by MICHAEL E. POWELL Editor michael@cfmedia.info
At halftime, at the Friday night, March 5, home football game between CHS and Pine Lake Prep, Miss Riley Huffman was crowned 2020 Homecoming Queen by the 2019 Homecoming Queen, Miss Gracie Jackson. Miss Huffman is the daughter of Brandon and Jodi Huffman, and was escorted by Gavin Cease. Riley is the editor of the CHS yearbook; is a threetime member of the CHS Lady Ironmen Golf team and a former vice-president of the Interact Club. Gifts were presented to Miss Huffman by the Senior Class representatives. (photo by MEP/The Eagle/CF Media)
Four hundred, forty-six people received the first of their two-injection Moderna COVID-19 vaccine regimen Saturday, Feb. 27, at the Cherryville Fire Department. Chief Jeff Cash said this COVID vaccination event was the first round of vaccinations for the people that came that Saturday. “We utilized the Moderna vaccine which requires two shots,” he said.
Originally slated to take place in January, Chief Cash said two previous delays in getting the vaccine out were not due to the weather in our area, as some had speculated. “The delays were not due to weather here in our area. The delays were from the mid-west and northeast which prohibited the vaccines getting to North Carolina. Once the vaccines were back to being shipped, (the state) dispersed the vaccine to all 100 counties.” Many helped CFD and others at the vaccination event, said Chief Cash, who noted that in addition to CFD and Kintegra, whose nurses actually administered the doses, the Cherryville Police
Department and volunteers from the City of Cherryville, from Carolina Federal Credit Union, and GEMS took part in seeing the job was completed in a timely and efficient manner. In addition to the 446 doses administered (their original goal was 450), Chief Cash noted they had four doses leftover, which went back into Kintegra’s reserves. “We experienced a handful of cancellations, but were able to pull people from our standby list; however, some people could not attend on short notice,” said the Chief. As for the second shot, Chief Cash said it will be given out Saturday, March See 440, Page 10
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