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Volume 115 • Issue 41
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Wednesday, October 13, 2021
Cherryville’s Hocus Pocus Parade will be held Friday, October 15 Last year’s event was a wonderful “first” for the City “Where Life Blossoms!” by MICHAEL E. POWELL Editor michael@cfmedia.info
Cherryville will once again have a Hocus Pocus Parade – with hopes the weather will permit, of course – and it is slated for Friday, Oct. 15, starting at 6 p.m., and lasting until 9 p.m., according to Downtown Director David Day. The flier and parade route information can be found, he said, on the City of Cherryville’s web site
under the “Events” section. “You can also find out more information on the City’s Chamber of Commerce Facebook page,” said Mr. Day. Last year, Cherryville Chamber President and Events coordinator Mary Beth Tackett told the Eagle the Hocus Pocus Parade was done, at that time, “… in place of Little Spooks Parade and Scary-Ville,” adding it was a “first” for the community. The parade then had 10 floats, or vehicles in the parade, and was not open for the public to join in on, she added then. Said Mrs. Tackett in the Eagle article, “All the floats were built by the Events
Many of the characters from last year’s “Hocus Pocus” Parade came together for a group shot and to show off their really cool costumes. (photo provided) Team, Modern Security, and Mr. Tom Moss. We also had two vehicles done by Kyle Carpenter and Lane Hunsucker for Transformers
Cherryville one of 24 towns to receive Powell Bill funds $143-plus million in Powell Bill funds sent by NCDOT to help municipalities improve transportation by MICHAEL E. POWELL Editor michael@cfmedia.info
Cherryville is just one of 24 towns in the CF Media area that is benefitting from $143-plus million in Powell Bill funding to help with those towns’ infrastructure needs. In a recent media release the N.C. Department of Transportation noted it is distributing more than $143.1 million in State
Street Aid to Municipalities, also known as Powell Bill funds, to 509 municipalities statewide. The initial allocation, or half the total, was distributed this week, the release stated, with the other half to be paid by Jan. 1, 2022. Cherryville’s half of their total Powell Bill Funds allocation of $173, 890.88 is $86,945.44. The City of Cherryville has already received that first payment, City officials said. In the release, State Transportation Secretary Eric Boyette said, “Powell Bill funding makes many critical transportation improvements possible for communities from the
mountains to the coast. Municipalities can use these funds on a variety of projects that make North Carolina an even better place to live and work.” It should be noted that Powell Bill funds are used primarily to resurface municipal streets but can also be used to maintain, repair, construct or widen streets, bridges and drainage areas. Additionally, municipalities can also use Powell Bill funds to plan, construct and maintain bike paths, greenways or sidewalks. NCDOT’s media release noted the amount each municipality receives is based on a formula set by the N.C. See BILL, Page 2
Gaston Together requests nominations for 2022 MLK Unity Award by MICHAEL E. POWELL Editor michael@cfmedia.info
Donna Lockett, Executive Director, Gaston Together: Communities of Excellence noted in a recent media release, they are in the process of requesting nominations for their 2022 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Unity Awards. Locket said, via the media release, “The Gaston Clergy & Citizens Coalition (GC3), an initiative of Gaston Together, will present the 2022 Gaston Together MLK Unity Awards on Monday, Jan. 17, the MLK national holiday,” adding the details for the event “…are pending based on current coronavirus guidelines.” Lockett also noted GT’s MLK Unity Award
In this photo are the 2021 Gaston Together MLK Unity Award Honorees. From left are: Rev. Dr. Rodney Freeman, Mrs. Sharron Funderburk, and Gastonia Police Chief Travis Brittain. (photo provided) was established in 2004 by the GC3, to recognize “…current or former Gaston See MLK, Page 4
and Jurassic Park.” The public wasn’t asked to get involved with and be in the parade, noted Mrs. Tackett then, because they
“…wanted to ensure that this parade was high quality and full of everyone’s favorite characters. If we would have opened it up to
the public there would have been no way to be sure there was only one of each character” had it been opened up See HOCUS, Page 2
Cherryville man pleads guilty to 2019 assault and robbery by MICHAEL E. POWELL Editor michael@cfmedia.info
A Cherryville man, Billy Joe Franklin, III, who brutally beat and robbed the operator of Corner Market on Confederate Rd., in Lincolnton, on Feb. 27, 2019 entered a guilty plea in Lincoln County Superior Court last week. According to a Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office media release, Franklin, 35, pled guilty to robbery with a dangerous weapon,
BILLY JOE FRANKLIN, III conspiracy and attempted first degree murder and was
sentenced to 372 months in prison with credit for 103 days already served. He was also ordered to pay restitution of $9,000, according to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office spokesman, Lt. Larry Seagle. According to Lt. Seagle, Franklin and an accomplice, Jessica Mae Nations of Gastonia, N.C., entered the store around 11:15 a.m., on Feb. 27, 2019 and asked to use the telephone. “While the female was See GUILTY, Page 2
Lots of blame to go around: House committee holds hearing on problems with N.C. ABC, warehouse by JOHN TRUMP Carolina Journal
Spiritous liquor is still in short supply in ABC stores across the state, and supply still isn’t keeping up with demand. Republican lawmakers say things are getting even worse. Rep. Tim Moffitt, R-Henderson, and other members of the N.C. House Alcoholic Beverage Control Committee spent more than two hours Wednesday, Sept. 29, trying to determine what’s going on with the N.C. ABC Commission and warehouse operator LB&B Associates. Moffitt, after the meeting, said he now has more questions than answers. “This issue has really
A CJ stock photo of an N.C. ABC store. (photo by Maya Reagan/Carolina Journal) been compounded itself for the past four or five months.” Moffitt, the ABC committee chair, says lawmakers will continue to dig deeper, and the issue was referred to the Joint Leg-
islative Commission on Governmental Operations. The ABC committee was scheduled to consider a pair of bills Wednesday, but neither was heard. Moffitt related a story of See ABC, Page 4
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