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Volume 116 • Issue 4
Wednesday, January 26, 2022
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Cherryville gets a few inches of snow from Winter Storm Izzy Second blast of Arctic air brings little snow; more winter mix our way by MICHAEL E. POWELL Editor michael@cfmedia.info
Winter Storm Izzy had a big surprise for western North Carolina and Cherryville last weekend. The snowy, sleety beast roared in and dumped a great deal of the white, fluffy stuff ion our area, followed by the dreaded sleet, icy rain and more ice and more snow, piling it on in heaps and generally causing sloppy mayhem across the region. As if that wasn’t bad enough, more of the cold wet stuff was forecast for the coming weekend as well, though according to weather pundits, that affected folks farther east in our state. Cherryville and its surrounding area got minor snow and more of the wintry mix from the second wintry onslaught. City Manager Brian Dalton, who helped man the city’s EOC (Emergency Operations Center) said, he wanted to “personally praise the work all the department heads and their employees did for the storm.” He continued, “Every
department had their individual responsibilities and all did a great job in helping Cherryville get through the storm. There was great communication between all the groups to accomplish the goals of getting Cherryville and the citizens back to normal as fast as possible.” Cherryville Fire Chief Jason Wofford agreed and said, “ Our on-duty staff stood by ready at a moment’s notice to help in any way we were needed.” Chief Wofford knew the state and county crews had already been out brining the roadways and laying down salt but wasn’t sure exactly how much was done before the arrival of the storm. Said Chief Wofford, “We received very few calls, but we did have a porch collapse that trapped the occupants of the house. Captain Kurt Black and Engineer Jacob Richardson went above and beyond the call of duty to assist the homeowners in that emergency situation.” Chief Wofford continued, “I’d like to praise Capt. Black and Engineer Richardson with their handling of the porch collapse and add a word of thanks to our new City Manager for coming and manning the EOC all day that Sunday!” Cherryville Police Chief
Cam Jenks said their department responded to approximately eight (8) calls during the course of the storm that involved either minor motor vehicle collisions or vehicles that slid off of the roadway. Chief Jenks continued, “We always evaluate potential risks during storms and rely on information from Gaston County Emergency Management and the National Weather Service. We will have crews on standby if they are needed if the second projected storm is bad.” Fortunately that didn’t happen as the second storm delivered its punch more to the east of us, he noted. Chief Jenks did have words of praise for his department and his men and women, as well as the citizens of Cherryville. “First, I would like to thank the majority of our citizens that made a wise decision to stay off of the roads until the roads were passable. This cuts down on the risk of injury to not only the public but to the City of Cherryville employees. I would also like to thank all of the City of Cherryville employees that worked tirelessly through the storm to make sure the roads were clear and that the public was safe.” See STORM, Page 10
Main Street Cherryville, looking east. Most of the snow and ice has been cleared or has melted and things look a little better than when it all hit us last Sunday.
Seven local towns to receive Carolina Thread Trail Awards
Young children still ineligible for vaccines as omicron cases surge North Carolina sees record levels of new cases as highly contagious strain of COVID-19 spreads by KATE MARTIN
Towns are in CF Media readership area; awards for trail projects to 16 partners total $755,500
Carolina Public Press
Children younger than age 5 are the largest group of people not yet eligible for COVID-19 vaccines, and it may be several months into the new year before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorizes their use. Meanwhile, the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention authorized booster shots for children ages 12-15 in early January. On Friday, Jan. 7, the agency released a separate report that shows the Pfizer vaccine is “highly effective” in preventing multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children ages 12-17. MIS-C is a rare condition that arises after a child contracts COVID-19, causing inflammation in a variety of internal organs.
This gentleman is hard at work cleaning the downtown sidewalks of snow and ice right after Winter Storm Izzy dropped more than just a few inches on us. (photos by MEP/The Eagle/CF Media)
Vaccine vials line a table at the federally-supported mass vaccination site in Greensboro. (Clare Grant/Carolina Public Press) Of 102 children diagnosed with MIS-C, 97 of them were unvaccinated, and of those, 38 required life support during their hospital stay. But this still leaves a large portion of the population unvaccinated. A smaller dose of the Moderna vaccine is being tested for children ages 6 months and older. One of those test sites is in Madison, Wis. So far, the trial is going “quite well,” said Dr. Bill Hartman, principal investigator for the Moderna KidCOVE trial at University of Wisconsin-Madison. “They are more than just
little adults,” he said of small children. “Their bodies, their systems, work a little bit different. We have to find the optimal dose.” It is a double-blind study, which means both patients and those administering the shots don’t know if the vaccine or placebo is used. So far, children have not had any “unusual side effects” to getting the vaccine. If all goes well with the rest of the Moderna trial, Hartman said he anticipates the Food and Drug Administration could authorize a vaccine under emergency use See OMNICRON, Page 3
by MICHAEL E. POWELL Editor michael@cfmedia.info
According to a recent media release from Jennifer Clark, Communications and Marketing Manager for the Carolina Thread Trail, seven towns in the readership area of CF Media newspapers – Belmont, Bessemer City, Kings Mountain, Shelby, Cramerton, Lowell, and Stanley – will soon have more spaces to safely access and enjoy nature on the way thanks to the Carolina Thread Trail. Wrote Ms. Clark, “As Carolinians continue to face challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic,
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finding safe places to gather and recreate with family and friends” is at the top of everyone’s mind. Clark said in order to help, the Governing Board of the Thread Trail recently approved distribution of $752,500 in grant funding for expanding and advancing public trails across 15 counties in North and South Carolina. As per the media release, the town of Belmont will receive a $30,000 ac-
quisition to help with land acquisition for the construction of Abbey Creek Greenway, which runs parallel to Wilkinson Blvd., and will connect to Loftin Park on the Catawba River, while the town of Bessemer City is slated to receive $15,000 for a Trail Corridor Plan to conduct a trail corridor study to determine the best alignment for a trail extension at the SouthRidge Parkway Industrial Park that will serve residents and employees and approach the western side of Gastonia with an eventual connection underneath I-85, Clark noted. The town of Cramerton is to receive $86,000 for construction to improve the Rocky Branch Trail at Stuart Cramer High School, which provides a critical trail connection between Cramerton and Belmont while the town of Lowell is to receive $8,000 See THREAD, Page 2