Belmont Front Porch

Friend and neighbor, Walt Israel, was tapped by the Gaston County Travel and Tourism board to serve as the interim director of the organization.

He has begun the $50,000 temporary postion and will concentrate on moving the Big League Dreams project in Gastonia and helping to recruit new hotels to the area. The Tourism department of the Economic Development Commission is funded by a Hotel/Motel occupancy tax.

A staff member to the Visitor’s Center was also approved by the Tourism board. This position will be funded by the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden.

(704) 825-4044   620 N Main St    Belmont, NC 28012

The two young men who were arrested for vandalizing 76 cars and homes last summer, were sentenced on Friday.

Christopher Allen Bostwick, 19, of Belmont and Timothy Michael Pressley, 18, of Cramerton were sentenced to 200 hours of community service and required to pay restitution of $12,000.

Jail time was avoided by both men, many of the homeowners and/or insurance companies wanted to be reimbursed for the damages. The reasoning was that if the men were jailed, they would not be able to pay back the damages.

The judge threatened both offenders that if they were caught in as much as a moving violation, they would be sent to jail.

Guess that wraps up the justice in their destructive silliness…

Here is a good community investment:

CaroMont Healthcare, the for-profit management group which owns Gaston Memorial Hospital, and the Gaston County Family YMCA have partnered to offer wellness program opportunities to the communities.

Each of the YMCA branches will be hosts to a Nurse Practioner to provide health screenings, classes, and other programs as part of the overall Activate America program.

The YMCA  and CaroMont are two of the partners in the Gaston Community Health Care Commission and the Get Fit! Gaston program.

This is a good use of community reinvestment dollars and brings together two leading providers of critical need services to Gaston County.