Purple Martin Greenwway Trail - Rutherford Outdoor Coalition

Purple Martin Greenwway Trail
Community celebrates opening/A6
Wednesday, September 23, 2015 • $1.00 • Serving Rutherford County • www.thedigitalcourier.com • Local Matters
Baby girl born in car
Sunday goes home
Jury
chosen in
robbery
case
BY JEAN GORDON
[email protected]
RUTHERFORDTON — One-dayold Lillian Claire Queen was busy
nursing while held gently in the
arms of her mother, Wynne Queen,
Monday afternoon at Ruther ford
Regional Medical Center. In a chair in the corner of their
room at the Bir th Place, Lillian’s
daddy, Kenneth Queen, told a story
he’ll likely share for the rest of his
life.
On Sunday afternoon as he was
attempting to get his wife to the
midwife to deliver their third child,
plans were suddenly interrupted as
baby Lillian had a mind of her own.
Born at 6:26 p.m. Sunday, Sept.
22, in the back seat of the couple’s
Honda Accord, Lillian weighed 8
pounds and 5 ounces and has light
brown hair. She is the couple’s first
daughter. Their sons are John, 8,
and Iain, 5. With the exception of a few seconds of sheer panic for Kenneth
when the baby was born not breathing, the birth in a convenience store
SEE BABY/PAGE A5
COMPILED BY JEAN GORDON
[email protected]
RUTHEFORDTON — Daveion
Markez Flack, 23, of Seitz Drive in
Forest City is being tried in Superior Cour t this week on several
charges stemming from a November 2014 incident.
A jur y was chosen T uesday
morning and opening statements
began Tuesday afternoon.
He is on trial for first-degree burglary, felony assault with a deadly
weapon with intent to kill, inflicting
serious injury and robbery with a
dangerous weapon.
According to reports from the
Forest City Police Depar tment,
Flack broke into a residence on
Gypsy Street in Forest City and
assaulted a man inside the home.
The victim contacted police to
report the break-in and assault.
The victim sustained a broken
arm and other injuries.
Jean Gordon/Daily Courier
Kenneth and Wynne Queen with their daughter, Lillian Claire, born Sunday
afternoon in their car in the parking lot of a Rutherfordton convenience store.
Local families going to see Pope Francis
BY SCOTT CARPENTER
SPECIAL TO THE DAILY COURIER
FOREST CITY — As Roman
Catholic Pope Francis continues his
visit to America over the next several days, local families will be among
the faithful expecting to receive
inspiration.
Joe and Dianne Rybak along with
their four youngest children, Grace,
Nathan, Emily and Charles; and
Claire Feldmeth and her grandson
Logan Kinter departed early today
and plan to see Pope Francis in Philadelphia.
Pope Francis is the fourth pope
to ever visit the United States. The
first to visit was Pope Paul VI in
1965. Pope John Paul II came several times beginning in 1979. Pope
Benedict XVI, was the last to visit
prior to Pope Francis, in 2008.
Originally from New York, the
Rybak family moved to North Carolina in 1995. Though the Bible Belt
south isn’t home to large numbers
of Catholics, the Rybaks found like-
Jean Gordon/Daily Courier
Claire Feldmeth and other locals are
leaving today to visit Pope Francis
during his tour of Washington, New
York and Philadelphia.
minded believers at Immaculate
Conception Roman Catholic Church
in Forest City.
Joe Rybak said Pope Francis is an
example to the people.
“I think he tries to do as Christ
would do, to minister to all,” he said.
Spindale
Iva
Scarborough
Elsewhere
JC Huntley
John Kennedy
Harry Clay
Page A3
STILL AWAITING
TOXICOLOGY REPORTS
FOREST CITY — The Nor th
SEE JURY/PAGE A5
SEE POPE/PAGE A5
Monday’s
sports results
Page B1
High
79
Low
Today, Partly Cloudy.
Tonight, Partly Cloudy.
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MASSEY FERGUSON
RUTHERFORDTON — A Superior Court judge granted continuances for five members of the Word
of Faith Fellowship charged in the
Matthew Fenner assault case.
Judge Mar vin Pope, who has
presided over numerous motions in
the case, granted the motion to stay
in Superior Court on Monday.
Brooke McFadden Covington,
Sarah Covington Anderson, Justin
Covington, Robert Louise Walker
and Adam Bartley are charged with
simple assault and second-degree
kidnapping of Fenner.
According to Pope, the motion to
stay was done to ensure a fair trial. Represented earlier by the law
firm of Tomblin, Farmer and Morris P.L.L.C., the firm and its attorneys were disqualified from representing the accused because of
conflict of interest.
Walker and Bar tley retained
their own counsel but the other
three church members are seeking
counsel.
Attor ney Matthew Cabe is
defending Walker and Attorney
Robert Denton is defending Bartley.
INSIDE
DEATHS
Bostic
Heather Ann
Mode
Forest City
John Hollifield
The visit to America is also
a demonstration of what Christ
instructed believers to do, Rybak
said. “We should take the gospel
message to all nations.”
Rybak and his family are excited
about seeing Pope Francis in person. And he believes that non-Catholic Christians can draw inspiration
from Pope Francis as well.
“The Pope is a sinful man, like all
of us. He tries to follow Christ, to do
as Christ would do, to express the
love of Christ,” Rybak said.
He believes the example and
inspiration of Pope Francis is needed in the world today.
“Love and hate are real. There is
real spiritual warfare taking place in
our world,” he said.
Claire Feldmeth of Rutherfordton
believes Pope Francis’ humility and
simple living help make him special.
“He is down to earth. He relates
to people. He is such a humble,
MOTION TO STAY GRANTED
509 Railroad Ave. • Rutherfordton, NC 28139 • 828-288-0395
59
Forecast,
Page A7
Vol. 46, No. 188
A6 — The Daily Courier, Wednesday, September 23, 2015 • www.thedigitalcourier.com
Community celebrates opening of Purple Martin Greenway Trail
BY TAYLOR JOHNSON
Community leaders and
members break ground
at the Purple Martin Greenway trail in Rutherfordton. Shown (left to right)
are Terry Cobb, Rutherfordton Town Council
member; Jill Miracle, RHI
Legacy Foundation executive cirector; Don Lesher,
Trails Committee member; Christie Bare, Rutherfordton Town Council
member; Diane Dickerson, student services specialst at Isothermal Community College; Sallie
Cowan co-owner of
Cowan Tire & Auto Service; Dana Bradley trail
coordinator of the Rutherford Outdoor Coalition;
Jerry Stensland, president of the Rutherford
Outdoor Coalition.
TJOHNSON@THE
DIGITALCOURIER.COM
RUTHERFORDTON
— Rutherfordton community leaders and citizens gathered Monday
night to celebrate the
grand opening of the
Purple Mar tin Greenway Trail in
Ruther fordton. The
trail is .35 miles in
length and is located
directly across from
Cowan T ir e & Auto
Ser vice off of US HWY
221 in the Park Crossing Subdivision.
The event was the
concurrent grand
opening for the trail
as well as the ground
breaking for phase two
of the trail.
“This has been a
long dream and a long
process to get where
we are today,” Rutherfordton Town Manager
Doug Barrick said.
Bar rick explained
that the name Purple
Mar tin stems from
the crest of General
G rif fith Ruther for d,
which Bar rick said
was also the origin of
the name of the Town
of Ruther fordton and
Rutherford County.
Barrick
also
explained future plans
for the Purple Martin Gr eenway which
include the path connecting to other trails
throughout the county
as well as linking several towns and Crestview and Kiwanis
Parks together with
roughly 3.1 miles of
trails.
“The future for
Ruther ford County is
bright when it comes
to trails,” Barrick said.
Taylor Johnson/Daily Courier
Taylor Johnson/Daily Courier
The Purple Martin Greenway Trail is .35 miles in
length and is located directly across from Cowan Tire
& Auto Serivce in Rutherfordton in the Park Crossing
Subdivision.
Additional funding
for the trail was donated by the RHI Legacy
Foundation for phase
two. When completed
at the end of the year,
the Town of Rutherfordton will have one
mile of its trail system
accomplished.
“ We a r e a g r a n t
making and fundraising organization and
we’re committed to
helping improve the
health of people who
live in this community
and in our recent grant
application period we
were able to grant
over a million dollars
in funds back to different agencies who
share our belief that
the community needs
to be healthier and
that there are people
in place in this community to make the
community healthier,”
Jill Miracle, executive
director of RHI Legacy
Foundation said to the
crowd.
Of the $1 million
RHI Legacy Foundation donated during
a r e c e n t c e r e m o n y,
approximately $170,000
were used for the allocation of trails throughout Rutherford County.
Rutherfordton
Council Member
Christy Bare and Jerr y
Stensland, president of
the
Ruther ford Outdoor
Coalition also spoke at
the event.
The NC STEP Committee, Town of Ruther fordton, RHI Legacy
Foundation, Rutherford Outdoor Coalition
and Ruther ford Town
Revitalization were
involved in the organization and opening of
the Purple Martin Greenway Trail. www.thedigitalcourier.com • The Daily Courier, Wednesday, September 23, 2015 — A9
Board receives Rails to Trails update BY ERIN KIDD
parents, Rick and Kiva
Fuller.
Fuller is a graduate of
Owen High School, Nashville Auto Diesel College
and Isothermal Community College’s Basic Law
Enforcement Training
program. He was previously employed at the
Tryon Police Department
and Polk County Sheriff’s
Office. Fuller started with
the Forest City Police
Department in July, and
he is assigned to the
patrol division.
The board also
approved an NC Governor’s Highway Safety Program contract and resolution. With this approval,
Forest City Police Captain Donnie Hensley
is authorized to file an
application with the Governor’s Highway Safety
Program for $22,025 to
purchase a trailer, cones
and a light tower to aid in
conducting DWI checkpoints.
The boar d’s next
meeting is Monday,
Oct. 5.
[email protected]
FOREST CITY — The
Board of Commissioners
for the Town of Forest
City received an update
on the railroad purchase
and Rails to Trails project
during his regular meeting Monday.
Last September, the
town began discussions
with Thermal Belt Railway and Rutherford Railroad Development Corporation to explore the
acquisition of railway’s
lease rights on the railroad corridor between
Alexander Mills and Oakland Road in Spindale.
Thermal Belt Railway leases the railroad
right of way from Ruther ford Railroad Development Corporation,
which acquir ed the
rail corridor from CSX
Transportation. Gaining
control of the 4.97 mile
corridor, with the vast
majority being inside the
town limits, would allow
for the development of
a trail corridor connecting the heart of Forest
City with the existing
Rails to Trails corridor
between Oakland Road
and Gilkey.
The town recently
approved a separate
agreement with Rutherford Railroad to enter into
a 99-year lease for the
portion of the rail corridor within the town’s limits to build and manage a
trail system. This acquisition creates the potential
for a Rails to Trails corridor extending from a
point near Forrest Hunt
Elementar y School to
Gilkey of approximately
13.5 miles.
The agreement
between the town and
Ruther for d Railr oad
Development is contingent upon Thermal Belt
Railway fully leasing its
rights and the federal
Surface Transportation
authorizing the partial lease termination
and “railbanking” of the
released cor ridor for
interim trail use, while
still allowing for future
Contributed photo
Officer Blake Fuller with the Forest City Police Department was officially sworn-in during the meeting. ForContributed photo
est City Town Clerk Emily Sain administered Fuller’s Officer Fuller’s wife, Anna Fuller, pins on his badge
oath of office.
during the meeting. Also present for the swearing-in
rail corridor use if need- be youth-centered and were his wife, Anna Fuller, newborn son Colton and
ed for economic develop- knowledge-centered,” his parents, Rick and Kiva Fuller.
ment.
Whitson said. “We want feet and a maximum of Oct. 5.
The project will be it to be a place where 15 feet tall. The curOfficer Blake Fuller
more fully discussed dur- they can hang out, meet rent allowable area is 16 with the Forest City
ing the October meet- friends and work togeth- square feet plus 8 square Police Department was
ing. City Manager John er. But we also want it feet per tenant up to a also officially sworn-in
Condrey said there are to be a place that looks maximum of 64 square during the meeting.
numerous decisions the cool.”
feet. The current maxiForest City Town
board needs to discuss
Although a place for mum height is 10 feet.
Clerk Emily Sain adminprior to closing on the expansion has yet to be
Moore feels that the istered Fuller’s oath of
sale, which he believes determined, KidSenses current ordinance is too office. Also present for
may happen by Decem- plans to create a place for restrictive.
the swearing-in were his
ber.
presentations, meetings,
The public hearing wife, Anna Fuller, newThe board also heard demonstrations and tem- was set for Monday, born son Colton and his
a presentation from Wil- porary traveling exhibits.
lard Whitson, executive Whitson wants it to be a
director of KidSenses space that is adaptable to
Interactive Children’s meet a variety of needs,
Museum in Rutherford- potentially with transton. Whitson shared forming walls and movplans for museum growth able furniture.
and expansion with the
Whitson presented an
board.
artist’s rendering of an
“As we look at and outdoor activity and play
Combo Ballet/ Tap/ Jazz 3-6 year olds
celebrate the past and area on top of a parking
Combo Tap/Jazz 7-9yrs Tap 10+; Jazz 10+
what we have meant to deck behind the KidSensfamilies, we look at the es building in RutherfordBallet 7-9yrs and 10+
Hip Hop 7-9yrs and 10+
future,” Whitson said. ton.
Clogging
7-10
and Adult
“We are a grassroots
“The goal is wholeTumbling Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced
organization that took a family engagement,”
community to build. We Whitson said.
Competition Production*
are an organization that
The museum has
was born out of a need.”
star ted a campaign to
Dance classes $55 per month
Whitson said the raise funds for the expan Discounts Available
museum has been look- sion and Whitson invited
ing at a new need to the board to its gala event
Membership Fee $30
engage students ages on Saturday, Oct. 17.
Fall Registration Saturday,
11-15. The concept is
The board also called
called “The Factor y: for a public hearing on a
August 15th 10am - 2pm*
A Place to Meet and text amendment request
Call for more information
Make,” that will target from Shawn Moore of
and class schedules!
and engage a new demo- Moore’s Auto Sales and
graphic of tweens, teen- the town’s planning staff.
agers and young adults.
Moore is requesting
“ We ’ v e t r a v e l e d amending the requirearound the country look- ments for all freestanding
ing at museums who signs in the C-2 zoning
* Must be enrolled in recreational class to participate in
have embraced this district so they can be a
Production. Registration closes for Production Sept. 30th
audience. We want it to maximum of 60 square
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Rutherfordton
828-287-4449
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Like a good neighbor, State Farm is There
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Visit Our
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For More Information Check
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Call 287-1294 or 980-1187
Mane
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A10 — The Daily Courier, Wednesday, September 23, 2015 • www.thedigitalcourier.com
Rutherford County TDA unveils sign
BY AUSTIN BAILEY
THE DAILY COURIER
SPINDALE — The
Rutherford County TDA
(Tourism Development
Authority) unveiled the
first visitor information
network sign in Spindale
on Monday. Positioned along the
Spindale section of the
Thermal Belt Rail Trail,
the inaugural sign features Spindale-specific
visitor information on one
side and general Rutherford County information
on the opposite side with
maps to accompany each.
“This sign is the link
between pedestrian
and road signage,” said
Michelle Whitaker, Director of the Ruther ford
County TDA. Austin Bailey/ The Daily Courier
The Spindale Board of Commissioners along with
Spindale Town Manager Scott Webber, Rutherford
County TDA Director Michelle Whitaker and Project
Manager Karen Tegen pull the ribbon off of the first
ever Visitor Information Network sign in Spindale.
Mayor Mickey Bland
of Spindale thanked
everyone for their hard
work in getting this sign
Austin Bailey/ The Daily Courier
Spindale Mayor Mickey Bland talks about the new Visitor Information Network sign at the sign unveiling
ceremony on Monday.
wooden columns surrounding the sign, which
to Spindale. is designed to emulate
As part of his Eagle the exterior of the SpinScout project, T yler dale House, as well as the
Moore constructed the brick base that represents
the old Stonecutter Mill.
The reason that there
are two signs is because
there was too much information to put on one sign.
One sign is dedicated to
the trail and the other is
dedicated to the town of
Spindale. The most exciting
part for Project Manager
Karen Tegen is seeing
the entire process finished. “We’ve been waiting
on this for a long time
and it is good to see it all
come to fruition,” said
Tegen. The next sign is
expected to go up at the
airport by the end of the
year. “This is the first sign
of many. We really want
locals to see what all we
have to offer here,” said
Whitaker. “Our big goal is
to help economic development.”
Spindale Board of Commissioners discuss new crosswalk
BY AUSTIN BAILEY
THE DAILY COURIER
SPINDALE — The
Spindale Board of Commissioners met Monday
evening and discussed
several matters concerning a crosswalk being
built on Railroad Avenue,
Safe Kids coming under
the Spindale Fire Department’s insurance, the
town junk car ordinance
and an application for a
taxi permit. The crosswalk discussion came as a result of
meeting with the Town
of Rutherfordton, Spindale, Rutherford County
Schools and the NCDOT
(North Carolina Department of T ranspor tation) recently discussing
options for producing a
safe crossing for pedestrians on Railroad Avenue.
NCDOT developed a plan
Austin Bailey/ The Daily Courier
The Spindale Board of Commissioners met on Monday. Shown (l-r) Commissioner Glen Harmon, Commissioner Robin Ensley, Commissioner Ben Edwards,
Spindale Mayor Mickey Bland, Commissioner Nancy
Walker, Commissioner Tom Robinson, Town Manager
Scott Webber and Town Attorney John Crotts.
for the crossing as well as
the cost estimate which
would total $49,550. The
crosswalk will be built
right behind Food Lion
at East 2nd Street. It will
connect St. Helena Drive
to East 2nd St. This crosswalk is connected to the Rails for
Trails as well. The cost
will be paid by the Powell
Austin Bailey/ The Daily Courier
The heavy traffic shown is the reason behind putting
a new crosswalk on Railroad Avenue. The crossing will
stretch from St. Helena Drive to East 2nd Street.
Bill which is state funding
for streets and roads. “This crossing is much
needed,” said Spindale
Town Manager Scott
Webber. “It is the staff’s
recommendation that we
get this done this fiscal
year.”
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NCDOT would take
care of all the off-street
work. The cost of the offroad work would be split
between the Spindale
and Rutherfordton. This
would include building a
sidewalk, a curb and gutter. Commissioner Glen
Harmon wants the addition of lights to let people
know they are coming up
on a crosswalk. “If you don’t put some
kind of flashing lights
to get people’s attention, then it’s going to be
a waste of money,” said
Commissioner Harmon. Commissioner Tom
Robinson made a motion
that the crossing be done
with the addition of lights
and the vote passed unanimously. “I think it’s ver y
impor tant to have signage,” said Commissioner Nancy Walker.
Safe Kids of Ruther ford County had
approached the Town
of Spindale Fire Department about being the
host agency for their
organization. This would
allow Safe Kids to go
under the Town of Spindale Fire Department’s
insurance. “There are no additional costs but there are
additional liabilities,” said
Fire Chief Jamie Guillermo. “It’s a win-win situation if Safe Kids partner
with the local fire department.”
The Spindale Fire
Department has, a close
working relationship and
has partnered with many
of the Safe Kids programs
including one where they
show people how to properly restrain their child if
they get a passenger seatbelt ticket. “Safe Kids is about
kids, family and community,” said Guillermo.
The Safe Kids pro-
gram started in 2002 and
was housed through the
Community Health Council. “Spindale is the hub
with all of the community
outreach that they do, we
thought this would be a
perfect fit because Safe
Kids is an outreach program,” said Dr. Chris Burley, Safe Kids coordinator.
The Safe Kids Board
of Directors will be
responsible for maintaining their part of the insurance. “We want it to be a winwin situation for everyone,” said Dr. Burley. The vote passed unanimously to allow Safe
Kids to be covered by
the insurance of the Fire
Department. A change was also
made to the town’s junk
car ordinance which
would change the dollar amount threshold of
a junk car from $100 to
$500. General Statute
160-303.2. a(3) provides
the statutory authority for
this change as well as providing greater flexibility
for staff and their application of this ordinance.
This statute limits the
maximum to be $500. “This will provide
much needed clarity,”
said Webber. The vote passed unanimously. The board also
approved a taxicab permit
for Rita Faye Harris. Police Chief Eric Shelton gave his recommendation to approve the permit. The business will be
run out of Harris’s house. Kurt Wright of SDG
Engineering provided an
update on the Wastewater
Treatment Plant which
included confirmation
that the plan was moving
forward as scheduled. Commissioner Robin
Ensley suggested the
town needs to have
information at Broad
River for people when
they go and get their
water turned on about
garbage pickup and policies. “We could have a little
welcome package,” said
Commissioner Ensley. Mayor Mickey Bland
also presented the issue
of parking on Ohio
Street right at Davis
Street causes obstruction of views of the
street for drivers.
The next scheduled
meeting is Oct. 19, 2015,
at 6:30 p.m.