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Gaston County commissioners proclaim health and safety observances, honor volunteer firefighters; resident objects to park rental fees
Summary
At their Oct. 8 meeting, the Gaston County Board of Commissioners proclaimed World Polio Day and Domestic Violence Awareness Month, declared Fire Prevention Week and honored long-serving volunteer firefighters. Citizen Kenneth Edwards urged the board to stop charging volunteer coaches to rent county baseball fields.
The Gaston County Board of Commissioners on Oct. 8 adopted proclamations marking Oct. 24 as World Polio Day and October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, declared Oct. 6–12 Fire Prevention Week and recognized scores of volunteer firefighters for decades of service.
Vice Chair Bob Hovis opened the meeting and introduced the board. Commissioner Kathy Cloninger read a proclamation recognizing World Polio Day and noted Rotary International’s global eradication campaign and local ties to polio care. A Rotary representative thanked the board and recounted personal experience supporting vaccination efforts overseas, urging continued vigilance and routine childhood vaccinations even though polio cases have fallen dramatically worldwide.
The board also proclaimed October 2024 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month and highlighted the coordinated community response by HOPE United Survivor Network, the Cathy Mabry Cloninger Center and local partners including the Gaston County District Attorney’s Office, law enforcement, the Department of Social Services and probation and parole. A HOPE United representative thanked the commissioners and community partners for services and shelter support for survivors.
In the fire-safety proclamation, county emergency and fire leaders urged residents to ensure smoke alarms are working, test them monthly and follow recommended placement (inside each sleeping room and on every level). Officials emphasized that many homes have detectors but some are nonfunctional, and explained the difference between older battery-operated units and newer 10-year battery or hard-wired alarms. The board read the names of volunteer firefighters and rescue squad members receiving certificates for 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 years of service and invited recipients to the dais for photos.
During citizen recognition, Kenneth Edwards of Bessemer City spoke about parks and recreation policy. Edwards, a volunteer youth baseball coach for roughly 30 years, told the board that volunteer coaches now must pay to rent county baseball fields for practice and asked commissioners to investigate why residents who already pay taxes for parks must pay additional rental fees. "We as Gaston County residents, we pay taxes to build and maintain parks and recs. Why should a volunteer coach or any Gaston County resident have to rent a field that we already paid taxes to build and maintain?" Edwards said.
The board did not take immediate action on Edwards’s request during the meeting. The session closed after brief additional remarks and a motion to adjourn carried by voice vote.
What’s next: The proclamations and recognitions require no formal board action; Edwards’s request was a public comment and would need follow-up from county staff or the parks department if the board directs an inquiry at a future meeting.
