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Volume 116 • Issue 34
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Wednesday, August 24, 2022
About 1,485 students have their first day back at Cherryville’s four schools Principals report few hitches; glitches as things start up for 2022 school year by MICHAEL E. POWELL Editor michael@cfmedia.info
Cherryville High School Principal Shawn Hubers said that, for a first day back at school (Wednesday, Aug. 17), things have gone smoothly. Hubers, in his second year at CHS, and his eighth as a principal, estimated they had around 515 students this year. He noted that last week, “We had our Freshmen Transition camp on Thursday, Aug. 11 from 8 to 11:30, and we had just over 100 Freshmen come it.” He continued, “The camp went great. Our Freshmen were given a vision about what being an Ironmen is all about. They were given a tour of the campus, and instructed on basic rules
CHS Principal Shawn Hubers talks with senior Billy Carroll right after the senior’s meeting at the CHS gym on their first day back in school. and procedures. At the end of camp students received their class schedule and a CHS tee-shirt.” Hubers had just met with his new group of seniors and said he and his staff as well as the students, are
all “…looking forward to a great year.” Principal Matt Rikard, of John Chavis Middle School, noted they had “…right at 400” students enrolled there, many of whom were greeted on their first day
John Chavis Middle School Principal Matt Rikard makes introductions in the new teacher’s lounge of some of his new staff members. Left to right are: Mr. Rikard (JCMS Principal); Try Windsor (Science); Amanda Tarbush (Science, Social Studies); Sue Allen (Language Arts); Kaitlyn Hendrix (Math); and Hope McMillan (Math). (photos by MEP/The Eagle/CF Media) back by the school’s cheerleading squad. decked out in their bright blue, orange, and white uniforms. They had a little help too from their mascot, the Chavis
Wolverine. Like Hubers, Rikard noted their Aug. 11 orientation “went great”, adding they had a great turnout and much “…support from our
students and our parents.” Mr. Rikard noted the kids’ biggest struggle, especially for the new ones coming in, was how to use See FIRST DAY, Page 8A
COVID state of emergency officially ends after two years by THERESA OPEKA Carolina Journal
After 888 days, Monday, Aug. 15 officially marked the end of North Carolina’s COVID-19 state of emergency. Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, announced in July that the state of emergency would end on Aug. 15 because the 2022 $27.9 General Budget, which he signed into law on July 11, included changes in the law that were requested by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. N.C. was one of nine remaining states, mostly led by Democratic governors, under some sort of state of emergency. In recent months, it has remained in effect mainly
for eligibility for federal funding and hasn’t had much of an impact on day-to-day life, excluding wearing masks in medical facilities. However, the overall impact of Cooper’s 2020 order led to a year or more of closed schools, bankrupt businesses, and other lockdowns. Studies like the one from Johns Hopkins, now show lockdowns had little to no public health effects while creating a huge economic and social crisis. So, how did we Gov. Roy Cooper wearing a mask at get to this point? What a past group function. (Photo: Carolina Journal File) See COVID, Page 8A
CHS Principal Shawn Hubers and mural artist Lynette Christensen in front of the completed mural Lynette painted honoring the school’s staff and teachers. (photos by MEP/The Eagle/CF Media)
Talented custodian Christensen paints mural at Cherryville HS by MICHAEL E. POWELL
34 states have a path for teachers to carry firearms Should N.C. be next? by DONNA KING Carolina Journal
As students head back to campus this month, school safety is a growing part of the equation facing administrators and parents. In Madison County, N.C. Sheriff Buddy Harwood has announced that six schools in the county will have a locked up semi-automatic rifle along with ammunition and equipment to break through a barricaded door. The county school superinLaura Carno, executive director of FASTER tendent and Colorado, speaking at the Shaftesbury SoSee PATH, ciety. (photo by John Locke Foundation) Page 2A
Editor michael@cfmedia.info
Cherryville Elementary School custodian and Gaston County school bus driver Lynette Christensen loves art; she loves looking at it, but she especially loves getting to make it and share it with others. So, when she was on an exercise walk around the hall of one of the CHS buildings prior to her starting out on her bus route, she happened to glance up at some of the brightly colored murals on the upper part of the walls. She also noticed there were a couple of empty spaces there and the idea came to her mind that perhaps she could fill one
of those spaces with a mural dedicated to the hard-working staff at CHS. She took her idea to Principal Shawn Hubers and he agreed to give her a shot at putting her idea on the wall in paint and marker, and photographs – a veritable multimedia artistic montage! As she was setting up her ladder last week to put a couple of finishing touches to it, she said, “This has taken me about a year to do. As I said, every morning before I started my bus route for CHS, I would walk this hallway to exercise. I saw the other murals on the wall so I asked Mr. Hubers if I could do it. He approved my draft drawing, then I started on it,” she said. “I had to do it after school or
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on holidays.” Lynette said her preferred medium for the mural was acrylic paint markers as they are easier to handle and less “messy”. She also noted this is the first time she has ever tackled a mural before. Additionally, Christensen said she also painted the four picnic tables set up outside the high school’s cafeteria doors. She said she repaints old wooden furniture, such as chairs and dressers. Lynette is also a Zentangle teacher, an art form she said she enjoys “very much.” “My sister-in-law, Mary Bartrop, got me started in that, and now I teach it. I’ve been doing that now for about See MURAL, Page 2A