Elmer O Boyle took a break from flipping hamburgers as he watched two Shelby Police Department officers push away their plates, dash to their cruisers and rush to a call Saturday afternoon. And there they go, O Boyle said grinning behind his Back the Blue mask and turning back to his griddle. Go get them.
O Boyle and other volunteers fed more than a dozen law enforcement officers and nurses in the first hour of their Back the Blue cook out Saturday afternoon in the parking lot of the Cleveland County Courthouse.
For him, the cookout was a chance to recognize the mostly unsung work the county s law enforcement, firefighters, medics and first responders perform each day.
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Elmer O Boyle believes it s easy to forget the sacrifices police officers make on the public s behalf.
He wants to make sure that s not the case for two Kings Mountain police officers injured in the line of duty over the past year. They need to see that the community is behind them and that we ve got their back, O Boyle. We don t want them to ever feel like they ve been forgotten.
That s why officers and first responders will eat their fill for free at O Boyle s Back the Blue Cookout from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday in front of the Cleveland County Courthouse, located at 100 Justice Place in Shelby. O Boyle said a collection of tasty backyard eats will be on the menu, including hamburgers, hot dogs, free drinks and nachos.
Johnson & Johnson s newly approved COVID-19 vaccine will arrive in Gaston County this week, enabling the county to reach some of its most vulnerable residents.
The 1,200 doses the agency is set to receive will double the county s weekly vaccine capacity through March 5. GEMS workers will administer those doses to protect harder-to-reach populations like homebound seniors and the homeless.
“This opportunity to get additional folks vaccinated now is possible thanks to a tremendous partnership between our department and public health,” GEMS Chief Mark Lamphiear said. “We are dedicated as an agency and a county to making sure anyone who wants a COVID-19 shot can get one.”
The pandemic taught Gastonia s City Church some lessons it plans to use in its future.
The church located on a 75-acre campus off South New Hope Road plans to add a 600-seat outdoor amphitheater at a cost of $500,000, said senior Pastor Dickie Spargo.
The project would feature tiered open-air seats with a stage below and could be completed before the end of summer, Spargo said.
Prolonged social isolation created by the COVID-19 pandemic took its toll on people. The amphitheater should help, he said. I think we all have a much better understanding now that people need to be together, Spargo said. It s an essential part of who we are.