Gaston County

Duke Energy Closing Two Coal Plants Ahead Of Schedule

Michael Tomsic — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 19:31:19 +0000

Duke Energy is shutting down two coal-fired power plants this spring. The plants are in Rowan and Gaston counties, and they're closing two years ahead of schedule.

The plants are really old, barely used and kind of dirty. The one in Rowan County is called Buck Steam Station and began burning coal in 1926. Three years later, Riverbend Steam Station in Gaston County powered up.

Now neither of them operates more than 80 days a year, and they wouldn't meet new environmental standards in 2015 without major changes.

Gaston Commissioners Want Gun Permit Records Secret; Approve Resolution

Tasnim Shamma — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 23:01:35 +0000

Gaston County Commissioners voted 6-0 Thursday night in support of a resolution that calls for the General Assembly to make gun permit records secret. Commissioner Tracy Philbeck says the resolution was in response to news outlets publishing gun permit information after the shootings at Sandy Hook elementary in Connecticut.

"I'm a strong proponent of government transparency," Philbeck says. "At the same time, I think the press, in a lot of cases, have used the freedom of information act to bring forth an anti-gun agenda to criminalize those that own a gun."

Gaston DA To Dismiss Cases Involving Testimony Of Indicted Officers

Lisa Miller — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 02:24:59 +0000

The Gaston County District Attorney says he’ll dismiss all pending cases that hinge on the testimony of four law enforcement officers who were indicted in a federal stolen goods investigation. Locke Bell says his office is reviewing 83 cases to see whether they depend on those officers’ testimonies. Speeding tickets and DWIs would fall into that category.

At-Risk Pregnant Women In Gaston County To Get Home Visits

Julie Rose — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 20:13:24 +0000

Gaston County has received a federal grant of more than $1 million to send nurses into the homes of low-income pregnant mothers. The county's infant mortality and child poverty rates routinely outpace the rest of the Charlotte region.

"Woeful" is the word Gaston Public Health Director Chris Dobbins uses to describe the county's health statistics for children.

"In Gaston County right now, 28 percent of our children live in poverty - 28 percent - that's a staggering number," says Dobbins.