180 Weekend

Middle School students listen Christian rock band Mark & Clarissa perform during the 180 Weekend event at Bethlehem Church on Friday January 27, 2012.

High School students raise their hands in the air while listening to Christian rock band 'Hudson' perform at the 180 Weekend event at Parkwood Baptist Church on Saturday January 28, 2012.

Brad Hudson of the Christian rock band 'Hudson' performs at Parkwood Baptist on Saturday.

Middle School students listen Mark & Clarissa at Bethlehem Church on Friday.

The votes are in

Gastonia Mayor Jennie Stultz congratulates Mayor-elect John Bridgeman at Nick's Steak and Taphouse as election results begin to show a clear victory for Bridgeman on Tuesday November 8, 2011.

Jim Jones, from left, Mitchell Sanders, Titus Greene, Gastonia Mayor-elect John Bridgeman, Lisa Mobley and her brother Greg Mobley watch election results come in on a laptop at Nick's Steak and Taphouse.

Junkyard Dogs

I spotted these two mischievous, I almost want to say demented looking, dogs while taking pictures at a home where police ar investigating the deaths of a number of dogs found dead at a home on Mitchem Road near Ranlo on Thursday October 13, 2011.

Gaston remembers 9-11

Devin McKenney, left, lights a candle for fellow Community Fire Department firefighter Stephen Roberts at the 10th Annual We Will Never Forget ceremony in Stanley on Sunday September 11, 2011. Over 100 firefighters from 18 departments attended this year's event.

Linda English Edwards points the the plaque for her father to her grandson Ayden Whitney, 6, at the new Gastonia Police Memorial following a joint 9-11 memorial and dedication ceremony in front of the Gastonia Police station on Sunday September 11, 2011. Edward's father, Officer James Edward 'Red' English, was shot and killed in the line of duty in 1948 when she was 7 years old.

Thumbs Up!

Noah Conner, 4, gives a thumbs up as his mom Sara Conner takes pictures of him strapped into a UH-72 Lakota helicopter that landed outside Keeter Stadium during the American Legion Baseball World Series in Shelby on Sunday August 14, 2011.

Memorial

Angie Allen, left, lights a candle for her daughter Leann Allen, 8, during a memorial for 2-year-old Addison Lanham in the parking lot of the Exxon station on Edgewood Road in Bessemer City on Saturday July 23, 2011.

Lanham was transported by ambulance from the adjacent America's Best Inn on Thursday and died at the hospital shortly thereafter from an untreated broken leg and sepsis (blood poisoning). The child's mother and registered sex offender boyfriend both face charges in the death.

Cross Walk

Efrain Palafox, left, and Jacob Jonas act out the roles of a Roman soldier and Jesus respectively during a cross walk and youth rally sponsored by area churches in Linconton on Friday April 22, 2011.

Over a hundred people carried crosses for a mile down East Main Street, ending with a reenactment of the crucifixion at the Lincoln County Courthouse.

Madison Holt, 14, bows her head in prayer with hundreds of others following the reenactment of the crucifixion in front of the Lincoln County Courthouse.

Bill's Race

Runners take off at the start of the "Bill's Race" 5K and walk at Belmont Abbey College on Sunday April 17, 2011. The race honors the school's late track coach Bill Hodge, who passed away in the fall, with proceeds going to the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation.

Bobbie James celebrates after finishing the "Bill's Race" 5K and walk with her dog Abbey.

Catherine Hodge Christman, from right, looks over a scrapbook of track photos with track athletes Lauren Smith, Leondra Pridgen, Tasha Stewart and Jazz Samuel during a reception following the "Bill's Race" 5K and walk. The scrapbook was presented to the Hodge family along with a hat he often wore.

HART Training

The North Carolina Helio-Aquatic Rescue Team (NCHART) conducted training at Crowders Mountain State Park on Thursday February 24, 2011. U.S. Army National Guard Blackhawk helicopters lowered rescuers to a "survivor" on the cliff face simulating the rescue of a rock climber from the David's Castle area and Practice Wall on top of Crowders Mountain.

All County Band

Connie Weeks conducts the second of two middle school bands in the 2011 All County Band Concert at Ashbrook on Saturday February 12, 2011. Weeks is a band director at Asheville Middle School in Asheville, NC. 

Stanley Middle School trombonist James Goode dozes off while waiting for the concert to start.

Snow Day

Several inches of snow covers Kings Pinnacle, part of Crowders Mountain State Park on Sunday December 26, 2010 as seen from N.C. Highway 161 near Kings Mountain. Check out the same view in spring. Below: A five-segment snowman standing over six feet tall and holding a sign reading 'Super frosty' decorates the front yard of the Hostetler residence on North Main Street in Belmont Sunday.

Carols for Curly

Zachary Etherton weeps at the 'Carols for Curly' candleligt vigil in support of his close friend and relative Michael 'Curly' Hastings in Cramerton on Sunday December 19, 2010. Hastings, an N.C. State Trooper and Cramerton Native, is in a coma in New York City after hitting his head in an accidental fall recently.

Read the full story

Hastings cousin-in-law Lori Davis, above, speaks at the Carols for Curly vigil and Autumn Cauthen, 7, below, holds a candle during the event.

Hooters for Neuters

Brandon Dougherty, 7, and his mom Cathy Dougherty pet a dog from the Gaston County Animal Shelter up for adoption at the Hooters for Neuters event at Hooters on Saturday November 6, 2010. The shelter brought eight last-chance dogs to the event, with several, including this one, finding homes.

Two kittens wait to be adopted during the event, put on by the Gaston County Low-Cost Spay / Neuter Clinic.

Caleb McCraw-Guyer, 8, gets a sloppy kiss from a dog in the back of a Gaston County Animal Control truck on Saturday November 6, 2010 at the Hooters For Neuters event. Friends of McCraw-Guyer's family adopted the dog at the event, and while he won't be the owner, he said he will be seing the pet all the time.

Million Dollar Smile

Gaston County Animal Shelter employee Boyd Best takes a picture of a kitten given up to the shelter on Monday Sept. 20, 2010. A picture of each pet brought into the shelter is placed on the shelter's website to help reunite lost pets with their owners and get adoptable pets homes.

G-Town Car Show

Ingrid Ramos, left, and husband Noe Ramos look in the window of a heavily customized Mercury hot rod on display at the car show on Main Avenue in Gastonia on Saturday Sept. 25, 2010.

Fair Time

He didn't snap it. Sure tried hard though.

Emotional Send Off

Ashbrook High School cross country coach Al Hess, left, greets guidance counselor and athletic trainer Larry Carpenter in front of the school during a send off event for Carpenter on Sunday August 15, 2010. Over 150 friends, family members and coworkers gathered to give Carpenter support as he left for Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center to receive a bone marrow transplant to treat an incurable form of cancer he was diagnosed with in February.

Below: Larry Carpenter's family, including niece Ashley Terry, clockwise from top left, daughter Elizabeth Carpenter, 6, Daughter Lauren Carpenter, 11, and niece Anna Barvinek, 7, weep during the send off.

McGruff takes a bike out of...birthday cake?

Rocky Mount Police acting Community Services Supervisor Yvette Jones, right, dances with McGruff the crime dog on Thursday during McGruff's 30th birthday party at the Imperial Centre. Below: Zachary Harrell, left, and Reagon Folger, both 6, watch as McGruff opens his presents. The two were part of a group of 91 children from the Wilson County Schools Summer Adventures program on a trip to the Imperial Centre.

iPod Class

Teacher Corey Waugaman works with his second-grade students June 3 at Stocks Elementary in Tarboro using educational applications on ipod touches that were provided through an Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) grant.

C.A.S.T. for Kids

Erica Huff, 7, looks at a small bluegill fish caught by Nehemiah Davis, 6, left, during the C.A.S.T. for Kids event on May 22 at City Lake.

Below: Alfred Huff shows Orlando Price, 11, how to fish during the C.A.S.T. for Kids event. Huff organized the event sponsored by the C.A.S.T. (Catch A Special Thrill) for Kids Foundation, a charity that joins volunteers who love to fish with disabled and disadvantaged children for a day of fishing.

Eicya Kalonji , 10, holds a small bluegill fish that she caught during the C.A.S.T. for Kids event.