Everything's better with Butter

U.S. Olympic Team member Eric 'Butter' Hurd poses in his paddling gear at the U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte on Tuesday June 26, 2012. Hurd and his teammate Jeff Larimer will be competing in the tandem canoe slalom event in London this week.

I have the unique privilege this year of pulling for one of my friends, Eric "Butter" Hurd, who is competing with teammate Jeff Larimer in tandem canoe slalom at the London Olympics this week. 

I took the photos above a few weeks ago before he left for London (Jeff lives in Atlanta and wasn't available) and the photo below is from U.S. Team Trials at the whitewater center earlier in the summer. 

U.S. Olympic athletes don't get much support, unless they play basketball or they're an attractive female. That sounds rough, but it's essentially true. It doesn't help that in North America NBC has a monopoly on using the Olympic Games to fill space between commercials. As long as that practice is allowed to continue, only the popular sports will generate lucrative sponsorships for a few select athletes that make good talking points.

In any event, I'll be pulling for Butter this week, and if you want to show your support he has T-shirts on sale for a small donation with a design based on my photo below. I think they look pretty cool. (Disclaimer: I receive no profit from the sale of the shirt. The screen printing company is taking a chunk, but most of it goes straight to Hurd). 

Here's the link to buy a shirt.

Perilous Peaks

Most people don't know this, but there are at least six small aircraft wrecks in the Black Mountain Range, home of Mount Mitchell, the highest peak in Eastern North America.

All the ones I'm familiar with are small Cessna type planes like this one. Some crashed into the mountain due to weather, and at least one set down under control after a mechanical problem. The pilot and passenger in that one both survived. Most others were not so fortunate.

It isn't too hard to fathom why there are so many. Most of these planes fly below 5,000 ft in unregulated airspace. Most of the Black Mountain range is over 6,000 ft in elevation and often obscured in clouds.

The saddest part of the story, perhaps, is that both of the crash sites I've been to so far are only fifty feet below the ridge line. A little bit more altitude and they probably would have made it.

I'm currently trying to find out more about the history of some of these incidents and hope to locate all the wrecks. If you know anything please let me know.

A second chance for the Loray?

A view of the Loray Mill in Gastonia on Monday June 25, 2012. Gastonia leaders announced Monday the acquisition of a Federal Housing Administration loan of almost $21 million to reconfigure the historic mill into loft apartments and retail space.

A few weeks ago a developer announced plans to redevelop two historic high rise buildings in downtown Gastonia into apartments. This week it was announced that another developer has secured a major piece of the funding necessary to start a project to redevelop the historic Loray Mill into apartments. 

For a lot of people in the area, myself included, this is great news. For all too long these structurally sound but very old, and in the case of the Loray Mill, historically significant structures have been abandoned for decades. 

There are still quite a few challenges ahead for the projects, but I'm just glad to see these buildings put back to good use. 

Read Out in Pride

People circle in Center City Park on Main Avenue in Gastonia and light candles during the PFLAG Gaston (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) 'Read out in Pride' event on Thursday June 21, 2012. The group is touting the event as the first ever LGBT pride event in Gastonia.

Your Out!

Queen City Mustangs catcher James Snover tags out Gastonia Post 23's Garrett Lowery at home in the first inning of the game at Sims Legion Park on Sunday June 17, 2012.

Eating Champs

Zane Riley, right, keeps an eye on his competition, Michael Toller, while competing in a wing-eating contest between innings of the Gastonia Grizzlies vs Petersburg Generals Coastal Plains League baseball game at Sims Legion Park in Gastonia on Tuesday June 19, 2012.

Nightscapes

I took a few night street scape photos of downtown Gastonia, above, and Belmont  recently for an ad campaign for a local car dealership. I've yet to see what the paper did with them, but I figured I would go ahead and share them here.

For those who are interested, the bottom photo was made by "light painting" the scene with a flashlight during the long exposure.  

The graduations

Paula Regalado celebrates after receiving her diploma during the Belmont Abbey College commencement program on Saturday May 12, 2012 in front of the Belmont Abbey Basilica in Belmont. Regalado was named Student of the Year later in the program.

Enjoy a few photos from the graduations I covered in the past few weeks. I only shot five this year, which is down one or two from previous years.

Carmen McMillan puts on her hood  during the Belmont Abbey College commencement program on Saturday May 12, 2012.

People cheer for graduates as they receive their diplomas during Kings Mountain High's graduation exercises in John Gamble Stadium on Friday June 8, 2012.

Peyton John Woodman, facing, embraces Mikael Anton McCollum after Highland School of Technology's graduation ceremony for the class of 2012 on Saturday June 9, 2012.