Rutherford Weekly

OUR 24 th YEAR • ISSUE NO. 1 • JANUARY 7, 2016 RutherfordWeekly.com 828-248-1408 FREE FREE YOUR YOUR LOCAL LOCAL COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER! COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER! ©Community First Media Community First Media Mon-Sat 11am-6pm E Juice • Glass Pipes T-shirts • & More 719 S. Broadway, Forest City Right off Exit 182 from US74 828-229-3123 ©Community First Media We Finance! Auto Sales Auto Sales M i k e s M i k e s M i k e s M i k e s INC. INC. M i k e s M i k e s Auto Sales Auto Sales Auto Sales Auto Sales Monday-Friday 9am-5pm • 828-245-2238 Robbie Pruett 828-429-5858 Frankie Mullinax 828-429-5202 417 South Broadway • Forest City • NC $ 5,295 5,295 4 cyl., auto., pw & pdl, sharp! 2007 Dodge 2007 Dodge Caliber Caliber Cash Discounts Any Price! $ 7,995 7,995 V6, auto., CD player, loaded. 2009 Chrysler 2009 Chrysler 300 300 $ 4,995 4,995 V6, auto., 3rd row, air, runs great. 2006 Chrysler 2006 Chrysler PaciÀ ca PaciÀ ca $ 7,295 7,295 V8, auto., pw & pdl, good miles. 2006 Ford 2006 Ford Expedition XLT Expedition XLT $ 6,995 6,995 V8, auto., air, runs great. 2006 Ford F-150 2006 Ford F-150 Ext Cab Ext Cab Articles By: Allison Flynn • allison@rutherfordweekly.com Articles By: Allison Flynn • allison@rutherfordweekly.com Carving the Keys of Life GWU Police Captain Larry Thomas Keeps Building on Career, Hobby According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American job tenure is 4.6 years. Not so for Larry Thomas, who has worked in his current position as Gardner- Webb's police captain for nearly 40 years. But it wasn't always that way for Thomas. As a GWU student and graduate, the Shelby native assumed a number of surprisingly varied roles. Thomas came to Gardner-Webb in 1960 after attending six different schools between the 1st and 12th grades. At first, he majored in psychology and found himself filling in as president of student government. "As a student, I played football as a linebacker when I weighed only 165 pounds," Thomas recalls. "Then I was asked to be manager of the basketball team. I didn't even know what that was. But I took the job, and we had two great years." Thomas took a break from school to serve as a medic and psychiatric specialist in the U.S. Army. After returning to Boiling Springs, he graduated with a degree in religion and began working on campus. Prior to serving as a campus police officer and current captain, he worked as sports information director for the public relations office and head of the Bulldog Club, the athletic fundraising arm of Gardner-Webb. Thomas, who never imagined being employed by campus police, first heard of the job by happenstance. "I was working with my brother-in-law building houses and just happened to be over here visiting one day when Chief Washburn, who was head of security at the time, out of the blue said, 'You wanna come work for me?' and I said 'sure.' That was on a Friday. I started on Monday. Been here ever since," Thomas said. Along with security-related duties that come with being a campus police captain, Thomas is the University's locksmith, a position with a skill set he's developed since the beginning of his tenure. "The first morning I came in, Washburn threw me a ring of keys. 'Go find out what these fit.' That was my start in the key business. I unlocked some doors that hadn't been unlocked in 10 or 12 years. I've loved it ever since," Thomas said. Times have changed since Thomas began working at Gardner-Webb. Back then, he remembers female dormitories and the library closing at 9 p.m. "I've always had three rules: don't tear anything up, don't hurt anybody and don't park on top of any of my buildings," Thomas said. "If students followed those rules, we got along." Right around the time he began working his current position over 35 years ago, Thomas decided to start a new hobby: woodworking. Little did he know his work would be featured in a campus art exhibit decades later. "I started building stuff and just got better," he shared. "I take wood, cut it apart, put it back together and create. Now I usually go home and go to the shop until suppertime. Just getting home, taking off the uniform, putting on shorts and a T-shirt and going into my shop is a good feeling. It's relaxing." At a point of life when some may consider retiring, Thomas has no plans for that or for ceasing to work. "As long as I'm physically able and enjoy it, I plan on being right here. I've still got some good left in me to help out around here. Besides, I've got to make money to buy some lumber for woodworking." Thomas, an avid reader, also plans to continue reading during his retirement. Stacked in his office bookshelves are the entire "Jack Reacher" series and a number of Robert Ludlum books, author of "The Bourne Identity" series. "I like the people here. I've always said that I work for the students. I get paid by the University, but I actually work for the students. Most of the kids on campus are like my kids, and that's the way I treat them. I love this place. It's a good place to go to school." Addition will allow Addition will allow KidSenses to grow along KidSenses to grow along with children it serves with children it serves The children who were infants and toddlers when KidSenses opened 11 years ago are now teens. And as they've grown, the museum that has provided an opportunity for learning through play has decided to grow with them. "The Factory," KidSenses planned expansion, will provide new experiences for youth ages 11 into their teens and beyond, said Willard Whitson, executive director of the children's museum. "The Factory fits with KidSenses' founding group's goal - which was to have a museum that would engage children into their teens," he said. KidSenses held its 10 year celebration in 2014, he continued, which was a good occasion to look toward the future. "The Factory will be a makerspace," he explained. "We wanted to avoid a kid-affiliated name," Whitson said. "And we went with the name Factory because factories are where things are made." At The Factory, youth will be able to pursue activities that reflect their own personal interests and also learn more about their future aspirations. "Jobs in our region are going to reflect a STEM-based economy," Whiston explained. STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education is part of the curriculum in local schools. Having a place where youth can apply their classroom knowledge in a fun venue where there's "no such thing as failure," Whiston added, is particularly key to keeping young people interested in those high technology fields. "We hope we keep the spark going by helping young people see themselves in the future," he said. The Factory offers a "tremendous opportunity" for area technology-based businesses to provide collaboration and mentoring programs. "We see it as being a community center and community resource," Whitson explained. "We will have to increase our staff, so it will provide additional jobs, too." A location for the expansion has not been determined, and museum staff are looking at a number of locations in Rutherfordton. Currently a capital campaign is in place to raise the $1.5 million to create The Factory. The Town of Rutherfordton pledged $50,000 toward the campaign in 2015. The community can also contribute to the capital campaign, which will be a two to three year campaign, Whitson said. A link to donate can be found at kidsenses.org. Article By: Matt Renfer, Gardner-Webb University Media Relations Article By: Matt Renfer, Gardner-Webb University Media Relations

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