Local News - March 2003

McConnell and Boyles honored

By ALICE SMITH, LTN Staff Writer

March 19, 2003 - Words like dedication, courage, pride, honor and distinction spilled from the lips of county officials and residents Monday night during the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners meeting.

Family, friends and fans of Harlan Boyles and Louis Todd McConnell filled the Commissioners Room and overflowed out into the lobby.

Firefighters from Boger City Volunteer Fire Department lined the wall of the room as Fire Marshal Mike Futrell honored McConnell.

Futrell announced that the name of the SAFE KIDS Award, an award that honors kids who risk their lives to save others, would be changed to the Louis Todd McConnell SAFE KIDS Hero Award.

“We wanted to honor a citizen of Lincoln County,” Futrell said. “He was a gentleman who dedicated his life to fire service and spent a lot of hours and days helping people in Lincoln County.”

The award is in remembrance of McConnell’s outstanding courage and incredible service, Futrell said.

“It’s not only a way to honor him, but a way to remember him,” he said. “Each time it is presented, Todd will be remembered.”

McConnell died at the age of 42 on Nov. 28. He was a member of BCVFD since the age of 16 and was assistant chief for 10 years.

Commissioners and the Lincolnton City Council presented the family of Harlan Boyles with a joint resolution in his honor.

Boyles, who served as state treasurer for 25 years, was “a person we can all be proud of,” Commission Chairman Jerry Cochrane said.

“He brought honor and recognition not only to North Carolina, but to Lincoln County,” Cochrane said. “The most powerful people in state government sought his advice, and rightly so.”

Throughout his reign in state government, Boyles never forgot his Lincoln County roots, Cochrane said.

“What a wonderful man he was for our state, and we should be proud he called Lincoln County home,” Cochrane said.

Dr. John Gamble, former county commissioner and friend of Boyles and his family, said Boyles was two people.

“First, he was a politician in the first rank — he knew the political whims, he knew good politics,” Gamble said. “Second, he was an honest state official.”

Gamble noted Boyles’ speech-making talent and his ability to command a room.

“Let’s be proud of someone who has been in Raleigh and left with such stature,” Gamble said.

Boyles’ son, H. Edward Boyles Jr., said Lincoln County was “an awfully special place” to his father.

“This environment had a lot to do with the character that made him a good servant,” he said. “I know this would mean a great deal to him.”

In other business, commissioners:

·  Unanimously approved an application from The Denver Group to rezone 151 acres of land in eastern Lincoln County. The approval comes with some conditions, including traffic improvement, which was the main concern of many residents opposing the application.

·  Approved part of an application from Lincoln County to amend the zoning ordinance to include uses not allowed in a Designated Highway overlay district. The amendment will prohibit adult establishments in the district.

·  Heard reports from the Lincoln Natural Resources Committee and Voices and Choices program.

·  Approved new interruptible agricultural water rates.

© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

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