Share on FacebookShare on X (formerly Twitter)Share on PinterestShare on LinkedInCHERRYVILLE (WBTV) - An employee at a Gaston County elementary school was arrested after she allegedly embezzled nearly $10,000 during the current academic year 37-year-old Helaine Marie Davis was arrested on March 7 after she confessed to stealing approximately $9,000 from Cherryville Elementary School The investigation first began more than a week before Davis’ arrest after the Cherryville Police Department received a report of embezzlement at the school police said Davis was interviewed and “made a full confession.” According to Cherryville Elementary’s website Davis is the financial secretary and PowerSchool data manager She was given a $10,000 bond and was released hours after her arrest Gaston County Schools has been reached for comment Anyone with information about the case should call Cherryville police at 704-435-1717 Also Read: Woman arrested for DWI crash in Gaston County also stole dog, police report says Sign In Subscribe Now A Cherryville man has been handed a $4,500 penalty and a two-year hunting ban for poaching a pregnant moose in his neighbourhood in 2023.  Willem Tuijtel pleaded guilty in Vernon provincial court earlier this week to killing the moose outside of open season the Conservation Officer Service said Friday The provincial service received a report of a moose potentially killed out of season in the Cherryville area in March 2023 Conservation officers investigated the site and located a gut pile and the fetal calf of a moose.  Snowmobile tracks led to a nearby residence Conservation officers executed a search warrant and seized a moose carcass and a rifle and ammunition that was found to have been used to kill the moose.  Tuijtel is prohibited from hunting or being in the company of hunters anywhere in B.C His firearm and the moose carcass were forfeited He must also retake the Conservation Outdoor Recreation Education course.  “We’d like to thank the public for reporting this incident to the RAPP line,” said Conservation Officer Ken Owens call the Conservation Officer Service's Report All Poachers and Polluters (RAPP) 24-hour hotline at 1-877-952-7277.  Dialogue and debate are integral to a free society and we welcome and encourage you to share your views on the issues of the day. We ask that you be respectful of others and their points of view, refrain from personal attacks and stay on topic. To learn about our commenting policies and how our community-based moderation works, please read our Community Guidelines Police have arrested a Gaston County Schools employee who is accused of embezzlement the Cherryville Police Department received a report of an employee embezzling money from Gaston County Schools specifically Cherryville Elementary School A criminal investigation concluded that the employee had embezzled approximately $9,000 during this school year was interviewed and made a full confession Davis was arrested and charged with embezzlement on Friday She posted a $10,000.00 bond the same day and was released According to Gaston County Schools website Davis was the financial secretary and PowerSchool data manager at the elementary school Police ask that anyone with further information contact Detective Farris or Captain Parker at 704-435-1717 The Cherryville Little Theatre’s upcoming production will take its audience along on a trip down the Oregon Trail an original musical produced by Starkid Productions for the first time in 2014 follows one family’s journey down the Oregon Trail according to a press release from the theater “It is also the most historically accurate musical portraying the Oregon Trail to date,” it said a set that replicates the trail’s landscape and appearances from famous historical figures and DJ Cope and is directed by Arden Mauney Since it contains adult language and content the show is only open to adults 18 and older 14 and 15 at the Cherryville Little Theatre Please select what you would like included for printing: Copy the text below and then paste that into your favorite email application Brenda was a graduate of Elbert County Comprehensive High School and The Anderson Hospital School of Nursing she was a Prenatal Nurse and Lactation Consultant in Georgia and North Carolina In addition to being a dedicated pastor’s wife Brenda was also actively involved with Children’s Ministry She was instrumental in the creation of the Children’s Worship Center and The Way of the Child Brenda was active in the C.A.R.E Ministry and the Presbyterian Pilgrimage Movement She was also part of the Builders for Christ Missions in Mexico She was a member of the Naomi Stroupe Sunday School Class and will truly be missed by all who knew her Brenda was preceded in death by her first husband Left to cherish her memory is her loving husband of 43 years Henry Madden (Priscilla); and grandchildren Her family will receive friends from 1:30 PM to 2:45 PM in the Lowe Family Life Center of First Presbyterian Church of Cherryville.  A Private Burial will be held at Forest Hills Memorial Park in Elberton Her family requests that memorials may be made to First Presbyterian Church – 107 W Condolences may be made to www.carpenterporter.com Carpenter-Porter Funeral Service of Cherryville Announcement courtesy of Berry Funeral Home This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors A Cherryville woman says her fiancé was killed over a dispute involving $15 Michele Robles and Daniel Wayne Knighten were digging post holes at a neighbor’s house near their home on Putnam Street in Cherryville on Oct so Knighten decided to pick up some drinks at a nearby gas station and rode off on his bike to grab money from their home Robles said she saw someone walking down the road and they shouted to her that someone had beaten 49-year-old Knighten at his home Robles said she found Knighten in the living room covered in blood with a broken nose Witnesses who were at the home when the encounter happened told Robles that Howell Gene Sisk who the couple had met only two days prior accused Knighten of stealing roughly $15 worth of items from him and punched him several times eventually knocking him off the brick staircase flat onto the concrete below Witnesses also said Sisk kicked Knighten in the head and face when he tried to get up after falling off of the stairs When Robles saw Knighten in the living room she noticed he was not breathing properly and asked someone to call 911 “(He could) make you laugh on a bad day.”  and a place to stay when someone had nowhere to go that takes a cold-hearted person to do something like that Especially when they aren’t fighting back,” Robles said Daniel leaves behind two daughters and two grandchildren The family is currently raising money through a GoFundMe to give Knighten a proper burial is being held in the Gaston County jail on a $10 million bond Justin Willyoung was a counselor and coach at Cherryville High School Although he no longer works with the students at CHS Willyoung said the experience stood out to him which is why he recently wrote a book about the team’s development during his time as coach Cherryville’s track and field team was overlooked for a long time and other teams in the area just didn’t pay it much attention he noticed that the track and field players seemed to carry that around with them He said the feeling of being an afterthought was like a chip on the students’ shoulders put in the hours training to be the best they could be and went on to win competitions at various levels Willyoung said he is a motivational speaker spreading a message of self-belief and believing in others He said he has done so many cool things in his life and career that he couldn’t have done without the coaches he had along the way Willyoung began his own coaching career as a volunteer coach in Pennsylvania He has since coached at different schools near Kings Mountain When he took the job with Cherryville High School group home coordinator and child-care worker I have a wealth of experience working with young people I had always pondered my purpose and impact in this world and in 2018 I found myself being called to action to leave the most comfortable and best paying job that I ever had to pursue an opening at Cherryville High School," he said in an email He currently plans to publish four books total and is working on the remaining three “Iron and Thunder,” the book about CHS is currently available online  “My goal and purpose is to inspire and motivate what I believe to be the most important and impactful influences on Earth,” he said I believe that this story has the ability to make a difference in the world and be beneficial to Gaston County Schools and the amazing people who work there.” Cherryville man celebrates lottery winGaston GazetteDevin Gullatte of Cherryville took a chance on a $1 Cash 5 ticket on Thursday and won a $321,794 jackpot Gullatte bought his lucky Quick Pick ticket from Curve View Express on West Warren Street in Shelby His ticket matched all five numbers in the drawing to win the jackpot The odds of matching numbers on all five balls are 1 in 962,598 He claimed his prize at lottery headquarters Monday and after required federal and state tax withholdings More: Jackpot! These Gaston-area residents won big in the NC Education lottery in 2024 Cash 5 is one of six lottery games in North Carolina where players have the option of buying their tickets at a retail location or with Online Play through the lottery’s website or the NC Lottery Official Mobile App For details on how $13.9 million raised by the lottery made a difference for Gaston County education programs last year, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section More: They won big! Meet some Cleveland-area residents who hit the jackpot in the NC Education lottery last year. Details: cache-fra-eddf8230102-FRA 1746519529 1826387879 A woman was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of a man she shot and killed just over three years ago Kendra Odums, 25, shot and killed 24-year-old Rhonshocki Flack on May 3, 2021 while he was visiting her home in Cherryville Prosecutors alleged that Odums was fixated on Flack sending him text messages threatening suicide and faking a pregnancy to try to get him to stay with her led Odums to ambush Flack when he came over said the shooting was the result of negligence and that Odums didn't know the gun was loaded starting late Monday afternoon and reporting their verdict before noon on Tuesday addressed Odums directly after the jury returned with the verdict "It's been a rough three years of my life … I at least thought I was going to get 'I'm sorry' … She said it was an accident "I prayed for her … that she ask God for forgiveness for what she done She has destroyed our whole family," Dawkins added and others in the courtroom wiped away tears as well Superior Court Judge Nathaniel Poovey offered Odums an opportunity to speak Odums chose that moment to apologize for the first time "I just want to apologize to his family," she said I care so much about him … This is something that I'm going to have to live with for the rest of my life knowing that I'm the reason he's not here no more." Poovey sentenced Odums to life in prison without the possibility of parole the mandatory sentence for a first-degree murder conviction Dawkins said she felt sad for both her own family and Odums' family And I thank my family and friends for coming out and supporting me in Cleveland County to the late Jean Crocker White He was a 1987 graduate of Cherryville High School and employed with Moss Metal No formal services are scheduled at this time Condolences may be made to www.carpenterporter.com A Cherryville man accused of second-degree murder made a first appearance in court Thursday Arrest warrants issued for Howell Gene Sisk inflicting serious bodily injury and bleeding on the brain that resulted in death Sisk was initially charged with assault and those charges were later upgraded to second-degree murder the Cherryville Little Theater’s latest show A cast of children and teens come together on the stage to sing educational songs about government science and other topics covered in the 1970s cartoon audiences tend to see a youth show title as a sign that the show will be a children's performance designed only for children “Audiences can expect incredibly talented vocal performances thanks to our Music Director Autumn Bolton and our cast of gifted performers They will be wowed by the set and costumes which were all designed to take you back to a school playground in 1977.” The audience members won’t be the only ones transported back to a different time the show has garnered excitement from the cast and crew across generations “Most (of) our cast members know at least one of the songs from school … It has been really fun talking (about) our shared experiences and love of these songs and cartoons even though some of us watched them in the '90s Along with a sense of nostalgia for older viewers in the audience Dolan said she hopes the show will be fun and educational for all viewers and get stuck in their heads “The easiest way to remember anything is through song I am hoping that the audience gets a song or two stuck in their head and then someday when they find themselves needing this information in school they sing it back to themselves,” she said “The best possible outcome would be that the kids like it so much they go home and start watching the cartoons all over again.” Showings take place Friday at 7 p.m. this fast-paced musical teaches lessons with clever catchy tunes,” according to a release from the Cherryville Little Theater Early voting in Gaston County starts today Here is a list of locations and times for those looking to cast their ballot early