Garner's big year could get better

GARNER -- A few hundred people will pile onto charter buses today in Garner, bound for halfway across the state to cheer on the Garner High School Trojans in the state championship football game.

Scotty McCreery will be among them.

Sure, he could have packed a few friends into the pickup truck he won last spring when he was named "American Idol." But McCreery, an 18-year-old senior at Garner High, said that just wouldn't be as much fun.

"I want this to be as much about the community, as much about friends," he said.

Some say today's 3 p.m. matchup with Greensboro Page in Winston-Salem is about more than a trophy, bragging rights or a banner to hang at Garner High. It's about bringing the town together and capping off a year filled with good fortune in Garner. And it's about moving past more painful events that reshaped this town of 27,000 residents.

First, of course, there was McCreery. When he auditioned for "Idol," the teen was a regular high school student earning extra money as a cashier at a local grocery store.

But on his way to becoming the 10th-season "Idol" winner in May, he rose to stardom, often shining the spotlight on his hometown and the high school's Blue Crew student club.

McCreery's first album, "Clear As Day," has gone gold, selling more than 500,000 copies.

As Garner relished the "Idol" win, the town's high school got a big recognition. Drew Cook, a Garner native, was named Wake County's principal of the year in October.

Cook is a familiar face in Garner - he graduated from Garner High in 1992 and returned to his alma mater as a teacher and assistant principal before taking on the top job.

And now the football team is so close to a state-championship title, a victory the school hasn't achieved since 1987.

Other glimmers of hope have cropped up along the way. WakeMed announced plans to build an emergency department in Garner in 2013, a project that could spur more growth. And the state transportation department is set to wrap up construction this month on the Timber Drive extension, which will open up a new corridor for businesses.

Everyone agrees: Garner needed this. All of it.

Mayor Ronnie Williams said the town needed this string of good news "like a proverbial shot in the arm."

Garner has seen the flip side of good times over the past couple of years, when news was unsettling and residents rallied to fight for what they wanted.

An explosion sparked by natural gas rocked the Con Agra Foods plant in June 2009, killing four people and ending a decades-long tradition of good-paying jobs and meat-snacks production in Garner.

The Nebraska-based company decided not to rebuild the damaged Slim Jim plant and shifted its operation to Ohio, a decision that left hundreds of workers unemployed.

Then last year, Wake County considered closing its library branch in Garner to cut costs. Residents pleaded with leaders to find another way, and protesters lined up outside the library. In the end, the branch stayed open.

Soon after, residents rallied again, this time to push back against plans to build a toll road that could have cut the town in half, destroyed neighborhoods and hindered economic development.

State leaders heard their message, and Gov. Bev Perdue signed into law in March a bill that bars the N.C. Turnpike Authority from building or studying the highway route option.

"They felt like we were being picked on," Williams said of residents.

But these days, there isn't much talk around town about libraries or unpopular freeways.

Casual chats at the Toot-N-Tell restaurant, where a sign still congratulates McCreery for his "Idol" win, are often about the teen - and football.

Donna Sparkman, whose family has owned the country-style restaurant for 65 years, likes it that way.

"I think it's made Garner look good," said Sparkman, 52.

Some say they're not sure what led to the town's recent fortune. Small-town values? Maybe. Luck? Maybe some of that, too.

"I don't want to guess too much about whether these things are all tied together," Cook said. "I'd like to think they are."

McCreery and his family aren't quick to say the teen's "Idol" win got the ball rolling.

"He really didn't start it, but I think what happened to Scotty made people notice Garner more," said his mother, Judy McCreery.

McCreery's fame didn't hamper his high school enthusiasm. He even named his new production company Blue Crew Productions.

And he chipped in money to pay for the six charter buses today, along with some local businesses and the town.

McCreery wasn't about to miss today's football game for anything - even Disney World. He knew he was slated to tape a Christmas parade performance in Orlando, Fla., late this week, so he made sure he finished it up early so he could fly home for the game.

He missed school Friday, though, when students gathered in the gymnasium for pep rallies. They watched clips from this football season and a video about the 1987 winning team.

Win or lose today, Garner has a chance for another accolade Monday. McCreery was nominated for new artist of the year through the American Country Awards. The show will air at 8 p.m. Monday on Fox.

For now, though, a state football title would be sweet, and McCreery said it would rank right up there with winning "Idol."

Well, almost.

"It's put me where I am at now," McCreery said of the show. "But this state championship - it's really special to me."