HMg tt Sona
Book Bindery, Inc.
fpringpert, Mch, 49264
VOL. 90. NO. 27
THURSDAY. APRIL 5. 1979
15c
mcs MOUfiTNM MIRROR
HGRInLD
City Gas Rates
Are Going Higher
• Your gas bills from the city this
month will be higher.
City commissioners, at a special
meeting Monday at noon, upp^ the
natural gas rates to reflect the new
schedule rates from their supplier,
^ Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line
Corporation.
The new rate will total 31 cents per
mcf, according to John Howze of the
Marketing Department of Transco
and also a customer of the city.
“I don’t like it anymore than you
9 do”, Howze told the board, but to get
die product you have to pay the
price.
And he isn’t optimistic that the
rate will remain the same for any
given period.
“Rate hikes can be expected to
* continue to sometime to come. How
kmg, and what rate, we can’t say”,
he said.
‘‘Still Kings Mountain’s rates are
considerably less than any town in
I this vicinity I know of”, said Howze.
II Mayor John Moss said the actual
^ increase from Transco is .2002 cents
and was effective March 1. The city,
in effect, has borne the cost of the
increase since its new rates to
customers were not effective until
April 2.
’Transco bills the city on the
decatherm basis (1,000 BTU’s) and
the city bills customers on the MCT'
basis, said Howze, who explained
, the new cost of the city for gas 4s
i $1.9074 per decatherm and the city
loses three percent of its revenue
9 because of the difference in
I measurement. Part of the approved
i hike - .0592“is to recover the cost and
to meet requirements of safe^'
programs and maintain and operate
the natural gas system here.
The total increase, according to
% Mayor Moss, is .3094 per MCF for all
classifications of users.
Part of the increase, according to
Howze, is result of passage of the
National Gas Policy Act last fall
which provides for gradual
decontrol of gas and result of the
Louisiana use tax for all gas passing
through the state and not originating
in it, said Howze.Transco purchases
gas in Texas and Louisiana and
transports it to the Carolinas.
“We (Transco) are fighting this
tax increase in court”, said Howze,
who explained that as wells deplete
that more expensive gas must be
obtained by Transco for transport
and sale. “Years ago gas was
cheap”, said Howze.
Howze declared that as natural
gas rates go up there is “an in
centive for drilling more wells”. He
said that Kings Mountain’s gas
picture “is brighter” and he forsees
tat Kings Mountain will see an in
crease in its gas allocation this year.
“For years”, he said, ‘‘Kings
Mountain’s natural gas allotment
has been curtailed.”
In a related action, the board
approved a special school rate upon
recommendation of city gas con
sultants, noting that schools would
receive the same rate as public
buildings under the new rate
schedule.
“We are passing Transco’s rates
along to the customers”, said the
Mayor.
Prior to March 1, the cost of gas to
the city was $1.7072.
KM Jaycees Raise
$1,100 In Run- Walk
Tlie first annual Kings Mountain
Jaycee Run-Walk-A-Thon, held last
Saturday, raised about $1,100 for the
March of Dimes, Kings Mountain
Heart Fund and Cystic Fibrosis.
Twenty-six entrants participated
in the lO-mile event, which began at
Kings MounUin Senior High parking
lot at 10 a.m.
Dwayne Brown completed the
course first, registering completion
after one hour, 30 minutes. Andy
Neisler came in second (one hour, 35
minutes); Bob Maner (1-40); Allan
Props! (1-56); and Don Sellers (1-
59).
Tom Franks, event chairman,
said all 26 entrants coimpleted the
10-mile course, with the last man
finishing before 2:30 p.m.
All entrants were given T-shirts
denoting the event. The shirts and
sponsorhip of the run-walk-a-thon
were provided by Independence
National Bank, Kings Mountaiq
Savings and Loan, First Union
National Bank, First Citizens Bank
and Trust Co. and Dicey Mills,
McDonald’s and Hardees.
“The Jaycees would also like to
thank the Kings Mountain Police
Department, Cleveland County
Sheriff’s Department, Kings
Mountain Rescue Squad and Kings
Mountain REACT for their help in
maintaining safety along the
course,” Franks said.
SCENE FROM “THE ROBE”—Lloyd C. Douglas’
novel. “The Robe,” has become a play and will be
presented beginning tonight at eight o’clock at the Park
Grace Auditorium. Other performances at 8 p.m.
Friday and Saturday and a matinee at 3 p.m. Sunday.
Pictured above is the family of Senator Gallio and their
i ^ K
%
. .TOP MDA MONEY RAISER—Steve Boggah receives
a Panasonic TV set, courtesy Bridges Hardware, from
Steve Baker as his prize lor raising $541 for the
Muscular Dystrophy Association during the recent
Kings MounUin Senior High MDA fund-raising event.
Photo by Tom McIntyre
Baker was chairman of the event for the schotd, which
rated tops in the sUte for the second consecutive year
for money pledged. Baker said over $12,806 in pledges
has been collected to date. Pictures of other MDA prize
winning students are inside today’s Mirror-Herald.
Grover Board Asked
To Ginsider Tax Cut
By ELIZABETH STEWART
SUff Writer
GROVER—Comm. Harold
L'erndon wants to cut the town’s
p'esent tax rate of 35 cents per $100
viluation to 20 cents.
He made the suggestion at
Monday’s regular board meeting
because he said “I think we can do
it. We’U have a considerable surplus
in all departments and at least
$10,000 in the water construction
fund.”
“We have as high a tax rate as
anyone in the county”, he said,” and
we’re not spending much money.”
Comm. Herndon made the com
ment near the close of the meeting
‘The Robe’
To Open
Tonight
i\
slave. Seated left to right: Vivian Duncan (Diana),
Connie Putnam (Cornelia) and Marian Weeks (Lucia).
Standing left to right: George Hatch (Marcellus), Cary
Osborn (Senator Gallio) and Charles Gwin as
Demetrius, the slave, holding The Robe of Jesus.
A cast of-25 citizens representing
the religious community will present
‘“rhe Robe”, a three-act drama
based on the novel by Lloyd
Douglas, four times this Palm
Sunday weekend.
Performances will be at 8 p.m.
Thursday (tonight) Friday and
Saturday evenings and Sunday
afternoon at 3 p.m. in Park Grace
Auditorium.
Mrs. Aubrey Mauney is directing
the KM Little Theatre-sponsored
productions for which no admission
will be charged. An offering will be
taken at each performance to
benefit the Helping Hand Fund of the
Kings Mountain Ministerial
Association.
Setting of the drama is in
Jerusalem, Rome and Athens and
opens with the crucifixion scene and
centers around the family of Senator
Gallio and his son, Marcellus
(played by George Hatch) who
gambled for the robe of Jesus
Christ, and a slave, Demetrius
(played by Charles Guin).
(Please turn to page 3A)
and got no response from either
Comm. Martha Byers or Mayor Bill
McCarter. (Comm. Tommy Keeter
left the meeting early because his
son. Leant, had been injured at a
baseball game in Hickory, and had
been hospitalized
“I’m not making a motion now”,
said Herndon,” just want you to
consider this suggestion”.
Mrs. Jim Scruggs, chairman of
Grover’s beautification committee,
suggested the town appoint a co-
chairman of the committee and take
steps to preserve its history by
parking a Southern Railway car on a
spur where coal used to be loaded at
site of the Grover Depot. She said
she had talked with O. Max Gardner,
III, about possibility of obtaining one
of his cars which is now parked at
Whistle Stop in Shelby. She
suggested that the car be heated
with a pot-bellied stove and used to
store historical artifacts and
decorated in keeping with the
historical motif of the town. Mrs.
Scruggs also reported that plans for
a Grover Mini Park are at a “stand
still” but encouraged all citizens to
form a beautification committee and
each man, woman and child donate
at least two hours of their time in
beautifying the entire area.
Comm. Harold Herndon
volunteered to check with Southern
(Please turn to page 4A)
Closing
In KM
Belk Department Store in Kings
Mountain will close its doors
sometime this summer.
That’s the word from a Belk of
ficial this week.
The department store opened in
Kings Mountain in 1932 in the same
building it now occupies, 205 S.
Battleground Ave.
The decision to close the local
store was made at a recent Belk
board of directors meeting.
The Belk official said Wednesday,
“The Kings Mountain area has
grown considerably in recent years,
and our facilities are simply not
adequate to offer our customers the
selection and type of merchandise
which they expect and which we
want for their.
“We appreciate the business and
support the Kings Mountain people
have given us over the yearz, and
Belk certainly retains its interest in
the area in view of its exceptional
growth,” the offical continued.
“Hopefully, at some time in the
future, we can again be a part of the
retail community when a more
suitable facility can be available.”
The exact closing date will be
announced later, but until that time,
the official said, it will be business
as usual.
Saddle Oub Opens
Show Season Saturday
Kings Mountain Saddle Club will
present its “Spring Tune Up” horse
show Saturday to open its 1979 horse
show season.
The show will begin at 11 a.m. at
showgrounds north of the city off
Waco Rd. and continue throughout
the day and night with an in
termission from 5 to 6 p.m.
Gasses will be offered in English,
Western and Game categories with a
total of 42 competitive classes High
point trophies will be awarded in
each of the three divisions and points
will be recorded toward the year end
high point awards presented at
season end.
Nathan Morris of Stoney Poont
will judge the English classes and
Otis Daniel of Lexington, S.C. will
judge the Western classes.
Further information and class
sheets can be obtained from the
show chairman at 739-2108.