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THE KINGS MOUNTAIN HERALD. July 83,1997 "GUEST COLUMN Rep. Sue Myrick NC 9th District A balanced budget and tax relief It has been a long time coming This past week Congress passed the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 and the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997. If all goes as planned and President Bill Clinton signs the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 then a balanced budget and permanent tax relief will be a reality by year's end. : On Wednesday, June 25, the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 passed the U. S. House of ‘Representatives by a vote of 270-162. For the first time in more than 30 years, the federal budget will be balanced by 2002, while slowing the growth of total federal spending to 3 percent a year. That saves $289 billion over five years and $182 billion in entitlement savings over five years. We've come along way from the days when * balanced budgets were given little more than lip service. This plan balances the budget based on conservative economic estimates, not some rosy numbers that will never be achieved. Some have expressed concerns with this bud- get resolution. Frankly, I don't like everything ei- ther. But remember that this is just the first step in our efforts to make the United States government more accountable and responsible with your tax dollars. With’ a Republican Congress and a Democrat in the White House, we can't accom- plish everything at once, but our bipartisan effort this week is a great starting point. In fact, did you know that it has been 16 years since Americans have had any tax relief? American families have become all too familiar with Congress raising their taxes year after year. The tax burden on the American people and businesses has been increasingly excessive., Currently, the average American pays more taxes ,than they do for food, clothing and shelter com- 2ibined. In fact, it has been estimated that 31 per- cent of the cost of a loaf of a bread is due to taxes, 45 percent of your car, 50 percent of your phone bill, over 50 percent of a gallon of gas and 25 per- cent of your electric bill. In addition, the average American spends almost two hours each day just to pay the federal government. This is absolutely - unacceptable and that's why I am very proud to be a part of the first Congress in 16 years to lower taxes, not raise them. The tax relief package provides tax relief for life. From childhood through education years, in- to the retirement years. The plan also provides a $500 per child tax credit, to benefit more than one million children in North Carolina and 41 million children nationwide, giving parents more free- dom in raising their children to be well educated and productive adults. Even my own daughter-in-law has been trying to figure out a way that she can afford to stay home to raise their children. Now, with this tax credit, she and Dan will have greater flexibility to make this a reality. Families with children will also get help in sending their kids to college with almost $35 bil- lion in tax incentives. Our plan creates education investment accounts to allow parents to save tax free for their children's higher education and pro- vides incentives for contributions of computer equipment in elementary and secondary schools. I strongly believe that small businesses should stay in the family, instead of being sold to pay outrageous government death taxes. So our plan rewards the families of those who saved and built a nest egg by significantly reducing those estate taxes. Many firms in our counties have been sold for development because the families could not afford to pay estate taxes. To further encourage economic growth and savings, we provide broad-based capital gains re- lief covering five million Americans, including two million senior citizens. This will benefit the elderly and the middle class because nearly two- thirds of tax returns reporting capital gains are filed by people whose annual incomes are under $50,000 a year and about one half of American families own assets such as stocks, bonds, real es- tate and businesses. Also, individuals 65 years old and older make up just 12 percent of all tax- payers in 1993, but realized 30 percent of total net capital gains ahd paid 30 percent of the tax on capital gains. Simply put our package benefits hardworking American families, not just the wealthy. Ninety three percent of relief goes to people who make less than $100,000 a year and 76 percent goes to people who make less than $75,000 a year. Over the next month, Congress and the Clinton Administration will have to work together to get these measures signed into law. I believe that with continued vigilance we'll ultimately achieve this goal. When this does happen, it will be an historic event with positive results that will be felt for generations to come. Letters to the Editor Cartoonitorial Nm | La mn pr — a See ae E SS DRE == === Thanks for support To the editor: Thanks to the Harley riders of Rutherford and Cleveland counties, the motorcycle rally of May 30 and 31 was a huge success. Approximately $5,000 was raised for the Cleveland /Rutherford Kidney Association. The rally, a two-day event featuring live music, food, games, and vendor sales, was held at Nelson's Field in Golden Valley. ‘» The music was provided by Old Habits and Acoustic Syndicate. The event was named in memory of the late Johnny White of Casar, a member of the Harley Riders Club. Although there are to many contributors to list, the Kidney Association would like to thank ev- eryone who donated a door prize, food items, or money to help out at this event. We want to thank the bands for donating their time and talents; the Harley Riders club for their support, assistance and suggestions - especially Nelson McCurry, Thad Overcash, and Shannon Philbeck. . Also, we appreciate the dedication and deter- mination of CRKA volunteers. There is no way the Association could help kidney patients and their families without them. We would like to ; thank members of the CRKA CakeBakers Club for your generosity. There were many compli- ments on the desserts. Our thanks goes out to all the volunteers who helped with food and door prizes. We especially want to thank the Johnny White Memorial Party committee for their hard work and the many Published every Thursday. ¢ Periodicals postage at East King Street at Canterbury Road, NC 28086 USPS 931-040 by Republic Newspapers, Inc. Postmaster, send address changes to: P. O. Box 769, Kings Mountain, NC 28086 Phone (704) 739-7496 e Fax (704) 739-0611 Office: 824-1 East King Street, Kings Mountain, NC 28086 E-Mail: NEWS@SHELBY.NET Dean Ridings Gary Stewart Elizabeth Stewart Aron R. Goss Susan Smith Stacy Cobb Sarah Griffin Debbie Welsh Shelley Campbell Terry Bridges Republic mn Newspapers, Inc. MEMBER ‘ Ah Member NIN = J? Publisher Editor News Editor Marketing Director Advertising Manager Account Executive Business Manager Production Manager Graphic Artist Pressman Sime 1§ NATIONAL NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION North Carolina Press Association Mail Subscription Rates Payable in Advance. All Prices Add 6% NC State Sales Tax. 1 Year 6 Months $18.02 $10.60 $20.14 $11.66 $23.32 $13.25 Gaston & Cleveland Co. Other NC Counties Outside NC hours'spent on this‘project: Pam Ledford, Colleen Ellenbureg, Charles and Susan Collins, Kari Thomas, Linda Petty, Shelia Morrow and Renee Ledford. We wish to thank those volunteers who "weathered" the rain and helped with the cleanup for the event: Jimmy and Kathy Grigg, Lisa Fitch, Missy Fisher, Jenifer Allen, Barry Sigmon, Charles and Susan Collins, Colleen Ellenburg, Spanky Lewis, Wayne and Jonathan Butler, Frances Powers, Ruth Butler, Scott and Tammy Ledford, Brian and Kari Thomas, Hugh Lee Sparks, Mr. and Mrs. Larry Laughter, Sharon Ledford, Linda and Larry Petty, Ginger and Kristen Burleson, Pam and Louie Ledford, Robin Strain, Connie. White, Jon Ryan, Hope Grayson, Don Roberts, Donna and Keith Mellon, Martha McClure, Renee Ledford. Last, but certainly not least, we wish to thank everyone who attended the event. You have helped tremendously in the efforts to provide a better quality of life for many families afflicted with kidney disease. Thank you for.your support. Margaret Ledford Executive Director Cleveland/Rurtherford Kidney Association To the Editor: . This letter is being written to publicly thank some people that have helped my husband and I tremendously in the past few months. : My husband, Chuck, has been a member of the Windjammers Motorcycle Club for about ten your owh Independence Day R years. Earlier this year we were told my husband has lung cancer. Since the beginning, the Windjammers have been there for us. Their calls, visits, and prayers have helped to lift our spirits. On June 21 the club organized and sponsored a benefit Poker Run for my husband. Although the skies threatened rain, bright sunshine did come out in the afternoon. The whole project took a great amount of planning and working together for the ride to be a success. Thank you! Thank you also to everyone who participated in the ride. Thank you to all the club members’ families who helped out by working, serving food, help- ing to cook, and sharing their time. The proceeds collected from the day were used to buy materials to replace the roof on our house, with the Windjammers providing the labor. Several members worked in the heat recently for two days to do the work. Thank you guys! The new roof is beautiful and getting it done was a great load off our minds. he roof was a project we meant to get around to, but was put aside when Chuck became sick. Words cannot totally express our appreciation and we can never say thank you enough. The Windjammers saw our need and respond- ed. We are truly blessed to have this wonderful biker family. us Julie Long, Dallas, NC Planning Board deserves-thanks To the Editor: - The city owes "thanks" to the unnoticed com- mittee of hard-working citizens who dedicate themselves toward the long-term betterment of - Kings Mountain. The Planning and Zoning Board is a City Council-appointed group of approxi- mately 20 clear-thinking citizens from various backgrounds and professions, assigned the task of developing the productive growth of our city and the quality of life of our citizens. To avoid settling "the Ingles issue" in the man- ner already specified, the City Council repeatedly sent Ingles request (to be exempted from beautifi- cation guidelines) back to the Planning and Zoning Board. The first time was proper for clari- fication. Additional times took on the nature of "scape-goating" by the council. Ingles’ position has basically been that, al- though they had never secured a building permit, in fact, they had not even purchased the property, they had been "considering" building about 18 months ago when the codes were in a less refined state. ! At last week's City Council meeting, Norma Bridges and Jerry White, along with Mayor Scott Neisler, expressed their appreciation of the value of the work of this board by supporting the group's unanimous concern that Ingles, and any other new business, adhere to the codes and beautification regulations in existence at the time building permits are to be secured. This is a stan- . dard, minimum requirement in place in most Sidewalk Survey cities. Rather than asking why the city was making an issue over a few trees, citizens should be wonder- ing why Ingles has been so against making their new location attractive. Businesses with any level of pride in their location should be interested in going beyond the minimum beautification re- quirements expressed in the codes. Of course, a look at other Ingles locations verifies that their ~ appearance is not of significant value to their owners, except at the newer Shelby store. Shelby City Council backed their Planning and Zoning Board, requiring that Ingles meet the minimum requirements. : For the revenue projected by the new Ingles store to balance out the cost of the city's spot an- nexation investments ,water-sewer expenses, in- creased maintenance, fire and law enforcement and other related expense, could take 15 years or more. Furthermore, the "significant increase in rev- -enue” that Ingles and some commissioners project is a "phantom figure." Ingles revenue will be com- ing from revenue that is already being raised by three other major supermarkets, dividing virtual- ly the same customer base by’ four instead of three. The few scattered country homes closer to the new Ingles than a Shelby store will not signifi- cantly add to these demographics. Spot annexation for Ingles’ sake never made sense for the city. But to further insult the fine, hard-working citizens on the Planning and Zoning Board by refusing to accept their recom- mendations shows disrespect to the true value of their sacrificial service and mocks the wisdom of the council that appointed them. Reg Alexander Thanks Good Samaritans . To the Editor: : : Several days ago I called the Kings Mountain Police Department for help because some chil- dren were on my wooded property building tree houses. Ptl. Tony Reeves came out to my home and talked to the children and conveyed my fears to them that they might be hurt if they fell out of the trees and I just could not take that responsibil- ity for their safety. : The Officer was most helpful and during his conversation with the children he found their basketball goal was broken and they had no other entertainment. He has tried to help them get a new one. Kings Mountain should be proud of this young man and all police for their abilities to take charge of situations and turn them into positive events. To the Editor, AB, Snot On June 24th I was trying to walk without my walker and fell into a ditch and T began to yell for help because I was scratched by briars and could- n't get up by myself. Three men heard my cries for help and rescued me and I failed to get their names. I would like for them to know how grate- ful I am that they came along at that time. L.E Kiser * By Elizabeth Stewart What are your plans for 4th? me pest July GENE DYE Electrician VIVIAN PAYNE KMPD Dispatcher “I'll be working ine the Communications Department at the Kings Mountain Police Department helping to hes?) Kings Mountain safe. “I plan to stay at home ~ with my family and enjoy a day off.” ‘STEVE RATHBONE Retired drug store employee holiday.” "MELISSA BUMGARDNER Hair Stylist “My family is plan- “I'm planning a trip ning a cookout at to the beach and really Crowders Mountain.” looking forward to the GEORGE THOMASSON Lawyer “Picnicking with my wife. Marion, and our daughter and son-in-law, Anne and Paul Parker and children, Elizabeth and George, at Lake Montonia.”
The Kings Mountain Herald (Kings Mountain, N.C.)
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July 3, 1997, edition 1
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