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Vol. 109 No. 39
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United Way
Day of Caring
was 'awesome’
United Way officials said the outpouring of caring
in Cleveland County Saturday was "awesome."
More than 600 people - more than double the num-
ber of volunteers who served last year - gave of their
time and talent to devote one day to make a difference
in Cleveland County.
The third annual United Way Day of Caring kicked
off the 1997 campaign season with volunteers working
together to help others. Volunteers helped those served
by the United Way as well as other county organiza-
tions whose mission is to make life better for others.
The group provided more than 4,800 man hours of ser-
vice to 17 organizations. The labor alone could have
cost the organizations a minimum of $24,700 at cur-
rent minimum wage scale, said Janet Davis of the
United Way.
Marcia Jackson, who heads up the Cleveland.
County Council on Aging/Senior Center's home re-
pairs program, said the day enabled elderly Cleveland
County citizens to obtain repairs and assistance they
might not otherwise have been able to afford.
Volunteers who constructed and repaired ramps, in-
stalled underpinning, replaced steps, and checked se-
. niors cars for needed repairs provided an invaluable
= service to Senior Center participants, she said.
"For some participants, this service is almost a life-
; saver," Jackson said. "These are things they can't do on
- their own. It's a good feeling to know that so many
© people are being helped on this one day. I wish there
were more days like this in Cleveland County where
© people reach out to make a difference in other people's
= lives."
Months of planning went into the event and volun-
: teers had already spent numerous hours preparing for
the day before the first nail was driven. C. Rush
“Hamrick III served as the chief volunteer in his capaci-
‘ty as Day of Caring Chairman. Hamrick was instru-
mental in bringing together a diverse group of people
who, together, created what may be one of the county's
largest single volunteer efforts.
See Caring, 10-A
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Thursday, September 25, 1997
Efficiency Ruth's trademark
Efficiency in going by the
book is Ruth Barnett Wilson's
‘trademark.
The Oak Grove Community
resident is a familiar and popu-
lar member of the Cleveland
Board of Elections which she
serves as its secretary.
Recently Wilson was part of
the first graduating class of
elections officials in North
Carolina.
Her effort to complete the
state certification program ex-
emplified Ruth's commitment
to serving the county and to
improving the electoral process
in the state.
"t has been a very distinct
honor for me to have served the
citizens of Cleveland County,"
RUTH WILSON
said Wilson. "Through what I'm
charged to do, I have been able
to share my feelings of democ-
racy and to promote the impor-
tance of the use of the voting
privilege as our greatest right of
freedom as guaranteed through
the Constitution of the United
States."
Ruth believes in training and
for that reason she has assisted
Director of Elections Debra
Blanton in training local elec-
tions officials. They are trained
in not only the local rules but
the state and federal elections
laws, rules and regulations.
There are 4,318,008 registered
voters and over 2300 active
See Wilson, 9-A
DAY OF CARING - Sharon Eaker volunteers her time to clean out from around
shrubs and flowers at Kings Mountain Senior Center during Day of Caring
Saturday. Volunteers relandscaped the area in front of the building, replacing old
plants with new bushes, flowers, Japanese Maple trees and mulch. Mauney
Memorial Library also benefited from the volunteer effort. There, volunteers sham-
pooed carpets and cleaned windows. ;
RA : ; ¥
FAIR TIME - The 73rd
Cleveland County Fair
opens today and runs
through October 4 at the
Fairgrounds on Business 74
in Shelby.
Oak Grove to celebrate centennial
The Centennial celebration of
Oak Grove Baptist Church will
begin Sunday at 10:30 a.m.
Rev. Bruce Hancock, a for-
mer pastor and ‘pastor of First
Baptist Church of Camden, SC;
Thomas Hinton of Lenoir, a
Minister of Music and son of
the late Russell Hinton, a for-
mer pastor; and Leland Kerr,
Director of Missions for the
Kings Mountain Baptist
Association, will join Pastor
Ron Caulder in the pulpit for
special remembrances of the
church life. :
Special music will be directed
by Bob Webster, Minister of
Music; Annette Webster, organ-
ist; and Marty Blanton, pianist.
The opening of a 1953 corner-
stone and the placing of numer-
ous historical items in the cor-
nerstone will be held
immediately after the worship
hour.
Louise Wright, chairman of
the historical committee, said
items to be placed in the new
sealed cornerstone will include
a church directory, a new hym-
nal, coins, a copy of The Kings
Mountain Herald, a copy of the
church budget, 100th anniver-
sary bulletins and any other
items that members take to
church to be included.
"We will have a group picture
made around the cornerstone
and then go to the fellowship
building to cut a 100th anniver-
sary cake before enjoying a cov-
ered dish luncheon,” said
Wright who invites the public
to attend.
Other members of the histori-
cal committee working for
months on the celebration are
Barbara Champion, Annette
Webster, Wanda Hamrick and
Della Bell.
The stately church with its
white columns and its beautiful
stained glass windows is ex-
pected to be filled by more than
its 500 plus members Sunday
morning.
Caulder, who has served 11
years and holds the distinction
of holding the second longest
tenure of pastor, said the dis-
tinct sense of community is one
of the congregation's strengths.
The church has the unique char-
acter of its founding families,
according to Champion who
said J. C . Blanton was the first
pastor in 1897. The new sanctu-
ary was built in 1953 and the
parsonage was built in 1957.
The fellowship hall was built in
1966. An annex was provided
by the Carl Champion family in
honor and memory of loved
ones and a complete renovation
took place in 1979-1980. But
nearby, the 100-year-old ceme-
tery got a new sign for the
Centennial celebration.
Tombstones date back to 1898
and historical notes in the
church history reveal that the
old church was in the center of
the cemetery. The present
church was built on what used
to be Oak Grove School which
the church bought and then tore
down to build the church.
"Our vision is to build a family
life center because our ministry
to the community is family ori-
ented," said Caulder. He said a
new educational unit will prob-
ably also be in the planning
stages soon since the church has
25 acres of land and plenty of
+ room for growth.
"I had rather see the congre-
gation add an educational unit
and a family life center in the
future instead of another sanc-
tuary,” said Caulder, who said
that when churches grow they
See Church, 9-A
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Progress reports on major city
projects are on the agenda for
Tuesday's 7:30 p.m. meeting of
Kings Mountain City Council.
Among them:
Stewart & Cooper Architects
of Gastonia are expected to give
a report on progress and design
and development stage plans
for the proposed law enforce-
ment center and also prelimi-
nary estimates for repairing
Deal Street pool and renova-
tions of Kings Mountain
Community Center.
Mayor Scott Neisler will ask
for the names of nominees for
membership on the new Moss
Lake Commission. City Council
is expected to give five nomi-
nees and the Moss Lake
Properties Association has been
asked to supply the names of
two people to sit on the new
board. Neisler says he hopes
that the board can be appointed
as quickly as possible to get it
up and running.
Engineer Al Moretz may
have ready a master recreation
plan to present to Council as it
looks for improvements in the
city-wide recreation program.
Painting and renovation of
the Kings Mountain
Community Center is under-
‘way. City Manager Jimmy
Maney said the gymnasium
floor has been stripped and
workmen are ready to put the
paint and sealing coat on...
73rd Clevelan
Bob Thomas, the city's electri-
cal consultant from Progressive
Engineering, will make a rec-
ommendation for a new rate
study.
Maney said the rate study
conducted two years ago was
when the city's contract was a
non-coincident wholesale rate
with Duke Power. With a new
contract from Duke, the coinci-
dent rate could mean develop-
ing industrial rates to be com-
petitive in the market place, he
said. He said the proposed plan
would also benefit existing cus-
tomers as well as industrial and
commercial customers based on
their actual demand usage.
City Council is expected to
act on several rezoning re-
quests, including a request by
Jody Champion, representing
owners of Ace Hardware, on
Cleveland Avenue. Champion
and Paul Reynolds have a
prospective tenant for the build-
ing but some property owners
object because they fear in-
creased traffic in a school zone
and are concerned about per-
mitted uses that could come
from rezoning from neighbor-
hood to general business desig-
nation.
Mike Brown's revised subdi-
vision plat, okayed by the zon-
ing board at last week's meet-
ing, and Kentucky Fried
Chicken's rezoning request, also
a recommended for approval by
the planning board, are on the
agenda. Ce ——— :
d County Fair
opens Thursday at 2 o'clock
The 73rd Cleveland County
Fair opens today and runs
through October 4 at the fair-
ground at 1751 East Marion
Street in Shelby.
Opening ceremony is
Thursday at 5 p.m. at the per-
forming arts stage. Gates open
at2 p.m.
Admission is $5 for adults, $5
for seniors, and $1 for children
age 6-12. Persons under age 6
and over 75 will be admitted
free.
Reithoffer Shows will be cele-
brating their 22nd year at the
Fair.
The fair will host three spe-
cial days for special groups.
Seniors Day will be Tuesday,
. Wednesday,
Sept. 30 with all senior citizens
admitted free until 7 p.m.
Special free entertainment is
planned on the midway and the
grandstand. Preschool children
and nursing home residents
will be admitted free on
Oct. 1 "and
Thursday, Oct. 2 from 9 a.m.-12
noon. Special entertainment
those days begins at 9:30 am.
Special activities include:
(Midway stage #1)
Thurs., Sept. 25 - The
Fantastic Shakers, 7:30 and 9:30.
Fri., Sept. 26 - Lightning
Heart, 5:30, 7:30 and 9:30.
Sat., Sept. 27 - Ocean Blvd.,
5:30, 7:30, 9:30.
See Fair, 9-A
HISTORY MAKING DAY - Sunday will be a red letter day at
Oak Grove Baptist Church as members of the 100-year-old con-
gregation observe a Centennial celebration. Rev. Ron Caulder,
left,pastor, Barbara Champion and i.cuise Wright put the finish-
ing touches on church bulletins and historical materials.