Call for &h appointment today! 704.473.4048
[ELEC ULE CITE
2 ELIZABETH STEWART
§ lib.kmherald@gmail.com
Major Metals Company,
headquartered in Mansfield,
Ohio and a leader in the
steel tubing industry, has
hired 12 employees initially
and is beginning operations
on Industrial Drive off York
Road.
The plant, which has
been distributing rolled steel
products in the Midwest
over 40 years, is the third in-
dustry to occupy the huge
building formerly occupied
by Solaris, a Canadian-
based steel tubing company
which closed early this year,
and before that Tube Enter-
prises, which distributed
aluminum tubing.
Joe Yeager, former So-
laris plant manager for four
years, is heading up the new
Over 20 years
experience!
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kmherald.com
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Volume 126 ¢ Issue 30 ¢ Wednesday, July 23, 2014
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operation here. “We plan to
be good citizens of the com-
munity for a long time," he
said.
Yeager said he is excited
that he has been able to hire
former employees of Solaris
on the first shift and expects
to expand and hire more em-
ployees for a second shift in
future months. Major Metals
President is Jeff Mason of
Mansfield, Ohio who repre-
sents the second generation
in his family in the steel tub-
ing industry.
The company specializes
in manufacturing carbon
steel tubing on high fre-
quency tube mills. Having
tube mills coupled with steel
buying expertise enables
Major Metals to be very
competitive in the tubing
market in flat rolled steel,
See MAJOR METALS, 3A
Armed robbery
is second in six days
Kings Mountain Police are
investigating a second armed
robbery within a six day pe-
riod.
Sunday morning at 4:54
a.m., police responded to
Kangaroo Store, 225 Cleve-
land Avenue, where two em-
ployees told them that an
unknown black male entered
the store brandishing a
firearm and demanded
money.
The employees refused the
suspect any money and he
fled on foot in an unknown
direction without any money
taken. The employees were .
unharmed.
The suspect is described
as a black male approxi-
mately 6'1" of medium build
and medium skin tone wear-
ing a black jacket or hoodie
with his face covered with
dark material.
Anyone with information,
contact Det. Sgt. Chris Moore
at 704-734-0444.
Monday, July 14 at 12:44
a.m. police were called to
Wendy's, 113 York Road,
where an employee told po-
lice that an armed robber took
an unknown amount of
money from the restaurant
and forced her to drive him to
an unknown location where
he fled. The employee was
unharmed.
Police describe the suspect
as a black male approxi-
mately 6'1" with medium skin
tone and slim build. He was
wearing dark clothing and a
blue bandana around his face
and armed with a handgun.
Anyone with information is
asked to contact Det. Sgt.
Lisa Proctor at 704-734-0444.
Investigation continues
in worker’s death
No foul play is indicated
in the tragic death of Larry
G. Baxter, 54, who died un-
expectedly at the Crypton
Plant at Kings Mountain In-
dustrial Park July 15.
Plant spokesmen said
this week that a thorough re-
view of the plant procedures
and equipment as well as re-
views of the multiple in-
plant camera footage have
been conducted, and the ini-
tial conclusion is that no foul
play is indicated in the death
of the seven year machine
operator.
The plant was immedi-
ately closed at Baxter’s
death and a team from Oc-
Im
52570020
cupational Safety and
Health Division (OSHA)
continues to investigate the
incident. Crypton officials
are fully cooperating with
all formal investigators to
ensure a complete and fac-
tual assessment of the situa-
tion, according to a released
statement.
The plant was cleared to
resume operations Wednes-
day, July 16. Crypton has
operated the plant in Kings
Mountain for nearly 20
years and maintains a superb
safety record, plant officials
said.
A spokesman for the
plant said the Crypton fam-
ily is devastated by the loss
of one of their own and ex-
tends their continued heart-
felt condolences to Mr.
Baxter’s family and friends.
Baxter was laid to rest on
Tuesday, July 22, at the
Macedonia Baptist Church
in Waco.
Mayor Rick Murphrey, left, welcomes Joe Yeager, plant manager of Major Metals, a new Kings Mountain industry which is
initially employing 12 people but expects to expand to a second shift of workers in manufacturing and distributing steel
tubing.
Photo by ELLIS NOELL
Dixon named Asst. Superintendent
of Curriculum and Instruction
ELIZABETH STEWART
lib.kmherald@gmail.com
Dr. William Dixon, formerly with
Colleton County’ Schools, Waterboro,
SC, was hired Monday night by the
Cleveland County Board of Education
as the new Assistant’ Stiperintendent of
Curriculum and Instruction.
He will receive a four year contract
and will assume the duties formerly
School officials
say budget talks
at stalemate
Three weeks after the start of a
new fiscal year, North Carolina state
legislators are still trying to find
middle ground on how to afford
teacher pay raises and fund Medi-
caid.
Will they be able to compromise
this week as their July 25 deadline
nears?
Rep. Tim Moore, Republican
from Kings Mountain who is chair-
man of the House rules committee,
said from Raleigh this week that
“the process must be thorough in
order to adjust our budget in an ef-
fort to produce an outcome that ben-
efits all North Carolina citizens.”
School board members talked at
length Monday night about what fi-
nancial operations director Dr.
David Lee called “a stalemate in the
budget talk” and how the decision
by legislators could affect the school
system. “Grade two teacher assis-
tants could go away after this year,”
he said.
If the legislature just takes no ac-
tion our same budget would apply,”
said Lee.
Board member Jerry Hoyle said
if the legislature should drop of
teacher assistants it would change
the whole complexity of elementary
schools. “TAs drive the school bus
and do many other things,” he
added.
“It would be so unfair to our
See BUDGET, 7A
held by Supt. Stephen Fisher, who was
most recently assistant superintendent
for curriculum and instruction before
being elected superintendent succeed-
ing the retiring Dr. Bruce Boyles.
Dr. Fisher also announced the pro-
motion of Charles Smith, former assis-
tant principal at’ Crest Middle, who
became principal of Kings Mountain
Middle School July 7. Smith succeeds
former principal Mickey Morehead
who became principal of Burns Middle
School.
Dr. Fisher to explained the process
followed for selections. He said the
jobs are posted and an interview team
from all over the district meets with ap-
plicants to make recommendations. He
checks references, interviews staff
members at each of the schools when a
principal/assistant is promoted and
See SCHOOL BOARD, 7A
NC unemployment
benefits drastically cut
By Alan Hodge
alan.bannernews @gmail.com
For many folks the recent Great Re-
cession has faded away, but there are
still thousands of people still feeling its
sting, and the recent decision by the
State of North Carolina to drastically
cut the number of weeks a person can
draw unemployment benefits, as well
as a reduction in the amount of money,
is not helping.
The latest figures from the NC Em-
ployment Security Commission
showed Gaston County's unemploy-
ment rate at 6.6 percent, Cleveland
Play organizers hope
to make living history
DAVE BLANTON
dave.kmherald @gmail.com
Kings Mountain theater-lovers got their first
glimpse of the energetic director who will take
playwright Bob Inman’s Revolutionary War script
to the stage Monday night as organizers gave the
public a vision of what to expect of the large pro-
duction set to debut in October.
“We’re going to create something that you're
going to cherish and be proud of for a very long
time,” said Caleb Sigmon, a Boone native with
extensive theater experience who is also a profes-
sional magician, referring to “Liberty Mountain:
The Revolutionary Drama.” Organizers say the
play, set in Kings Mountain at a time when the
See PLAY, 7A
County at 7.0 percent, and the state av-
erage at 6.0 percent.
Effective July 1, North Carolinians
filing new claims will be able to draw
unemployment benefits for a maximum
of 14 weeks. The previous maximum
was 26 weeks. In North Carolina, a
sliding scale tied to the overall state un-
employment rate determines the num-
ber of weeks a person can draw. The
number of weeks fell as of July 1 based
on the unemployment rate from Janu-
ary-March of this year.
According to the Center on Budget
and Policy Priorities, no other state
See BENEFITS, 7A
Beach Blast
a bust for 2014
Beach Blast, set for last
Saturday, was rained out and
will not be rescheduled.
- “We are very sorry that
rain cancelled the long-
awaited event but it would
be very difficult to resched-
ule," said Mayor Rick Mur-
phrey.
The city’s events director
Ellis Noell had planned a
variety of family events for
Saturday which included
music as well as competitive
events. “Just look for next
| year, Beach Blast will be
bigger and better than ever,"
promises Noell.
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