Hoag & Son. Bin ders,In
Springport, Mich 49284
ISSEMEH CITY
RECORD
VOL. 25 NO. 12 WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1979
15'
USPS 051-880
First Woman
lection Chairman
From Here
•r the first time,
lidates running for city
es have to file and pay
■ filing fees in Gastonia/
le Board of Elections:
or the first - time, a
ale is serving as
rman of the Gaston
nty Board of Elections
d, that female is from
i ... Kathryn Royster,
•ed Colonel of the U.S.
ly of Tryon Com
ity, Route 2, has been
ted Election Chair-
;. She is the daughter of
ate Mr. and Mrs. Tom
ster. Mr. Royster was
area’s first rural mail
rving with her on the
ity Board of Elections
Mrs. William
zabeth) Current of
tonia and Attorney
3 Craig of Cherryville,
addition to having the
female election
rman, the November
municipal elections
also have a number of
r “firsts.” For the first
In city elections, the
ions will be under the
station; and, at Precinct
No. 18 at Sudie Burts
Building. In previous city
elections, just one voting
box was used at city hall
for all voters.
For the first time, a vote
counter will be used at
Precinct No. 17. It was
used for the first time to
tally votes for the county’s
special bond election on
Sept. 11.
At the end of election
day, a key will be turned
and the machine will
“spit” out the vote tallies.
Ballots will still be
counted by hand at Sudle
Burts building. The county
did not have enough to
place in all precincts so the
precincts with the larger
number of voters
registered got the
machines.
On Nov. 6, city voters
will elect a mayor and
three councilmen for
Wards Two, Three and
Four.
To date, incumbent
George A. Hook Jr. and
Homecoming 9 79
New Band Uniforms
To Be Displayed
Homecoming ’79 will
really be a Big Occasion
for Bessemer City High their outfits.
School students. On that
wearing white hats with
golden plumes to accent
Instead of shorts as the
ity election board,
lously, Bessemer City
conducted its own
ions.
r the first time in city
los, voters will vote at
Inct No. 17 at the fire
councilman Gene Nation
are vying for mayor. In
cumbent Ted Williams is
unapposed in Ward Two;
incumbent Tim Helms,
Ward Three; and Charles
Kirby, Ward Four.
Dr. Wallace
Applies For Visa
Tuesday, Sept. 18, Dr.
e Wallace appeared
'e the U.S. Embassy in
fax, the capital of
i Scotia, Canada, to
ve his visa to the
id States.
er receiving his en-
ment on a passport to
:ates, he, his wife and
t daughter will leave
Scotia for Bessemer
here, Dr. Wallace will be
the only practicing
medical doctor for
Bessemer City.
After Dr. Robert L.
Moore retired, Dr. Raeford
Quinn practiced briefly
here. Since the death of Dr.
Bert G. Lindsey in late
July of this year,
Bessemer City has not had
the services of a resident
UF GIVES TO PRIMARY SCHOOL -
Ed Goff, United Fund president, left, is
pictured giving a check for $650 to
Howard Saine, Primary School prin
cipal. The money will buy a “Whirls,” a
children’s merry-go-round type of
playground equipment. In the
background are shown a slide and a
climber that the UF purchased
previously for Primary School. The only
playground equipment to date for the
almost-new school has been given by the
Bessemer City Area United Fund. The
UF will conduct its annual campaign for
funds for its 1980 budget during the
month of October.
Ted Williams Files
For City Council
Ted Williams has paid
his filing fee to the County
Board of Elections to seek
election to the city council
for the Ward Two seat.
Williams is currently
filling out the term of the
late councilman J.R.
Henry. He has previously
served on the council for
three terms and is the first
Vantine citizen to ever
serve on the town board of
government.
In his previous cam-
paigns, he led the ticket for
the number of votes cast.
In the last municipal
elections, he did not run for
office.
A native of Bessemer
City, he resides at 815 West
Virginia Avenue. He is
active in church and
Masonic work. He serves
as a Deacon at St. James
Baptist Church and for the
past fifteen years, he has
TED WILLIAMS
served as the Grand
Master of Free and An
cient and Accepted York
Masons for the State of
North Carolina. He holds
membership in the St.
John’s Masonic Lodge No.
21 of Bessemer City.
For the past twenty
consecutive years, he has
been employed by
Firestone, Inc. of
Gastonia.
Councilman Williams
says he enjoys working
with the council to serve
the people of the entire
town. After being off the
council, he says he hopes
he will have another op
portunity to help his home
town to benefit the most
from what the council has
the opportunity to work
with. He shares the
council’s opinion that the
most important issue for
the city council is to work
towards improving the
water system.
“I consider it an honor to
serve the people of
Bessemer City,” he stated.
day, Friday, Sept. 21, new
uniforms for BCHS Band
will be publicly displayed
for the first time.
Festivities will start off
with a downtown parade at
4 p.m.
Although sponsors of the
Yellow Jackets should be
the main feature of the
parade, the ninety
members of the band and
the color guard corps will
probably steal the show
because that will be the
first glimpse for the public
of the uniforms in their
new colors of green, gold
and white.
The green slacks have
white blouses trimmed in
gold and green with wide
green cuffs and narrow
green collars worn with
gold ascots and sashes and
white shoes.
Sharing the limelight
will be the band’s new
drum majorettes, Sharon
Adams and Tena Biddix,
color guard previously
wore, the 1979-80 edition of
16 flag bearers and six rifle
corps will wear brief skirts
and vests in green flecked
with gold. Their green hats
have white plumes.
Gina Diggs is captain or
the flag bearers with Kim
Ramsey, co-captain.
Carolyn Young is captain
of the rifle corps.
Prior to game time, the
band will give a pre-game
program starting at 7:30
p.m. They will play “The
New World Symphony”
and “To Life” from the
musical, Fiddler On The
Roof.
The Homecoming game
will be the Jackets versus
Piedmont in a non
conference game. The
Jackets go into
homecoming with a 1-1
record. They won over
Gaston Day, 13-0, and lost
to Charlotte Latin, 14-0,
both non-conference
games.
John Powell is head
coach and assistants are
Jim Saunders and Bill
Leonhardt.
During halftime,
sponsors of the Jackets
will be escorted onto the
field and introduced. The
Homecoming Queen will
be crowned.
Crowning the ’79
Homecoming Queen will
be the ’78 Queen, Faye
Young.
A dance in the school
lobby will close
Homecoming activities
that started Monday with
"Spirit Week.” Using the
theme, “Can’t Take My
Eyes Off Of You,” dif
ferent “spirited” events
were planned for each day
with a pep rally planned
for Homecoming Day.
BCHS Cheerleaders
have charge of all
homecoming events.
Tammie Steele is Chief
and Pam Blum, co-Chief.
Miss Holt Anthony is
faculty sponsor.
City To Pave Streets
Bids were opened last
week for resurfacing
eleven streets and to set up
existing stone and pave
three streets.
The following streets will
be resurfaced with the city
doing the work for
straightening, raising
manholes and water valve
boxes: Alley behind city
hall, 12th to 13; Inaman
Avenue from Virginia to
Maryland; Maryland from
Highway 274 to Skyland
Drive; Skyland Drive from
Maryland to dead-end;
Virginia from Highway 274
to 10th Street; Ohio from
Highway 274 to 10th Street;
and
Indiana Ave. from Sth to
10th Street; Tennessee
from 10th to 11th Street;
Alavana Ave. from High
way 161 to bridge; Penn
sylvania from Sth Street to
dead-end; and Park Street
from Ohio to Washington
Avenue.
Set-up existing stone and
paving with 2” 1-2 plant-six
asphalt with the city doing
the grading and placing
stone on street where
necessary, and taking care
of all water valve boxes
and manholes will be:
Indiana Avenue from 11th
Street to dead-end; Hart
ford Avenue from 14th
Street to Cut Curve; and
9th Street, existing paving
to Boston Avenue.
where he has been
sed to practice
al medicine in the
of North Carolina.
1 goes as planned, his
s for medicine will
here the last week in
tnber at 119 West
ylvanla Avenue.
in he opens practice
doctor.
Dr. Wallace who has
been working for the past
year in relocating his
medical practice from
Canada to Bessemer City,
and his family will rent the
former Robert Hook
refpdence on West
Maryland Avenue.
A First
Lincoln Junior High
School is in the process of
getting something that no
Mayor Hook Addresses
CRP Course Offered
other school in the county
has - an elevator.
The junior high school is
undergoing enlargement.
Since installing an elevator
Council On Water Bonds
would be less involved than
re will be an 8-hour
Cross CRP course
t here at Bessemer
High School with 4
taught on
24; and 4
ly, Oct. 1.
3 courses
it from 6:3
Monday,
hours on
will be
to 10:30
Cost for the book used for
the course is $6.
The course is free to the
public for ages 16 and over.
Gary Jenkins, Captain of
Bessemer City Rescue,
will be instructor. Persons
taking the course are to
register by Sept. 21 by
calling Capt. Jenkins at
629-2360 or 629-5354.
Mayor’s Weekly Update
On Water System
With the proposed new water plant for
Bessemer City, It will operate more
efficiently at a reduced cost. There will
be no additional manpower hired to run
the plant, we can operate the plant with
our current personnel.
The big plus is there will not be any tax
Increase to pay for the new system. The
current revenue is sufficient to make the
payments without a tax increase.
building a ramp leading
(into the new addition,
architects made plans to
install the elevator.
The reason the school
has to comply with
elevator facilities is
because of a recent ruling
that the state can not deny
handicapped children their
rights to a state-supported
education. That means the
law requires all public
buildings to eliminate
architectural barriers for
the handicapped.
The high school is also
being enlarged. Whereas
the addition to the high
school is adding on more
classrooms, the
enlargement for Lincoln
has necessitated that walls
be knocked out for the
addition.
Jackson Parker is LJHS
principal and Mrs. Ruth C.
Dameron, assistant
principal. Bob Hager is
BCHS principal and Al
Froneberger, assistant
principal.
In a rare move, Mayor
George A. Hook Jr. ad
dressed the council during
the regular monthly
council meeting held
Monday night at the
Community Building. His
remarks were made after
councilman Tim Helms
had presented a water
bond proposal to the
council.
In presenting the
proposal, Helms, chair
man of the finance com
mittee, told why a new
water system was needed
and how costs could be
paid for without forseeable
increase in taxes or in the
number of city employees
needed to operate a new
system.
After Helms’ presen
tation, Mayor Hook ex
pressed appreciation to the
finance committee that in
addition to Helms includes
co-chairman David Ford
and Harold McClellan.
Mayor Hook pointed out
the duties of the committee
includes balancing of the
budget, investing idle
funds when on hand, fin
ding ways of financing
capitol improvements, and
in general, looking after
the city’s cash position and
seeing that, the treasury
stays solvent. Also to keep
the Council informed on
the city’s financial con
dition.
In his remarks, Mayor
Hook stated: “When City
Government was formed
almost four years ago after
the November elections,
standing committees were
appointed and specific
tasks were assigned to
them. I assigned a
tremendous task to the
Finance Committee,
charging them to find the
money somewhere to bring
our water system up to
date, and to formulate a
plan to do this during my
term as Mayor. They have
succeeded in doing this.
“Tonight’s water bond
proposal is a culmination
of almost four years of
work by this committee.
Many hours of work were
spent in meetings devising
plans, pursuing leads,
probing in their hunt for
financing.
“The final results are the
package just presented to
the council, $2.2 million in
bonds to be financed by
F.H.A. at the amazing low
rate of 5 percent, and
$660,000 from an out and
out grant by the State’s
Clean Water Bond Fund.
“In order for our City to
grow and remain viable, It
is now up to the citizen
voters to approve the
Issuance of our water
bonds.
“You gentlemen have
my thanks, and I believe
the city is indebted to you
for a job well done.”
A public hearing for the
water bond proposal was
set up from Monday,
September 17 at 7 p.m. at
the Community Building.
Helms made the motion
for the public hearing that
was seconded by Gene
Nation.
City Manager Neil
Barnes was asked to
contact the State Depart
ment of Transportation to
request that the speed
limit on Edgewood Road
within the city limits to be
reduced from 45 to 35 miles
per hour.
There were no objections
to a public hearing in
volving closing several
alleyways. McClellan
made the motion to close
the alleys as requested,
seconded by Nation.
For the hearing on
combing the Planning and
Zoning Board with the
Board of Adjustments,
there was no opposition.
Helms made the motion for
the change, seconded by
Nation.
Each committee now has
five members and five
alternates.
Named to the board for
inside the city limits were
Howard Robinson Jr. for a
one-year term; Mrs. Linda
Willis, 3 year term; and
Coye Hovis; term was
continued through June,
1982.
For outside the city
limits, Richard Falls was
appointed to a 2-year term
and Alvin Searcy’s term
was extended to June of
1982.
No action was made
concerning a complaint
from Mrs. Betty Robinson
who voiced sentiments that
the handling of he rmail
box damages had not been
handled properly by city
policemen.
Her mail box at 804
Athenia Place had been
knocked down reportedly
by a motorist.