North Carolina Newspapers

m - : Population City Limits .... 7.206 ttm population la boa Ik* O. S. OonnauDl msm (?port lot ltM. Tkt Caucus Burtrni MtlmcitM tko Dotloa't popnlqrtjon gala tine* 1150 at 1.7 pwcmI por mr, IU4 population should approxi mate 7(08. TI?o iradtsf aroa population In 104S. bmd M rattoa board registration* at tbo Kings Mountain ?Wn. Ml It. 000. V, VOL 64 NO. 41 ... -y r-S|r^AVY^ Kings Mountain's RELIABLE Newspaper r ? ?? : . y *4 18 Pages Today ? Established 1889 Kings Mountain, N. C? Thursday, October 14, 1954 Sixty-Fourth Year PRICE FIVE CENTS CITY CREW AT GOLD MINE SHAFT ? Pictured above is a sample of the work involved to' keep the old Gold Mine shaft pumping water into the city resevoir. Alter being out-of -action the pump ing began again Tuesday night to a depth of 240 feet. In the picture, left it right, are Robert C. Smith, Harry (Dutch) Wilson. Glenn Carroll, Lon (Eat!) Hardin, Thomas Martin, and Prank Blan ton. (Herald photo by Carlisle Studio.) Local News Bulletins FALLS IMPROVING Otis .Jail*, Sr., whs under went an operation at Charlotte Memorial hospital Monday, was reported recuperating sat isfactorily Wednesdays . > BARNES TO SPEAK B. N* Barnes, superintendent of schools, will ibe the princi pal speaker at Grace Metho dist church Sunday morning at * | 11 o'clock as the church obser ves (Layman's Day, it was an nounced toy f (Luther Bennett, charge lay leader^ CAKE SALE The Grace Methodist church WSCS will sponsor a cake and pie sale at Reba's Dress Shop on Battleground avenue Fri day beginning at 9 a. m. First 34 ladies purchasing a cake or pie will receive a free nylon slip from the store, Dan Weiss, owner of the firm announced. LOGAN TO SPEAK Police Chief (Hugh A. Logan, Jr., will speak at the regular Wednesday evening prayer service at First Predbyterlan church October 20th at 7 o' clock. The program is a part of the1 emphasis toeing {plaoed toy the church on Home Missions. ? . , i i -1 JATCEES (Regular meeting of tfi? . J|l nior Chamber of Commerce will toe held Tuesday night at 7 o'clock fit Masonic hall. COURT Or HONOS Regular Court of Honor for the Kings Mountain Boy Scout district will convene at City Hall courtroom at 7:45 Thurs day evening. A Scouter 'Bound table will follow the Court of Honor. LINDA PLONK Linda Plonk, six-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Wray Plonk, is recuperating satisfac torily from a broken /neck she sustained two Weeks ago." Members of her family antici pate her discharge from Char lotte Men* ><lal hospital over the weekend. However, the will be required to wear a cast and total recuperation will re quire several months, physici ans say. ? OPTIMISTS HOST* The Kings Mountain Optimist club will be host to Zone VI oJ t District 18, Optimist Interna tional, at the Woman's club will * ' <: ' ??' .<1 No Immediate Need Indicated For Rationing ^ ? Kings Mountain's short water supply dwindled further during the past week, but there appear ed not lromeditae urgency for the city to impose strict ration ing as many other communities have. Consumption had dropped dur ing the week ending Tuesday to an average of 428,000 gallons of finished water per day and the Gold (Mine shaft began furnish ing water again Tuesday night at 9 o'clock. ' ^ E. C. Nicholson^ city public works superintendent, said the next two weeks will be a major test period, as he estimated po water could be obtained from the new Davidson Creek auxili ary reservoir before October 26 at the earliest. He said November 1 would foe the more likely date for the Davidson dam cut - in. Use of the Davidson source a-* waits impounding of water suf ficient to top the base intake valve, setting of the pump in stallation toy Contractor O. O. Walker, and power cut-in, Mr. Nicholson said. Meantime, the main reservoir water level on.iYork Road con tinues to drop slid is now only five feet above the ^ottom intake valve. The level has been drop ping daily, with the Gold Mine shaft furnishing wafer only part time until Tuesday n|ght. The Gold Mine shaft is now being pumped at a depth qf 240 feet, result of adding 20 feet of pipe. Mr. Nicholson has estimated that tb* maximum depth attainable is 200 feet. To make the recent pipe addition, the city had re quired parts made to order Jftr Petty Machine Shop, Gastonia. The parts, shipped from Arkan sas, are reported lost in transit. Davidson Creek dam water le vel is slowly rising, Mr. Nichol- 1 f ViMkUtid On Page Bight NEW PASTOR ? Rev. W. C, Sides. Jr. above. Is the new pas tor of Grace Methodist church succeeding Rev. C. L. Grant. The Sides family moved into the church parsonage last Wednes day from High Point, where Mr. Sides was pastor of Lebanon Methodist church. Kiwanis Club Completes Voting The Kings Mountain Kiwanis club completed Its annual elec tion of officers at last Thursday night's meeting. Harold Cogglns, veteran club secretary, was named second vice-president, and seven direc tors elected Included John Ches hire, I. Ben Goforth Jr.. Ed Goter, W. S. Fulton, Jr., Wliliam Hern don, Henry Neisler, and W. T. Weir. ^ ' The club had previously elected J. C. Bridges president and B. S. Peeler, Jr., aecond vtce-presktent. All newly elected officers will take office in .January, with Dr. W. P. Gerberdlng, current presi 1 vni. i., v,- as an ex officio di rector. * j . . *?iUtg ?' raffaiK ^ \ Cttplwnting Apptjiftce Dealers, PIhwks For oiipMtt';lhi Gas . ' ; ' . r-. ^ Hie city board of commission era is Inviting plumbers and po tential retailers of ?as burning appliances to a meeting at City Hall, Monday night at 7 o'clor : to discuss phases of gas service installations. V ' ?'? ; Specifically, the city wants to see If private enterprise can and will handle the selling end of obtaining gas customers for the city. Construction on the system is scheduled to fcegin Monday, the contractor having indicated !;? la ready to bsgln work on the transmission and feeder lines and having rented a portion of tiie American legion hall for a workshops > t : Decision to discuss tip Mies and i^rvU'f phase of the -business was made after discission arose at Tuesday night's special meet tagon the problem. Specifically, Vincent Beadium, the city*? gag and to '"dv^th appliances In houses. The board members were not enthusiastic, and Bill Edwards, Barnard * Burk representative, suggested t'i4.t It would be wise, in event local service men and appliance dealers could handle the Job, to avoid this portion of the work. ? "Of course, you must have cus tomers," Mr. Edwards continued, suggesting that the city should n't get into (his phase of the business M private enterprise would handie the jrtta "at fait prices". : In other discussion on the gas business, Supt. of Public Works E. C Nicholson, reminded that the city would need ? gas In. < spector, to insure compliance with installation requirements, and Mayor Glee Bridges rer ,..u ed the board that the revenue bond Issue will require especial ly elose add careful bookkeep lng. In turn, the board voted' to transfer all gas monies Into a | ' Continued On Fng? Might jfc Citv Gets Bad Bookkeeping J) arks Lennon Will Join Bank December 1 Mullins Banker Will Succeed L. E. Abbott Richard S. (Dick) Lennon, Mullins, S. C., banker, has been elected vice-president and cashier of First National Bank here by the board of directors, President F. R. Summers announced Wed nesday. V.-.1 Mr. Lennon will succeed L. E. Abbott, who will terminate his duties at First National Friday to join a new bank at Gaffney, S. c. Mr. Lennon will join the first National on December 1. A native of Rowland, Mr. Len non began his banking experience at the Bank of Rowland, where he sptent 11 years, the final two years as cashier. He then joined the Davis National Bank at Mul lins, and has served as cashier] for eight of his ten years at the Mullins institution. Four years a go, he became a membter of the bank's board of directors. He has served for several years as Coun ty Key banker and a member of the agricultural committee of the South Carolina Bankers associa tion. Active in civic and religious af fairs, Mr. Lennon is currently a deacon of Mullins Presbyterian church, a past chairman of the board of deacons, a Master Ma son and a member of the Civitan ?plub. He Has also been active in the district Boy Scout organiza tion. Mrs. Lennon is thte former Miss Alice McLaurin, a daughter, of | Rev. L. A. McLaurin, a retired Presbyterian minister. The Len nons have two children, Mac Len non, age 14, and Sara Rose Len non, age 11. They texpect to occupy the resi dence on Ridge street which has just been vacated by the Abbott family.' ? , On announcement of Mr. Len non's moving to Kings Mountain, the Mullins Enterprise comment ed: "The ten tire Lennon family has been popular in all circles of the community and the announce, ment of his resignation and ac ceptance of the position in Kings Mountain comes as a distinct sur prise to their many friends who regret (exceedingly that Mr. Len non's new position will take him and his family elsewhere to live." W. G. Poole, president of the board of directors of Davis Na tional Bank stated, "Mr. Lennon has served the bank faithfully and very effectively since he came to us from the Bank of Rowland and it is with much regret that his resignation has been accepted. We, as well as his many friends, shall miss him from his accus tomed place. We wish for him and his family the very beit of everything in thteir new home." Bottler Seeks $214)00 Damages Suit to recover alleged dam ages totalling 121,000 was enter ed In Cleveland County Superior Court this week against Fred Lockrldgte, Kings Mountain truck er, by Kings Mountain Beverage Company, Inc. The complaint, signed by Pete Smith, allocs that the company suffered $21,000 in damages due to physical loss and loss of busi ness resulting from damage to a bottling and capping machine, which fell off a Lockridge truck on September 4. The accident allegedly occurr ed in the process of Lockrldge's moving the bottling plant to the York HO ad building formerly oc cupied by Novelite Venetian Blind company. The complaint also charges negligence on the part of the trucker. Mr. Lockridge, who has 30 days 40 answer the complaint, said he had conferred with attorneys and would file an answer in the near future. TO COKVEJfTlOK . Hie Chi' and Mrs. . t. ? Pat Tlgnor will leave Saturday for Houston, Tex., where they will attend the annual convention of the National Fire chiefs as TO FIRST NATIONAL ? Richard S. Lennon, of Mullins, S. C<? will join First National bank as vice president and cashier on Decem ber 1. He will occupy the vacan cy created by the resignation of L. E. Abbott Carpenter Gives Report On Taxes . ? City taxes for 1954 received ! through Wednesday at 1 o'clock totaled $73,107.11, it was report ed by city tax supervisor Clar ence E. Carpenter. The collections to date total more than 44 percent of the cur rent year's property levy of.$165> 079.41. The total levy includes $162,655.41 from the $1.70 tax rate on real and personal proper ty and $2,424 from the $2 poll tax levy. Mr. Carpenter also gave a de tailed breakdown on property val uations, showing the corporate values within the city total $4, 419,788, while values of property owned by individuals totals $5, 148,177. Tht grand total of all , property valuations is $9,567,965. Corporations own real estate valued at $2,993,044, machinery, inventory, furniture and fixtures valued at $875,125, and motor ve hicles valued at $94,605. In addi tion, corporations such as South ern Railway Company, Duke Po wer Company and others own pro perty valued on thie city's books I at $457,014. Realty holdings by individuals are valued at $4,079,027, stock, furniture and fixtures at $138, 445, motor vehicles at $735,039, personal property at>ove the $300 personal exemption at $118,475, and all other personal property at $77,191. Mis. Sellers Council Head Mrs. Edg^r Sellfcrs has been named president of the Kings Mountain Council of Churchwo men, succeeding Mrs. Lewis Ho vis, who resigned due to the press of other duties. Mrs. Sellers said Wednesday the council would sponsor the an nual Kings Mountain observance of World Community Day on No vember 5. Other officers of 'the council are Mrs. James Carroll, vice-pre sident, Mrs. F. R. McCurdy, sec retary, Mrs. Plato Hteavener, his torian, Mrs. Donald W. Blanton, treasurer, Mrs. Paul E. Hendricks is chairman of the publicity com mittee and Mrs. Ben Goforth is magazine committee chairman. Theme of the November 5 ob servance will be *'Lfet the Children Come To Me". Registrars Hod . Unbuy Saturday Majority of the county's regis trars had an unbusy day at thte polling places last Saturday. Mrs. i. H. Arthur, West Kings Mountain registrar, said she add ed two names to the books for the November 2 voting. The registration period for tha general election, continues throu gh Saturday, October 23, and the registrars will be at the polling places for two more Saturdays. Registrars pointed out that per sons who have become 21, as well as those who have changed resi dence, should check the books to accomplish registration in the -*? P pr6C3BBide . . ? CPA's Month-Old Letter Reveals Tickets Quashed, Budget Oveispent The city Rot 1>ad marks for bookkeeping during its 1953-54 fiscal year, a letter to the Mayor and board of commissioners from Auditor K. II. Cooke, Shelby CPA, reveals. ! Mr. Cooke stated that the city overspent its budget by $109,418. 18, in violation of state statute, called attention to absence of re cords required to verify certain accounts, called attention to. the lack of internal control over pur chases, and noted that only 272 of 1,650 parking meter violation :tickets had been paid. He also \ criticized the method 'of handling meter collections. | Auditor Cooke also said book keeping procedures in the city tax office were improper, resulting in much additional work for the i auditing firm, but reported that I the accounts balanced. j The Cooke letter was dated September 14, 1954. Mr. Cooke told the Herald Wed nesday that the full audit report had been in the hands of the city sinde the weekend of the county fair. No mention of receipt of the audit has been made by city of ficials. Mr. Cooke stated that state statutes require publication of a i summarized statement of re ceipts and disbursements of the i city. The city paid Mr. Cooke $200 ! additional ,over his original bid for the audit work. Mr. Cooke said he had asked twice the $200 j extra due to the considerable a [mount of extra work which re I suited. It was previously reported iby the city clerk (following a | special commissioner"* meeting ] of which the press Was not in formed and therefore not pre sent) that the extra $200 had :been paid Mr. Cooke for further i bookkeeping instruction. The letter from Mr. Cooke also informed the board that PoWell | Bill road money from the state ; must be used for street purposes 'only, but Mr. Cooke told the i Herald he was merely impress i ing on the board the importance | of meeting the terms of the law in respect to PoWell Bill money ! expenditures and did not intend to infer that the money was il legally expended. Text of the letter to the Mayor iand Board of commissioners from Auditor Cook follows: "In connection with the audit of the City of Kings Mountain, ' North Carolina for the fiscal year ending June 30,4954 K Is my de sire to make certain explanations and comments in connection with the audit as well as criticisms and recommendations. "Budget and Expenditures ? Your attention is called to an overexpendlture of the budget in the amount of $109,418.18 partly ;due to expenditure of bond mon ies which had not been budgeted and I am advised by the Mayor that part is due to emergencies which arose in connection with the utilities. Your knowledge of course makes it unnecessary for me to comment on the law in con nection therewith. "In the course of the audit it was not practicable for me to per form the proper kind of service on verification of receipts which have been required because of the absence of records of original en ? Continued On Page Eight <3> ? ? ? ? ? ^ * SING HERE SUNDAY ? The Sunshine Boys, movie, television and radio gospel singers, will be among the featured singers here Sun day for the gospel song festival being sponsored by Second Baptist church Men's Bible class. Also singing on the program will be Elmo Fagg's Blue Ridge quartet of Spartanburg. S. C. The event will bo gin at the high school auditorium at 2 o'clock Sunday afternoon. Club To Present 51st Floral Fair Water Law Violators Will Get Warnings Chief of Police Hugh A. Lo gan, Jr., was instructed Tues day night to warn several city water customers that they are violating the city water con sumption ordinance and that further violation will result in prosecution. The board of commissioners issued the instructions after a discussion of a Crescent Hill citizen's water billing, which totaled 21.000 gallons for the recent month. Name of the citi zen was not mentioned though it was stated that the citizen lives in a four-room residence. Assistant City Clerk Joe Mc Daniel said Wednesday that October 1 hillings indicated at least ten customers were viola ting the ordinance. The action of the commis- I sioners instructed the clerk to prepare a list of persons billed for abnormally high consump tion in September, the list for use of the chief in Issuing per sonal warnings to the custo- I mers. Attention was called by board members to the findings of a woman in Gastonia Mon day for breaking the Gastonia water consumption ordinance. Kings* Mountain's restric tions provide that no water shall be used for car washing, lawn or garden watering, or any other unnecessary use. Conviction of violation could result in a fine of $25 and 30 days in jail. Contracts For Sewage Tank. Lines Let Provisionally At $164,309 ?? . ' - . , ? " " " - ? " ? The elty let contacts for building a new ivlcGIll creek sewage disposal tank and sew age lines Tuesday night to low bidder* among 21 firms seeking the two city jobs. Total of the two bids was $164,309. The contracts were let provi sionally, the resolution provid ing that the contracts be effec tive on receipt of a court order to proceed with the work on land of Paul Mauney the city seeks by condemnation. The contract for the sewage disposal tank, At $115,799, went to Terry Construction Company, Greenvill^ S. C., which was low to Gilbert Engineering Company, rnmmm*.. The contract for the sewage lines went to Mldstate Con tractors of Hickory, at $48,570, which edged out another Hic kory firm. Reed A A bee, at $48, 950.20. Action was unanimous with all mo rubers except Commission - l?r T. J. Ellison preserit and vot In* Mr. Ellison was absent. The low bids compared with the high bids for both contracts entered by Shocwalter Company, at $220,434 for the tank and $69, 623 on the sewage line construc tion. Hearing on the Mauney con demnation proceedings has been set for 10 o'clock Friday morning before Clerk of Court Paul Mon roe, of Gaston county, City At torney J. H. Davis said. Mr. Mau ney is fighting condemnation of 256 acres of property adjoining the pi%sent McGill tank, which the city seeks as the site of the new plant. The city attorney said he had no doubt but that the condemnation would *y> effectu ated soon. In other actions Tuesday night the board: 1) Voted to meet with REA of ficials to discuss terms of trans fer of Lake Montonia Road city electrical customers to REA. 2) Voted to advertise for bids Continued On Pag ? Eight Annual Event At Woman's Club Next Wednesday The Kings Mountain Woman's club's 51st annual flower show, ("Autumn Harvest", will be pre sented at the Woman's club Wed nesday with officials predicting a bigger and better fair than in 1953. Theme of the show is "Autumn ! Flowers and Fruits", and, as cus jtomary, entries #in the show are being invited from the public. Mrs. P. E. Hendricks, publicity chairman, said Tuesday that the bazaar division of t]?e fair will open at 10 o'clock nex? Wednes day morning with the uower dl visioh to be opened to the public at 12:30. Full schedule of competitions and exhibitions for the 1954 Floral Fair is published on page 2, this section. Lunch will be served from 11:30 until 2 p. m., and dinner will be served from 5:30 until 7:30 p. m., when the floral fair [closes. Admission is 50 cents for adults and 10 cents for children, with all proceeds to go to the club building fund. In the flower division, first, se cond, and third place ribbons and honorable mentions will be a warded for the best entries In each class, and a s weeps ta1' a* ward seal will be given to the entrant winning most blue rib bons. Tricolor seats wll] also be awarded to best entries in the horticulture and arrangements di visions. Three cash awards will be given in the Junior division. Mrs. John L. McGllL is general chairman in the floWer show divi sion, and members of the general planning committee are Mrs. Lu ther Cansler, Mrs. George Hor ser, Mrs. J. M. Cooper, Mrs. Au brey Mauney, and Mrs. Denver King. Kiwanis To Heaz Gastonia Editor Lyle Edwards, executive news editor of the Gastonia Gazette, will address members of the Kings Mountain Kiwanis club at their Thursday night meeting. Mr, Edwards will appear in connection with the observance ' of National Newspaper Week, ac cording to announcement by B: S. Peeler, Jr., who arranged the pro gram. The club meets at Masonic Din ing Hall at 6:45.