I
The Day
The Gypsies
Hit Town
IS CPA Award
Winninff Newspaper
VOL. 87 NO. 44
kinG9 MOUMTNn
MIRROR-HGRI^LD
KINaS MOUNTAIN, NORTH CAROLINA MOM THURSDAY, NOVRBIRER11,1»7«
15‘
ByTOMMeINTYRE
Editor, Bnrror-Henld
■nie gypolM hit town About 4 p.
m. Monday.
Tliera wero at loaot 80 of thorn,
maybo moro. It was dllXlcult to
(ot an accurate haad-count.
niay moved about comtantly.
And they wont to the bathroom a
lot.
By 7:80 p. m. u of thorn had
boon arrooted, charged with
Common Law robbery of The !;
Pantry In Rutherfordton.
During that four and a half
hour period Kings Mountain’s
city haU looked like a disaster ji
area. It Is sale to say the local
government aftldala and em
ployes now have a fair Idea of :
what the good folks In AUante ;
went through when General
Sherman launched hla hlstcrle
bhtB.
Sgt. Johnny Belk and Ptl. Billy j
Benton were on patrol when the
alert to watch for the suspects I
came down from Rutherfordton i
PD.
"We stopped the first car and |
with the assistance of the Gaston |
Rural PoUce brought aU seven ;
vehicles to dty hall,” Sgt. Belk |
said.
Behind city hall the 60 or ao !
gypsies, who called themaelvea i
"Yugoslavians,” piled out of
their vehicles. There were old
men and women, young men and
women and children ranging
horn babea-ln-arma to thigh-
high.
And most of the women were
pregnant.
TTie man had long, sllcksd-
back hair and the women and
children wore such an array of
colorful clothing they resembled
faded rainbows. The whole
group looked like a ralned-on
parade.
About 4 iiS p. m., answering a
: sununons from the local police,
: Lt J. Van Holland and PtL
i isirry Hawkins of the Ruthor-
i fOrdton PoUoe arrived with two
; women olerks from 'Die Pantry
: In tow.
Piecing the story together
: amid the hysterical babbling
; edwlng throughout city haU, the
; two cleiks said about 10 of the
■ gypsies had entered the store
I around 2:80 p. m. Monday,
! managed to separate the two
1: clerks and drag them away from
I the cash register to ask the
prices of various Items on
: display.
"Hie old woman with the wild
i hair and the fierce eyes stayed
; near the register," one of ths
; clerks said.
When the group left the theft
: of "an undisclosed” amount of
i cash from the register was
discovered.
About 6 p. m. local fuUtlme
I and auxlUary officers were
: dtepatched around town to round
i up the wandering tribe. All were
i herded Into council chambers at
; city haU for Uie dow process of
: Identifying, Isolating and quee-
tlonlng the suRieets to begin,
j Bye:80p.m., because a board
; of commissioners meeting was
: scheduled at 7:80 p. m., the
i gypsies wore ushered out of the
council room. A custodial
engineer was sent In to open the
i windows, scrub the place down
: and open room deodorisers. The
j stench of stale sweat and gningy
i bodies permeated the air.
The gypsies took up a position
ii In the corridor. The bodies were
i so thick the officers had to step
i over them to pass.
■me gypsy men remained very
quiet throughout the Incident,
j butthe womsnand children kept
up a constant high-pitched
running foreign language
conversations. However, there
: were a few American expleUves
: salted Into the rapid-fire
dialogue.
Now and th«i, when the
chUdren threatened to outahout
them the women went up side
the youngsters' heads with open
palma
PoUce Chief Earl Uoyd called
on the women enroUed In a basic
poUca sdence course to assist In
handling the crowd. The chief
said a daas was scheduled
Moadsy Mght, but "a UtUe on
the JOb training" would serve
jiHt as weU as ths class.
KMPD PO. Mike landers may
have to return to school to re-
team English after Monday’s
(Please Turn To Page 2A)
Beginning Thanksgiving Week
Mirror-Herald To Publish Twiee-Weekly
After three years and three
months In Kings Mountain General
PubUriilng Co. wUl begin pubUshlng
■me Mirror-Herald twice weekly.
The first edition wUl go to sub-
ecrlbers on Mon., Nov. 22 and the
second edition for Thanksgiving
week will be out on Wed., Nov. 24.
The normal schedule for
pubUcaOon wfll be Tuesdays and
Thursdaya The one-day earlier
deadUnee wlU be observed the week
of November 21 because of the poet
office closing schedule for Thanks-
•Mag.
PubUsher Garland Atkins said this
week "growth In business and In
terest In the community for a local
pubUcatlon of more than once
weekly were the deciding factors In
Increasing 'me Mirror-Herald to a
tvrice-weekly.”
Atkina ssddthe Tuesday edition, at
first, wlU be "one section of news
and advertising. The Thursday
edition WlU continue to be two to
Uiree sectlona. We hope that In the
near future, as the community
grows, wo will be able to give sub
scribers two laigar adWons each
W66k.*'
MTth the additional edition each
week comes some changes. News
and advertlMng deadlines wlU be
changed to accommodate
pubUcatlon. News deadlines wlU be
set at 10 a. m. Monday for Tuesday's
edition and 10 a. m. Wednesday for
mursday’s edtUon.
Advertising deadlines wlU be 8:80
p. m. Friday for Tuesday’s edition
and 8:80 p. m. Tuesday for Hiur-
sday’s edition.
These deadlines must be strictly
observed.
Advertising rates will offer
merchants and businessmen a
bonus. For an ad run in Tuesday’s
edition the regular ad rate wlU be
charged. However, If the advertiser
wishes to repeat Tuesday’s ad In the
Thursday edition there wlU be a
decreased rate. The same sUdlng
rate scale wlU be offered for ads run
Ttiursday and repeated the f oUowlng
Tuesday.
C2aaslfled advertisers wlU also
receive a bonus for two runs each
week. A flat rate of 88 for two wlU be
offered. For one Insertion each week
The Mirror-Herald wUl continue to
charge fl.60 for a minimum of 20
words and an additional eight cents
per word over 20 words. AU
classified ads are payable In ad
vance. The Mirror-Herald does not
blU for classified atte. DeadUnes for
classified ads are the same as for
display ads.
Current subscribers wlU receive
the Tuesday edition ot The Mirror-
Herald at no additional coat until
subscriptions come up for renewal.
(Please Turn To Page 2A)
City - Red Cross CPR Progreun
‘Be A Lifesaver’
"Be A Ufesaver.”
That’s the theme of a Joint Kings
MOiaitaIn and American Red Cross
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation
program begun this week.
The goal is to have 78 percent of
the city’s population knowledgeable
la methods for saving the Uves of
Ihalr feUow man In emergencies.
At Monday night’s commissioners
meeting a resolution was passed to
oo-q>anaor the program. Mayor
John H. Moss and Commissioners
James CMlders, Humes Houston,
Corbet Nicholson, BlU Gh-lseom and
Fred Wright signed on to take the
first course. Commissioner Norman
King was absent from the meeting.
Mrs. Marilyn Hamilton and
George (Sandy) Mauney, Jr.,
members of the Red Cross chapter
In Cleveland County, brought the
project to the local government
attention.
Mauney said he became Interested
in the Cardiopulmonary
Resuscitation (CPR) project whUe
watching a program on "80
Minutes” on the subject. "The
program pointed out that about 20
percent of the population of Seattle,
Wash., was qualified in CPR after
such programs were held there,"
Mauney said. "That means
thousands of men and women in
Seattle are capable of administering
lifesaving techniques If such
emergencies arise.”
lOngs Mountain Rescue Squad
Captain, Bob Hope, said Monday
night, “Thousands of Uves have been
saved because ordinary cltisens took
the time to learn up to date methods
of lifesaving through special class
programs."
The Kings Mountain program
(Please ’Turn To Page 8A)
By KM Appearance Committee
Yule Beauty Plans Made
Pkato By Tam MeMyre
PLANNINO CPR COURSES - Sirs. Blarllyii Hamlltoa aad Sandy
Mauney of Kings Moantaln were the motivating forces behind the
organisation of a City of Kings Mountain-Amerloan Red Cross sponsored
Oardiopalmoiiary Resusltatlon ccsirse for local cltisens.
} Mayor Moss WUl Send Yule Cards
For the eleventh consecutive year that families of service men and
i; Mayor John H. Moss wUl send women please caU hla office - 788-
Christmas greeting cards to mUl- 2868 -and leave names and ad-
ii tary personnel from Kings Mountain dresses.
serving aU over the world. The cards wlU go to those In active
To assist the mayor, he has asked service and In veterans hospitals.
Kings Mountain’s Appearance Plans for the contest, as weU as
Commission will sponsor a holiday beautification of tht
Christmas decorating contest and downtown area, were discussed at a
Sarah Frances (Mrs. David) Faunce meeting of the Commlsskin Tuesday
wUl serve as chairman. at a luncheon at KM Couitiry Chib.
Roark To
Dedicate
Facilities
Shelby Mayor Lester Roark win
officially dedicate (teover’s new fba
station and renovated Town HaB
Sunday In ceremonies at 8 p. m.
Highlighting the occasion wlU be
the unveiling of portraits of Grovsr'a
former mayors which are an aft
dltlon to the Town Hall meatteg
room and were provided by tha
town’s historical committee of
which Mrs. B. A. Harry Is chalrraaa.
After the dedicatory remarks by
Shelby Mayor Roark and greetiaga
by Grover Mayor W. W. McCarter,
visitors will be given a tour of the
new facilities and refreshments wlU
be served until 6 p. m.
Also participating on the program
will be members of the Town Board
of Aldermen, Dean Westmorelaad,
Tommy Keeter and Mrs. Martha
Byers.
Roark Is a native of Grover.
LESTER ROARK
....Mayor of Shelby
For ^Dressing Up’ Buildings
No Design Commitments Downtown
No firm oomnUttmente have been made by any downtown Kings
MoiBitaln busliwaemen with any architectural firm to design methods for
“dressing up” buildings, but Charles Blanton aald this week he hopes
something concrete will be made by December first.
Blanton, who chairs a committee for downtown revltallsatlm for the
Chamher cf Commerce, said the committee has held a second meeting
with Jim Martin and Ken Bell, both associates of C. Crawford Murphy,
PA, of Shelby to discuss plans.
"We have a little seed money to work with now,” Blanton aald. "It
came from the private funds which were set up back In the eariy I660’s by
downtownbuslneasmen when we first began talking about dressing up the
backs of our buildings.
"Maybe tide aeed money can go toward the architectural fees for
designs and colors to be used,” Blanton aald. "It couldnt be used by In
dividual for hla or her own building work."
At this point Blanton aald he and BUI Brown of Belka are the only two
who have said they are ready to do business with the Murphy firm.
Blanton said he has talked with other buslnesemen, but declined to say
whether any others are ready to make a committment at this time.
"in our committee meeting,” Blanton aald, "we decided It would be
bettor for three to five bualneasmen to go Into a contract with the ar
chitect at the same time.”
Jim Martin said, "We felt It might be more of an Incentive for aU of the
businessmen in downtown Kings Mountain to make a move If about five of
them took the Initial step."
Martin said the Idea of a canopy was discussed again, but he said he
didn’t think the merchants were vltaUy Interested In the canopy as a first
stage of design. He aald that he agreed that should a group of
buslnesamen hire the Murphy firm to begin designs he would be Justified
In going ahead with some designs for a canopy which could be considered
at a later date.
Blantan said the architects are to check with the Kings Mountain
Redevelopment Cbmmlsslan about Its participation on the canopy. "We
understood that this was legal If the canopy was designed as free
standing, notattached to any buUdlng surface,” he said.
The downtown committee Includes Blanton, owner of KM Drug; John
McGinnis, a partner In McGinnis Department Store; W. S. (Corky)
Fulton m, Fulton’s Department Store; and Lyn Cheshire, of Blaser
Realty and Construction and Patterson OU Co. Cheshire Is president of
the Chamber of Commerce and Merchants Association.
Mrs. Faunce will announce full
plans for the contest In the next tew
days.
City crews will build eight 60 Inch
Christmas stars and Install them,
four on each side, of the Southern
Railway In the downtown area. Mrs.
George Houser, Mrs. James B.
Herndon and Mayor John Moss will
superintend the project which also
calls for decorating of yule trees In
the business district, In the Mini
Park and In the new parking mall
area. The Commission also ap-
(Flease Turn To Page 2A)
RR Crossings
WiU Be Blocked
For Repair Work
Some railroad crossings will be
blocked, beginning Monday, for
repairs and later resurfacing, ac
cording to announcement by CXirtls
Reid of Gastonia, track supervisor.
The repair work will start with thg
Mountain St. crossings and two or
three crossings will be blocked each
day until the work Is completed, said
Reid.
Open House
Set Tuesday
At KMS High
Open House will be held Tuesday
evening at 7:80 p. m. at Kings
Mountain Senior High School and the
red caipet Is out for all Kings
Mountain area cltisens to attend and
tour the facility.
Principal Forrest Wheeler said a
short program of greetings will be
held at 7:80 p. m. In Barnes
Auditorium with Supt. Donald Jones
and Student Council President
Wesley Narron participating.
Members of Future Teacher’s
Chapter, ot which Mrs. Ben T.
Goforth Is sponsor, will conduct
guided tours of the facility and
members of the Food Service Staff
will serve refreshments.
Parents with students at KM8HS
will be given opportunity to observe
their student’s schedule and meet
their student's teachers.
"We Invite everyone to attend to
this program which Is a first for our
high school,’’’ said Principal
Wheeler.