r
THE THURSDAY BXTION
■i'
VOL. 88 NO. 10
THUBBDAY, FEBRUABY 8,1VT1
mC^ MOUMTWM
MIRROR-H€R^LD
15'
February 8 & 15
Development Grant
Hearings Planned
v1>*
m
Hy TOM MCINTYRE
Editor, MliTor-HerAld
Public hearings to discuss
programs for the third year of
Community Development Block
Orant funding are scheduled for
Tuesday, Feb. 8 and 16 at 7:80 p. m.
at city hall.
Mayor John H. Moss said, "We
will evaluate existing programs
funded under the CD program, such
as the home based child care
project, program for the aging,
expanaltm of water and sewer
facilities, recreation facilities,
streets, sidewalks and Im
provements at the city’s parks. Deal
St. and Davidson."
In addltlmi, during the public
hearings the city council will hear
proposals for new community
programs for CD funding. Persons
or groups with proposals In mind
should contact Mayor Moss' office
tor assistance In understanding
guidelines and In developing
proposals.
The five year program was
awarded Kings Mountain under tha
Federal Housing and Community
Development Act of 1874. The total
amount earmarked for the city waa
$4,160,000 to be funded over the fivo
year period.
The third year entitlement Is
$1,040,000, the same as the first two
years. In 1978, the entitlement drops
School, Gty
Election Is *
October 11
On Tues., Oct. 11 three com-
.ntssloners and two Kings Mountain
District Schools board members will
be elected here.
The seats In districts two, five and
six are up for grabs In the municipal
election. These seats are currently
held by Commissioners Humes
Houston, William R. Ortssom and
Fred Wright Jr.
On the school board Tommy
Bridges of Kings Mountain and P. A.
Cnp) Francis will be i4> for
reelectlon.
Luther Bennett, chairman of the
Kings Mountain Board of Elections,
said, "The county will handle the
school board election while we
handle the municipal election. In the
school election, cltlsens residing In
the KM district, which Includes
Grover and Bethware, will vote. For
the municipal election, only those
citizens residing In the corporate
limits may vote.”
Filing tor candidates In the city
ejection will begin at noon on Frl.,
Aug. 19 and end at noon on Frl., Sept.
16. The usual commissioner can
didate fUlng fee la $5, but the city
board has the authority to Increase
that to not more than one percent of
the annual salary of a com
missioner.
candidates will file wldi either
Chairman Bennett or elections
board secretaiy Betty Mercler.
Democrats
To Organize
On Thursday
Organizational meetings of both
Bast and West Kings Mountain
Praclnct Democrats are scheduled
tor Thurs., Feb. 10.
The meetings will begin at 8 p. m.,
with East KM Democrato meeting at
the community center and West
KMers at the National Guard Ar
mory.
During the meetings chairmen
and vice chairmen and delegates to
the CleveUnd County Democratic
Convention will be elected. The
convention Is scheduled for noon.
Sat., Mar. 19 at the county cour
thouse In Shelby.
Serving as chairmen presenUy are
Charles T. Carpenter, West KM, and
CharUe Moss, East KM.
to $698,000 and In 1979 to $847,000.
The guidelines list actlvlUes which
are eligible for funding and this
Includes:
Acquisition of property which Is
blighted and is appropriate for
rehabilitation; construction of
public facilities; loans and grants
for rehabilitation of buildings;
demolition of Ixilldlngs and Im
provements; Improvements to
remove barriers to mobility to
handicapped and elderly persons;
payments for temporsuy housing
for persons displaced by community
development; disposition of
property acquired through com
munity development activities;
provision of public services which
are not otherwise available and are
needed to support other community
development activities; payment of
city’s sliare required In a federal
grant-ln-ald program; cost of
completion an existing urban
renewal project; relocating
payments; planning costs; and
administrative costs.
Programs not eligible tor CD
funding Include;
Facilities tor general government
use such as city halls, courthouses,
police stations and other municipal
buildings; stadiums, sports arenas,
auditoriums, concert halls, cultural
and art centers, conventlm centers
and museums; schools (except
neighborhood or senior centers
having classrooms; airports,
subways, trolly lines, bus, or other
transit terminals and transportation
facilities for general public use
(except' neighborhood or senior
centers); hospitals or other medical
facilities for general public use
(except neighborhood or senior
centers); operating and main
tenance expenses (except for
eligible activities); general
governmental expenses; political
expenses; new housing con-
■Iructlon; and tnoonaa payments.
T 1-
A
H
The
Swing/
\Moun'^
ft
\mT-/
^cers
1 pm RAM
SENIOR CITIZENS TO PERFORM - Here’s Hie
Kings Mountain Senior Cltlsens Band, which will
perform at the community center on February 11
during the OalUomla duties basketball game. Band
members Indnde, frost raw, left to right, Jolla Roberts,
Both Bnrtls, Fbnle OMiaa, Nela Morrow, Daisy
Photo Br Gary Stewart
McCurry, Eaale Davis and Orayson Davla. Second row,
Ellen Petrosino, WlUle Bratton, Mime Gladden, Annie
dst, Kars Martin, Maggie Hnllender and Ella Oibaoa.
Back row, Oussle Bolton, Biddle Barrett, Bessie Mills,
Lydia Mitchell, Florence Oamril and Beotoh Blanney.
/
'D (
Through People Ofoperation
Even In Crisis,
Gty Gas Holding
OUTITNO WOOD — With the natural gas shortage
reaching the critical stage and threatening rationing of
residential energy, several persons who have fireplaces
and wood-bumlng heaters have turned to mother
Photo By Gary Stewart
nature for their fuel sigrply. In photo above, David
Hughes of Kings Mountain cuts firewood from a
truckload of wood he hauled from a local saw mlU.
Cold? Burn Wood
winter has thrown the country Into
a panic.
Natural gas Is miming cut and
now we are told that alternate
beating and manufacturing fuels are
coming Into short sunply.
Unemployment la rising at an
alarming rate all over North
Carolina and the nation because
ptonts are closing due to no fuel.
Schools are being closed In many
areas because It Is Just too cold In
classrooms for students to work.
In Kings Mountain students have
missed a coiple of days because of
heavy and sudden snowfalls, but
those days will be made up at the
end of the year. Students here are
■Htr going to classes at 8:80 a. m.,
while In Gaston County classes do
not begin until 9 a. m., an effort to
conserve ftiel.
Also In Kings Mountain the
majority of the city’s Industrial
customers on the natural gas system
do have alternate fuels and have
long since switched to them. So far It
Is business as usual sind there have
been no reported large layoffs.
What has happened here is a
community-wide spirit of
cooperation and sacrifice. Citizens
are adherelng to the request to keep
thermostats at low degrees to
conserve gas consumption. The
city’s gas department has a
morttoiing system set up at the
pubUc works offices and employes
keep a constant check on the
readiitas to dslermlne whure the
demands are being made. When this
hiq^ens the department can curtail
gas 1 In one or two leas vital areas
and step up the feed to the Important
demand areas.
The city also has a propane air
system which csm, when working
full capacity, auiqilement the dty’a
natund gas allotment up to 36
percent. To date the propane air
system has not been called on for
help.
A1 Moretz, city planner, told The
Mirror-Herald. "We have the people
and their cooperation to thank first,
and secondly the monitoring system
which allows us to know when and
where the demands are needed.
“We have been extremely for
tunate so far,” Moretz said. "But the
crisis Is far from over and we urge
ctUzens continued co<9eratlon to
conserve as much of the natural gas
supplied by the city as possible,’’ he
continued.
By Gary Stewart
Staff Reporter
With the natural gas shortage
getting more critical each day and
electric bills continuing to
skyrocket. Kings Mountain and area
citizens are turning more and more
to natural fuel . . . wood.
Those with fireplaces and wood-
bumlng heaters are putting them to
use and firewood dealers are seeing
their business skyrocket like the
price of fuel.
One local dealer who advertises In
the Mirror-Herald said he’s been
busy all winter cutting and
delivering wood and has finally had
to turn people down. To date, he’s 88
loads behind.
Most dealers advertise firewood
"all hard wood, any length" for as
little as $20 a pickup truck load.
Anyone who has had to cut wood will
tell you that’s a bargain.
Others have turned to saw mills
for real bargains In firewood. Most
mills In the area sell slabs for as
little as two dollars a pickup truck
load and some mills give away strips
to use for kindling.
One area saw miller contacted last
week said trucks come by the dozens
each Saturday to take advantage of
their deals and usually all slabs smd
strips are cleaned out by Saturday
afternocm.
Still others, as unfortunate as It Is,
have turned to stealing firewood.
George Shull of the N. C.
Department of Transportation, said
his department has had numerous
complaints about persons cutting
firewood on North Piedmont Avenue
where the state has purchased
property for the new Highway 74
bypass.
Bloodmobile At Bethware Friday
The Red (Jross bloodmobile will
return to Kings Mountain Friday for
a one-day visit at Bethware School
Gymnasium.
Bethware School Parent-Teacher
Association Is sponsoring the visit
and goal of the coUectton Is 176 pints
of blood.
Donors will be processed from 11
a.m. until 4:80 p.m., said a
spokesman tor the P-TA.
Because of so many accidents
during the holidays and during snow
and Ice, the need for blood In
aeveland County Is critical.
"We Invite everyone to turn cut In
record numbers tor this one-day
visit of the regional blood collecting
unit," said a spokesman for the
Cleveland Coun^ (Jhapter of the
American Red Cross.
Some persons, Shull said, have
been told that toe government Is
giving away trees If persons would
cut and haul the wood, but this Is not
true.
"We’re not giving away any
trees," he said, "and If we find out
who has been cutting them we’U
prosecute them. The federal
government doesn’t want those trees
cut untU the road Is buUt.
"Of course,” he continued, "If the
owner cuts or has his trees cut
before we purchase his property. It
has nothing to do with us. But we do
not have the authority to cut or give
away any trees on the prooerty that
we’ve obtained.’’.
Shull said several of the homes his
department has purchased have
been vandalized.
There Is one agency In town that Is
happy to give away firewood at
times, and that’s the Kings Moun
tain Redevelopment Oonunlsslon.
commission Director Gene White
said the commission has In the past
given away wood from homes It has
demolished and at times has given
away trees. At toe present, however,
there aren’t any homes being tom
down.
At the Cansler Street Urban
Renewal project, several trees have
been cut recenUy and given away to
persons who would cut them Into
firewood Rze and haul them away.
White said BOb McKinney, the site
foreman, would bo the person to
contact for that wood.
During Extreme Cold
Giution At Home
May Save Lives
Plre Chief Gene Tlgnor has Issued
a warning to cltlrans to exercise
caution before bringing heating
units and stoves out of retirement
during the cold weather.
“Due to the bitterly cold weather
uid fuel shortage.” Tlgnor said,
“Citizens are bringing heating units,
stoves and fireplaces Into use. There
Is danger here, especially If this
equipment has not been used In
some time."
The fire chief reminds toe public
that two Kings Mountlans have lost
their lives within the past month
through using fireplaces and
materials In an unsafe manner.
Chief Tlgnor said there are many
causes for dangerous and
someUmes fatol homo fires In
connection with heating devices.
(1) Do not overheat any type of
heating plant.
(3) Provide adequate clearance
between heaters and combustible
materials, at least 34 feet on the
sides and 48 Inches above.
(8) Check stove pipes and fuel
lines for cracks and holes before
using. If damages show, replace
them before using.
(4) When uftng open fireplaces.
Always use a firescreen to prevent
live coals or embers from popping
out onto doors or rugs, never use
flammable liquid to start fires or to
boosts golngflre, and make sure the
flames have died out before retiring
or leaving the house.
(6) Electric heaters should never
be left unattended tor any length of
time. Clean and oil heaters
frequently to prevent dust or lint
buildup.
(6) Treat flexible drop cords with
care. Such cords with broken In
sulation can start Area Cords should
be replaced as soon as they are
damaged or show signs of wear.
Cbrds should never be nin under
rugs whsre people walk or under
doors that are regular closed.
(7) And do not use old type, one
burner portlble kerosene heaters.
Such Items are easily over-heated or
knocked over. Aral these Items are
specially hazard where small
children are present.