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VOL. 95 NUMBER 51 [hey THURSDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1982 - KINGS MOUNTAIN. NOR 2 > o
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HUD Approves Moss Dam Project -
The city of Kings Mountain
got its Christmas present early
Monday night when Mayor
John Henry Moss announced to
the Board of Commissioners that
the Department of Housing and
Urban Development has approv-
ed its request to use surplus
Community Development Block
Grant funds to repair the Moss
Lake dam.
The board made its request in
early November after the North
Carolina Department of Natural
Resources and Community
Development denied a grant ap-
plication to cover the repairs.
That department told the city it
could not receive such a grant as
long as it had surplus funds in its
CD program.
The city has $422,092.79
surplus funds in the 1979 CDBG
program. An extra $18,650 from
program incomes will be used to
bring the total to the needed
$440,742.79.
The city was ordered several
months ago by the state to bring
the dam up to current national
safety guidelines. The city must
continue a weir monitoring pro-
gram, seal the leaking drain pipe
or line it with a 48” pipe, install a
low-level outlet and implement
an annual inspection program.
Moss also announced Mon-
day that the Department of
Natural Resources and Com-
munity Development has ap-
proved the city’s repair plans
which were submitted by
engineer Buck Johnson of the
WK. Dickson Company.
Johnson pointed out at several
previous board meetings that the
dam met national safety re-
quirements when it was con-
structed 12 years ago, but that
state and national guidelines
have changed over the years and
must be adhered to.
In a letter written by Johnson
to the Mayor and the Board of
Commissioners on October 14,
Johnson said the dam is an “im-
minent threat to public health
and safety” and that “none of
the known characteristics of this
dam indicate that failure is in-
Citizens Voice Complaints
Citizens appeared before the
City Board of Commissioners
Monday night to protest the ci-
ty’s charging residents for street
improvements and for failing to
tear down two houses on Ridge
Street which were condemned in
1980.
Doytt Falls, who lives beside
one of the houses owned by
Apple Tree Farms, claimed
drunks and other people are
sleeping inside, and the houses
smell bad.
“If you lived beside the house,
you’d want something done
about it, too,” Falls told the
board.
‘Falls said the houses had been
condemned in 1980, and should
be either demolished or brought
up to codes standards. He said he
had walked through the houses
with Mayor John Henry Moss
City Board Amends
od
The Kings Mountain Board of
Commissioners Monday night
amended its Code of Ordinances
to require that all buildings in
the city be numbered.
Mayor John Henry Moss
‘noted that the numbering is
necessary to provide better fire,
rescue, police and postal service.
Numbers will be assigned by the
U.S. Postal Service.
Homes already numbered will
not have to be changed, Codes
Director Jerry King pointed out,
unless they are too small to see
or are of a color which cannot be
seen from the street.
King urges citizens to walk to
the street and look back at the
-home. If the number cannot be
read, a new number should be
placed on the home.
Moss said emergency person-
nel often have trouble finding a
home because they are not
numbered. “This will benefit the
homeowners,” Moss said.
The code concerning number-
ing of buildings reads:
All’ buildings, houses, mabile
homes and mobile units fronting
STREET IMPROVEMENTS - The city public
works department is busy paving and curbing
and Moss told him they couldn’t
be repaired.
Falls presented a petition sign-
ed by over 50 residents of the
community asking that the
houses be demolished or brought
up to codes standards, and ask-
ing in writing that an outside in-
spector be allowed to inspect the
houses following renovation and
give an opinion on whether or
not they meet standards.
Local attorney Steve
Crosby, who is a part owner in
Apple Tree and represents that
company, appeared before the
board and said he felt the houses
could be brought up to codes
standards, and promised that
they would be.
He said work has already
begun on renovating the houses,
which will be rented.
“All work will be done up to
on any street or alley in the City
shall be numbered in some con-
spicuous place on the principal
structure by the owner thereof
according to numbers assigned
by the U.S. Postal Service; all
odd numbers being on one side
of the street” and all even
numbers on the other. The
numbers are to be approximately
three and three-fourths (3 34”)
inches in height, a color different
from surrounding colors, and
placed so that they can be easily
seen from the street by police,
fire and rescue personnel. Relec-
tive numbers are preferred, but
are not mandatory.
Any person not knowing his
street number shall apply to the
Postmaster for a number. Any
person failing or refusing to put
the proper numer on his
building, house, mobile home, or
mobile unit or putting the wrong
number thereon, or failing or
refusing to comply with any
other requirement of this section
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
The city will begin enforceing
the code on January 1, 1983.
provements.
Belvedere Circle. Belvedere is one of many
codes,” Crosby said. “We will
‘make every effort possible to
satisfy everyone. It’s our opinion
that they can be renovated. If -
not, the city can tear them
down.”
Crosby said he boarded the
houses last week in an effort to
keep people out of them. Falls,
however, said that the very day
Crosby boarded them, someone
broke into one of the houses and
spent the night there.
Commissioner Jim Childers
told Falls that “I don’t hardly see
‘how we can tell a corporation
how to spend its money. If they
don’t bring them up to codes
standards, then we’ll tear them
down.”
As for allowing an outside in-
spector to inspect the houses,
Childers said, “you’re dealing
with someone’s private property.
You can’t just go in and inspect
it anytime you want to.”
: Crosby a he had already
itte 1 a r to
er. Ny
“assuring them that every effort
will be made to meet the codes.”
Mayor Moss said he would in-
struct City Attorney George
Thomasson, who was not pre-
sent at the meeting, to review
the city codes and respond to
Falls, and assured Falls that the
matter would be taken care of.
After the meeting, Falls stated
that several sewage holes have
been dug at the house at 403
Christmas
Edition
The © Herald’s annual
Christmas edition will be
published on Thurs., Dec. 23.
In addition to regular news
matter, it will include Christmas
features, recipes, poems, letters
to Santa Claus and greeting ads
from area businesses.
Businesses wishing to place a
greeting advertisement. should
call the Herald at 739-7496 by
. Friday at 5 p.m.
Deadlines for regular adver-
tissments will remain at Tuesday
at 5 p.m.
Photo by Darrell Austin
streets that have recently undergone im-
% ayor Moss
“and Codes unt Jerry King
Ridge Street and sewage runs
out of them and into the
driveways of people living down
the street.
“We've lived with this mess
for five years, and we’re tired of
it,” he said.
“We'll get it straightened out,”
Crosby said.
In another matter, the board
approved assessing residents of
Catherine Street $2.52 per foot
for street improvements which
were recently completed.
Total cost of the project was
$9,590.84. As provided by state
law, the city will pay one-half of
the costs and absorb the labor.
Several residents said they did
not petition the city for the im-
provements. Mayor Moss said
the petition was received in
March of 1974 and contained
over 50 percent of the signatures
of the property owners. District
Commissioner Norman
Four
percent of the property owners
request the improvements the ci-
ty is bound by state law to make
them.
“If the petition was received in
1974, why so many years to do
it?”, a woman asked. “It would
have been much cheaper eight
years ago.”
“We have to do it as we have
the money,” King said. “I wish
we could pave every street in
town.”
One resident asked that the ci-
ty use grant money for such pro-
jects, but Mayor Moss said two
grant applications to cover the
project were turned down
because the total income level of
that area of town was too high to
qualify.
Turn To Page 3-A
evitable, but it is the consensus
of the City, State and Federal
Engineers that the dam could
fail at any time from some fault
that has not made its presence
known.”
~ Johnson also stated that
failure of the dam could result in
“the loss of live and extensive
property damage down stream.”
The letters were welcomed
news to the board.
“I’m glad to know it’s been ap-
proved and we can get to work
on it,” said Commissioner Jim
Dickey. “I’ve always said one of
the greatest assets this town has
is the lake.”
“I'm proud we found the fun-
ding for this project and look for-
ward to receiving a favorable bid
in January,” Mayor Moss said.
“Adequate water supply for
Kings Mountain is very impor-
tant.”
Because divers must be used
to line the drain pipe, the project
could take about a year to com-
plete. .
Speake 1 To bin Board
Ministers To Ring
Bells For The Needy
Area ministers will be ringing
bells for donations Thursday,
Friday and Saturday from | p.m.
until 7 p.m. in front of Harris-
Teeter, Winn-Dixie and TG&Y.
All money received will go to
the Kings Mountain Ministerial
Association’s = Helping Hand
Fund, which provides food for
needy families in the Kings
Mountain area.
Rev. Oscar Stalcup, pastor of
Foursquare Gospel Church, is
chairman of the bell-ringing pro-
ject and urges all local citizens to
contribute.
“With so many people out of
work and the economy in the
state it’s in, we’ve had a lot more
demands than usual,” he said.
“We really need the support of
the community.”
The ministers will also be at
the same three locations on
December 23 and 24 from 1 un-
til 7 p.m.
“We would like to thank the
management of Harris-Teeter,
Winn-Dixie and TG&Y for
cooperating in helping with this
needy project,” Rev. Stalcup
said.
Teachers, Students
Get Free Use Of Gyms
By GARY STEWART
Editor
The Kings Mountain District
Schools’ Board of Education
Monday afternoon revised its
policy on use of gyms to allow
certain non-school and in-school
groups free use of the facilities.
The action, which passed 4-1
with board member Kyle Smith
casting the lone no vote, will
allow teacher groups, Parent-
Teacher organizations and adult-
supervised student groups such
as basketball teams to use the
gymnasiums. Groups such as in-
dustrial basketball league teams,
Superintendent Bill Davis said
the “public relations value” of
allowing such groups free use of
gyms “would be far greater than
the little bit of revenue wed
receive.” Assistant Superinten-
dent Larry Allen, who presented
the proposal, added that only the
use of the gyms and lights would
be provided free of charge. The
heat cannot be used free.
Smith cast the lone no vote
not because he did not approve
of groups using the gyms, but
because he said the policy
discriminates against other
groups, such as industrial league
gyms. Most gym use after school
hours are by adult and industrial -
groups.
In other action Monday, the
board: :
Adopted a resolution of sup-
port for Governor Hunt’s “Year
of Public School” program.
*Appointed Donna Butler,
Steve Harmon and Frankie
Webster as parent represen-
tatives, Paul Hord Jr. as school
board representative; and Larry
Allen as administrative * staff
representative on the 1983-84
school calendar committee.
Teacher and principal represen-
tatives will be named later.
* Accepted the resignation of
and outside-school groups using teams. “I feel like we're pulling :
the facilities for a profit, will con- one group aside. Id rather see us Janet Sims, teacher at North
tinue to pay a rental fee. not charge anybody,” Smith School. She has accepted a
The action came as a result of
recent protests over some groups
using facilities free and others
having to pay. An exercise class
has been using Bethware School
free of charge, and a group of
teachers and other adults have
used the Kings Mountain High
gym for Sunday afternoon
basketball games at no charge,
while a youth basketball league
comprised of Grover School
students has been paying a rental
fee to use the Grover gym.
said.
“For general use, we think of
schools being built for the
students,” Davis said. “If we give
free use to everyone, it’s carrying
the Community Schools concept
too far.”
Board member Paul Hord Jr.,
added, “the industries expect to
pay. They’re not affiliated with
the schools like the students,
PTAs, and teachers are.”
Allen said there aren’t “that
many” school-age groups using
guidance counselor position with
the Cleveland County Schools.
*Approved maternity leaves
for Anne Qualtebaum and Bar-
bara Lail of Grover School and
Donna Mintz of North School.
* Approved the employment
of Kathy Brooks as Title I in-
-structor and transferred Dorcas
Beasley to North School.
*Was told that Paul Hord Jr.
and Jerry Ledford attended a
two-day seminar for new school
‘board members last week in
Raleigh.
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