VOL. 96 NUMBER 20 mom nu Tg ag i rg Rn A TA | I THURSDAY, May 12, 1983 Support Shrine Activities This Weekend - KINGS MOUNTAIN, NORTH CAR ris RL SRY VAY $s 001 ‘*uUlpN shut AzexqtT TeTaouwan Asunep 9808¢ *9AY 3uUowpSITd ABC Petitions Turned In The Kings Mountain Citizens for Legal Control Wednesday after- noon submitted a petition to City Elections Board Chairman Luther Bennett requesting an election for the off-premises sale of malt beverages, off-premises sale of unfortified wine and establishment of an ABC store in the city. The petitions have been circulating for several weeks and contain more than the 934 names required (one-fourth of the registered voters in the city limits), said Attorney Scott Cloninger. The Elections Board has 30 days to verify the signatures. If at least 934 signatures are verified, the board has to call for an election in not HRI $2 Reliance Electric held a plant dedication Wednesday foR its Large Motor and Generator Plant near Kings Mountain, North Carolina. Construction of this over $30 million plant began in March, 1981. The plant manufacturers large motors and generators is sizes from 100 horsepower to 20,000 horsepower. Products are used extensively throughout in- dustry in such applications as air and fluid handling, bulk material handling, and drilling. Industries these products are used in in- clude power, paper, textile, min- ing, chemicals, petroleum, and metals. This © 226,000 square fOot facility iS fully air conditioned . with the most current machining capabilities and manufacturing technologies available for large rotating machinery. Production of large motors and generators begin in January, 1983. Employment is presently 63 people. Full employment is Reliance Dedication Held "people of North Carolina are in- GOVERNOR JIM HUNT expected to reach approximately 400 production and office workers. Emory Orahood, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer said that this area was selected for the plant because “we have found that the less than 60 nor more than 120 days. “We're pleased with the number of people who want an election,” Cloninger said. “We had a good response. We're confident we have the number of signatures necessary to call for the election.” Cloninger’s group took its request to the City Board of Commis- sioners in January and the board approved an election by a 5-1 vote. Cloninger offered the board petitions which he said contained over 1,300 names, but the board did not accept them. Two weeks later, after being pressured by a group of over 200, the board rescinded its action by a unanimous vote. dependent and self reliant and that they are strong contributing members of a manufacturing team that is dedicated to high quality.” Reliance Electric, a subsidiary of the Exxon Corporation, is a recognized leader in the design, manufacture, and marketing of a broard range of electrical, mechanical electrical com- ponents and systems products to major industries in worldwide markets. In addition to this plant Reliance Electric operates plants in Asheville, Sanford, Albemarle, Fuquay-Varina, and Whiteville, North Carolina. Governor James made the keynote address at the 2 p.m. ceremonies. Earlier in the day, dignataries and guests toured the facility. The plant will hold a Family Day for employees and members of their family Saturday. Lt. Governor Jimmy Green will be a special guest. Teachers List Concerns The Kings Mountain Associa- tion of Educators presented a three-page resolution to the Board of Education Monday night which calls for board ac- tion which the educators feel would improve the instructional programs, teacher morale and school discipline. The resolution was accepted by Board Chairperson June Lee with the promise that the con- cerns “will be looked into.” Betsy Wells, president of the association, said the concerns grew out of the second of two annual surveys of the member: ship. Among suggestions that the group feels will improve the in- structional programs are a re- quest that the new reading pro- gram be only a supplement to the state-adopted reading tex- ‘tbooks, that the amount of stu- dent testing be reduced, that visitation of non-school person- nel be kept to a minimum, that teachers be released from bus du- ty and have at least one free planning period per day, and that teachers have a duty-free lunch break. Mrs. Wells said that having two entirely different reading programs is “too much to ask of the students” and that too much testing is a disadvantage to the advanced students, who ‘get bored and want to go on.” Superintendent William Davis said less testing will be required next year, mainly because of the cost involved in testing. Board member Bill McDaniel asked the teachers in attendance why bus duty is “such a thorn when you only have it a week at a time about twice a year.” Steve Wells, a Grover teacher, said it’s not a big problem in the elementary schools but is in the junior and senior highs and Cen- tral, which are served by some of the same buses. Mrs. Wells said too much visitation by non-school person- nel distracts the students and teachers and eliminates valuable classroom time. She said some visitors often come into classrooms without first check- ing with the principal’s office. Mrs. Wells said the association is also “gravely concerned about the projected reduction in teachers and aides for 1983-84 and we fear also that educational opportunities will be decreased as a esult of possibly overcrowd- ed classrooms” and she said the group is also concerned about the amount of time spent in Turn To Page 4-A B. Hunt The Citizens for Legal Control then requested legal petitions from the Elections Board and has been circulating them ever since. Kings Mountain has had two ABC votes in recent years. In 1967, an ABC vote failed by a 1,411 against to 1,091 for margin. In 1975, it ~ failed by a vote of 1,471 against to 1,310 for. In a vote for malt beverages and wine, the vote was 1,499 against to 1,267 for. An ABC election passed in Shelby in March of 1975 which allowed private clubs and restaurants in Kings Mountain to obtain brown- bagging permits. Shriner’s Weekend Friday Through Sunday The first annual Shriner’s Weekend, sponsored by the newly-organized White Plains Shrine Club, will be held Friday through Sunday in Kings Moun- tain. Activities inclide a parade and barbecue sale Saturday, and a slowpitch softball tournament Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Lt. Governor Jimmy Green will be grand marshal for the parade, which is scheduled for - 11 a.m. Shriners and other dignataries will also participate. Green will remain in town to have lunch with Senator Ollie Harris and tour the new Reliance , Electric plant on and West back to Watterson Street. Shriners will begin cooking the barbecue over a hickory fire Friday night and will begin sell- ing Saturday at 11 a.m. Barbecue sandwiches, plates and whole shoulders will be sold at the vacant lot at the corner of East Gold Street and York Road, and barbecue will also be sold at all ballparks in the city and at other locations. Tickets for barbecue plates or three barbecue sandwiches may be purchased for $3.50 and tickets for a whole shoulder are available for $25. Contact any Shriner for advance tickets. You do not have to have an advanced" ticket to purchase barbecue, however. The softball tournament, Compact High Bid $50,000 Warren Reynolds of Kings Mountain submitted a high bid of $50,000 Tuesday morning for the old Compact School proper- ty on Dixon School Road. Scott Cloninger, attorney for Kings Mountain District Schools, conducted the sale. The only other bid offered was an opening bid of $10,000. The Compact property con- tains 26,779 square feet of space and 6.2804 acres of land. Buildings include two classroom wings, a cafeteria, gymnasium and a concrete block building. According to the Judicial Sales Act, bids will remain open for 10 days, Cloninger said. - Anyone may submit an upset bid by Fri., May 21 at the Schools Administration Office at 400 Parker Street. The upset bid must be at least $52,250. If an upset bid is offered, the sale will go back to public auc- tion, and bidders will have an ad- ditional 10 days to offer another upset bid. That procedure will be followed as long as upset bids are offered. Turn To Page 4-A organized by and Artie Shoemaker, will be one of the best in the Carolinas this year. They have lined up several former state champions and some other state contenders for the 16 -team, double- elimination event. Action will begin Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 12 noon and Sunday at 1 p.m. Trophies will be awrded to the championship team, runner-up, most valuable player, all-tournament team, leading home run hitter, and in- dividual trophies will be presented to the members of the winning team. Some of the favored teams in- clude Gatonia Heating and Air Conditioning, Skidmore and Baucom of Belmont, McGee Trucking of Forest City Gaston College, Loftis Manufacturing of Greenville, S.C., and Ardis Roofing of Pickens, S.C. Loftis won the South Carolina Open championship last year. Keeter of Grover ‘are members of the team. All proceeds raised during the weekend activities will go to the Shriner’s Hospital for Crippled Children in Greenville, S.C. Jackie Barrett Named KM'’s Police Chief Jackie Dean Barrett, who has served as acting chief of police on three different occasions, was officially named Kings Moun- tain Police Chief Monday night by the Board of Commissioners. Barrett was chosen over six other applicants. His appoint- ment was made after an hour- long executive session. Humes Houston, chairman of the Personnel Committee which has been screening applicants, made the motion. The vote was unanimous. The board also created two new positions within the police department. One will be a lieute- nant who will serve as the assis- tant chief, and the other will be a fulltime drug officer. Barrett said he plans no other changes. Barrett has been with the department since 1956. He was promoted to the rank of captain in 1972, when he began his first duty as acting chief after the resignation of Tom McDevitt. He later served as acting chief after the retirement of William Roper and until Monday night had been acting chief since the resignation of Earl Lloyd in 1977. The board began advertising for a chief in March after Com- missioner Norman King made a ~ motion that the board advertise and hire a chief of police within 30 days. Barrett is married ‘to the former Arlene Schneider and has two children. His daughter, Cheryl Butler, resides in Kings Mountain, and his son, David, is a senior at Appalachian State University. The Barretts are members of First Presbyterian Church. Six-Year-Old Takes Joy Ride Six-year-old Charles Boyd of Kings Mountain decided to visit his father at Garlock Industries in Gastonia Monday morning, and was well on his way...that is, until his mother’s car, which he borrowed without permission, rolled off the edge of Edgewood Road near Bessemer City and stopped. His mother, Virginia Boyd, reported her car stolen and her son kidnapped after she discovered both missing from her Battle Forest Apartment home. She had no idea her son had taken the car and had driven successfully over five miles through Bessemer City before coming to a stop as he attempted to get onto 185 at Edgewood Road. She said her son had expressed a desire to drive, and had ap- parently learned by watching. Kings Mountain policeman Roy Dyer said the youngster told an officer he worked the brakes and gas by “looking through the windshield until it was clear and then getting down and pushing the gas. Then he’d jump back up and steer until the car slowed down again.” A man who had followed Charles much of the distance said he thought he was following a drunk driver, and was startled when the child got out of the car. He picked the youngster up and took him to Garlock. | { The Gaston College. team is REAR of Kings Mountain and Teard AT ra =" co — a ——— a
