— a A en A Rt 3 Ss v Give Blood Thursday First Baptist Church 12:30 Until 6 P.M. Schools Report To Peo ::: (Inside Today’s Herald) LAaunen Azexdqil 1 VOL. 97 NUMBER 13 Youth Killed A 16-year-old Kings Moun- tain youth died early Wednes- day morning in a Charlotte hospital after a shooting inci- dent at a tavern just inside Y ork County, S.C. Landrum Blanton, who lived on the Margrace Road in Kings Mountain, died at 4 a.m. of shotgun wounds to the head. According to Captain Joe Mitchell of the York County Sheriff’s Department, Blanton was standing behind a closed door in Carson’s Place, a tavern near Clover, S.C., on Highway 161, and was shot in the back of the head with a shotgun which had been stuck through the window. The shotgun blast apparently blew a hole through ‘the back door. The Charlotte Observer Rock Hill Bureau quoted in- vestigating officers as saying that the Kings Mountain boy was an “innocent bystander.” Roger Griffin, 29, and Billy Griffin, 25, brothers, from Route 2, Box 217, Blacksburg, S.C., had reportedly gone to Turn To Page 2-A a g ® Oe sd THURSDAY. MARCH 8, 1984 ; fn Cardtind § ort Lane nat Photo by Gary Stewart RECEIVES AWARD-John Brooks. right. Labor Commissioner for the State of North Carolina, presents a certificate of special recognition to Joe Machnik, plant manager of Clevelmont Mills, during a special plant safety celebration Wednesday at the Kings Moun- tain Community Center. The Clevemont plant, a division of Union Underwear, honored its employees for surpassing one million man hours without a lost time injury. Clevemont Praises Safety Clevemont: Mills of Kings Mountain, a divisior. of Union Underwear, celebrated a year of lost-time accidents Wednesday afternoon by treating its 625 employees to a barbecue lun- Dedication Slated For Dedication of the new U.S. 74 Kings Mountain By-Pass will take place on Tuesday, March 20th, at 2:30 p.m. on the NC-216 Overpass (Piedmont Avenue). Governor Jim Hunt will at- tend the ceremony and will be joined by other state, local and federal officials, according to N.C. Department of Transporta- tion Secretary William R. Rober- son, Jr. and Kings Mountain Mayor John Henry Moss. “This is a big day for the Kings Mountain area and we in- vite everyone to come out for this special ceremony”, said the Mayor. GROVER BOARD STUDIES DRAW- cheon at the Kings Mountain Community Center. John Brooks, Commissioner of the North Carolina Depart- ment of Labor, presented Joe Machnik, plant manager of Of Bypass March 20 Clevemont, with a certificate of special recognition praising Clevemont employees for work- ing over one million man hours without a lost-time accident. “Reaching one million hours is no -accident,” said Machnik. “It requires committment.” Machnik gave credit to Russell Green, plant safety manager, members of a special committee to study safety, and all employees for the safety ef- fort. : Special guests at the luncheon were John Holland, chairman of the board of Union Underwear; Joseph Medallie, vice chairman of the board; Nikki Peden, cor- porate director of industrial safe- ty; James Steele of the Nor- thwest Industries office in Chicago; Commissioner of Labor John Brooks; assistant Commissioner of Labor Charles Jeffress; and Kings Mountain Mayor John Henry Moss. Holland praised Clevemont employees for their decrease in absences and increase in effec- tiveness. “You've made a lot of PHOTO BY LIB STEWART recreation park estimated to cost $100,000. progress in. the past 18 months,” he said. He noted that Union Underwear had an all-time record year in production and sales last year, “and because most of our customers had a very successful Christmas season, business in January was one of the best months in recent years.” He said he foresees a good 1984 for Clevemont employees. KMLT Production Scheduled Final week end of pertor- mances of “Arsenic and Old Lace” by the Kings Mountain Little Theatre will be on Friday and Saturday nights at 8 p.m. and Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. in Park Grace auditorium. Admission is $4 for adults and $2 for students with discounts available for groups. KINGS MOUNTAIN, NORTH CAROLINA School Board Okays Budget By GARY STEWART Managing Editor The Kings Mountain District School Board approved a $2,583,297 current expense and $293,378 capital outlay budget for the 1984-85 fiscal year dur- ing Monday’s meeting at the Schools Administration Office. The budgets will be presented to the Cleveland County Board of Commissioners for approval. Superintendent William Davis presented the current expense budget in two parts. The first part, which he called a “hold-the- line” budget which would allow the system to continue the same programs it has now, amounts to $2,442,575 or about 9.9 percent more than the current fiscal year’s budget of $2,351,470, The second part, which Davis says is necessary to expand some programs, came to $140,712. Davis was quick to point out that the extra is not “icing on the cake” but simply would give Kings Mountain schools some programs that most other school systems in North Carolina already have, such as elementary school guidance: counselors. The current expense budget includes a 10 percent salary in- crease for locally paid employees. “When there is a state salary increase, we try to do the same for locally paid employees,” Davis told the board. The regular instructional pro- gram would be allotted $696,553, an increase of $73,793. Davis said most of the funds in that budget item go to salaries. Other instructional programs, such as driver’s education, ex- ceptional children’s programs, in- school suspension, and voca- tional programs, were budgeted $671,793, or an increase of $42,632. Support programs, such as sports, psychologists, guidance and media services, would receive $63,659, $8,000 less than the current year. Davis said the reason for the smaller figure is because “We over-estimated a little bit” last year. Business support, such as board expenses, administration expense, principals and fiscal control, would receive $247,055, which is $11,033 less than the current budget. Operation of plants will cost $450,617, an increase of $1,351. Most of that figure will go toward energy costs. Other figures built into the budget include pupil transporta- tion, $4,100; maintenance of plants, $271,798; fringe benefits, $27,000; and community schools, $11,000. Of the revenue needed to balance that budget, the board plans to ask the county commis- sioners for $1,317,628, com- pared to $1,145,764 being received this year; the schools will receive $407,400 from voca- tional funds, $80,000 from Gaston County for students who live in Gaston County but at- tend Kings Mountain schools; and miscellaneous funds from such sources as tuition, rental of facilities, fines, and interest, and a $100,000 to $150,000 fund balance from this year’s budget. The expansion part of the budget, if approved by county commissioners, would allow the system to add three locally paid teachers to reduce class sizes in several areas, (two guidance counselors for she five elemen- tary schools, a one-half time computer instruction coor- dinator, and a five percent sup- plement increase and sup- plements for department heads at Kings Mountain High School. The total request from county commissioners is 21.8 percent more than this year. Board member June Lee said that although the request might make some people think Kings Mountain is asking for some ex- tras, that “this would not be put- ting us above anyone else. We'd just be getting up to par with some of them.” “This is not icing on the cake items at all,” Superintendent Davis said. “This is just meat and potato , things. We would be derelict not to ask for the things we need.” * % % % The capital outlay budget reflects a 15 percent increase over last year. The first four re- quests from principals are includ- ed but Davis said “there was more left out than what was in- cluded in the budget.” Some requests included in the budget are computers for the Turn To Page 2-A Grover To Proceed With Two Projects BY ELIZABETH STEWART News Editor The Town of Grover expects to be ready by May 1 to adver- tise for bids on two major pro- jects which have been in the talking and planning stages for 10-15 years. Surveying of the new $I million plus sewer system has been completed and engineers have submitted blueprints and specifications to the Farmers Home Administration and state agencies for approval, Mayor Bill McCarter reported at Mon- day night’s Town Board meeting. The new sewer connec- tor system will pump to Kings Mountain’s line and Kings with funding of the project. The Town Board is moving ahead on plans for construction of a 12.78 acre recreation site which will include two ballfields, four tennis courts, a basketball court, parking lot an dpicnic area on the south side of Maple Avenue across from the residence of Bud Herndon. The land was acquired recently from former Grover resident, Avery Hardin, of Hickory. Mayor Mc- Carter said the project will be completed in phases with bid let- ting for clearing, grubbing and grading set for May 1. The Town has reapplied for a $25,000 state grant to help cover the costs of the project estimated Turn To Page 2-A Bloodmobile To Visit First Baptist Church The Cleveland County Red Cross Bloodmobile will. be at First Baptist Church in Kings Mountain Thursday for a visit The hours will be from 12:30 until 6 p.m. All eliglble donors in the The town will take bids May 1 on a $1 million sewer construction project (plans also shown) and the recreation complex. Mountain will treat the sewage. Citizens last Fall approved a $414,000 bond issue to assis INGS—Grady Ross, Ronald Queen, Mayor Bill McCarter, Bill Camp and Jim Howell, left to right. look over blueprints of a proposed sponsored by Kings Mountain Hospital. Kings Mountain area are urged to give.