Page 2A-KINGS MOUNTAIN HERALD-Thursday. May 31. 1984
Lib
Stewart
We Finally Got
Memorial Day Off
Memorial Day is not usually a holiday for newspaper folks but
Monday we almost made it.
When we came to work Monday morning expecting to begin work
on today’s newspaper, it was dark at The Herald and Dan Finger and
his electrical crew were on the front porch. It wasn’t long, however,
until a large group of city electrical workers were working on the big
transformer near our plant at the corner of King and Canterbury.
Lightning had apparently struck the transformer and the workmen
told us it would probably take all day to make the repairs. We took
their word for it, crossed our fingers that Monday would be a holiday,
and went home.
Thanks to the quick service of the electrical crews, however, 1 was
back at my desk shortly before noon.
Lightning was also blamed for a fire Saturday night at 9 p.m. at
Sadie Mill and firemen speculate that the fire originated in a ceiling
space in an office in the plant. Firefighters were out for an hour and a
half in a downpour of rain during the Saturday evening thunderstorm.
The city was deluged with rain again Monday night, which came
down in torrents, flooding some areas of the community, with more
severe thunderstorms in other areas of the state, dumping as much as
six inches of rain on parts of North Carolina in a matter of hours.
Some families were evacuated as close by as McAdenville and about
30 families on Whitesides Road west of Gastonia were forced from
their homes when streams threatened to wash over its banks.
About the time that the city board session ended Monday night at
City Hall, the clouds opened again and all of us trying to get to our
cars were drenched. During the middle of the storm my brother got a
call about severe flooding of the streets in the Gold Street area and as I
was driving home in the storm I met him as he drove back to town to
make a picture.
Indoors was the best place to be on Monday evening.
Circle your calendar for several events which take place this
weekend.
Awards Day is Thursday at 9 aim. at Kings Mountain Senior High
School. A large number of students will be honored during the
ceremonies which will be held in the gymnasium.
-o0o-
A country breakfast will be served Saturday, June 2, from 6 a.m. un-
-til 10:30 a.m. at El Bethel United Methodist Church.
The public is invited to attend.
; Re \ t i i
-o0o- *
Activities Day is this Friday at West Elementary School and
students will be involved in a number of projects ushering in the first
day of June. Students will be enjoying sackraces, ballgames, and pain-
ting, among other activities.
-olo-
The American Legion Auxiliary is planning a gigantic yard sale for
next Saturday, June 9th, on the vacant lot behind City Auto and
Truck Parts, site of the recent Shriners Barbecue.
Members are asked to clean out their closets this week and the
public is invited to contribute yard sale items and flea market items to
auxiliary members.
Call Arlene Barrett at 739-8072; Lib Stewart at 739-7496; or Mynile
Christenson at 739-9411 if you have items to donate.
-o0o-
Because of some typographical errors in two stories reporting the
wedding and party honoring De Ann Powers and Doug Burton, The
Herald is happy to make these clarifications.
When De Ann Powers and Doug Burton were married May 20th in
First Presbyterian Church, Dennis Huffstetler was pianist, Shirley
(Mrs. Darrell) Austin was organist and Carl Watts was guitarist.
The name of Sandra Burton was omitted from the list of hostesses
for a shower honoring the bride-elect and the bride’s mother, Mrs.
Christine Johnson, was listed as brother of the bride.
Comings And Goings
Mrs. Bessie Childers and Mrs. Grace McDaniel recently took a tour
of the many interesting sites of Tennessee.
The highlights of their tour were the Grand Ole Opry, Graceland, a
boat ride down the Mississippi, monorail ride to Mud Island, Casey
Jones Museum, Wally Fowler’s Music Jubilee, Oak Ridge Electrical
Plant and many museums and tourist sites.
Mrs. Childers and Mrs. McDaniel left Thursday morning and return
Sunday evening.
Bat Man & Arvel
Carroll Lawless of Bessemer City and Arvel Hill of Dallas, co-
owners of Holt Exterminating of Gastonia, got quite a surprise when
they went into the attic of a home they were treating for termites the
other day.
The owner of the home, who was having the house checked for ter-
mites before moving into it, told the exterminators he had heard a bird
in the attic and asked them to go up and check it out.
Lawless and Hill didn’t find one bird...but 2,000 bats wouldn’t be
stretching it a bit.
The two spent almost a week killing, catching and carrying out bats
from the two-story structure. The bats Lawless caught and stored in
cages filled a five-gallon bucket.
Lawless is an experienced bat catcher and the only exterminator in
the area who'll dare to mess with them. He dons a thick leather suit, -
leather gloves and a wire mask attached to a hood to prevent being bit-
ten.
He’s been bitten only one time, as a youngster in Tennessee where
he was exploring a cave. In over 35 years of catching bats for a living,
he’s never been bitten.
“Most companies won't tackle bats,” he says. “The only way to get
rid of them is to get up there with them and kill them or catch them.”
Hill, the younger of the two and Lawless’s nephew, contacted a
local museum to see what should be done to the live bats.
“They said they didn’t want them, for us to just turn them loose,” he
said. “But I don’t plan to do that. I can’t see taking them out of one
place and turning them loose just so they can go somewhere else.
They're dangerous. The man at the museum said they’d eat mosquitos,
but I think rabies is worse than mosquitos.”
“Bats are a lot more dangerous than most people think,” said
Lawless. “They go wild. They bite anything they can get hold of.
When I got up there with them; they’d fly into my suit and just sink
their teeth into the leather. I'd have to pull them off of me and put
them in the cage.”
Lawless said he’s never seen as bad a case of bats as this one. “The
first time I went up there, I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen
it,” he said. “There was manure heaped up four feet wide, four feet
high and eight or ten feet long. A pickup truck full wouldn't be stret-
ching it a bit. It turned my stomach.”
The daring duo, now known as Batman and Arvel (wouldn't it be
nice if Arvel’s first name were Robin?) even helped give birth to several
baby bats. a
Running into unusual situations is common for these two, ), who have
met several snakes, bees, rats, and almost anything else you can think
of during their professional careers as exterminators.
“Crowder’s Mountain has the most rattlesnakes of any place around
here,” Lawless said. “I got three over there. I was crawling under a
house over there one day, and shined my flashlight and a big cop-
perhead was coming right at me. It scared me to death. I didn’t know.
of anything else to do but keep shining the light and lie there right still.
When he came by me, I grabbed him by the neck and carried him out.”
They usually kill all of the poisonous snakes they come across and
carry non-poisonous snakes such as king snakes and blacksnakes to
Lawless’s barn, where he uses them to catch rats.
—€DITORIRL
Though headline writers in need of short words, often use the word
“finals” in handling news copy about “commencement” exercises, the
true meaning of the word commencement is the “startin” or roeginn-
ing” : sh
Obviously; the graduation program is correctly named commence-
ment for the finishing up of a course of study, be it high school or col-
lege level, is indeed the beginning of something new in the lives of the
graduating seniors.
For some, it means the transition from ward status of dependency
on parents to the routine of hard work to earn a living. Others of this
year’s graduating classes will undergo furthering schooling. Others will
marry soon, with the prospects of having before too many years,
school youngsters of their own.
Stewart’
Slants
By
Gary Stewart
leave me for years over those snakes, but so far she’s still with me,” he
said. ;
He doesn’t intend to test her with the bats, though.
The Bat Men ...And Cage Of Live Bats
This Is Just Beginning———
One of the Herald's favorite themes is the encouragement of high
school students to make every possible effort to attend college. The:
pace of living continues to quicken - withthe: years, and additignal ©
knowledge makes the always required experience come much more
painlessly. There are the additional advantages of living in a new com-
munity with new people and somewhat removed from the protecting
parental wing.
There is always a demand for skill and knowledge, and if accom-
panied by doses of personality and common sense, the advantages of
more schooling, be it literary or vocational, are quickly found in a time
when specialization seems to be the order of the day.
Our best wishes to the several graduating classes of the area.
May their future be marked with success and happiness.
1984-85 Budget Presented
" ministrative
PUBLISHED EACH THURSDAY
GARLAND ATKINS
Publisher
GARY STEWART
Managing Editor
DARRELL AUSTIN
General Manager
ELIZABETH STEWART
News Editor
MEMBER OF NORTH CAROLINA PRESS ASSOCIATION
The Herald is published by Herald Publishing House, P.O. Box 752. Kings
Mountain, North Carolina. 28086. Business and editorial offices are located at
Canterbury Road-East King Street. Phone 739-7496. Second class postage
paid at Kings Mountain, N.C. Single copy 25 cents. Subscription rates: $10.40
yearly in-state. $5.20 six months. $11.44 yearly out of state. $5.72 six months. |
Student rates for nine months, $7.80. USPS 931-040. «
TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE
My son keep thy father’s commandment and forsake not the law of
thy mother. Proverbs 6:20.
From Page 1-A
management to assist personnel
in particular with statistical con-
trol of time and equipment. All
feasible operating economies and
the most cost efficient practices
must be followed to achieve the
goals of this administration,” he
said.
APPROPRIATIONS
The General Fund includes
the following appropriations for
next year. The 1983-84 budget
figures in parentheses. Ad-
$222,748
Police $515,626
($492,861); Fire, $204,444
$167,401); Codes, Inspection
$41,005 ($32,322); Public
Works, Administration $81,514
($66,404); Properties and
Maintenance $163,830
($134,634); Garage, $83,987
($90,987); Street, $312,132
($295,002); Sanitary, $270,832
($245,200); Aging $58,762
$62,619); Recreation, $136,711
($144,833); Lake Authority
$33,024 ($28,715);
Neighborhood Facilities,
$69,663 ($71,835); Cemetery,
$73,034 (370,127); The General
Capital Projects Fund accounts
for $426,546 in the budget and
cemetery perpetual care fund
$13,000.
$299,153);
REVENUE
The city expects to receive
$695,000 in current year taxes,
$20,000 from prior year taxes,
$221,000 from utilities franchise
tax, $35,080 from intangibles
taxes, $35,000 from interest in-
come, $165,432 from Powell Bill
Street allocations, $11,500 from
gasoline rebates, $270,000 from
local option sales tax, $144,852
from general revenue sharing,
$40,000 from Lake Authority in-
come, $27,500 from street
assessments, $24,000 from Title
III, $25,000 from land sales,
$22,500 from recreation, and
from other funds, $67,603.
DISBURSEMENTS
The city expects to spend
$85,109, down from $147,533 in
administrative salaries; $30,107
for commissioners expenses,
$22,000 for professional ser-
vices; police salaries for a 24
member staff $331,751; police
retirement, $31,573; police
group insurance, $35,305; police
uniforms, $10,000; fire depart-
ment salaries (eight plus 24
volunteers) $96,947; volunteer
firemen, $10,000; group in-
surance, $12,280; uniforms,
$5,000; hose and nozzles,
$10,000; inspection department
salaries, $28,927; retirement for
two employees, $2,829; group
insurance, $3,070; salaries for
public works-administration,
$46,130; $110,472 for salaries of
property and maintenance
employees; $53,213 for salaries
of garage employees; $141,045
for salaries of 12 street depart-
ment employees; $25,000 for
supplies and materials of street
department; $161,780 for
salaries of sanitation department
employees, 16; $43,007 for
salaries of Aging Program, two
plus four part-time; $55,660 for
salaries of recreation depart-
ment, five employees, plus
$12,000 for seasonal employees;
$10,00 for special recreational
activities; $16,770 for salaries of
Lake Authority; $34,646 for
salaries of Neighborhood
Facilities, 3; $47,109 for salaries
of cemetery department, four;
$37,500, library contribution;
$25,00, D.O.T. right of ways;
$20,000, DOT utility
agreements; $4,000 electon ex-
penses; $12,500 utilities;
$17,000 for salaries in purchas-
ing department, one employee
plus one part-time; $31,500 for
community development
salaries, one plus one part time
employee; Salaries for water and
sewer department, $25,301.
Professional services, $31,559;
interest expense, $99,094; retire-
ment of debt, $192,000; meter
readers salaries, $26,976 for two
employees, salaries for water
treatment plant employees, five;
$68,889; purchase of power,
$220,000; chemicals, $62,000;
salaries for construction and
maintenance, water and sewer,
$91,245, eight employees;
emergency overtime, $6,000;
maintenance and repair equip-
ment, $12,000; supplies and
materials, $40,000; capital
outlay, $60,000 plus $24,000 for
equiment; waste water pump sta-
tion employees salaries, $43,852,
three; emergency overtime,
$5,000; purchase of power,
$15,000; supplies and materials,
$12,500; equipment, $15,000
salaries for five plus one part
time employee in Wastewater
Treatment Plant, $60,298; pur-
chase of power, $62,000; sup-
plies, $15,000; salaries for five
employees in the electric depart-
ment, $106,146; administrative
services, $31,559; emergency
overtime, $10,000; purchase of
power, $3,815,110; maintenance
and repair trucks, $6,000; sup-
plies and materials, $80,000;
$80,000 is budgeted for capital
improvements and equipment.
Expenditures in the Gas
Department included $148,306
for salaries for nine employees;
$31,559 for administrative ser-
vices; $3,707,183 for gas pur-
chased; $50,000 for supplies and
materials; $22,000 for cathodic
protection; $96,000 for capital
improvements.
The city expects to receive
$4,624,540 in gas utilities
charges, $4,500 for gas cut on
fees, and $4,922,842 from elec-
tricity charges to customers,
$3,750 from electrical taps;
$1,185,582 from water and
sewer utility charges to
customers, $10,000 from taps
and connection charges, $76,000
from the Clean Water Grant.
From all its utility funds, the city
expects to receive
$10,956,714.00, according to
budget projections or 45 percent
from electric, 42 percent from
gas, and 13 percent from water-
sewer.
Commissioners Remember
Those Killed In Service
A tribute to “those who serve
and those who paid the supreme
sacrifice for freedom for all
Americans and the world over”
was given by Mayor John Moss
on Memorial Day at the opening
of the special meeting of boad of
city commissioners.
Prior to silent prayer, the flags
were advanced by Chief of
Police Jackie Barrett and Fire
Chief Gene Tignor and those in
attendance recited the Pledge of
Allegiance.
In other actions:
The city board of commis-
sioners took the recommenda-
tion of the city planning and
zoning board and denied the re-
quest of Mr. and Mrs. Doyt Falls
to rezone their property on N.
Dilling St. to R-20 for placement
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