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WEDNESDAY, JULY 22, 1987
LIMBS LEFT ON STREET - These tree limbs left on
Margaret Street last week after the City Electrical
Department trimmed trees were the reason four of the five
employees of the department lost their jobs. The four
claimed it was their responsibility to cut the limbs and the
sanitation department’s responsibility to haul them off.
Claim They Were Fired, Maney Says They Quit
City Employees Take A Walk
Four city electric department
linesmen walked off their jobs Thurs-
day in a dispute over whether it was
their job to clean up debris after trim-
ming trees and have asked for a hear-
ing on their grievance before the city
personnel committee.
James Moore, foreman in the elec-
tric department, Willard Yabrough,
James Hawkins and David Richardson
left their jobs Thursday morning when
they were told by Utilities Director
Jimmy Maney and refused to go back
to Margaret Street and ‘‘clean up the
mess you made.”
Moore maintains that ‘“When the
man (Maney) tells you to hit the clock,
it sounds like you're fired to me.”
Maney says the four quit.
Maney says he told the four workers
on Wednesday afternoon to take the ci-
ty’s chipper truck and clean up
Margaret Street debris. Maney said
that residents of Margaret Street had
complained that the workmen had left
the “trees in a mess.” ‘Thursday mor-
ning I asked each of them if they plann-
ed to work today. Each said “no.”
“James (Moore) said if they had to
return to Margaret Street they’d quit
st I said, ‘‘Well, hit the clock.” They
id.
Maney said it is the electric depart-
ment’s job to trim trees and “when a
mess is created they clean it up. They
refused to do their jobs and they quit.
Yes, there were some damages and
I'm sure there will be some insurance
claims”, he said.
Maney said that electric crews dig
ditches only when underground wiring
is involved but have helped the city
sanitation department when behind in
picking up debris.“ ‘In this case it was
the electric department’s duty, not the
Sanitation’s department, to clean up
any mess and that’s what I told them to
do and they refused,” he said.
Maney said that electrical service
won’t be affected by the walkout. Two
new employees went to work Wednes-
day morning and Electric Department
Director Gene Waldroup and John
Clemmer, electrician with the city gas
department, are filling in for the
departed linesmen. In addition. the ci-
ty of Shelby has agreed to provide
back-up service in the event of
emergencies. The city is interviewing
people for the linesmen positions which
pay $8.46 to $8.86 for 40 hours plus over-
time and fringe benefits, plus an extra
day’s pay for standby duty and a
week’s Christmas bonus.
One of the workers claim they lost
their jobs because pay raises were
refused. Maney said he put in for pay
raises for every memoer of his depart-
ment but commissioners tabied the re-
quest last week until next month’s
meeting to take action on a new pay
classification plan. Workers maintain-
ed that “they were piling extra work on
us.” Maney disagreed.
Mrs. Wesley Blanton, who resides at
205 Margaret St., said water oaks at
four houses were mutilated and ruined
and “it was a real mess.” She said
Sanitation department workers finally
cleared the debris after working from 5
until 9 p.m. Friday and returning on
Saturday at 8 a.m.
City insurance adjustors were on the
scene yesterday and Community
Development Director Gene White was
assisting Margaret Street residents in
preparing claims ifor damages. ‘‘The
city is on top of it and we will help these
citizens ir filing claims’, said White.
Electric crews began cutting trees
off the power lines Tuesday afternoon.
about 3 p.m., according to residents,
Mrs. Blanton said “trees looked terri-
ble” at her house, in the yard of her
daughter, Debbie Rice, 203 Margaret
Street, in the yard of a neighbor, Tom
Melton, and at another house on the
street below them. “About nine trees
were ruined and we asked the city to
pay for the damages’, she said. Mrs.
Blanton aid that Gene White had pro-
mised the city would ‘‘get back to them
about the damages.” Mrs. Blanton also
said the trees and limbs had been ly-
ing in the street for a month’’ before
they were picked up by the Sanitation
crews Friday and she said street crews
had been working on Margaret Street
for about nine months, curb and gutter-
ing and paving, and dirt was piling up.
For two days last week, Mrs. Blanton
said the postman couldn’t get to the
mailbox because of the piled up debris.
“This is not the time of the year to
cut trees. This dry weather will kill
them, said Mrs. Blanton.
Electrical foreman Moore disagrees.
He said that city crews cut the same
trees two years ago. ‘‘Water Oaks look
bad to start with but they will come
back out in the spring and look good.”
The city has a right fo cut trees on
power lines nnd Duke Power Ce. has a
ten Foot tight of) way on 2ach side. |
think Margaret! Sireel residents are
more upset over delayed street work
which has been in process there for
about nine months. One of the
residents asked us three or four weeks
ago to come out and trim the
“dadblamed trees’ after the power
was knocked out.” He said electrical
crews had been unable to use a chipper
truck to haul away debris since the
sanitation department was using the
loader and truck. Moore said he called
the Sanitation department to inform
them that the electric crews would
have a ‘‘large amount of brush to pick
up on Margaret Street last week” and
“we were assured they’d come over
and get it.”” The sanitation men were
pulled off the job by their boss (Karl
Moss) and Moore maintains that his
supervisor (Gene Waldroup) told him
it was the sanitation department’s job,
not the electrical department’s job, to
clear away the debris. ‘‘I just want to
know who I’m to take orders from and
that’s the reason for our meeting with
the grievance committee of the com-
missioners’, said Moore, who has
already taken a job with Hoke Elec-
tric.
Moore has worked for the city for
nine years, Yarbrough for eight years,
Hawkins for five years and Richardson
for two years. Moore said that some
employees want their jobs back but
he’s concerned all four may lose their
vacation pay. Maney said they won’t
“I don’t like for people to come back
on me because I've tried to do what I
thought my job was to do’, he said. ¢I
don’t really think there would be so
much ruckus if this were not an elec-
tion year in Kings Mountain.
Doyle Campbell, com-
Campbell Seeks
native of Shelby, Mrs. Belt is
KINGS MOUNTAIN, NORTH CAROL
<<
Three More File
For KM Board
Three candidates, in-
cluding one woman, filed for
city political office this week,
bringing the number of can-
didates to five who have filed
for commissioner and one
who has filed for Mayor in the
October city elections.
Norma F. Bridges will
challenge incumbent Com-
missioner Corbet Nicholson
in District III. Nicholson has
not announced his intentions
to seek re-election.
In Ward 4, a contest has
developed between four peo-
ple seeking political office for
the first time, three of whom
are former city policemen,
who seek to oust Incumbent
Norman King, who has not
yet announced his intentons
to seek re-election.
Filing this week were
former retired Police Chief
J.D. Barrett and former city
police officer Mike Sanders.
A third former city
policeman, Joe King, and
Jeff Gregory, also a
newcomer fo politics, filed
several weeks ago.
Kyle Smith announced two
weeks ago that he will
challenge incumbent Mayor
John Henry Moss, Kings
Mountain Mayor for 22 years,
and said he will base his cam-
paign on a city manager form
of government which would
be “the first item on the agen-
da during my
administration.”
A native of Kings Moun-
tain, Norma Bridges is the
daughter of the late Mr. and
Mrs. M.C. Falls and is mar-
ried to Kings Mountain
native, Bobby Bridges, and
they reside on Cleveland
Avenue. They have three
children, Ken married to
Cathy Carroll, Wayne mar-
ried to Dianna Sweezy and
Kim married to Royce
Peeler. They are active in Se-
cond Baptist Church.
For the past 12 years, the
Bridges’ have owned and
operated Bridges Textiles,
Inc. in Kings Mountain.
Before opening their own
business, Mrs. Bridges was
employed by Duplex Interna-
tional for 15 years.
Mrs. Bridges said in her fil-
ing statement that she is ‘not
running against anyone but
more importantly, she is run-
ning for the citizens of Kings
Mountain.” She says she does
not wish to make campaign
promises that cannot be kept,
she only promises to study
each issue and give an honest
vote that will be best for the
city and its citizens. She feels
that all citizens would be
served better and may par-
ticipate more if at least one
woman is on the council and
would feel the same way if
the council was composed of
all women.
If elected, Mrs. Bridges
would be Kings Mountain's
second woman commissioner
in recent history. The late
Mrs. 0.0. Walker served the
unexpired term of her hus-
NORMA BRIDGES
MIKE SANDERS
J.D. BARRETT
band, the late Commissioner
Walker, then was re-elected
for another term. She served
from 1968-71.
Kings Mountain citizens
will elect a mayor and com-
missioners from District 1,
III and IV on Oct. 6th with a
run-off, if necessary, on Nov.
3. Terms of Mayor John
Henry Moss and Commis-
sioners Irvin M. (Tootie)
Allen, District I; Commissioner
Corbet Nicholson, District
III; and Commissioner Nor-
man King, District IV, are
expiring. None of the in-
cumbents have yet announc-
ed plans to seek re-election.
Turn To Page 3-A
Second Term On School Board
periences and it is my hope
DOYLE CAMPBELL
pleting his first term on the
Kings Mountain Board of
Education made it official
Tuesday that he seeks re-
election to a second term.
Campbell filed with the
Cleveland County Board of
Elections in Shelby.
Other incumbent on the
board, 12-year-veteran June
Lee has said she will not seek
re-election.
~ Susan H. Belt, of Oakland
St., was the first candidate
filing last week for an inside-
city seat on the board. A
running for public office for
the first time.
In his filing statement,
Campbell said: “I am an-
nouncing today that it is my
intention to seek a second
term on the Board of Educa-
tion of Kings Mountain
District Schools. I wish to
thank the citizens of our
school district for entrusting
me with the responsibility of
school board membership for
the past four years. During
this time I have had many
learning and enriching ex-
that future service on the
board of education will in-
volve promoting what is best
for our children. I desire to
continue serving on the board
in order to be a part of conti-
nuing progress toward mak-
ing our schools the best possi-
ble and providing an environ-
ment for every child to have
an opportunity to achieve to
his or her highest potential.”
Filing continues through
noon Aug. 7th with the
Cleveland County Board of
Elections. Only the two seats
of Campbell and Mrs.
Lee are up for election this
year on November 3.
Campbell is associated
with McGinnis Department
Store and is married to Anita
McGinnis Campbell,
guidance councelor at Kings
Mountain Senior High.
Anative of Oak Ridge, Tenn.
he has been a Kings Mountain
resident for 15 years, is presi-
dent of the Kings Mountain
Kiwanis club, past president
of the KM Little Theatre and
has served for four years as a
member of the Health Coun-
cil of KM District Schools. He
serves as Vice Chairman of
the Board of Education. He
attended Carson Newman
College, Jefferson City,
Tenn., served as a Captain in
the USAF as a security police
officer. with one year service
in Southeast Asia and Viet-
nam. He attended Tulane
University where he received
his Master’s in social work.
The Campbells are active in
Resurrection Lutheran
Church and they and their
two daughters, Anne and
Emily, reside on Castlewood
Road.