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VOL. 101 NUMBER 1
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 1987
KINGS MOUNTAIN, NORTH CAROLINA
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CHRISTMAS |The whan
Library, and its reflection on the rain:
scene to remember. It was shot on a time expose by T.C, “Red” McKee of Kings Moun-
tain, ;
Christmas tree olitside Mauney Mer
street, makes for a postcard Christmas
Candidate Filing To Begin
Candidate filing for local, Jack Spangler expire. Each
state and national offices in was e
District, are also expected to
the 1988 elections begin Jan.
4th and at least two Kings
Mountain incumbents plan {po
announce. ;
Joyce Cashion, Kings
Mountain grocer and vice
chairman for two years of
county commissioners, and
veteran State Senator J. Ollie
Harris of Kings Mountain are
both expected to file for re-
election.
Three seats are up for
grabs on the board of county
commissioners as terms of
Cashion, Gene LeGrand and
ected to four year
terms in 1984. Terms of Col-
eman Goforth and Board
chairman Josh Finnant cf
Kings Mountain do not expire
in 1988. LeGrand says he does
not plan to offer for re-
election.
In the race for State
Senate, Harris and in-
cumbents Marshall Rauch
and Helen Rhyne Marvin and
are also expected to file at
noon Jan. 4th. Rep. Edith
Lutz, Jack Hunt, and Charles
Owens, all incumbents
representing the 48th House
file on Jan. 4th.
On Tuesday, March 8, 1988
North Carolina,
simultaneously with other
southern states, will conduct
its earlier Presidential
Preference Primary.
Registration books close Feb.
8, 1988.
On Tuesday, May 3, 1988,
North Carolina will conduct
its state, legislative, district
and county primaries,
Democrat and Republican.
Offices will include Gover-
Turn To Page 4-A
Josh Hinnant Retiring From First Union
Banker L.E. (Josh) Hinnant is retiring
after 38 years in the banking business from
First Union National Bank.
* The announcement that Hinnant is taking
early retirement for reasons of health was
announced by First Union City Executive
Mike Huffman.
A native of Wendell, Hinnant came to
Kings Mountain in 1967 as Assistant Vice
President of the old First National Bank,
then became city executive for First Union
National Bank.
In recent years he has served as senior
business development officer. He got in the
banking business in his hometown of
Wendell and also worked for eight years as
an auditor at Old Security National Bank in
Raleigh. He attended the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Hinnant, who has served since 1972 on the
Cleveland County Board of Commissioners
and is completing his third year as chair-
man of the board, says early retirement will
give him more time to recruit industry, a
role he loves and got from former Mayor
John Henry Moss who named Hinnant as his
chairman of industry in 1967 when Hinnant
returned to Kings Mountain. During the
Moss Years,
members of the committee recruited 36 in-
dustries with 4,000 new jobs added in the
Kings Mountain area. Hinnant says he will
have more time to devote to the board of
commissioners also and to enjoy his hob-
bies, fishing and golfing.
Hinnant has two children, Rick Hinnant, a
senior at Wake Forest Law School, and Bon-
nie Hinnant, assistant vice president and
branch manager of First Union’s main of-
fice in Greensboro.
Hinnant and Moss and:
Moss’s Retirement Biggest
‘87 Kings Mountain Story
The year 1987 was a big
news-filled year in Kings
Mountain but the top story
was the announcement in
August by John Henry Moss
that he wouldn’t run for office
again, after 22 years, and the
subsequent adoption by the
city board of commissioners
of a new city manager form
of government, election of
Mayor Kyle Smith and three
new commissioners to
replace three incumbents
ousted by voters.
As New Year 1988 begins,
the city council is beginning
interviews for the new posi-
tion of city manager and
moving forward on several
projects initiated by former
Mayor Moss. Mayor Smith
outlined his goals in two work
sessions with department
heads on his first two days in
office Dec. 16-17.
In other firsts for the city,
Kings Mountain citizens saw
the opening of the first ABC
Store in history on Cleveland
Avenue after approving
alcohol sales by a difference
of 35 votes in January of last
year. Voters also approved
the on and off premises sale
of beer.and wine by narrow
margins! i
District school voters
elected Billy King and re-
elected vice chairman Doyle
Campbell to two seats open
on the Board of Education. A
third seat, which became
open when Kyle Smith was
elected Mayor, was not filled
by the board who decided to
take applications in its
search for the fifth member
but hasn’t found many
tickets. In years past, the
board has followed the direc-
L.E. HINNANT
| IBlood is urgently needed at
Give Blood bi
On Tuesday
Kings Mountain city
employees will sponsor a
visit of the Red Cross blood-
mobile Tuesday, Jan. 5, at
First Baptist Church.
Donors will be processed
from 1 until 6 p.m.
Fire Chief Gene Tignor,
chairman for the local visit,
started recruiting city of-
ficials, beginning with Mayor
Kyle Smith this week, and
said he hoped to have 100 per-
cent of city employees par-
ticipating in the one-day col-
lection. Goal of the drive is
125 pints of blood.
JoAnna Gillespie, director
of blood services for the
Cleveland County Red Cross
Chapter, said that blood use
is up all over Cleveland Coun-
ty and donations are now.
“Give generously at next
week’s bloodmobile visit.
this holiday season,” she
RECRUITING MAYOR—Fire Chief Gene Tignor, right, signs up Mayor Kyle Smith as a
blood donor in next Tuesday’s city-sponsored visit of the Red Cross bloodmobile. Donors
will be processed from 1 until 6 p.m. at First Baptist Church.
MAUNEY
SHOULD
HAVE BEEN
APPOINTED
TO SCHOOL
BOARD
See Page 4-A
said.
tion of voters when a vacancy
occurs with the member ap-
pointed without seeking ap-
plication. Priscilla Mauney,
who placed third in the seven-
candidate field and ran a
close race with second
finisher Campbell, has been
endorsed by candidates she
defeated at the polls, and is
the likely choice for the seat.
The board is expected to
review applications during a
special meeting at 7 p.m.
Jan., 5.
In other school news, a long
range facilities needs plan
was approved by the Board of
Education which calls for
‘major improvements at all
schools and a total cost of $10
million plus with construction
projects slated to begin in
1990 and completion in 1997.
The first priority is the clos-
ing of Central School to
students.
Kings Mountain citizens
recorded firsts in giving to
the United Way, reaching its
largest goal ever, $110,000,
and reaching a goal of
$200,000 for expansion of
Mauney Memorial Library.
As 1987 came to a close, ci-
ty police were cracking down
on drugs in Operation
Genesis: The New Beginning,
Myers Hambright, 72,
Retired Teacher, Dies
Funeral services for Myers
Thomas Hambright, 72, were
conducted Monday morning
at 11 o'clock from First
Presbyterian Church of
which he was a member.
His pastor, Dr. Eric Faust,
officiated and interment was
in El Bethel Methodist
Church Cemetery.
Mr. Hambright died Satur-
day at 10:15 a.m. at home.
He was a native of
Cherokee County, S.C., son of
the late Jacob F. and Lela
Ware Hambright. He was
retired director of vocational
education at Kings Mountain
Senior High School and a
former Bethware School
agriculture teacher for many
years. He taught at Fallston
Elementary School in 1939-41
before joining the Kings
Mountain District System at
Bethware in 1946. He retired
after 42 years in education in
1981. Hambright was a
charger member and past
president of Bethware Pro-
gressive Club and served as
manager of the Bethware
Fair and in various other
capacities for the Pro-
gressive club. Because of
declining health he retired as
a member of tne Cleveland
County Board of Elections.
He was an active Democrat,
organizer of the Betware
Precinct, Navy veteran of
= began Aug. 21 and has
a drug campaign which
resulted in 169 drug charges
against 35 individuals with 11
vehicles seized. Cocaine,
marijuana, valium and
xanaw were seized with total
street value in the thousands.
A political action group
was organized, a first, by 25
local businessmen ‘trying to
get commissioners out of the
every day working of the city
and let the mayor or city
manager run the city’ but
was linked to liquor issues by
opponents of the group.
Expansion and new in-
dustry made the headlines.
N.C. Governor Jim Martin
came to Grover to dedicate
Sheller Globe’s new plant.
Three industries announc-
ed expansion in KM In-
dustrial Park and Mayor
Moss initiated several big
projects, including the 'pro-
posed KM Corporate Center,
of which he is president; a
hydroelectric project on
Moss Lake; the development
of a Metropolitan Water
District and a sewer complex
roposal designed to serve a
ig area of Kings Mountain
and Gaston County.
A) strong local economy {|
méide this another successful
Christmas season for mer-
chants and plants were runn-
ing six to seven days a week,
with some employees only
taking Christmas Day as a
holiday.
KMG Minerals broke
ground for a $5.5 million
brick plant on Grover Road.
Hayward Pool Products is
building a $5 million plant in
the KM Industrial Park.
Evangelist Clyde Dupin
came to town and thousands
acked Gamble Stadium to
ear him during an eight
night crusade.
Turn To Page 11-A
MYERS T. HAMBRIGHT
World War II, and member of
First Presbyterian Church
and direct descendant of Col-
onel Frederick Hambright,
Revolutionary War hero of
the Battle of Kings Mountain.
Surviving are his wife,
Carolyn Westbrook Ham-
bright; his son, Myers T.
Hambright, Jr. of Shelby;
two daughters, Sarah Edith
Hambright of Atlanta, Ga.,
and Mary Elizabeth Dover of
Asheville; brother, Fred
Hambright of Rock Hill, S.C.;
sister, Mrs. Sarah West of Ir-
vington, Va. and two grand-
children.