WANDA KYLE
Wanda Spends Her Time
Helping People In Need
A substance abuse specialist is a friend in need but the
main thing is being able to work together.”
The speaker is Wanda Kyle, wife of Kings Mountain
Police Officer Harry Kyle. She is also a founder of the local
People That Love Center which may have to shut its doors
due to lack of funds to pay the rent.
When Mrs. Kyle is not working the night shift at the
Gaston-Lincoln Mental Health De Tox Center in Gastonia,
she’s volunteering at People That Love Center or working
duty with the Shelby Rescue Squad as an EMT-
Intermediate.
A busy woman, Wanda, also finds time to join her hus-
band in showing their French bulldogs and taking care of
two dozen bulldogs they breed at home,
For almost a year now Mrs. Kyle has been a friend in
transition to clients who come to the Gaston-Lincoln Men-
tal Health De Tox Center on Highland Avenue in Gastonia,
which offers a seven day treatment program and from
which clients are referred to other ara or agencies.
Drugs and alcohol abuse are no respector of persons,
and Mrs. Kyle has counseled the very young and the very
old, some of whom are referred by the courts and by other
agencies.
sang people come from all walks of life, the poor and the
rich.
Group therapy with clients, talking with families, giving
advice and helping the client to get assistance from
Alcoholics Anonymous and some individual counseling are
included in her job when Wanda reports to work at 4 p.m.
for the second shift.
Wanda meets a lot of street people with no place to go
and she says The De Tox Center, with its 13 beds, is always
full of patients who can only stay seven days. Chairs in the
waiting room are always full of people with no place to
spend the night and offers some respite from the cold.
Because the Gaston Center is now receiving involuntary
commitments from both Rutherford and Cleveland Coun-
ties, the De Tox Center is running over with patients and
the out patient load is always heavy, she says.
Reared in a Christian home, Mrs. Kyle said that she felt
the hand of God in her calling for this particular mission in
life and also with opening of the Love Center in Kings
Mountain. Involved in the Storehouse Ministry of First
Assembly of God, Mrs. Kyle enlisted the aid of her pastor,
Rev. Elwood Barnes, and that congregation in renting the
Childers building on North Piedmont Avenue. A collection
for used clothes, food for the needy and fuel for the needy
began in earnest nearly two years ago. Last year 817
families were assisted and additional 150 children were fed
and clothed at Christmas time. In addition, Center
volunteers prepared Thanksgiving dinner for the needy.
The ongoing program has received some donations from
the community but is now behind several months in rent
payments. ‘There are just so many needy people in Kings
Mountain that the public doesn’t know about. They are cry-
ing for help’, said Mrs. Kyle.
Mrs. Kyle's Sxperienes at the Love Center and her train-
ing as EMTI with the Kings Mountain Rescue Squad, and
now the Shelby Rescue Squad, has been valuable to her in
her job. “We have some clients who come off the streets
with seizures and withdrawal symptoms. My training as a
nursing assistant and also with the Rescue Squad helps me
to know what to do for them physically’, she said. ‘My
training in the church and as the eldest of eight children
growing up in a Christian home helps me to know what to
say to them to help them spiritually”, she says. Mrs. Smith
says her husband, a patrolman with the KM Police Depart-
ment, is supportive of both her volunteer job and her paid
job. He is also her number one fan when she shows her
show dogs and she has sold dogs to buyers all over the U.S.
and Canada, including American and Canadian cham-
pions. Wanda and Harry Kyle recently took their dogs to
the Metrolina Fairgrounds for a dog show and to St. Louis,
Mo., where a top professional dog handler in the United
States watched Wanda and her French bulldog perform in
the show ring. ‘‘Wanda’s a natural,” the judge told Harry
Kyle, explaining that Wanda’s dogs relax with her and per-
form their best.
Officer Kyle, who has been married to Wanda Elkins for
16 years and met her when he was with the Asheville
Police Department, says she is also a natural at the Love
Center and at the De Tox Center. ‘These people relax with
her and she’s able to help them,” he said.
“you Never Fail Until You Stop Trying” is a sign on
Wanda Kyle’s desk at the Love Center and De Tox Center.
Its her motto and she practices what she preaches every
ay.
First Step Toward County-Wide System?
Water Line Extensions Endorsed
Extending water lines by
connecting two major water
systems--Shelby and Kings
Mountain--and working with
Isothermal Planning Com-
mission to apply for grant
that area available was en-
dorsed verbally by govern-
mental and industrial of-
ficials of the county Thurs-
day.
The result could be the first
‘step toward a county-wide
water system.
Endorsing the proposal
were Shelby City Manager
Dave Wilkinson, Mayor Kyle
Smith of Kings Mountain,
J.D. Ellis, representing the
proposed Metropolitan Water
District, and all industrial
representatives present in
addition to mayors of Grover,
Earl and Patterson Springs.
Representing the city of
Kings Mountain at the
meeting called by Assistant
County Manager Lane Alex-
ander were Mayor Kyle
Smith, Community Develop-
ment Director Gene White
and Walt Ollis of the city
operati
posed
Water
public department.
Offici of Grover In-
dustries, Mills and
Hoechst felanese were also
present t@ ask for help in ob-
taining more water for their
Also present were
tives from Isother-
mal P Commission,
Cleve County, Shelby,
Earl, er and Patterson
Spring in addition to
ves fo the pro-
ont Metropolitan
ct.
Photo by Lib Stewart
AARP CHAPTER CHARTERED - Kings Mountain AARP Chapter received its official
national charter Tuesday. President Ruth Gamble, right, accepts the charter from Assis-
tant State Director Ray Neatherly, center, as Charles Walker, treasurer, looks on. The
local chapter doubled its membership in 1987 with 87 members.
Bomb Blast Damages Car, Store
Fran Black, acting codes
officer at city hall, heard the
Saturday night blast several
blocks away at her home on
Monte Vista Drive.
What it was was a bomb ex-
ploding in a 1977 Datsun park-
ed across the street from
Griffin Drug Rite on West
Mountain Street. The owner
of the vehicle, Todd Allen
Cloninger, 22, of 415 Fulton
Drive, was inside the pool
hall when the explosion oc-
cured, heavily damaging his
car and blowing out the glass
in the door and windows of
Griffin Drug Store, 129 W.
Mountain Street.
Investigators with the
Tobacco and Firearms Con-
trol were still investigating
the incident, according to the
Kings Mountain Police
Department.
tl. Charles Bundrick in-
system some 5.5 miles begin-
ning at the intersectin of
highways 74 and 180 down
Highway 180 to Highway 198
During the meeting, the
county proposed a 6.7 mile
extension of the Kings Moun-
tain water system from north
of Grover up Highway 226 to
Lavender Road and west of
Earl. The county also wans to
extend the Shelby water
and to Lavender Road. This
12.2 mile extension would
Turn To Page 11-A
City Manager
Interviews Set
Kings Mountain com-
missioners will begin in-
terviews Tuesday night for
the city manager position.
Mayor Kyle Smith said
four candidates will be in-
Obituaries I 3-A Classifieds .............. 12-13A
Editorials ...............0. 4-A Business News ............ 14-A
ChurchNews .............. 5-A Weddings .................. 2-B
®0® Sports .................... 6-8A School News ............... 2-B
ClubNews ............... 9-10A TV Listings .............. 8-1
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VOL ¥ ; 255
. 101 NUMBER 8 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1988 KINGS MOUNTAIN, NORTH C gas =
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terviewed on Feb. 23, Feb.
23, March 1 and March 3 at
his Gute a,
commissions” na
the field of 31a
nize the city’s
and pay s
Wi x :
Scott of
in Se ea ue o
Municipalities returned
for a meeting with city
i: foners with a list
‘who .
stu dics a 0 organiza
. selection of :
ogee on of thy ou
may be on the agenda for
consideration by commis-
sioners at the March 8
meeting. A league-
contracted project could
cost between $18,000 and
$20,000.
vestigated for KMPd. The
bombing occured at 9:30 p.m.
‘We had our television on in
our living room and the noise
was so loud that we could
hear it over the noise of the
television set,” Mrs. Black
said.
Committees Look At Sewer Plant Sites
Steering committees for
the proposed $26 million
Crowders Creek waste treat-
ment plan have looked at
three potential plant sites and
are presently investigating
potential right-of-way.
Gene White, Director of
Community Development for
the City of Kings Mountain
and a member of the commit-
tee representing the city,
gave the progress report this
week.
White said that lead agency
for the project--the city of
Gastonia--met with J.N.
Pease Engineering represen-
tatives this week to finalize
the engineering study con-
tract. The $1 million contract
was being presenting to the
city of Gastonia Council for
approval.
White said that Gastonia
Public Works Director Sam
Wilkins is in process of for-
mulating proposed local
agreements with the
municipalities involved, in-
cluding Gastonia, Kings
Mountain, Gaston County and
Bessemer City.
he regional plant would
open 64 acres of southwest
Gaston County to residential
and industrial development
and would treat wastewater
for Gastonia, Gaston County,
Kings Mountain and
Bessemer City.
With the possibility of a $14
million grant, the four
municipalities would share in
the cost of the remaining $11
million.
Earliest construction could
start in February 1989.
Lenten Services Scheduled
Community Lenten ser-
vices will be held each
Wednesday during Lent,
beginning Wed., Feb. 24 at
Central United Methodist
Church.
All services will be held at
Central each Wednesday
from 12:05 until 12:30 p.m.,
with different preachers
from downtown churches br-
inging the messages.
The services will center on
the theme of the “Fruit of the
Spirit” and will be taken
from Paul's letter to the
Galatians.
After each service, there
will be a light meal in the
fellowship hall. Donations
will be received at the door of
ihe fellowship hall to cover
the cost of food.
‘The worship leaders for the
services include:
Feb. 24 - George Auman
liturgist, Eric Faust
preacher.
March 2 - Harwood Smith
liturgist, Philip Squire
preacher.
March 9 - Tom Hudson
liturgist, Bob Collins
preacher.
‘March 16 - Bill Tyson
liturgist, George Auman
preacher.
March 23 - Eric Faust
liturgist, Bill Tyson
preacher.
work
. Last
EB RE IR se Ss