Newspapers / The Kings Mountain Herald … / May 11, 1988, edition 1 / Page 4
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Page 4A-KINGS MOUNTAIN HERALD-Wednesday, May 11, 1988 Opinions OUR VIEW Cartoonitorial By D. Griggs Your Right To Say It Think Festive! The Mount Holly and Cleveland County-Spring Festivals, both held last Saturday, drew record crowds, 10,000 to 15,000 each, and helped to raise much needed money for local civic organizations, according to festival participants and sponsors. Though different in many respects, the events shared a festive atmosphere, highlighted by the work of local craftspeople, entertainers, and cooks. Both events were good for the participants, the visitors and the municipalities of Shelby and Mount Holly. Individual citizens, civic groups and business of both communities pulled together to make their festivals community showcases. In so doing, the community awareness and spirit of thousands of participants was heightened. It is our opinion that a Kings Mountain Festival would not only provide an excellent fund raising mechanism for a variety of our non-profit organizations, but would also give a-boest to our local commerce as well. Kings Mountain residents and civic groups lack neither pride nor enthusiasm, and we certainly have the leadership needed to spearhead such an annual festival. Should we have a festival? Could it be in the fall? Could Mountaineer Days be expanded? Could a festival be built around a revolutionary theme, linking our past to our present? We would like to know what you think. Drop us your ideas, and we will share them with other Hearld readers on our opinion page. Who knows, with Kings Mountain’s rich heritage and bright future, our community could sponsor a festival that would be second to none. Personal Link In reading last week’s moving descriptions by Kings Mountain school children about their favorite teachers and Bob McRae’s comments about Teacher Appreciation Week, we realized how truely fortunate Kings Mountain children and teachers are to be part of a school system that is still small enough to retain the personal link bet- ween parents, students, teachers and ad- ministrators. Kings Mountain Teacher of the Year, Mrs. Car- rol Peeler, and the students honored at Tuesday night's KMHS Awards Banquet are the best argu- ment we know of to retain and strengthen this per- sonalized link in our school system. American Business, after decades of consolida- tion, is finally realizing that to compete interna- tionally bigger is not always better. Bigness has proven slower, less competitive, less responsive, ‘| more bureaucratic and much more expensive and wasteful. We hope that american educational gurus will soon wake up to the fact that consolidated, automated, impersonal learning factories produce students that are no better equipped to compete with foreign students than American cars of a few years ago were able to compete with imports. Ex- cellence in education, like excellence in ‘| automobiles, is measured by performance not size. No school system is perfect, but Carrol Peeler and our best students have set a strong example for the system to aim for. : Our most precious national resource is our young people. We believe that their best defense against the mind deadening forces of bureaucratic mediocrity is a responsive educational system led by an army of well-trained, highly motivated educators....teachers like Carrol Peeler Letter Policy We ask that you follow these guidelines and deadlines when submitting letters: Keep the letters brief and to the point. Type and double-space them, if possible, but sign them in ink and include your full name, ad- dress and telephone number for verification. The Herald reserves the right to edit the letters for spelling, good taste; libel, or. any other reason, and reserves the right to refuse the letters for any reason. All letters must be mailed to Letter to the Editor, P.O. Box 769, Kings Mountain, N.C. 28086. Under no circumstances will hand- delivered letters be published. ©1988 Greene Newspapers, Inc. All rights reserved. All property rights for the entire contents of this publication shall be property of Greene Newspapers, Inc. No part may be reproduced without prior consent. Established 1889 Published Wednesday at East King Street at Canterbury Road, Kings Mountain, North Carolina 28086 by Greene Newspapers, Inc. Gary M. Greene Publisher Gary Stewart Darrell Austin Managing Editor Advertising Director Elizabeth Stewart Jane P t News Editor Erk Randall Barber Lynne Lynn Pressroom Superintendent Assistant Bookkeeper Jeff Grigg Production Manager Second Class Postage Paid At Kings Mountain, North Carolina Mail Subscription Rates (Payable In Advance) 1Yr. 6 Months Iny Colmty ol i ET Crd Gl AE $14.50 $7.25 OUt-Of CUNY i a Le is $15.55 $7.80 Student Rates (9!Mos.). > 0. Sanu wn $11.00 (All prices include 5 percent sales tax.) Postmaster: Send Address Changes Tu: Kings Mountain Herald P.O. Box 769 Kings Mountain, N.C. 28086 704-739-7496 VSPS-931-040 a ZTE CHR. Gol Teeee™ = THE GUYS Took ME SNIPE HUNTIN... = % ys a / v§ Wim) ry fl ; Looking Both Ways By RUSTY GATES (Ed. Note: We have invited Rusty Gates to go with us on a snipe hunt for over a month now. But, as you see, he turned us down and he and his col- umn are still here and we’re holding the bag.) Anyone Down South who has never been taken on a snipe hunt is probably very lucky or totally without friends. Or his odor eater inserts in his brogans turned on him a month or so ago. Rusty Gates You know the rules: they are simple and cruel and a whole lot of fun, unless you happen to be the one left holding the snipe bag. The game or hunt requires eight or 10 people (any number can play) who have been on previous snipe hunts before and one innocent victim who is on his first exciting safari. Since snipes run only at - night, while they track down the elusive night crawler, which is their only known souree of food, the hunt has to take place in total darkness, prefer- ably from nine until midnight. The victim is given a huge tow sack or gunny sack and stationed at the mouth of a big gully or ditch. He is told that he is to hold the sack open while the other, more experienced hunters go up the ditch and then chase the snipes toward the sack. The ditch is a very necessary part of the hunt, because snipes do their best night-crawler catching in red-dirt ditches. Now, there really is such a creature as a snipe. It is a long-legged wading bird that lives in mar- shes and swamps, but the type of snipe most peo- ple “hunt” is a little less common than striped paint, sky hooks, hen’s teeth, and mare's nests. The whole object of the game, if it can be called that, is to station the victim in the dark and then the rest of the hunting party leaves, goes home, or whatever, and about midnight the victim begins to realize that he is perhaps the butt of a practical joke. ! There was a neighborhood kid named Oopie in Kings Mountain who had many annoying habits. He was, in short, a pest. Whatever you decided to do, Oopie was there to get in your way, step on your fingers, knock over your root beer, fall into. your petunia patch, or shake the limb holding the hornets’ nest. But he was also a sort of pitiful kid whose family life left a lot to be desired — such as a father, a regular income, hot meals, kind words, and love and understanding. There were some of us who lik- ed the kid despite his irritating ways, and we would never have taken him on a snipe hunt. But others did, and they left Oopie holding the SIDEWALK SURVEY: sack while they went off to scare snipes toward the sack. Naturally they ran home as soon as they were out of earshot, and within minutes they were sitting around the stove in Nolly’s Store and laughing about poor Oopie who was standing in the cold and dark woods. It was even funnier that it had started to rain and, the rain was freezing onto tree limbs and power lines. Soon the rain turned to sleet, and the snipe hunters drank more Lotta Colas and laughed an planned their next prank with Oopie as the vic- im. At ten o'clock Nolly ran the kids out of his store so he could lock up the cat and the candy and go home. The kids also went home, but one of them began to worry about Oopie and told his parents of the prank. The parents knocked on doors of other kids’ homes, and soon they decided that Oopie was hopelessly lost in the woods and would freeze to death before morning. So they found lanterns and flashlights and pine knots and headed for the woods and the ditch, where they found nothing, not even a snipe-less sack. Oopie was gone. So they yelled. They searched. They yelled and searched some more. Meanwhile, they were freez- ing and the parents were promising their kids the worst whaling of their entire lives. At three in the morning they had to call off the search. Oopie was a goner. Sadly they trooped to Oopie’s house, banged on the door, and finally roused his mother and told her the tragic news. The horrified mother rushed to his room and returned quickly to tell them that Oopie was sleep- ing soundly in his own bed. It seems that as soon as the hunt started, Oopie became frightened of the dark and ran headlong out of the woods. Ashamed to tell the others of his fright, he had gone home and then to bed. And he was the only one of the group who was warm, safe, and rested. I'm glad it worked out that way. Oopie had enough to worry about without having snipes stom- ping and pecking at him. West Elementary DEAR EDITOR: I feel compelled to write concerning a very un- fortunate occurance I observed on May 5, during a youth league baseball game. Let us not loose sight of the fact that the baseball progoms or any recreational activity, is for the enefit of the youth or participants and not the coaches. Anything short of this is ‘“‘cheating” and depriving the youth of an opportunity to grow and develop. Coaches at any level have many obligations. Their primary task is to teach proper fundamen- tals. Many of these young players will not develop "into major league players. However, each will grow into teens and adults. Because of this, I think it is imperative the coaches stress good sport- smanship, fair play, unselfish attitudes and respect for authority. At any athletic contest an umpire or referee is charged with the responsibility to oversee the game. These officials equate to parents, policemen or employeers. If the players, or in this case the coaches, do not show respect for the of- ficials, how can we expect them to show respect for anyone with authority? When an umpire has to suspend a game because a coach ridicules an official, the players lose. When a coach removes his team from the field because of an umpire’s decision, our children are cheated. These young players are very impressionable. When they see adults question authority, they may do so as well. When the players see their team fac- ed with adversity and the coach decides his players will quit, the players may think it is proper to quit anything at anytime in life! Sports play a major role in todays society. There are many values to be gained other than just winn- ing. Let us not develop the attitude that if ‘things are not going well, let’s take our bats and go home.” Remember, it is the kids that count. : Sincerely, Larry Sipe Kings Mountain Field Day Success DEAR EDITOR: On April 15th all fifth grade students in the Kings’ Mtn. District Schools met at Kings Mtn. Sr. High and took part in the annual Fifth Grade Field Day. The event was a huge success. We would like to thank the parents from each participating school who gave their time. Kyle Smith, Paul Hord and Gene Tignor awarded rib- bons for the Track events. Also, special thanks go to, Kings Mtn. Herald, Kings Mtn. Schools Food Service, Kings Mtn. Schools Maintenance Dept. and County Schools Garage, Kings Mtn. Sr. Bethware, East, Grover, North and West Elemen- tary Schools. We appreciate your help and cooperation. Elementary Physical Education Personnel, Kathy James, Sandi Shockley Diane Dooley, Rick Fortner Old-Timers Honor Roll I would like to nominate the following individual to the Kings Mountain Herald Honor Roll of Kings Mountain old-timers: NAME: a Address: i an Age thiscalendaryear:........................ Check one: ---My nominee is a Kings Mountain citizen who has reached 95 years of age or older this calendar ----My nominee is a Kings Mountain citizen who has worked for one professional, or one employer (including self-employed) in Kings Mountain or Cleveland County for 35 or more years. Give details below: Employer or profession: Nears: oi tale eS Name and phone number of person making nomination (not for publication): NAME: ni er rae Phone Number:..i. i... a a Please submit or mail by Aug. 27 to: Honor Roll Kings Mountain Herald P. O. Box 769 Kings Mountain, N.C. 28086 High School and Why Do You Teach? Clara C. Jackson Sara (. Gray 2 Barbara Byers Donna McDonald Jacqueline Hope Jodi S. McDaniel ‘I teach because I 1 love it. Nothing is more rewarding than to see a child smile knowing they finally understand the concept or to see the excitement in their eyes when learning something new.’’ teach school because I enjoy it and like to help peo- ple. It’s a satistying experience to aid- others to become productive citizens in today’s changing and challenging world. Also, it pro- vides a decent way to earn a living.” “The rewards of teaching are not the salary or the conve- nient scheduling of work hours. The rewards are more subtle like a child’s smile when you take time to give him/- her some individual attention, or the light in his/her eyes when a concept is finally understeod.” ‘‘Teaching is a demanding but re- warding position. Each day provides opportunities for creative challenge. Teaching provides me with a sense of satisfaction in lear- ning new things which will help me grow but also in helping others.” “I was raised in a family where educa- tion, or educating young people was the primary goal in life. Year after year I heard my parents praised for their ef- forts and the effect they had on chang- ing and improving their students’ lives. I, too, wanted to make a difference.” “I have always wanted to teach, even when I was in elementary school. I enjoy working with children and seeing them learn new things. Every day is a new and different challenge.” Don’t Cheat Youth J { bu f
The Kings Mountain Herald (Kings Mountain, N.C.)
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May 11, 1988, edition 1
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