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VOL. 101 NUMBER 33 - ——— ¢ cot
. BER 33 X "WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 1988 KINGS MOUNTAIN, N)} 2
By LIB STEWART
* News Editor
Tuesday is Decision Day for the four
municipalities involved in the proposed
Crowders Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant
and City Utilities Chairman Al Moretz says the
project is still go.
Moretz said that discussions have been going
on at staff level between Kings Mountain and
Gastonia for two weeks and next Tuesday the
financial package will be presented to the four
elected boards - Kings Mountain, Gastonia,
Gaston County and Bessemer City.
Kings Mountain City Council has scheduled a
meeting on the matter for Tuesday night at 7:30
p.m. Gastonia City Council has also scheduled a
meeting for Tuesday and Gaston County Board of
Commissioners set a work session for that night.
Crowders Creek tops their agenda also.
Moretz gave no specifics on the negotiations
but he said that officials from Kings Mountain,
Gastonia, Gaston County and Bessemer City are
optimistic they can come up with the $26 million
to build the facility west of Highway 321.
The project hit a snag recently when Kings
Mountain, faced with $11 million - plus for utility
improvements said it could contribute only $1.25
of its original share of $4 million for the project
which requires Kings Mountain’s participation if
Tuesday Is ‘D Day’ For Crowders Creek Project
it wins a $14 million grant from the Environmen-
tal Protection Agency.
Under the original agreements, Gaston was to
pay $3.8 million, Gastonia $4 million and
Bessemer City $800,000.
Kings Mountain is also pushing for annexation
agreement between the four governments involv-
ed and a master meter location at the intersec-
tion of McGill and Crowder’s Creek rather than
at the McGill Treatment Plant.
Kings Mountain is under judicial order to clear
up problems at its Pilot Creek Wastewater Treat-
ment Plant by June, 1990. The city has been ad-
vised by its consulting engineers that it can ex-
pand Pilot Creek plant to provide more treat-
TY |
ment at a smaller cost and faster than through
the proposed Crowders project the four govern-
ments began discussing about a year ago.
City Manager George Wood acknowledged that
negotiations are still underway and that all four
governments have set Tuesday as the deadline
for decision on where to go on the project.
Moretz said he anticipates that positive action
will be taken by the governments involved.
Plans for the project were originally to be in
Raleigh Aug. 1 but state officials extended the
deadline.
The proposed plant would serve about 54
square miles of Gaston County and treat six
million gallons of wastewater daily.
Hydro
Plant
Axed
By LIB STEWART
News Editor
Kings Mountain’s proposed
hydro-electric plant on Moss |
Lake is a dead issue.
City Manager George Wood
made the statement at Tuesday
night’s city council meeting in
which he announced that a
federal agency has dismissed the
city’s license application due to
the city’s failure to provide re-
quested information.
Related Story
On Page 5-A
Fred E. Springer, director of
the Office of Hydropower Licens-
_ ing of the FERC, wrote ‘The
necessary revisions to your ap-
plication were not submitted.
Your application is therefore
dismissed under section 4.32 of
the commission’s regulations.”
Kings Mountain had until July
15 to submit information needed
by the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission to com-
- plete its evaluation of the city’s
icense application.
City Utilities Chairman Al
Moretz said the utilities commit-
tee had discussed the project at
length and that a decision was
made by consultants not to res-
$1 million.
Budget Approved, Goals Discussed
pond to the agency’s request
cause the hydropower project
By GARY STEWART
Gully Washer?
Area farmers and backyard gardeners who’ve seen their crops wither in the summer drought wish it
was, but it’s not. It’s water gushing through a huge pipe in the spillway at Moss Lake dam. The city is
lowering the level of the lake by three feet so temporary repairs, costing from $75,000 to $125,000, can be
made to a concrete slab which is seeping water. The permanent repairs which will come later could cost
Photo by Todd Gossett
Webber Is Named
Personnel Director
By LIB STEWART
News Editor
Charles Webber, 35, Kings
Mountain branch manager of the
Employment Security Commis-
sion, will become the city’s first §
personnel director Aug. 22.
Kings Mountain City Council,
acting on the recommendation of
City Manager George Wood,
hired Webber Tuesday night.
Wood had received applications
from 45 people.
A Cleveland County native,
Webber has 12 years experience
with the N.C. Employment
Security Commission and for 22
months has been ESC Office
Manager at the Community
Center. Previously he worked in
PRC offices in Shelby and Forest
ity.
“We are delighted that a per-
son of Webber’s experience and
caliber is joining our staff,” said
Wood, who said that Webber will
be working with 170-plus city
employees.
“I look forward to this oppor-
tunity,” said Webber, who says
he is very excited and wants to
bring a sense of pride to persons
working for the city.” “ I want
them to feel good rather than
considering theirs a job but an
opportunity.’’
KM Schools Ahead In Asbestos Removal
By GARY STEWART
Managing Editor
The foresight of the previous ad-
ministration put Kings Mountain schools
ahead of the game in its efforts to comply
CHARLES WEBBER
Kings Mountain is no stranger
to Webber, who grew up on Long
Branch Church Road, son of the
late Anderson Webber Jr. and
Ruby Clark Webber. His brother
attended the former Compact
School and the family moved to
the Shelby area sometime ago.
He graduated from Burns High
School and received his B.A.
degree in sociology from the
University of North Carolina at
Charlotte. He has also completed
accounting courses at Gaston
College and plans to pursue a
master’s in sociology. He is mar-
ried to Audrey Ross Webber and
they are parents of a daughter,
Lakeisha, age 12, a student at
Crest Junior High School. The
family is active in Washington
Missionary Baptist Church in
Waco. He is active in the Army
Reserves.
His strong ties with Kings
Mountain at the local ESC office
will help him in his new role with
had a low priority. ‘We have $11
million-plus worth of utility im-
provements to make now and we
feel that’s our greatest need,” he
said.
Wood agreed. “With
everything we have to do now we
would not be in a position to
finance it. There are serious en-
vironmental concerns and the ci-
ty would need to do considerable
work on the application,” said
Wood after Tuesday's board
meeting. “It’s not a high priority
to pursue at this time and is not
cost effective for the city when
you look at the entire concept,”
he said.
In January 1987, former Mayor
John Henry Moss filed an ap-
plication with the FERC. The
commission, which accepted the
application in September after
the city submitted supplemental
information, was expected to
rule on the application some time
this year.
The hydro project, estimated
to cost $1 to $2 million, was
Turn To Page 5-A
Managing Editor
The Kings Mountain Board of Education approv-
ed its current expense and capital outlay budgets
for 1988-89 and discussed goals for the new school
year at Monday night’s regular monthly meeting
at the Superintendent’s Office.
The budget, which includes $3,225,872 for current
expenses and $255,375 for capital outlay projects,
reflected only minor changes from the
preliminary budget approved by the board in
April. Official approval could not be made until
after the system’s state and federal allocations
were known.
Supt. Bob McRae outlined four major goals
established by the school system’s leadership
team during a recent retreat in Boone, and also
discussed five personal goals he hopes to ac-
complish during the upcoming school year.
Continuing to implement the state’s Basic
Education Plan will have top priority for the
leadership team, which includes the principals and
assistant principals from each school, and the cen-
tral office staff. McRae said Jane King, former,
North School Principal who was recently named
director of instruction, will be busy implementing
foreign language and art courses in kindergarten
and first grade and re-arranging schedules to in-
clude those programs.
Turn To Page 3-A
1 - Continue to establish goals and
timelines for Basic Education Program
and Communicate them to the communi-
ty.
2 - Continue to encourage students to
complete education through implementa-
tion of the Kings Mountain District
Schools Dropout Prevention Plan.
3 - Begin to plan for the re-organization
of the school system.
4 - Work for Southern Association re-
accrediation.
fice.
problems,” McRae said.
However, McRae added,
1 - Increase awareness of the need for a
warm, caring environment for children in
schools.
2 - Provide principals with more direct
assistance in relation to performance im-
provement. (Personal improvement and
improvement of staff).
3 - Enhance community relations.
4 - Stress improved appearances of
campuses.
5 - Emphasize the value of a positive
work attitude among employees. ‘
McRae pointed out that
be removed. The schools
Turn To Page 3-A
Kickoff 88
Grid Preview
Kings Mountain Herald g
AT A GLANCE
with state and federal requirements con-
cerning asbestos, Supt. Bob McRae told
the board at its regular monthly meeting
Monday night at the Superintendent’s Of-
The removal of asbestos from the ceil-
ings of four classrooms at East School last
week completed the recommendations of
a study conducted three years ago.
“We thought that would complete our
asbestos work, but with new federal re-
quirements coming out (in about a
month) I’m sure we’ll find some other
removing asbestos or making areas con-
taining asbestos safe for students and
staff, would have been much greater had
the school administration not acted before
the regulations went into effect.
years ago the prior administration, head-
ed by retired Supt. William Davis, had in-
spections done under state guidelines that
were in effect at that time and found
several places where asbestos needed to
$75,000 the past two summers removing
asbestos, especially in boiler room areas.
the city, he said. One of his first
duties will be helping implement
the results of a management and
personnel study, including the ci-
ty’s new pay plan and also imple-
ment a revamped insurance pro-
gram.
ifn another matter, Council
unanimously rejected a conve-
nience store’s petition for
satellite annexation.
Attorney George Thomasson,
representing property owners
Dennis and Lou ‘Ann Goforth,
was the only person to speak dur-
ing a public hearing conducted
by council.
Thomasson said that the Gofor-
ths had invested $175,000 on
Highway 74 West in the former
Herman Cash Grocery and noted
that city water passes through
the lot and fire hydrants are
located less than one fourth of a
mile away in the recently annex-
ed Robert E. Lee Sub-Division.
He presented Mayor Kyle
Smith a petition with names of
the cost of
about three
have spent
Turn To Page 6-A
Hobby Best
36
ER
Therapy For PAGES TODAY
Leroy Blake Obituaries
ARR 2-A
To Run Aug. 31 | ae a
: SEE PAGE 7-B Sports ............. 11-12A
The Kings Mountain Herald will publish its first Co i fea 16154
annual pigskin preview tabloid on Wed., Aug. 31. Le Le yles............. -
The patie rion will include Previews of area EATHER ke TABS «av svssenatsr >8
football teams, including high schools, junior high, ; CS Church NWS... ovove 4-68 |
and midgets, and feature stories on Kings Moun- Phe Liat it Food,.............. 8-11B
tain players and coaches from the amateur to the (Compiled by Kenneth Kitzmiller) Entertainment....... 12-B
professional ranks.
Community News. .14-15B
The tabloid will include schedules of: area high
Aug. 3 -Aug. 9, 1988 Year A
Total Precipitation 5h 5
schools and colleges, rosters, and other interesting 4.58 FORECAST
tidbits of information for readers as they prepare Maximum One Day .55 (4th) Hot, humid
to follow their favorite teams during the 1988 Year To Date 19.57 ’ mid. High
season.
The Herald advertising staff will begin calling on
advertisers this week. If you'd like to advertise in
| this special edition, call the Herald advertising
| department 739-7496.
96-98. Slight chance of
late afternoon or
evening thunder- |
storms. :
Minimum Temperature 69 (7th)
‘Maximum Temperature 93 (8th, 9th)
~ Average Temperature 80.5