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VOL. 101 NUMBER 42
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 1988
KINGS MOUNTAIN, NORTH CAROLINA 2§¢
Bond Issue Will Seek Over $9 Million Dollars
Kings Mountain plans to repay the bonds it
hopes to issue through adjustments in water sewer
rates which may increase 60 percent.
City Manager George Wood made the projection
Tuesday night during public hearing in which
citizens voiced support of a proposed referendum
for $9 million for utility improvements.
“This is only a ballpark figure pending the
result of a rate study now underway,” said Wood
who said if the water and sewer departments
become self-sufficient, electrical rates should not
Rate Adjustments Will Pay For Bonds
be increased to pay for electrical system im-
provements.
Wood said that the increase would be phased in
over a period of time but that the current water
rates would probably go up from 52 cents to 83
cents and the current sewer rate would go up from
35 cents to 56 cents. “This means we’re still below
the state average for water and sewer,” he told a
large crowd in attendance for a public hearing the
city council conducted at the regular meeting.
Turn To Page 9-A
City Has $1.3 Million
Increase, Auditor Reports
_ The city showed a $1.3 million increase in assets
in fiscal year 1987-88 a good job of budgetary ac-
tivity and achieving it, according to auditors with
Price Waterhouse which recently completed the
annual audit of the city’s books.
Tim Trost, audit manager of Price Waterhouse,
Greenville, S.C. said the audit showed a healthy
increase in retained earnings. He gave the city
high marks for credit worthiness. The city showed
a working capital of $1.4 million, up from $1.1
million in increased additions to fixed assets and a
half million dollar decrease in fund balances dur-
ing the year. For the past two years the operating
income has increased $2 million, Trost said.
He congratulated new City Manager George
Wood and said Kings Mountain, like most cities, is
experiencing ‘‘growing pains.”’ He congratulated
Wood, City Clerk Marvin Chappell and the city
staff for doing a good job with a small staff but
said there was room for further improvements in
internal control. Trost said that City Hall
employees are quite receptive to suggestions
made in the audit report and that Wood is already
implementing some of them which deal with lack
of segregation of duties. The auditors suggest a
strengthening of internal control surrounding cash
receipts and disbursements and in purchases and
payable functions. They suggest that a formal
receiving policy be established, documented and
communicated to all personnel involved and
recommend the use of prenumbered receiving
reports with different sequence for each depart-
ment, routing of all supporting documents promp-
tly to accounting upon receipt of goods, prepara-
tion of receiving reports for all items received at
the central warehouse, and that the purchasing
department promptly inform accounting of
returns of goods to insure proper vendor credit is
received.
The auditors recommend that personnel files
contain written documentation of Ppproval for
hire and wage rates. These files should be updated
in writing for all changes to employment status
and wage rates. The auditors recommend the city
require unclaimed payroll checks and W-2’s be
returned directly to management rather than to
department supervisors or payroll processing
clerks, that department supervisors comply with
established procedures requiring written ap-
proval of hours worked on all timecards and that
someone independent of payroll processing
prepare the monthly payroll account bank recon-
ciliation. Management should review and approve
in writing all reconciliations.
The auditors noted a significant lack of segrega-
tion of duties surrounding the cash function could
result in undetected misappropriation of funds
and recommended that bank reconciliations for
all accounts be prepared on a timely basis by so--
meone independent of cash receipts and cash
disbursement proceedings; the combination of the
vault be changed each time an accounting depart-
ment employee leaves the city or at least yearly:
that a control log be maintained for all checks and
numerical continuity of need, unused and voided
checks be reconciled at least monthly.
Councilman Al Moretz suggested the recently
installed computer system a solution but the ac-
countant said that segregated duties are difficult
Turn To Page 9-A
Heart Attack Is Fatal
To Jimmy Cloninger, 41
James Laben “Jimmy” Clon-
City Council will ask Kings Mountain citizens to
approve a $9,230,200.00 bond referendum in late
January or early February for upgrading utilities.
The figure is $3,048,800.00 less than anticipate,
however, City Manager George Wood said that to.
fund the initial proposal by the city utilities com-
mittee would have meant a bond referendum in
the neighborhood of $16 million.
A resolution adopted Tuesday night approves
the formal filing of an application and notice of in-
tent to issue general obligation .bonds totaling
$9,230,200.00.
The bonds would consist of:
e water - $3,629,500.00
¢ electric - $1,811,500.00
Cloninger was the son of the
Photo by Denice Talbert
Members of the Overmountain Victory Trail Association are shown walking into Kings Mountain Na-
tional Military Park for Friday for the celebration of the 208th anniversary of the Battle of Kings Moun-
tain. The marchers re-trace the steps of the battle participants each fall, beginning their trek in Abingdon,
KM Utility Committee Meets
A three-hour session of the
utilities committee, city staff
and consulting engineers at city
hall last Thursday resulted in
formulation of a recommenda-
tion on the up-coming bond
package which was presented to
the city council at Tuesday
night’s meeting.
But it also resulted in taking
another step toward a city-wide
drainage policy, a matter
brought to a head at the last
council meeting after protest by
Sandy Etters over a problem on
her property that the city “has
promised for eight years to cor-
rect,” according to Ms. Etters.
Ms. Etters was present at the
meeting Thursday, along with
her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Stony
Jackson, who have complained
that their grandchildren have
“been eaten up’ by insects this
summer.
“Everytime we get close to a
solution with the city on the pro-
blem,”’ Jackson said, ‘you (the
city) changes drivers.” He fold
the group that the family has
dealt with several sets of city
commissioners.
“We want to know that you are
working on the problem and we
can see that a lot is involved
toward a city-wide policy adop-
tion,” Mrs. Etters said.’
Mrs. Etters at the Sept. 27
meeting had presented a letter
dated Dec. 15, 1987, and signed by
INSIDE AT A GLANCE
Mayor John H. Moss, stating that
the city’s construction and
maintenance coordinator and a
consulting engineer would visit
the area. Nothing was done then,
Ms. Etters said.
Committee Chairman Al
Moretz, who presided, and City
Manager George Wood again
stated that all poorly drained
areas of the city should be looked
at and considered in devising a
policy concerning surface water
runoff.
Councilmen Humes Houston
and Fred Finger were present as
were Karl Moss, Gene White,
Marvin Chappell, Walt Ollis and
Jimmy Maney of the city staff
Turn To Page 2-A
inger, 41, Kings Mountain
business and civic leader, died
Saturday, at 8:45 a.m., in Fair-
field Memorial Hospital in Winn-
sboro, S.C., shortly after suffer-
ing a heart attack while on a hun-
ting trip.
resident of 506
Ellenwood
{Drive, Cloninger
{was employed
Church, a Mason
~ in Fairview
Lodge No.339, and was past
president of the Kings Mountain
Rotary Club.
CLONINGER
late James and Ruth Black Clon-
inger and was a 1965 graduate of
Kings Mountain High School
where he was an All-State end on
the 1964 championship football
KM Lions Club
Notes 50th Anniversary
PAGE 3-C
team and starting forward on the
1964-65 championship basketball
team. He attended Appalachian
State University and sold in-
surance in Richmond, Va.,
before returning to Kings Moun-
tain.
He is survived by his wife,
KMHS Volleyball Team
Wins Conference Championship
PAGE 3-B
Classifieds. ............ 11-B
Clubs... i. ait Bad, 2-C
Community News. ...... 3-B
Editorials... ........ 0.0. 4-A
Food. 5000 aa, 10-C
Lifestyles. ............... 1-C
Obituaries... .. |... 2-4
Religion... . .. ...00 0, ..8-C
Sports. lu Un 3-B
Weddings... ...........0 4-C
42
PAGES TODAY
Juanita Dellinger Cloninger; one
son, Todd Cloninger of Kings
Mountain; one daughter, Lisa
Cloninger of Kings Mountain;
and one stepson, John Van Dyke
III of Kings Mountain.
Funeral services were con-
ducted Monday at 2 p.m, at First
Baptist Church by Dr. John Sloan
and Dr. Joel Jenkins. Burial was
in Mountain Rest Cemetery.
George Thomasson
KM Lawyer For 35 Years
PAGE 7-4
° sewer - $3,789,200.00
Tuesday’s action follows a recommendation of
the city utilities committee which took their
original suggestions back to the drawing board
last week in major revisions which scrapped plans
for expansion of the city’s water treatment plant
capacity and construction of a second water line
from the treatment plant to the city. The cost of
those projects alone would have amounted to $7.5
million.
Utility Committee Chairman Al Moretz said the
alternative proposal recommends construction of
a storage facility for treated water. The capacity
of that facility, which could be a ground level con-
Turn To Page 8-A
Annexation Priorities
Will Be Discussed
City officials will pinpoint specific priorities on
annexation with planners with the N.C. Natural
Resources and Community Development Depart-
ment Thursday.
Planning and Economic Development Director
(Eugene White said the meeting will renew work-
ing relationships with the city and state planners
and that the Annexation committee will make
specific recommendations to City Council.
During presentation on annexation priorities,
White said that the recommended order of priority
for annexation during a 1976 study targeted West,
East, South, and North. Considering present
growth patterns, utilities in place and the annexa-
tion agreement with Gastonia recently, the order
of priority may have to be West, East, North and
South, he said.
White pointed out that since there is no zoning in
place in Gaston or Cleveland Counties, except
Moss Lake, the City of Kings Mountain is in a
vulnerable position regarding unregulated growth
in the fringe areas. Consumers outside the city
who receive some or all direct basic services inc-
clude 25 manufacturing industries, 10 commercial
businesses, six miscellaneous customers and 185
individuals, he said. There are additional
miscellaneous customers such as Gold Run, Quail
Run, and Huffman Sub-Division on 74 West near
Pilot Plant which are not presently contiguousand
will not be for some time in the future, he said. He
said that similar cases will be strictly governed by
water and sewer extension policies in the future.
White recommended that the Council waive the
fee for annexation by petition, notify and invite all
property owners who are presently receiving
some or all city services and who are contiguous
to the city limits to apply for annexation by peti-
tion, and include those property owners who
decline in annexation by Municipal Ordinance. He
also recommended the Council renew the resolu-
tion of consideration, a required procedure, due to
expire December 1988.
A third public hearing Tuesday night was
delayed at suggestion of City Attorney Mickey
Corry over objections of City Manager George
Wood, who said that citizens had been notified by
certified letter of the meeting to hear concerns
over possible demolition by the city of property at
214 Lackey Street, 826 Second Street, and 803 Se-
cond Street. Wood yielded to the city attorney’s re-
quest but apologized to citizens in the audience
who wanted to speak. Brenda Foster objected to
the delay and one property owner had come from
Michigan to get the matter resolved. Wood said
“the city has not gone through this process in
sometime and all research should be done when
dealing with property rights.”” Council agreed.
UF Contributions Rise
Kings Mountain United Fund contributions rose
to $47,369 this week or 41 percent of the goal.
As the final report meeting nears on Oct. 21,
campaign chairman Bob McRae urged all
volunteers to complete their solicitations as quick-
ly as possible. Persons not contacted about giving
a day’s pay as a ‘‘fair share” gift to 15 agencies
are asked to mail their contributions directly to
the fund treasurer at P.O. Box 122, Kings Moun-
tain, N.C. 28086.
This year’s drive seeks a record goal of $115,500.
Your one gift will benefit such deserving agen-
cies as the American Red Cross, the Ministerial
Association Helping Hand and Chaplain’s fund,
the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, Kings Mountain
and Grover Rescue Squads, Cleveland County
Shelter Home, Kings Mountain Boys Club,
CODAP, Hospice, Cleveland County Mental
Health Association, Cleveland Vocational In-
dustries, Child Abuse Prevention and Cleveland
County Abuse Prevention Council.
Send Your Recipes
For Herald Cookbook
Just in the time for the holidays will be a first
Kings Mountain Herald Cookbook to appear in the
Wed., Nov. 23 edition.
Since Kings Mountain is well known for the good
cooks in the area and since the Herald’s Cooking
Corner is a popular feature, the Cookbook will in-
clude recipes from Kings Mountain area people -
men, women, boys and girls. The tabloid will also
include stories about Kings Mountain chefs.
Readers are invited to submit their favorite
recipes now for the publication. Mail recipes to
Cookbook, Kings Mountain Herald, P.O. Box 769,
Kings Mountain, N.C. 28086.
This is not a contest to select the best dishes,
because all the recipes featured in the weekly
Cooking Corner have been tried and tested by
those submitting them, Readers tell the editors
they enjoy clipping out recipes to add to their own
recipe file.
He