We
"alcoholic beverages and tobacco, and beginning a state
Page 8A-THE KINGS MOUNTAIN HERALD-Wednesday, March 8, 1989
Marvin
From Page 4-A
controlling this disease is to change the behavior
which spreads it. That can be done by convincing peo-
ple who are at risk to be tested, counseling them to
change their behavior, and contacting people who may
have been exposed.
I am not suggesting that people with this infection
be granted some special status in society. The point I
am trying to make is that until we prohibit the discrim-
ination that scares people away from testing and coun-
seling, we have little chance to stop AIDS from con-
tinuing to spread and endangering more and more
people. That conclusion comes from every public
health agency, the medical community and many ob-
jective bodies that have studied AIDS carefully, such
as the Legislative Research Commission, our state's
Teachers
‘From Page 1-A
* have the ability to contact "every legislator in Raleigh"
through the NCAE.
© "The most important thing that has happened was
the (teacher) march on February 14," he said. "It sent a
clear message to the legislators and taxpayers of North
Carolina that the most important priority of this leg-
islative session is to unfreeze the freeze on teachers’
salaries that has been going on for six years now."
Husted praised teachers for being "patient" over the
past six years while the General Assembly initiated
the Basic Education Plan and other state needs, "but
we're tired of waiting. This year the salary mater must
come first."
Husied said Governor Martin, State School
Superintendent Bob Etheridge, the State School Board,
and other groups’ plan to present proposals to the
General Assembly dealing with "thawing" the freeze
and raising salaries. But, he said, the NCAE proposal
best meets the needs of educators and Senator Marvin
has agreed to sponsor it in the Senate.
"I've been a teacher and have always been in the
forefront of education,” Mrs. Marvin told the crowd.
"We want a salary schedule which is equitable and that
will entice good people to come into the profession
and pay them enough to keep them there."
Husted said a recent poll conducted by N.C. State
University revealed that 69 percent of the North
Carolina taxpayers are in favor of higher taxes to sup-
port education, and 84 percent are willing for those
higher taxes to go to raise teacher salaries by at least
10 percent.
"Our most important job is to remember there is a
lot of work to be done," Husted said. "There is a lot of
continuing contact and friendly education of our legis-
lators that must be done. It's important for us to keep
our hot breath on the neck of our legislators."
Dean Westmoreland, a retired Kings Mountain
teacher and former State NCAE President, was the
oe speaker and he kept the crowd in applause as
«© criticized Governor Martin and called for taxes on
lottery with proceeds going to education.
"The Surgeon General has declared these products
dangerous and we ought to tax dangerous products,”
he said. "If you're going to smoke and drink, you
"might as well smoke and drink for education. And we
ought to accelerate our efforts for a state lottery ear-
.-..marked for education. While you're drinking and
smoking, you may as well bet on it."
Westmoreland said he retired after "30 years of low
pay, but my heart, body, soul and spirit remain in
teaching. There was a lot of good teaching left in me
but not enough to take the hassle. I'm too old to get on
anybody's ladder, career or otherwise."
He said the crisis facing teachers today has been a
"situation that has been long-building, from increased
demands, pressures and responsibilities made worse by
too little action too late, uncareing leaders and broken
promises. We are repeatedly criticized in some report,
study, proposal, or unworkable program and, on top of
it all, career ladder.
AIDS Task Force, the President's Commission on
AIDS, and the National Academy of Sciences Institute
of Medicine.
The state estimates that there are up to 22,000 in-
fected people in the state right now, and it could be as
high as 60,000 by 1992. As of January 1989, only
1,486 people had tested positive in county health de-
partments. An unknown number have also been tested
by private physicians, but that figure is thought to be
even lower. So most of the people infected with the
AIDS virus have not been tested, do not know they are
infected, and may be infecting people who are infect-
ing still others. The number of people who are infected
but do not know it will continue to grow unless we
make it possible for them to be tested. Until these peo-
ple are tested, and get counseling, we will not stop the
spread of AIDS.
Unless we protect them from discrimination, they
will be afraid to be tested, counseling will not occur,
and the partner notification system will not work. The
infection will spread even more rapidly, more people
will die and the public and private cost will be stagger-
ing.
“I've been studying this problem for 30 years and
not a dime was appropriated for this study,” he went
on. "I never charged a single consultant's fee but I'm
announcing the results tonight, and it's one sentence
and it's bottom line: If education is to be improved in
North Carolina, we must have a fair and equitable,
well-thought out salary schedule that pays enough
money to make good people want to enter this profes-
sion and stay in it."
Westmoreland charged that the state's leaders want
"Tiffany teachers at K-Mart prices."
"I can't understand why, when industry goes on a
personnel hunt, they say 'go get the best at whatever
the cost." But when the state goes on a teacher hunt,
they say 'go get the very best, but get ‘em cheap'."
Westmoreland urged teachers to study political can-
didates that are endorsed by teacher organizations, and
work for them, and to form coalitions aimed at elect-
ing candidates who support education.
"Together, we can elect anyone we want to," he said.
Kings Mountain Superintendent, Dr. Bob McRae,
welcomed the guests and also called for higher teacher
salaries. He said North Carolina teachers are "as good
as you could possibly find anywhere" and that he is
convinced that area legislators will support education.
"They have a lot to do, but they have supported educa-
tion in the past and I'm sure they'll continue to do so
by giving our teachers the salaries they deserve."
McRae said one of his biggest concerns at present is
that first-year teachers are paid the same salaries as
teachers with four years experience. "I don't mean to
put young teachers down," he said, "but for a long time
the ones being discriminated against are the ones that
have been in the business 10 years or more."
McRae urged the educators to "stay together" and
stand behind the area legislators who are working for
better teacher pay. ;
State Senator Ollie Harris of Kings Mountain got a
thunderous applause when he said, "you can forget the
career ladder altogether,” and he added that area legis-
lators will work hard for teacher pay. "I think you can
look forward to a change in the pay schedule and a lift-
ing of the freeze. To me, that's number one."
Harris also said it was not fair for first-year teachers
to be paid as much as those with four years experience.
"That doesn't suit me,” he said. "We've got to leave
Raleigh with a balanced budget, and we will. I don't
know what the Education Appropriations Committee
will bring up, but we'll certainly do the very best we
can."
John Weatherly of Cleveland County, a freshman
Republican in the House, said the teachers’ recent
march on Raleigh was badly needed. "We heard you
loud and clear and we're all interested in education,”
he said. "My wife was a teacher for many years and
I've always been sensitive to teachers’ needs."
Weatherly encouraged the educators to continue to
communicate with Raleigh. "Let us hear the message,
and I'm sure we'll react to it," he said.
Senator Marvin criticized members of the General
Assembly who are pushing for taxes to fund over $8
billion worth of highway improvements over the next
decade, and said "there's no way I'm going to let taxes
be raised for roads without raising taxes for education.
Without a growing education system there's not going
to be enough people qualified to work at those high
paying jobs that roads are going to bring into the
state."
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Rep. John Weatherly of
Cleveland County has introduced a
bill in the General Assembly to ed-
ucate and persuade motorists to
have their car headlights on when
visibility is reduced to the degree
that generally requires windshield
wipers to be in operation.
A similar bill was introduced in
BRITT TALBERT
Britt Notes
5th Birthday
Britt Talbert celebrated her fifth
birthday Saturday with a party at
Pizza Hut. Family and friends en-
joyed pizza and birthday cake.
Britt is the daughter of Billy and
Denice Talbert of Kings Mountain.
Grandparents are Mr. and Mrs.
Raymond Talbert of Kings
Mountain, Earl Stroupe Jr. of
Kings Mountain, and Mrs. Sue
Parton of Bessemer City. Great-
grandparents are Mrs. Ruby
Stroupe and Mrs. Lizzie Talbert of
Kings Mountain.
Softball League :
To Have Meeting
There will be an organizational
WEATHERLY INTRODUCES HEADLIGHT BILL
the General Assembly the past
three sessions but failed in passage.
Weatherly said his effort was to
come up with a bill that will over-
come objections of vagueness and
lack of enforceability. Weatherly
said the N.C. Highway Patrol is
very much in favor of such a mea-
sure as they declare it will improve
highway safety.
CLASSICS From Chadwick's
For PROM 89...
Left to Right: Adam Ward, Stacey Bradley, Anna
Hodjkins, Tammy Williams, Lori Beam, Mark Moss.
meeting for Kings Mountain
Industrial League softball Tues.,
Layaway Special Orders
March 14 at 7 p.m. at the Kings
Mountain Community Center.
Anyone interested is invited.
For more information, contact
Preston Leonard at the Community
Center, 734-0449.
YARD SALE
The Kings Mountain Optimist
Club will have a yard and bake sale
Saturday at the American Legion
to raise funds for its youth athletic
programs. Items will be sold from
7 am. until 1 p.m. and a lot of new
items, donated by area merchants,
will be sold at low prices. The club
is still accepting donations of mer-
chandise. Anyone with items may
, call Mark Blanton at 739-8317.
DEPARTMENT STORE
KINGS MOUNTAIN. N.C
DOWNTOWN KINGS MOUNTAIN
Dresses
For
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Large Selection
for Easter
O.K. To Layaway
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806 West Warren Street - Shelby - 704/487-0472
ames
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