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‘Page 4A-THE KINGS MOUNTAIN HERALD-Thursday, July 13, 1989
OUR VIEW
Opinions
PICTORIAL
Your Right To Say It
Boat Safely
Operating a boat while intoxicated is illegal and it is
dangerous. It has been determined that more than 50
percent of the boating accidents that result in death can
be traced to alcohol use:
Alcohol affects the body in many ways - induces fa-
tigue, a lack of coordination and lack of balance. The
stressors in the marine environment compound the ef-
fects of alcohol, says the National Safe Boating
Council.
It has been shown that under normal conditions, the
motion, vibration and engine noise of the boat, com-
bined with the sun, wind and glare, cause the boat op-
erator to suffer serious impairment in coordination and
reaction time. Add alcohol to this, warns the Council,
and you have a dangerous mix. The Council advises
the boater heading home at the end of the day to slow
down.
Kings Mountain City Ordinance prohibits posses-
sion or consumption of alcoholic beverages on city-
owned property, including the John H. Moss Lake.
Bad Move
Mayor Edward Koch of New York City says he will
issue an executive order granting bereavement leave to
homosexuals and unmarried heterosexuals whose "do-
mestic partners" die. The mayor states further he
would entertain granting health insurance benefits to
the same groups.
The mayor, if he follows through on his promise,
would be opening the largest can of worms in the his-
tory of local government.
Try this. An employee who is homosexual loses a
friend to AIDS. His friend isn't his "domestic partner"
but who is to know? So the homosexual employee
claims insurance benefits for his dead friend and no-
body is the wiser. The same could happen with a het-
erosexual employee. Who loses? The insurance com-
pany who has been bilked and the public whose taxes
20 up due to increased insurance rates.
And what about morality?
Such an act would place a symbolic stamp of ap-
proval on perversion and immorality in this nation's
largest city. And you can bet the practice would spread
like water on a waxed tabletop. :
Hopefully, the people of New York will not allow
their mayor to misuse his executive powers as he
seems intent on doing. The repercussions of such an
order would be devastating.
Lib
Stewart
Kiser ‘Reuning’
For 40 Years
The month of July is traditionally reunion time for
clans who usually meet during vacation season when
plants are shut down for the week of the Fourth holi-
day.
During a time when annual family reunions are be-
coming a thing of the past, the children of Annie Mae
Payseur and the late Tyree H. Kiser and their families
cling to tradition. The Tyree Kiser families have been
getting together once a year for the past 40 years with-
out fail. Tyree and Annie Mae Payseur Kiser had three
sons: Tyree H. Kiser Jr., James W. Kiser and Kenneth
G. Kiser. James W. Kiser died Dec. 22, 1984.
This year, the children, grandchildren and great-
grandchildren of the Tyree Kisers spent the day in
Charlotte recently at the home of Priscilla Kiser Innes
and her husband, Bob, and two daughters, Elizabeth
and Julia. Priscilla is the daughter of the late James W.
and Elizabeth Wright Kiser of Bessemer City.
The noon luncheon prepared by Priscilla was served
buffet style with meat, vegetables, salads, fruit,
dessert, bread and drinks served from the kitchen and
dining room tables. They then moved to the country
front porch where tables and chairs were set for the 30
guests. Afterwards, some of the grandchildren and
great-grandchildren played basketball while others
reminisced of memorable experiences around the ta-
bles and enjoyed a Kiser and Payseur family album
prepared by Kenneth Kiser Jr. Kennéth Jr. is working
on the Kiser genealogy in hopes of publishing a book
soon.
Family members present for the reunion with Mrs.
Tyree Kiser of Bessemer City were former Bessemer
City residents, Tyree Jr. and Sarah Crowe Kiser of
Cullowee and their families; Captain James W. Kiser
of New Jersey and Jenny Kiser Finch and family of
Bessemer City (children of the late James W. and
Elizabeth Wright Kiser); Ken and Dot Jolly Kiser of
Bessemer City; former Bessemer City residents
Kenneth Jr. and Nancy Kiser; Tyler and Tammie Kiser;
and Frank and Leigh Ann Kiser Hovis and family, all
of Gastonia.
Letter Policy
The Herald welcomes your letters to the editor
for publication in each week's paper. We ask that
you use the following guidelines when submitting
letters:
Letters should be brief and to the point. If possi-
ble, type and double space them, but sign them in
ink and include your full name, address and tele-
phone number for verification purposes.
We reserve the right to edit the letters for
spelling, libel, and any other reason, and reserve
the right to reject any letter for any reason. Under
no circumstances will unsigned letters be published,
and hand-delivered letters will not be published.
Mail all letters to Letters to the Editor, P.O. Box
769, Kings Mountain, N.C. 28086.
HERE WE GROW AGAIN
Motorists coming off the northbound ramp of I-85 at Highway 161 have a hard time seeing any traffic
going south on 161. The weeds along the side of the bridge are allowed to grow much ntore than head-high
and this is the sight people see from their driver's seat. Maybe while Governor Martin and the General
Assembly are playing politics over the proposed $8 billion highway package, they can spare a few hundred
bucks for a couple of weedeaters.
Superstitions...
A few weeks ago I had car trouble on my way
home from work. I had about an hour to wait for the
tow truck, and I spotted a patch of clover beside the
road. To kill time I began to look or four-leaf clovers.
I found a bunch f them and gathered a hand full,
along with several of the five-leaf variety.
By the time I got home the clovers had wilted con-
siderably, but my wife, Ann, wanted to save some of
- them so she told me to press them between the pages
of a book. While I was separating them, I showed her a
couple of the five-leaf clovers and she said, "oh, I
wouldn't worry about those, I don't know whether they
bring good luck or not.
I thought that was funny. Then I realized how super-
_ stitious my wife is. I can tell you she believes in any
hh
and all good luck charms or bad luck signs.
When we were young newlyweds I was about to’
purchase an opal necklace for her but she nixed the
idea because, according to her, opals are bad luck. I'd
never heard that before.
Everybody knows about the usual superstitions: step
on a crack break your mother's back, three on a match
(something my wife would never do), never walk un-
der a ladder, black cats, etc., but I keep hearing about
the new ones. New to me at least.
My grandmother, for example, used to say if you
throw your hat on the bed the house will burn down
and to spit in the fire invites all manner of catastrophe.
Ann told me another one the other night I'd never
heard before. It seems that if you place your shoes on
the table a headache is sure to follow. I don't know if
the headache is a natural phenomenon or caused by
your wife hitting you over the head with the shoes, but
anyway there it is.
There is a young lady named Tina who works for
my oldest son, who owns Mike's Pet Shack at Gaston
Mall in Gastonia. She says if you find a penny and it is
lying face down, don't pick it up. That's supposed to be
bad luck also. Now don't get me wring, Tina will pick
up as many quarters as she can handle, regardless of
whether or not they are face down. Tina's superstitious,
not dumb.
Baseball players are notoriously superstitious. Some
of them won't step on the baseline when they are going
to their positions in the field, others will go out of their
way to touch a certain base when they are leaving the
field for their turn at bat. Still others will pick up any
pin they find, whether it be hair pins, safety pins for
straight pins, equating them with base hits. I suppose
they'd even pick up bowling pins if they happened up-
on them somewhere.
I have no idea where all these superstitions come
from, but I can tell you this. I have a friend in Miami
and the day after I found the four-leaf clovers I sent
him six numbers to play on the Florida lottery. Four of
the numbers hit and I won 65 dollars.
Jim
Heffner
It's the truth, so help me.
BENDING THE LAW - Speaking of bowling pins,
Did you ever wonder why ten pins are used as opposed
to say, 12 or 14? Well, the practice of using ‘ten pins
originated in colonial America as a means of circum-
“venting a gaming law. An eighteenth century ordi-
nance in Connecticut stated that, "bowling at nine
pins" was illegal. Offenders were known to be jailed or
placed in the stocks. Bowlers, who will do almost any-
thing to participate in the game they love, added an ex-
tra pin. the game became known as ten pins. Said
name stuck as did the number of pins.
HISTORY LESSON - Independence Day was such
a stay-in type day, I spent most of it lazing around the
house (is lazing a word?). While thumbing through a
book about the Declaration Of Independence, I stum-
bled onto a oddity. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams
both died on July 4, 1826. Both men were presidents
and are considered founders of this country. They were
friends, although they did disagree from time to time,
as politicians will do. Jefferson wrote the Declaration
and Adams served on a committee assigned to make
certain changes. Adams died at 5 in the afternoon. His
last words were: "Jefferson lives on." He didn't know
that Thomas Jefferson had passed away several hours
earlier, but, in retrospect, he was right—Jefferson does
live on.
NATURE LESSON - I've got a fig tree in my back
yard, and, every year, I look forward to the ripening of
these healthful, succulent fruits. The tree always pro-
duce a spectacular crop. This year, the figs are almost
as big as baseballs. I haven't eaten a single one. There
are two catbirds hanging out in that tree and as soon as
a fig begins to ripen, they dig in. I got so disgusted, I
purchased a BB gun, placed a steel pit in the tree, and
peppered the pot every time I saw a catbird come near
it. I've got the catbirds on the run but the clanging of
the pot has attracted a squirrel ant that scoundrel does-
n't even wait for the figs to ripen—he likes them green.
I give up. Maybe I shouldn't have spent $30 to save
$4 worth of figs.
EE)
YOUR OPINION |
Thanks
Dear Editor:
Oh behalf of the Parks and Recreation Department
staff and member of the Parks and Recreation
Commission, I would like to thank the several hundred
residents who braved the stormy weather and joined us
in celebrating July 4th at the Deal Street Recreation
Complex. Special thanks goes to our area merchants
who gave so freely and helped make the day's activi-
ties fun for those who participated.
Those merchants are: Allen's Flower Shop, Amanda
D's, Bridges Textiles, C & S Mart, Christmas
Emporium, Cooper's Furniture, Dellinger's Jewel
Shop, Dicey Fabrics, Floating Affections, Griffin's
Drug, Home Federal Savings and Loan, Kings
Mountain Farm Center, Kings Mountain Pool and
Garden, Love's Fish Box, McGinnis Department Store,
Peggy's Restaurant, Phifer Hardware, Pizza Hut, Plonk
Brothers & Co., Sagesport, Sub Factory, Western
Auto, and Sandra Wilson Realty.
Perhaps the most frustrating event of the entire day
was the cancellation of the fireworks display. With an
extensive preparation time required for the display and
the continuous rainfall, we were left with no choice
but to cancel this year's show.
In our continuing effort to provide a balanced, quali-
ty program of parks, recreation, and special events for
the residents of Kings Mountain, we would welcome
suggestions for July 4, 1990 or any other programs we
are conducting. Residents are asked to call 734-0449
with their ideas which we will note and perhaps incor-
porate into our programs.
Again, thanks to all who contributed to and partici-
pated in our July 4, 1989 activities.
J. DAVID HANCOCK, DIRECTOR
KINGS MOUNTAIN PARKS AND RECREATION
... Thanks Again
Dear Editor:
In the past, your newspaper has been instrumental in
disseminating information about the Epilepsy
Association of North Carolina, and I would like to ex-
press my appreciation. Judging from our meeting at-
tendance, community members are responding to the
articles published in your columns.
This month we have a speaker that is known nation-
ally for his work in the field of epilepsy. Robert J.
Mittan, Ph.D., director of Neuropsychology and
Psychology at Charlotte Rehabilitation Hospital, has
lectured about seizure disorders in New Zeland and
most recently in Australia. Dr. Mittan is available for
an interview at your convenience and can be reached
at 704-338-490. We are requesting once again your as-
sistance in informing your readership.
If you have any questions about the service and pro- /
1.
grams we offer, I would be more than happy to talk to,
you. I can be reached at 704-586-6677.
Your efforts are appreciated.
CATALINA E. ROFLOC
WESTERN FIELD REPRESENTATIVE
TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE
For every kind of beast and bird, of redptile and
creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by
mankind. But no man can tame the tongue. It is an un-
ruly evil, full of deadly poison. °
James 3:7-8
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Published Thursday
at East King Street at Canterbury Road,
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Darrell Austin
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Randall Barber
Pressroom Superintendent
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Should People Be Allowed to Burn The Flag?
JUANITA FOSTER PANSY SELF
"I wouldn't wantto | "I think it's a
see the flag burned. disgrace. Anyone
It takes away from burning the flag
what people died should be deported.”
for."
i
MARIE C. DELLINGER
"I think people’
shouldn't be allowed
to burn the flag. Too
ROBERT ISLER
"I just don't think
they should burn it.
A lot of people died
for that flag." many men and
women lost their
lives defending it."
JULIE BEAM MORRIS SMITH
"I don't think they "I don't think they
should be allowed to should. People
burn’ it. © People should be patriotic."
shouldn't have that !
right." :
Li