a
haw
David Godbold
Will Be Missed
Flat Nose, the world famous tree-climbing dog, will
climb no more. At least not in public.
David Godbold, manager of Flat Nose and his own-
er Barney Odom, is leaving Kings Mountain to take a
job as a talent coordinator for NBC. He'll train in
Houston for six months and then begin selecting talent
for such NBC shows as David Letterman and Johnny
Carson.
Since Godbold is taking on these new duties he said
it would be a conflict of interest for him to continue
managing Flat Nose, and several other acts he has
been managing, so he has resigned those duties as well
as his job as Plant Manager at Elizabeth Weaving in
Grover.
Godbold talked the matter over with Barney Odom
recently and the two decided it would be best for Flat
Nose to retire from climbing and spend the rest of his
years touring schools with Barney to speak out against
drugs.
Flat Nose hasn't climbed since having a heart pace-
maker implanted in July at N.C. State University. But
he has made several public appearances, including one
in Kings Mountain a couple of weeks ago, and he will
continue to do that.
You have to admire Barney Odom and Godbold for
their stand against drugs and alcohol and if Barney can
get his anti-drug message across by using Flat Nose,
that's great.
Barney recently tumed down a $2 million offer from
a beer company to use Flat Nose in a commercial. He
said he isn't a beer drinker and he didn't believe in us-
ing animals to promote the use of alcohol.
Godbold, who first heard of Flat Nose through his
cousin, an attorney in Rock Hill, S.C., credits the dog
for putting him in a position to land his new job with
NBC.
“The reason I got to know people in the entertain-
ment business was through Flat Nose," he said. "I hate
ving thi i j Sp :
leaving this area but sometimes you just have to make comedian who should have stuck with comedy; be- ..
this kind of a decision."
Godbold will be missed in the Kings Mountain area.
He's not only brought happiness to many people
through Flat Nose and some of his other clients, but ~
he's helped a lot of people gain a high school diploma
in an adult education program he persuaded Cleveland
Community College to begin in Grover.
He was also instrumental in helping get the high
school soccer program off the ground at Kings
Mountain High School. He served as an assistant
coach to Dan Potter and also helped get the team uni-
forms and other needed items.
He says his new job will put him "on the other side"
of recognizing talent. Instead of trying to get his own
clients booked for TV and other
public appearances, he will now be trying to "recog-
nize" outstanding talent and beating the other major
networks to the punch.
"It's going to be a challenge," he said. "I'm really
looking forward to it. But I'll really miss the people
around here."
Vote Tuesday
Kings Mountain area citizens will go to the polls
Tuesday to elect two city councilmen and three mem-
bers to the Kings Mountain Board of Education.
In the council race, incumbent District 2 councilman
Humes Houston is opposed by Elvin Greene and in-
cumbent District 6 councilman Harold Phillips is op-
posed by Scott Neisler in run-offs.
In the school board race, incumbent Priscilla
Mauney is challenged by Tom Bennett for an inside-
city seat and incumbent Paul Hord Jr. faces five chal-
lengers for two outside-city seats. The challengers are -
Ronnie Hawkins, Billy Houze, Calvin Miller, Wanza
Davis and Larry McDaniel.
The school board race is a "plurality" election,
meaning that run-offs cannot be called. In the six-per-
son battle for the two outside-city seats, the top two
vote-getters are elected whether they receive 50 per-
cent of the vote or not.
As stated in an editorial a couple of weeks ago, the
Herald does not endorse local candidates. We feel like
all the candidates, both in the city race and the school
board race, are highly qualified and would make out-
standing contributions to their respective boards.
Regardless of the outcome of next Tuesday's races,
we would like to think that all of the candidates will be
winners. Of course, they won't all be elected. But we
hope those who are not elected will continue to do ev-
erything they can to make the city and schools run
more effectively. Those who are not actually elected
would be ideal for placement on city and school com-
mittees that work on certain projects and make recom-
mendations to the elected boards.
And, we hope all citizens will make a special effort
to get out and vote. Less than 30 percent of the regis-
tered voters participated in the recent City Council
election. We need more people taking part in the elec-
tion process.
KMPD 50 YEARS AGO - Pictured above is the Kings Mountain Police Force in 1939. The pictur
Your Right To Say It
Remember Those
Killed By Drunks
To the editor:
owned by Verta Lublanezski of Kings Mountain, the daughter of Paul Short, the policeman on the left.
Others, from left to right after Short, are Norman Pharr, Chief Jimmy Burns, Haywood Allen and Melvin
Letting Off A Little Steam
Hoover.
I have several items on my mind this week. None of
them are pleasant. Bear in mind that what you are
about to read is laced with my personal opinions. You
are welcome to yours.
THE NOVELIST AS SAVIOUR
Novelist Stephen King, who makes a rather good
living writing about violence, recently made several
rash, and in some cases, untrue statements.
"Violence is something that unites us," he says.
"Even our taste in humor is violent. Think of the
movie "Caddyshack." We love to see people fall
dowm:* ~~
Funny, I don't remember "Caddyshack" as a violent
movie. I thought it was a comedy, certainly nobody
was maimed or murdered in that flick, which is more
than I can say for all of King's works.
He goes on to say" "I don't think that Woody Allen
movies play much outside of the New York-Chicago-
Atlanta-San Francisco circuit where the audience is ur-
ban and civilized."
Who's he kidding? Throw in Los Angeles and
you've got a large percentage of the violent crimes
committed in this country. A recent FBI report labels
Atlanta the crime capitol of the USA. What King is re-
ally saying is that those who live in smaller cities or
towns and those who don't like Woody Allen movies
are ignorant.
Personally, I think Woody Allen was a wonderful
cause his movies stink. I guess that makes me uncivi-.
lized.
"What they-like-in the neighborhood theaters in the
sticks are Burt Reynolds in fast cars, and The Texas
Chainsaw Massacre,” says King.
I gotta admit I liked Smokey And The Bandit if
that's what he means. King should be aware there is a
certain segment of society, mostly youngsters, who
love horror movies. He's been responsible for several
of them.
Says King: "What's the number one American
sport? Stock car racing. The number one small busi-
ness? The gun and weapon ship."
Both statements are way off base. The number one
sport from a spectator point of view is baseball, fol-
lowed closely by football. Number one from a partici-
patory point of view is golf, and tennis is right up
there. I don't have any idea of the number one small
business, but I'd be willing to bet the farm is isn't guns
and weapons. Those establishments are heavily regu-
lated and hard to find in some towns and cities. How
about gas stations, or food stores. Maybe someone out
there can enlighten me.
Frankly, I think Stephen King was really taking
cheap shots at the South. Living in Maine, I can under-
stand his jealousy, but as Brother Dave Gardner used
Jim
Heffner
to say, "have you ever heard of anybody retiring to the
NOrth?"
Case closed.
FLAG BURNING
I came across a wire report the other day about a
Fayetteville, N.C. preacher, who conducted a flag-
burning service in his church. The flag happened to be
a Russian flag.
Clark led the Freedom Baptist Church congregation
in the singing of the hymn "Victory in Jesus," after he
had doused the Soviet flag with lighter fluid and set
fire to it.
"When we lose our freedom to fight,"
lose our freedom of religion."
I'm sary, but that logic escapes me. Just as the logic
that "The Supreme Court's decision to allow flag-burn-
ing shows they favor communism," escapes me..
Clark went on to say that the reason he committed
the act was because he was a patriot and he hoped to
bring America closer to God.
In my humble opinion, burning the flag of another
country will bring nobody closer to God. The
Reverend Clark is no better than the misguided zealots
who burn the American flag. A true patriot respects
the flags of all countries.
PAPA MICHAEL
Michael Jordan, former University of North
Carolina basketball player and well-known multi-mil-
lionaire, recently took a wife.
It was later revealed that Jordan, and his new
spouse, had produced a child some ten months earlier.
Another role model down the drain.
The sad part of this story is that nobody in this
country seems to care that so many children are born
out of wedlock. And when a man as popular as
Michael Jordan fathers an illegitimate child, it sends
the wrong message to kids, leaving the impression that
illicit sex is perfectly OK. Well, it isn't.
There is a question in my mind whether children
should idolize a Michael Jordan. Certainly, if I had
small ones I would steer them away from that course.
he said, "we
9 Down, 27 More To Go
The first nine weeks of school is now over. If you
child is having a problem at school and you have not
been to talk with the teacher about it, let me encourage
you to make an appointment now. Often, small prob-
lems become big ones when they are left unattended.
Call your school for an appointment if you have such a
need.
We were fortunate in our system to have suffered lit-
tle damage due to Hurricane Hugo. We did miss one
day of school. That day will be treated just like we
treat a day missed due to snow. State law requires that
we make up the first five days we miss due to in-
clement weather. The first make-up day in our calen-
dar is Monday, June 4. The exception, I hope, will be
the day missed on Monday, September 25 at North
School due to the power failure. I have requested a
waiver for that day since it affected only one school
and am waiting to hear from that request.
Congratulations to our fall athletic teams and coach-
es. The season is rapidly drawing to a close. At the
time I write this column, we have already won several
championships. All teams, both at the high school and
junior high school, have winning records. These
coaches and players work very hard and deserve this
success. I am proud not only of the winning records
but also of the sportsmanlike way in which the teams
have conducted themselves. This does not come by ac-
_ cident but is the result of good preparation by: both the -~—
coaches and the parents of the players.
The Senior Class Play, Fame, will be presented next
week. This annual event is always special to our se-
niors, and they deserve our support. Take the time to
get out to Barnes Auditorium and see a performance.
Please remember to vote in the school board elec-
tion on November 7. All eligible voters who reside in
our school system can vote in this election. There are
two outside seats and one inside seat on the ballot. You
can vote on all three seats regardless of where you live
in our school district. Support our kids with your vote.
i
Superintendent’s
Viewpoint
BOB McRAE
We have just replaced a large number of burned out
light bulbs at our high school tennis courts. We are
pleased to be able to offer this facility to our communi-
ty for use outside of school hours but do need your
help. If you play at night and are the last person to
leave the courts, please remember to cut off the lights.
This will enable us to stretch the life of some rather
expensive bulbs. Thanks for your help in this matter.
On Monday, November 13 our ninth grade band, un-
der the direction of Mrs. Sarah Cole, will perform at
the North Carolina Music Educators Association
Convention. The opportunity to play there is afforded
bands with excellent records of performance over time.
Of course, Mrs. Cole was selected for two special
awards last year in recognition of her leadership.
As we approach the holiday season, there will be
many special programs conducted in our schools.
There are important times for our students and facili-
ties. I hope you will take the time to attend at least
those that involve your own children. Such programs
are opportunities for you to see the results of many
weeks of work in our schools. Our kids do a terrific
job and deserve our support. You'll find these pro-
grams to be very enjoyable, so take an evening to be a
school booster.
Congratulations to our band program for yet another .
~ honor.
The National Drunk and Drugged Driving
Awareness Week is December 10-16, On Monday,
December 11, Mothers Against Drunk Driving is join- .
ing the Governor's Highway Safety Program and
Students Against Driving Drunk in a 3-D Day for
North Carolina. We anticipate this being the biggest
day promoting highway safety ever in North Carolina.
We have planned an awards luncheon at the Civic
Center in Raleigh. Registration will begin at noon, fol-
lowed by the luncheon at 1 and will continue with
speakers and an awards ceremony. This important day
will conclude with a candlelight vigil remembering the
victims of impaired driving at the Capitol.
We would like to have a representative from each
county who has been victimized by Geath or injury to
participate in the vigil. :
If any of your readers would be willing to come to
Raleigh and represent their county, would they please
call 1-800-248-6233? Thank you.
Sincerely,
Kimberly A. DiNubila
State Administrator
MADD, North Carolina
Tax Credit
More Sensible
Congressional Democrats are arguing that President
Bush has turned his back on the poor by vetoing legis-
lation that would have raised the minimum wage.
What they are not saying, though, is that their particu-
lar bill actually could have ended up hurting many
low-income workers.
The Democratic measure would have raised the
minimum wage by $1.20 per hour, from #3.35 to $4.55
over three years and would have allowed employers to
pay a lower training wage to new employees who have
not worked more than 60 days. Granted, that sounds
like a modest proposal. Even at $4.55 per hour, a
worker would have earned less than $10,000 a year.
But as Mr. Bush pointed out in his veto message, an
increase of that size would have stifled the creation of
new job opportunities for those at the lowest rung of
the economic ladder. White House policy analysts esti-
mated the Democratic proposal would have resulted in
the loss of as many as 400,000 jobs. That is no way to
help the working poor.
The president i is not opposed to a higher minimum
wage. Indeed, in vetoing the Democrats’ measure, fie
reiterated his support for an hourly minimum wage of
$4.25, coupled with a subminimum wage that employ-
ers would would be able to pay all newly hired em-
ployees for six-months.-A subminimum wage of that.
duration would create jobs for unemployed young peo-
ple. 1
Now that the Democrats have failed to override Mr.
Bush's veto, they would do well to work with the pres-
ident on expanding the earned income tax credit, an
idea he has mentioned. That provision assists low-
wage working families either by allowing them to pay
less taxes throughout the year or by giving them a re-
fund at the end of the year.
While an excessive increase in the minimum wage
would lead to the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs
and would help people who are not poor (such as mid-
dle-class teen-agers), an expanded earned income tax
credit would target aid to those who truly need it. That
would do far more for the working poor than what the
Democrats had proposed.
-The Dallas Morning News-
Letter Policy
The Kings Mountain Herald welcomes your letters
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ask that you follow these guidelines when presenting
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Mail your letters to Letter to the Editor, P.O. Box
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ters will not be published.
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