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-Since 1889-
Member NC
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VOL. 101 NO. 45
Thursday, November 16, 1989
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KINGS MOUNTAIN, N.C. 28086.
Attendance Lines Discussed Again
The Kings Mountain Board of Education will decide
next week whether to allow junior and senior high stu-
dents to see Whittle Communication's "Channel 1"
news broadcast for 12 minutes each day.
David Leventhal of Whittle, which is based in
Knoxville, Tn., spoke to the board for over an hour
Monday night trying to sell it on the value of the news
program, which is free to the s¢hool system but in-
Board To Decide On Channel 1 News
cludes two minutes of commercial advertising.
Assistant Superintendent Larry Allen said teachers
at both schools have endorsed the program, high
school teachers by a 35-8 vote and junior high teachers
by a "consensus."
Channel 1, Leventhal said, is viewed by 6.5 million
See TV, 6-A
Thanksgiving
Service Slated
A community-wide Thanksgiving service will be
held Wednesday, Nov. 22, at First Baptist Church.
Rev. Robert W. Little, new pastor of Central United
Methodist Church, will deliver the sermon at 7 p.m.
The service is under sponsorship of the Greater
Kings Mountain Ministerial Association. Ministers of
the community will take part in the service, to which
the public is invited.
Rev. Morris Jordan will direct the combined choirs
of the participating churches in special Thanksgiving
anthems.
Rev. Harwood Smith, pastor of St. Matthew's
Lutheran church and president of the Kings Mountain
Ministerial Association, will give the welcome.
An offering will be received for the new crisis min-
istry which is part of the Helping Hand program of the
Ministerial Association.
"We invite everyone to come out to the special ser-
vice and give thanks for their many blessings," said
Rev. George Simmons, pastor of East Gold Wesleyan
Church and chairman of the publicity committee for
the special service.
Participating churches are Kings Mountain Baptist,
First Presbyterian, St. Matthew's Lutheran,
Resurrection Lutheran, Central United Methodist, First
Baptist and Galilee-St. Paul United Methodi
Lops I" 3 Pi i
Church
The question of what to do about racial imbalance in
Kings Mountain schools, and particularly at East
Elementary, continues to come before the Kings
Mountain Board of Education.
The board several months ago, at the urging of East
community residents, voted to leave the school open
but asked Superintendent Bob McRae to continue to
monitor the school's enrollment, which has declined
sharply in recent years.
At Monday night's board meeting, McRae showed
the board figures that indicate the total enrollment at
East may drop to about 190 at the beginning of the
PHOTO BY GARY STEWART
BUILDING BURNS-Fire gutted Quality Sandwich Company on Railroad Avenue Wednesday afternoon.
Firemen got the call about 3:22 p.m. and kept the blaze from spreading to nearby stores. No one was in-
* ? ey hel othlehe nae
side the building owned by Mike Brown. F
i Kings Mountain City Clerk-
Treasurer Marvin Chappell re-
signed Friday as chief finance offi-
cer of the city.
Chappell tendered his resigna-
tion to City Manager George
Wood.
"After consideration of your in-
terest and the needs of the City of
Kings Mountain, I feel that I must
resign my position as City Clerk-
Treasurer effective according to
personnel policy. I request that I
not be held to the notice require-
ments and leave on favorable terms
and trust to your decision on com-
pensation for the notice period and
accrued vacation. My resignation is
in no way reflective of any illegal
act or connected with the embez-
zlement investigation in any way,
shape or form. I appreciate the ef-
forts on my behalf and I have
learned alot about our local gov-
ernment's role, more about myself
and I will use this experience as a
growth basis." Chappell said.
Wood, who announced
Chappell's resignation after an ex-
ecutive session by City Council
Monday night, said that Chappell's
resignation had nothing to do with
the recent investigation underway
in the city's utilities department
which Chappell headed and where
two former employees were
charged with embezzling city funds
and two former employees repaid
the city for unpaid utility bills cov-
ering several years.
Chappell said the installation of
computers have improved internal
control immensely at City Hall. "I
was always afraid someone would
come up to the counter in the utili-
ty department and grab up all of
the yellow tickets and run with
them and we would have had no
record of who owes what," he said.
See Clerk, 9-A
SBI To Investigate Complaint
Kings Mountain Police called in
the State Bureau of Investigation
into complaint by a Pine Manor
resident that a city police officer
struck him with a flashlight during
an altercation between black resi-
dents at Pine Manor Apartments.
Police Chief Warren Goforth
said findings of the probe into al-
leged mistreatment of blacks will
be turned over to the District
Attorney's office in Shelby.
Local Man
Helps Save
Woman's Life
A 33-year-old California mother of four is alive to-
day because Ed Gardner of Kings Mountain, cared
enough to keep her talking on the telephone until he
could summon help 3,000 miles away after she swal-
lowed a handful of sleeping pills.
The story of this Good Samaritan began at 10 p.m.
"That is the official procedure
police follow when a complaint is
made against an officer," he said.
Goforth, Mayor Kyle Smith,
City Manager George Wood and
newly-elected Councilman Scott
Neisler listened to 25 residents of
the housing complex Tuesday night
allege that some rookie police use
racial slurs and single out black
residents when making traffic
stops.
time.
Goforth denied that black mo-
torists are being singled out. Police
records reveal that three times
more white motorists are arrested
for traffic violations.
"If I do find an individual who
is working outside the scope of his
enforcement, I will terminate that
individual in no uncertain terms.
We have a professional staff in
See SBI, Page 9-A
Their problem is that their father has gotten in-
volved with drugs and alcohol and is mentally dis-
turbed. He's now living with a girl friend but it's not
unusual for him to come to their home and threaten the
children and hit the mother.
They've moved several times to try to find a safe
place.
Monday night when Gardner, owner and operator of
Quality Exchange, a trucking business in Kings
Mountain, answered his 1-800 watts line.
Gardner had started out the office door when the
telephone rang.
A woman caller, trying to dial a HELP line, dialed
the Kings Mountain number instead.
She had just swallowed a dozen sleeping pills but
she wanted someone to know the location of her four
children ranging from 7 to 10 months.
The caller said she couldn't cope any longer and she
was taking her life. She had problems with husband
and family. "I'm going to put an end to it all but I want
someone to know where my babies are," she said.
See Life, 9-A
Although she has legal proceedings pending against
the father, at this time she has no means of support
from him. Her rent for a used trailer is $260 per month
and her power bill last month was $55. She receives
$317 a month in public assistance.
Needless to say, that small amount of income barely
pays the rent and utilities. There is no money left to
buy food and clothes, medicine, or even paper and
pencils for the children to use at school.
The three older boys have to share one bicycle.
They do without play trucks, puzzles, dart boards, and
games that other kids take for granted.
The youngsters would like to have some of those
items, as well as book bags and school sugplies for
Christmas. The mother would love some towels, wash
cloths, blankets, sweat pants and a sweat top.
ah
nian
SE
ACTING CLERK SWORN-Maxine Parsons, left, of Boiling Springs, takes the oath of office as Kings
1991-92 school year. The current enrollment is 220.
~ The latest minority figures show East's enrollment at
60 percent black and 40 percent white, a change of
four percent since the last figures were released.
McRae projects a 66 percent to 34 percent minority-
majority percentage at Eat by 1991-92. The system-
wide average is 26 percent minority and 74 percent
white.
McRae said he brought the matter up again Monday
night because the school system is almost ready to be-
See East, 6-A
KM To Enlarge
Stadium Parking
Kings Mountain is buying the old Aderholt property
on Gaston Street, tearing down the burned residence
and clearing the 58x200 foot lot for more parking for
old city stadium,
City Council Monday night authorized purchase of
the property for $7,000.
"We will tear down the house immediately and
move to get the area cleared for a parking facility,"
said City Manager George Wood. He said that taking
down the house would get some of the traffic off
Gaston Street and give sports spectators at the old city
stadium more room to park their cars. Now, when
there is a youth game at the stadium cars are parked on
both sides of Gaston and create a traffic problem.
In other major business of the special meeting, the
board approved a long-term contract with Enron Oil &
Gas Company of Houston, Texas to furnish portion of
the city's natural gas and contracted with Heath and
Associates of Shelby for engineering design of exten-
sions to natural gas lines. Three extensions were ap-
proved for two phases of work totaling $25,700. The
loop extension will be made at Kings Mountain
Industrial Park, Northwoods subdivision and along :
N.C. 161 south. HS |
Mountain's new Acting City Clerk-Treasurer from Mayor Kyle Smith at City Council meeting Monday.
Empty
Stocking
Fund
That's where you can help. Your contribution to the
Kings Mountain Empty Stocking Fund will help this
family and others like it in the Greater Kings Mountain
area this Christmas.
Take your check or cash contribution to Home
Federal Savings and Loan and deposit it in the special
Empty Stocking Fund account there, or mail your gift
Empty Stocking Fund Needs You
Suzanne (not her real name) is a 32-year-old mother
of four boys. Three of the children are in school and
are good students. But they live in fear much of the
to Empty Stocking Fund, P.O. Box 1491, Kings
Mountain, N.C. 28086.
First week's contributions:
Darrell Keller $50.00
Jean T. Barber $50.00
Dixon Presbyterian Church $200.00
Dot Hayes $50.00
(Total) $350.00
(ED. NOTE - Since last weeks' story about
"Mattie" appeared in the Herald, many people
have been calling the Herald and Kings Mountain
District Schools office wanting to know the real
name of Mattie so they can take her clothes and
other items. These stories about needy residents are
real stories but we cannot release their names to the
public. We appreciate your concern but the Empty
Stocking Fund can only take cash donations. We
cannot accept food, clothing, toys, etc. Anyone
wanting to help in those areas may call Hallie
Blanton, Social Worker for the KM School System,
and she will make arrangements to let you help
these people but she cannot release their names and
addresses. Thanks for your concern and under-
standing).
Vw