Kiwanians Celebrate
50th Anniversary
3-A
Donkey B-Ball Game
KM In Regional Basketball Set Saturday
Tourney Friday In Hickory
Member Of The
North Carolina
Press Association
VOL. 102 NO. 11
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"Your Hometown Newspaper Since 1889"
Thursday, March 15, 1990
35¢
KINGS MOUNTAIN, N.C. 28086
KM Schools To Ask County For $1.6 Million
The possibility of the 12-minute newscast Channel 1
for Kings Mountain junior and senior high students
has been turned on and off so many times the picture is
getting very snowy.
The school board approved the satellite news pro-
gram several months ago and was all set on it being
tumed on at the start of the 1990-91 school year. But
the State Board of Education had other ideas.
the program could not be shown in a 5 1/2 hour school
day, Supt. Bob McRae announced that the local system
would abide by the ruling, even though he personally
felt it was a decision that should be left up to local
school boards.
Then, the Thomasville School Board sued the state
After the North Carolina School Board ruled that
TE ER PN
Channel 1 Picture Getting Very Snowy
and a judge ruled that even though the state board had
‘the authority to set a policy banning the broadcast, that
Jit had done so without going through proper channels
and that Thomasville could show the program.
That appeared to put some new hope into other sys-
tems that were planning to show the programs, and
some of them began showing it March 5. But the State
Board has now appealed that decision and is also tak-
ing the proper procedures to officially ban the pro-
grams.
Meanwhile, Kings Mountain Schools decided to put
the issue back into the hands of teachers, who original-'
ly endorsed the program. Because of all the hassle and
Kings Mountain District Schools will ask the
Cleveland County commissioners for $1,633,945--a 12
percent increase over last year's allocation--for its
share of the school system's current cxpense budget for
1990-91.
Supt. Bob McRae told the Board of Education
Monday night at the Junior High School that the total
proposed current expense budget for next year is
. $3,079.491.
About two-thirds of the budget is for "continuation"
items that will allow the system to only do "exactly the
same thing" it's doing this year, he said.
The proposed budget will be open for public inspec-
tion for two weeks prior to the next school board meet-
ing (April 9), at which time a public hearing will be
held. McRae said should the county commissioners
not grant KM's requests some items ‘may have to be
cut back.
er which would help end combinati
a five percent increase in the local si
Many areas of the budget will t ._
year, McRae said, because the schg
ing to a middle school concept ne
employees will have to be used di
months to move the middle school
high building.
McRae noted a 16 percent incre:
outlay budget. The proposed budge
will allow the system only to maintai
rently operates, McRae said. No ne
included in that amount because fui
struction came through the passage e
dum.
"We have $167,000 of urgent |
$700,000 more needs" that are ment
See Budget, 9-A
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See Channel 1, 9-A
School
Calendar
Approved
The Kings Mountain Board of
Education approved its calendar
for the 1990-91 school year at
Monday night's regular monthly
meeting held at Kings Mountain
Junior High.
The school year for teachers will
begin August 13 with four manda-
tory workdays. August 17 will be a
discretionary workday.
The school year for students will
begin on August 20 and the first
holiday will be Labor Day
(September 3).
Other workdays through the
year, which are vacation days for
students, are October 25-26,
November 12 and 21, January 2
and 18, February 22, March 28-29,
May 10 and June 6, 7 and 10.
Holidays are Thanksgiving
(Nov. 22-23; Christmas Dec. 24-
Jan. 2; Martin Luther King birth-
day Jan. 21; and Easter April 1-5.
The last day for students is June 5.
Seven inclement weather days
are built into the calendar, most of
them scheduled either on workdays
or at the end of school. The bad
weather dates, in order, are
November 21, March 28, June 6,
June 7, May 10, February 22 and
March 29.
Assistant Supt. Larry Allen, who
served on the calendar committee,
said the calendar was overwhelm-
ingly approved over several other
potential calendars.
In other action Monday, the
board:' *Recognized the Teacher
Photo by Dieter Melhorn
DONKEY RIDE-The balmy temperatures Wednesday provided great fun for students at Bethware
School who were treated to donkey rides, compliments of Thurston Hamrick, who watches Kathryn
The proposed budget includes one additional teach- | #
KM People
A
Hs
Bennett's Retired
But Still Working
By LIB STEWART
Of The Herald Staff
Popular former Ward 3 Commissioner Luther Bennett has retired sev-
eral times during his lifetime but he hasn't stopped working.
When the Phenix Mill closed in 1982, "Luke", as he is affectionately
called by kin and friends, retired after 34 years with Burlington
Industries. He retired again several years ago after 12 years as chairman
of the Kings Mountain Board of Elections and he retired from politics in
the 1960's after serving two terms as Ward 3 commissioner during the
Glee Bridges Administration 1957-61.
Bennett and daughter, Linda Burgess, own and operate Linwood Auto
Sales on Linwood Road. When he §
isn't manning the office and helping
customers, he is busy in his yard
and garden, active in Grace United §
Methodist Church and the Kings
Mountain Lions Club and spending f
his lunch hours at Griffin Drug
Store chatting with good friend and
barber Al Crawford.
Burning the midnight oil was not
uncommon for Bennett when he
chaired the Board of Elections, par-
ticularly during the years the city
had five polling places, compared
to two today. Running the city elec-
tions smoothly was his job but the
polling places were at East School, §
North School, The Armory,
Community Center, and the Old §
Mill Store and counting ballots was
tedious-by hand-and it was late in
the night before voters could obtain the election results.
The first time he ran for the Ward 3 seat on the board he was beat by
his friend, the late T. J. Ellison, who served for many years in that posi-
tion. Bennett came back two years later and defeated two challengers
and was reelected for another term. Commissioners were paid $24 a
month at City Hall and five members were on the board. Bennett re-
LUTHER BENNETT
i —
a
of the Year from each of the sys-
tem's schools. They are Kaye
See Calendar, 9-A
Harris: Raising Prison
Cap Worth The Money
Champion enjoy a ride on the donkey's back. Kings Mountain area people can enjoy watching members of
the White Plains Shrine Club play donkey basketball Saturday night at 7 p. m. at the KM Community
Center. Proceeds from the fun game will benefit Shrine projects.
called that he served with Ross Alexander, Boyce Gault, Ben Bridges
and Coleman Stroupe. There were five wards. In recent years, the wards
See Bennett, 3-A
WalkAmerica April 7
For March Of Dimes
The cost to the taxpayers was
$20,000 for the March 6 two-hour
extra session of the North Carolina
General Assembly in Raleigh but
Kings Mountain Senator J. Ollie
Harris says their action in raising
the cap on prisoners was worth it.,
An 18-year veteran of the Senate
representing Cleveland, Gaston,
Rutherford and Lincoln Counties,
Harris, a Democrat, said he had
been called to only four extra ses-
sions during his tenure. Of the 13
extra sessions called over the past
50 years, 12 were called by the
Governor and one by the members
of the General Assembly. Most
have dealt with redistricting, reap-
portionment of the budget, speaker
ban law, criminal discovery and in-
surance. The special session last
week was the first one to deal with
the state's prisons but Harris said
the rising crime rate in North
Carolina dictated the need for it
and that Governor Jim Martin
should not be criticized for calling
it.
"The parole board was turning
away felons instead of prisoners
with misdemeanors because of lack
of beds for them. We still need at
least 5,000 more beds in the next
10 years in the state's prisons. The
new legislation put a stop to turn-
ing out repeaters,” said Harris.
The cap of 18,000 inmates was
placed in response to overcrowded
prison conditions and lawsuits
brought by North Carolina state
prisoners in federal court.
Harris said the General
Assembly passed legislation rais-
ing in three phases the total num-
ber of prisoners allowed within the
state prison system by 715. As part
of the new law, the Legislature pro-
hibited the parole of first and sec-
ond degree murderers in order to
meet the cap. The Parole
Fifteen teams of walkers had
signed up this week to participate
in WalkAmerica for the March of
Dimes April 7 to fight birth de-
fects.
Rita Lawing, chairman of the
steering committee for Kings
Mountain and Shelby which seeks
a goal of $15,000 and Mayor Kyle
Smith, honorary chairman, kicked
off the local effort Thursday at a
luncheon meeting of volunteers at
Battleground Restaurant. Terry
Putnam, chairman of the Team
Walk committee, will sign up other
walkers at a team captain's lun-
cheon Friday at noon at Holiday
Inn.
Industry will be challenging oth-
er industries, banks will be chal-
lenging other banks and other busi-
Commission is already prohibited
from paroling persons who have
committed sex offenses, kidnaping,
abduction or drug trafficking in or-
der to reach the cap. Under the
just-ratified legislation, the cap on
prisoners will rise to 18,525 on
See Harris, 2-A
MARCH OF DIMES KICKOFF-Rita Lawing, left, of Clevemont
Mills, Walk America steering chairman for the Kings Mountain area
and Mayor Kyle Smith, honorary chairman of the walk-a-thon set
for April 7 , kickoff plans for the goal for Cleveland County of
$15,000 and the five-mile walk-a-thon which will start at 9 a.m,
from Clevemont Mills on York Road. "We're Steppin'! for healthier
babies" is the-theme for the first March of Dimes fundraiser here
since mothers marched on birth defects and polio many years ago.
nesses, churches, and civic groups
are getting in on the fun, according
to Lawing. A VCR donated by K-
Mart of Shelby will go to the per-
son raising the most money. Four
Carowind tickets will go to the per-
son raising the second highest
amount of money and various
smaller prizes will be presented by
merchants plus awards in the form
of plaques to businesses for top do-
nations.
The five-mile walk will begin on
April 7 at 9 a. m. at Clevemont
Mill on York Road. Walkers may
walk the entire route or walk as
long as they wish. Sign-up sheets
are available for walkers to obtain
pledges from sponsors in the form
of cash to further research into the
cause of birth defects and a pro-
gram targeted at the high infant
mortality rate and premature births.
Suzanne Stevens and Mike
Terry, WSOC personalities, will fly
to Kings Mountain April 7 in the
Channel 9 helicopter to promote
the Kings Mountain WalkAmerica
sponsored by WSOC Radio-TV.
Lawing said the committee has a
goal of 250 walkers.
Jennie Burton, coordinator for
the Greater Piedmont March of
Dimes Chapter, and Rebecca Belk,
Cleveland County Chapter
Director, were present to help kick-
See March, 2-A