KM
TST
Helping
Member Of The
North Carolina
Press Association
VOL. 102 NO. 27
SLOWING DOWN-Motorists
are heeding the 16 m.p.h. speed
signs in Spring Acres and the
residential section of Grover
since the town fathers installed
about 15 of the signs to get their
attention. Although some resi-
dents object, they are slowing
their vehicles to avoid a ticket
from the town cop.
Rape Victims
Juniors Close To Sweep 5-A
97
Today s High
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KINGS MOUNTAIN, N.C. 28086
Power Outages Puzzle KM
Twelve power outages since May
15 have Kings Mountain electrical
employees working about 60 hours
a week trying to trace down the
trouble.
Jimmy Maney, electrical depart-
ment superintendent, said it could
take up to six months to find the
problem but his men won't stop un-
til it's corrected.
For the past several days, crews
have been trimming trees away
from power lines, thinking that the
outages may be the result of limbs
Weather
Drying Up
Area Crops
It's easy to spot your septic tank
drain these days. It's that little island
of green in a sea of brown.
Scorching hot temperatures and
the lack of rain over the past five
weeks have area citizens wondering
if we're in the midst of another
drought. Crops and lawns are dry-
ing up and the National Weather
Service says there's no chance of
“substantial rainfall in the next sever-
al days, although scattered showers
are in the forecast for Friday and
Saturday. Temperatures are expect-
ed to be in the 90s the rest of the
week and the National Weather
Service said the all-time record of
100 for Thursday will be chal-
lenged.
"One big rain is not going to fix
everything," says Steve Gibson of
the Clevleand County Agriculture
Department. "We have to have rain
to continue the rest of the season."
Major commercial crops such as
soy beans, corn and cotton are al-
See No Rain, 6-A .
touching lines and causing them to
knock the circuits out. After the
trim work is complete, if outages
are still occurring the city workers
will start inside the sub-stations and
tear down some of the relay equip-
ment and make sure nothing is
breaking down inside.
Maney said the recent outages
have affected about 40 percent of
the city's customers, mostly on the
east side and in the Country Club
section. The power is usually off for
10 seconds to a minute.
Ew
orem
"The sub-station on the York
Road is the one involved," he said.
"We call it the Northwoods feed be-
cause it covers the territory from
Northwoods all the way down York
Road to the Galilee section."
Duke Power, which supplies
power to the city, has already
checked all of its equipment and
said it is not causing the outages.
"Now, it's just more or less a pro-
cess of elimination,” Maney said.
"We've begun an extensive tree-
trimming program that will go on
598
TREE TRIMMING - Kings Mountain electrical department employ-
ees trim trees away from power lines on Floyd Street Tuesday in an at-
tempt to keep limbs from touching lines and causing power outages
during the hot summer months.
for the next six months with city
crews doing about 75 percent of the
cutting.:
Maney said his crews will cover
all the main circuit feeds out of sub-
stations and will also be trimming
along streets and right of ways that
will be acquired for electrical ser-
vice approved through a recent
bond vote.
"I have my superintendent out
now and he's knocking on doors and
passing out permission slips and
talking to property owners, explain-
ing what we're doing," Maney said.
"In the meantime we're also starting
some of the bond work in-house.
We've taken approximately nine
strip mats where the project has al-
ready been stripped and working
one section at a time, re-conducting,
changing rotted poles, rotted cross-
arms, pulling in new wire, etc. The
more we can get done in-house to
more bond money we'll have for
contract work."
See Electrical, 6-A
. Rocky Mountain
Fever Reported
A second Cleveland County
child became ill Tuesday with
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever,
according to the Cleveland County
Health Department.
The five-year-old was diagnosed
with the disease Tuesday, accord-
ing to Eunice Davis, of the
Clveland County Health
epartment. Last week, a seven-
MM ar-old child became ill with the
"¥) k disease.
"People who are outdoors this
summer should be on the alert for
ticks, and if symptoms occur, call
their doctor or the health depart-
ment.
Davis said the two cases in a
week's time are the only suspected
cases of tick fever in Cleveland
County the past two years
Lincoln County accounts for 11
of the 33 cases reported so far this
year in North Carolina and led
North Carolina last year with 16 of
the 118 cases reported, statistics
show.
People contract the spotted fever
from the bite of a tick infected with
a bacteria-like organism, rickettsia,
Within two weeks of being bitten
by a tick infected with the organ-
ism, a patient can have chills,
fever, headaches, a red to purple
rash and pain in muscles and joints.
It can also cause sleeplessness and
an inability to stay calm.
Antibiotics are given to combat the
potentially fatal disease.
Gaswn County Tepeiied two 1as-
¢s the past two years.
" Doctors are now more tunedin
to the disease now and how to
combat it," said a health official.
Charlotte Presbyterian Hospital
published a brochure recently in
which health officials said that
North Carolina, particularly the
Piedmont Crescent along I-85, has
the higher incidence of reported,
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
cases in the world.
When you are outside, especially
in heavily wooded areas, you
See Ticks, 6-A
New West Principal May Be Named Monday
A new principal for West
Elementary School and a new
Director of Exceptional Children's
Programs will probably be named at
Monday's meeting of the Kings
Mountain Board of Education.
The board meets at 7:30 p.m. at
the Superintendent's Office.
West Principal Shirley Bynum
recently resigned to go back to col-
lege. The Director of Exceptional
Children's Programs position be-
came available last month when
Jean Thrift was promoted to the po-
sition of Director of Pupil Support.
The board will consider several
other items Monday, including an
increase in lunch prices and results
of the annual testing program.
Supt. Bob McRae said third
through eighth graders scored much
better in the California
Achievement Tests (CAT) this year,
making gains ranging from two
months in one grade to 11 months
in another.
"The scores were up much more
this year than last," he said.
"Overall, I think we can be very
pleased with them."
McRae said current lunch prices
of $1 for grades K-5 and $1.10 for
grades 6-12 will increase "but I hes-
itate to say what we're going to rec-
ommend because we have a little
more talking to do. But, based on
increased costs, there will probably
be an increase."
The board will discuss several
building projects. Contractors hope
See Schools, 6-A
Annexation Would Add Million
To Grover's Annual Tax Base
GROVER-Town Council said
the property tax base of the city
would rise by $1 million when
about 40 houses, the new sewer
plant, and the city-owned cemetery
are annexed in the city limits next
month.
Donnie Herndon was the only
outside-city property owner voic-
ing objection during a public hear-
ing conducted by Mayor W. W.
McCarter and State Planner Woody
Horton.
In another major action Monday
night, the board approved spending
up to $129,000 from unassigned
surplus funds for improvements to
the Town Hall and for the city's
first-ever garbage truck.
Presenting an update on con-
struction underway of the new ad-
dition to Town Hall, councilman
Jim Howell said that exterior work
should be completed in about two
weeks and then workmen would
start on the interior of the facility
which adjoins the present building
but will house new offices for the
mayor, town clerk, town policeman
and meeting room.
Mayor Bill McCarter estimated
that cost of construction will
amount to approximately $78,000,
including sidewalk and landscap-
ing. Commissioner Norman
King presented truck bids, and
contract was awarded to Keeter
Ford at $29,350 for the Ford truck
and Maxwell Taylor for a Heil con-
tainer at cost of $16,600. Delivery
date is in late-August. Previously,
the town had contracted for
garbage collection. :
Donnie Herndon told the board
he would prefer that his property
not be annexed when the town an-
nexes about 40 houses, the town
cemetery and town sewer plant lo-
cated in outlying arcas. "It won't
help me that much,” said Herndon.
"I pay enough tax as it is and if
I'm inside the city you'll restrict me
if I want to put up a trailer and
you'll put my dog on a leash," he
said.
Horton, responding to ques-
tions, said if the board decides to
annex, the ordinance would be
passed at the August meeting and
the effective date would be August
31, 1991 but the council would
have a year from that date to pro-
vide police protection, water, and
garbage pickup to the annexed ar-
eas. McCarter, responding to
Shelly Green who has purchased a
home on Highway 226, said those
annexed would see a reduction in
their water and sewer bills of 30
percent.
Living inside the city limits will
also mcan improvements, such as
street lights and sidewalks, grading
See Grover, 3-A
. A bill which would take driver's
education out of the Department of
Education and put it under control
of the Department of Transportation
has some school officials worried
that it would cost teachers jobs and
lower the effectiveness of the pro-
The idea came about because of
TE ———————————————————————————
Driver's Ed Idea Causes Concern
the budget shortfall and the fact that
the DOT has more money available
to finance the program. State
Schools Supt. Bob Etheridge had
the idea for the schools to run the
program with the DOT financing it.
But DOT officials have indicated
that if they finance it, they also
want to run it and that's what has
schoo! officials worried.
The proposal passed the Senate
last week by a vote of 25-23 with
area Senators Ollie Harris of Kings
Mountain and Marshall Rauch of
Gastonia voting for it and Helen
Marvin of Gastonia voting against
it.
See Drivers, 6-A
BUILDING GOING UP-An expansion to the Town Hall at Grover is underway and workmen expect to
finish the exterior to the building in about two weeks. The new addition will house offices for the mayor,
town clerk, police chief, and a community room, in addition to storage facilities and bathrooms.
a