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Empty Stocking Fund
Needs Your Help!
See Story Below
Your Hometown Newspaper
¢ Since 1889 e
VOL. 102 NO. 49
DEBI FAUBION
The annual Kings Mountain Christmas
parade will be held Sunday at 2 p.m.
Debi Faubion, news anchor for Channel 9
Eyewitness News, will be the grand
marshall.
The sponsoring Kings Mountain Parks
and Recreation Department was still
working on entries at the Herald's press time
and reported there could be up to 160 units
entered. !
The parade last year drew record crowds
and those attending still remember the light
touch of snow from a few days earlier that
still hung from the housetops.
The parade will follow the same route as
last year. Units will line up on East King
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Thursday, December 6, 1990
KM Christmas Parade Is Sunday
Kings Mountain, N.C. 28086 +35¢
KM Stocking Fund
Off To Slow Start
The Kings Mountain Empty
Stocking Fund is feeling the
pinch of the public's fear of a
coming recession.
After three weeks of the an-
nual drive to raise money to
provide Christmas for area
needy children and their
families, the fund has
reached only $650.
Last week's contributions
totaled $400.
Citizens are urged to get their donations in as soon
as possible because the committee, chaired by
Margaret Dilling, will have to purchase the Christmas
items at least a week before Christmas to get them de-
livered on time,
Donations can be deposited into a special account at
Howe Federal Savings Bank on West King Street, or
they can be matled to the Empty Stocking Fund, P.O.
Box 1461, Kings Mountain, 28086. Donations can be
made in honor or in memory of someone, or can be
made anonymously.
This week's contributions:
C&C Scrap Iron and Metal, Inc., $200.
Mr. and Mrs. Gary Stewart and family, in honor of
Harold and Lucy Wells, $50.
Dot Hayes, in memory of Mr. and Mrs. O.T. Hayes
Sr., $50.
Annie Laura and Stevan Robbins, in memory of
Stevan Robbins Sr., $25.
Anonymous, $75.
This week's total: $400.00
Previous total: ~~ $250.00
Total to date: $650.00
NOW LISTEN UP, SANTA! - Elizabeth Whisnant, left, and Casey Hord talk to Santa
Claus about what they want for Christmas at Monday's caroling and tree lighting
ceremony at Mauney Memorial Library. Over 100 citizens braved the rain and cold
Street (Business Highway 74) at Gaston
Street. The parade units will travel on King
Street to the overhead bridge and then turn
left on Battleground Avenue and go through
the middle of the downtown area. The
parade will turn left at East Gold Street and
disband at the Kings Mountain Post Office.
The lineup:
Kings Mountain Police Chief Warren
Goforth, Cleveland County Sheriff Buddy
McKinney, Kings Mountain Police car,
Kings Mountain Fire Chief Frank Burns,
Mayor Kyle Smith, City Council members
Al Moretz, Elvin. Green, Norma Bridges,
J.D. Barrett, Fred Finger and Scott Neisler;
KMHS Homecoming Queen Amy Ford,
weather to participate in the ceremony, which was moved indoors.
United Fund Makes
Kings Mountain People
KMHS Carrousel Princess Susan Hendricks,
KMHS nominee Susie Hardin, KMHS
cheerleaders, Kings Mountain Rescue
Squad, Cleveland County Little Princess
Bridget Barrett, Petite Princess Heather
Ellison, Deb Princess Hillary Ellison, Young
Princess Misty Schronce;
Kings Mountain D.A.R.E. program,
~ KMHS Marching Band, 1956 Bel Air Sport
Coupe Doug Peterson, Oak Grove Volunteer
Fire Department, Mobile Vibrations, Kings
Mountain Chamber of Commerce, Amity
Finance/Belk-Stevens float, Miss Cleveland
County Fair Helen Borders, Faith Baptist
Church, Vicky Arrowood Dance Studio;
Kings Mountain Rotary playhouse,
Chopper 9 float, Kings Mountain Fire
Department antique truck, Bethware Fair
Queen Kimberly McDaniel, Hardin's Body
Shop, Chestnut Ridge Fire Department,
Clevemont Mills/Fruit of the Loom, The
Clogging Station, Blacksburg Woman of the
Year Hope Anthony;
Baby Miss Uptown Shelby Brittany
Grant, Tiny Miss Uptown Shelby Kristen
Wood, Wee Miss Uptown Shelby Lauren
Cooke, Little Miss Uptown Shelby D.
Chapman, Junior Miss Uptown Shelby
Holly Shytle, Teen Miss Uptown Shelby
Allison McSwain, Teen Miss Uptown
Shelby Dawn Bridges, Majestic Mr. Uptown
See Parade, 3-A
Kings Mountain police say area
citizens can help law enforcement
officials catch the "Blue Light
Bandit" by being observant.
A person impersonating a police
officer and driving an unmarked
car with a flashing blue light has
been reported stopping motorists
and attempting to rob them.
The victims have reported to
several area police officials that the
bandit wears a security guard-type
uniform, is armed with a handgun
and drives unmarked cars, includ-
ing a Ford Mustang and a Pontiac
Trans Am.
Despite many mamors that have
been circulating in the past week,
Kings Mountain police say only
one incident has been reported to
them. That occurred last Thursday
evening when the bandit tried to
stop a Shelby woman on Highway
74 bypass. Having already heard of
the bandit through newspaper re-
ports, she exited the bypass at the
Highway 161 intersection and
drove to a well-lighted conve-
nience store. When the bandit ap-
proached her car and she saw that
he was not in full police uniform,
she drove off.
Publie Can Help
Cateh The Bandit
Other incidents have been re-
ported in Stanley, Cleveland
County, Gastonia and Boiling
Springs.
Det. Richard Reynolds of the
Kings Mountain Police Department
said officers are concerned and
want to stop the bandit.
“We all need to be very obser-
vant when we see anybody
stopped,” he said. "If they are
stopped by an unmarked vehicle,
try to stop at a pay phone and call
911 and tell them where they are. Tt
may be that there's some passerby
that's never heard of the Blue Light
Bandit.
"This could work jusy like
Crimestoppers and community
watches," Reynolds said. "If every-
body works together he'd be a fool
to continue stopping people. He
couldn't stop somebody without
being seen.”
Police advise motorists not to
stop for a blue light only. The law
requires police officers to not only
turn on their blue lights but also
sound their siren before stopping a
car. Motorists should also drive to
well-lighted areas before stopping.
See Blue Light, 13-A
Fred Tate Retires From KM Post Office
Final Push For Goal
The Kings Mountain United
Fund has fallen $8,135 short of its
$127,500 goal and campaign offi-
cials are making one final push for
the remaining funds.
The drive, which usually ends in
November, has been extended as
division chairpersons and their
teams of volunteers try to push the
pledges and donations for 1991
over the top.
Campaign chairman Glenn
Anderson reported today that cur-
rent pledges total 119,365.
"We are making a final appeal to
the businesses and citizens of
Kings Mountain to help us reach
our goal," he said. "As this last re-
quest is being made, again I would
like to point out that our goal of
$127,500 represents a minimal lev-
el of funding for the agencies
whom we provide only partial
funding for. We established back in
the summer at the allocation meet-
ing that original funding requests
would have to be pared back as a
result of anticipated slowdowns in
our local economy. The goal we
eventually settled on incorporated
10-20 percent cuts in funds re-
quested by the agencies. It's for this
reason we must persist until the
Fred Tate met a lot of nice people and saw a lot of
changes on country roads in 28 years as Rural Route 2
mail carrier but now the 57-year-old Bethlehem resi-
dent is moving on to other things.
Tate, who retired Friday, says he's not sure what
he'll be doing, other than helping his wife Colleen in
her tapestry business and "piddling" in his work shop.
But he's sure he'll occupy his time some way.
Tate logged over a million miles on 12 different cars
during his 28 years with the U.S. Postal Service. He
had a lot of break downs and flat tires but remembers
only one time when he failed to complete his route.
That was during a 14-inch snow storm several years
ago.
He said he made a lot of friends along the way, saw
a lot of changes in the route structure, and saw the
county's roads updated to some of the best in the state.
When he began his route, he recalled travelling 86
miles a day, of which 67 miles were on dirt roads.
When he retired Friday, he had a 66-mile route and all
but four miles were paved.
"That gives a good indication of how the county has
grown," he said. "Cleveland County has looked after
its rural roads. I can't imagine another county having
better service out of their local and state governments."
Tate joined the local Post Office in 1962 after a brief
career with Kings Mountain Mica and as an accoun-
tant at Homesley Chevrolet in Cherryville. Between
those jobs, he spent four years in the U.S. Air Force.
He had graduated from Kings Mountain High School
in 1952 after attending all 12 grades at Central and re-
ceived a degree in accounting from Howard's Business
College in Shelby.
His brother, Oliver, who recently retired after 40
years with the Post Office, was working at the KM
See Tate, 3-A
See United Way, 13-A
re
New aeration basin under construction at Pilot Creek
Utility Improvements Are Underway
Kings Mountain citizens are see-
ing the results of their recent pas-
sage of $9.2 million bond referen-
dums for utility improvements.
All over town city crews and
contractors are busy improving the
water, sewer and electrical sys-
tems.
Site preparation for a new water
tank at T.J. Ellison Water Plant be-
gan last week and the city is about
55 percent complete with work at
the Pilot Creek Wastewater
Treatment plant.
City engineer Tom Howard said
construction of the new water tank
at the Ellison Plant should begin in
January. The city will also be re-
pairing silting basins and putting in
a sludge de-watering system
The water plant is now designed
to handle eight million gallons of
water per day but has been de-
signed for future expansion.
A new two million gallon aera-
tion basin is being added at Pilot
Creek and a new $175,000 sludge
belt press has been installed at the
direction." of . the "State
Environmental Management
Office. Several other areas of the
plant are also being updated. When
the Pilot Creek and the Crowders
Creek sewer projects are complete
it will allow the city to close its
out-dated McGill Treatment Plant.
The city has been updating its
electrical system for several
months, doing much of the work
in-house. Howard said the city will
take bids for installation of a new
sub-station and also begin line
work in January.
The city is also improving
drainage in several areas of town,
including Woodside and Bridges
Drive. Champion Contracting of
Kings Mountain is currently re-
channeling Beason Creek and con-
structing a head wall in the Bridges
Drive area.
Jiggins Construction Company
has completed sewer line work and
is now running new water lines on
Bridges Drive, Landing, Gold and
Sims streets. Howard estimated the
project is 60 percent complete.
He said repaving of Bridges
Drive should begin in January.
The city also recently completed
installation of a new natural gas
line in the Northwoods area. There
are 70 potential customers in the
area and Howard said several have
already requested service. Howard
See Utilities, 11-A