KINGS MOUNTAIN HIGH SCHOOL
Graduation Section
Inside Today's Herald
VOL. 103 NO. 21
Soldier Has Happy Homecoming.....8-A
Karate King Now Getting In His Kicks For God.......8-B
Thursday, May 80, 1991
Festival
a huge
success
Saturday's small turnout at the
first-ever Kings Mountain Folk
Festival was not disappointing to
Chamber of Commerce Executive
Director Loretta Cozart who
predicts next year's event will draw
bigger crowds.
Cozart said the Festival won't be
scheduled again on Memorial Day
weekend which took many families
out-of-town to the races and to the
beaches. Despite the sparse crowd
at the Mike Cross concert Saturday
night, Cozart said the Bluegrass
entertainer gave a top-notch two-
hour performance and the 150-200
people in Gamble Stadium gave
him standing ovations. /
The Chamber spent $7500 to
bring the popular entertainer to
Kings Mountain but 2/3 of the cost
was donated by sponsors, including
Duke Power Company, WSOC
Channel 9, Eaton Corporation of
WTDR of Charlotte.
"I've followed Mike Cross
around for 10 years and Saturday's
‘was one of the best concerts I've at-
tended," said Brad Tate, who
thanked the Chamber for its fine
serv
‘met Cross eigh
go
at Chapel Hill and Kip interviewed
him for a TV production at The
Pier in Raleigh. Cross dedicated a
song to Kaysie, daughter of the
Cozarts, during the Saturday show.
Cross premiered "Carolina
Calling," the new theme song for
See Festival, 2-A
Coca Cola Classic, Southern Bell,”
kings Mountain and Radio Station
Pay
ount’
A
Charity Moss, daughter of Karen Moss of Kings Mountain and Quay Moss of Grover, performs a dance
routine during Saturday's first annual Folk Festival in downtown Kings Mountain. The event was spon-
sored by the Chamber of Commerce. More photos are on page 1-B.
Graduation tonight
Diplomas will be awarded to
226 Kings Mountain High School
seniors Thursday night at 7 p.m. in
graduation exercises in John
Gamble Stadium.
Officers of the Class of 1991
will lead the graduation exercises.
KMHS Principal Jackie
Lavender, assisted by Supt. Dr.
Bob McRae and Chief Marshal
Jason Rayfield, will present diplo-
mas. Amy Ford, class treasurer,
will present the class gift and it
will be accepted by Billy King,
chairman of the KM Board of
Education. Brenton Wilson, secre-
tary, will recognize honor gradu-
ates and Derick Williams, class
president, will present the Class of
1991. Robbie Wilson, president of
the SPO, will give the welcome
and Charity Jackson will pray the
Citizens
Piedmont Avenue property
owners proved Tuesday night they
could fight city hall and win.
City council voted against the
city and unanimously with the
property owners and ordered a 10
feet high barbed wire fence at the
" Public Works employee parking lot
be cut down to 6 feet, the new
parking lot clearly designated for
employee use only and garbage
trucks and other heavy equipment
prohibited.
Kenneth Bush charged the city
put yp the fence illegally before re-
zoning the property and called it
an eyesore to the neighbors on
McGinnis Street and to Piedmont
Avenue. "I'm not going to sit there
and take it when they impose one
set of rules for citizens and another
for themselves," he said.
Franklin Barrett, who also spoke
against the fence at the public hear-
ing on rezoning from R-8 to GB
the city's property for the new con-
struction, said he had lived on
Piedmont Avenue 19 years and that
everything coming to Ward 4 re-
invocation.. The KMHS Choral
Union will sing special music and
the 9th Grade Band will play
"Pomp and Circumstance" for the
processional.
Eugene Bumgardner will direct
the choral music and Chris Cole
will direct the band.
Other marshals are Aaron Allen,
Alexandra Ely, J. J. Downey,
Dawn Hardin, Gail Hardin, Angela
Hawkins, Kimberly Hoyle, Leigh
Kendrick, Douangchit Mounghane,
Danielle Nolen and Sengdeuane
Silapheth.
The class motto is "We shall all
go our separate ways, but we'll al-
ways be as one--the Class of
1991." The class colors are black
and gold, the class flower is yellow
rose and the class song is "When
Will I See You Smile Again.”
in fight
cently has been put up in front of
his house. "There's talk of a big
compactor, now the new parking
lot, and we have the two big tanks
at the Public Works building. If I
build I have to go to city hall and
buy a permit. The city didn't even
buy a permit to put up the fence. I
want to see it come down."
City Manager George Wood said
the city was in error in putting up
the fence before zoning the proper-
ty but said that other properties in
the immediate area are zoned gen-
eral business. He said the 10 feet
high fence is preferred because of
recent theft of city property and a
recurring problem with vandalism.
Commissioner Fred Finger noted
that other adjoining city properties
are zoned general business and the
parking lot is contiguous property.
Zoning board member M. C.
Pruette, a former city commission-
er, said the area should be zoned
Neighborhood business. "It's in the
book," he said.
City Planning Director Eugene
White called the city's action "an
ith city
oversight on the city's part. , The
. parking lot was built before it was
rezoned but had been used on an
informal basis. It was a natural as-
sumption that it was correctly
zoned and the city staff went ahead
with the employee parking lot."
White said the high fence was put
up in an effort to cut down on van-
dalism and break-ins.
Brackett contends the gate of the
parking lot is never locked and the
lot may become a parking lot for
heavy equipment in the future.
The board also waived buffering
requirements at the site, at sugges-
tion of Brackett and Bush, before
rezoning the property general busi-
ness.
_ White said the Rlanning and
Zoning Board unanimously reject-
ed the city's rezoning request with-
out the stipulations made at
Tuesday night's board meeting
which the adjoining property own-
ers want in writing. He said 10 to
12 McGinnis Street-Piedmont
Avenue area property owners op-
See Fight, 7-A
selling his building b
Nort
Kings Mountain N £90096 .35¢
Curfew
Police to beef ug
in area of billiar
A 90-day 8 p.m.-6 a.m. curfew
at the two city-owned mini parks
downtown was imposed by city
council Tuesday night in an effort
to crack down on loitering and
vandalism.
Police were instructed to add pa-
trols and cite for trespassing any
individuals found loitering in the
two parks.
The action was taken unani-
mously after three people spoke
during a standing-room-only hear-
ing called to determine if two
downtown billiard parlors have vi-
olated city nuisance ordinances and
after public complaints that the two
businesses--Mike's Game Room
and Friendly Billiards--attract cus-
tomers who create problems of
vandalism and rowdiness.
The actions mean that
teenagers--blamed for the recent
vandalism of businesses in the
area--as well as adults must be out
of the two parks by 8 p.m. each
evening. Game room owners
maintain the problems are outside,
not inside their establishments.
Neither Mike Heath, owner of
Mike's Game Room, or Chick
Dixon, owner of Friendly Billiards,
spoke during the hearing. Heath is
ut will contin-
iedmont Avenue and is
building a new convenience store
in Grover. "The controversy had
nothing to do with my decision to
place my business for sale," said
Heath.
"It seems to me that the juve-
niles who are damaging businesses
in the downtown area need more
than a spanking," said Councilman
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- Al Moretz
me. roo on.
Al Moretz, who suggested that city
police add extra foot patrol and
step up visitations to the pool halls
at random times. "We can't let the
situation continue and we have no
choice but to revoke or suspend li-
censes if the situation doesn't im-
prove," said Moretz, who made the
motion to impose the curfew.
Bill Laine suggested that the city
move the two parks but City
Manager George Wood said that
the parks are dedicated and were
built with federal money which
stipulates they remain in place.
Laine contended that the Senior
Citizens Park is not used by senior
citizens. "Kids have to have a place
to congregate and where are they
going to go if the pool rooms are
closed?" he asked. "I have visited
~ both establishments and I found the
X have talked both owners and
they assure me they will keep an
eye out for vandalism outside their
businesses. Kids are going to mis-
behave."
Laine suggested that senior citi-
zens offer to volunteer to help
monitor the situation.
See Curfew, 3-A
Miller on Elections Board
Tim Miller, Kings Mountain hardwareman, was
appointed to the Kings Mountain Board of Elections
for a two-year term Tuesday night.
Mayor Kyle Smith said Miller succeeds James
Carroll who declined to serve another term.
Council reappointed chairman Becky Cook and
Philip Hager.
City Manager George Wood announced the city
has received a $52,500 grant from the Department of
Energy, Conservation and Housing for rehabilitation
of Second Street.
In other actions, council:
+Approved right-of-way to the N. C. Department
of Transportation to allow paving of a portion of a
to obtain easement for Hillcrest Mobile Home Park
on Stony Point Road. City Manager George Wood
said the utility staff has been overseeing the project
his expense.
for sometime and residents in that area have a prob-
lem with septic tanks overflowing and the owner of
the trailer park wants to hook on to KM's system at
+Selected Option 2 following survey of property
owners for looping the electrical service to give bet-
ter service in the Hawthorne Road, Meadowbrook
Road, Hillside Drive and Marion Street areas.
+Declared certain property in the Recreation and
open auction.
dirt road which runs parallel to Buffalo Creek reser-
voir and the county landfill commonly known as
Airport Road.
+Denied request from Kings Mountain Church of
God, 1818 Shelby Road, for an inside-city tap fee for
water. The church is located outside the city limits.
+Authorized the mayor to execute easement in ex-
Police Department surplus and authorized disposal at
+Wood said heavy rains.last week flooded Beason
Creek and washed out a 50 foot section of a sewer
change for accessibility to sewer for certain buildings
outfall line that serves most of Kings Mountain. He
said permanent repairs have been made.
+Set June 18 at 7:30 p.m. for public hearing to dis-
cuss the 1991-92 operating budget.
See Miller, 7-A
Kings Mountain residents came out in large numbers to Tuesday night's City Council meeting to protest
a 10-feet fence that has been constructed around the Public Works facility on North Piedmont. Citizens
charged the city did not follow its own codes in erecting the fence. The council voted to replace it with a
six-feet fence.
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1