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VOL. 103 NO. 22
THE WAY WE WERE 32 Years Ago In KM.........5A
BLOODMOBILE TUESDAY At Boyce Memorial ARP Church... Si
Thursday, June 6, 1991
Few people ever celebrate their
100th birthday. But Helen G. Neal
partied twice this week.
Sunday on her century anniver-
sary the retired teacher was hon-
ored by members of the Class of
1944 of Bessemer City High
School. Monday a second party
was hosted in the Extended Care
Section of Kings Mountain
Hospital by members of her family.
Although she couldn't hear all
the tributes paid her by her former
students and friends, Mrs. Neal
smiled and enjoyed cake. "Gram
has always has a sweet tooth and
always made room for dessert at
the table," said granddaughter Judy
Cooper Wilson.
The petite silver haired "birthday
girl" sat in a wheelchair surrounded
by her friends in the hospital and a
table decorated with "Happy 100th
Birthday." She wore a aqua robe
and gown with a corsage of pink
sweetheart roses. Gifts on her bed
and cards on the wall of her hospi-
tal room--her home for two years--
showed the affection of friends and
kinfolk.
Until age 95, Neal kept house at
her home on West Mountain Street.
1 Until recent illness she lived with
door to door.
For six years now the 66-year-old Payne has
grown green beans, okra, tomatoes, squash and cu-
cumbers in his back yard garden and shared with
some 200 families each year whom he calls his "spe-
cial people.”
Retired after 34 years with Wix Corporation, Payne
walks six miles a day, works out regularly in a body
building program and tends a big vegetable garden.
"When I retired my friends thought I'd sit at home in
my rocking chair but I find now there aren't enough
hours in the day," laughed Payne, who cooks home-
grown vegetables for his family three times a week,
volunteers at Four Square Gospel Church and on occa-
sion goes fishing with friends on Lake Wylie.
A native of Dilling Mill village, Payne calls himself
the "old man" of the Class of 1946 of Kings Mountain
High school. He quit school to join Uncle Sam's Navy
at the age of 17 in August 1942 and went back to
school on the GI Bill in October 1945 just in time to
Mrs. Neal 1 00,
has two parties
Most of Calvin Payne's "special people” never
meet the "Good Neighbor" who leaves them bags of
vegetables on their porches as he quietly moves from
with daughter, Eleanor Cooper
Scharf. She has a son, E.W. Neal
Jr. in Hickory. A son, Hugh Neal,
died some years ago. The grand-
children are Julia Cooper Wilson,
Ann Cooper Dawkins, and Jacob
Neal Cooper. Great-grandchildren
are Lee Ann Wilson Bridges,
Robert Neal Wilson, Sarah Helen
Cooper and Jacob Mauney Cooper
II
Eleanor Scharf recalls that her
mother, Julia Helen Galloway
Neal, born June 189 in Due West,
S.C., was reared in a home filled
with love but under the strict rule
and code of ethics exemplified by
"Mr. Galloway", as her father was
known. Living in a small college
town she was constantly exposed
to those people in the education
field, and the Galloway house was
always open to everyone.
Graduating from Erskine
College in Due West, she went to
Linwood College in Gaston
County in her first teaching posi-
tion. She married Ernest W. Neal in
1925 and began teaching in Kings
Mountain. After her children were
born she went back to work in
1932 with the Cleveland County
Welfare Department and between
help his fellow Mounties beat Belmont 6-0 on the foot-
ball field and the first time Payne, No. 34, a back, had
played football in three years. He was the first World
War II veteran to attend KMHS on the GI Bill and the
first married student.
Sports editor of "The Milestones" Payne recalled
that he played football for three years before World -
War II and reported the games for The Herald. When.
he returned to school in 1946 after his service hitch, he
found new classmates and new teammates.
An early-riser, Payne credits his good health to a
first class exercise program he has practiced for years:
rising at 5:45 a.m. for work in his garden and then a
walk at the walking track for three hours and workouts
at Robert Eng School of Defense, where he lifts
weights and holds up with younger men in the ring
with Black Belts. At 6 p.m. he returns to the track for
three more miles of walking. Payne walked a familiar
route on the streets of the city before the track opened
and dresses for the weather maintaining his strict ex-
-ercise program in all seasons and in every climate.
See Payne, 12-A
KM taxes won't go up
Kings Mountain taxpayers don't
have to worry about increased tax-
es next year or city layoffs, despite
the state's budget woes that could
amount to $500,000 in state pay-
ments to the city.
But City Manager George Wood
says the budget he is winding up in
preparation to present to city coun-
cil next week is the toughest he has
been involved during his career.
"We're working around the pro-
jected cuts," said Wood.
Included in the budget will be
monthly garbage disposal fees
which citizens will start paying
July 1 due to tipping fees at the
county landfill. County residents
Plan ‘appears in order"
A new redistricting plan submit-
ted to the U.S. Justice Department
"appears to be in order," say city
officials.
"We are not aware of any defi-
ciency in our submission based on
conversations,” said City Manager
George Wood.
If the Justice Department ap-
proves in July the changes in vot-
ing procedures the city election
will be held in the fall.
City Attorney Mickey Corry
talked by phone with Justice
Department officers reviewing the
city's redistricting plan this week
and said it is unlikely that city offi-
cials will have to travel to
Washington, D.C. to talk personal-
have not paid for garbage disposal
but the county commissioners vot-
ed sometime ago to stop using
county tax dollars to fund the oper-
ation of the county landfill and
start charging municipalities like
Kings Mountain $19 a ton. The
monthly charge for residential ar-
eas is projected to between $1.40
and $1.50 but commercial and in-
dustrial areas of Kings Mountain
would see different monthly rates
depending on the amount of refuse
produced.
City council has set public hear-
ing on the 1991-92 budget for June
18 at 7:30 p.m. at city hall.
ly with Justice Department offi-
cials.
The scrutiny of the district lines
came after population statistics
from the 1990 U.S. Census showed
22% of the city's 8,763 residents
are minority. :
One seat would be added to
city council which changes the size
of council from 6 to 7 members.
The new plan also changes the pro-
cedure in which all council mem-
bers are now elected at-large and it
creates a minority ward virtually
assuring the first black representa-
tive on council.
Councilmen Elvin Greene, Scott
Neisler and Fred Finger will repre-
See City Election, 12-A
FOUR GENERATIONS-Four generations of Helen G. Neal's
family gather with her to celebrate her 100th birthday. Standing
around Mrs. Neal are her daughter, Eleanor Cooper Scharf, left,
Mrs. Scharf’s daughter, Judy Cooper Wilson, and Mrs. Wilson's
daughter, Lee Ann Wilson Bridges.
1932 and 1939 she taught and was Bessemer City. In 1939 she began
principal of Bethware School and her 20 year association with
tal ght at Tryon School near : : it hig
pel
CALVIN PAYNE
School Supt. Bob McRae and
former veteran Senator J. Ollie
Harris believe the North Carolina
General Assembly is getting close
to approving legislation allowing
city school systems to stay in busi-
ness if they choose to do so.
The Kings Mountain men made
the remarks this week after a new
proposal on funding of city school
units by members of the N. C.
House Education Appropriations
Committee specified that "school
systems may merge by doing away
with their charter" and allowed
county commissions to set up a
plan for consolidation without a
vote of the people.
"We think we've done fairly well
so far in letting our legislators
know we don't want merger of
Kings Mountain, Shelby and
Cleveland County Schools into one
unit,” said Harris, who has lobbied
for the Kings Mountain system and
has been working closely with lo-
cal legislators in Raleigh.
"The county board has gone on
record that they would not force
consolidation/merger of the three
systems, said Harris, and I believe
eaci
The uncertainty of state funding
hit home this week to 60 proba-
tionary employees of the school
system who learned they may not
have jobs next year but Supt. Dr.
Bob McRae said the board hopes
to keep all current employees on
the job.
"There is a good possibility at
Monday's board meeting that some
of these people will be issued con-
tracts," said Assistant Supt. of
Personnel Ronnie Wilson.
The Kings Mountain Board of
Education last Tuesday night did
not renew contracts for five voca-
tional teachers, 11 teachers of ex-
ceptional children, three instruc-
tional support personnel, 11 special
teachers and 29 regular classroom
teachers, temporarily cutting those
positions because of state budget
cuts.
rs 001
ANVIEIT TVIYOWEN AIANAVI
IN NIW SONIA
98087
* FAV. INOWAHEId
"The county buaru nas
gone on record that they
would not force
consolidation/merger...and
I believe them."
-Ollie Harris
direction the merger debate has
FINAL MARCH AS CLASS OF 1991-Kings Mountain High School graduated the Class of 1991
Thursday night. The long line of 225 seniors formed on the school grounds to march to John Gamble
Stadium for finals exercises at which they were presented their diplomas. The senior gift was repainting
pus.
of the huge yellow footprints of the school's Mountaineer mascot on Phifer Road, leading to the cam-
provisions on funding” on Friday
which mandated a merger, said
Harris, effective July 1, 1994. It
said that "effective July 1, 1994,
no state funds will be used for the
positions of superintendents and
associate and assistant superinten-
dents for city school administrative
units. County or counties in which
any city school administrative unit
is located is responsible for the
funding of these positions. Where
there is more than one local school
administrative unit, but none of .
them is located in more than one
county, a consolidation and merger
of all local school administrative
units located in the county into a
single local school administrative
unit becomes effective."
"We are quite pleased with the
rs should keep jobs
"The classroom teaching posi-
tions will be preserved," said
McRae. Wilson said the cuts are
anticipated in non-certified posi-
tions or about a six percent reduc-
tion in personnel, including some
administration cuts.
The school system has until
July 1 to renew teaching contracts
but acting on staff recommenda-
tions took the action after a closed
session last Tuesday night. "We
wanted to delay as long as possible
but felt we couldn't gamble at this
point when we learned legislators
were looking at even more cuts,"
said board member Doyle
Campbell.
"We are waiting to see what final
state budget decisions will be from
the N.C. General Assembly in
See Teachers, 12-A
Drug test
for drivers
considered
A proposal that would require
drug testing of all new school bus
drivers will be considered by the
Kings Mountain Board of
Education Monday night which
may pursue a more broader drug
policy to include all employees.
Supt. Bob McRae said the State
Department of Public Instruction is
making the recommendation that
all schools test new bus drivers for
controlled substances. "The recent
school bus accident in Charlotte in
which drugs were found on the
driver came after the state board's
recommendation,” said McRae,
who said the board may consider a
more broader drug policy to in-
clude all employees.
The board will also consider a
proposal by the Cleveland County
Health Department for a full-time
nurse at Kings Mountain High
School who would be allowed to
perform various lab tests and phys-
ical examinations.
Denise Stallings, county health | ©
director, said at last month's board
meeting that the county would foot
the cost of the program and that all
procedures would be accomplished
only after a consent form from par-
ents. The plan, which provides ex-
See Testing, 12-A
CEE