Student has
gun at school
A .22 calibre handgun was
confiscated from a 14-year-old
Kings Mountain High School
EE Ta mE. CITI PRAT, Se ar Cpe pr CONART S0r § OY
Mountaineers Boot
East Lincoln
1-B
Preacher Reaches
People Through Poetry
student Wednesda.
The case was turned over to
Kings Mountain police, who
were having juvenile papers
drawn at the Herald's press
(time.
An assistant principal took
the gun away from the student,
who had it tucked into his
pants,
Principal Jackie Lavender
said the student was suspended
for 10 days and that she will
recommend long-term suspen-
sion.
Jerry King, far right, moderates the forum for city council candi-
dates Tuesday night at B.N. Barnes Auditorium. Council hopefuls an-
swered questions submitted by the public in the event sponsored by
the Kings Mountain Herald. Council candidates, left to right, are Jeff
School candidates
look for positive
The five candidates for two inside-city school
board seats are leaning toward a 12-month school
ear and see "positive happenings” in education in
the future, they.said during a candidate forum
Tuesday night at Barnes Auditorium.
They also said, if elected, they would serve more
than the numberof haurs required to. attend incetings
and would support the teaching staff with freedom to
do their jobs and offer some form of recognition to
good teachers.
Incumbent board chairman Billy King said the
public's demand for an education for every child will
see kids educated for the job market in the high tech
workplace, targeting at-risk students and the reduc-
tion of drop out rates in programs that will affect ev-
eryone in the next 20 years. "It's exciting," he said.
"The main thing we can look for is the 12 month
school year and in some areas it's already success-
ful," said Mark George.
All five candidates, King, George, Shearra Miller,
David Lynn and B. S. Peeler said they would support
a trial basis of the 12 month school year on a volun-
tary basis.
Lynn said year-round use of buildings would in-
crease the effectiveness of capital assets and reduce
the review time spent by teachers and students.
George admitted he doesn't know "the ins and outs
of the program" but says the board should take a seri-
ous look at it because it offers potential. King
said that school officials had visited Mooresville
schools and seen a positive result in retention. He
noted that the present school calendar was developed
in past years when school children stayed out three
months to help harvest crops when cotton was king
in the area.
Miller said she has heard glowing and positive re-
ports from Mooresville Schools and would like to see
a trial program at one Kings Mountain school. She
said she liked having her small children at home in
summer but did not have the day care concerns that
some homemakers have and thought the change
would greatly benefit working parents and the educa-
tional benefits would be tremendous.
See School, 3-A
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Gregory, Jackie Barrett, Jim Guyton, Roy Pearson, Fortee Gamble,
Philip Hager, Jerry Mullinax, Al Moretz, Joe King, Shirley Brutko,
Luther Bennett, and Norma Bridges.
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5
Candidates for four seats on
Kings Mountain city council say
they support the council/manager
form of government, 12 of the 13
expressing their viewpoints on a
variety of topics at Tuesday night's
candidate forum. Absent from con-
troversial subjects, the questions
ranged from talk about the environ-
ment to how to deal with drugs.
There was no disagreement on
any of the topics from the candi-
dates, who relaxed on the stage of
Barnes Auditorium and responded
to questions posed by moderator
Jerry King and presented by citi-
zens prior to the meeting. The fo-
rum was sponsored by the Kings
Mountain Herald and aired live by
Radio Station WKMT.
Roosevelt Ingram, Ward I candi-
date, was absent.
After the question-answer ses-
sion, the candidates talked frankly
about why they are running for of-
fice and their goals, if elected.
Jeff Gregory, Ward 2 candidate,
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pledged to work at the "grassroots
level with no magic wand to an-
swer all the problems but will re-
spond to all concerns of all the citi-
zens." He said he is concerned and
cares about the people of Kings
Mountain.
Jackie Barrett, Ward 2 incum-
bent, said he could point with pride
to accomplishments of the current
administration. He said the council
got out of the personnel business
eliminating law suits and kept
promises ‘in correcting drainage
problems on Bridges Drive where
water and sewage backed up in
homes during high rains. He serves
on the architectural committee for
the new law enforcement center
and the personnel policy and Lake
Authority committees.
“When people come to me I try
to steer them through the proper
channels and if that doesn't work I
talk one-on-one," he said, noting
that, although the city had secured
See Council, 6-A
Jim Childers, left, candidate for mayor, answers a question during Tuesday's candidate forum at B.N.
Barnes Auditorium. Looking on are Scott Neisler, center, and Gilbert Hamrick. All three candidates said
rt the city manager form of government. The city election is October 8.
Jim Dickey, 70, dies
James Joseph Dickey, 70, of 415
Phifer Road, Kings Mountain city
councilman for 12 years and a for-
mer mayor pro tem in 1971-73,
died September 15, 1991 at 11 a.m.
at Carolinas Medical Center in
Charlotte after a long battle with
diabetes.
The graveside service was con-
ducted Tuesday morning at 11 a.m.
at Mountain Rest Cemetery by
Rev. Dan Brooks.
The family has requested memo-
rials to the Kings Mountain Rescue
Squad, an organization that Dickey
had promoted from its beginning in
Kings Mountain.
A native of Cleveland County,
he was son of the late James R. and
Bessie Falls Dickey. He was mar-
ried to Audrey Pulliam Dickey
October 14, 1946.
Surviving, in addition to his wife,
are one son, Jimmy Dickey of
Kings Mountain; one daughter,
Robin Shore of Charlotte; his son-
in-law, Hoyt Shore; one grand-
daughter, Audrey Elizabeth Shore;
and two sisters, Margy Dickey
Fink of Salisbury and Nancy
Dickinson of St. Louis, Mo.
City council members who
served with Dickey during his
tenure on the board called him a
“caring individual who was inter-
See Dickey, 2-A
Kings Mountain People
Mayoral candidates
want improvement
The three candidates for mayor of Kings Mountain
wholeheartedly support the city council/manager
form of government, they said in a candidate forum
attended by 200-250 people Tuesday night at Barnes
Auditorium.
Two of the three suggested improvements and all
three had differences of opinion on how to imple-
ment programs. :
Scott Neisler, Jim Childers and Gilbert Hamrick
said they solidly back the city manager.
"He (George Wood) saved us a million dollars this
year on the Crowders Creek wastewater treatment
project alone. Our business is utilities and we have a
great professional running the city," said Neisler.
Childers pointed to the responsibility of the mayor
and council to take projects to the manager for imple-
mentation and the city manager’ job to carry on the
day to day operation of the city.
Neisler says budget cuts were made by the present
board at the beginning of this fiscal year. "We have
an adequate city system which deals fairly with all
citizens and the most efficiently run ever," he said.
Childers, also a former commissioner, says service
areas can be cut. His "pet peeve" is professional ser-
vices, where the city is spending $136,000 this year
for consulting fees. "If the people on the city staff
can do the job they should do it," he says. Childers
said he also would eliminate lease purchases he calls
credit cards. The city is paying $425,000 this year in
lease purchase payments for major pieces of equip-
ment.
"We need to use the equipment we have," he says.
Childers said bond payments are set but the city is
close to paying off the 1968-69 water/sewer bonds.
He said he can't see the city going in debt for more
bonds in the future.
Hamrick says salaries of department heads and the
city manager are "too high."
"These guys (Childers and Neisler) have an advan-
tage over me in that théy have served on the board
before and know about these budget items. I would
have to take a close look at them,” he said.
See Mayor, 10-A
mation.
Dorus Bennett, 66, superinten-
dent of city-owned Mountain Rest
Cemetery for five years, finds his
job "fascinating."
Whether he's weeding or mow-
ing the beautifully-manicured gar-
dens or supervising the closing and
opening of graves, he considers
what he does a service to the com-
munity in which he was born.
His goal before retirement is to
write a history of the cemetery
which dates back to the 1800's and
he wants people who can supply
some of the early history of the
burial plots to come by the ceme-
tery office and give him the infor-
What Bennett has learned about
There's history in cemetery
Gold Street honors the first casual-
ty of World War I, Otis D. Green
Gate on Carpenter Street honors
the first casualty of World War II,
the Sam Suber Gate on Gold Street
honors the late first, longtime su-
perintendent; Falls Gate off King
Street honors the first land donor;
Tom Fulton Gate on Deal Street
honors the former mayor and mor-
tician; and Jenkins Circle honors
former superintendent Jenkins and
lcads to the Veterans Memorial
Park where 17 servicemen killed in
action are interred. A total of 115
veterans are buried in Veterans
Park, 14 of them World War I vct-
crans.
The first bronze marker in the
the history has been word of
mouth, although he can look back
in the records of former superinten-
7 ; 5 dents Sam Suber, Ken Jenkins and
Candidates for the Kings Mountain Board of Education faced the voters in a candidate forum Tuesday | Johnny Allison and get some of the
night at B.N. Barnes Auditorium. Left to right are B.S. "Sonny " Peeler, Mark George, Billy King, particulars. Blackwell Gate on
Shearra Miller, and David Lynn. The top two vote-getters will be elected in November.
cemetery is dated 1861. Old mark-
ers used to have confederate flags
on them and one of them is being
restored for placement im the Kings
See Bennett, 2-A
R
DORUS BENNETT