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4-A ” Inside today's Herald
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VOL. 104 NO. 5 ] Thursday, January 80, 1992 Kings Mountain, 1 : 5¢
Bush's message gets mixed revie
The burning question that seemed to be on the
minds of breakfast diners at McDonald's and Hardees
Wednesday morning after the President's speech was,
"Why did the President wait so long to do something
about the economy?"
Talking to several people around Kings Mo
after the State of the Union Address showed that most
felt the speech was well written and presented.
Some said they realized that the President was only
one man and needed the help of Congress and ea
, izen to correct the country's ills.
/ Bethware
untain positive."
be cut more than 30 percent.
ch cit-
Webber said, and agreed with Bush.
"The only thing the President can do is what the
Democratic Congress lets him do," said Sonny
Jackson. "One thing about it, there's not many people
trying to get out of the U.S.A. God bless America."
"I liked his speech,” said city personnel director
Charles Webber. "He seemed to be upbeat and very
Webber, who has served in the reserves, was pleased
that the President will not allow the defense budget to
"He said the world was not completely safe, z
chance."
such as higher taxes.
Neisler said.
“I don't see why he didn't recognize the economic
problems before now," said Earl Wiggins over coffee
at Hardees.
“I think he's on the right track. No one person can
solve it," Webber said. "He didn't talk like a candidate.
He talked like a president. I believe in giving him a
Mayor Scott Neisler said he felt like the plan was
not a quick fix that might cause repercussions later,
"I think it will probably be very helpful for people,"
addition
dedicated
§ 4
y
J
y McMillan,
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gg
Kings Mountain Schools dedi-
cated the new $1.25 million class-
room addition to Bethware School
at a public ceremony Tuesday night
in the school auditorium.
Following a 30-minute program,
guests were invited to tour the new
building, which houses 14 class-
rooms, and see a video on the con-
struction process.
| Bethware is the fifth Kings
Mountain District school to com-
plete a building project under a
special $35 million bond referen-
dum approved by Cleveland
County voters. Kings Mountain re-
ceived some $10.5 million of the
funds.
Supt. Bob McRae, Dr. Bill
Director of the
vhnical Assistance Center fol’ the
J If.C. Dept. of Public Instruction,
(’leveland County Commissioner
Joe Cabaniss, and local school offi-
cials took part in the program.
See School, 10-A
Roger Holland, left, of Holland and Hamrick Architects officials hands over the new classroom building
to School Board chairman Ronnie Hawkins at Tuesday night's dedication ceremony at Bethware.
Your city electrical bills are going up
Your April 1 power bills will reflect a 3.4%
increase--about $3.59 per month for the average
user--but the bite isn't as bad as city officials
figured.
City council passed on the rate hike to its 4,000
plus electric customers Tuesday night.
City Manager George Wood said the city's past
practice has been to "track "the retail rates of
Duke Power Company, its wholesale supplier of
electricity, so that the city's electric rates remain
competitive with Duke's retail rate.
Wood said Duke was granted a 4.15% increase
in its retail electric rates, effective November
1991, and Kings Mountain customers got a
break then when the city agreed to forego the
full retail rate increase to adequately cover the
increased costs at a lower rate of 3.4% and
foregoing any increase in the SSI rate
categories. Duke's overall increase is 4.4%, the
city 1% under the Duke increase.
Finance officer Jeff Rosencrans said 223
customers fall in the supplementary security
income bracket who don't reach the minimum of
1,000 kilowatts per month. That group, one of
eight different power classifications, will see
the same rates with no increase.
For an ell-electric user, a family of three would
see an increase of about $3.59 per month.
See Council, 10-A
KMCC neighbors oppose 60-bed addition
Neighbors of Kings Mountain
Convalescent Center say if the city
approves rezoning of adjacent
property for a 60-bed addition near
the hospital that it will mean in-
creased traffic in an area in the
western section of the city they call
a traffic hazard.
The Kings Mountain Planning &
Zoning Board unanimously ‘denied
the zoning request from White Oak
Manor Thursday night but remind-
ed petitioners that they don't have
the last word. City Council will
make the final decision February
25 at a 7:30 p.m. public hearing at
city hall.
Kemp Cecil, president of White
Oak Manor, Otto Cecil, vice presi-
dent, both of Spartanburg, S.C. and
Karen Radford, administrator of
the local facility on Sipe Street,
have applied for a certificate of
need from the state.
"Sixty beds are being allocated
for Cleveland County and Kings
Mountain badly needs those beds,"
said Radford, noting the long wait-
ing list at the local skilled and in-
termediate nursing home built here
18 years ago and expanded several
years ago from 60 to 124 beds.
Allen Fuller presented the peti-
tion signed by 75 property owners
opposing the rezoning. He cited
excessive noise and traffic.
Lucille Williams honored
for service to Chamber
Kings Mountain Chamber of
Commerce honored one of its own
Monday night at the annual ban-
quet attended by 75 people at
Holiday Inn.
New President Ruby M.
Alexander took the occasion to
present veteran secretary and office
manager Lucille Williams with an
engraved plaque recognizing 29
years of service.
"How many of you in the audi-
ence wouldn't like to have an em-
ployee as valuable as Lucille who
has been with the same firm almost
30 years?" she asked.
Mrs. Williams joined the Kings
Mountain Merchants
Association/Credit Bureau as assis-
tant to Ida Joy in 1963 when the
office was located in a second floor
building on Cherokee Street. When
the office merged with the
Chamber in later years she contin-
ued as the "girl Friday" for both or-
ganizations, running the offices
and handling credit reports.
Past president Dr. Grady
Howard Jr. was master of cere-
monies. Incoming Vice President
Wade Tyner introduced the speak-
er, Jim Taylor, of Shelby, executive
for Royster Oil and a popular after-
dinner speaker in the county.
Taylor delighted the audience
with anecdotes about Kings
Mountain and Shelby athletic rival-
ry over the years and interspersed
his entertainment program with se-
rious philosophy: Don't take your
self seriously all the time, relax and
laugh, have faith in yourself and
your goals and be optimistic.
See Lucille, 10-A
Dr. Scott Mayse, whose medical
office is located on Sims Street,
said Sims Street is a major avenue
for by-pass traffic. He noted the in-
crease in traffic since doctor's of-
fices opened in Professional Park,
the ambulance entrance at the hos-
pital and the new Home Federal
building went up. Traffic is a real
concern now, he said.
Joe R. Smith, a member of the
board, questioned what additional
parking would be required if the
expansion is built, noting that visi-
tors at the nursing home now park
on the grass and islands and the
traffic at the nearby hospital leaves
no ingress and egress on Sipe
Street. Cecil said employees some-
times double park on Sipe Street
during shift changes.
Radford said the facility has a
good reputation in the community
with a waiting list of 140-150 pa-
tients. She said the facility gives
priority to those people living and
working in Kings Mountain.
Lou Ballew, a member of the
board who lives on Edgemont
Avenue and is one of the facility's
closest neighbors, abstained from
voting. M. C. Pruette made the mo-
tion to deny, seconded by Gene
Coxen. David Faunce presided in
See Zoning, 10-A
Lucille Williams, center, was honored for long service to the
Kings Mountain Chamber of Commerce Monday night. Dr. Grady
Howard Jr., left, master of ceremonies for the banquet, and new
president Ruby Alexander make the plaque presentation.
be satisfied .
"If he does something about L
. He ought to thinn
at home," said Espy Cook.
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Carol Wiggins felt Bush should have sain more
about the working man.
"I'd like to ask that Japanese man one question: If
we, the American people, are so lazy, how did we get
land so much?
Kings Mountain Schools re-
ceived a "below par" grade on the
second annual State Report Card
which was released to school sys-
tems this week. The full report will
be released later by the State Board
of Education.
Supt. Bob McRae expressed dis-
appointment in Kings Mountain's
grade, which slipped from a "par"
grade last year. McRae said Kings
Mountain's test results were about
the same as last year but the state's
expectations were higher.
"What is expected, or what
would be par, is based on an index
of advantagement which includes
factors that affect the ability of kids
to learn in Kings Mountain,"
McRae explained. "This year's
achievement ratings do now show
- any drop or substantial gain, but
the criteria for determining the in-
dex of advantagement changed and
also our performance on some of
that criteria changed."
McRae said Kings Mountain
wasn't satisfied with last year's par
score, so it cannot be happy with
this year's grade.
"The community doesn't expect
that kind of performance and our
children are capable of doing bet-
ter," McRae said. "We have to be
more concerned with where our
achievement is. If we can get the
achievement ‘up, then par will take
care of itself.
"Our children are capable of do-
ing better and we are capable of
giving them what they need to get
better,” he added. "We've already
implemented programs to address
this situation and will be totally
dedicated to moving achievement
upward."
Kings Mountain successfully
met 27 of the 28 guidelines for
state accreditation, failing only on
its drop-out rate.
"We don't want to over-react to
the below par rating," McRae said.
"It's cause for concern and it cer-
tainly indicates a need to improve.
But at the same time I do think that
the state accreditation status report
also shows that we are getting
some positive things done in the
school system. We just need to
continue to try to work to get ev-
to the moon so quickly? And why has God blessed this
"We need action now," said Wiggins.
KM Schools
get bad grade
"Our children are
capable of doing
better..."
-Bob McRae
erything up as best as we can.
“I believe our employees are
dedicated to doing that. One thing
we. need to remember is that when
you see something that comes in
on a report card that's not as high
as it needs to be the tendency is to
say we'll make changes next year.
But next year is now. Next year's
report card is based on what we do
in the year we're in."
McRae said the Effectiv
Schoals program, which was in
plemented this year, will go a long
way toward improving Kings
Mountain's scores. -
"We will be looking at each
school's situation and determine
what that individual school needs
to work on the most," he said.
"We'll look at what subject area,
what category of students, if any
particular groupings of children
seem to be doing worse than oth-
ers, and come up with ways to im-
prove those areas.
"We're also working hard to
align our curriculum with tests,” he
added. "Sometimes the CAT does-
n't completely accurately reflect
the total degree of what the cur-
riculum calls on us to teach. We
need to do a better job of teaching
what's going to be tested. The
whole CAT structure is going to be
leaving North Carolina and we're
going to a different kind of test
which should help us in the future.
But that's not going to make a ma-
jor difference this year."
McRae said each individual
school in the King Mountain
District has a committee working
on programs that need to be added
to improve the achievement of stu-
dents and that the Board of
Education will continue to look to
each school for leadership in deter-
mining specifics that neers’ to be
done in their own situation.
"The needs of one sch >i may
be quite different than
* q20ther
school," he said. i
New Chamber president
sees positive year aheu.d
The first woman president of the
Kings Mountain Chamber of
Commerce sees building a positive
image for Kings Mountain as her
top priority in 1992.
Ruby M. Alexander, a general
contractor and president of
Alexander Inc. , said a grant from
Jones Intercable for video commer-
cials will inaugurate the new look
for the Chamber in March.
Alexander said the commercials,
to be shot by the Jones staff and
aired on CNN, ESPN, Nashville
Network, USA Network, TNT and
Lifestyles, will focus on Kings
Mountain as a desirable alternative
to living in a large city. Joncs, said
Alexander, is donating the time and
cxpertisc as a community service.
“I'm excited about this project,”
says Alexander.
Second priority for 1997-93 will
be increased mem: ership.
Alexander said the curre it mem-
bership is 125 and the :oal for
1992-93 is 175. She point. d to rea-
sonable ‘dues for small and large
businesses and benefits too numer-
ous to list.
Alexander, who has served in all
offices in the Chamber with the ex-
ception of sccretary, has been ac-
tive in the Chamber's growth from
the 1950's when it began as an arm
of the Kings Mountain Merchants
Association and Credit Burcau.,
She sees the Chamber as the
glue that binds small businesses
and large industry in a common cf-
fort to make Greater Kings
Mountain a better place to work
and live. As a lifelong resident and
See Chamber, 10-A