IN HERALDS
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Charlie Harry
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VOL. 104 NO. 46
Thursday, November 12, 1992
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Kings Mountain, N.C. 55086 35¢
San
TV at school comes under fire
‘Mother says daughter
saw video on abortion
Several Kings Mountain Middle
School parents voiced concerns at
Monday night's meeting of the
Kings Mountain Board of
Education.
Deana Brown questioned the
board's security policy after a girl
brought a loaded weapon to school
last Thursday and was suspended
for the remainder of the year.
Myron George, President of the,
recently-formed Partners for
Quality Education, also expressed
concern over the incident as well
as some programs being shown by
video tape; and Melany Bolin
questioned the school's judgment
in showing several Channel 1 pro-
grams which she said dealt with
abortion and other controversial is-
Sues. -
Mrs. Brown urged the board to
take precautions to prevent
weapons from being brought onto
school grounds in the future. "You
need to keep in mind that it only
takes one gun and one bullet to
hurt or kill somebody," she said.
Supt. Bob McRae said the
school board's discipline policy re-
quires that students who bring
weapons onto school grounds be
suspended for the remainder of the
school year. Under state law, stu-
dents cannot be permanently ex-
PQE speaks on issues |
Parents for Quality Education, a group of parents
who organized to fight against the proposed 12-month
school program at West School, explained some of its
goals and expressed concern over some issues at
Monday night's School Board meeting.
President Myron George told the board that his
group is interested in volunteering to help at-risk stu-
dents, providing financial help in forms of mini grants
for teachers, and fostering better communications be-
tween parents and school officials.
He said the group's intent is not to replace PTOs. .
.. George applauded the board for allowing prayer at
football games and other school events, for sponsoring
‘the recent education summit and parent's forum, and
requiring boys and girls to be separated in sex educa-
tion classes.
George said he hoped "lines of communication will
remain open, no matter the issue" and that parents and
schools can always work together to provide quality
education for the children.
George urged the board to adopt a policy stating
what can and cannot be shown on TV. "We don't want
-12-minute daily program was to
pelled for that violation, he said.
"The existence of a firearm on
campus is reason for alarm,” he
said. "The Middle School handled
the matter very well. Anytime a sit-
uation like this happens we want to
re-examine our precautions. We've
asked Mr. (John) Goforth (KMMS
Principal) to take a look at this sit-
uation, and he has called an expert
with the State Department to see if
any changes are needed. We don't
know if there are any procedures
which would eliminate any possi-
bility of a weapon coming on cam-
pus.”
Melany Bolin, mother of a
KMMS sixth grader, objected to
several videos which have been
shown at the school, particularly
one earlier this year on Channel 1
which dealt with the abortion issue.
Mrs. Bolin said the intent of the
broadcast current events.
Mrs. Bolin said she was shocked
one day when she picked her
daughter up at school and she was
told "it's okay to have an abortion."
Mrs. Bolin said her daughter ar-
rived at that conclusion after seeing
a program on Channel 1 which
stated that fetal tissue from abor-
tions is used for medical research.
See Bolin, 8-A
dom.
he said.
The third incident, he said, was a video titled "Rock
the Vote" which was taped by a teacher and shown
when the school was conducting a mock election. He
said several controversial scenes were shown, includ-
ing a rock band performing in its underwear, the burn-
ing of crosses, nudity, exotic dancing, and vulgar mes-
ages.
you to be censors, but you should have guidelines," he
said.
George recalled three instances when his group fait
that videos were shown that were 100 controversial for
middle school students.
Last year, he said, sixth graders were shown a taped
program on AIDS by basketball star Magic Johnson.
George said students were instructed how to use a con-
"In our opinion, Magic Johnson and his lifestyle in
no way should be used as a role model," he said.
He also made reference to an incident earlier this
school-year-when a Channel 1 program on-abertion
was shown to sixth graders.
"Students are taught all their lives that abortion is
wrong, and then they see it on TV and it sounds okay,"
Melany Bolin speaks about Channel 1 in the schools to the Kings
Mountain Board of Education at its monthly meeting Monday night at
the Superintendent’ s office. A packed board room heard Mrs. Bolin
wr
See George, 11-A
Me
By ELIZABETH STEWART
of The Herald Staff
Composing music for hours at a
time helps Betsy Beach unwind af-
ter a grueling day in Domestic
Violence Court.
The new director of the DAVID
program - Domestic Assault and
Victimization Intervention and
Deferral. - applauds the
Wednesday court being held in
Cleveland County's 27-B Judicial
District.
Since she went to work in
August, the Kings Mountain wom-
an has been counseling abusers
how to get angry without getting
violent and how to survive in a re-
lationship without striking out
physically, sexually and emotional-
ly.
Beach, 34, believes the court-or-
dered program will help break the
cycle of abuse. She has seen a 60
percent rate of success. The re-
maining 40 percent of the men she
counsels are angry at the courts
and resent being referred to the
program which requires their atten-
dance two hours a week for 26
weeks. for.group therapy in-behav-
ior modification.
"They have to learn a whole set
of new behaviors from the way
Music helps counselor
unwind after a long day
they were brought up," she said.
Some of the participants are vol-
unteers. Some are referred by other
agencies like CAPS. Most all take
parenting classes.
Beach says the DAVID program
turns lives around.
"This saved my marriage," said
Bill, not his real name. "Every per-
son in Cleveland County should
take it."
"Other guys shyster their way
through it because they know if
they drop out they will be hauled
back to court,” says Beach. She is
firm with the 8-10 men jin her
classes.
The men call Beach "The heavy,
the make it or break it lady."
Beach makes regular reports to
the client's partner and to the judge.
The rules are tough.
Music, the love of Betsy's life,
shuts out what she deals with on a
daily basis. When she sits down at
her keyboard, she can compose all
night long and has written about 60
songs at night.
The words and melodies surface
in her dreams, she says; and-she |
keeps paper and pencil by her bed
and completes her compositions on
See Beach, 11-A
BETSY BEACH
fe ad Se Coke ap Pd
and two other parents voice their concerns about Several | issues at the
Middle School.
School Board delays decision
on designating at-large seat
The Kings Mountain Board of
Education decided to wait another
‘month to decide whether or not to
designate one at-large seat for up-
coming school board elections.
Almost a year ago, Board mem-
ber Billy Houze suggested that one
of the five seats be designated as
an at-large seat because the majori-
ty of the population of the school :
district has shifted outside the city
limits. Currently, three of the five
seats are reserved for persons liv-
ing in Kings Mountain..
The board had been considering
designating Priscilla Mauney's in-
side city seat as the at-large seat
since she is up for re-election next
year.
However, at Monday night's
board meeting, parent Kathy
Livesy suggested that either Sonny
Peeler's or Shearra Miller's seat be
designated as the at-large seat to
prevent three outside city residents
from being elected in the same
year.
Attorney Scott Cloninger s
whichever option is approved
will have to be approved by i
U.S. Department of Justice to
sure that minorities have equal ¢
portunity to be elected.
Supt. Bob McRae said
Livesy's recommendation is ac
cepted, terms would have to bef
staggered for the next inside city{’
election with the top vote-getter
getting the four-year seat and the
second highest vote-getter getting
the two-year seat.
Board chairman Ronnie
Hawkins warned the board that it
- was making the issue too involved.
"The only motive for doing any-
thing at all is the shift in popula-
tion;" he said. "We've discussed
this for over a year. Logically
speaking, the only seat available is
seat number five (Mauney's seat)."
The board will seek more input
from the community at its
December meeting. * :
Kings Mountain underspent
1991-92 budget by $183,761
Despite a down economy and a
mild winter Kings Mountain un-
derspent its 1991-92 budget by
$183,761.00, City Manager George
Wood and Auditor Darrell Keller
reported to City Council in a work
session Tuesday night.
Wood will recommend at the
November 24 meeting of City
Council a budget amendment to
tighten the belt and omit fund bal-
ances.
"Had there been a normal winter
last year the city would have had
surplus monies in both the gas and
electric funds," Keller told the
board.
Wood described the current bud-
get as "pretty solid."
Keller pointed out that last year's
budget reflected a shortfall in state
sharing revenues of $166,000.
"We're at a break-even year,"
said Wood, who said industries cut
back dramatically last winter in the
use of utilities .
One of the bright pictures from
the report was from Wood, who
said that due to gas deregulations
the city could receive, cither
through direct funds or gas, more
than $200,000 this year once the
Federal Encrgy Commission rules
on an action filed by the city to
collect from its supplicrs. Wood
said the city purchases gas on an
open market and the price fluctu-
ates monthly.
Wood said although the city
upped its electric rate 3.4 percent
last spring that the price of the
commodity dropped and the city
lost $330,000 in sales due to the
mild winter. Wood said the city
didn't meet its quota of sales for ei-
ther gas or electricity due to the
weather but one bright spot in the
gas report, he said, was that the
price of gas collapsed in the winter
and the city saved $539,837 by
buying cheaper gas.
Keller, in presenting the audit to
the board for study, praised the
staff for dramatic improvements
over the past four years in internal
controls. He said the city staff is
. well qualified and has been segre-
gating all accounting control duties
after adopting an accounting manu-
al which calls for strict adherence
to policy.
"There are some minor viola-
tions of the manual policy but no
major infractions,” said Keller,
who said no letters are included in
the audit report calling attention to
infractions. He said that he will
send a separate management letter
with some suggestions for im-
provements.
See Budget, 11-A
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