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Your Hometown Newspaper Since 1889
VOL. 105 NO. 18
Miss North
Heidi Williams, Miss North
Carolina '92, crisscrosses the state
with a strong message to students.
"Stay away from drugs, alcohol
and laziness and you will succeed,"
she told an adoring group of K-5
students Tuesday at Bethware
School.
The brunette hazel-eyed beauty
dazzled the students with her
charm and wit, smiling as she
talked about her own success and
pointing out that she had to decide
first what she wanted and work to-
ward the goal.
Williams said she competed for
the title of Miss Fayetteville five
times before she was picked to rep-
resent that city in the Miss North
Carolina pageant last June.
She gives up her crown in
OH, THERE SHE IS
Carolina
visits Bethware School
Raleigh June 26 and enrolls in
graduate school at Hartt School of
Music in Hartford, CT. for a mas-
ter's degree in music performance.
A certified music teacher, she
has been teaching this year but not
in the classroom. She is a per-
former who loves what she does,
hugging kids as she walked with
them to the school auditorium. She
held her audience spellbound as
she recounted the reasons why kids
should stay in school and true sto-
ries about youth who thought it
cool to follow the crowd.
She has talked to so many stu-
dents recently that she lost her
voice and could not sing to the dis-
appointment of some in the crowd
See Miss N.C., 5-A
Thursday, May 6, 1993
Miss North Carolina, Heidi Williams of Fayetteville, is surround-
ed by an adoring public at Bethware School.
School
Friends
honored
Kings Mountain Senator Ollie
Harris, Southern Bell Telephone
Company and six PTO organiza-
tions shared in the coveted Friends
of Education award at the sixth an-
nual Service Awards banquet
‘Monday in Kings Mountain
District Schools.
Harris was honored for his sup-
port role as a legislator and long-
time supporter of Kings Mountain
Schools in the N. C. General
Assembly. His business partner,
Ronald Hawkins, chairman of the
Board of Education, noted that
Harris had presented souvenir
miniature diplomas to graduating
seniors for 25 years at Kings
Mountain High School.
Southern Bell was recognized
for its role in community/school re-
lations and various programs dur-
ing the school year. Representing
the company were Linda Winders
and Brenda Byers.
Parent-Teacher Organizations
were recognized for their coopera-
tive efforts and accepting the
plaques for the various schools
were Kim and Doyle Burton, West;
Larry and Florrie Hamrick, North;
Kim and terry Franks, East; Keith
and Julie Miller, Bethware;
Melinda Green and Cindi
Stinchcomb, Grover; Horace and
Debbie Smith, Kings Mountain
Middle School.
With the close of the 1992-93
school year 10 employees will
leave the profession after collec-
tively accumulating 176 years of
service.
Retiring employees are: Bob
Jones, KM Middle School, 22
years; Carolyn McWhirter, Kings
Mountain High School, 30 years;
Sara Simpson, East School,
Resource, 33 years; Mary Anthony,
West School secretary, 23 years;
Emma Blalock, East School K-I,
23 years; Paul Pressley, KM
Middle, custodian, 16 years; Boyd
Nicholson, West School custodian,
10 years; and Carolyn Harris, West
School teacher assistant, 19 years.
Nine teachers and administrators
received framed certificates and
gifts for their two year service as a
mentor teacher for beginning
teachers who are required to partic-
ipate in the initial certification pro-
gram. Those recognized were
Sharon Jackson, Greg Payseur,
Donna McDonald, Evelyn Kiser,
Steve Wells, Ann Bennett, Penny
Anthony, Kathryn Blanton and
Ann Scism.
Dru White, West School, re-
ceived a standard certificate from
North Carolina Association of
Teacher Assistants.
Recognition was made for cer-
tificates received from the North
Carolina Association of Education
Office Professionals to Lillian
See Friends, 9-A
to US 74 Business. Public hearing is tentatively set for December.
Hal Plonk, Judy Ross, State DOT official Ed Lewis, and school officials Dr. Larry Allen nd Dr.
ob
McRae look over maps of two alternate proposals for extension of Dixon School Road from jo of 1-85
Citizens support road plan
Local support for one of the two
phases of the proposed Dixon
School Road (SR 2283) extension
was indicated by residents attend-
ing a four-hour citizens' informa-
tional workshop Monday.
Ed Lewis and John Alford of the
State Department of Transportation
took comments from 30 citizens
living in the area and found some
opposed to the second part of the
project (Alternate II) which would
run through property behind
Mount Olive Baptist Church in the
Compact Community.
Maps of Alternate I and
Alternate II routes are to be posted
at City Hall and interested citizens
can pinpoint the locations and get
more information from city planner
Gene White in his second floor of-
fice.
Right-of-way acquisition for the
northern part of the project, Phifer
Road to US 74 Business, is sched-
uled for October, 1994.
Construction
is scheduled for
C.A. ALLISON
>
September, 1995.
Lewis said that right-of-way ac-
quisition for the southern part of
the project, I-85 to Phifer Road, is
scheduled for October, 1999.
Construction is scheduled for the
year 2000.
Local school officials supported
the northern route which would
help alleviate traffic at already con-
gested Kings Mountain Middle
School on Phifer Road.
Judy Ross, whose grandparents
live in the Mount Olive Church
community, wanted to know more
about the southerly route. She said
that route could take some of her
family's property.
Local realtor Hal Plonk was also
interested in how the new road
would affect property he owns in
the area.
Bill Herndon, whose home is on
Grover Road, said if the state plans
to redo Highway 216 it will be in
the path of the Herndon family
farm and other homes in that im-
mediate area located behind the
Mount Olive church proper.
Alford said additional design
work is necessary before the actual
right- of-way limits can be estab-
lished and exact information about
the effect of the project on individ-
ual properties won't be available
until public hearing tentatively
scheduled for December of this
year.
The 1993-99 Transportation
Improvement Program (TIP) calls
for extending Dixon School Road
from north of Interstate 85 to US
74 Business west of Kings
Mountain.
The proposed project involves
realigning and extending the exist-
ing Dixon School Road (SR 2283)
from just north of I-85 to US 74
Business west of Kings Mountain,
a distance of 2.3 miles.
The proposed improvements call
for a 24-foot roadway on new loca-
tion with 8-foot usable shoulders
See Road, 3-A
Kings Mounta
KM schools
video cameras ¢
Video cameras may soon be in-
stalled on school buses as a safety
measure and to curb behavioral
problems.
Members of the Board of
Education will hear a proposal for
the installation of the cameras
Monday night at the 7:30 p.m. May
meeting in the Administration
Building on Parker Street.
"You know what it says about a
picture being worth 1,000 words,"
said Chairman Ronnie Hawkins,
who supports the idea.
Hawkins said that Supt. Dr. Bob
McRae and Associate Supt. Dr.
Larry Allen will present the project
cost. Shelby City Schools are
among area schools with a similar
project in place.
Hawkins said that project has the
backing of school officials and
school bus drivers. He says he
hopes that parents will also back
the proposal.
Board members are also ex-
pected to vote on McRae's recom-
mendation to stop fundraising so-
licitation by K-8 graders by asking
residents to pay a 1 cent increase in
the supplemental school tax.
McRae said at last month's meet-
ing that the idea of kids knocking
on unknown doors to raise school
funds has become unpopular with
some parents and administrators.
“The strongest concern I have is
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McRae plemen-
tary tax ite. « wic SCn00I System's
Parent Advisory Council last fall
and recently to local local parent-
teacher organizations to get a feel
for public opinion on the proposal.
Monday afternoon, McRae and
some school board members met
with PTO officials and response to
the idea was positive, according to
Hawkins. :
Hawkins said that most parents
spend more money buying student-
sold products each year than they
will spend on the proposed tax in-
crease.
The proposed tax increase, if ap-
proved by the county board of
commissioners, would push the tax
to 18 cents a year per $100 proper-
ty valuation. For a family with
$100,000 worth of property, the in-
crease would cost about $10 a year. _
The ban on student fund raising
would not apply to Kings
Mountain High School.
Last month the school board
asked McRae to present a plan for
distributing the monies to the
schools equally, a question raised
by the board as to the mechanics of
the plan.
"We want to stop all solicitation
by kids in K-8, not just door to
door sales," said Hawkins.
New telephone service offers
Straight Talk for teen problems
Beginning today, teenagers in
Cleveland County will be able to
get "Straight Talk" on problems
and issues.
Straight Talk is a free service
that offers a series of pre-recorded
messages on topics of concern to
teenagers, such as drugs and alco-
hol, suicide, sexuality, relation-
ships, health and feelings. In addi-
tion, trained counselors also will be
available for teens to call who wish
to talk with someone about a situa-
tion they are facing.
The number to call to hear a
taped message is 1-800-427-5979.
There is no charge for the call or to
listen to a message. Most impor-
tantly, the call is confidential and
anonymous.
The Straight Talk project is
sponsored by the Telephone
Pioneers of American, N.C.
Chapter 35, a community service
organization made up of long-time
and retired employees of the
telecommunications industry, and
The Relatives, Inc., one of the old-
est youth shelters with counseling
in the state.
Locally, the project is being
funded by First National Bank,
Shelby Savings Bank and BB&T.
The counseling back-up will be
provided by Cleveland County
Community Organization for Drug
Abuse Prevention (CODAP) and
Cleveland Center.
Funding comes from the private
sector, including charitable organi-
zations, corporations and individu-
als. No public money is used, said
Julie Braswell, statewide director
for Straight Talk.
Straight Talk went on line in
Mecklenburg County on October 1,
1991. In its first year, there were
more than 38,000 calls to the mes-
‘sages. In the first two months of
the service being offered in the
Triangle area of the state, there
were nearly 10,000 calls to the
See Talk, 2-A
1800 4149
Cleveland
Connie Allison appointed to School Board
Retired elementary school prin-
cipal Connie Allison will be sworn
Monday at 7:00 p.m. as the newest
member of the Kings Mountain
Board of Education.
He was the board's choice over
six applicants for the seat vacated
by Rev. Billy Houze who moved
inside the city limits.
The four active members of the
board held a special meeting
Thursday night to fill the fifth seat
after closing a week of applications
from the public at noon on
Monday.
Allison will fill out the remain-
ing seven months of Houze's four
yeqr term on the board. He has not
said if he plans to offer for reelec-
tign this fall when district school
vojers choose three members of the
bgard. Terms of incumbents
Rennie Hawkins and Priscilla
Miuney are also expiring.
Allison will take the oath from
Mayor Scott Neisler.
launey, vice-chairman, made
thé motion to appoint Allison, not-
ing his long service as an educator
anf as principal of East and North
Schools. Shearra Miller seconded.
Mg¢mbers B. S. Peeler and Ronnie
Hawkins, chairman, also approved.
ince his retirement from North
School, Allison has continued to
do volunteer work for the school
system. He has been active for a
number of years in Kings
Mountain Lions Club and is an
Elder in Good Hope Presbyterian
Church. His wife, Adelaide, is a re-
tired Kings Mountain school teach-
er.
Legislation passed in 1955 gave
the school board the power to fill
unexpired seats. The board decided
to open the seat up to all eligible
citizens and six people applied.
There were no interviews held.
One of the candidates attended
Thursday's special meeting.
»
Supt. Dr. Bob McRae called
Allison after the vote was taken to
confirm that Allison would accept
the position.
"King Mountain has a very good
system,” said Allison."I feel that I
can work with the board and help
make sound decisions and keep
good programs going."
McRae and Chairman Hawkins
praised the high quality of all the
applicants who had indicated inter-
est in serving on the school board.
Hawkins said that the variety of
occupations and community ser-
See Allison, 2-A