Page 4A-THE KINGS MOUNTAIN HERALD-Thursday, July 8, 1993
| Opinions
JIM
HEFFNER
Columnist
Paying the price
I wonder if anybody remembers when the
Richardson family started making noises about acquir-
ing an NFL team to be located in the world class city?
I don't know where the information came from, but
the word was the Richardsons would construct their
own stadium. I thought that was a great idea. Too
many times, sports franchises expect taxpayers to foot
the bill for arenas and coliseums and such. Here was a
group that would build their own facility. The last time
I'd heard of that happening was when August A. Busch
built a baseball park in St. Louis for his Cardinals.
The first thing that happened is that the city had to
spend $55 million for the purchase and improvement
of the land. Now the Richardsons have come up with a
new wrinkle. Prospective season ticket holders have to
buy a permanent seat license.
Unless I have it all wrong that means they have to
pay for the privilege of buying a ticket, and the charge
isn't cheap. I don't want to quote figures without docu-
mentation, but the way it shakes out is, after all is said
and done, the seat license money will go a long way
toward paying for the stadium.
You make the call. Are the Richardsons building
their own stadium or are the taxpayers and fans footing
the bill?
Sacrificial lambs - I couldn't believe my ears last
week. There I was driving along minding my own
business, listening to the radio. During a news seg-
ment, there was a report that the supreme court had
just ruled that it was perfectly legitimate for some ob-
scure, barbaric religion in South Florida to sacrifice
animals as part of their service.
A few days later, the wire services carried a photo of
some weird looking dude slaughtering a goat and
draining its blood. I guess that was his way of praying.
The court has again gone too far. Their view of free-
dom of religion is skewed to my way of thinking,
Haven't we learned our lesson when it comes to off-
beat religions in this country?
Who is to say a bunch of screwballs can't get togeth-
er and sacrifice humans as part of their ceremony?
Regardless of how much the people who interpret
the constitution are investigated, it appears we still end
up with a bunch of air heads.
Where are all the animal rights radicals when you
need them?
Sometimes I think the supreme court ought to be
against the law. .
Ink blots - I've seen businessmen ruin their white
shirts with ball point pens for years, and I'd never done
that until recently.
Now, inthe space of two weeks I have destroyed
three, count 'em, three dress shirts.
While rushing around the composing room trying to
hustle to meet deadlines, I have stabbed uncapped pens
into my shirt pocket. I was wearing one of the shirts
for just the second time.
I tossed two of them immediately, but I just couldn't
make myself throw the new one out.
I read, in one of Ann's cookbooks, that denatured al-
cohol and petroleum jelly will remove the stain. The
problem with that is, I've been unable to buy a small
amount of denatured alcohol, and I consider that a
dangerous chemical to keep around the house.
I've tried just about everything else, but nothing
seems to work, although the blot has faded somewhat.
Anybody got any ideas? I might just remove the
pocket from an old shirt and have it sewed on the new
one. That will probably cost as much as a new shirt.
Bombs away! - Last week Fuzzy Clinton had the
military toss a few missiles into Iraq, because a group
of terrorist had conspired to murder George (RML)
Bush. Several of the bombs went astray and killed a
few civilians.
At the same time a gang of muslims in New York
was arrested for plotting to blow up several buildings,
including the United Nations.
There is ample evidence that a muslin "holy man" in
New Jersey was the leader of these Arab terrorists, yet
Fuzzy has decided not to arrest this jerk with an unpro-
nounceable name.
I have two questions. Is it reasonable to take several
lives because one man's life was threatened? Should
the U.S. Air Force attack New Jersey?
Today's Bible Verse
"But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly
evil, full of deadly poison. a
"With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we
curse men, who have been made in the similitude of
God.
"Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and curs-
ing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.’
James 3:8-10
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Cartoonitorial
Your Right To Say It
1975 SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS - The 1975 Kings Mountain High School baseball
team won the Southwestern 3-A Conference title with an overall 14-4 record. The Mountaineers lost to
McDowell County in the semi-finals of the Western N.C. High Schools Activities Association playoffs.
Front row, left to right, Scott Moss, Hal Glass, Shane Gibson, Mike Sisk, Kenny Baliles, Darrell Queen.
Second row, Steve Southwell, Scott Ledford, Monte Falls, Chuck Austin, Chris Johnson, Kevin Ford, Tim
Spicer. Back row, John Yarbro, Tony Payne, David Lancaster, Dale Hartsoe, Richard Gillespie, Steve
Lancaster, and Kenny Falls.
Our View
Time to work together
The recent clash between the Kings Mountain
City Council and Kings Mountain Planning and
Zoning Board over zoning of three subdivisions
in town underscores a central municipal prob-
lem that won't go away overnight.
The clash apparently aired what has become
a sore spot for many years between the appoint-
ed board and the city fathers. The Council ig-
nores them.
Planning Board in a fit of pique sent the con-
troversial matter to a non-existent land use com-
mittee but that drastic action got the message to
Council.
"We've had this land use committee on the
back bummer too long," says Mayor Scott Neisler.
"It's time the two boards sit down together,"
says Mayor pro tem Norma Bridges.
We agree.
We suggest that the membership on the new
land use committee include a number of people
from the community at large with no majority of
membership from either of the two boards. We
also suggest that Council recognize the many
It's sad to
When I was growing up in the fifties, it seems like
James Van Dyke was the only person in Kings
Mountain that pulled for anyone other than the
Yankees and Dodgers.
James was then, as he is now, an avid Braves fan.
The Braves were in Milwaukee then.
Except for a couple of years when the Braves won
the National League pennant, most of the decade of
the fifties and on into the early to mid sixties belonged
to the Yankees and Dodgers. They hooked up some
classic battles in the World Series.
Because of that, you pulled for one or the other.
I was a Yankee fan through and through. That
meant, I hated the Dodgers. My best friends, Jackie
and David Hughes, were big Dodger fans so, needless
to say, we hooked up inssome clagsic battles, too, from
words to the old paper ball games we used to play in
the back yard.
Even though I still don't care too much for the
Dodgers, I have learned over the years to appreciate
the talent of those Brooklyn and Los Angeles teams of
the fifties and sixties.
It seems almost like a bad dream that two of the su-
perstars of those teams passed away recently.
Roy Campanella's death a week or so ago was not
that surprising. He was 71 years old and had been in
declining health since an automobile accident tragical-
ly ended his career.
But the death last weekend of pitching star Don
Drysdale, who was only 56 years old, was totally un-
expected. Since his retirement he had been a broad-
caster and, despite some heart problems in the past,
non-paid, thankless boards like Planning &
Zoning, Utilities and Lake Commission.
We urge that if Council has been dragging its
feet on a rewriting of zoning and land use plans
that it will take steps now to start the project
rolling. What happens now in the dispute over
whether three subdivisions should be protected
from multi-family dwellings will ultimately af-
fect the whole city.
Results that are in the best interest of the
whole community are goals we hope that city
fathers will pursue.
Vv The Herald welcomes your letters to the ed-
itor for publication in each Thursday's paper. Keep
your letters brief and to the point. We reserve the right
to edit letters for spelling, clarity, slander, libel, good
taste, or any other reason; and we reserve the right to
reject any letter for any reason. All letters must be
signed and mailed to the Editor, P.O. Box 769, Kings
Mountain, N.C. 28086. Hand-delivered letters will not
be accepted.
GARY
STEWART
Editor
looked to be the picture of health.
Had the car accident not paralyzed Campy and
shortened his baseball career, he would have been the
greatest catcher of all time. He could hit the ball a
mile.
Drysdale was a fireballing right-hander who feared
no batter. He was a consistent 20-game winner and
teamed with southpaw Sandy Koufax to form the best
1-2 pitching combination in the major leagues. In 1968
he pitched an incredible 58 straight scoreless innings, a
feat that was bettered by one inning “in the late-eight-
ies by another Dodger hurler, Orel Hershiser.
Those old Dodger teams, although Bums then, were
loaded with Hall of Fame talent. Besides Campy be-
hind the plate and Drysdale and Koufax on the mound,
they had people like Gil Hodges at first base, Junior
Gilliam at second, Pee Wee Reese at short, Carl Furillo
in right field and Duke Snider in center. Snider was
one of the greatest home run hitters of all time, and
Winning came
before thinking
To the editor:
Prior to getting into the ' meat” of this cditorial, let
me first say that usually the word "I" is avoided be-
cause we (the coaches) try very hard to follow a team
concept. This particular letter will be very individual-
istic because in no way did Coach Ronny Funderburke
have anything to do with the unfortunate situation I
caused.
In last week's Herald, I had several quotes that
caused great concern with several of the players on the
American Legion baseball team. It was also a source
of embarrassment to their parents, friends, and rela-
tives. Let me put it as simple as I know how and hope-
fully this will place any blame away from the players
and back to me. I did know about the trip that they
took and, in fact, was approached about it by them as
far back as January. I agreed to allow them to go under
certain guidelines and they, in all honesty, met all of
them. It was not until after the "quotes" did I realize
that this had occurred because the play-off meeting
took place at 7:30 on Wednesday and the paper had al-
ready been printed. After that meeting I was very em-
barrassed about the entire situation and knew that I had
indeed made a very bad mistake - one that I apologize
for to the players, parents, and entire community.
I also want to express some general concerns about
coaching in general. It does not take long for coaches
to mess up but it takes a career of 30-plus years to gain
credibility. During the last week, I probably have
learned more than in the previous 14 years of coach-
ing. People thought of as friends so quickly forget the
past and join in with the crowd of "boos" when a
coach makes a mistake. It's almost like saying. that ev-
eryone else can mess up except coaches and whoever
else is in the wrong at that particular moment. Coaches
spend more time with other people's children than they
do their own and I can assure you it is not for the mon-
ey -.it is for the purpose of providing opportunities
that, in most cases, did not happen for them. The prob-
lem in this case, as so often is true, is the desire of
winning on the part of society in general. Because we
had lost, and those nine that did not leave had worked
and tried so hard, I lost my composure and said things
that indicated it was their fault when, in actuality, it
was my fault all the way. Those individuals that were
involved are great kids and have always brought the
best to the success of baseball in Kings Mountain.
I hope that this provides both an explanation and a
prospective that so often is not considered when peo-
ple complain about coaches. I am very sorry for this
situation and apologize to anyone that feels that I did
wrong. It was simply a situation when winning was
much too important and thinking about what was be-
ing said was not considered. I can assure everyone that
this will never happen again. I have learned a valuable
lesson.
Bruce Clark
see the good guys go
there hasn't been an outfielder since with the arm of
Carl Furillo. He had arms like a telephone pole, played
the tough right-field wall at Ebbets Field better than
anyone before or after him, and could throw a perfect
strike to home plate from anywhere in the outfield.
Those guys, along with the great Yankee stars like
Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Hank Bauer,
Bobby Richardson, Gil McDougald, Billy Martin,
Whitey Ford, and others, gave a lot of little kids the
thrill of their lives every Saturday afternoon. Back
then, only one TV channel brought the Saturday Game
of the Week, and if the Yankees and Dodgers didn't
happen to be playing on the tube, every kid in the
country was twisting the radio knobs like crazy trying
to pick up their games.
Needless to say, those guys never were paid what
they were worth.
One spring after one of their best seasons, Koufax
and Drysdale held out for a pay raise. Koufax got
$125,000 and Drysdale $115,000. I interviewed
Mickey Mantle once and he said after his brilliant
Triple Crown season of 1956 he signed for $80,000.
And, believe it or not, when a player had a "bad" year
their pay was cut the next season. If these guys were
playing today, the Dodgers and Yankees' payrolls
would be in the billions because a lot of players today
who are making millions of dollars a year couldn't
even carry their gloves.
It's sad to see those guys, who aren't old-timers by
any stretch of the imagination, leave us. But, I'll bet
you one thing. If there's baseball in Heaven, some
team has one heck of a battery.
Best defense your money can buy
At a time when North Carolina's crime rate is at an
all time high and the time scrved by prisoners is at an
all time low, it is appalling to learn of this additional
statistic - North Carolina currently spends one-third
more on defending those charged with crimes than on
prosecuting them. Last year the state's district attor-
neys spent just over $25 million to prosecute offenders
across the state, while during the same time period tax-
payers paid well over $33 million to defend suspected
criminals.
What's the trick in order to have the state pick up the
tab for your defense when it charges you with a crime?
All you have to do is ask for an attorney and claim to
be indigent. There arc supposed to be background
checks by indigent screeners. However, rarcly do the
screeners have the time or resources to do anything
other than have the offender sign a statement claiming
indigency and pass it on to a judge for approval.
Once indigency is approved by the court, the ac-
cused party receives representation cither by a private
attorney or by a state public defender. Regardless of
the type of defense given - the taxpayer foots a heavy
bill. Of the more than $33 million spent last year on
indigent defense, less than $4 million (11 percent) was
paid back by defendants who were given legal ser-
vices.
We truly live in a crazy world. When the fact that
GUEST COLUMN
THOMAS GOOLSBY
Carolina Syndicated
Columns
we spend one-third more on defending criminals than
on prosecuting them is coupled with the fact that our
state's prisons are full and we will release 30,000 con-
victed criminals carly under the state's prison cap
statute, it seems as if we are living in an Orwellian
nightmare. We spend more to defend criminals than to
protect society from them. Even when society "wins"
and a deserving offender is sent to prison, he will only
serve one month for every year of his sentence if he is
convicted of a felony. If he is convicted of a misde-
meanor, he will serve no prison time. Monopoly calls
this a "Get Out of Jail Free” card. The politically cor-
rect name is "alternative sentencing.”
The real test of sanity is for our police, prosecutors
and judges who must constantly put up with this luna-
cy called a criminal justice system. While the rest of us
arc simply waiting in linc to either be a victim or 10
buy a handgun to protect ourselves and our families,
the hearty souls working in criminal justice system ¢x-
ist in a world of madness. Police arrest the same peo-
ple again and again and again, only to sce them let
loose on society as soon as they can be “processed.”
Prosccutors and judges work themselves into an early
grave attempting to sce that justice is done, only to
have an alrcady full prison system kick out offenders
as last as they are sent off to jail.
The politicians we clected last November promised
to fix these problems. Now they tell us that it's 100
complicated to do anything too quickly. They have re-
fused to spend almost half of the S200 million bonds
approved by taxpayers to build more prisons. They
waste millions on plush Raleigh office complexes and
large staffs of burcaucrats. They refuse to support leg-
islation abolishing the ridiculous prison cap. All the
while the death toll and suffering of the innocent con-
tnues to mount up. The veneer of rhetoric and tough
talk has worn away to reveal mere politicians who
stand for nothing and everything. The best defense our
moncy can buy should not be used to defend criminals,
but to defend us from the likes of the politicians who
refuse to repair a criminal justice system that is any-
thing but just and everything criminal.