2 - Win $100 In Herald Football ~%& Contest 12-B 1| gets mixed react >-A Clinton's health go .-- | = 1 VOL. 105 NO. 40 Thursday, October 7, 1993 Murphrey., White win Council seats Runners-up plan to call for run-offs Second place finishers in Tuesday's City Council election called for November runoffs as soon as the vote totals were posted at 8:30 p.m. "I'm running again," shouted an exuberant Jerry Mullinax, who was second finisher for At-Large commissioner to building contrac- tor Dean Spears. "I'm going to give it another shot, we can win ," said an excited Charlie Smith, who placed second to front runner Ralph Grindstaff in Ward 3. Second place finishers must file their notice of intent in writing with Elections Supervisor Becky Cook by Monday at noon. Spears said that running for po- litical office was a family affair. His wife, Betty, a former judge at the East Kings Mountain precinct, their son, Mike Spears, their daughter and son-in-law, Tim and Robin Spicer; and their grandchil- dren, Maegan, 9, Stacey, 6, and Jared, 2 1/2 were applauding when the results were posted on the boards at City Hall. "We've got 30 more days to call on some more j people and to get the continued support of those who worked with us in this race," said Robin Spears. Spears said if he is elected in November that he will work to up- grade planning and zoning and codes and to upgrade and expand the utilities system and work to help bring new industry to See Runoff, 7-A _ SPEARS ULLINAX i] MITH Grover approves project Grover Town Board gave the green light for a $286,900 water project Monday that could solve the water woes of residents. Mayor Ronald Queen said that he has received many calls from residents complaining about brown ‘water, brown ice and non-drinkable | water. Tie board authorized the mayor to contract wita Dennis Fox engi- neering firm of Gastonia and to work with Isothermal Commission to apply for Farmers' Home Administration Funds for 10,600 linear feet of two-inch water line estimated to cost $95,400 and 8,850 feet of six-inch water line es- timated to cost $143,750. Queen said that the engineering firm has remapped the town and is ready to go on completion of water lines to serve a wide area of town. "We have finished up Laurel, Spruce and Cherry Streets with See Grover, 7-A The clear winners in ‘Aluesday's City Council elec- tion were political nev {comer Rick Murphrey who trounced Ward 5 inc. Ambent commissioner Fred Finger 314-69 and incu: fnbent Ward 4 commissioner Jerry White who squeeze¥d by challenger Jim Childers 179-137. The light turnout of citizens at the polls assured three new faces would «it on the seven-member City Council next year, oust Ng two incumbent commis- sioners from Ward 3 arid Ward 5, returning only one incumbent and turning ¢ }own the bid of a former mayor who sought the At-Larg © seat up for grabs. Political poll watctlers said the voting by a light turnout of citizens se1ds a message to City Hall that change may be comir fg The voters came close to mak- ing a clean sweep arid placing a fourth new face on City Council which ould have comprised the majori- ty of the seven mer er board. First place finish@€rs who face runoffs are political newcomer and by ilding contractor Dean Spears, At Large, and politcal newcomer and former Kings Mountain policer an and drivers’ license examiner Ralph Grindstaff, yard 3. Murphrey, whe said he called on at least 1,000 households in his + ¥ard and talked with them personal- ly about their concerns, said he appreciated the over- whelming support. He said he is concerned at the lack of communication between citizens and elected officials and the amount of time it takes citizens to get a response on their concerns. Murphrey's plans to improve communications in- clude a "customer service department” at City Hall and publishing numbers of officials and departments on a regular basis. He cited the need for team work and good communication as his top priorities as a commissioner. "Citizens deserve to get answers from City Hall and from their elected officials," said Murphrey, vice-pres- ident of textile sales at Spectrum for 20 years. In the At-large race, where four men vied for one seat, voters turned down a bid of former mayor Kyle Smith for the commissioner seat. Spears led Jerry Mullinax 437 to 378. Smith received 326 votes and Frank Brackett was the fourth-place finisher with 95 votes. In Ward 3, Grindstaff received 100 votes to lead the race. Second place finisher Charlie Smith trailed Grindstaff by 36 votes. Voters ousted incumbent Elvin See Election, 7-A Jerry White, left, and Rick Murphrey were the only clear winners in Tuesday's Kings Mountain City Council primary. Other races will be decided in November run-offs. Commissioners deny minority district proposal Cleveland County commission- ers Tuesday night killed 3-2 the plan approved by a former board in 1992 to create a minority commis- sioner district. Kings Mountain commissioner Joyce Cashion, who made the mo- tion to send the plan to the U. S. Justice. Department, said the com- missioners are flirting with possi- ble lawsuits from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and/or the U. S. Justice Department. Also voting for the plan was commissioner Ralph Gilbert. The negative votes were made by Chairman Cecil Dixon, Sam Gold and E. T. Vanhoy. The vote was taken in open ses- sion and without discussion. Representatives of the Cleveland County Chapter NAACP were in the audience again Tuesday but did not comment. At last month's board meeting at which commissioners tabled the re- districting issue again, Rev. M. L. Campbell of Kings Mountain said he was disappointed. "I didn't think I'd see this county come to this but it just puzzles me: beyond under- standing." Rev. John Osborne, president of the Cleveland County Chapter NAACP, said at last month's meet- Chief to seek life jacket guidelines for Moss Lake The two tragedies on Moss Lake this summer could prompt stricter lake rules if Chief of Policc Warren Goforth has his way. Goforth will appear before the Moss Lake Commission Monday, October 11, at 7 p.m. to ask the group to consider stricter laws con- trolling the usc of lifc jackets by boaters. Goforth wants all boaters to wear U.S. Coast Guard approved life vests while boating on Moss Lake and he hopes that the Lake Commission and the City Council will approve a ncw ordinance which will sect new rules and stiff fines for violations. Goforth's recommendation is that while any craft is in motion other than powered by a trolling motor, the occupant will be re- quired to wear the approved vests. This requirement, he said, would not affect fishermen or boaters who arc stationery. or individuals trolling by battery powered from point to point. Once the boaters arc transported by gasoline power, wind power or being pulled by a boat it will become enforceable. "This ncw ordinance, if ap- proved, will be inconvenient for boaters on hot days but it's a small step to stop some of the drownings at Moss Lake," said Goforth. “I am concerned for people's safety on the lake and the police will work toward making the lake safer for our citizens,” he said. The only life preserver regula- tion on the books is a state law that merely requires boaters to keep life preservers on their boats. Goforth said neither of the two drowning victims this summer was wearing a life jacket. ing that any action would be too late for the filing of candidates which begins in January 1994. "This is just simply the death blow to the work that has already been done," he said. In other business: Commissioner Vanhoy asked that a memo go out to all school superintendents questioning the holding of reserved funds Vanhoy said are "stored away in the amount of $1 million. "Vanhoy said that Cleveland County Schools has re- serves of $1,588.620; Kings Mountain Schools has reserves of $1,449,051; and Shelby City Schools = has reserves of $1,398,423. A letter under date of October 5 was mailed to the three school su- perintendents asking for informa- tion on what period of time the re- serves relate to and for what specific purposes the funds are set aside. Cleveland County Manager Lane Alexander distributed a mem- orandum which quoted a local newspaper article which said that the state's 134 school systems holds $183.2 million in reserves, which averages about 14.9 percent of their total spending. See District, 7-A School to present proposal on fights The Kings Mountain Board of Education will be asked Monday night to endorse a proposal by Kings Mountain High School that. . encesschestss MISTRAL SAIC id re pe iin e board will also hear a report from John Mitchell of Eaton would require pursuance: r J mat'Charges against students in- volved in fights on campus, The meeting is set for'7 p.m, at the Superintendent's Office. Principal Jackie Lavender will discuss the proposal, which would require notification of the magis- trate and an investigation by him to see if situations warrant criminal charges. Shelby High began a simi- lar policy last year and substantial- ly cut its incidents of fights. Supt. Bob McRae said there will continue to be school punishment for involvement in fights, but the KMHS staff hopes that by pursuing criminal charges which could lead to financial loss or incarceration that it will curb acts of violence. The proposal comes following several fights on the same day two weeks ago, one of which resulted in a student being injured and treat- ed at the hospital. "No fight is good, but when you have some of the nature of some we've had lately it's time to look for another step in terms of things to head those kings of things off," McRae said. In a related matter Monday night, the board will appoint a Violence Task Force which will look at ways to curb school vio- lence and also be responsible for applying for state grants to imple- ment violence prevention pro- grams. The task force will organize next week. "We're hopeful we can take a grant Chief Warren Goforth pre- pared last spring and submit it, and see if we can pursue a direction that we started last year in terms of education and some pol Corporation, a member of the School’ toy Work Task Force, and Betty Gamble, Director of Vocational Education, on how schools can better prepare students to enter the workforce. The system recently surveyed businesses in the area to see what kind of prepara- tion they need to give students for jobs available here. In another important matter, the board will discuss the renovation of Central School and decide whether or not to proceed with the project at this time. McRae said the 30-day exten- sion of bids sought at last month's meeting is running out and there's a possibility the board could get an- other extension. Since last month, McRae has learned that the State Literary Fund makes funds available for school renovations, and the board will dis- cuss pursuing a loan from that or- ganization payable over a 10-year period at six percent interest. If the board takes that route, the County Commissioners must request the funds from the state. "If we're going to pursue that, we need to go ahead and make that decision," McRae said. "Short of that, I would have to assume that the board would just deny the bids and re-bid the project at a later time." In other matters Monday, the board: See School, 7-A rr iE il KMHS band, chorus to entertain President Five buses will roll out Tuesday morning from Kings Mountain High School carrying band and choral students to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where they will be among 10,000 high school musicians participating in UNC's Bicentennial Celebration. President Bill Clinton will deliv- er the keynote address at 7 p.m. in Kenan Stadium. "Our students are excited,” said Choral Director Gene Bumgardner. Band Director Chris Cole said his 100 band students can hardly wait to play "Hail To The Chief.” Since the opening of the fall term of school the Band Room and the Choral Room at KMHS has been a beehive of activity. This Pictured are the four seniors tapped for the Honors Chorus who will week band members were practic- be among the 63 members of the KMHS Chorale to sing for UNC's ino in the band room and also on Bicentennial Celebration Tuesday. From left, Tameron Gaines, Cale (he football McDaniel and Robert Heath. Jada Brown is kneeling. ficld to assure they will be stepping high and in good form to participate with 12 other bands in a special parade through the UNC Campus and 12 bands in a pre-ceremony concert. Some of the music to be per- formed will be Aaron Copland's "Fanfare for the Common Man" and "Stars and Stripes Forever” by John Philip Sousa. Choirs arc rchearsing daily a special rendition of "Onward Ye People” by Jean Sibelius and also included will be the traditional fight song, Carolina's Alma Mater. "It is really going to be great,” said an enthusiastic Bumgardner, who said one chorus from cach county and unit district has re- ceived the music which must be memorized. "Our Kids have been working hard." The 7 p.m. ceremony will be See President, 7-A
