KMHS tennis player
wins state championship
1-B
Yi Yarbro
Farmer of the Year
in
Contest
Win *100
Herald Footall
6-A
VOL. 105 NO. 44
Thursday, November 4, 1993
Kings Mountain, |
Spears, Grindstasf win in 1
Dean Spears is all smiles as Je greets his support-
ers after Monday's City Council election.
Council will have three new faces
Political newcomers Ralph Grindstaff, 47, and Dean
Spears, 59, won seats on Kings Mountain City Council
Tuesday as a total of 1,567 or 35.6 percent of the city's
registered voters turned out at the polls.
‘Grindstaff, a former city policeman and a driver's li-
cense examiner in, Gaston County, edged Charlie
Smith by 29 votes to take the Ward 3 seat sought by
four candidates in October when voters ousted incum-
bent Elvin Greene and also turned down Gary Joy and
Gilbert Hamrick. Grindstaff received 181 votes
Tuesday and Charlie Smith, the second runner in
October primary, received 152.
Spears, a building contractor, beat Jerry Mullinax by
100 votes for an at-large seat sought by four candi-
dates in October. Voters in October rejected the bid of
former mayor Kyle Smith and also fourth place finish-
er Frank Brackett. Spears was the front runner in the
October primary.
Spears and Grindstaff will join a third political new-
comer on city board. In the Ward 5 race, Rick
Murphrey defeated incumbent Fred Finger.
"I'm looking to do the very best that I can for all the
citizens and will work toward that goal," said
"Grindstaff, who hugged his wife, Judy, and thanked
supporters and greeted friends in the lobby of City
Hall.
Grindstaff had pushed for street maintenance
progress and said the city's tap-on fees are too high.
Spears, with his wife, Betty, and members of their
family, including their granddaughters, greeted friends
at City Hall. "It took a lot of support from a lot of peo-
ple and we appreciate it," said Spears. He said he looks
forward to working with other Council members next
year.
Spears had promoted the recruitment of industry and
said he wants to upgrade and expand utility services.
"Everything went smoothly," said Elections
Supervisor Cook who said voting was steady at the
two city precincts all day. She said there was some
confusion at the polling places at The Armory and
Community Center because the county board of elec-
tions was conducting a separate board election in the
same buildings but there were no serious problems.
Election officials were at the polling places to help get
voters in the right places.
"There is always some confusion when there are
two sets of books and you have city registrars set up
on one side of a room and county. registrars on the oth-
er," said Tim Miller. Miller said that election officials
at City Hall handled only two transfer requests.
See Council, 14-A
Ralph Grindstaff receives congratulations from
Charles Wilson after Monday's City Council elec-
KM Fund
surpasses
50 percent
Kings Mountain's United Fund
for '94 is heading down the home
stretch:
Chairman Jay Rhodes an-
nounced at Monday's report meet-
ing of divisional chairmen that
over 54 percent of the goal, or
$67,697.00, had been collected.
The campaign goal for 16 agen-
cies is $121,500.
Maude Norris, United Fund
President, said that only one divi-
sion chairmen has reached his goal.
Kyle Smith, chairman of the
Advance Gifts division, reported
100 percent contributions and a to-
tal of $5200.
Norris said that the Professional
division headed by Tom Tate has
reported 72 percent of collections
or $2760; the Schools headed by -
Ronnie Wilson has reached 55 per-
cent of goal or $3918; the-City of
Kings Mountain has reported
$2600 or 74 percent of its goal of
$3500; the Commercial division
has reported $4,000 and industry
headed by Ken Howley has report-
ed 57 percent or $46,000 from a
goal of $80,000. Collections are
going well from Kings Mountain
Hospital employees but only $40
has been collected from local min-
isters from a goal of $1,000.
Norris said that volunteers are
hoping to wrap up the campaign on
November 30. She encourages di-
visional leaders to make their last-
minute appeals by telephone and to
make their final reports as soon as
possible.
"We know that we have strong
community support but we need to
get all the funds in before the busy
holiday season," said Norris.
C.A. Allison, Ronnie Hawkins and Billy Houze, left to right, celebrate Tuesday night at City Hall after
learning of their victories in Tuesday's School Board election.
Hawkins,
Houze and Allison
win seats on School Board
Two incumbent Kings Mountain district school
board members and one former member easily won
election Tuesday over four opponents as a large
turnout of voters went to the polls.
Board Chairman Ronnie Hawkins, 41, retired school
principal C.A. Allison, 74, and Rev. Billy Houze, 39,
were elated as the unofficial returns were posted about
9:30 p.m. at City Hall by City Elections Supervisor
Becky Cook. -
An emotional and tired Hawkins, the top votegetter
with 1,677 votes, said he could not pick two better
men to work with, speaking of Allison and Houze.
"Billy (Houze) was a good board member before he
gave up his outside seat last year when he moved into
the city limits and Connie (Allison) has been an excel-
lent board member to work with," he said.
Kings Mountain People
Hawkins, who is completing his first term on the
school board, is Vice- President of Harris Funeral
Home.
During the campaign he called for more parent in-
volvement and promoted an individualized program to
help students at risk of failure. He also wants to in-
crease the use of technology in the schools.
Hawkins' mother, Aloyse Jones, worked at the polls
all day. A foster parent of 82 children over a period of
23 years, Jones said she is proud of her son's involve-
ment in the schools and with children.
"I'm excited to be getting back on the board," said
Houze, elected to an at-large seat after formerly repre-
senting the outside-district. Incumbent Priscilla
Mauney didn't seek reelection to the five-member
board.
See School, 14-A
BESSIE BUMGARDNER
Bessie Bumgardner retiring
Street. Bessie also worked in the
tion.
Rowland only incumbent
to win in Grover race
GROVER - Only one of three
incumbents kept his seat on Grover
Town Board Tuesday as 248 voters
went to the polls and also elected
two political newgomers.
Unofficial election returns gave
the clear wins to incumbent com-
missioner Tim Rowland who tied
with Grover policeman Robbie
Sides, the youngest candidate at
age 28, as top votegetters. They
each received 112 votes.
Finally Restaurant official Noel
G. Spivey, who was endorsed by
Citizens for Good Government, re-
ceived 93 votes.
Cindy Cook, beautician and
fourth place finisher, who received
89 votes, told Elections official
Marie Beam Tuesday night she
planned to call for a recount.
Other vote totals: incumbent Jim
Howell, 75; incumbent Don Rich,
53; Kenneth Bell, write-in candi-
date, 45; James F. Goad Sr.,41,
Evelyn Willis, 37; Juanita Pruette,
36; and Sam Stevenson, 30.
Kings Mountain and Cleveland
County voters narrowly approved
only water bonds among five is-
sues before voters Tuesday but
statewide the bonds for schools
and water and sewer were ap-
proved but the constitutional
amendment was soundly defeated.
Only 20 percent of the registered
voters or 8,016 voted in Cleveland
County, passing water bonds 4,007
to 3,210 and defeating other bonds
and Amendment No.l which
would have permitted the General
Assembly to issue bonds for eco-
nomic development projects with-
out a vote of the people.
With 2,349 of 2,458 precincts
reporting, the statewide vote totals
were:
See Bonds, 12-A
Grover Board
okays parade
GROVER - Eighty units wili
step off in Grover's Christmas pa-
rade December 11 at 3 p.m.
Plans for the holiday event were
announced by Bobbi Spivey at
Monday night's Town Board mect-
ing at which Mayor Ronald Queen
announced that maps have been
drawn up for new waterlines and
paperwork is being done for grant
and loan applications for the
$286,000 project.
"We've been running all over
town trying to clean out the old
lines," said the mayor who said the
state is checking water samples.
He said that 20 residents were
asked to supply a gallon jug of wa-
ter to be checked for copper con-
tent.
The board voted to continue its
present system of garbage removal
at cost of $16,800 versus contract-
ing at $33,600 a year or $8 per
month per household.
"It took us a long time to get that
garbage truck and I think we need
to keep what we've got," said
Commissioner Jim Howell.
The Mayor said that Grover's re-
cycling bin is open five days a
week from 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. in a
fenced area near City Hall. Big
boxes are provided for glass and
newspapers and a trailer holds
plastic.
Queen encouraged board mem-
bers to walk the streets and set pri-
orities for the needed street repairs.
"We have about $5,000 to spend on
street repairs and we need to do it,"
he said.
See Grover, 12-A
After 49 years of hairstyling,
Bessie Lee Bumgardner is retiring
from a profession she loves.
A Kings Mountain native,
Bumgardner has lived on her fami-
ly homeplace 69 years and never
plans to travel far from York
Road.
The well known beautician has
never wanted any other occupa-
tion. She fell in love with hair
styling as a young student when
she held the curlers for good
friend and mentor Ethel Falls.
The late Mrs. J. B. Falls gave
Bessie sage advice. "Come in on
Saturday and see the bad part as
well as the pretty part of this busi-
ness,” said Ethel, reminding Bessie
that hours could be long standing
behind a shampoo bowl or station
and rolling head after head of hair.
"We both loved the business,"
said Bumgardner, who went to
work shortly after graduation from
Kings Mountain High School in
1944 and completion of a beauty
course at Charlotte Beauty College.
"Back then we didn't have
Cosmetology courses in high
school and we had to go out-of-
town to school and then serve an
apprenticeship before we could be
licensed,” said Bessie. She served
her apprenticeship at the old Vera's
Beauty Shop under Falls and later
worked for Sudie Jenkins when
Jenkins bought Vera's on Cherokee
early years for Eloise Mabry at
Central Beauty Shop before open-
ing her own three-person shop in
1958 near her home on York Road.
Cold waves were the style and
customers wanted their hair pin
curled with hairpins when Bessie
started setting hair back in 1944.
Before that, customers were
hooked up to a machine to get their
hair permed.
Teasing came and went and
styles changed.
What didn't change with the
years were Bessie's customers. She Vi
had a following of customers who
See Bessie, 14-A
5
72
i
-
Tim Rowland and his stepdaughter, Leigh Anne Fulton, were all
smiles after Rowland was reelected to the Grover City Council fv
Tuesday's election.
AS
sci
Bo FT