KM gis win holiday |
7) £00
Girl Scout cookies
n sale
6-A
Shots fired
cal .
‘| attempt. Three suspects were charged and are in custody.
lence in schools.
by luge number of stude
dollar damage. The hotel was closed for repairs for several months.
|and rescue personnel and personnel at Kings MOuntain Hospital kept him
'lcovery and returned to school on the first day of the 1993-94 school year.
‘lof citizens that the Grover Board had been holding secret meetings.
VOL. 106 NO. 1
1993 was not one
of KM's best years
ie most towns, Kings Mountain had more than its share of bad news
in 1993. AS
The city was was gripped by violence with several murders taking place
and the Kings Mountain School System was plagued by weapons being
brought on campus.
After an almost perfect safety record for most of its years of existence,
‘Moss Lake experienced two drownings within a two-month period.
Five murders were reported in Kings Mountain during the year, and
three of them made national news.
Charles Porter, a custodian at the I-85 Rest Area south of town, was
found murdered in a utility shed at the Rest Area last fall. His killers are
still at large. The tragedy resulted in the state DMV and Highway Patrol
beefing up patrol of all rest areas in the state.
In December, two employees of Little Dan's Convenience Store - Wayne
Marcrum and Irvin Lovelace - were murdered during a late night robbery
Other top stories of 1993, as reported on the front page of the Herald, in-
cluded:
JANUARY
Kings Mountain people waited in line at the Post Office for a chance to
buy the new Elvis Presley stamp. Juanita Cloninger, who has been collect-
ing Elvis memorabilia since 1956, bought the first set.
Dr. Donald Mitchell became interim pastor of First Presbyterian Church.
Steven Nye was named economic development director for Cleveland
County.
Grover Town Council voted to leave trees along Main Street ‘despite
claims by property owners that they pose a danger to shoppers at night and
should be moved and replaced by lights.
“A police officer on campus of Kings Mountain High and Middle
Schools was the first step of a far-reaching program geared to prevent vio-
Only minor changes were made to the KMHS Chill-Out policy after a
re D be
‘KM Sthoely Report Card was par after being sub-par the year before
occupied by the Jose Espinales Family.
Rev. M.L. Campbell and Dean Westmoreland attended the inauguration
of President Clinton. ;
Ollie Harris and John Weatherly took their oaths of office in the General
Assembly.
A fire at the Comfort Inn destroyed 18 rooms and caused a half-million
Seven-year-old Chad Baity suffered an aneurysm in his head at WEst
School and within seconds was near death. The quick action of teachers
stable until a helicopter from Carolinas Medical Center arrived. He re-
mained unconscious for several months at CMC but made a remarkable re-
FEBRUARY
Sherill Toney of West was chosen KM Principal of the Year.
Mayor Ronald Queen denied claims by a standing room only delegation
The city of Kings Mountain began discussing the possibility of ending
annual campsite leases at Moss Lake. The Council approved the Moss
Lake Commission's recommendation in April.
Parkgrace School was sold to Kelly Bunch and Jim Childers for
$53,600.
Pheui "Sammy" Syda, 31, was charged with first degree murder in the
death of Vilay Thongpounphin of Chesterfield Apartments.
Wade Tyner of Wade Ford Inc. won the Time Magazine Quality Dealer
Award.
Winn Dixie held grand opening of its expanded store in the KM Plaza.
The KM United Fund celebrated raising $123,466.37.
The Chamber of Commerce launched its Adopt A School program.
The West PTO began a fund-raising drive to help with Chad Baity's hos-
pital expenses,
The State OSHA inspector found 30 deficiencies, including seven seri-
ous ones, at the KM Water and Wastewater treatment plants.
Little Dan's new store opened at the Highway 161/Interstate 85 intersec-
tion.
Bob Howard of Lincolnton was named Kings Mountain Postmaster.
MARCH
Grover citizen Ann McCarter, daughter of former mayor Bill McCarter,
charged that Grover Town Council increased water rates in an illegal
closed session.
Ray McKenney purchased Baucom Chevrolet-Geo.
A three-month dispute over how to count paper ballots from the
November County Commissioners race resulted in new commissioner Sam
Gold not being seated until March.
A petition drive to force an election on selling beer and wine in Grover
was completed and the petitions containing 150 names were presented to
the County Board of Elections. The referendum failed in June.
Revco Drug Store Inc. purchased Cornwell Drug.
East School fourth grader Kristen Feemster sang the National Anthem at
the March 20 Charlotte Hornets game.
Ken Hamrick bought the old steak house property on King St. for
$116,000.
Thirty families on Dixon School Road would get water through the KM
and North Carolina $1 million water/sewer line project to connect the I-85
Rest Area with the Chesterfield Apartments lines.
A 4 1/2-inch snowfall left most roads impassable.
County Commissioners went behind closed doors without their attorney,
and came out 45 minute later and fired him by a 3-1 vote. Bob Yelton had
held the post for 17 years. KM Commissioner Joyce Cashion was the only
commissioner voting against firing Yelton.
Harris Teeter was robbed at closing time.
New County Commissioner Cecil Dickson was named chairman of the
County Board and Joyce Cashion was named vice-chairman.
Nearly 2 1/2 inches of rain fell in one day but because of recent drainage
improvements the city was spared major problems.
KM's second Habitat for Humanity home was built on Tracy Street and |
Thursday, January 6, 1994
'94 economy looks good
The good news for 1994 is that
the economic picture for Kings
Mountain citizens should continue
to be positive, says City Manager
George Wood.
The bad news for 1994 for in-
dustrial customers of the city is
that they could see an increase in
their water/sewer bills since Kings
Mountain will be paying more to
Gastonia for treatment at Crowders
Creek effective January 1 with an-
other projected hike to Kings
Mountain in July.
Kings Mountain City Council
will be pondering the rates at the
January meeting, looking over
charts prepared by Wood which re-
flect that usage by industry is low
and utilities generate 85 percent of
the city's revenue which is tied di-
rectly to the economy, said Wood.
"Adjusting the rate to the indus-
trial community will have to be
looked at," said Mayor Scott
Neisler. "A recession and two years
of recovery have taken its toll on
the city's budget."
Wood is preparing water/sewer
revenue charts which show that us-
age is down about 82 million gal-
lons or roughly in dollars and cents
$164,000.
"We will be coming up short
June 30 if we don't do something
about it now," said Wood. He said
there has been a steady decline in
water/sewer revenue since
Bessemer City and Grover stopped
buying water from Kings
Mountain. Another reason for the
decline is that industries are be-
Central School to be renovated and used for District Office
Crime hot line available for students
Crimestoppers, a new hot line
for teenagers to the Kings
Mountain Police Department, is up
and running.
Kings Mountain students are in-
vited to dial 734-4533 and give
anonymous tips to police abou
crime on campuses. There is no re-
ward offered for the tip but police
say all callers will remain anony-
mous.
The recently-formed task force
on school violence got hundreds of
colorful stickers Tuesday night
with the new telephone number to
distribute to students on
Wednesday at Kings Mountain
High School and Kings Mountain
Middle School.
The task force had recommend-
ed Crimestoppers as one of the
tools to prevent school violence in
the wake of reports of guns at
school last year. The task force al-
so recommended random searches
by police using hand-held mefal
tem.
he said.
ing.
school vi
detectors and random searches of
"lockers, both ongoing projects.
School officials say the searches
have uncovered no guns and only
one student, a girl, was suspended
for two days after she took a mini
liquor bottle to school. According
to police, the girl volunteered to
give the searcher the bottle before
she was searched.
Jean Thrift, who coordinates the
task force program, said that the di-
rect telephone line to the police de-
Rogers enters N.C. Senate race
Linda
Thrift has filed
for a second
term as Clerk of |
Superior Court.
Thrift
has held the po-
sition since
1990. She was
Deputy Clerk of
Superior Court
from 1970-72 THRIFT
(Thrift to seek reelection
and Assistant Clerk of Superior
Court from 1972-89.
"T have tried to serve the people
fairly and impartially, without fear
or favor and in accordance with the
law," she said. "I have also tried to
be a public official whose honesty
and integrity have always been un-
questionable.
"[ believe that there is no substi-
tute for experience and feel that
See Clerk, 3-A
See 1993, Page 5-A
Ridge Allen Scruggs, the first Kings Mountain citizen of New Year
'94, is held in the arms of his mother, Lori, as his doting father, Eddie
Scruggs, approvingly looks on.
Robert H. "Bobby" Rogers Jr.
became the fourth Democrat and
the fifth person this week to enter
the race for the 37th district
N.C.Senate seat that Kings
Mountain's J. Ollie Harris will va-
cate when his term expires.
Previously announced candi-
dates are Democrats Dean B.
Westmoreland of Grover and Billy
Williams, and David Teddy of
Shelby and Republican Dennis
Davis of Lattimore.
Rogers, 65, said his experience
with the political process and his
See Rogers, 3-A
Kings Mountain's first new citi-
zen of 1994 is Ridge Allen
Sceuggs, who was born January 1
at 9:04 a.m. in Cleveland Memorial
Hospital.
The dark-haired, blue-eyed
bouncing baby boy is also the first
Cleveland County Citizen of '94
and represents the fifth generation
in his mother's family.
He is the first child of Eddie and
Lori Scruggs of the White Plains
Community, the first grandchild of
Don and Denice Sessoms of Kings’
Mountain and the first grandson of
Jerry and Shirley Scruggs. He is al-
so the great-grandson of Joyce and
Ed Babb of Kings Mountain and
Mr. and Mrs. C. R. McCreight of
Lincolnton. His great-great grand-
mother is Eunice Lovelace of
Kings Mountain.
"Ridge will be spoiled but we
love it,” said his doting father, who
coming more energy and cost-effi-
cient .
Last July the city added a 2.7
percent increase to industrial cus-
tomers. If City Council approves
an increase to industry, Neisler
says residential customers would
pay no more since their usage re-
flects only about 20 percent of the
system-wide usage.
"We've had three tough years
and yet state and federal mandates
haven't let up," said Wood, who
See City, 3-A
Central renovation
| project is under way
The $900,000 renovation of old Central School is
underway and moving day for the administrative staff
is targeted for summer of '94.
Supt. Dr. Bob McRae said that the Central project is
big news for the year and "a biggie" for the school sys-
"We look forward to getting into the new facility,"
McRae said that, although the Board of Education
has made no decision about the dispensation of the
current staff building, the old Davidson School, that
this will be an important agenda item at a future meet-
McRae said the second "biggie" for the system in
1993 was the formation of a 21-member task force on
nce hich made numerous recommenda-
i searches, "Police patrol the school parking lots.
See Central, 3-A
partment will give kids the oppor-
tunity to relay valuable information
which police can verify and turn
over to school officials. In some ar-
eas rewards are offered for such in-
formation, but Thrift said the local
program has, as yet, no financial
sponsors for such rewards.
"Crimestoppers is focusing on
guns since guns were reported last
year but students may also feel free
to report any act of violence,
which could involve drugs or
guns," said Thrift.
BOBBY ROGERS
New Year baby, Ridge,
is 'bold and beautiful’
saw his son born and loved the ex-
perience.
"Ours was no horror story of 18-
20 hours of labor," said Eddie. Lori
went in labor at 3:30 a.m. New
Year's Day and the baby arrived 5
1/2 hours later.
Ridge arrived without complica-
tions and on time, said his father
who named the boy after the soap
opera character Ridge Forrester on
"Bold and Beautiful. "
Little Ridge weighed in at 8
pounds, 81/2 ounces and measured
20 inches when he was welcomed
into the world by Dr. Tom Davis.
The Kings Mountain couple
credit the smooth delivery in part
to preparation gained from seven
session of Lamazer led by Health
Department nurse Marcia Spurling
at Cleveland Community College,
parenting, breast-feeding and even
See Baby, 3-A