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MAUNEY MEMORTAL L
FEREFEEEREEREREC
100 S PIEDMONT A
KINGS MOUNTAIN NC
Thursday, February 17, 1994
Kings Mountain, NC 28086 = 50¢
Council pledges to work with City Manager
$153,609 budget cuts approved at Tuesday night's special meeting
By GARY STEWART Wood made his proposals after a recent City until I feel like the city has made a real effort at spend- Wood, recalling the "mess" the city was in six years
Editor of the Herald Council meeting in which the Council, and especially ~~ Ing cuts. We must go back and look at every item for ago when she came on the Council. &
City Council unanimously approved City Manager
George Wood's recommendations to cut $153,609
from the city budget to prevent an immediate increase
. for industrial water users in a special meeting Tuesday
night at City Hall.
And, after a lengthy discussion, new councilmen as-
sured Wood and the public that they are not interested
in firing Wood and other personnel or returning to the
old mayor/commissioner form of government.
Councilman Jerry White made the motion to accept
Wood's proposals and to discuss possible cuts to be
made in the next fiscal year's budget at a budget work-
shop in April at Cleveland Community College.
Councilman Phil Hager seconded.
Lenten services
begin next week
The annual Community Lenten
services will begin Wednesday,
Feb. 23 and continue for five
weeks at downtown churches.
The theme for the services will
be "Questions Jesus Asked."
The services will begin promptly
at 12:05 p.m. and a light meal will
be served at 12:30 p.m. The cost of
the meal is $2 per person.
The public is invited to all ser-
vices.
The schedule of churches,
speakers and host pastors are as
follows: :
Feb. 23 - Central United
Methodist Church; Rev. Hal
Schwantes, host pastor; Dr. Chip
Sloan, guest speaker.
-.Boyce.
‘March 9 - First Presbyterian
Church; Rev. Dick Newsome, host
pastor; Rev. Bob Pulkkinen, guest
speaker. ;
March 16 - Resurrection
Lutheran Church; Rev. John
Futterer, host pastor; Rev. Mark
Bardsley, guest speaker;
March 23 - First Baptist Church;
Dr. Chip Sloan, host pastor; Rev.
Dick Newsome, guest speaker.
customers.
the newly-elected councilmen, asked him to meet with
all department heads to find possible cuts which would |
prevent the proposed rate increase to industrial water
Councilman Rick Murphrey said Tuesday that the
$153,609 cuts proposed by Wood, many of which are
one-time savings, are not enough - that the city needs
to make a more concentrated effort at spending cuts
before going to citizens for rate increases.
"Of this amount, we're only talking about $18,000
of actual budget cuts,” he said. "I am disappointed in
this effort. I have been to our auditor and looked at
these things, and this city has serious financial prob-
lems. I don't want to go to the citizens for an increase
cuts. If we go at this with professional leadership we
cando it."
Murphrey also called on the city staff to provide the
Council with monthly financial statements.
"We must have financial statements to look at to
make good ideas," he said. "This is not just a water is-
sue - it's all funds."
Despite his criticism, Murphrey said he recognizes
that the city manager and department heads are "pro-
fessionals" and that he is willing to work with them all.
“This is something that hasn't occurred overnight, and
it can't be fixed overnight," he said. "If the team ef-
fort's there we can work through this thing."
Councilwoman Norma Bridges was quick to support
A city truck spreads sand on a street during last week's ice storm. Seventy-five tons of sand spread
through the night Thursday and most of the day Friday helped prevent any major accidents on city
streets. Many homeowners in the area reported problems with water running under their shingles and in-
to their homes.
No major damages from ice storm
Kings Mountain was spared any
major damage in last week's ice
storm, but many homes sustained
cosmetic damage due to frozen
precipitation which forced water
under shingles and into homes.
Kings Mountain insurance
agents have handled hundreds of
claims from residents who noticed
water leaking from ceilings during
the sleet and freezing rain of
Thursday afternoon and Friday
morning.
Agents explained that when wa-
ter froze in gutters, it caused water
coming down the roof to back up
under shingles and into homes.
One area resident reported that
he actually caught a gallon of wa-
ter dripping from a light fixture;
and one business reported water
coming in around windows and
down the walls.
B.F. Maner, owner of Maner
Insurance and Real Estate, said he
doesn't think the damage will be
significant because many of the
claims will not meet a $250 de-
ductible, and most damages will be
“repaired by painting.
"I'm confident that roofs are not
damaged," he said. "We had this
KINGS MOUNTAIN PEOPLE
happen about 2 1/2 years ago. I
went up on about 20 roofs at that
time and there was not a mark on
the roof and they haven't leaked
since."
Maner surmised that when gut-
ters froze water was forced to run
sideways under shingles and found
places to go through the roofs.
"The company we use to do our
interior work, either from fire or
water, had 500 calls come in from °
Cleveland County agents by noon
Friday," Maner noted. "I would
like to think that most of it's going
to be cosmetic painting instead of a
collapse of ceilings."
Maner said he had only one cus-
tomer to report a collapsed ceiling.
"One thing you find out is that
people are really nice when you
have a disaster like this,” Maner
said. "All of the people that called
us didn't seem to be in a hurry and
they would say, 'I hate to bother
you, but I have a problem." They
were real nice."
John Warlick of Warlick and
Hamrick Associates said his agen-
cy also had numerous calls but,
See Storm, 3-A
"Six years ago I was involved in hiring George
Wood as City Manager," she recalled. "He came in
here and found one problem after another. Our build-
ings and equipment were falling apart and we were un-
der several JOC's (Judicial Orders of Consent) and had
several lawsuits against us. The employee morale was
at an all-time low. It took many hours to correct these
problems, and I don't want to see us go back to that.
Our role is as policy-makers. Leave the nuts and bolts
of running the city to Mr. Wood.
See Council, 3-A
Middle School
to get nurse
Cleveland County Health
Department will provide a full-
time nurse at Kings Mountain
Middle School beginning in mid-
March, it was announced at
Tuesday night's School Board
meeting at the Administration
Office.
Supt. Bob McRae noted that the
Board and Health Department had
been working for over a year trying
to place a nurse at KMMS.
"The nurse will hopefully help
cut down on the number of student
absences, especially on students
ing out during the S
“also work very closely with parents
of students in terms of providing
health care, especially for those
who aren't able to have adequate
health care because of family situa-
tions, and so forth."
In another matter Tuesday, the
board approved March 25 and June
6 as the fourth and fifth make-up
days because of recent inclement
weather. Other make-up days pre-
viously approved are Feb. 21, June
2 and June 3. Barring any other re-
quired make-up days, students will
get out of school on June 6.
In other action, the board:
BM Heard a report from Patsy
Walker, director of Kids, Etc., the
system's before and after school
care program, on the operation of
the program.
BM Heard a report from Jean
Thrift on the system's performance
on the State Report Card. Kings
Mountain was above state and
cluster averages in many areas.
BM Approved paying $1,000 for
approximately 1,000 square feet of
property adjacent to Grover
School. McRae explained that
years ago a fence was erected by
the system and part of it lapped
over onto the adjacent property
See Nurse, 3-A
Parent Center
is recognized
The Parent Resource Center at
West School was recognized at
Tuesday night's School Board
meeting as one of the 14 winners
of the Governor's Program of
Excellence in Education.
The Parent Resource Center was
began in 1992 at West to provide
| learning experiences for parents
“and enable them to work mi
Cl :
Parents are provided a variety of
materials, training and information
useful to them in working with
their children. In its first year of
operation, the center had over 600
parents participate in a variety of
workshops, educational programs
and support groups.
The center provides morning, af-
ternoon and evening hours to pro-
vide adult education in areas such
as reading and math as well as a
high school diploma program.
Individual literacy instruction is
provided for non-readers by center
staff and volunteers. A computer
lab is available for parents to learn
skills that will improve their oppor-
tunities for employment or career
advancement.
The center also distributes a
packet of information on Kings
Mountain schools to the parents of
newborns in the area. The center
provides a variety of workshops
such as parenting skills, nutrition,
assisting children with homework
or reading, and health education. A
resource library allows parents to
check out books and audio-tapes,
view videos and receive free pam-
phlets on child rearing and health
See Center, 3-A
. AND MRS. OLLAND PEARSON
Pearsons have been in love 65 years
Still sweethearts after nearly 65
years, Olland and Iva Lee Pearson
credit the success of their long
years of happily married life to
"hard work and a lot of give and
take."
Valentine's Day wasn't any more
special for the Pearsons than any
other day Monday. Olland said that
Iva Lee cooks him his favorite
meals every day. On Monday she
surprised him with his favorite
pecan pie and black walnut cake.
Friends and neighbors of the
Pearsons on Fairview Street know
that the kitchen is Mrs. Pearson's
favorite place to be and they know
the tempting aroma from her
kitchen will bring them back to the
table for seconds every time.
Olland Pearson, 82, and Iva Lee
Falls Pearson, 82, will be married
65 years on May 18, 1994.
"We've been married all our
lives but we wouldn't have it any
other way,” says Mrs. Pearson,
who was a bride of 17 and her
bridegroom was only 18 when they
tied the knot in York, SC.
Both worked in the Old Dilling
cotton mill. After a courtship, they
were married May 18, 1928 by a
Justice of the Peace in York, SC.
They set up housekeeping in a little
house on the Dilling Mill village.
Iva Lee retired from the Dilling
Mill after 42 years. Mr. Pearson
worked at Dilling Mill for a num-
ber of years, then went to the Cora
Mill and retired in 1980 from
Battleground Service Station where
"he worked for 20 years for the late
Fred W. Plonk, pumping gasoline
and selling groceries.
Seven years ago the couple
bought a home on Fairview Street,
remodeled it and moved from their
home on Dixon School Road,
about a block behind the old
Battleground Service Station and
now Little Dan's Convenience
Store.
"We just enjoy ourselves, relax-
ing in front of the fire and sitting
on the porch swing when it's
warm,” says Olland.
Mrs. Pearson likes to sew, and,
of course, both their favorite pas-
times are having company and see-
ing their grandchildren and great-
grandchildren.
The family includes two chil-
dren. Harold Dean Pearson and his
wife, Diane, live in Richmond, VA,
where Harold has worked for the
Richmond Times-Dispatch for a
number of years. Shirley Mayes of
Kings Mountain is married to Gene
Mayes. There are two grandchil-
dren, Jackie Putnam and
Christopher Pearson and two great-
grandchildren, Brandon and Jason
Putnam.
Son of the late Robert and
Emma Pearson, Olland Pearson
was born and reared in Kings
Mountain. In the early 1950's he
got into politics briefly and served
as a City Commissioner for two
years in Garland Still's administra-
tion from 1951-53.
Although he still enjoys talking
politics with friends, Olland says
he has no desire to get back into
city politics. Mr. Pearson likes
sports and he and his son, a sports
writer, spend happy hours talking
over the latest sports happenings.
Daughter of the late R.J. and
Minnie Mozelle Hoyle Falls, Mrs.
Pearson was also born and reared
in Kings Mountain. She met her
husband at the home of her aunt,
Nanny Falls, and for both, it was
love at first sight
"At a time when long marriages
seem to be out of style, we may be
old-fashioned but we married for
better or for worse, until death do
us part,” said Mrs. Pearson.
"The Lord willing, I'll be 83 in
September and Olland will be 83 in
March." said Mrs. Pearson.
Both Pearsons’ keen sense of hu-
mor belie their years.
Olland and Iva Lee didn't take a
wedding trip but since that time
they have traveled to the moun-
tains, to Georgia and to Richmond
to visit relatives
"After we married we had to
straight back to the mill to work,"
laughed Mrs. Pearson
Hard work cements a relation-
ship. according to Olland
a, a a