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Dr. Adams retiring May 3
McGill Clinic to close doors
"Why me, Lord?" is a question
that compassionate and good-hu-
mored "Doc" Adams asked when
he gave up a teaching career as a
young man to become a doctor.
He never regretted the career
change he made in a MASH unit in
Korea. Years have passed since
then 23-year-old Charles H.
"Chuck" Adams saw suffering and
dying all around him.
A family doctor for 35 years,
Adams, 64, has seen a lot of life
and death.
His proudest moments were
when he made house calls in
Grover and Kings Mountain in the
early years of his practice. He en-
deared himself to families who
counted him as one of their own
and who confided in him about
their hurts and their joys.
"Like my patients who asked,
'Why me?" when bad things hap-
pened, I always could tell them to
look around and find someone else
in worse shape," said Adams.
Adams delivered 2400 babies
See Clinic, 12-A
Outside city residents
oppose Grover zoning
Fired cop
may appeal
GROVER - Police officer
Robbie Sides, 23, says he may ap-
peal his recent firing by Chief of
Police Paul Cash and promises that
in 1995 his name will be on the
ballot for mayor. :
Sides, one of two officers on the
force, was hired in June 1991. He
was elected to the town board of
‘} commissionersin 1993.
Sides claims his firing was po-
litically motivated. He said he was
told that he was fired because he|
1 used poor judgment in chasing
down a suspected violent criminal
on March 10. Sides says he was
reprimanded for passing the speed-
ing vehicle.
Sides says he was asked to re-
sign in February 1993, August
1993 and February 1994, but re-
fused each time.
"All this started as soon as I put
my name on the ballot for commis-
sioner," said Sides.
‘The chief said he based his deci-
sion to fire Sides on an administra-
tive investigation and that the fir-
ing had nothing to do with factors
outside the department.
Sides said he was told that the
firing was because of other things
he had done in the past, like out-of-
town traffic stops.
Sides contends that he was only
doing his duty on March 10 when
returning from court in Shelby and
driving a Grover police car he
heard ‘a police dispatcher's radio
call that a United Cab driver was
robbed and cut at Cleveland Mall
and his cab stolen.
Sides said Jonathan Nichols, 21,
of 611 Kings Road, Shelby, jumped
in the 1985 Chevy taxi and bolted
when the officer approached. Sides
said he followed the taxi in order to
.| keep it in sight, but at the intersec-
tion of U. S.74 and Long Branch
Road, the taxi spun out of control
See Sides, 11-A
A
GROVER - Town Council
adopted by a 4-1 vote Monday
night a first time inside-city, color
coded zoning map and a 94-page
ordinance but not before a boister-
ous crowd of mostly outside-city
residents had their say.
The ‘board tabled until another
public hearing in April a decision
on zoning the one-mile perimeter.
Some name-calling was leveled
at the city fathers as the meeting
adjourned. The shouting match
was aided and abetted for over an
hour by citizens expressing mixed
emotions about trailers and mobile
homes which have been a big, con-
troversial issue in this small town
for many years.
City Attorney Mickey Corry rec-
ommended Council take no action
on a map and ordinance for the one
mile extra territorial jurisdiction
without specific landmarks.
But more than half the audience
who lived out-of-town used the oc-
casion to be vocal in their objec-
tion to any ordinance.
Cindy Cooke, who lives in a mo-
bile home on Hardin Circle, was
concerned that with the new zoning
she wouldn't be able to replace the
home if it burned.
"] pay taxes on that land every
year and the Council should not be
able to tell us what to do," she said.
Baxter Lovelace said that citi-
zens needed more time to study the
ordinance which brought a sugges-
tion from Fain Hambright, a mem-
ber of the seven member planning
board, who said that homeowners
could probably be granted a vari-
ance in certain situations-to rezone
and agreed with Councilman Noel
Spivey that copies of the zoning
map and ordinance should be made
available to every citizen of Grover
and the outlying area.
Chairman Max Rollins drew the
most flack when he noted that un-
der the new ordinance if a building
in a particular zone does not con-
form to the use prescribed by the
ordinance and sustains damage of
See Grover, 11-A
Mayor, three Councilmen
discuss new city manager
A profile of Kings Mountain's
next City Manager emerged at a
meeting Friday of three City
Councilmen, the mayor and the
city's personnel director with facil-
itator Kurt Jenne of the N.C.
Institute of Government.
This was the first step in the
city's search for a replacement for
George Wood, who left the city
Monday after six years in the top
management position.
Mayor pro tem Rick Murphrey,
Councilmen Phil Hager and Dean
Spears, Mayor Scott Neisler and
Personnel Director Winston
Bagley met for over three hours in
the second floor conference room
at City Hall to gather ideas with
Jenne as moderator.
Here are the priorities listed by
the three Councilmen and the
Mayor, each of whom voted on a
number of suggestions that
Jennelisted on a big wall board.
Jenne reminded that ranking of
those priorities could change
quickly since only three of the sev-
en elected officials were present to
vote on them. Absent were
Councilwoman Norma Bridges and
Councilmen Jerry White, Ralph
Grindstaff and Jim Guyton.
The priorities:
Attention to detail, a man or
woman who can delegate authority
effectively to solve little problems
before they get big.
Experienced in operating enter-
prise utilities.
Good at handling emergencies.
A person who pushes Council a
little on future policy.
Skilled in running the day-to-
day operations of the city.
Good in finance.
Skilled in knowledge about
physical planning and develop-
ment.
See Manager, 13-A
Thursday, March 23, 1994
Dr. Charles H. Adams, a Kings
Mountain family doctor for 35
years, will take down his shingle at
McGill Clinic May 31 and the fa-
miliar Watterson Street landmark
will shut its doors.
The two-doctor practice of
Adams and Dr. Frank Sincox will
end a long working relationship
which began when Adams came
from Grover to Kings Mountain in
1963 to join the four-man staff
headed by Dr. John C. McGill and
his brother, Dr. Kenneth McGill.
Dr. John McGill built the clinic in
the early 1960's.
Adams was Grover's first com-
munity doctor and practiced there
for four years. He completed his
internship in Greensboro after
graduating from the University of
Virginia Medical School in 1958.
"I will really miss my patients,"
said Adams, who will be 65 in
May and who is looking forward to
retirement.
With his departure, the medical
contingent in Kings Mountain will
leave only two family practitioners,
Dr. Joe Lee and Dr. Tom Durham;
three internists, Dr. Scott Mayse,
Dr. A.R. Gangoo and Dr. Everette
Thombs; one pediatrician, Dr.
Martin Stallings; and resident sur-
geons Dr. Sam Robinson and Dr.
C.K. Robinson.
Adams has informed his patients
that he will be retiring and he said
ERA XERREERRSH
local doctors say they will take as
many of his patients as they can
with their already heavy schedules.
"We have tried to recruit new
doctors to work at McGill Clinic
and have interviewed some appli-
cants but they are looking for more
money than they can make in this
area and the doctor shortage is get-
ting to be critical in this county,"
said Adams.
Adams said he appreciates the
longtime staff at McGill Clinic. He
said his nurse has worked by his
side for 31 years. "Louise Tucker
deserves a purple heart," said
Adams.
See Adams, 12-A
21/94
RIAL |
307 10/2
ME
oF
2
MAU
A packed audience at times became loud in their objection to zoning during a public hearing Monday
night by
Grover Town Board. David Adams, standing, said Grover should remain a small town. The
board approved an, inside-city zoning map and ordinance 4-1 but tabled action on zoning in the one-mile
perimeter.
City employee saves choking child
A two-year-old toddler owes his life to a man he beating the boy on the back trying to get the baby to
may never meet because the man happened to be in spit up the candy.
the right place at the right time Monday afternoon.
"T guess I was rude to the lady but I told her to quit
"I'm glad I was there,” said Tom Roddy, a lineman and grabbed the boy and applied the training that I had
for the City of Kings Mountain Electric Department,
wha grabbed the limp and
blue boy from the front §
seat of his mother's car on
North Piedmont Avenue
and with four thrusts of §
the Heimlich maneuver
saved him from choking |
to death on a jawbreaker. |
"Johnny Putnam §
and I were in a city buck- |
et truck at the light on |
North Piedmont Avenue |
across from the Depot
and as soon as the light |
changed we planned to
turn right," said Roddy.
"Johnny noticed
the car stopped at the red
light with the woman and
child in it and he said he thought the woman was hav-
ing some trouble.
"T stopped the truck and ran to t
TOM RODDY
he lady who was
scene.
Kurt Jenne of the Institute of Government in Chapel Hill lists the
priorities that three Council members and the Mayor looked at Friday
as their profile for Kings Mountain's next city manager.
learned in the Electric department in CPR and rescue
breathing,” continued Roddy.
When the first cry came from the boy, Roddy said
he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Eyerything happened so fast," said Roddy.
Whi the bat} started breathing, the mother hugged
him and began on her way. Baby and mother were
fine. Roddy called 911 on his truck radio and in a mat-
ter of minutes rescue personnel and police were on the
Roddy, a lineman with the City of Kings Mountain
for over five years, said he would not have known
what to ‘do in the emergency without the special train-
ing that has been required of electric linemen.
"It just came naturally when I needed it," said
Roddy, who has two grown sons of his own.
"It amazed me that so many people were standing
around and didn't know what to do," said Roddy, who
suggests that everyone needs a course in CPR.
Roddy, who resides on Tary Court in the Chestnut
Ridge Community, said his partner kept encouraging
him as they rushed to the child's aid.
See Choking, 12-A
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DR. CHARLES ADAMS
Rosencrans
leaves city
Two days after City Council ap-
pointed his assistant as interim City
Manager, Jeff Rosencrans, 41, re-
signed his pm a, |
$40,000 a year ae ©
position as
Finance
Director.
"I was
stunned and hurt
that I was not
considered for
the job when I
thought the |
publics’ perception of my work and
TILER
years ago," said Rosencrans.
"I just decided I would move
on. I didn't know where I stood
with Council and chose to go out
as the professional that I am and
keep my integrity intact."
Rosencrans' vacation pay was
by Wood after
Rosencrans submitted his resigna-
tion to Wood Friday afternoon. The
city's personnel policy will proba-
bly keep Rosencrans from earning
a month's severance pay which he
said he could have received if he
had worked a two weeks' notice as
outlined in the personnel plan.
Rosencrans was hired by Wood
in January 1990. He came from
Lancaster, SC, where he had
worked five years in a similar posi-
tion. Before that he was controller
for a small manufacturing compa-
ny in Pine Bluff. He graduated in
1981 from St. Andrews
Presbyterian College with a B.A.
degree in business and a minor in
accounting and spent two years as
a cost accountant at Century
Curtain and served as controller for
Kenworthy Automobile Machinery
in Aberdeen for two years.
City Council, divided over the
choice of the successor to Wood,
voted 4-3 last Tuesday to promote
Assistant Fiance Director Maxine
Parsons. The action came after
See Quits, 11-A
Council to meet Tuesday
Public hearing on a sign request
from developer Mike Brown is on
the agenda for Tuesday's City
Council meeting at 7:30 p.m. at
City Hall.
Brown is asking for more square
footage of permitted signs in the
Neighborhood Business District.
He took his request to the Planning
and Zoning Board recently which
recommends the change.
Community Services Director
Tom Howard will present several
requests which deal with construc-
tion and improvements projects.
Howard will recommend a land
swap between the city and owners
of the Crawford property at
Davidson Lake dam so that the city
can make repairs to the dam; re-
quest that Council approve the low
bidder for construction of a sewer
See Council, 13-A
Traffic lights to be changed
Traffic lights will blink yellow
and red at four intersection in town
Friday as workers with the
Department of Transportation start
changing the stop lights.
Director of Community Services
Tom Howard said the four intersec-
tions are Piedmont and Mountain;
Piedmont and Ridge; Gold at
Bridges Drive; and Railroad and
Mountain Streets.
"The lights will blink red in one
direction and yellow in the other
direction,” said Howard.
Friday is the target date to begin
the project which was approved re-
cently by City Council. The stop
signs have already been installed
and four-way stop signs at
Southwood and Somerset Drive are
down.
Howard said that it will be about
two weeks before the stop signs are
uncovered and the ligi ts removed.
See Lights, 12-A