Shriners BBQ
Saturday 10 am e vacant lot Highway 161 & East Gold St.
2-A
& . }
- ev b,
~ ., re - an —
eS SY LA .
S <d = ~ “a :
= ZZ Ste gy at
= Zn SECS LW VY =
=, - et ZS PFS" NY 3 Loam
br : EE Zz SZ Fo = $
— oi — nd ——
= — = Vr
¢ be
VIO) A RL
~a @ 8
VOL. 106 NO. 17
Thursday, April 28, 1994
Mountaineers
defeat Shelby
}
)
=u
P= Ei
|
Kings Mountain, NC 28086 * 50¢
Bo —
& =
¥ oo
~ wo
os x
[a <Q
0) vt > ne)
1 2 N
- <
(74 Oo
| i
oe —.
a a> Ce
= <LZ
a wt Ld
we ON Cb
We St Ed
We vt Qe CI <TC
* (NOE
WS ELE
WO Wilda
ape vt FOOD
Ne a. x
we o>
we SS LUI
ne OF |
wx MDE
oe a
Ea Ev
County, state primary elections Tuesday
Kings Mountain voters will go
to the polls Tuesday in the May
Primaries where interest centers lo-
cally in the race for county com-
missioner, the race for sheriff and
the race for the Senate seat Kings
Mountain's J. Ollie Harris is vacat-
ing.
The polls open at 6:30 a.m. and
close at 7:30 p.m. at East Kings
Mountain precinct at the
Community Center, West Kings
Mountain precinct at the National
Guard Armory, Bethware at David
Baptist Church fellowship hall and
Grover at the Rescue Squad build-
ing.
Outside of the 15-candidate
two-seat county. commissioners
KMLT plans
fund drive
Kings Mountain Little Theatre
will kickoff a major fundraising
campaign for $300,000 May 1 to
renovate the old Dixie Theatre.
Dr. Scott Mayse, Kings
Mountain internist, and Andy
Neisler, Kings Mountain lawyer,
will co-chair the project.
Fifty volunteer workers have
agreed to assist in the fundraising
effort which will touch every por-
tion of the community, said Mayse.
The former theatre building was
~ made available to the Little Theatre
as a generous donation from the
John O. and Pat Plonk family with
the Stipufation that the. building be
erf
square feet of space. Extensive ren-
ovation will be necessary to allow
for use as a performance facility.
See Theatre, 5-A
race, the race for sheriff- with 10
candidates running to replace retir-
ing Sheriff Buddy McKinney -
looks to be be the hottest on the
ballot.
Vacancies created by retirements
in the General Assembly and the
U. S. Congress have also prompted
larger pools of candidates in the
9th U.S. Congressional District and
37th N.C. Senatorial District.
Local candidates on the
Democratic ballot include
Democrat Joyce Cashion, incum-
bent county commissioner who is
running for reelection; and Dean
Westmoreland of Grover and Bruce
Scism of Kings Mountain who are
running for Ollie Harris' seat in the
37th District N.C. Senate. Local
Republican candidates are Robert
Morgan Jr. of Kings Mountain,
who is running for the county com-
mission and John Weatherly, who
is running for reelection in N.C.
House District 48.
Both incumbent commissioners
Cashion and Ralph Gilbert of
Fallston said there have been 10 to
15 candidates when they have run
before.
A Ang, Tuesday's is not the first
Republican Primary in the county
commission race. In 1984 there
were 13 Democrats and four
Republicans competing for three
seats.
The winning candidate must re-
~ SIGNS OF SEASON - Political signs have been sprouting up all over town and the West Kings
Mountain area of town seems to have the most. Kings Mountain citizens will go to the polls Tuesday to
ceive more than 40 percent of the
total vote, or there will be a runoff
primary.
This year's slate of candidates in
the commissioners' race includes
four Republicans, two women, and
three black candidates. The two
Democrats who survive the pri-
maries will meet the top two
Republicans in the general election
in November.
In the race for Sheriff the action
will'be on the Democratic primary,
although there will be two names
on the Republican primary ballot.
There are two black candidates and
no women in the field.
The candidates for sheriff are
Roy Blanton, Dan Crawford,
help elect two county commissioners, a county sheriff, and other state and federal offices. Polls open at
6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m.
City Council plans work session on budget
Kings Mountain City Council
will hold a budget work session
Monday at 6:30 p.m. in the second
floor conference room at City Hall.
The board is expected to deliber-
“ate on spending for next year and
on the amount of an expected rate
increase to users of water and sew-
er.
The session is a hold-over from
the recent planning retreat when
board members said they needed
another session on the budget to
give Interim City Manager Maxine
Parsons some input on working up
the figures in the preliminary bud-
get.
Council also joined the ranks of
supporters of the northern U.S. 74
bypass and passed a resolution, of
support.
In January, state officials told
county officials that the $80 mil-
lion cost of the project would not
be funded until the county settled
on either the northern or southern
route. In response to the request
for support by Danny Hawkins,
chairman of the county transporta-
tion committee, county towns and
boards have rallied.
Former city commissioner Al
Moretz is the local representative
on the transportation board.
In other actions, Council:
Approved the low and only bid
for Chamber of Commerce office
space construction to W. W.
Contractors at cost of $6,616.94.
The Chamber will occupy offices
on the second floor of City Hall.
Heard a request from representa-
tives of Northshore Landing
Homeowners Association at Moss
Lake regarding a reduction in an- :
nual fees but took no action. The
See Council, 5-A
Resident wants city to realign Stone Street
Tom Davison says his property
runs 30 feet across dead-end Stone
Street and he wants the city to re-
align the street.
He told the city utilities commit-
tee Monday that the city fathers
have run "roughshod over him"
about the road since he built on
Stone Street in 1961 and he thinks
it's time the error is corrected.
Davison wants the city to re-
Doctor to
The new family doctor at
McGill Clinic, Dr. Edward Butler,
had an opportunity to practice in
Tampa, Florida but chose Kings
Mountain where he already feels
comfortable living in a small town.
Butler will officially join the
staff of McGill Clinic Monday.
This week he was meeting people
and he and his wife, Zephrey, were
renting a home on Shelby Road.
The first physician hired by
Kings Mountain Hospital chose
family practice because he likes the
contact with the whole family.
“I'm a very sensitive person and
I'm keenly interested in every facet
of my patient's life and well be-
ing," he said.
Butler, who stands six feet three
inches tall, was a sprint runner for
the U.S. Navy for 4 1/2 years and
for several years for Adidas Shoe
Company. He earned a full Naval
move the asphalt on the road.
Water Dept. Supt. Walt Ollis
said the road was there before the
house. "The road was there in
1923," said Ollis.
"We can't move the road because
the city has a manhole and the le-
gal right for a sewer line," said
Ollis.
Ollis disagreed with Davison
who said he could put a fence on
scholarship and a full academic
scholarship.
Uncle Sam called him to repay
his scholarship with duty during
his second year of residency and he
was an undersea medical officer, a
flight surgeon and a family practi-
tioner for the largest contingent of
women in one command in the
military at’'that time. He served
with 360 women who were in
charge of support subs and worked
side by side with their male coun-
terparts. Butler's job was maintain-
ing their health because they
worked under extreme pressure.
"I learned in the Navy not to be
gender biased," said the doctor.
"I'm comfortable with all age
groups and I am pleased with the
interaction | have observed during
my brief visits to Kings Mountain
and during my interview with hos-
pital officials."
the property.
City Planner Gene White intro-
duced Davison's long-standing
contention about the ownership of
the 30 foot strip and suggested that
the city attorney identify the right
of way and utility easements and
report his findings to the June .
Council meeting.
"It's a wrong done over a long
period of time," said Davison.
begin work Monday
Butler said his goal in life was to
become a fighter pilot but his near-
sightedness kept him from follow-
ing this vocation. During his
sophomore year in college he de-
cided to pursue a medical career.
"The Navy paid for my educa-
tion and I served with pride on du-
ty stations at Newport, Rhode
Island, Kingsbay, Georgia at St
Mary's and Jacksonville, Fl., he
said.
"This area is the best of both
worlds because it isn't far to either
the coast or the mountains," said
Butler.
Butler said he is also impressed
with the low crime rate in this
area. "I like to get out and walk
without fear."
A 1975 graduate of Avondale
High School in Atlanta, he was
reared in the big city but always
See Doctors, 5-A
vo pitt dic
"You should ‘have to pay for the
survey, not me."
Davison said the original right-
of-way to the city was deeded by
Paul Mauney as a easement to al-
low access to the old McGill sewer
plant.
In other business, the board:
Delayed recommendation on
paying a rebate of $15,000 to de-
See Street, 5-A
DR. EDWARD BUTLER
tac on a Sn A. Bk il oe ae
Michael Drake, J.D. Fish, Ronald
R. McKinney, J. C. Sanders, all of
Shelby, Willie McIntosh Jr. of
Lawndale, and David H. Ware of
Lawndale and Republicans David
C. Morrow of Earl and Ward
Kellum of Shelby.
The candidates for two seats on
the board of county commissioners
are:
Jerry Adams, D-Shelby;
Chinnetta P. Brooks, D-Kingstown;
Joyce Cashion, D-Kings
Mountain; Ralph Gilbert, D-
Fallston, Norris Hastings, R-
Shelby; John D Laughlin, D-
Polkville; Robert Morgan Jr., R-
Kings Mountain; Donald L.
Schenck, D-Lawndale; Glenn
"Johnny" Short, R-Casar; Jack
Shytle, D-Polkville; R. Patrick
Spangler, Jr., D - Shelby; Bill
Weaver, D- Shelby; Harold
Watson, D-Shelby; Gene Willis, D-
Shelby; and Jim Young, D-Shelby.
The seat being vacated by Ollie
Harris - NC Senate District 37 -
will have five candidates in the
Democratic primary, but no
Republican primary. Republican
Dennis Davis is unopposed. The
Democrats are Bobby Rogers,
David Teddy, both of Shelby, Dean
Westmoreland of Grover, Bruce
Scism of Kings Mountain and Billy
Williams of Lattimore.
See Primary, 5-A
KM man charged
with manslaughter
Contrary to reports by some of
the media, the shooting of a South
Carolina man on Dover Avenue
early Sunday morning was not a
"drive-by" shooting, according to
Det. Lt. Raymond Hamrick of the
Cleveland County Sheriff's
Department.
Hamrick, along with Lt. David
Rankin and SBI Agent Bill Lane,
+ are continuing the investigation in-
to the shooting death of Benny
Russell Byars Jr., 37, of Clairborne
St., Apt.D-3, Blacksbury, SC.
Hamrick said the } Juspsct al-
of a Gastonia club Saturday night
and ended in Kings Mountain with
one man dead and another man in-
jured Sunday at 2 a.m..
Monday, the Cleveland County
Sheriff's Department charged
James Mitchem Jr., 38, of 108
Dover Ave., with manslaughter af-
ter investigators consulted prosecu-
tors. Manslaughter refers to an un-
intended slaying that resulted from
a malicious act.
Mitchem was out of jail Tuesday
afternoon after posting a $25,000
bond.
More charges could be filed in
the case pending further investiga-
tion, said McKinney.
McKinney said that Byars was
pronounced dead in his car in the
parking lot of Handy Pantry on
Cleveland Avenue shortly after 2
a.m.. He said that a passenger
drove the car to the Handy Pantry
where a clerk called 911.
McKinney said a passenger,
Christopher Vance Tomlin, 24, of
116 Duncan Rd., Greenville, SC,
was treated and admitted to Kings
Mountain Hospital.
McKinney said a third man,
Larry Dean Smith, of Grover, was
treated and released at Kings
Mountain Hospital.
g
pride began in the parking lot
McKinney gave these details:
McKinney said two men were
involved in a domestic dispute
Saturday night and argued in the
parking lot of a Gastonia club.
When one of the men left the club
he was allegedly followed to Kings
Mountain by the other man and
two friends.
McKinney said he had been told
that Mitchem was awakened by his
brother and neighbor knocking on
his door shortly before 2 a.m.
The report filed by Detective
Hamrick said:
automobile when their vehicle was
struck by- gunfire on Dover Avenue
from two individuals, one armed
with a shotgun and the other with a
pistol.
"Two of the three persons in the
car were struck by gunfire from the
subject firing the pistol," according
to Hamrick.
"The wounded Byars drove
away but he collapsed at the wheel
and his car ran into a field and into
woods and hit a tree. One of the
other two passengers in the car
continued to drive to Kings
Mountain and stopped at the
Handy Pantry on 161 and
Cleveland Avenue. Byars was
found lying face down on his front
seat," Hamrick continued.
"Both victims appeared to have
been struck from the same projec-
tile, the projectile having passed
through the body of Tomlin first,
then into the body of Byars," said
Hamrick.
A clerk in the Handy Pantry told
authorities that two men came into
the store. One man had been shot
in the arm and another man's face
was bloody.
McKinney said the authorities
are still working with the DA's of-
fice to unravel the case.
Solving water and sewer
problems won't be easy
After more than three hours of
wrestling with the problem of an-
ticipated higher water and sewer
bills, the city's utility committee
and three representatives of big in-
dustry found no easy answers
Monday.
Hubert Johnson, plant manager
of Spectrum, the city's biggest wa-
ter user, Ernest Rome, plant man-
ager of Anvil Knitwear and
Norman Lowery of Ruppe Hosiery,
questioned the projected raise to
industry and residential users.
"We are concerned," said
Johnson, who said Spectrum's bill
will be $100,000 more annually for
water and sewer next year if the
city raises industry 10 percent.
"You should be concerned,” said
Councilman Phil Hager, a member
of the committee. "You folks are
paying half the bill.”
Anvil would pay $60,000 more
next year if the hike is approved
July 1.
Lowery said the city's biggest in-
dustries pay 75 percent of the wa-
ter fund and continue to get in-
creases.
Johnson said he is concerned
that that the raises are not an-
nounced in time for industry to
budget the money they need.
"You think these hikes are a cure
all but six months from now we'll
be told again that water rates are
going up,” said Lowery.
Councilman Dean Spears, a
member of the committee, said the
city was going to have to leam to
say no to spending.
Interim City Manager Maxine
Parsons suggested that the city
budget only certain amounts of
money to be transferred from one
See Water, 5-A
ng ‘was i victim, were in an