Newspapers / The Kings Mountain herald. / June 2, 1994, edition 1 / Page 1
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EE 27 pp Scholarships, awards given at KMHS 1B i Remedial summer RA 1 rr 1 Yo { —~ (firs. if VOL. 106 NO. 22 Thursday, June 2, 1994 D DAY REMEMBERED Kings Mountain's Hugh Falls one of "lucky ones" who survived invasion of Normandy The Allies landing in Normandy June 6, 1944 is a day that Hugh Falls will never forget. It has been nearly 50 years since the Invasion of Europe by the United States, Great Britain and Canada but for the retired Kings Mountain farmer it seems like yes- terday. After the fighting when Falls’ outfit returned to Bremerhaven, Germany, his company waited six months to get a ride home. There were no ships to transport them. "lI was among the lucky ones," said Falls, 78, who never went back to Normandy but has trav- eled all over the world and attend- ed about 20 reunions of his old out- fit, the Harbor Craft Co. 330. Falls, more familiarly known as Hugh to his Kings Mountain friends and to his World War II buddies as Alvin, was one of 200 men in that company but the num- ber of survivors has dwindled with the passage of time. "It was at 1:30 a.m. on June 6 that parachutists began dropping beyond the beaches to cut railroad lines, burn bridges and seize land- ing fields," said Falls. "A great number of mine sweep- ers had cleared the Channel from the North Sea to Spain and the It was 1:30 am on June 6 that parachutists began dropping beyond the beaches fo cut railroad lines, bum bridges and: seize landing fields." Allies had released 6,000 tons of bombs on the coastal batteries. The last one hour before the landings, the United States' heavy bombers dropped 3,000 tons of bombs on the gigantic fortifications. "It was at 6:30 a.m. on D-Day that the first wave of infantry and armored troops waded ashore on a 50 mile front. Opposition from the battle-hardened Germans was fierce as was that of the Allies. Many of those trying to establish a beachhead lost their lives. Bombing continued and so did the slaughter. "I was one of the lucky ones," said Falls. Drafted at age 23 and in Europe in the thick of things dur- ing World War II, Falls' outfit han- dled boats and towed artificial har- + bors from England to the point of - Hugh Falls invasion in France, never knowing that those harbors were top secret of the military. The importance of his assign- ment was far greater than the young farm boy from the Patterson Grove Community had anticipat- ed. The military later said that was the best secret of the entire war. No harbors, no invasion. From Charleston, SC Falls was sent to Camp Shanks, NY and then overseas. | The French liner Acquitania car- ried 10,000 troops compact style. The sleeping quarters had ham- mocks, one above the other four or five feet high. These swinging beds had swivels on both ends, so they would not tilt as the ship rolled with the waves. It was five stories tall and the top deck was mounted From Bristol, England Falls’ outfit moved to South Hampton to prepare for the D-Day invasion. "We watched the invasion forces as they passed though the streets, a continuous parade day and night," said Falls. The greatest armada in history was now ready to make its way to the Normandy coast of France. Falls belonged to the Harbor Craft Company 330 Transportation Corps and helped tow artificial harbors from South Hampton, England to the beaches of Normandy, France. "We could see the amassment of 5,000 large ships and 4,000 smaller vessels of every description that could maneuver more quickly and easily," said Falls. "There were thousands of tanks loaded on land- ing crafts, 11,000 aircrafts and al- most three million men. Added to that were four million tons of am- munition from which 200 tons were being fired at the German coastal batteries every minute dur- ing the invasion and for a period of days preceding the landing. "Sixteen million tons of ammu- nition were being stored in England reserved for the mother of all invasions as Stormin’ Norman would say." See Falls, 11-A Council ends PO project Mayor Scott Neisler said Council threw money out the win- dow Tuesday night when it termi- nated the contract with architects to do the design for the old post of- fice, originally designated by Council as the home of the new law enforcement center. The city had entered into an agreement with Woolpert & Associates and paid the firm $46,000. At the April planning session of the board, members voted to give the old post office to the Kings Mountain Historical Society and at some future time build a new police station. "This is very wasteful when we are trying to save money," said Neisler." This bothers me that we are doing this kind of thing." City engineer Tom Howard said architects found the old post office building structurally sound. Joyce Falls Cashion,10-year veteran on the Cleveland County Board of Commissioners, was nar- rowly defeated Tuesday by politi- cal newcomer Pat Spangler of . Shelby .in her bid for the Democratic nomination for one of two seats open on the board in November. Former Charlotte Mayor Sue Myrick swept past David Balmer for the Republican nomination in the 9th Congressional District, winning 67 percent of the vote in Mecklenburg and carrying all but one precinct, and winning 74 per- City Council approves matching gas rate City Council backed the utilities commission Tuesday and voted unanimously to match its gas rates with the lower price of fuel oil, which fluctuates monthly, adding a basic facilities charge to the bills of industrial customers. The service charge for being on the city's system will guarantee a minimum monthly income from in- dustry even if it goes to fuel oil for a period Utilities Director Jimmy Maney said this policy, recommended by Heath and Associates, the city's Members of the graduating class of 1994 with anti-aircraft guns. at Kings Mountain High School take the long walk down the hill from the school to John Gamble Stadium for Friday night's commencement ceremonies. Over 200 se- niors received diplomas and 71 percent of them plan to continue their education. . Cashion beaten, Myrick wins cent of the vote in Gaston County and 69 percent of the vote in Cleveland County. The unofficial totals in the coun- ty commission race were: Cashion, 2,595; Spangler, 2,718. "It was a close race and of course I am disappointed,” said Cashion, who carried all four Kings Mountain precincts. The voter turnout for a run-off Primary was higher than Elections Supervisor Debra Blanton had pre- dicted. "I am always glad to eat my words," sad Blanton, who said that 18 percent of the registered voters natural gas consulting engineers, allows the city to remain competi- tive with fuel oil prices. Maney said there will still be a shortfall in the city's gas revenues but he could not estimate how much. "We will pick up the loss if gas comes down and oil goes up." Maney said the city sold gas fast month at $3.65 per MCE compared with No. 6 fuel oil price of $2.89. "We can't sell gas cheaper than we buy it," he said. The big three users of city gas, Anvil Knitwear, Clevemont Mills in Cleveland County went to the polls. In Kings Mountain a total of 1,278 people went to the polls, 925 Democrats and 353 Republicans. The unofficial vote totals at the four Kings Mountain boxes were: Bethware, '163 Democrats and 78 Republicans; Grover, 49 Republicans and 120 Democrats; East Kings < Mountain, 256 Democrats and 71 Republicans; and West Kings Mountain, 155 Republicans and 386 Democrats. In November Myrick faces Democrat Rory Blake. and Spectrum, turned their pumps back on the city system last week after Spectrum followed the other two industries and pulled out, com- plaining that Kings Mountain had priced them out, saying the city's rate was higher than the cost to the plants for using fuel oil. Maney said industry apparently finds the solution acceptable. Mayor Scott Neisler said that No. 6 fucl oil is cheaper but with winter the price goes up generally. "Oil is not the panacea that indus- try thinks it is because of the strict H i / JOYCE CASHION EPA regulations, extra pollution and maintenance headaches. "I'm uncomfortable that some in- dustries are getting a break and others are not." Councilman Jim Guyton, chair- man of the utilities committee, said he is proud of the agreement reached by the city and industry and that both are working together "1 look forward to only a good re- lationship.” Fifty-seven percent of the city's natural customers come from in- dustrial users. Suber blames Council for ills A standing-room-only crowd es- timated at about 175 people cheered Tuesday night when in- dustrialist Claude Suber pointed the finger at City Council for the "turmoil in the last six months that has left Kings Mountain coming apart at the seams." Specifically, Suber, who said he represented investors, business owners and residents of Kings Mountain, charged, among other things, that employee morale in the city is at its worst. "This usually reflects poor man- agement or goals of various groups which may not be in the public in- terest,” he said. Suber said that 40 percent of the Tuesday night crowd were city em- ployees "who wonder what will happen to their jobs now that upper management is being put to public humiliation." How can they feel secure and why do you think that employee morale is so low?" he asked. "[ receive no answer," he said. The applause was loud and long. Mayor Scott Neisler rapped the gavel and said he would tolerate no outbursts. Suber questioned the qualifica- tions of the current interim city manager and Councilman Dean Spears said she was qualified and he would reply in writing. Councilman Jim Guyton re- sponded 'to a question about the hiring of the new manager and ex- plained that the board will conduct interviews on Friday and Saturday. Responding to Suber, Guyton said that Maxine Parsons is not a candidate for the office of city manager. Council members agreed that Mrs. Parsons will be offered the position of finance director. Suber said he read in the news- paper that the board was consider- ing employing a manager at the lowest possible salary. Spears said the question should be put to the reporter who wrote the story. Councilman Rick Murphrey said that the board will look at the best qualifications for the job for the best price. Suber said that the public has been misled about the fund bal- ances and the state of the city's fi- nances. "Would you consider bringing in an outside auditor, no reflection on the current auditor?" he asked. Murphrey said that the fund bal- ance deficit varies depending on CLAUDE SUBER the number of accounts payable versus accounts receivable. "The auditor told us there was a negative cash flow in the general fund. We're not trying to hide any- thing. "As soon as I saw the zero bal- ances on the books I knew some- thing wasn't right." Murphy said he considered em- ploying an outside auditor proper. "I'm only trying to do my civic duty on the board," said Murphrey, responding to Suber's claim that he is running the city as mayor pro tem. "I'll be glad when we get a city manager and I'm trying to do all 1 can basically to help all I can. " Parsons acknowledged that the working capital in the budget was about a half million dollars short and acknowledged that the city has been behind in paying bills. But Suber said that if money is in the bank or expected to be in the bank in 30 days that the city is- n't in financial trouble. "We don't get money within 30 days to make the payments,” said Parsons. Spears said a representative of Duke Power was here recently to discuss a more proper payment schedule. Grindstaff was commended for cutting his pay $100 a month. Suber asked why other council members didn't follow his example if the financial condition is as criti- cal as citizens are "led to believe." Councilman Jim Guyton said he worked four or five nights a week on city business."If $300 a month is too much I'm in the wrong busi- See Suber, 11-A Memo stirs controversy A memo from a city department head to members of the city utility commission has stirred up con- cerns among the industrial commu- nity that surfaced at Tuesday's City Council meeting. ' Claude Suber, President of Kings Mountain Knit, asked if Council was considering or sug- gesting termination of its Crowders Creek wastewater agree- ment with Gastonia. "Do you as Council understand the impact this would have for fu- ture growth of Kings Mountain?" asked Suber. Councilman Jim Guyton, who chairs the utility commission, said there was no way in the immediate future for Kings Mountain to even look at such an idea. "We'd have to win a lottery to consider such a thing," he said. Councilman Ralph Grindstaff said he had heard a rumor but that Council would have to look at all aspects, noting that the city would save some money in the long run in operating costs but would have to spend money. At the May 23 utilities meeting Councilman Dean Spears asked for an update on Kings Mountain's agreement with Gaston County for treatment of wastewater at the Water Crowders Creek Waste Treatment Plant. Spears questioned the cost of treatment by Gastonia versus Kings Mountain's treating its own sewage. "I made no recommendation to terminate any arrangement with Gastonia," said Ollis. "After I was asked I sent a memo which ex- plained the pros and cons of the sit- uation as I saw it." Ollis wrote two memos to the utility commission, one on May 8 and one on May 23. He distributed the May 23 memo after the meet- ing on May 23. In the first memo Ollis explained that when a plant, such as Kings Mountain's Pilot Creek Plant, reaches 80 percent of permitted ca- pacity that engineering and plans must be in preparation for expan- sion. This means that when 90 per- cent of the capacity is reached that construction must begin, Ollis said that 80 percent of Pilot's permitted capacity is 4.8 million, 90 percent is 5.4 million. “If we were to add the 1.482 mil- lion sent to Crowders Creek to the 4.025 treated at Pilot Creek we would have averaged 5.507 which puts us above the 90 percent fac- tor.” he said. See Memo, 11-A
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