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VOL. 106 NO. 41
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Thursday, October 13, 1994 Kings Mountain, NC 28086 « 50¢
STILL THE CHIEF
KM's top cop says story of his leaving "totally wrong'
Chief of Police Warren Goforth labeled as "to-
tally wrong" a front-page news story in Monday's
Shelby Star that reported that he weis leaving
Kings Mountain for a security job at Cleveland
Memorial Hospital.
‘| have no plans to leave Kings Mountain," said
the Chief who came to Kings Mountain to head
the 47-person department in June 1987.
Sam Cooper, CMH vice-president in charge of
security, confirmed that the Kings Mountain Chief
has never applied for the security job nor been
considered for the position.
Goforth has contacted a lawyer ancl said he
may sue the daily newspaper and senior staff
writer Roberta Borden.
Borden quoted three unnamed "law enforce-
ment sources and others that Kings Mountain
Police Chief Warren Goforth had applied for and
gotten the job as security chief at CMH."
The Star story said that Shelby City Manager
David Wilkinson had confirmed that the: hospital
had discontinued its security contract with the
Shelby Police Department.
Commissioner candidates
favor a merger of schools
"And one of the county's top law enforcement
officers is reported to be joining the hospital as
the head of a new security department,” said
Borden.
Cooper told the Herald Tuesday that six officers
from the Shelby Police Department rotated at the
hospital with two people from Spartan Security
but that he is in process of interviewing several
people for the head of a new security department
and has narrowed the field of applicants this
week.
"Warren Goforth is not a contender for the posi-
tion. | have never spoken to him about the job nor
have | talked with .anyone from The Star," said
Cooper.
"Warren is upset and it's understandable," said
Cooper.
“| categorically deny it," said Goforth, who said
he has been getting calls from not only city offi-
cials but other citizens since the Star story hit the
newsstands at mid-afternoon Monday.
Goforth said the rumors did not come from
within his department. "| trust my people and we
look after one another," he said.
Goforth described his staff as "family," citing
the recent example of caring when the staff got
together and started a drive for funds to help
Officer Billy Fredell when he was hospitalized for
major surgery.
Goforth did not deny that the rumors could
have been politically motivated.
The local police staff includes sworn and re-
serve officers, clerical staff, and school crossing
guards.
City Manager Chuck Nance said Monday that
but he felt the story was inaccurate. "Warren is off
for a couple of days but I'm sure | would not have
had to read it in the Star if the Chief were thinking
of taking another job," he said.
"Miss Rhyne's sources are inaccurate and to-
tally false," said Goforth. "The Star's story was
very unprofessional.”
Goforth said he had not been contacted by The
Star before the story was published nor has he
- been contacted since.
"| expect we'll be going to court," said the visi-
bly upset Chief.
The majority of the candi-
dates for two seats open Nov. 8
on the board of county commis-
sioners say school merger is in-
gvitable and they would favor
it.
"We don't need but one boss
of the three school systems and
we need to take a closer look at
this issue, although | think it will
be state-mandated at some
point," said Republican Johnny
Short, who said he believes
community pride goes away
with school merger.
Incumbent Democrat Ralph
Gilbert said eliminating two su-
perintendent positions would
save $200,000 but he wouldn't
vote for merger for that reason.
"Rowan County added good
prograims to its existing school
systerns and they merged ad-
ministration but schools stayed
where they were," he said.
Republican Jim Crawley said
commissioners should not be
afraid to examine the facts.
"This iss an emotional issue but |
had rather see us do things on
our terms rather than have the
state dictate to us. We need to
look for the better education of
the kids."
Democrat Pat Spangler said
he would vote for school con-
solidation. "The state is gong to
mandate it in the near future,”
he said.
See County, 3-A
Candidates for three seats in the N. C. 48th House from Cleveland-Rutherford Counties, left
to right, meet the public during a forum Monday night at Cleveland Community College. They
are Dean Allen, John Weatherly, Edith Lutz, Jack Hunt, Debbie Clary and Andy Dedmon.
House candidates would put lottery to vote
The five candidates for three
seats in the N.C. House 48th
District say they are personally
against gambling but four of
the five would support a vote by
the people on the controversial
lottery issue.
But Republican incumbent
John Weatherly of Kings
Mountain called the lottery "a
suckered deal all the way
around" and said that putting
the lottery issue on a ballot
would mean that legislators
sanctioned it. He said legisla-
tors can vote the will of their
constituents on the floor of the
House.
Democrat incumbent Jack
Hunt of Lattimore said he would
hate to see the state get in the
gambling business and agreed
that even if a vote is taken by
the people that some constitu-
tional experts say it might inot
be binding.
Democrat incumbent Edith
Lutz of Lawndale said she took
a straw vote of her constituents
when she went to the House as
a freshman Representative
nearly 20 years ago and found
they did not favor a lottery.
Political newcomer Debbie
Clary of Shelby, Republican,
said she: would vote the wishes
of the people but that citizens
had the right to vote on the is-
sue. "Governments should not
tell them how they can or can-
not spend their money."
Incumbent Democrat Andy
Dedmon said he had heard a
recurring theme that people
want to vote on the issue.
Republican candidate Dean
Allen said he had heard no
clamoring for a lottery by the
people he has seen in
Rutherford and Cleveland
Counties.
The candidates responded to
five questions prepared by the
Cleveland Chamber during a
50-minute forum Monday night
at Cleveland County College
which Cleveland President
Steve Thornburg moderated.
The candidates said they were
all qualified during a brief intro-
duction and ended the program
See House, 3-A
Mary's Grove doesn't want airport
The residents of the quiet
Mary's Grove Community took a
message to a three-county re-
gional airport steering commit-
tee Friday that they are ready
for a fight.
They don't want an airpar-
k/airport in their back yards.
"Hunt another spot," said Pat
Carpenter, who joined some
two dozen of her neighbors op-
posing an airport, even though
an economic feasibility study for
a regional-type airport won't be
completed for months and it
could be years before the pro-
ject gets off the ground.
Several residents of the area
said they started their protest
movement because they fear
they may have to give up prop-
erty that has been in their fami-
lies for generations.
And others said they don't
want noise from multi-engine
cargo planes and corporate jets
disturbing the rural tranquility
they enjoy.
Carpenter said she and her
neighbors took seriously ru-
mors flying for weeks that a re-
gional airport could be located
at some time in their area.
They started knocking on
doors and in two weeks gath-
ered 1,000 signatures. They ex-
pect to have 1,000 more at an
October 15 meeting at 10 a.m.
at Mary's. Grove Church.
But Al Moretz, Kings
Mountain civil engineer and co-
chairman of the coalition with
Joe Carpenter of Gastonia, said
that site selection was prema-
ture and had not been dis-
cussed. He reminded that the
geographical area had been ex-
panded to include three coun-
ties, Cleveland, Gaston and
Lincoln.
Moretz said the Coalition
welcomed public input, neces-
sary for the project to fly.
A 1990 Gaston County study
targeted the Mary's Grove com-
munity off N.C. 216 as a prime
location for a regional airport.
Moretz said the current study
has nothing to do with the 1990
study.
"We've been very open," said
Moretz but Mrs. Carpenter and
others at the meeting dis-
agreed. She said the coalition
sometimes gives the appear-
ance at least of acting secretly.
She and others at the meeting
said they wanted to see more
about the meetings in the news-
papers.
Moretz said that the media
had been invited to all the meet-
ings, as well as the general
public, and that he would per-
sonally contact the local and
area newspapers and reiterate
that the current airport/airpark
study has nothing to do with the
1990 study which targeted 216
and the Mary's Grove communi-
ty which straddles the
Cleveland-Gaston line as a pro-
posed site.
Consultant Richard Bisanar
updated the progress of the
study at a breakfast meeting at
See Airport, 4-A
Candidates disagree on veto power
The two candidates for 37th
District Senate - Dean
Westmoreland of Grover and
Dennis Davis - agreed on most
questions raised at Monday
night's forum but on the issue of
a veto for the governor they
were miles apart.
Westmoreland said he would
never vote for the proposal un-
less North Carolina's governor
gives up some of the power he
now holds, including appoint-
ment of 3500 people to commit-
tees, chief budget officer and
head of the highway depart-
ment, among other things.
Davis argued that North
Carolina is the only state in the
nation that does not give its
governor veto power and sug-
gested he should be given line-
item veto.
"We don't need an Imperial
Potentate who can rule by de-
cree," said Westmoreland, a
Democrat.
The two longtime educators
also disagreed on the leader-
ship of the House/Senate.
Davis, a Republican, said he
would like to keep his options
open.
Westmoreland said that since
See Senate, 3-A
Pat Carpenter holds up petitions with 1,000 signatures of
Mary's Grove Community residents opposed to an airpark/air-
port. Carpenter expects to get another 1,000 signatures at a
meeting of local residents Saturday at Mary's Grove Church.
CHIEF WARREN GOFORTH
Sheriff hopefuls
say training poor
Democrat Dan Crawford and
Republican Ward Kellum, one
of whom will be elected the new
Cleveland County Sheriff Nov.
8, predicted no major changes
in law enforcement Tuesday
but both said they wanted im-
provements in the officer's train-
ing program they called "very
poor."
They differed on only three
questions of 10 posed by the
Cleveland Chamber before a
packed audience in Cleveland
Community College Auditorium.
Crawford said there is too
much duplication of funds for
services and that he would
push for an interchange of K-9
Units among the county and
cities and a county-wide cross
training of officers for drug in-
vestigations.
The drug problem has no ge-
ographical boundary," said
Crawford, saying that Shelby,
Kings Mountain and Cleveland
County officers needed to work
together on training and investi-
gations.
Kellum said he will host town
meetings in all areas of the
county if he is elected sheriff but
he would have to study levels
of consolidation, if any, of ser-
vices between county and mu-
nicipal law enforcement agen-
cies.
Crawford and Kellum dis-
agreed on opening a satellite
office in the Greater Kings
Mountain area.
“| would use any excess mon-
ey from the county commission-
ers for more e ower on the
1
See Sheriff, 3-A
School Board
meets at Central
Central School, a landmark
for learning in Kings Mountain,
reached another significant
milestone Monday night.
The three-story facility on
Ridge Street, which was recent-
ly refurbished to house the
District Office, hosted its first
School Boar meeting in a spa-
cious Board Room (formerly
two large classrooms) on the
main floor.
The Central project was the
last of a prioritized list of im-
provements suggested by the
1981 Blue Ribbon Committee
on Facility Improvements.
Former Board members Doyle
Campbell and Paul Hord point-
ed out that it was the intent of
that committee - and the Board
which approved the facility im-
provements - that the Central
project be the last because
members first wanted to make
the needed improvements in
schools.
See School, 3-A