Herald to publish
Wednesday next week
~
= City Finance Director Maxine Parsons is send-
‘ing a message through an attorney to Mayor Scott
Neisler to "get off my back."
The mayor called for Parsons' resignation as
Interim City Manager in open session several
‘months ago. Since then Parsons said she has
‘been blamed for errors found in electrical utility
billings that go back to 1992 when she was not
‘Finance Director and she is tired of hearing innu-
‘endoes implying incompetence or criminal mis-
‘conduct.
"I have no qualms with City Council," she said.
’- Five of seven City Council members contacted
"by The Herald had little comment.
"The mayor said he had no comment on the ad-
vice of City Attorney Mickey Corry .
"I just read the letter and I don't care to com-
‘ment, " said Councilman Phil Hager. "I would
like to see the city return to smooth sailing. If
Dedication Sunday
at Central School
Holiday Inn
to feed senior citizens
on Thanksgiving
3-A
Parsons to mayor:
mistakes were made, let's do a root canal and cap
it. We're all human." #
Councilman Ralph Grindstaff said "I don't hav
a problem with Maxine retaining a lawyer. She
has the same rights you and I have to protect our
names."
Councilwoman Norma Bridges said, "I am sur-
prised that Maxine didn't go to the City Manager
first before she contacted a lawyer. I don't know
of anyone who is trying to slander her. I hope the
matter will be resolved soon."
Councilman Dean Spears had no comment nor
did Councilman Jim Guyton. "This really does
not concern me," said Guyton.
Councilman Rick Murphrey was in Nassau.
The Herald was unable to contact Councilman
Jerry White.
In a response to Gary L. Murphy of Dozer,
Miller, Polland & Murphy, City Manager Chuck
Nance wrote on November 10, "I have worked
with Maxine for two months and I have talked
with the city auditor Darrell Keller. Neither he
nor I have noted any criminal conduct nor incom-
petence on Maxine's part."
The letter from Murphy under date of
November 4 was sent to Neisler, the city attorney
and the seven members of City Council.
"If local government officials want to point
fingers and affix blame, they need to blame the
correct people. We welcome an outside audit and
“if there has been wrongdoing we demand an SBI
investigation. Maxine has done nothing wrong
and any independent nonpolitical investigation
will so indicate. She will not continue to have her
credibility and character impugned," Murphy said
in the letter.
Murphy said his firm has been retained by
Parsons to assist her in "stopping the attacks that
Veteran's Day
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have been made against her person- fes-
sional integrity." !
Murphy said in the letter to ine Mayor and
Council he has reviewed the correspondence be-
tween the Local Government Commission and
Mayor Neisler. i
Murphy said in the letter, "The Local
Government Commission analyzes your audited
financial statements each year and admonishes
your mayor to take corrective measures. Each
year under Neisler and City Manager George
Wood those recommendations were totally ig-
nored and your city's financial condition wors:
ened. Finally, you have someone who is accu-
rately reporting the city's dire financial straits and
essential corrective measures and you want to
shoot the messenger.
New KM school employees
observed here
-: The 750 flags on graves in
Veterans Park of Mountain Rest
Cemetery and the lighting of an
Eternal Flame added to the
solemnness of Veterans Day
1994 Friday.
- "The New Testament writer
tells us that the greatest love is
to give life for a friend," said
Mayor Scott Neisler who read
scripture and presented Kings
Mountain Senator J. Ollie
Harris, who gave a brief ad-
dress. Cindi Alexander Wood
led the singing of "The National
War II veteran, pointed out the
flag-decorated )graves at either
end of the big cross and around
the flag pole where the dead of
World War I, World War II,
Korea and Vietr im are laid to
rest. He said the, Veterans Park
was dedicated ig the city-owned
cemetery about { 0 years ago.
=. The mayor rehd the names of
the deceased servicemen from
all wars and Paul Fulton played
"Taps" to end the ceremonies.
= Harris, who fought in the
See Vet Day, 16-A
to right, light the eternal flame at
vices Friday.
Mayor Scott Neisler, city employees Ricky Putnam and John Clemmer and Senator J. Ollie Harris, left
Veterans Park of Mountain Rest Cemetery during Veterans Day ser-
Minority commissioners recommended
: The Cleveland County Board of
Commissioners Tuesday appointed
its first two black commissioners,
the final step in settling a lawsuit
with the NAACP.
The nominations of Willie
McIntosh, a 13-year Shelby city
police lieutenant, and Bobby
Malloy, a Hoechst-Celanese em-
ployee, must now be approved by
the NAACP or the case could wind
up before a federal judge for reso-
lution, said Attorney Julian Wray.
The board bypassed the en-
dorsement of Kings Mountain
Commissioner Phil Hager and
Larry Corry, former county school
board member, finalists by the
NAACP among 15 of 22 people
who had indicated interest in the
two seats.
The appointments expand the
county board to seven
members. The two minority mem-
bers are to take office with the two
recently elected commissioners Jim
Crawley and Ralph Gilbert in
December.
McIntosh, who was greeted by
well-wishers after the meeting, said
it didn't bother him that he didn't
make the final list picked by the
NAACP.
"The ultimate decision was the
board's and we'll just have to wait
and see if the NAACP goes along
with the choices," said
Commission chairman Cecil
Dickson.
The NAACP had been pushing
for minority representation since
1989, when it approached the
Life special for Louise Blanton
By ELIZABETH STEWART
of The Herald Staff
* Quiet moments with her five-
year-old granddaughter are pre-
cious for Louise Blanton, 64,
who is fighting cancer.
Jennifer Nicole Griffin,
daughter of Teresa and Donnie
Griffin, climbs into Grandma's
bed often in the late hours of the
night and puts her arms around
her.
The closeness that Blanton
has with her family and the re-
lationship that she has built
with cheerful Hospice volunteer
Sherri Goforth, wife of Kings
Mountain Police Chief Warren
Goforth, are especially mean-
ingful to her, she said this
week.
‘On a recent evening Blanton
went Halloween trick or treat-
ing with her granddaughter at a
church party and stopped at the
home of friends.
-She especially
Hospice friends.
-™] didn't know there could be
such caring people,” she said. "I
really appreciate what Hospice
enjoys
has done for me over the past
year."
Little things like a guard rail
for her bath tub from Hospice
are appreciated. Blanton hasn't
taken advantage of an offered
walker or wheelchair but she
says she will wait until she ab-
solutely has to have that equip-
ment.
"It's hard for me to stand and
I lose my balance sometime but
I want to walk myself as long
as I can," she said.
And Blanton still styles her
own short hair the way she likes
to wear it, even though she said
it's tough to raise her arms to
cut it.
"Never give up" is her philos-
ophy.
"Good attitude means every-
thing."
Blanton was first diagnosed
with ovarian cancer in 1991 and
completed six months of treat-
ments. Recently she moved in-
to her daughter's home and
Teresa quit her job at Cable
Link to be with her mother.
"We consider Hospice our ex-
tended family and Mother loves
them," said Teresa of the
Hospice workers who are regu-
lar visitors.
Melissa Burroughs, Blanton's
Hospice nurse, has been a regu-
lar visitor for a year and she and
her patient laugh and talk as
Burroughs tends to health
needs. Lucy Pasquier, the social
worker, and Patty McMurry,
Director of Patient/Family
Services, call regularly at the
Blanton home and on Tuesday
they all said they feel an affec-
tion for all their patients.
"Louise is just a special lady,"
said Patty.
“Just look at her in that jog-
ging suit and trim figure," said
Burroughs who teases Blanton
and gains a big smile from
Grandma and granddaughter
who wants to listens to her heart
beat through the stethoscope
and watches the nurse take
blood pressure.
Blanton retired in July 1991
from area textile mills and re-
called that some of her happiest
See Hospice, 16-A
county asking for a change in vot-
ing methods. The county proposed
five districts, with two at large
seats, and the NAACP approved.
The county didn't get the plan to
the U. S. Justice Department in
time for the 1994 elections and the
NAACP responded by filing a law-
suit suit signed by Rev. M. L.
Campbell of Kings Mountain. A
federal judge then appointed a me-
diator to bring the two sides to-
gether.
See Cashion, 16-A
ing by local police, instead
which would run about $1,000 a
may face criminal checks
New employees in the Kings
Mountain District Schools will
soon be required to undergo a
criminal records check, which
includes fingerprinting, in a
new policy under discussion by
the Board of Education.
Assistant Supt. of Personnel
Ronnie Wilson recommended
Monday that the board work
with the SBI to conduct the
check and go with fingerprint-
of
A
LAE
1 plo
year.
"A name check would not be
sufficient," said Wilson, who
recommended that the policy go
into effect January 1 as a condi-
tion of a person's final employ-
ment with the system.
The board is expected to ap-
prove the new policy in
December.
"We've never had an employ-
ee with this problem," said
McRae who agreed that the step
is a small price to pay to be ab-
solutely certain that this kind of
problem would not occur.
"There have been horror sto-
ries coming out of some school
systems and we don't want that
to happen in Kings Mountain,"
he said.
Another policy the board will
take action on next month is
one requiring drug testing.
Kings Mountain Schools
started drug testing two years
ago of any employee operating
a vehicle on behalf of the
school. Wilson said the test is
mandatory for a school system
of 50 or more employees and is
See Checks, 16-A
Elementary
test scores up
Gains were made by Kings
Mountain elementary students
on end of grade and end of
course tests but comparison in
state percentiles with Kings
Mountain in several high
school courses showed a drop
from 1992-93.
End of grade and end of
‘compared with state results by
Director of Student Support
Services Jean Thrift Monday
night to the Kings Mountain
Board of Education.
In 1992-93, U. S. History
students in Kings Mountain stu-
dents were 22.3 percentile
points ahead of the state and
this year students were 10
points below the state. Physics
students had a strong showing
of 63.6 compared with 55.0
statewide. Algebrae II students’
a 61.0 percentile compared with
57.4 statewide. In 1993-94 U.S.
History students were at 37.9
compared with 48.2, Physics
students were at 65.2 compared
with 55.6 in the state, Physical
Science students were at 49.8
compared with 48.6, Geometry
students were 44.4 compared
with 54.1, English I students
were 47.6 compared with 50.6;
Chemistry students placed 45.0
compared with 56.4, Biology
students had a strong showing
of 62.2 compared with 55.6:
Algebrae II students also
showed a plus of 2.1 but
Algebra I students showéd a mi-
See Tests, 16-A
Huspice social worker Lucy Pasquier, left, five-year-old Jennifer Nicole Griffin and her grandmother,
Louise Blanton, and Hospice nurse Melissa Burroughs enjoy pleasant conversation during a recent visit at
the Blanton home in the Oak Grove Community.