Xi
;
1
a
~ Cummings,
KM girls win
tournament opener
5-A
‘West Side Story’
set at KMHS .;
City has $1.1 million in bank
Two questions raised by
Councilwoman Norma Bridges
during Tuesday night's City
Council meeting raised some eye-
brows and caused some whispering
among the audience.
First, Bridges pointed out, that
Woodbridge Golf Links contracted
with the city in 1989 to pump raw
water out of Moss Lake at a flat
== of $4,500 a year - but that for
the past three years the city has
billed the golf course for $2,000.
Somewhere along the line,
Bridges said, someone all of a sud-
den dropped the price of water
without coming before the Council,
and she said it has cost the city
$7,500 over the past three years.
Walter/Sewer Supervisor Walt
Ollis said he didn't know who au-
thorized the change and could only
140% of needed names on term petition
assume that it was "an oversight
because of so many personnel
changes."
Bridges and Commissioner Jim
Guyton said any change of contract
should have been presented to the
full City Council for approval.
In an emotional tone which ob-
viously indicated that Mrs. Bridges
was deeply pained, she related how
See Council, 2-A
Ron Massey named
KM football coach
Ron Massey, whose Fayetteville
Seventy-First team came within
one play of reaching the 4-A state
championship game last fall, has
been named head football coach at’
Kings Mountain High School.
Principal Jackie Lavender made
the announcement Wednesday af-
ternoon.
Massey replaces Dennis Hicks,
“who resigned in December after 13
years with the Mountaineers and an
- overall record of 67-60-2 and three
trips to the state 3-A playoffs.
Massey, 36, has a reputation of
turning around losing programs. As
a long-time assistant to coaching
legend Bob Hannah at Burlington
Lumberton, and
Seventy-First, Massey was a key
factor in putting teams into cham-
pionship contention.
Massey spent three years at
Seventy-First in one of the tough-
= est 4-A conferences in the state,
and improved that school's record
= from 3-7 in 1992 to 6-4 and a con-
= ference championship in 1993, and
= 12-3 and a berth in the Eastern
- championship game last fall.
Seventy-First upset perennial
= conference champion Fayetteville
: Byrd in the playoffs and eventually
lost to Jacksonville 19-16 in the
= Eastern finals. Jacksonville went
New group to work for progress
Consortium for Progress, Inc., a
non-profit organization which is
being organized to work toward
progress in government/communi-
ty relations; economic develop-
ment and other community needs,
will hold.a press conference to out-
line its organization and objectives
= on Wednesday, March 15.
A group of business and civic
leaders are serving as the steering
committee for the consortium.
Former Mayor John Henry Moss
on to lose to Crest in the 4-A
championship game at Chapel
Hill's Kenan Stadium.
Seventy-First, trailing 19-16,
was driving for a potential game-
winning touchdown late in the
fourth quarter but had a pass inter-
cepted in the end zone.
A native of Graham and a 1980
graduate of Guilford College,
where he played defensive end for
present Lenoir-Rhyne Coach
Charles Forbes, Massey began his
prep coaching career as an assistant
to Hannah at Burlington
Cummings in the fall of 1980.
When Hannah left Cummings to
coach at Lumberton High School,
Massey followed him there as de-
A 00! di
noved
High School, ard Massey took his }
first head coaching position at
Raleigh Enloe in 1988.
In '88, Enloe qualified for the
state playoffs with a 7-3 record but
lost in the first round to top-ranked
Northern Durham. Enloe finished
3-7 in 1989 and 6-5 in 1990, losing
in the first round of the playoffs to
E.E. Smith of Fayetteville.
Massey was selected KM coach
from a list of over 50 applicants,
including head coaches and assis-
tant coaches in North and South
See Massey, 7-A
and former City Councilman Jim
Childers, who are members of the
committee, said approximately 50
members are in the process of be-
ing approved.
They said the consortium, which
will meet monthly, will be repre-
sented by committees which will
deal with planning, citizens rela-
tions, governmental relations, eco-
nomic development, beautification
and restoration, environmental and
natural resources, citizens founda-
n ator ~Th oJ
The City of Kings Mountain ap-
pears to be coming out of its finan-
cial crisis and should be on good
financial footing by the end of the
fiscal year.
Councilwoman Norman Bridges
announced at Tuesday night's
Council meeting that as of January
31, the city had $1,102,333.03 in
the bank with all bills paid.
Finance Director Maxine
Parsons, who was not at the meet-
ing, said later that while those fig-
ures are correct, $476,876 is desig-
nated for a bond payment,
$282,603 is Powell Bill funds that
can be used only for eligible street
projects, and $83,050 is a perpetual
-care fund, leaving $259,804 in ac-
tual operating funds.
Even though a bond payment of
$600,000 must be made this
month, Mrs. Bridges said she feels
the city will still be in as good, if
not better, financial shape at the
end of the month.
"I think we're going to be able to
stay above water now," she said. "I
KM land use
to be presented
A draft of the long-awaited
Kings Mountain land development
plan, a 84-page document complete
with maps and recommendations,
will be presented by the land use
committee at a public meeting
Tuesday, March 7, at 7 p.m. at City
Hall.
Sandra Albrecht, of the
Centralina Council of
Governments, facilitator, and
Chairman Joe Champion will pre-
sent the land use plan, including a
large wall size transportation and
land use map.
Champion said that public input
know there's a lot of things we
need to do but I feel like we're go-
ing in the right direction."
Councilman Ralph Grindstaff
noted that "what we're doing we're
doing right. We've tuned the cor-
ner" to which Mayor Scott Neisler
replied, "I've been telling you that
all along."
Parsons said the city still isn't
out of the woods but the budget
picture is much better than it has
See Miilion, 12-A
plan
is encouraged. He said the commit- |
tee will take the input from the
meeting and include all the recom- E
Ron Massey, successful head coach at Seventy-First High School in
Fayetteville, has been named head football coach at Kings Mountain
High School.
tions, development, business and
industry, and other areas of service.
Open memberships will be
available and the the consortium
will be a non-profit, non-political
organization.
"The consortium is designed to
work cooperatively with all agen-
"cies that have as their goal progress
for our area," Moss said. "A lot of
people can make contributions to
it. We see great things coming
Kings Mountain People
CURLY HOWARD
from this."
Moss and Childers said the
steering committee has been meet-
ing regularly to formulate a mis-
sion statement and by-laws, and to
obtain charter as a non-profit orga-
nization.
Up to this point, they said, mem-
bership has been by invitation.
Requirements for membership and
other details of the organization
will be revealed at the press con-
ference.
Everyone loves Curly Howard
By ELIZABETH STEWART
of The Herald Staff
His radio audience is his stage and every morning at
5 am. Curly Howard wakes up Kings Mountain with
the sounds of upbeat country and bluegrass music.
The 61-year-old disc jockey at Radio Station
WKMT exudes vim and vitality with a personality that
has permeated the airwaves and expanded the station
audience in the last three years.
"Everyone loves him,"
Kings Mountain's gain.
In 1975 Howard left a showman's career which be-
gan when he was 15 years old. Howard left school to
play his guitar on professional road shows where he
met and became close friends of super star Don
Gibson and was a front man, side man, solo singer and
provided the harmony for such country greats as
Gibson, Don Reno, Clyde Moody, Red Smiley and
The Tennesseans.
In his heyday Howard was a featured performer at
the Virginia Barn Dance in Danville, Va.,
Dominion barn dance in Richmond, Va.
Louisiana Hay Ride, which ranks worldwide in enter-
tainment second only to the Grand Ole Opry.
It was in Louisiana that Howard met Hank Williams
Sr. and Elvis Presley.
"Elvis was a ball of fire in his young days and I'll
says Station Manager Jonas
Bridges who said Belmont Station WCGC's loss was
dations in a final draft ep
makes the decision on acceptance
of the plan.
The current land use plan was
adopted 20 years ago. Champion
said that new development pat-
terns, expanding city boundaries
and changing urban development
and population have created the
need for a new land use plan.
For 13 months a 15-member
committee has worked to develop
the plan. The members, in addition
to Champion, are Terry Baker,
Shirley Brutko, David Faunce,
Roger Goforth, Jim Guyton, Phil
Hager, Ronnie Hawkins, Tim
Miller, Al Moretz, Hal Plonk,
Johnny Reavis, Odus Smith, Gene
White and Ronnie Wilson.
The Kings Mountain planning
area includes the City of Kings
Mountain plus the one mile extra
territorial area in which the city ex-
ercises zoning and sub-division
regulations.
Among key recommendations:
Extensions requested by proper-
ty owners outside the city limits
would go through the same appli-
cation process, however, the prop-
erty owner would be responsible
for 100 percent of the actual cost
less the labor of city employees.
Widen King Street to a three
never forget him," said Curly.
The son of the late Elbert and Nettie Sisk of Shelby,
Howard got his stage name with his career and his
breaks came from his musical talent and his associa-
tion with some of the greats of the music world.,
"I used to have more curly locks than I do today and
so Curly just seemed to click more with Howard than
Sisk," he laughed. He completed his education on the
road through correspondence courses and stayed in
music full-time for 26 years until about 20 years ago.
when he got into disc jockeying and worked weekend:
shows with Keith Fowler, one of the biggest country:
music promoters in the country who books. such bands:
as Alabama. His retirement home is Lake Norman.
where he has lived for 16 years. He was a Belmont
disc jockey for 11 years before taking his present job
three years ago.
said.
the Old
and the
oe
"I love people and I love spinning the records every
day for people who love music as much as I do." he
. , . \ x
One of Curly's first jobs as a front man was to intro-
duce the stars of the show and Bridges, longtime
country music promoter, said Curly was good at his
A good side man like Curly who played rhythm
guitar and harmony enhanced the shows and could
make or break the stars,"
See Curly, 12-A
’ I 3
Canterbury Road to just past Phifer
Road.
Strongly encourage city officials
to meet with Norfolk Southern
Railway officials to engineer a so-
lution to the rough and high grade
crossing at the following streets:
Mountain, Gold, Hawthorne, and
Oak and discuss ways to expedite
railway repairs.
Encourage city officials to pro-
vide additional paved parking
spaces in the downtown area.
Revise the Subdivision
Ordinance to restrict lots from hay-
ing direct access onto major thor-
oughfares by requiring reverse
frontage lots within new. subdivi-
sions.
Revise the subdivision ordinance
to include requirements for side-
walks, curb and gutter in both the
city and the extra territorial jugis-
diction along residential streets and
collectors.
Encourage the construction of
apartments for all rent categories
except low income.
Allow multifamily develop-
ments with up to six dwelling units
per acre by right and allow devel-
opments from six to eight units per
See Land, 12-A
said Bridges who often gets