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SPECIAL EDITION
Inside Today's Herald
going into Hall of Fame......OR
Werner named Woman of Year...
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County approves
No one was more jubilant than
KM Hospital Board Chairman J.
C. Bridges Monday afternoon
when the county board of commis-
sioners okayed the lease of KM
Hospital.
"My board has worked long and
hard for this day," said Bridges,
who was backed by about 20
Kings Mountain area residents, in-
cluding former retired KMH
. Administrator Grady Howard and
Mrs. Howard, his brother, Glee
Edwin Bridges, Mayor Scott
Neisler and hospital trustees
Connie Allison and Dr. John C.
Mc@ill.
"There won't be any Kings
Mountain Hospital as you envision
it today," said County Attorney
Julian Wray, minutes before the
county board okayed the deal with
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Hospital
Authority.
Wray said the lease meant that
the present board would be no
more and that the Charlotte
Mecklenburg Hospital Authority
would be in charge.
But CMHA President Harry
Health leaders see progressive times ahead]
Nurkin said the lessee will provide
for the health care needs of the
Kings Mountain community but
CMHA is not the permanent owner
of the hospital. The CMHA will
still 1pok to local leadership and to
the cpunty board of commission-
ers.
Commission Chairman Cecil
Dickson publicly applauded
Bridges for his efforts and thanked
KMH Administrator Hank Neal,
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Hospital
See Reaction, 11-A
“borhoods, downtown development,
‘ty appearance, recreation and open
Council approves
new land use plan
Kings Mountain's official land
development plan was approved by
City Council Tuesday.
The Mayor asked Sandra
Albrecht, of Centralina Council of
Government, to incorporate in the
plan the city's priorities for gas line
extensions.
Albrecht and members of the
land study committee have con-
ducted two public hearings to in-
vite citizen input and have held
about 13 meetings over the past’
year to develop the plan which out-
lines nine strategic areas for
growth and includes maps.
Albrecht gave a brief review at
Tuesday night's Council meeting.
She said the land development plan
includes recommendations on
transportation, housing and neigh-
economic development, communi-
space, historic preservation, public
utilities and environmental quality
.e
‘and general planning.
Three does coming, one leaving town
Three doctors will be moving to
Kings Mountain this summer to
open new practices but a familiar
face will be missing.
Dr. Walter Minor, who has
worked for Kings Mountain
Hospital at the former McGill
Clinic on Watterson Street, will be
returning to his home in Fuquay
Varina in June and possibly to an
assignment in Anchorage, Alaska.
"The hospital invited Dr. Minor
to set up a family practice here but
J. C. Bridges, chairman of the Kings Mountain Hospital Board of Trustees, standing, responds to ques-
tions of county commissioners.
he declined, saying that since he is
semi-retired he prefers to work for
someone else rather than start a
new practice,” said KMH
Administrator Hank Neal.
"It would not be fair for us to
employ him and compete with the
two family practitioners and in-
ternist who are opening their own
practices," she said.
"We were lucky to get Dr. Minor
and are pleased that he has been so
popular with his patients.”
Meantime, patients of Dr. Minor
have signed petitions, hoping that
the {doctor will stay.
Aileene Ross, who initiated the
two petitions, said that 200 people
have signed it and she hopes to add
more names to present to Neal.
"We just hate to lose this caring
man," said Ross.
But Neal said that KMH
Medical Services will close in the
former McGill Clinic June 30 and
Dr. John C. McGill, who owns the
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A
ospital merger
Cleveland County commission-
ers Monday gave the green light to
a proposed merger by Kings
Mountain Hospital with Charlotte-
Mecklenburg Hospital Authority.
By a 4-1 vote the commissioners
approved a 17-year lease with
CMHA which includes an initial
CMHA investment of $2 million in
the facility, dissolves the board of
trustees and establishes a local ad-
visory board.
Since 1981, Kings Mountain
Hospital has paid the county about
$300,000 annually in bond pay-
ments and interest. When a final
proposal takes effect, CMHA
would assume those payments.
Chairman Cecil Dickson and
commissioners Sam Gold, Jim
Crawley and Ralph Gilbert voted
for the proposal. Crawley made the
motion to approve the proposal in
concept but Gilbert amended it,
asking that the county lease KMH
to CMHA for 17 years, the life of
the bonds between the county and
the local hospital.
Commissioner E. T. Vanhoy cast
the only "no" vote, saying that the
board needed more time to study
the proposal.
Vanhoy said he is in favor of a
Cleveland County Hospital
Authority to run all three county
hospitals, Shelby, Kings Mountain
and Crawley Memorial at Boiling
Springs. He polled both KMH
chairman J. C. Bridges and CMH
Chairman Jim Rose about their
views and both said they thought
the idea could be a possibility.
"We can't wait until that hap-
pens. Kings Mountain Hospital
will go under," said Bridges.
Commissioner concerns ex-
pressed at a meeting nearly a week
ago about a "takeover" appeared
quickly erased after CMHA
President Harry Nurkin presented
the lease proposal to the Cleveland
Memorial Hospital Board of
Trustees and about two dozen oth-
er visitors at a noon luncheon and
responded to questions at the 2
p.m. commissioner's special meet-
See Merger, 12-A
New doctor to take sign
appeal to adjustment board
City Council unanimously
adopted a new sign ordinance
Tuesday, freezing enforcement un-
til after a May 16 hearing by the
board of adjustments on an appeal
by Dr. Deepak R. Gelot.
Signs already up would be
grandfathered and permitted as
long as the signs are not altered.
Currently, as several business-
men pointed out during a lengthy
public hearing, some of the signs
that dot King Street comply with
the current sign ordinance and ma-
jority don't.
The new sign ordinance puts
building, has put it up for sale.
Neal said ~~ Charlotte-
Mecklenburg Hospital Authority
has rented offices in Professional
Park for the two Canadian family
practitioners and that the hospital
is helping the new internist, Dr.
Paramajit Shergill, to find a suit-
able location.
During the past year financially-
troubled Kings Mountain Hospital
lost six of its admitting doctors.
Council discusses hills in closed session
The city is still trying to recoup
thousands of dollars from city
billing errors plus $90,000 for
county maps the city paid for and
never received.
Tuesday night the board met for
45 minutes in closed session to
hear correspondence between attor-
neys for the city and Ruppe
Hosiery Inc. and the mapping
group, Robert Kimball and
Associates of Pennsylvania.
Historical Tour of
The Historical Tour of Homes
Saturday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
promises something for everyone.
Chairman Margaret Pearson said
that the six homes on the tour and
St. Matthew's Lutheran Church are
rolling out the red carpet for visi-
tors who can come at anytime dur-
ing the tour hours and browse. The
$10 cost of the tickets also includes
free lunch at the Woman's Club
during the tour hours compliments
of Sub Factory.
Tour-goers can also enjoy a free
art show by the Southern Arts
Society at the Woman's Club and
see a variety of artifacts by the
Kings Mountain Historical Society
at City Hall.
Friday evening The Patrick
House on King Street will be the
scene of a big Patron Party. ‘The
$50) ticket includes a preview of
No action was taken by the
board when it returned to Council
Chambers about 10:30 p.m.
City Manager Chuck Nance said
the city entered into a $107,000
contract with the county and the
mapping firm in 1989-90 and never
received any maps but payments
from the city kept going to the
Pennsylvania group for the maps
which were credited to the county.
City Council said it wants its
Homes Saturday
the homes on the tour and refresh-
ments. All proceeds are ear-
marked for the American Diabetes
Association.
Major sponsor of the benefit is
Carolina State Bank.
The historical homes on tour are
those of Mr. and Mrs. Larry
Chappell, 303 S. Battleground
Ave., Mr. and Mrs. Butch Pearson,
108 N. Piedmont Ave., Mr. and
Mrs. Roy Huffstetler Jr., 202 N.
Piedmont Ave., Mr. and Mrs.
Hubert Toney, 203 N. Piedmont
Ave., Mr. and Mrs. Roy
Huffstetler Sr., 204 N. Piedmont
Ave. and Mr. and Mrs. Jerry
Barrett, 211 N. Piedmont Avenue.
Tickets are available at any of
the homes on tour day or at Plonk's
General Store, Dellinger's, Carpet
& Interiors, Carolina State Bank
and De Vane Interiors.
motey back or the maps.
Nance said the city is continuing
to negotiate with lawyers for
Ruppe Hosiery Inc. which is ques-
tioning the findings of a consultant
wha has audited the industry's elec-
trical billing after the city under-
billed the company for power.
Ruppe Industry's billing prob-
lems surfaced as early as
September 1994 when Tony
Ruppe, who operates two almost
identical plants, received bills that
showed a huge disparity in charges
for electricity.
Ruppe is the major industry
among eight customers underbilled
or overbilled by the city for elec-
tricity.
To date, none of the money
owed the city for underbilling has
been repaid.
Nance has contacted customers
See Billing, 3-A
many rot ES
ance which means they can be re-
moved by the city under the new
law.
Gelot, a new family physician,
wants to keep his new sign up in
front of his new office across from
the hospital but city officials say
it's in violation of city codes.
"I like your sign but you knew
you were in the wrong when you
CONGRESSWOMAN VISITS -
put it up,” charged Councilman
Dean Spears who told Gelot that he
would have lobbied for him before
the board of adjustments for a vari-
ance if he had not blatantly ignored
acting planning director Jeff
Putnam's instructions on the proce-
dures and rules.
"Now I'll keep my mouth shut,"
said Spears.
"That's up to you," said Gelot.
But Councilman Rick Murphrey
said the board needed to look at
Gelot's sign further.
"I see nothing wrong with it and
probably there should be an excep-
RG SET VINEE PRE ET Sa ee ee
Gelot sign is cosmetically attrac-
tive and poses no problem to traf-
fic.
"This is a good sign ordinance
and we need it but I think we
should should study a little fur-
ther."
Murphrey said after the meeting
See Sign, 3-A
Ninth District Congresswoman
Sue Myrick chats with John Cline during a visit with constituents
Thursday at Kings Mountain City Hall
Kings Mountain People
MARGARET LEDFORD
Local history fascinates Ledford
By ELIZABETH STEWART
of The Herald Staff
History has always held a
writer's fascination for Margaret
Ledford.
Ledford's search for information
about a woman murdered in 1852
and buried in Kings Mountain
could have been the impetus for
Georgia relatives to return to this
arca this fall after 143 years to
place a marker on an unmarked
grave.
But more than gencalogy and
family trees, Margaret likes local
history, particularly the Bethlehem
Community where she was raised
and along Beason's Creek and the
Battle of Kings Mountain.
Four years ago the Kings
Mountain woman started searching
old cemetery and court records and
dug into past history which re-
vealed that a murder had occurred
almost in her own back yard back
in 1852.
Digging into cemetery records in
1939 she found the old cemetery
on Range Road in the Bethlehem
Community where the victim was
buried and started researching what
could have been this area's biggest
murder trial and hanging for an ar-
ticle for the Broad River
Genealogical Society of which she
is an active member.
"If fascinated me evensmore
when 1 saw the names of some of
the witnesses and realized that they
had descendants who still lived in
this area," she said.
George Langford was 44 when
he was convicted on December 1.
1852 for the September 10. 1852
murder of his wife. Mary Collins
Langford . 51.
The trial was moved from
Cleveland County to Lincoln
County because. according to the
court records, George believed that
he could riot get a fair trial because
of prejudices against him in the
community.
According to the court records.
Mrs. Langford was on her way
home from her daughter's that
Sunday morning. She was stran-
aled to death on Beason's Creek.
But the husband maintained his in-
See Ledford, 12-A