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Guyton charges meters not being read
Mayor Scott Neisler's proposal
to give the public three minutes to
speak on the agenda at the close of
City Council meetings was rejected
5-2 Tuesday night after a substi-
tute motion failed 4-3 to try his
idea for three months.
“Stay with the process," said
Councilman Rick Murphrey.
Councilman Jerry White seconded
his motion and Councilmen Jim
Mayor's plan to add time to meetings denied
Guyton and Dean Spears con-
curred.
Councilwoman Norma Bridges
had made the motion to try the
mayor's plan, seconded by
Councilman Phil Hager and Spears
approved.
Neisler had made the suggestion
last month that every citizen should
be given an opportunity to com-
ment after the meeting if he or she
signed up prior to the meeting, a
similar plan which is used both by
the Kings Mountain Board of
Education and the Cleveland
County Board of Commissioners.
The Town of Grover includes citi-
zen input at the beginning of each
meeting.
Murphrey contended that citi-
See Mayor, 4-A
“We are not reading meters,"
Councilman Jim Guyton exclaimed
Tuesday night after Dan Stone,
representing SVBK' Consulting
Group of Charlotte presented his
findings and recommendations
from an audit of the city's billing
system.
Guyton pointed to utility
billings in many cases where his-
torical demand values were entered
into the hand-held meter reading
devices and repeated over a period
of months. »
Theirs is a love story that
warms the heart.
Sissy Morgan, 21, and her best
beau, Randall Rogers, 23, have
. Downs Syndrome, a chromosome
defect.
The Grover girl and the
Greensboro boy met at a Special
Olympics tournament in Charlotte
in October where he was compet-
ing in golf and she was competing
in soccer.
Since those first sparks of love,
the telephone lines between the
two communities have been
buzzing and parents of both young
people have taken the couple on
SPECIAL LOVE
Olympics sparked loving friendship
for Sissy Morgan and Randall Rogers
dates, visits at each of their re-
spective homes, the movies and
shopping malls.
Their parents have encouraged
their friendship, saying the young
couple could live independently
but wanting them to be close to the
parents. Randy has a full-time job
at Food Lion in Greensboro, holds
the international gold award for
gymnastics, plays in a rock band,
and golfs. Like Sissy, he is unable
to drive a car.
Sissy has swam since age 4,
bowled since age 12 and also ex-
See Morgan, 4-A
SISSY MORGAN AND RANDALL ROGERS
Rhoney moving
to Parker Street
Mike Rhoney, Assistant
Principal at Kings Mountain High
“School, has been named Principal
of Parker Street
School.
The
promotion was
announced
Monday at a
called meeting
of the Kings
Mountain
Board of
Education.
Rhoney
will assume his
RHONEY
new duties July 1.
He will succeed Mary Accor,
first principal of the new school
which opened in January. Accor is
moving to Bethware School as
Principal succeeding the retiring
Hugh Holland.
Rhoney joined the Kings
Mountain District Schools in 1988
at Central School where he was
assistant principal before moving
to the high school. Formerly, he
See Rhoney, 4-A
The walk to Gamble Stadium is downhill for Kings Mountain High seniors, but the future is bright for
aver 200 graduates who received their diplomas Friday night.
KINGS MOUNTAIN PEOPLE
Wade Tyner proves that
nice guys do finish first
His customers and business as-
sociates for a quarter century in
Kings Mountain say that Wade
Tyner is a "nice guy" on and off the
car lot.
People like Wade - they call him
by his first name - have helped
make him a successful business-
man at Wade Ford Inc. where he
celebrates his 25th anniversary
Saturday.
Retirement for Tyner, 62, a third
generation automobile dealer, is
still on the back burner.
Selling cars is still in his blood.
He still likes to help a customer
find the perfect car or truck, some-
thing he has been doing since he
was a boy patching tubes for auto-
mobile tires in his father's Ford
store in Pembroke.
A promotion advanced Wade to
the concessions stand and gas
pumps and earned him $1 a day
and all the soft drinks he could
drink. He was 10 years old.
The family moved to Shelby in
1945 where Wade's father was
awarded the Kiser-Frazer fran-
chise, later adding Packard. Here
Wade Jr. was a mechanic's helper.
Completing his Oak Ridge
Military schooling in 1951, Tyner
planned a college career at
Gardner-Webb. The Korean War
changed his directions and he spent
four years as an air traffic con-
troller with the USAF.
From Shaw AFB in Sumter to
Skulthorpe in England, he guided
planes to safe landings. He also
helped find his share of lost air-
craft.
He tells the story of how on one
pea-soup night a twin engine plane
left Skulthorpe and eased over the
North Sea, where an engine went
out. The six people aboard made
ready for a wet landing as the plane
lost altitude. The pilot turned
around but couldn't find the air-
field. Tyner was involved in help-
ing find Skulthorpe.
"That was an accredited official
safe," says Wade of the flight.
‘Tyner testified before an aircraft
investigation board when a jet
fighter crashed into an English hos-
pital after the pilot bailed out.
The air controller job required a
cool head and sound body. Tyner
passed the test.
Wade became Sales Manager
and then General Manager for
Young Motor Co. in Shelby where
he worked from January 1957 until
May 1970 when he purchased the
Kings Mountain Ford dealership
and property from Bob Southwell.
He opened Wade Ford Inc. here on
June 3, 1970.
"I have sold thousands of vehi-
cles over the years and still love to
sell, primarily because I love
people,” said Tyner.
"I went into this dealership witii
plenty of work experience and
background," hesaid.
See Tyner, 4-A
=
Ford Motor Company officials Jack Glass, left, and W. Fred Dunn, right, present Ford Motor Company's
25-year achievement award to Wade Tyner, who will celebrate his silver anniversary in business in Kings
Mountain Saturday. The plaque, which includes a picture of Tyner and Ford leaders, was given by Ford Motor
President Edsell B. Ford, III.
"This should not be," said
Guyton. He said a red flag should
go up that something is wrong with
the meter or the reading device.
Schools and churches that
should have their own rates are be-
ing billed on the residential rate in
electric and gas utilities, rate
schedules are being improperly ap-
plied and at least 112 commercial
and industrial customers, including
two barber shops, were billed for
zero water consumption over a pe-
riod of years.
The audit confirmed that Ruppe
Hosiery, underbilled by the city for
over $70,000 in electricity, was ac-
tually overbilled $204 in one of its
smaller utility accounts. His ac-
count was one of those picked for
the audit because it showed initial
readings every month for a period
of time. :
Ruppe's underbilled accounts,
See Meters, 4-A
Special term election
planned in KM June 13
City election officials were gear-
ing up this week for the June 13
special election on amending the
city charter to change the terms of
offices of the mayor and Council
from four to two years.
As of Tuesday, Elections Board
Chairman Becky Cook had not
heard from the U. S. Justice
Department which must preclear
the election. Cook said she is ex-
pecting notification by June 5.
Ballots have been printed, elec-
tion officials are ready and the
election machinery has been pro-
grammed, said Cook.
A total of 4500 people are regis-
tered to vote on the question:
"Shall the charter amendment to.
change the terms of office of the
mayor and council members from
four to two year terms be adopted.”
The polls: will open on June 13
at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m.
at the two Kings Mountain
precincts, West Kings Mountain at
the Armory where Hilda Dixon is
registrar and Christine Carroll and
Betty Spears are judges and East
Kings Mountain at the Community
Center where Connie Putnam is
registrar and Joyce Dye and
Glenda Belt are judges. Members
of the elections board, which in-
cludes Cook, Tim Miller and
Valerie Boyd, will be on hand
throughout the day at City Hall to
respond to voter questions.
Cook said that citizens will see
one change at the precincts at this
election and in the fall municipal
elections. The National Guard
Armory will permit no posted po-
litical signs on the grounds of the
Armory property. There will be a
place for people to stand on the
grounds but no signs will be per-
mitted.
Cook said that the election re-
sults will be posted in the lobby of
City Hall about 8 p.m.
There has been little outward
political activity. Mayor Scott
Neisler is the only member of the
See Election. 4-A
EL
Moss and Harris
push for museum
Two well-known former public
officials - former Senator J. Ollie
Harris and former Mayor John
Henry Moss - paid call on the City
Council Tuesday and asked for
Council's endorsement of a major
program to ensure that the old
Kings Mountain Post Office is the
new home of the Kings Mountain
Historical Museum.
Although Council took no ac-
tion, Mayor Scott Neisler said he
would appoint three members of
council and three members from
the community to a committee to
develop plans for the Historical
Museum and to work closely with
the Historical Foundation and set a
joint. meeting in July or early
August.
Moss also asked that Council
consider funding the cost of a new
roof for the post office.
Both said citizen involvement is
important to the success of the ven-
ture and said that a historical muse-
um would attract visitors from far
and near.
Moss reported that a recent sur-
vey revealed that some one million
visitors come to this area every
year, to Moss Lake and to the three
parks in the area.
"We need to establish the muse-
um as a treasure place, an asset to
the people,” he said.
In other actions, Council:
Set the date for public hearing
on the 1995-96 city budget for
June 12 at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall.
Reappointed Becky Cook, Tim
Miller and Valarie Boyd to the
Kings Mountain Board of
Elections.
regulation books and $5 for zoning
ordinance books.
Tabled appointment of five
members to the thoroughfare plan
review committee.
Approved charging $2 for sign |
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