Vol. 107 No. 37
AM Briefs
Thursday, September 14, 1995
REMEMBERING VJ DAY
City receives
recreation grant
The city has received a $47,000
recreation grant from the county
and will probably use the money to
improve the Deal Street Pool.
"The pool needs a lot of work
and we hope with this money we
can get it up to par by next sum-
mer," said Interim Recreation
Director Trip Hord.
The Recreation Commission at
its Tuesday night meeting ap-
proved the same fees and rental
policy schedules for the fiscal year
pending approving of City Council.
Plans for annual Mountaineer
Day on October 7 were discussed
and the group agreed to name a
Special Events committee to head
up other promotions such as July 4
and city parades.
"We also talked about how to
best use the old City Lake and
Davidson Lake and some of us
took a tour of these facilities this
week and realize there is much
work to do," said Hord.
Councilwoman Norma Bridges
chairs the committee.
Painters needed
Kings Mountain people who
want to help paint the Senior
Center Depot and Gift Shop can
still belp out Saturday beginning at
8am
Maude Norris, chairman of the
have lunch and then attend the cel-
ebration event barbecue at the
Cleveland Community College
Amphitheater.
Torch Run Saturday
The torch run to the 1996 sum-
mer Olympics in Atlanta will pass
through Kings Mountain Saturday
at 2:30 p.m.
Police Chief Bob Hayes said the
State Highway Patrol will escort
the caravan on Cleveland Avenue
to the Kings Mountain city limits,
turn right at Hardees on Business
74 and proceed west to the
Highway 74 West bypass and on to
Shelby.
Utility meeting set
The city's gas consultants, Heath
and Associates, are expected to at-
tend Monday night's 6 p.m. meet-
ing of the city utilities committee
at City Hall.
City Council at the last meeting
indicated that consultants would be
asked to offer suggestions at the
September meeting of the utilities
committee on how to satisfy indus-
try with enough gas in the winter
months to operate on full scale and
keep costs down for all 3,000 natu-
ral customers of the city.
Other business of the meeting
will include the awarding of a bid
to the engineering firm for work on
the lining of the No. 3 basin at the
Pilot Creek Wastewater Treatment
Plant.
city’ S patlicipation in the b eoynIy-
least 10 volunteers on also
Kings Mountain World War II and Korean Conflict veteran Bill Early is back from the 50th anniversary
celebration of VJ Day. Early holds his service medals and his Navy photograph.above, as he talked about
taking ''a sentimental journey."
50th anniversary celebration
sentimental journey for Early
By ELIZABETH STEWART
of The Herald Staff
eg journey.”
"T had just had surgery on my eye and like my wife I
am blind in my left eye but the invitation came from
Governor Hunt and we used both our good eyes to
said Early of the memo-
rable commissioning of the battleship attended by
7,000 World War II veterans and their families.
"That may be our last trip," said Early, 71,
Navy boxer and middleweight champion on the USS
Midway. His contact lens implant went bad several
weeks ago and his eyeglasses didn't help much on his
drive the car to Wilmington,"
recent trip, he said.
"We sat down in the bleacher seats in Wilmington
and the first couple we saw were Ozelle (Gladden) and
Robert Dixon of Charlotte, formerly of Kings
Mountain, and all of us went to school at Grover
High," laughed Ruth Hambright Early.
It was a fabulous day for the Oak Grove
Community couple. Dignitaries included Governor
Hunt, former Governor and Senator Terry Sanford,
Margaret Truman Daniel and Rev. Franklin Graham,
among others.
For Bil} Batty his September 2 ip win his 5 Wits,
Although he doesn't want to be called a hero of Iwo
Jima, Early was there when the victory flag was raised
‘ebruary 23 1545. Ths © crew on his Pip was busy
"f looked up and noticed something w was happening
a former
mainland.
on the hill,” he said.
"I borrowed some binoculars and watched them
raise Old Glory."
Early was a member of a Navy gun crew assigned to
guard a merchant ship. It was loaded with ammunition
that Marines needed for their assault on the tiny South
Pacific island 760 miles southeast of Tokyo, a landing
strip for bombers to use in raids against the Japanese
"The only heroes of Iwo Jima were the guys we left
behind in the graveyards,” said Early, who brought
back plenty of medals from World War II.
"I figured anything was better than plowing a
mule," said Early of the reason he left the family farm
Rita Lawing and Maude Norris, co-chairman of the big industrial
phase of the 1995-96 United Fund campaign, general campaign chair-
man Mikey Smith and UF President Nancy Scism, left to right, are
pictured at the UF kickoff Tuesday.
Dave Crawley named publisher of Herald
DAVE CRAWLEY
Dave Crawley has been named
Publisher of the North Carolina
Group of Republic Newspapers,
Inc., according to an announce-
ment by Corporate Vice-President
Nick Drewry.
Crawley, a native of the Rocky
Mount area, assumed his new du-
ties on September 6. He succeeds
Bob Rop, who resigned after three
years as Publisher to enter private
business.
"My family and I are thrilled to
be back home," said Crawley. "We
love North Carolina and its people.
"Republic's family of newspa-
pers - The Kings Mountain Herald,
The Cleveland Times, The
Bessemer City Record, The
Cherryville Eagle, and The Banner
News in Belmont and Mount Holly
- are fine comunity newspapers. I
look forwaid to working with all of
our associates as together we con-
tinue and strengthen our commit-
ment to our readers and advertis-
ers."
Crawley has served as District
Circulation Manager, Circulation
Director, Marketing Director and
interim Publisher for the Rocky
Mount, NC Telegram, and
Publisher for The Observer and
The Brevard Shopper in Florida.
He said the goals for North
Carolina's Republic newspaper
group will be to "serve the people
of Cleveland and Gaston Counties
with hometown pride and commit-
ment. We will be a constructive
force for good and positive things
in the communities that we serve."
Crawley and his wife, Stephanie,
have two children, Cindy, 12, and
Nick, 9.
in the Dixon community to join Uncle Sam's Navy and
served 14 years. He received Navy commendations
for shooting down four German/Italian ships and
served in the Pacific Theater of Operations.
See Early, 8-A
United Fund
Kings Mountain United Fund
kicked off its 1995-96 campaign
for $125,145 at a noon luncheon
Tuesday at Holiday Inn.
President Nancy Scism called
the crowd one of largest kickoff
events ever with virtually all offi-
cers, directors and division leaders
present.
Campaign Chairman Mickey
Smith said the drive will be com-
pleted hopefully by the end of
November with a celebration din-
ner planned prior to the Christmas
holidays.
Smith said the goal is the same
as last year and the agencies to be
supported are unchanged.
Rev. Harold Schwantes, chair-
4
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Kings Mountain, N.C. 28086
Downtown
apartments
violate codes
Mayor Scott Neisler says the
city's new land use plan calls for a
change in the zoning laws that
could permit second stories of
downtown buildings to be rented as
apartments.
Neisler says he is in favor of
this change to beef up the down-
town area and give it much needed
revitalization.
The mayor confirmed that cur-
rently the old Sterchi building
across from Griffin Drug Store is
occupied by renters in two apart-
ments and he says the owner falls
under what he termed "prior con-
forming use."
Interim Planning Director Jeff
Putnam concurs with the mayor.
"That was done before my time
in this office and permits had been
issued by building inspectors and
the city inspects the building," he
said.
Putnam said that under the cur-
rent codes it is a violation but he
agreed with the mayor that in the
foreseeable future more could be
allowed under the new land use
plan if a sprinkler system is in-
stalled in a primary fire district.
fect," no seid.
"Apparently those folks were in
"They are a tolerated
violation of the
present codes.”
-Jetf Putnam
"It becomes Hog if a property
the apartments before the new zon-
ing rules went in," he said.
Adding to the confusion, he
says that once the apartments are
vacated for 180 days the city can
step in and tell the owners that the
property can't be used for apart-
ments unless the zoning is
changed," he said.
Putnam says he has no knowl-
edge of any other apartments in use
in the downtown area but Neisler
said that many of the old buildings
have second stories that are utilized
for storage and would make beauti-
ful homes for residents.
"I hope someday that people
who need housing can use these
buildings," he said.
Neisler said that beautiful apart-
ments are already located in down-
town Shelby above the Masonic
Temple.
It's confisin g,
i sul al
downtown and they are a tolerated
violation of the present codes."
KM Schools enrollment
largest in many years
Tenth-day enrollment figures in
Kings Mountain District Schools
top the 4,000 mark for the first
time in 10-15 years.
Supt. Dr. Bob McRae said
Monday at the September school
board meeting that 4,087 students
are registered at the system's eight
plants, up from a range of 3,700 in
previous years.
The highest growth is reported
in the K-5 grades with a high of 41
more students at Bethware.
"The good news also is that the
system is up over 100 the number
of students the state has projected
our resources," he said.
McRae said the board will take
an indepth look at all the figures on
population growth versus majori-
ty/minority charts at the fall
Advance scheduled for September
24-26 in Boone.
"The board has a challenge to
plan for the growth because we
have become tight on spaces," he
said.
See Schools, 8-A
campaign goal $125,145
man of the board of the KM Crisis
Ministry, and Jimmy Hines, direc-
tor of the county-wide drug pre-
vention program, CODAP, praised
the gifts by United Fund as essen-
tial to the difference both groups
make to families of the community.
The Ministerial Association's
Helping Hand program and chap-
lain service will receive $15,500
from donations and CODAP will
receive $7,000. Other agencies to
be funded include American Red
Cross, $19,000; Girl Scouts,
$4500; Boy Scouts, $4500; KM
Rescue Squad, $13,000; Children's
Home of Cleveland County,
$7,800; KM Boys Club, $11,325;
Grover Rescue Squad, $10,000;
Salvation Army, $3500; Cleveland
County Mental Health Association,
$500; Hospice of Cleveland
County, $6800; United Family
Service, $3500; Cleveland
Vocational Industries, $4200;
Cleveland Abuse Prevention
Council, $5200; and Youth
Assistance Program, $2,000.
The Crisis Ministry, which oper-
ates out of the Kings Mountain
Community Center, offers one-
time financial assistance to fami-
lies and also provides the needy as-
sistance year-round of fuel, rent
and utilities plus a food bank and
clothes closet. The new director is
See Fund, 8-A
PIECE OF HISTORY - Kings Mountain's historical Vintage World War II Howitzer has been mounted
by city crews in its familiar spot at the corner of Railroad Avenue and West Mountain Street. The KM
Jaycees and then- Congressman Jim Broyhill in 1971 secured the Howitzer from Fort McClellan, Alabama
Military Depot and dignitaries came to the city to help dedicaie it. Chains which held the cannon were
torn down several times by children using it as a bench in frou of the old Joy Theatre and the cannon had
been put in storage. Gene Borders, Randolph Ross and Tommy Spencer, all city employees, secure the
piece of history.
ig "We. Know that Spates exist