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KM #1 choic
Commissioners authorize
manager to negotiate price
By ELIZABETH STEWART
of The Herald Staff
By vote of 4-3 Tuesday night the Cleveland
County Board of Commissioners accepted the
recommendation of the Cleveland County
Economic Development Commission which
picked the 235-acre Plonk property west of Kings
Mountain as its No. 1 choice of three for the coun-
ty-financed park.
After a closed session the board authorized the
county manager and county attorney to begin
price negotiations, looking at all three parcels
first, and then set a public hearing.
| The 235-acre farm west of Kings Mountain
owned by the Plonk family with an asking price
of $6500 per acre or $1.5 million met all the crite-
ria, according to EDC Chairman Ed Hamilton.
The Kings Mountain site topped two other sites
including the Shelby Loan property, a 329-farm
off Southern Road, $3.2 million; and the Whitaker
Farm, 220 acres off McBrayer Homestead Road
near Boiling Springs, $1.3 million. property near
Boiling Springs
Commissioner Ralph Gilbert's attempts to stall
the project for 90 days failed.
Gilbert attempted to make a substitute motion
to study the recommendation further but County
Manager Lane Alexander said that under board
operating rules commissioners must consider
the first motion which had been offered by
Commissioner Jim Crawley.
Crawley's motion was to accept the EDC rec-
ommendation and to meet in closed session to
give instructions on negotiations to the county
manager and county attorney for a piece of prop-
erty and after that to hold a public hearing to give
details of the deal.
Voting for the Crawley motion were Crawley,
board chairman Cecil Dickson, Bobby Malloy,
and Sam Gold. Voting against were Gilbert, E.T.
Accor, of Kings Mountain, asked the identity of
the person holding the option on the Plonk prop-
erty but Alexander said that person had asked to
remain anonymous and lived out of state.
Alexander said that Barker Realty of Shelby was
handling the transaction.
Gilbert had earlier questioned why the person
holding the option on the Plonk land had not
recorded his option.
Accor said after the meeting she wanted to:
have a public hearing first before making a deci-
sion to buy property since the county would be
spending taxpayers' money.
See Park, 12-A
Vanhoy and Mary Accor.
By ELIZABETH STEWART
of the Herald staff
A boy who lived on love for 14 years is
how Elaine and David Chapman remem-
tain Hospital.
months old.
body loved him,” said his mother.
move his mouth when he wanted a drink
but could not feed himself and had a se-,
Michael's ordeal showed
love grows in small places
vere seizure disorder.
Severely handicapped, he weighed 23
pounds.
Mrs. Chapman said her child’s life was
ber their special child, Michael Chapman. enriched by the caring people around him
Friends and family who collected angels and particularly the new friends, the doc-
for him say God collected one of His own tors and nurses at Kings Mountain Hospi-
when Michael died July 26 at Kings Moun- tal who adored him.
Brenda Slucler, Michael's grandmother,
Mrs. Chapman said her third child kept a room for him in her home so she
weighed in at a healthy six pounds 15 could look after him most weekdays for the
ounces when he was born. Spinal menin- past six years while Elaine worked at Ithaca
gitis struck the baby when he was five in Gastonia and David worked at Mohican
Mills in Lincolnton. For the first eight years
“We lost all hope that Michael would live of the child's life the mother could not leave
a normal life but he gave love and every- his side but she: went back to work after the
family’s hospital insurance maxed out.
Michael couldn't talk but if he was hurt- Medicaid insurance began helping pay the
ing he could make a sound and he could medical bills in 1993.
CLOSE FAMILY - Michael Chapman is pictured
with his sister, Holly, and his brother, David
See Michael, 11-A Bruce.
0d
.intendent
KM, BC work
on sewer deal
Kings Mountain and
Bessemer City are mulling the
possibility of a deal with Kings
Mountain that would solve that
neighboring town's sewer prob-
lems.
Interim City Manager Jimmy
Maney, a former Bessemer City
councilman, said Monday that
he has talked with Bessemer
City Manager Ralph Messera
about the possibility of Kings
Mountain making available
some 10,000 gallons per day of
its excess Crowders Creek
Wastewater Plant sewer capaci-
ty to that town. Bessemer City
is seeking a permanent solution
to its sewage problems.
Kings Mountain contracted
with the City of Gastonia some
years ago for sewer treatment
and the contract spells out a
minimum 1.4 millions gallons
of sewer that Kings Mountain
must pay for regardless of the
usage. Wastewater Supt. Walt
Ollis said at Monday's utilities
committee meeting that the city
sends 900,000 to 1.1 million gal-
lons a day to the Gastonia plant.
He said the actual cost last year
was $2.83 per gallon.
See Sewer, 12-A
Gary Norris lays down thie last few pieces of brick and applies the mortar to a set of steps he made
for his mother-in-law, Diane Barrett, of Waco Rd. His newly adopted daughter, Destiny, looks on
as she takes it easy on & porch swing. For 12 years now, he has laid brick both professionally and
on the side. Here, he has built over an existing step that could not be removed, and created a
much prettier, semi-circle: set of steps leading up to the porch. He says that if he does what he is
supposed to do, maybe someday the Lord will bless him with a bricklaying business of his own.
Council probably
ill pick
City Council is expected to
hire Jimmy Maney, the interim
manager, as City Manager
Thursday night at a 6 p.m. spe-
cial meeting at City Hall.
Maney
has emerged as
the leading
candidate for
the job vacated
by Gary Hicks
August 1.
Tih e
former city
utilities super-
would not MANEY
comment but he was called in
to discuss the city manager's
position during last Thursday's
special meeting at which
Council reviewed applications
New interim city manager
Jimmy Maney said he will es-
tablish a task force in the next
week or two to prioritize im-
provements in water/sewer,
drainage and other utilities.
Maney said once the priori-
ties are set that it would be easy
to budget in the order of need.
He made the remarks at the
city utility meeting Monday
night.
Responding to Council mem-
ber Norma Bridges, Maney said
he will update the committee
on the amount of money credit-
ed to utility customers due to
overbilling some time ago by
the city s and will update the
committee on the accounts un-
derbilled. He said no customer
was given a cash settlement but
that those customers who were
overbilled were credited. He
said only one utility account
has not been addressed.
Water/Sewer Supt. Walt Ollis
requested to use money in his
budget to pay for repairs at the
home of Joyce Howell. He said
Cansler Street sewer had
backed up again at the rear of
the residence and damaged the
woman's garden. Ollis said the
Maney
for the job.
Maney said he has been re-
ceiving tremendous support
from the public and from the
city employees and other de-
partment heads.
Maney, 42, got the unani-
mous vote of the Council for the
interim position at the July 30
meeting at which Council ac-
cepted the resignation of Hicks
who had been with the city one
year.
Maney has been employed by
the City of Kings Mountain for
16 years as the utilities superin-
tendent. He has a total of 23
years in public service and is a
former superintendent of the
gas department for the city of
Bessemer City:
Task Force to study
utility improvements
pipes were dug up and repaired
d in the 50-year-old line about
18 months ago but . with the
rain recently the sewer had run.
over into the garden. Chairman
Phil Hager suggested that Ollis
and the city manager work out
the problems.
Ollis announced that the city
had contracted a municipal rate
with the Town of Grover to sell
the town water for 99 cents per
1,000 gallons.
The five-year contract stipu-
lates that rates could be raised
only once a year and time
enough for that town to include
the figures in the annual bud-
get. Since June Grover has used
two million gallons per month.
Ollis said that Kings Mountain
has incurred no expenses in
lines or maintenance.
Maney had invited a repre-
sentative of SVBK of Charlotte
to update the utility committee
on new water and sewer rates
which went into effect recently
but the consultant was called
to another city due to an emer-
gency.
Maney, reporting on a pend-
See Maney, 12-A
Birthdays... 3B
Kings Mountain People
Mary Black, 80 still going strong
Business News......9B
Church News.......7TA
Classified.........10-11B
a
Mary McCaslin Black's keen
sense of humor and her activity
in her church and community
belie her years.
The Kings Mountain woman
celebrated her 80th birthday
August 15th. Her husband of 57
years, Hilliard Black, and their
two children and their families
honored her at a 1 p.m. llun-
cheon August 10 at Central
United Methodist Church.
Mary is well known for the
good food she has always pre-
pared for her family and for
family night suppers at Central
Church which she joined 57
years ago when she became
Mrs. Hilliard Black.
"Hilliard was active at
Central and I was active at First
Baptist Church but when we
married we decided to go to
church together and we have
done that every Sunday since,"
said Mary.
Mrs. Black said that's one of
the secrets of a happy marriage,
going to church together every
Sunday.
The Blacks were married
February 10, 1939 at First
Baptist Church parsonage. They
have two children, Peggy who
is married to Harold Jackson
and live in Spartanburg, SC and
Tommy and his wife, Pat, who
seven grandchildren, Alicia and
Stefan King of Atlanta, Ga.,
Ashlie and Alison Jackson of
Spartanburg, SC, Stephanie and
Trey Black of Lexington and
Mary counts her seventh
grandchild the future husband
of Ashlie who is Pete
Mazurowski of Hendersonville.
In addition to relatives, the cou-
ple's pastor, Rev. and Mrs. Hal
Schwantes, joined the celebra-
tion dinner which included a
birthday cake and ice cream.
Gardening, sewing and cook-
ing are hobbies that Mary Black
enjoys. She retired in 1966 from
Caveny Fabrics after 17 years.
Previously, she worked for
Lambeth Rope Corporation for
11 years.
Her children presented her a
new television set and the
grandchildren supplied the
stand.
Hilliard doesn't see how
Mary will have time to do much
soap opera watching. She is too
involved in other activities, par-
ticularly in the kitchen at can-
ning season.
MARY BLACK
ot
pile