to be back from Moldova
Member
North Carolina Press Association
cially appointed
The building of a new police
department, breaking ground
for a peak shaving plant, and
getting the city back its A bond
rating are high on new City
Manager Jimmy Maney's agen-
da for the new administration.
Maney's leadership and man-
agement style promises to be
unlike any of the three previous
managers the city has had over
the past three years.
He doesn't have a magic
wand to wave but he promises
his style of management will be
different and that he will in-
volve the public in attaining
goals.
Maney, 42, a 23-year veteran
of public service and a 16-year
. city employee and superinten-
i dent of the Utilities
Department, was hired Tuesday
night by City Council in the
top executive position after
serving since August 1 as inter-
im manager.
He is no stranger to City Hall,
moving only a few short blocks
Maney: I'm here to stay
from his office at the Public
Works Building on North
Piedmont Avenue and where he
will still supervise the $11 mil-
lion utilities budget that makes
up over half of the city's $20
million plus budget yearly.
"The Council is looking to me
for direction and good commu-
nication and that's what I plan
to give them and the citizens of
Kings Mountain," said Maney.
'l am here to stay because I
live in Kings Mountain, my
family is here and I love it," he
said, accepting congratulations
from well-wishers after a recep-
tion Tuesday following the
Council meeting.
Maney says his job is a new
challenge but already he's find-
ing the role a pleasant experi-
ence.
His rapport with people and
with the 160-plus employees is
an asset for "Jimmy," as he
prefers to be called.
Maney said he will focus on
the positive, will address nega-
JIMMY MANEY
tive issues if they arise but
move on and not dwell on
them.
"I'm not going to get caught
up in the negatives that have
occurred over recent months,
the public has been consumed
See Maney, 2-A
KMMS teacher thankful
Citizen-soldier Maury
Williams, is back at Kings
Mountain Middle School from
Moldova with a message for his
students. ;
"Be thankful to live in
America and a land of opportu-
nity."
Williams was among 39
North Carolina National Guard
engineers who spent 12 days in
south Russia building a church
on the Moldovan military com-
pound in Chisinau as part of
the National Guard's "State to
State Partnership Program."
He also helped put up a gaze-
bo over a well and construct an
exterior concrete wall.
"The people were all so excit-
ed because this is the first
Protestant chiirch to go up in
the area and five years ago the
church would never have been
allowed when Moldova was
under the Communist regime,"
he said this week as he located
Ella Degree
98 years old
Ella Degree was in the church
choir Saturday night in her usu-
al seat but instead of a choir
robe she was dressed in birth-
day clothes and wearing a cor-
sage.
Mrs. Degree, 98 on August
30, was raising her voice in
song to "Let Everyone say
Amen’ at a special revival ser-
vice which honored her not on-
ly on her birthday but for long
service to the church and com-
munity.
"Mama Ella" was born and
reared in Grover and has been
active in the Long Branch First
Baptist Church all her life.
Her pastor, Rev. Larry H.
Dixon, and the visiting preacher
Dr. R. D. Abbott poured tribute
after tribute on the senior citi-
zen from the pulpit. A large
banner, "Happy Birthday Mama
Degree," was placed in the
sanctuary and after the service
the congregation and friends
presented her a birthday cake.
Mrs. Degree has three chil-
dren, Willie Hartgrove, Wilbert
Hartgrove and Gaither
Hartgrove, all of Shelby. She
said she couldn't count all her
grandchildren and great-grand-
children. _ 4H
See Degree, 3-A
Moldova on a globe Monday on
his first day back in class.
Williams said the project was
a Partnership for Peace mission
- to build long-standing institu-
tional affiliations and people-to-
people relationships with
Central and Eastern Europe na-
tions while establishing demo-
cratic military organizations. By
utilizing National Guardsmen
in their dual roles as citizen sol-
diers, Central and Eastern
European military leaders are
encountering highly trained
and cost effective members of
the United State Armed Forces.
Guardsmen serve as role mod-
els who make a compelling case
for the ideal of democracy, pro-
fessionalism and deference to
civilian authority.
He is a member of the 505th
Engineering Battalion of
Gastonia.
Williams flew with other citi-
See Williams, 2-A
It's now official. Jimmy Maney is Kings
Mountain's new city manager.
Maney, who had been appointed interim city
manager August 1 when interim Gary Hicks re-
signed, was unanimously appointed to the full-
time position at Tuesday night's City Council
meeting.
He becomes the city's third manager since the
city went to the city manager form of government
in 1988. George Wood held the post for four
years, and Chuck Nance held the job for one year.
Since Nance's departure, the city was led by in-
terim managers - first, financial director Maxine
Parsons, then Hicks and Maney.
Mayor Scott Neisler said there were over 90 ap-
plicants for the job, but that "we had a man in
house who could do the job just as well" as any of
- the applicants. "We're really looking forward to
working with him."
Maney, 42, will be paid $50,000 a year.
Maney has served as utilities superintendent
for 23 years-and prior to that was gas department
superintendent for Bessemer City.
The choice of Maney was popular with the
packed house attending Tuesday's meeting, many
of whom are city employees. His appointment re-
sulted in a standing ovation.
To pave the way to appoint Maney, the city re-
pealed its residence requirement for a city manag-
er which was adopted last November.
In another matter, Council heard a report from
Glen Stephens, architect for Concrete Concepts’
City
Managel
proposed 13-acre Highland Business Park to be
constructed near I-85 and Floyd Street.
Stephens said construction should start in
October. Two buildings are planned - one a distri-
bution center consisting of 121,452 square feet
and the other an office/warehouse consisting of
38,400 square feet. He said there is no proposed
tenant for the building at this time.
The Council also adopted a resolution autho-
rizing submittal of a Community Development
Block Grant of $750,000 for revitalization projects
in three areas of the city - an area of Battleground
Avenue and Clinton Drive, Second Street, and the
Lake Montonia Road area. The project would
consist of rehabilitating homes, installing water
and sewer lines, and paving streets. The city
would have to provide matching funds of
$100,000, but Gary Wilson of Benchmark, Inc.,
which developed the project, said the city's pay-
ment would not be made until, the completion of
the project in the spring of 1998.
In other action Tuesday, Council:
BM Set a public hearing September 24 at 7:30
p-m. to amend the city charter to dissolve the
Kings Mountain Elections Board, so that the
Cleveland County Elections Board will be in
charge of conducting future Kings Mountain elec-
tions; and that the run-off method of voting
would be deleted and that municipal elections
would involve elections being non-partisan and
decided by simple plurality.
See Council, 2-A
Standoff at local hotel
ends peacefully Friday
CITIZEN SOLDIER - Kings Mountain Middle School teacher
Maury Williams points to Moldova on a world globe. He joined
"National Guardsmen in building a church in the poverty-stricken
area.
"Everybody walked away
unharmed and anytime that
happens it's good news," said
Chief of Police Bob Hayes after
a fugitive standoff at Ramada
Limited Friday caused some
tense hours for law enforce-
ment.
Hayes said Todd Arron
White, 32, of Gastonia, barricad-
ed himself in a room from early
morning until he surrendered
to police about 1 p.m. Friday af-
ternoon. Hayes said no
weapons were found on the
suspect.
"We had to take him at his
word that he had a handgun, a
shotgun and had his door
rigged up with explosives to go
off if someone tried to get in,"
said Hayes.
Captain Richard Reynolds,
who headed up the police in-
vestigation, said White was
charged with possession of
stolen property, obstructing an
officer's performance and ob-
taining property under false
pretenses. White was wanted
on several outstanding war-
rants in Gaston County and was
turned over to Gaston authori-
ties.
Reynolds said that around
12:30 a.m. Friday KMPD pa-
trolling the motel parking lot
found a car with a stolen license
plate and then realized the car
was stolen.
Police asked the desk clerk at
The Ramada Limited to call the
guest in room 120 who had
checked into the hotel
Wednesday under the name
Thomas Bradley.
"The man said he was armed
and said if we tried to open the
door it was wired,” Reynolds
said.
Police evacuated the motel
and attempted to negotiate with
the suspect.
"ELLA DEGREE
son
is 90 years old
Bertha Ellison celebrated her
90th birthday Saturday at White
Oak Manor with her large fami-
ly.
Although her health is failing
Mrs. Ellison says she is thankful
for her nine surviving children
and their families. She lost a
son, Billy, at birth and a son,
Melvin, died in the Vietnam
War in 1969. }
The widow of Ervin Ellison
says she knows about sacrifice.
Reared on a farm, she learned
to can vegetables, milk cows,
chop and pick cotton and wash
clothes on an old-timey scrub
board at an early age. She re-
members as a child dipping
water from a spring and her
mother always reminded her
"not to dip too deep into the
spring for you will stir up the
dirt." She liked to cook on a
woodstove and the aroma of
sweet potatoes, green beans and
fried chicken usually brought
crowds to her table.
Ellison's daughter Nellie
Thrift said at her party
Saturday afternoon that
"Mother was always there" for
them through the good times
and the bad and always had a
song to sing. ER BRE
See Ellison, 3-A
—
BERTHA ELLISON
Las
he ean