Member
North Carolina Press Association
Vol. 109 No. 08
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Thursday, February 20, 1997
City Manager Jimmy Maney made a pitch for
the City of Kings Mountain and the City of
Shelby to share in the utility revenues from a pro-
posed industrial park during Tuesday's luncheon
meeting of Cleveland Chamber in Shelby.
"It's time for Kings Mountain and Shelby to
come together in a joint effort to bring this coun-
ty park to a reality even if it means entertaining
the idea of sharing utility revenues,” said Maney.
Maney, former longtime gas and clectric super-
intendent of the city of Kings Mountain, said that
with deregulation anything is possible. He said,
however, if a partnership between the two citics
is entered into for sharing utility revenues at the
proposed site that Kings Mountain would want
that same opportunity if parks are considered for
Shelby or Upper Cleveland County.
At Monday night's city utilitics committee
built.
Maney suggests sharing utility service to park
Maney commended City Council for taking the
position that it was up to the County Economic
Development Commission to evaluate the sites
and leave politics out of the decision.
"From what we have seen presented by the
EDC of their evaluation the Plonk site is the best
location," said Maney who said he would pro-
pose that Kings Mountain and Shelby share in the
revenues from natural gas to the site and contin-
ue that partnership with any other parks that are
"We have a lake full of water and we can help
eliminate some of the problems that could come
up over the next 30 years and we are ready to
talk," he told the group.
Maney reiterated that he was expressing his
opinions and boards of both municipalities
would need to go to the table to talk.
Public hearings.on Council agenda
Public hearings on a request
. for annexation by Pulliam
Investments for Summit Place
International and a request for
rezoning of property on
Crocker Road by Philip Elam
are on the agenda for Tuesday
night's 7 p.m. meeting of Kings
Mountain City Council.
Summit Place, which plans to
build initially 60 units of assist-
ed living apartments in a $3.5
million project on Phifer Road,
is also asking the city to extend
sewer to the housing complex
across from the middle school.
Elam wants to rezone his
Educators favor
The majority of people at-
tending the Board of
Education's third public hearing
on how to spend school bond
money Tuesday night favor a
new K-5 school.
Most of the 20 hands that
went up after Board Chairman
Ronnie Hawkins took the poll
at Grover School were teachers
or administrators at Grover,
East and Bethware Elementary
Schools.
Parents in the group of 40
plus raised their hands favor-
ing a new grades 5-6 school.
No one in the crowd favored
adding on to present school
plants or using the expected
school construction funds to fix
up present plants.
Hawkins said the question of
how to spend bond money will
be on the agenda for the March
10 meeting of the Board of
Education and the public is in-
vited to give more input then or
to call him or any board mem-
ber and express opinions.
Assistant Principal Steve
new K-5 school :
Monday night the city utili-
ties committee said it would
recommend to Council that the
city. extend the sewer to serve
Summit Place and pay 50 per-
cent of the cost of the line which
is the standard policy available
to in-city residents.
Council will consider a re-
quest to close a portion of old
Branch Street between relocated
Branch Street in front of
Lighthouse Pentecostal Church
and present her service revolver
to Linda Belk, former 20-year
veteran of the Kings Mountain
Police Department who re-
signed as the city's animal con-
trol officer to join the Cleveland
; ty Health Department in
Wells said Bethware teachers
and others he had talked with
the in the community want to
see a new K-5 school built to
eliminate crowded conditions at
some of the schools. East
Principal Jerry Hoyle said his
staff is concerned about the pre-
sent crowded conditions at East
and look at a new K-5 school
as a solution to some of the
problems.
"We've had the most inter-
change of communication be-
tween our full board and the
public at this meeting in
Grover," said Hawkins after
concerns were raised about
overcrowded conditions at the
elementary schools and ques-
tions of redistricting.
Hawkins pointed out that it
will be three or four years be-
fore a new school could be built
depending on how fast the land
could be acquired and how fast
the money comes in from the
state.
See Hearing, 3-A
Kings Mountain People
Patriot Homes of Elkhart,
Indiana got the green light from
the Planning & Zoning Board
Tuesday night on its plans to
build a $3.5 million dollar man-
ufacturing plant on Crocker
Road which, if City Council
gives approval Tuesday, could
mean up to 200 new jobs .
Jody Fulford, Alabama na-
tive, who will be the general
manager of the Kings Mountain
plant, Sharon Skibo, exccutive
vice-president in charge of
merger and acquisition, and
Norma Divers, engineer, said if
all goes well that the plant
could be up and ready by
August or September for pro-
duction of manufactured hous-
es.
Fulford said Cleveland
EXERCISE THE EASY WAY - Two-year-old Brianna Harris of
Kings Mountain made several laps -around the walking track the
easy way at the Grover Recreation Park Tuesday. She was
pushed by her father, Lane, and she also kept him busy at the
swing sets and sliding boards. The 64-degree weather was per-
fect for a day of fun with dad. Temperatures are expected to re-
main unseasonably warm the remainder of the week but there is
a chance of rain Friday.
PIPE~98082 IN NIYLNNOW SONIM
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Since 1889
Tr
Home manufacturing plant could create 200 jobs
Community College will begin
training of carpenters, clectri-
cians and plumbers about May.
The Kings Mountain plant,
the first for the 25-year-old
company in North Carolina,
specializes in manufactured
homes. The, pay scale for em-
ployees runs $9 an hour but
with bonuses $10.60 per hour,
according to Fulford.
Fulford said the plant will op-
erate one shift from 7 a.m.-3:30
p-m. He said that normal pro-
duction runs from onc to two
manufactured homes a day.
The vote on Mars Hill proper-
ty owner Phillip Elam's request
for rezoning of 80 acres of farm
land on Crocker Road passed 5-
1 with Lou Ballew casting the
only no vote.
Ballew said she was not op-
posed to progress but when she
rode through the countryside
Tuesday she saw the arca as a
family development rather than
industrial. "I just hate to sce
countryside spoiled,” she said.
Approving the rezoning re-
quest were Jim Guyton, Odus
Smith, Jim Belt, Jim Childers
and John Houze. Chairman M.
C. Pruette, who presided, votes
only in a tie. Roger Goforth
was absent.
City Council will hold a pub-
lic hearing on the rezoning re-
quest Tuesday night.
City Planning Director Steve
Killian and zoning administra-
tor Jeff Putnam pointed out af-
See Zoning, 3-A
City may expand gas service
City workers are currently
canvassing the Oak Grove
Community for potential gas
customers with an cye to an ¢x-
pansiontargeted for the 1997-98
budget year, City Manager
Jimmy Maney reported to
members of the city utilities
committee Monday night.
"I want the money to be
there before we spend it and we
have some monies in the cur-
rent budget now and the rev-
enues look good," Maney said.
Councilman Jerry Mullinax,
who has opened a grocery store
in the Oak Grove Community,
said Oak Grove residents want
a projected date for the expan-
sion because they want to re-
1 place furnace
\Y | 1)
City Council may act Tuesday
night on a proposal by the
county health department to
handle city animal control.
Last month Council tabled
action until City Attorney
Mickey Corry and County
Attorney Julian Wray could
confer on a clause in the
proposed contract which makes
Kings Mountain liable for any
incident concerning animal con-
trol or an officer on duty as an
animal control warden.
"l feel like it's good to keep
the dog control in the city to
give our citizens better service
and since we have residents
who reside in both Cleveland
and Gaston Counties I think
we'll have problems if we
don't," said Councilman Jerry
Mullinax who along with
Councilmen Ralph Grindstaff
and Jerry White opposed the
change.
Mullinax says he is also op-
posed to the city paying the
county $21,000 plus annually to
run the dog collection business
Council to discuss animal control
tended the meeting along with
Councilman Rick Murphrey
and the three Council members
on the utility committee,
Chairman Phil Hager, Norma
Bridges and Dean Spears.
Mancy said the city began a
gas line expansion two years
ago at Oak Grove when it ran a
four inch loop to Tom's Family
Mart but the White-Plains ex-
pansion took priority because of
additional customers. Mancy
said Bethlehem Estates is also
targeted for gas expansion. :
Maney said that a feasibility
study conducted by the city's
natural gas consultants in 1992
revealed 500 potential gas cus-
tomers in the Oak Grove
and give the new city dog truck
as part of the agreement. -
"Our police officers don't
make that kind of money and I=
feel our tax dollars should work:
for us and not against us," said:
Mullinax. .
"With the liability clause in
the contract I don't sce how we
can approve,” he said.
City Council members
Norma Bridges, Rick Murphrey,
Dean Spears and Phil Hager
voted to table the issue until the
February = meeting after
“Grindstaff called attention to
the liability clause in the con--
tract which the city attorney
confirmed it meant liability for
the city, not the county.
Chief Bob Hayes said a city
officer is currently serving as
dog warden but the city doesn't
transport the dogs to the animal
shelter. A county officer picks
up the dogs which must be
caged. Hayes said his officers
don't know how the animals are
to be caged and that's his main
concern.
Love just as good second time around
Marriage the sccond time
around, by their own admis-
sion, was destined to be for
Paul W. Owens, 86, and Evelyn
Bolton Owens, 78.
"I first saw Evelyn when she
was about 10 and I was 18 but
little did I know that after we
both had raised families and be-
come widowers that we would
become Mr. and Mrs. more than
a half century later," laughed
Mr. Owens as he talked about
how he met the woman he mar-
ried in 1983.
The Owenses have nine chil-
dren between them, 14 grand-
children and 19 great-grandchil-
dren and when they all come
home at the same time the
house on Margrace Road is
overflowing.
Now retired, the Owenses
like to spend quiet evenings
watching Jeopardy and Wheel
of Fortune on television, visit-
- ing with friends, and being ac-
tive in Temple Baptist Church.
On Mrs. Owens’ birthday last
week she received more pho-
tographs from the great-grand-
- children to add to her brag
book.
Owens is a 32nd degree 50-
year Mason, a Shriner and
Scottish Rite Mason who lives
his Masonry. He says he tries to
follow all the teachings of
Masonry and carned a Life
Membership from White Plains
Shrine Club. He is a former of-
ficer of Fairview Lodge 339
AF&AM and at one time was
Past Patron of the Order of the
Eastern Star when his late wife,
Christine Pecler Owens, was al-
so Worthy Matron.
Evelyn Owens had been
widowed for 14 years when she
called widower Paul Owens to
inquire about buying honey. "I
was trying to get his brother
Frank's telephone number so |
could pick up some honey for
my mother and Paul delivered
the honey and we renewed
friendships after many years,"
she said. ;
Evelyn had worked at Phenix
Plant of Burlington Industries,
at Kings Mountain Hospital
and retired from Quality
Sandwich Company. Mr. Owens
worked for over 50 years at the
old Margrace Mill and in other
textile plants in the arca. After
retirement he delivered pre-
scriptions for a local drug store
for a number of years.
Paul Owens was born in
Asheville September 17, 1910.
He moved to Cleveland County
as a young man and his first job
was cutting cord wood with the
late George Stewart on the John
Stewart farm where they start-
ed writing love letters back in
1932 to Letha Bell who married
George Stewart in November
1932 and Christine Peeler, who
married Paul Owens in 1934.
Christine Owens died in 1980.
"George and I were just like
brothers, once in a while we
got to borrow a car to drive but
not often,” he said, reminiscing
about the good ole days of
walking to church, courting and
playing ball on Saturday after-
noons.
Paul lived in four different lo-
cations at the Margrace Mill
Village before he bought his
present house. He and
Christine Owens raised five
children, the late Mary
Spearman of Hendersonville,
Pat Thomas of Hendersonville,
Louise Petrice of Connecticut,
Paula Stockwell of Gaffney, SC
and Pete Owens of Raleigh.
Evelyn's’ first husband,
Howard Reynolds died in 1970
They had four children, Richard
Reynolds of Colorado, Jerry
Reynolds of Florida and the late
Bill Reynolds and the late
Carolyn McDowell.
"There were so many similari-
tics about our lives, said
Owens, who said their paths
never crossed during their long
marriages to their former
See Owens, 3-A
PAUL AND EVELYN OWENS