Member
North Carolina Press Association
Vol. 109 No. 16
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Thursday,April17, 1997
REV. GENE LAND
Land retiring after 27 years at
Rev. Gene Land, the Dean of
Kings Mountain ministers, is re-
tiring this summer after 27
years in the Second Baptist
Church pulpit and 34 years in
the gospel ministry.
Land, 67, told his 350-mem-
ber congregation Sunday that
the time is now, quoting the
Ecclesiastes writer in the Bible
who said, "to every time there is
a season and a time for every
purpose under Heaven."
"The years have gone quickly
and it was a difficult decision,’
‘said Land Tuesday as he talked
about blessings for which he
could never thank God enough.
He has bought a house in the
Long Branch community near
Grover and will continue to
preach as supply and in re-
vivals and Bible seminars. He
will also lead his 13th trip to the
Holy Land this year to walk the
path that Jesus walked and to
baptize Christians in the River
Jordan. ;
Land, who came to Second
Baptist in 1970, has served
longer than any other inside-
city pastor. Only former
Patterson Grove Baptist Richard
Plyler served the longest tenure
in the same church, 32 years.
Land said he will miss the
people he has close ties with for
so many years but for the first
time in his life he won't be on a
time clock and can go island
hopping on a whim, a vacation
he promised himself a long time
ago. Land says he wants to
board a freighter to the South
Pacific Islands and also visit
Australia.
The Land ministry has result-
ed in an increased membership
A
Sond
WOOW Cc a0"
Yat Re
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and also in complete renovation
of buildings, the addition of an
office complex and church staff
to include music, a bus min-
istry, children's church, a senior
citizens ministry, a church pal
program and a Christian singles
ministry. A new Kawai piano,
a $25,000 Allen organ and two
new vans were purchased. The
church budget is $166,000 annu-
ally. A fund drive is underway
to build a $300,000 Family Life
Center. The church also owns a
parsonage.
Mission projects have also
econd Baptist
been spearheaded by Land and
from his church numerous
young pastors have been called
and lay leaders have gone to the
mission fields both at home and
abroad.
In 1983 Land was chairman
of the North Carolina Action
League and led what he called
Kings Mountain's victory over
the liquor issue. In 1994-95 he
served as president of the North
Carolina Christian Action
League. :
A native of Greenville, SC,
See Land, 3A
kid
of
HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES -
Gordon and Carl Champion, left to right, were inducted into the
XI
carl Smith, B
Bates, Chuck
Kings Mountain Sports Hall of Fame at its 10th annual
Monday night at Kings Mountain High
7
vane
s ceremony
School. uy
our join KM Hall of Fame
The stars came out for
Monday night's tenth anniver-
sary Kings Mountain Sports
Hall of Fame banquet and in-
duction ceremony at Kings
Mountain High School.
Four deserving men - Carl
Champion, Bill Bates, Chuck
Gordon and Carl Smith - joined
the membership which now in-
cludes 34 individuals and five
teams. In addition, the Hall »f
Fame recognized two
of the Special *
Award and
two college
serving K
athletes.
Rom:~
lege :
now
Ca
s
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RT ama
ye oa
annual event and heard inspir-
ing talks from Gabriel and all of
the inductees and their presen-
ters. :
Gabriel, 56, was a two-time
All-American quarterback at
N.C. State after making all-state
in football, basketball and base-
ball at Wilmington's New
Hanover High School where he
played for coaching legend
den. Gabriel was an
" Most Valuable
s Angeles
his play-
delphia
1s a
ad,
cess, not a reason to fail."
He also said preparation is a
key to success, and these who
prepare well and give their best
will be winners more often than
not - on the athletic field and in
life.
"As long as you prepare, and
like it, you'll rise to the occa-
sion," he said.
INDUCTIONS
The four men inducted into
the Hall of Fame represent five
decades of sports accomplish-
ments in athletics.
Carl Champion, the founding
president of the Kir
Mountain $= “Hall of ¥
ras rece nour
ort A
KMHS football coach Dan
Brooks, now an assistant coach
at the University of Tennessee.
Brooks recalled that when he
coached here, and since, that
there was never a time that
Champion was called upon and
did not respond positively.
"And, it didn't involve money
all the time," Brooks said. "Carl
would work or do whatever
necessary."
Champion was supported at
the banquet, as he has been in
all of his endeavors, by hic fagm-
ilv which includes his ~~ %
“hris, Kev’
Sanitation pick-up issue
still in discussion stages
Will the city continue back-
yard garbage pickup or change
to curbside with rollout con-
tainers?
The members of the sanita-
tion committee are expected to
wrestle with the question again
at 11 a.m. Thursday at a meet-
ing in the second floor confer-
ence room at City Hall.
At least two council members
- Norma Bridges and Jerry
Mullinax - contend that the city
should continue backyard pick-
up at least once a week with no
extra charge to customers.
"We've always given this ser-
vice and we should not change
now," says Mullinax.
Bridges, a member of the san-
itation committee, says that she
has had many calls from senior
citizens who can't afford an ex-
tra $2 charge to their monthly
bills to have their garbage
picked up from the back yard. Fr
Ingles erosion control plan approved
Results of a mail-out survey
of about 1500 of the city's 4,000
customers has been running
neck and neck on the two ques-
tions but Bridges said 809 had
indicated as of Tuesday they
prefer curbside with no extra
charge and 611 had indicated
they wanted to retain the back-
yard service with an additional
$2 on their monthly bills.
Bridges says city staff is look-
ing at other alternatives to keep
the status quo and also elimi-
nate the extra fee for customers.
She said she hoped that the
committee, which also includes
Councilmen Dean Spears and
Rick Murphrey, sanitation su-
pervisor Emmett Moss and
Mayor Scott Neisler, could
come up with some answers.
Bridges said the garbage is-
sue should be on the front burn-
er again at the April 29 Council
meeting. ATERERE a
A soil sdementation and ero-
sion control plan for Scism
Road property owned by Judy
and Paul Scism has been ap-
proved with modifications by
the Division of Environmental
and Natural Resources.
The Scisms own the tract of
land that Ingles has an option to
build a new super market in the
Oak Grove Community.
Steve Killian, the city's plan-
ning director, said the state has
forwarded a copy of the erosion
plan to the city. Killian said that
anytime a developer disturbs
more than one acre of land that
the state must give clearance on
these details.
Council to look at
City Council will take a first
look a Yifectural draw-
ings "wz enforce
Killian said the city has yet to
receive a site plan for the pro-
posed multi-million dollar con-
struction.
The Scisms and Ingles realtor
Charles Murdock are scheduled
to present an amendment to the
city's new zoning ordinance at
the April 29 meeting of City
Council. The Asheville realtor is
asking that since Ingles ap-
proached the city several years
ago about its building plans
that it be grandfathered under
the old ordinances in effect at
the time. New ordinances place
stricter restrictions on landscap-
ing and parking lots.
drawing for KMPD
so show the plans to the full
“neil April 29. ;
TM hndget work ses-
not complete
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