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North Carolina Press Association
Vol. 109 No. 30
Petitions
urge defeat
of lake bill
"It's time
to take the
gloves off."
-Rick Murphrey
KM Councilman
City officials headed for
Raleigh Monday to protest the
latest Moss Lake bill sponsored
by Rep. Debbie Clary and
armed with protest petitions
from 1,500 citizens.
"It's time to take the gloves
off," said Ward 4 Councilman
Rick Murphrey Friday at a hur-
riedly-called 3 p.m. press con-
ference at City Hall that attract-
ed an at times cheering crowd
of 125 people.
The city has been locked in
an ongoing fight for weeks with
lakefront property owners over
new user fees imposed by City
Council July 1.
Last weekend after talks with
property owners, City Council
voted to reestablish a lake com-
mission of seven members to
operate as a city advisory board
but with two members from the
Lake Property Owners
Association.
But property owners led by
Mike Bolt said the city deviated
from an agreement he said was
reached in negotiations. City
Attorney Mickey Corry said
both groups were to return to
their respective boards after the
negotiation sessions and City
Council had the ultimate deci-
sion by a vote.
See Petition, 6-A
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Jason Allen of Cherryville loves the serenity of Moss Lake and the opportunity it af-
fords him to read his Bible and "hear the voice of God." Allen said he goes to the
public picnic area of the lake early every morning to meditate and read the Bible.
“He acts like he's clean but
the man who has pushed this
whole fracas with the lake is the
Kings Mountain City Manager,"
. said Rep. Debbie Clary, who
said local legislators shouldn't
take all the heat over a lake bat--
tle still brewing.
Clary charged that fees have
been raised in almost every sec-
"They raise fees
on two groups of people:
those who can't vote
and dead people."
aire: hands
of lake bill
"They just wanted to wash their
hands of it and let the Senate make the
decision," said two of the three local
. Representatives who voted on different
sides of the issue as the third and
amended Moss Lake Bill sailed through
the N. C. House of Representatives
Wednesday.
Rep. John Weatherly, who voted along
with seven other legislators against the
bill and Rep. Andy Dedmon, who voted
for the bill along with 97 other legisla-
tors on the second reading Tuesday, said
"part of the action was to get rid of this
thing."
Rep. Debbie Clary, R-Cleveland, said
she was happy with the House mem-
bers’ overwhelming support. !
But city officials were not happy with
concessions offered in the revised legis-
lation by Dedmon. The House agreed to
the revised bill by a 100-3 vote and then
approved the legislation on a 98-8 pre-
liminary vote Tuesday. Local legislators
voting for the bill, in addition to
Dedmon and Clary, were state Reps.
John Rayfield of Belmont, Joe Kiser of
Lincoln County and Cherie Berry of
Catawba County. State Reps. Dub
Dickson of Gastonia and John Gamble
of Lincolnton did not vote.
Now city officials and Moss Lake
Property owners will step up their ef-
forts to sway votes in the Senate which
may or may not get the bill at this ses-
sion of the N. C. legislature.
Both Weatherly and Dedmon said
House members have been inundated
by property owners with calls, faxes and
-Debbie Clary
"Part of the
action was to
get rid of this
thing."
-John Weatherly
letters from residents. On Monday, City
Councilmen Rick Murphrey and Dean
Spears and City Manager Jimmy Maney
presented petitions with the signatures
of 1,500 citizens opposed to the new bill.
"We knew House Bill 420 would be an
uphill battle to defeat since two of the
three local legislators supported and
spoke "in favor of the bill," said
Murphrey.
"The amendments as proposed in the
bill still do not solve the flaws in the bill. .
The city strongly opposes HB 420 along
with the latest amendments and will
continue to fight for the right to manage
our lake for which the citizens of Kings ;
Mountain hold a fee simple title," said
Murphrey.
Mayor Scott Neisler said he was hum-
bled by the heavy support of local citi-
zens in their effort to try to halt the bill
in the House.
"We will continue to fight the bill and
“encourage residents to write Senator
David Hoyle and Senator Walter Dalton
and all other legislators in the N. C.
Senate,” he said.
See House, 5-A
Clary: City could have avoided bil
Clary said the whole issue of
the lake could have been settled
‘by "coming to the table without
- the city manager."
not fees but how the city
spends the money," she said.
"We watch kids drive boats,
people carrying in coolers of
beer and no patrolman in
sight," she said.
tion of city government this
Howevér, Clary said she ap-
OFF TO RALEIGH - Kings Mountain City Councilmen Dean
Spears, left, and Rick Murphrey gather up petitions containing
over 1,500 signatures of area residents to take to representa-
tives in the North Carolina House Monday.
Deadline for filin
is August 1
election year in the first budget
presented by the new city man-
ager.
Tuesday Clary lashed out at
city officials before her col-
leagues in the N. C. House.
"I told them (and the speaker
wasn't on) they raise fees on
two groups of people: those
who can't vote and dead peo-
ple." She was referring to the
‘upping by the city July 1 of user
fees at Moss Lake and a 200
percent increase in Mountain
Rest Cemetery fees for opening
and closing of graves.
. Clary said, "I feel like the
White, Childers join race
A contest developed this
week for the Ward 4 city council
seat with the filing of Pat
Childers, of 206 Maner Rd., and
Eugene White of 315 Fulton
Drive.
Their filing brings to 11 the
number of local people who
have filed for elective office in
the November election.
The filing of Childers and
White now assures contests in
Ward I, Ward 2, Ward 4 and
Ward 5. Incumbent Ward 4 city
councilman Jerry White says he
lans not to offer for reelection.
Filing for all seven seats open
on the Kings Mountain City
Council and the mayor's seat
closes at noon on August 1 with
CHILDERS
the Cleveland County Board of
Elections.
Incumbents, Mayor Scott
Neisler and At-large
Councilwoman Norma Bridges
have not announced.
In the Kings Mountain Board
of Education race where three
seats are open only the chair-
man of the board, Ronnie
Hawkins, has announced for re-
election. Both Connie Allison,
who represents the outside dis-
trict seat along with Hawkins,
and Billy, Houze, member at
large and current vice-chair-
man of the board, have not an-
nounced.
In Grover the terms of coun-
cilmen, Tim Rowland, Mayor
pro tem, Robbie Sides and Noel
G. Spivey are yp.
Filing closes at noon on
August 1.
Childers, wife of former
See Filing, 2-A
elected city officials should real-
ize they are accountable to the
people and that the city manag-
er works for them."
Clary clashed with Maney,
she said, when Maney told her
and other lake homeowners
that the money from increased
lake fees would be used to paint
city hall and buy furniture.
"That was absolutely unac-
ceptable," she said.
But Maney said he had only
spoken to Ms. Clary on one oc-
casion at City Hall. Ms. Clary
did not invite him to her office
on Tuesday when she accepted
petitions from Kings Mountain
citizens from Councilmen Rick
Murphrey and Dean Spears.
Clary also lashed out at for-
mer Speaker of the House Carl
Stewart, Gastonia lawyer and
the city's chief negotiator and
lobbyist in the lake issue.
"I think Carl Stewart owes the
good people of Kings Mountain
their $10,000 back, look at the
numbers who voted for the bill.
Not once did he show up in
Raleigh and he missed his ap-
pointment with me," she said.
preciated the city manager
sending more police to patrol
the lake.
Clary said she was home on a
recent Sunday and was proud
to see security on the lake.
But Clary said 3,200 boat
stickers are sold by the city at
Moss Lake. "That many boats
‘and 1,500 personal watercraft
are too much for 57 miles of
shoreline," she said.
Clary said a boat capacity
study will be ordered by N. C.
See Clary, 5-A
Bumby: Crusade
a collective effort
(Ed. note - This is the sixth
in a series of weekly articles
on local leaders in the Jay
Strack Crusade to be held
August 24-28 at John Gamble
Stadium.)
The co-chairman of Kings
Mountain's Jay Strack Crusade,
Rev. Harold Bumby, has been
involved from the very begin-
ning in an evangelistic effort he
believes will greatly benefit
Kings Mountain.
The second career minister,
40, was called to preach 10
years ago. He remembers that
day vividly because he was sit-
ting in his Ford pickup at an
aluminum dye casting plant in
Liberty, SC where he had
worked up the ladder from ma-
chine operator to management
and dye design engineering. °
Bumby came to Kings
Mountain six years ago as pas-
tor of East Gold Wesleyan
Church. His first crusade job
was working publicity for the
Rick Gage crusade several years
ago.
Now he's helping a large vol-
unteer crusade team get the
word out about the upcoming
event.
Helping organizing the cru-
See Bumby, 5-A
N ’s Seth Denton to
pitch in Blue-Grey
w Classic... aissssiiies 11 A
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"Our problem at the lake i%.. .
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