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Vol. 109 No. 32 Lie fugu 5 1997
By ELIZABETH STEWART
of the Herald Staff
car.
my 101st birthday but right
A century of living hasn't dulled the
gleam in Pansy Hardin Turner's eyes
nor added many wrinkles to her face.
The former Grover resident had to
park her 1962 Nova in Grover eight
years ago but she wheels her wheelchair
now with the same ease she drove her
"I don't know what I'll be doing on
ready for supper,” said Mrs. Turner as
she gathered up her big assortment of
birthday cards to head for the dining
room at Northwoods Health Center.
, Wednesday was a big day for
"Grandma Turner" who had her hair set.
Dressed in her Sunday dress, she greet-
ed 75 friends and relatives and they all
Pansy Turner is 100,
and 'hungry' for more
enjoyed birthday cake and plenty of
hugs.
Grover.
now I'm
maker.
In apparent good health, Mrs. Turner
belies her age. Friends told her she had
fewer wrinkles than her younger rela-
tives and Turner's son, Gene Turner,
joined her in reminiscing about life in
The widow of Walter Turner, Mrs.
Turner is the oldest member of her
church, Sulphur Springs Church in
Shelby. A Cleveland County native, she
attended Patterson Springs School and
moved to Grover from Shelby in 1938.
Mr. Hardin worked at the Auto Inn and
Mrs. Turner used to work at the old
Campbell's Department Store. Her son
+ said her main job was that of a home-
See Turner, 5-A
PANSY HARDIN TURNER
Schools
to open
Monday
School bells will ring August
11 for the fall term of school for
4,300 students and 575 school
employees. :
With the hiring of Valerie
Boyd as an assistant principal at
Kings Mountain High School,
major positions have been filled
but the system is still interview-
ing for five certified teaching
positions, according to Supt. Dr.
Bob McRae.
of school. ;
Ji See School, 4-A
PEA
GETTING READY
«lenge from Jim G
FOR SCHOOL - DOT ‘employees put the finishing touches on a new entrance
to Kings Mountain Middle School. School begins for over 4,000 Kings Mountain District students
Monday morning.
~ Grover Council will have new members
Three new people will sit on
Grover's five-member Town
Council with fall elections and
this week three more political
newcomers joined three others
in throwing their hats in the
ring.
Filing this week were
Spectrum employee John
Higginbotham, Charlotte postal
employee Martha Bennett Allen
and Bill Favell, retired trucking
company president.
The trio joins electrician
Adam Greene, Planning and
Zoning Board Chairman Max
Rollins and Robert Roper who
filed last week for the three
seats up for grabs.
'Andrews' to introduce
community to crusade
(Ed. Note - This is the eighth in a series of
weekly articles on leaders of the Jay Strack
Crusade to be held August 24-28 at John
Gamble Stadium.)
The Chairman of the Personal Evangelism
Committee for the upcoming Jay Strack Crusade,
Rev. Olin Byrum III, will lead a door-to-door can-
vass of the community August 23 to invite people
to attend.
"This is an all morning blitz by every church in
the community to personally contact people and
to ask them to pray for a revival in Kings
Mountain," said the pastor of Kings Mountain
Baptist’ Church.
Operation Andrew was the first project for the
committee. Andrew led people to Jesus, his
brother, and brought the little boy to Jesus with
the five barley loaves and two fish for the miracle
feeding of the 5,000, said Byrum.
See Crusade, 5-A
HIGGINBOTHAM ROLLINS
This week Roper said he
won't be a candidate. His name,
however, will appear on the
ballot since state law requires
that a candidate withdrawing
make his intent known prior to
the filing deadline, which was
ra
OPERATION ANDREW - Rev. Oli
FAVELL ALLEN
noon Friday. Elections Board
Chairman Debra Blanton said if
Roper had withdrawn before
Friday at noon she could have
reimbursed his filing fee and his
name would not have appeared
on the November 4 ballot.
Ba
n Byrum Ili
+ and his secretary, Carole Dixon, are distribut-
ing Operation Andrew prayer cards and are
planning training events Thursday and
* Saturday at Kings Mountain Baptist Church
for volunteers in a house-to-house crusade
canvass.
None of the three incumbent
Councilmen - Robbie Sides, Tim
Rowland and Noel Spivey -
filed for reelection to a four year
term. Terms of Mayor Ronald
Queen and Council members
Jack Herndon and Elizabeth
Throop are up in 1999.
Favell, of 113 Lakeside Drive,
chairman of the Grover Board
of Adjustment and President of
Grover Lions Club, retired from
Mercury Motor Express in
Tampa, Florida after a trucking
career of 40 years. He was pro-
moted from terminal manager.
He has been associated with
Wilson Real Estate for 18
See Filing, 6-A
file for mayor
Last-minute
filing assures
competition
By ELIZABETH STEWART
of the Herald Staff
- Last-minute filing Friday by
seven candidates produced a
race for Kings Mountain mayor,
a three way race in Wards 1 and
3 and a four-way contest for
two At-Large seats open on
City Council.
Mayor Scott Neisler made it
official Thursday he will seek
his third term at City Hall and
Gary Joy said he will challenge
him.
In Ward 1, Joe King joins Rev.
Howard Shipp in challenging
incumbent Phil Hager and in
Ward 3 incumbent Ralph
Grindstaff is being challenged
by Clavon Kelly and Gilbert
Hamrick. Retired Police Chief
Bob Hayes and James Self chal-
lenge incumbents Norma
Bridges and Dean Spears for the
two At-large positions on the
board. In Ward 4 Jerry White
did not seek reelection and
‘Gene White and Pat Childers
are in a two way race. In Ward 5
Lou Ballew and Jim Norris chal-
lenge incumbent Rick
Murphrey. In Ward 2 incum-
bent Jerry Muallinax faces
dates seeking eight seats at
City Hall November 4.
Neisler, 42, is a Kings
Mountain native, son of Charles
and Mary Neisler and an em-
ployee of Dicey Fabrics in
Shelby for 18 years. A graduate
of Florida Southern College, he
has two children, Wendy, a
sophomore at Kings Mountain
High School, and Garrett, a sev-
enth grader at Kings Mountain
Middle School. He is a Sunday
School teacher and member of
the choir at First Presbyterian
Church. J :
"There are more things I want
to see happen in Kings
Mountain and that's why I'm
running for a third term,” said
Neisler, who said he's glad: that
Kings Mountain has a choice in
the mayor's race and said he
wished his opponent "the best."
Neisler said he is quite pleased
with the operation of city gov-
ernment under the leadership
BOLIN
Four more file
for School Board
The Cleveland County Board
of Elections Wednesday voted
unanimously not to place Billy
Houze's name on the ballot for
the upcoming Kings Mountain
School Board election.
Houze, of 1725 Shelby Road,
filed to run for reelection to an
At-Large seat but his papers did
not reach the Board of Elections
office in Shelby until 1:30 p.m.
Friday. The filing deadline was
noon. ‘
Houze said he had paid
Federal Express to deliver his
filing letter from Florida by
noon Friday, but Johnnie
McClain, Deputy Director of the
State Board of Elections, says
the law makes no allowances
for extenuating circumstances
of any description. She said the
notice of candidacy and a filing
fee must be rece
on the deadline.
Houze said he hadn't decided
whether or not to seek reelec-
week trip to Florida. He said he
will not appeal the Board's
sion and has not decided
will run as a write-in candfdate.
Notices of candidacyfwhich
are mailed, according to {55 163-
294.2, must be received’ by the
board of elections before the fil-
ing deadline regardless of the
time they were deposited in the
mails.
Three other candidates filed
last week, bringing the total to
six who seek the two seats
open on the Kings Mountain
Board of [Education in
November. A
Melony Clark Bolin and Gene
Ballard Jr., filed for the At-large
seat held by Houze. Edgar Guy
and Denorris D. Byers seek the
two outside seats for which in-
cumbent Ronnie Hawkins and
Larry Allen have filed. :
See Board, 4-A
- See Council, 6-A
d by the |
tion when he left for a two-.{..
if he.
Interim Chief Reynolds plans to carry
on tradition of service to community
Richard Reynolds, 51, the re-
cently appointed Interim Chief
of the Kings Mountain Police
Department, said his goals are
essentially the same as his pre-
decessors - to run a top depart-
ment.
"Wie
have a good
group of
eople work-
pe hn this de-
partment and
my goal is to
give the citi-
Zens we serve
a safe com-
munity, drug
free, and the
employees a good working en-
vironment and benefits they de-
REYNOLDS
serve so they will stay in Kings
Mountain," said Reynolds.
A Kings Mountain native,
Reynolds was promoted
+ through the ranks from a pa-
trolman 29 years ago to the top
position in the 45 person de-
partment of patrolmen, crossing
guards, dispatchers, secretaries
and reserve officers.
Reynolds is in the process of
hiring three new patrolmen to
augment the staff which is three
short, he said this week.
Hired by Chief Tom McDevitt
June 19, 1969, Reynolds was the
12th patrolman to join the staff
that year and he bought his
own gun, leather belt and hol-
ster. The city issued the clothes,
badge, whistle, chain and hand-
cuffs.
Equipment was slim back in
those days, according to
Reynolds. There were two
hand-held walkie talkfes in the
whole department and Junior
Roper, who later became Chief,
was the lone detective in the de-
partment and there were no sec-
retaries.
Kings Mountain's police. de-
partment moved up in the early
1970s. Women were hired and
other officers included school
resource and D. A. R. E. officers.
In addition lake patrols were
added as well as community
policing and a K-9 patrol with a
drug dog. More people were
See Chief, 6-A
LJ
enter
st Baptist to break
ound on new family
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