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Vol. 109 No. 46
Je
BM FOOTBALL FEVER
Kings Mountain High football coach Ron Massey talks to his
team after recent victory at
John Gamble Stadium. The
Mountaineers, who shared the Southwestern Conference cham-
pionship with Burns and East Rutherford, will make their third
straight trip to the state 3A playoffs Friday night when they travel
to High Point's Simeon Stadium to take on T.W. Andrews High
School. Details on last week's 36-12 victory over North Gaston
and this week's playoff opponent are on page 1-B.
England o
Driving a stick-shift rental car
on the opposite side of the road
was a first experience but after
all everything was a new expe-
rience for Ashley Champion,
who worked in Manchester,
England for six weeks.
"It was like being an ex-
change student but better,’ 'said
Champion, who is now home
on Oak Grove Road and back at
work in Charlotte as a tax ac-
countant for Cooper and
Lybrand.
Ashley's job took her to
England. A program called
International Tax Services to
Executives Abroad, she worked
in an office with tax accountants
from Scotland, Ireland, and
England.
"All the accents were differ-
ent and they thought my accent
was unique,” she laughed.
The Charlotte company has
been exchanging with tax ac-
countants from abroad for four
or five years, sponsoring
staffers twice a year in spring
and fall and then entertaining
foreign accountants in the
Queen City. Cooper and
Lybrand is ranked among one
of the big six firms and the staff
includes 35 people in Nations
Bank Center.
Kay, but KM
ASHLEY CHAMPION
Champion was in England
three weeks after the death of
Princess Diana and she said the
flowers were still at Kensington
Gardens, the residence of the
Princess of Wales, and at
Buckingham Palace. She said
the flowers were gathered
twice a day and sent to the hos-
pitals.
Touring the British country-
side was one of the pleasures of
her stay abroad. Manchester
home for Champion
was only a 2 1/2 hour train ride
from London and the Lakes
District and Champion rented a
car and when she wasn't work-
ing in the office she was on the
road.
"Everything is so accessible
and it's only an hour's plane
ride or a half day train ride to
so many wonderful places,"
said Champion who visited
Edinburgh, Scotland and fami-
ly members in Eltville,
Germany near Frankfurt.
It took only 20 minutes on
public tram to go from her
workplace to the second family
she lived with in England. The
first home she lived in England
took about 30 minutes.
Westminster Abbey in
London is very beautiful, ac-
cording to the Kings Mountain
visitor who was in the sanctu-
ary while a service was under-
way. Worms Cathedral in
Germany and Chester
Cathedral in England were also
high on her list of places to vis-
it.
Champion, a history buff,
said the castles and elaborate
decorations are fascinating.
She had visited England 10
years ago with the Kings
Mountain High School French
class but she said this trip gave
her time to get into the Lakes
District of England which she
said should be a must for local
people going to England. She
also suggests stops in London
and in Edinburgh, Scotland and
Frankfurt, or Weisbaden,
Germany. Ashley said the
smaller villages along the Rhine
river are also the places to go.
Ashley's father, Carl, was sta-
tioned near Frankfurt in The
Army and she said it was inter-
esting to see how Frankfurt
looks today compared to the
Frankfurt her father talks about.
Hiking the mountain range
with friends, seeing sheep,
rolling green hills, and beautiful
scenery were lasting impres-
sions of her trip.
"There are no skyscrapers in
the areas I visited but traveling
by cable car, by train and tram
and by ferry were once in a life-
time experiences," she said.
Next time she goes to
England Champion hopes to re-
visit some of the same places.
Daughter of Carl and Pat
Champion of Kings Mountain
and the late Patty Champion of
Melbourne, Fla, Ashley has
See Champion, 3A
Kings Mountain, NC Since 1889 «50¢
Ward 2
election
protested
Guyton cites
irregularities
at East KM
by ELIZABETH STEWART
of The Herald Staff
Another city election could be
called in Ward 2 between Jerry
Mullinax and Jim Guyton if al-
legations of voter discrepancies
and irregularities in the East
Kings Mountain precinct
November 4 are proven fact.
Board of Elections Secretary
Ruth Wilson said protest letters
were filed both by Joe King,
challenger in the recent city
council Ward 1 race won by in-
cumbent Phil Hager by eight
votes, and Guyton, who lost by
one vote to Mullinax in the un-
official vote, tied with incum-
bent Mullinax in an official can-
vass Friday and lost by one
vote, 164-163 to Mullinax in a
recount’ Monday.” .
Late Tuesday afternoon King
said he would not pursue the
challenge but Guyton has
mailed his official protest to the
State Board of Elections calling
for another election.
Wednesday at noon Shirley
and Jim Guyton were meeting
with Board of Elections
Chairman Pat Spangler and
members Wilson and James
Hoskins and Director of
Elections Debra Blanton in
Shelby to support data for their
claims.
King said he had decided to
back off. He says he disagrees
with the state law that the can-
didate has to file the challenge.
"We pay election officials and a
staff and why shouldn't they
file the challenges when they
are told about alleged discrep-
ancies?" he said.
"I asked for a recount and it
would have taken only a little
time to recount Ward I Monday
when election officials recount-
ed the votes in Ward 2," he said.
"I was told I'd have to send a
letter detailing my complaints
and that challenges should have
been made on election day but
how are we as citizens and can-
didates supposed to know
that?"
King said he still believes that
irregularities did occur in the
November 4 city elections. "I
just wanted to be treated fairly
but I can live with it," he said.
JIM GUYTON
On November 5 Guyton
wrote a letter to Blanton re-
questing a recount of the votes;
asked that the election board
verify the number of people
marked in the registration book
that voted in the election is the
same number of the ballots
counted in the East Kings
Mountain precinct; and said he
didn't understand why so many
people received the ballots for
another ward that they were
not registered in instead of re-
ceiving the ballot of their own
ward. "Some of them returned
the wrong ballot and received a
correct ballot. Some did not re-
turn their incorrect ballot and |,
probably voted outside their
own ward," he said.
On November 10, Guyton
wrote to Johnnie McLean of the
State Board of Elections. He
asked that the State board in-
vestigate and give him an ex-
planation of the actions that
took place at the East Kings
Mountain precinct election polls
on November 4. Guyton re-
quested another election on the
grounds that the election did
not comply with the rules of the
North Carolina Board of
Elections.
Lori Holland, Guyton's
daughter, said she was given
the wrong ballot and returned it
to get the correct one. Guyton's
wife, Shirley, said their tele-
phone had been ringing off the
hook from people all over town
who got the wrong ballot.
"You would not believe what
went on at East Kings Mountain
precinct at the American Legion
on election day," said Mrs.
See Guyton 4-A
Kings Mountain People
Church secret to McGinnis’ happy marriage
Church-going, life-long
friends and sweethearts, J.T.
and Helen McGinnis say that's
the best ingredient for a happy
marriage.
The Kings Mountain couple
celebrated their 51st wedding
anniversary in October and
their 25th year of perfect atten-
dance in Sunday School at First
Presbyterian Church.
In fact, the super salesman for
Wade Ford says he equates
what he learned in church with
his job of selling automobiles
for over 50 years.
"I just tell the truth,” he says.
McGinnis started courting his
wife when they were fifth
graders.
He rode his bike across town
to see Helen Tidwell. They
were friends all through high
school and graduated in the
Kings Mountain High School
Class of 1944. After J. T.'s dis-
charge from Uncle Sam's Air
Force the two were married at
First Presbyterian Church
October 11, 1946 by Dr. P. D.
Patrick and it was natural for
them to attend services every
Sunday.
J. T. drives to church every
Sunday in his 1988 Chrysler.
The first to arrive, he puts the
coffee pot on at 9 a.m. Helen
drives her 1986 Chevrolet to
church about 9:45 for the
Sunday school hour.
J.T. got the car selling fever in
1946 when he operated the
Kiser & Packard dealership,
selling cars for himself. From
1950-60 he ran the Ford dealer-
ship in town for Fred W. Plonk
and after that worked for 30
years, first at Victory Chevrolet,
for Charlie Dixon at Dixon
Chevrolet, Nation's Chevrolet,
Jim Testa and Baucom
Chevrolet. He joined Wade
Tyner at Wade Ford in 1989.
"Now that I'm 70 I can work
as much as I like and I love to
sell and to see people get a car
that they can enjoy," said
McGinnis.
"Car salesman now have a
better image, they're more pro-
fessional,” he said.
"To get along with people is
the biggest thing that a person
has to learn to succeed in the
business and another thing is to
work hard and like what you
do," says J. T.
Helen says she and her hus-
band have always liked doing
things together, whether it's go-
ing to church or eating out.
Helen enjoys playing bingo at
the local American Legion Post
of which J. T. is a 51 year mem-
ber.
Both were raised in the
church and both are treasurers
of their respective Sunday
School Classes. They have one
son, Chip, who is married to Pat
Strickland and they live in
Kansas City, Mo. The family in-
cludes one grandson, Clint, 27.
Son of the late Mr. and Mrs. J.
T. McGinnis Sr.,’ J. T. Jr. was
raised in the automobile busi-
See McGinnis, 3A
is
J.T. AND HELEN McGINNIS
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