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Vol. 110 No.21
Police
investigate
alleged
assault
A 15-year-old Kings Mountain
High School student was sus-
pended from school for fighting
May 13 and his teacher is on leave
pondie an investigation by po-
ice, Assistant Superintendent for
Personnel Ronnie Wilson con-
firmed this week.
“This is school policy,” Wilson
said.
Kings Mountain High School
Principal Phil Weathers said he
could not comment on the inci-
dent. He said the teacher named
in the complaint had taught at the
high school for over 20 years and
questions about personnel would
have to be referred to the district
office. Weathers confirmed the
~ suspension of a student.
Telephone calls to the teacher
by The Herald were not returned.
“There have been conflicting
statements made to police about
the incident but we are continu-
ing the investigation to get all the
facts to present to the District At-
torney who will review the case,”
said Chief of Police Richard
Reynolds.
Reynolds said the parent of the
student filed a complaint of as-
sault on a minor May 14th after
the boy came home from school
May 13th and reported that.he..
was suspended for fighting. In
the incident report the boy claims
his teacher “slammed him on the
floor.”
Resource Office Maurice
Jamison said the incident hap-
pened in the hallway near the
water fountain at the high school
about 2:30 p.m on May 13th. He
said the incident was reported at
4:40 p.m. on May 14. Jamison was
interviewing students and teach-
ers this week and was to present
his findings to Reynolds.
According to Reynolds, State
statutes on “simple assault” GS
14-33 reads, “As a general rule,
the person who is in charge of a
child, a parent or school teacher,
for example, is not criminally li-
able for inflicting moderate pun-
ishment to correct the child. Mod-
erate punishment is punishment
that does not cause lasting injury,
allows teachers to use reasonable
force, including corporal punish-
ment, to restrain or correct pupils.
Force is unreasonable if it is mo-
tivated by anger or malice, orif it
causes permanent injury.”
i Birthdays 2B
Church News 4-5B
Classifieds 7-8B
- Lifestyles 1B
Obituaries 2A
| Opinion 4A
| Police 5B
| Sports 6-7A
b THURSDAY
Partly sunny; chance of a
thunderstorm
High 88°, low 64°.
FRIDAY
"Clouds and sun, chance of a
thunderstorm
High 82°, low 62°.
SATURDAY
Clouds and sun, showeers
possible
" High 82°, low 62°.
Thursday, May 21, 1998
Joseph Schneider, one-year-old son of Kevin and Dawn
Schneider, wasn’t too concerned about all the baseball games
going on around him monday night at Deal Street Park. He was
content making up. his « own i games | in his playpan,
He mimerasrsaca
New water line a priority for city manager
The questions of who will
handle animal control and who
will sit on the ABC Board may
be decided by City Council at
Tuesday night's 7:30 p.m. meet-
ing at which members will be
asked to adopt a $24.5 million
plus budget.
Although the budget work-
shops have been time-consum-
ing for staff and Council, the
budget item may take a back
seat.
The subject of animal control
came up again at Monday's bud-
get workshop and Council indi-
cated it is ready to consider ask-
ing the county to take over the
job.
The idea was shelved by
Animal control, ABC board topics
Council last year after members
questioned the salary and equip-
ment and how officers could
serve the residents of Kings
Mountain living within Gaston
County.
“1f we're moving in that direc-
tion I need to know about it by
Tuesday,” said City Manager
Jimmy Maney who said the bud-
get has to be before the public
June 1.
“The county can do all the
record keeping and our police
will be out of it and I think we
need to give the county a shot,”
said Councilman Rick Murphrey.
Both Council members Norma
Bridges and Clavon Kelly
See COUNCIL page 8A
i
Kings Mountain, NC Since 1889 «50¢
EERE
No tax, utility hike
in proposed budget
City Manager Jimmy Maney is
proposing for the second year a
city budget with no increase in
[taxes or utilities.
{ The proposed $24.5 million
budget, an increase of $808,685
from last year, includes a 41/2
{percent across-the-boards raise
for the city’s 160-plus employees.
This includes a 11/2 percent cost
of living raise and a 3 percent pay
Iplan adjustment.
The budget provides for the
{city to continue to pay 100 percent
health coverage for employees,
retirees, the mayor and city coun-
cil and for 30 percent of depen-
Ident coverage.
Maney told the full council
lduring a four-hour marathon
{work session Monday night that
the budget accounts for all man-
idates and capital outlay projects
{including the proposed $1 million
{law enforcement center and for
{the remainder of funds needed to
{pay for a $1 million plus recre-
fational complex at Deal and
{Davidson Parks and for a new
{swimming pool.
| Several “ifs” could mean some
i changes in the budget, however.
| Maney said if the City of
| Gastonia ups the cost of pretreat-
ment of sewage at its Crowders
Creek Wastewater Treatment
Plant that those costs— estimated
to be a 7 percent hike - would be
passed on to the 10 industries
who use the service. “Council
would review to see what impact
the extra costs would impact on
the revenue side and make a de-
cision,” he said.
“I'know it’s a hard pill to swal-
low when the sewer costs go up
but it’s still a good deal,” said
Mayor Scott Neisler. He credited
the city’s partnership in the
Crowders Creek project a direct
result of the buildup of industries
along I-85. :
And, Maney said if the North
Carolina Department of Revenue
imposes, as expected, a 3 percent
sales tax on the eight North Caro-
lina cities, including Kings Moun-
tain, which sells natural gas, that
those costs would have to be
passed on to customers. Maney
said Kings Mountain won't re-
ceive a penny of revenue from the
sales tax and the costs to Kings
Mountain could run up to
$200,000 a year.
Maney did not propose in-
creased Soeteny fees but Coun-
cil, by vote of 6-1 with Jerry
Mullinax casting the dissenting
vote, decided to change the fee
structure. The new fees would
raise the cost of a lot for a resi-
dent of the Kings Mountain
School District from $300 to $500
and would, for the first time, give
those people living outside the
school district the option to pur-
chase a lot for $1200 at Mountain
Rest Cemetery. The cost of a lot
for inside city residents would
remain $150.
Council, also by vote of 6-1
with Mullinax dissenting, voted
to up fees for opening and clos-
ing of graves. The new fees are
$225, up $25, for opening, and
$350, was $300, for closures:
The Moss Lake budget pre-
pared by Maney agrees almost
totally with the budget prepared
by the Moss Lake Commission
with excepticn of personnel. The
lake commission is recommend-
ing that only two people work at
the city-owned lake but Maney
says three people are needed to
keep the lake open seven days a
week. Maney is proposing that
two part- time employees would
free up the codes officer and the
administrative clerk when they
See BUDGET page 8A
By 2003, City Manager Jimmy Maney hopes to
see construction of a new water line that runs from
Moss Lake to town.
That's one of his priorities, he told City Council
Monday night as he presented the budget propos-
als for 1998-99.
Maney envisions that in the next 12-18 months
that the city can begin engineering and procuring
right-of-ways for the project and be ready to start
construction in five years.
“We should be able to pay the $1 million plus by
designating the profits from the Peak Generation
plant after we get it paid off in three years,” he told
the board.
Maney said electric deregulation should be in full
swing by that time and the city will be in a position
to start the project in earnest. He said the city should
be able to budget $400,000 each year beginning
about 2000 for the project he called “very badly
needed.” ;
Another upcoming project is gas expansion to
serve the greater Dixon School Road area. Mayor
Scott Neisler called for a “more aggressive ap-
proach” to gas expansion during the budget meet-
ing and Council gave the go-ahead for Maney to
upgrade a feasibility study.
Capital outlay projects totally $2.5 million
okayed by the Council included:
Finance Department - $33, 895 for equipment, fur-
niture and hardware and software. -
Human Resources - $1,000 for a typewriter and
file cabinet.
Garage - $76,000 for equipment and fuel tank
upgrade.
Police - $105,000 for equipment, furnishings for
the new building and vehicles.
Fire - $60,483 for equipment, lease purchase pay-
ment of $49,483 for the new fire truck.
Public Works Administration - $8,250 for com-
puter software, communication system and secu-
rity system. 4
Powell Bill and Streets - $13,000 for a new leaf
trailer and upgrade of radio.
Sanitation - $116,088 for a knuckle boom loader,
roll off truck lease payment, commercial contain-
ers, lease purchase for a commercial truck and two -
residential trucks.
See WATER LINE page 8A
IN REMEMBRANCE- The POW/MIA flag flies over the U. S. Post Office in Kings Mountain in
“remembrance of those still missing in military action. From left, Postmaster Bob Howard, Amvets
Commander Jackie Barrett, Mayor Scott Neisler, POW and World War Il veteran John Henry Caldwell,
American Legion Post 155 Commander Claude Pearson and Rev. Reg Alexander.
POW/MIA flag
raised Friday
John Henry Caldwell, who
spent time behind enemy lines
during World War II as a prisoner
of war, helped local postal officials
and members of the American Le-
gion and Amvets Posts fly the
POW/MIA flag over the Kings
Mountain Post Office Friday.
“I wonder where the rest of the
veterans and POW's are,” said
Caldwell after Postmaster Bob
Howard led the 9 a.m. service of
remembrance of those captured
and missing in military action.
“As one of the nation’s largest
| employers of veterans and a con-
cerned member of the community,
| the Postal Service and its employ-
ees are proud to participate in this
remembrance,” said Howard.
The POW/MIA flag, which fea-
4 tures the picture of a man against
a white background surrounded
by black, was created by the Na-
tional League of Families in 1971.
The Postal service first recog-
nized the POW-MIA issue by cre-
ating and producing a 6-cent com-
memorative stamp in 1970, fol-
lowed by a 32 cent commemora-
tive postage stamp in 1995 featur-
ing “dog tags” with the inscrip-
tion “"POW-MIA -Never forgot-
ten.”
The POW/MIA flag was
hoisted by Caldwell, American
Legion Post Commander Claude
Pearson, Amvets Commander
Jackie Barrett, and Mayor Scott
Neisler. Rev. Reg Alexander led
the invocation.
The mayor said Armed Forces
Day was the first time the flags
would be flying around the na-
tion and the local flag beside the
American flag would make
people more aware of the POW-
MIA issue.
Neisler said the recent front
page stories about the mother
who wanted the Tomb of the Un-
knowns opened in Washington,
DC opened to find out if her son
was entombed there is a stark re-
minder of the tragedy of war and
the numbers still missing in ac-
tion including 2,100 from the Viet-
nam War added to 8,800 from the
Korean Conflict and 88,000 never
fully accounted for from World
War II.
an '