PINION
Page 4, Section A
Christmas wish list
for District Schools
Bob McRae
Superintendent
Kings
Mountain
Schools
The ole Christmas wish list!
-Continued recognition for the em-
ployees of this system who did such a
great job with the state’s ABC program
last year. Quality instruction is not to be
taken for granted. Our folks are dedicat-
ed to success, and results prove they are
achieving that success. We are fortunate
to have so many fine teachers and sup-
port people in our schools.
-More state championships for our
high school’s athletic teams and for the
individuals who are on those teams.
Recent successes by Julius Curry in
wrestling, Michael Jolly in golf, and our
volleyball team are fitting rewards for
deserving young people. Watching
them succeed reminds me of the debt of
gratitude we also owe our coaches for
their guidance to these students.
-More people attending cultural arts
events. Sometimes I think attendance at
our concerts and drama productions
may be declining. We pursue excellence
in this system, and our cultural arts pro-
gram is a wonderful example of what
high expectations for students can pro-
duce. If you've not taken advantage of
these great opportunities for entertain-
ment thus far this year, don’t miss the
second semester performances. You'll
also want to visit our visual art displays
at some of these events.
-Shorter sessions of the legislature.
Sessions of the General Assembly seem
to take longer each year - even the
“short” sessions. This year’s session did
not end until October 29. Such a delay
negatively impacts our ability to pre-
pare our programs as we do not have
+ definite allotments for state funds until
‘after the session ends. This wish can be
‘accomplished, if members of both par-:
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ties put aside partisanship in the inter-
est of efficiency.
-An additional funding source for
school construction. I realize that no one
likes to consider higher taxes. I'm in
that group myself. However, we must
realize that more students are entering
our schools. They must be provided
with good learning spaces. To this point
there are not enough resources to meet
our needs. It seems to me that a one
penny sales tax for Cleveland County,
dedicated to school construction, is the
fairest way to accomplish the goal. A
great Christmas gift would be the op-
portunity to vote on it.
-Something really nice for the
Mountaineer Club, our athletic booster
organization. This group of folks has re-
ally turned up its level of support in the
last few years and is helping us provide
opportunities for our students which go
beyond what many systems are able to
offer. It seems the members are working
at our high school practically every
night. They deserve many thanks for
their tireless efforts.
-More people entering the teaching
profession. The challenge of attracting
and retaining quality teachers to our
system is becoming more formidable
each year. There is a great opportunity
awaiting for dedicated graduates. I
think our state is addressing the issue in
relation to salary improvement. I hope
more college students, especially more
from our community, will look to a
teaching career as they play their post-
high school education.
-A kinder, gentler, more positive cli-
mate. Our society seems to have become
more contentious. It funnels down to
our children. If most of what they hear
from adults is criticism, then most of
what we hear from our students will be
the same. Wouldn't we be well served to
teach more tolerance, forgiveness, and
respect for others? I know the school
system would be one entity which
would benefit greatly.
-A wonderful Christmas season for
everyone who contributes to our suc-
cess. To each of youl extend. my-best-
wishes ona fantastic 19991, i Joi
~ Lil 2 Wa ALLAN
KM can be proud
“of their champions
Nothing brings a small community
together like sports.
Kings Mountain has been fortunate
this fall to have two of the best athletic
teams in its school history - the wom-
en’s volleyball team and the men’s foot-
ball team.
The volleyball team recently won its
first-ever state championship by rolling
up a 34-1 record and defeating East
Chapel Hill in the state finals in
Charlotte.
The football team recently won its
first-ever Western Regional
Championship, and last week took on
Winston-Salem Carver in the 3A state
championship game at UNC's Kenan
Stadium.
Although the Mountaineers lost 33-
28, our hats are off to them not only for
winning 14 games - the most ever in a
single season by a KMHS team - but al-
so for the way they conducted them-
selves on and off the field.
Win or lose, the Mountaineers, their
coaches, and their fans had class.
Although they're disappointed now, we
feel like in time the sad feelings will
turn to joy because the players will
learn from this experience and will ap-
reciate the accomplishments they
made along the way. Vis
Developing and continuing a winning
sports program takes a lot of effort and
support from a lot of people.
First, the Kings Mountain Schools ad-
ministration deserves a lot of credit,
starting with Supt. Bob McRae and fil-
tering or. down to the local schools’ ad-
ministrators, teachers, coaches, and sup-
port personnel.
Kings Mountain District Schools is
well-respected throughout the state, and
that’s a big asset when recruiting out-
standing teachers and coaches to guide
your young people.
Head Football Coach Ron Massey and
Head Volleyball Coach Dianna Bridges
deserve our support and appreciation
for building a program all of the com-
munity can be proud of. And, we're not
just talking about wins and losses here.
Both are tremendous influences on
young people, and are the type people
you want running your programs even
if they aren’t winning championships.
Hats off, also, to their assistants and
support personnel who work tirelessly -
often behind the scenes - to make athlet-
ics a memorable experience for their
players.
And, above all, thanks to the athletes
who not only have the skills and physi-
cal ability to win ball games, but do well
in their studies and act like ladies and
gentlemen on and off the playing field.
Because of your efforts this year,
Mountaineer fans will have a lot of mo-
ments to remember -
Letters to the editor
We appreciate your letters to the editor and encourage you to write. Because we
receive so many letters, however, we must impose guidelines to ensure that as
many readers as possible are able to share their views. We therefore limit the num-
ber of letters that any one person may have published to one a month. Also, we
ask that you keep your letters short, no'more than two pages double-spaced or one
page single-spaced. Handwritten letters are accepted, but must be legible.
We will not publish letters from anonymous writers; names, addresses, and
phone numbers must be included. We reserve the right to edit letters for grammar,
punctuation, clarity, brevity and content.
Letters must be received no later than 5 p.m. on Monday of the week they are to
be published. Mail letters to The Editor, P.O. Box 769, Kings Mountain, NC 28086
or fax them to (704) 739-0611.
Corrections & Clarifications
We will correct any substantial errors that appear in the newspaper or clarify
any statements that are unclear.
To request a correction or clarification, call the editor at (704) 739-7469 between
oan. 830
WL
\
an and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday or fax (704) 739-0611.
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Even an emergency landing
beats that Washington traffic
Only people like Ronnie Hawkins
could live through a hair-raising ex-
perience and have fun doing it.
Recently Hawkins, Chairman of
the Kings Mountain Board of
Education and manager of Harris
Funeral Home, and his wife, Libby,
flew their plane to Wilmington, Del.
to visit friends.
Well, we say Wilmington. They
really didn’t
make it that far
in the plane.
As they
were flying over
Pawtexent Naval
Base Hawkins
noticed his oil
pressure was
dropping,” and
moments later
realized he had
lost all power in
his engine.
At that time they were over the
Chesapeake Bay. While most of us
would have been going into a panic,
looking for a life jacket and bailing
out, or at least praying, Ronnie and
Libby were simply keeping cool and
going about their business of mak-
ing preparations to land safely.
Ronnie declared an emergency
and found out they were 10 miles
away from the nearest airport - in
Cambridge, Md. While Ronnie kept
an eye on all the controls and glided
the plane gradually to lower apti-
tudes, Libby kept a watch out for
big fields in case they couldnt make
it to the airport.
HAWKINS
Gary Stewart
Editor
Except for frequent word from the
tower that the plane was 10 miles,
then six...five...etc., away from the
airport, inside the plane it was very
quiet.
Eventually after getting the air-
port in sight, Hawkins said he had
‘to put the plane in a “slip” mode -in '
layman’s ‘terms; a 10ss of altitude +
and told the tower he wouldn't talk
to them again until he was on the
ground.
He cut all the power off on the
plane, and moments later touched
down. He had enough momentum
to move to the first taxiway, turn off
the taxiway and miss the first park-
ing space by just 50 feet. Not to brag
or anything, but that was a remark-
able feat.
Although it probably would have
seemed like an eternity for many of
us, Hawkins said it was actually on-
ly about 10 minutes from the time
he declared an emergency until the
time they touched down.
Crashing never crossed the minds
of the confident pilot and his very
helpful partner.
Letters to the Editor
“There was a concern, but we
weren't overly concerned about
it,” Hawkins said. “We were just do-
ing what we always do on trips.
Libby was continuously looking on
the ground for a place to land, and I
was trying to talk to the controllers
and get the airport in sight and
judge my distance to the airport.”
The Hawkins’ have practiced the
scenario time and time again, they
said. They say the main thing is not
to panic, and keep your skills up-
to-date,
As a member of the Civil Air
Patrol Rescue Team, Hawkins has
had numerous practice sessions on
emergency landings, and he has two
“finds” for locating downed air-
planes in the! North Carolina moun-
tains.
The experience did nothing to
dampen the Hawkins’ love for. fly-
ing. In fact, Ronnie said, he’d be in
the air right now if his engine
wasn’t being repaired.
The worst part of the trip, the
Hawkins’ agreed, was not the emer-
gency in the air but what happened
on the ground after the landing.
“We had to rent a car to go on to
Wilmington,” Ronnie said, “and the
five lanes of rush hour traffic com-
ing out of Washington was terrible.
It took us 3 1/2 hours to get to our
destination, and the whole time we
were saying how grateful we were
to have a plane to fly in. I'd much
rather fly and have an emergency
than to drive in that traffic.”
Democrats will do anything to save Clinton
To the editor:
After watching the House
Judiciary Committee hearings on
the possible impeachment of
President Clinton, it appears to me
that the liberal Democrats and their
supporters are desperate and will
do anything to savethis man’s hide.
The liberals are more than willing
to place President Clinton above the
law and will excuse anything he
has done just to keep any conserva-
tive out of the White House. The
hysterical ranting done by the
Democratic members of the
Judiciary Committee was, at best,
laughable, and, at worst, embar-
rassing to listen to.
The Democratic members of the
Committee played on t he apathy of
the citizenry, and the fears of their
constituents. The measures they
tried to take to let the President off
the hook showed that the lies
Clinton told during a civil deposi-
Looking Back
tion and to a Federal grand jury
were excusable while over 100 peo-
ple are now sitting in jail cells for
lying in similar circumstances. For
some reason, they believe it is all
right for the President to lie and do
other things, but it is not all right
for anyone else to do so. They have
all but said that the laws do not ap-
ply to this man. Well, the last I
checked, President Clinton was nei-
ther a king nor a god, and he
should be held to at least the same
standards as the rest of us.
I truly believe that the liberals
and many of their supporters
would rewrite the Constitution, the
Ten Commandments, the Bible, and
thousands of years of Judeo-
Christian standards just to keep
President Clinton in office. The des-
perate measures they are trying to
resort to will tear this country apart,
but they do not care, just as long as
Bill Clinton remains in office. In
their near-maniacal zeal to save
President Clinton, they are almost
subversive, and even potentially
dangerous to our nation’s liberties.
I hope that President Clinton's
supporters will see that they have
made themselves accessories to the
acts he has committed in office, and
I hope they find ways of explaining
to their children and grandchildren
why they should be good and obey
the law, but that it is alright for
President Clinton not to. The liber-
als are extremely short-sighted in
this regard, and the damage they
are doing will be felt for many
years. If they are as concerned for
“the children” as they say they are,
they will condemn President
Clinton’s actions and support his
impeachment.
John Scott Hardin
Herndon, Va.
(From the December 17, 1964 files
of the Kings Mountain Herald)
Dicey Fabrics pledges $5,000 to-
ward the construction of Gamble
Stadium at Kings Mountain High
School, bringing the total pledges to
date to $7,500.
George B. Thomasson will suc-
ceed Senator-elect Jack H. White as
judge of city recorder’s court effec-
tive January 1. On the same date,
William White, brother of the sena-
tor-elect, will become the court’s so-
licitor, succeeding the judge-elect.
Rev. George Moore, pastor of
Resurrection Lutheran Church, has
been elected president of the Kings
Mountain Ministerial Association
for the coming year.
Hubert McGinnis, 210-pound
Mountaineer center, has accepted
an invitation to play in the 1965
East-West All-Star football game in
Greensboro.
Mike Ballard scores 19 points to
lead Kings Mountain High's basket-
ball team to a 78-31 win over
Lowell Holbrook.