Vol. 110 No. 52
Thur
a
7
sday, December 24, 1998
ARE
ise
A family was ‘going down the tube’
until Kings Mountain
people showed...
Brandon, Minniea and Shyla McClain will have a good Christmas thanks to the generosity of others
By GARY STEWART
Editor of the Herald
“The small Christmas tree in their cramped liv-
ing room stands bare except for a few ornaments
from years past:
. Underneath it are no presents, and Christmas is
just a few days away.
But Minniea McClain has a tremendous faith in
God, and she is depending on Him to provide her
family’s needs.
And, God, working through some good people
in the Kings Mountain area, is doing just that.
For the past several months things haven't
looked good for McClain and the two grandchil-
dren who have lived with her mos of their lives.
Last year, she lost her job at a local hotel, and in
March she lost what little unemployment and
Social Services benefits the family received.
~ Basically, the family has lived on food stamps.
To further magnify their problems, McClain’s
1984 Celebrity had numerous mechanical prob-
lems which she didn’t have money to address,
and that made it impossible to look for employ-
ment.
The old furnace in their home on Curry Road
- hadn’t worked in two years, and there was no
money to repair it. The water pump in their well
malfunctioned and they had to carry water from
neighbors’ homes. Had it not been for anony-
mous donors on numerous occasions, their power
would have been disconnected months ago.
With Christmas approaching, Ms. McClain
prayed to God for a Messenger. That came in the
person of several area persons who learned the
McClain’s story when Sherrill Toney, Principal of
West School, overheard the youngest grandchild
telling someone that they had to carry water.
Toney related the story to Kings Mountain
District Schools Social Worker Hallie Conner, and
upon her investigation of the matter all the other
problems came to light.
As the word spread arcund town, individuals
and businesses came forward to help.
A church provided a kerosene heater, and a lo-
cal heating and air conditioning business repaired
her duct work and is in the process of installing a
rebuilt furnace.
A department store is outfitting the family
with new Christmas clothes, and a drug store is
providing toys for the children.
A master mechanic from another local business
is getting the car in excellent running order. Soon
after Christmas, Ms. McClain will be able to seek
another job and be able to get her family back on
its feet.
Ms. McClain said she always had faith in God,
and the acts of kindness by local people - many of
whom are anonymous to the family, has renewed
her faith in people.
“I really am grateful for everyone who has
gone out of their way to help me with these
children,” she said. “If it was just me it wouldn't
be so difficult. We were going down the tubes.
But this makes you really know what
Thanksgiving and Christmas is all about.”
McClain said she has long agreed with the
Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi - that we should all
be instruments of God's peace.
“This just renews my faith...to see that people
are willing to put themselves out for you,” she
said. “They could have been doing for themselves
or for their families, but they stopped to reach out
to us in our time of need.
“All of this kind of made me think of the
Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi and how he wanted
to be an instrument of the Lord. The Lord works
in mysterious ways. He uses other people. I feel
like people who love the Lord and have been
blessed by Him seek other people to help. He was
working through them to help us. I want to be
one of the people that He will use to help other
people.”
With things looking up now, and the car almost
ready to run, that’s a possibility.
“Now that we” ve gotten water and heat, and
the car is almost back on the road, I feel like we'll
be able to take up all these loose ends and get
back on the road,” McClain says. “The car is the
main thing. I had already done orientation for a
job at Holy Angels. All I needed was transporta-
tion.”
Because of the generosity of yet another anony-
mous donor who is providing their meal, the
McClains plan an “old-fashioned” family
Christmas.
You can be sure when the blessing is said, there
will be special requests for all of the generous
people who came to their aid.
“We just want to thank everybody who has
helped us in these trying times,” McClain said.
“We are truly grateful. If I can ever be of any kind
of service to anyone I would truly love to offer
myself.”
|. County and Ki
ON GUARD- Kings Mountain National Guard Armory sergeants
Paul Terry (left) and Ralph Davis tend to some of
and construction equipment they use in their duties.
First Carolina Federal
By Alan Hodge
With bombs raining down on
Iraq last week, many relatives
of servicemen were wondering
if another Desert Storm was in
the making. Though aircraft
and missiles took care of busi-
ness this time, the ever-present
worry is always there if extra
ground troops will be called up.
Ready to do their part on the
local and international scene,
members of Co. B, 505th
the transport
From KM to Washington, DC
opinion on President Clinton
depends on party affiliation
By Alan Hodge
The topic of conversation from Capitol Hill in
Washington to every barber shop, diner, beauty
shop and service station in the land has got to be
President Clinton and his troubles. Last week, for
just the second time in our nation's 200 year histo-
ry, a sitting President has faced removal from of-
fice by impeachment.
This is one issue where there doesn't seem to be
a whole lot of middle ground. Most folks are ei-
ther strongly for or against Clinton. In a state-
ment before the House of Representatives on
December 17, Sue Myrick had this to say.
"Just before the November 3rd election, my
five-year-old grandson Jake, asked his mother if a
new President was being elected. Upon being
told, 'we already have a President'-- Jake replied,
"No we don't, he lied.’ Such principle from the
‘mouths of babes.' As sad a time as this is for our
nation, this action is necessary so that all of us
continue to uphold and teach basic truths-- basic
right and wrong in our houses-- most assuredly
in this House. Yes, 'to err is human,’ but rather
than lie, deny, and vilify, we must confess, repent,
and repair. The children are watching."
A sampling of people around Cleveland
& s Mountain revealed these
thoughts on the subject of sending President
Clinton packing.
Kings Mountain insurance executive Bob
Maner felt strongly concerning Clinton's guilt.
"I sincerely hope they find him guilty and re-
move him from office," Maner said. "I'm con-
cerned the Senate won't have the courage to do
what the House of Representatives did and were
duty bound to do. There is plenty of basis to re-
move him. If you or I did what Clinton has done,
we would go to jail."
Retired educator Dean Westmoreland of
Grover was sympathetic to Clinton's plight.
" think the President's personal behavior was
reprehensible, but his public policy is exemplary.
What we're seeing is a case of creeping, political
coup de etat. I think that the Republicans went in-
to an impeachment mode and couldn't get out of
it
Westmoreland also had this to say about the di-
rection the country was taking. :
"A lot of this has been started by two of the
most dangerous men in America- Jerry Falwell
and Pat Robertson. The last time we mixed reli-
gion and politics we had burnings at the stake.
We are straying away from separation of Church
and tate. The Republicans have gotten us into a
situation where everyone will have to take a lit-
mus test of fidelity before they can hold office. On
top of it all, it's an outrage to hold impeachment
hearings right in the middle of a military cam-
paign against a foreign dictator."
Kings Mountain mayor Scott Neisler had
a clear idea about the proceedings in Washington.
"This is not so much a sex thing as it is about
someone lying under oath," Neisler said. "I'm
proud that the House of Representatives did
what was right rather than bowing under to pub-
lic opinion. They should ge on now and finish the
process."
No matter how people feel about what is tran-
spiring in our nation's Capital, one thing is for
sure- the history books will have plenty to work
with for a long time to come.
In war and peace, Guard’s ready
Engineering Battalion at Kings
Mountain National Guard
Armory are able no matter what
the duty. With 132 soldiers and
70 pieces of heavy equipment at
its disposal, Co. B handles con-
struction, humanitarian, and
maintenance jobs in places as
close as Kings Mountain, or as
far away as Central America.
Housed in the Armory build-
ing that dates back to 1948, Co.
B of the 505th is headed by
Readiness NCO Sargent 1st
Kings Mountain
300 W. Mountain St.
739-4781
Class Paul Terry.
"Our role encompasses every-
thing from building playground
equipment to helping in disas-
ter situations like Hurricane
Hugo or the hurricane in
Honduras," Sgt. Terry said. "We
are an engineering battalion
that acts like a civilian construc-
tion crew."
Among the trucks and other
vehicles that Co. B operates are
2 1/2 ton cargo and transport
trucks, 5 ton trucks, a crane,
Gastonia
529 S. New Hope Rd.
865-1111
wreckers, water tankers, bull
dozers, and road scrapers.
If Co. B and the rest of the
505th should have to go to war,
they're prepared for that too.
"In a combat situation we
would build roads, maintain
camps, dig trenches, and build
aircraft runways," said Sgt.
Terry. "We also engage in
minesweeping operations.”
Though it would take several
See Guard, 7A
ISL, |
1238 E. Dixon Blvd.
484-0222 :
ms _
|