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ABC vote
may not be
until fall
By ELIZABETH STEWART
Of The Herald Staff
Ward IV Councilman Gene
White predicts that the earliest
that a special ABC referendum
could be held would be
~~ September 1, two months be-
fore the 1999 city election.
‘White, a leader in Citizens
for a Better Community, said
the Cleveland County Board
of Elections has the petitions
ready but that a steering com-
mittee must be activated first
at a kickoff meeting yet to be
scheduled.
“It has taken about three
months since this issue first
came before city council but
we have had to clarify lan-
guage in the petition and coor-
dinate with both the
Cleveland and Gaston County
Boards of Elections,” said
White.
Citizens for a Better
Community want to eliminate
alcohol consumption in Kings
Mountain.
The petition would require
Vy
By ELIZABETH STEWART
Of The Herald Staff
Happy birthday Kings
Mountain and y’all come!
That's what city officials
» will be proclaiming at 4 p.m.
Thursday as the city unveils
its new flag on the 125th an-
niversary of the incorporation
- of Kings Mountain as a town.
Mayor Scott Neisler will
preside at the festivities in
front of City Hall. The mayor
will also distribute 250 4x6
inch flag replicas on a first-
come-first served basis.
Thursday, February 11, 1999
Kings Mountain, NC «Since 1889 *50¢
5th celebration today
“It's been a pretty well kept
secret about the color of our
new flag until last week when
the word leaked out,” said
Neisler, who is excited that the
beautiful design created by
Reg Alexander will soon fly
atop the city’s third flag pole.
Neisler said about 75 citi-
zens took the time to vote on a
* choice for the color of the new
flag, red, white and blue; gold
and black; or green and blue.
He said the vote was close on
the choice for the flag which
he called “beautiful.”
Rev. Dick Newsome, pastor
of First Presbyterian Church,
will give the invocation and
special music will be present-
ed by the Kings Mountain
High School Chorus under the
direction of Gene Bumgardner.
The service is expected to last
about 20 minutes and will
conclude with the unveiling of
the flag.
A traveling mobile unit
from the Kings Mountain Post
Office will also be on hand.
Flag design stamp cancellation
emblems will be available to
customers, most of whom will
keep the item as a memorabil-
ia of the event.
The post office will begin
selling and cancelling stamps
at 12 noon in the parking lot of
the post office. Cancellations
will be done there until 3 p.m.,
then the unit will move to city
hall fro 3:30 to 5 p.m.
Alexander first designed the
flag about 20 years ago at the
request of then-Mayor John
Henry Moss. Neisler asked
Alexander to refresh the de-
sign and then got the idea to
invite the public to vote on a
color for the design.
Neisler said citizens can be
proud of their heritage. He
plans to speak briefly about
the city’s heritage. He says lo-
«cal history buffs would really
enjoy looking at the city’s old
minute books from 1874 which
are under lock and key at city
hall but are available for pub-
lic viewing.
Today's event launches a
celebration period which will
continue throughout the year
with special events.
A
Aisne
{or L oye
That Valentine’s Day Rose
Schools ask
1-cent tax
for building
By GARY STEWART
Editor of the Herald
Kings Mountain's Board of
Education unanimously voted
probably checked for drugs
some 1800 signatures of regis- “f...Monday night to.present a reso-
tered voters for the board of
elections to call the election.
‘ “Realistically I think we are
looking at September 1 before
an election could be held,”
said White.
Committees on both sides of
the alcohol beverage control
issue in Kings Mountain are
gearing up for big campaign
kickoffs.
“ My role has been as the
contact person between the
+ Citizens for Better
Community and the Board of
Elections to get the petition in
place and be certain that it's
technically and legally cor-
rect,” said White.
White said he would not
serve as chairman of the
group. “I view this as an effort
by citizens of Kings Mountain
to decide at this point if the
advantages of alcohol in Kings
Mountain outweigh the disad-
vantages of it and am encour-
aging everyone to vote and
express their opinion on this
.. issue and this can’t be done
"until we get names on the pe-
tition,” he said.
Meantime, opponents of the
petition effort to call for an
ABC election, may mount a
petition effort of their own
and ask for a vote on alcohol
by the drink, but that’s okay
too, says White.
White said that approxi-
mately 1800 names, one third
of the registered voters in the
city, would be required on pe-
titions calling for an election.
“The opposition would re-
quire the same number of
names on their petition,” he
said.
“Kings Mountain has an-
nexed several areas and voters
in those new areas as well as
all voters’ names must be val-
idated and the petition has
been prepared exactly as vot-
ers will see it on the ballot,”
he said.
Once the petition is in the
hands of Citizens for a Better
Community the group will
have 90 days in which to gath-
er the petitions and turn them
into Elections Director Debra
Blanton for validation.
By Alan Hodge
When the torrent of candy,
cards, and flowers rains down
on Valentine's Day, we have an
English poet from the Middle
Ages to thank. One of the
world's most popular occasions,
Valentine's Day is traced back to
Geoffrey Chaucer's observation
that many birds pair off on
February 14, so it would be
equally romantic if people did a
little something nice for one an-
other as well. The odd twist to
the tale is that the name of the
man chosen for the day, St.
Valentine, was a Christian mar-
tyr who had his head chopped
off in Rome on February 14, cir-
ca 260 A.D. The year 469 A.D.
saw Pope Gelasius I officially
make February 14 Saint
Valentine's Day.
Early Valentine's Day cus-
toms included writing potential
“sweetheart's names or slips of
paper and dropping them into
water. The first name to rise
would become the true love.
Drawing names out of a jar was
also a popular Valentine cus-
tom. Whatever name you drew
was called your "valentine."
Commercial Valentine's Day
cards were first made in the -
United States around 1847 by
Esther Howard of Worcester,
Massachusetts. Howard took
samples of her handmade cards
to local stores. As the orders
poured in, she hired a staff of
women poets and artists to
mass produce the items. After
just a year or two, Howard's
Valentine's Day card business
was bringing in $100,000 per
year.
Besides cards and candy, the
other "must give" gift associated
with Valentine's Day is flowers-
See Rose, 3A
PLL : 4
ALAN HODGE / THE HERALD
ROSE IS A ROSE- Amy Smith at The Secret
Garden flower and gift shop in Kings Mountain
prepares another dozen red roses for
Valentine's Day.
These KM couples have been in love for a long time
By Alan Hodge
Imagine 118 years of mar-
riage. Before your head starts
Margaret Tate and Bill and
Margie Turner that's just what
their lives have been all about.
Married 64 and 54 years respec-
spinning, imagine being in love tively, these couples know how
the whole time. For Kings
Mountain couples Dickie and
to make love last.
When Dickie Tate came to
Neisler Mills from Lattimore in
the early 1930s, he was a single
man looking for work. Little
did he know that his job at the
mill would lead him to discover
the love of his life. Tate's young
co-worker Margaret Styers was-
n't planning on being hit with
Cupid's arrow either. Cupid
had other ideas though.
A chance meeting at the
Cleveland County Fair exhibi-
tion hall revealed that the two
See Couples, 3A
PRETTY GOOD LOOKING- Bill and Margie Turner recently cel-
ebrated their 54th wedding anniversary. The first thing Bill no-
ticed about Margie was that she seemed to be "pretty good look-
ing."
ALAN HODGE / THE HERALD
LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT- Married 64 years, Dickie and Margaret
Tate met at the county fair. Margaret says Dickie was the "most
handsome man around."
Kings Mountain
Gastonia
lution to local legislators sup-
porting a one-cent sales tax for.
public school buildings.
During a lengthy discussion,
Supt. Bob McRae said there are
three possible ways to achieve
the tax:
1) Through a vote of the
General Assembly which would:
declare a tax throughout the
state;
2) Through a statewide refer- :
endum authorized by the
General Assembly; or
3) Through a local option ref- :
erendum authorized by the
General Assembly.
While most members of the
board agreed they would take
the tax in any manner, some
said a local vote may be the best
- option.
“We've been discussing this
for quite a while,” Board
Chairman Ronnie Hawkins not-
ed. “We discussed it last year
and we have also discussed it at
Superintendents /Board
Chairmen meetings. We tried
last year to get local legislation.
Personally, I would like to see
this brought up as a local issue
and ask our people to support
it” :
Hawkins said he is confident
the people of Cleveland County
would support the tax.
“It would be our job to show
the need,” he said. “I believe we
can do that. I just want the op-
portunity to do it.”
At present, Kings Mountain
has over $12 million in con-
struction needs, according to a
recent facility study. The system
is planning a new school for
grades five and six.
“We would let the people
know what our needs are,” said
Hawkins. “If they (the General
Assembly) don’t pass this
statewide I would like to see
our local legislators call for a lo-
cal option.”
Supt. McRae said
Cumberland County represen-
tatives have already introduced -
legislation for a one-cent sales
tax; and he predicted there
would be more support in the
General Assembly this year
See School, 3A
Shelby
JODIE Ee
[83013
7
303 W. Mountain St.
739-4781
529 S. New Hope Rd.
LINER RE
1238 E. Dixon Blvd.
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