Jeff Smith doesn’t
mind being called
Freddy’s son
Restored pickup
best of both
2A
worlds
Vol. 111 No. 08
Anti-alcohol
drive to begin
on March 9
By ELIZABETH STEWART
. Of The Herald Staff
“Citizens for a Better
Community” will kick-off a pe-
tition drive against alcohol
March 9 at 7:30 p.m. in the gym-
nasium of the Kings Mountain
Community Center.
Ward 4 Councilman Gene
White said a letter is going out
this week to all churches in the
Kings Mountain area to invite
participation.
“We're looking for a big
crowd because we need 1,800
valid signatures of registered
voters on petitions and the peti-
tions will be there for people to
sign and for people to take and
canvass the community,” said
‘White.
White, who is spearheading
the organizational efforts, said
‘he will pick up the petitions
from the Cleveland County
Board of Elections March 3.
White said the petitions must
be returned to Board of
Elections Chairman Debra
Blanton on June 3. The
timetable calls for the elections
board to validate the petitions
within 30 days. After July 3, the
board of elections would have
60-120 days to call the election.
“We're looking at Se ber
15 for the actual election,” said
White.
White said the March 9 meet-
ing is a rally and kick-off
“against alcohol, drugs and
gambling in any form in Kings
Mountain.” White said that al-
cohol sales are “hurting Kings
Mountain.”
White reiterated that only
registered voters living in the
Kings Mountain city limits can
sign the petitions. He said,
however, that outside city resi-
dents are also directly and indi-
rectly affected and should also
turn out to help out in the cam-
paign.
“We need people to be here
physically to work to rid our
- community of alcohol,” he said.
Term limits
for Board
may reverse
City Council may reverse a
vote it took on term limits for
the Kings Mountain ABC
Board.
Reappointing attorney Tim
Moore, Council Tuesday tabled
until the March meeting the
reappointment of the chairman,
attorney Andy Neisler who has
served for 11 years in the posi-
tion. :
- “We don’t have term limits
on any other board and we
should not hog-tie future coun-
cils by mandating that this
board have term limits,” said
Mayor Scott Neisler, commend-
ing the ABC board and staff for
the smooth-running operation.
Moore, who has not yet com-
pleted his first term on the
board, was endorsed by
Councilman Phil Hager who
joined the mayor in commehd-
ing the leadership of the board.
City Clerk Marilyn Sellers
said no other applications for
either of the two vacant posi-
tions has been received.
Moore's term expires
March 31. Neisler’s term ex-
pired January 31.
See Limits, 2A
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By ELIZABETH STEWART
Of The Herald Staff
City Council Tuesday night
unanimously voted all 160 city
. employees a pay raise effective
March 7.
The $367,000 hike to the an-
nual payroll won't cost taxpay-
ers any increases in taxes or us-
er fees.
City Council passed a budget
amendment of $131,000 to take
care of the remainder of the
year costs.
Thursday, February 25, 1999
City Manager Jimmy Maney
said the costs, including fringe
benefits, will come from the
general fund ($220,000) with
$148,000 coming from the enter-
prise funds, electricity, water,
sewer and gas.
The pay hike means that, for
instance, a patrolman with the
city police department will
make $22,594 annually, com-
pared to $19,531, and a sanita-
tion worker will see his pay go
up to $15,513 annually, from
$12,958. A total of 21.9 percent
of the pay raise total in the gen-
eral fund goes to police while
12.8 percent goes to sanitation
workers.
Maney said no further raises
would be considered until the
2000-2001 budget year.
He said the committee’s pro-
posal is designed to keep peo-
ple, certified and non-certified,
and cut the city’s training ex-
penses.
The plan is a combination of
the N. C. League of
Municipalities survey and the
MAPS pay plan that was con-
ducted and never implemented
Kings Mountain, NC «Since
City approves 367,000 in pay raises
in 1994-95, according to Maney.
The figures come close to the
minimum scale as proposed in
these two studies.
Maney said the city employ-
ees whose pay falls over the
minimum salary in the schedule
will receive a 2 1/2 percent
raise. Maney said no depart-
ment head salary falls in this
category but this group applies
to several people such as secre-
taries who have been with the
city a number of years.
Longevity was also a considera-
tion reflected in the plan.
1889 *50¢
RANSOM LB
“There will be no increase in
taxes or user fees to fund the
raises but this plan gets the city
in a base salary range for being
competitive but it will need to
be upgraded in July 2000,” said
Maney.
Maney said the plan mirrors
salaries across the state and is a
solid pay plan with grade steps
and job classifications designed
to promote employees.
“We are not upping taxes or
user fees to implement this plan
See Pay Hike, 2A
A special Chamber of Commerce banquet at Kings Mountain City Hall Tuesday night saw many lo-
cal business leaders gather for food and friendship. Among the guests were, left to right; Kings
Mountain City Manager Jimmy Maney, Cleveland County Chamber of Commerce Kings Mountain
division branch head Jay Rhodes, and First Charter Bank executives Jo Ann Hall and Brian
Riggins.
Business is looking up
- More companies becoming involved in KM Chaniber Branch
BY ALAN HODGE
Staff Writer
Over 100 local business leaders and guests at-
tended a special Cleveland County and Kings
Mountain Chamber of Commerce banquet
Tuesday evening at Kings Mountain City Hall.
Among the dignitaries present was new Kings
Mountain Chamber branch head Jay Rhodes.
Representing the Cleveland County Chamber
was president Rob Youngblood.
Several local businesses provided refreshments
for the gathering. Offering tables loaded with
their wares were Triple G Farms, Wendell's Town
and Country Catering, Town and Country
Barbecue, Linwood Restaurant, and Subway.
Pam Goforth of Triple G Farms was especially
trich farm.
impressed with the quality of the banquet and the
way it gave a boost to she and husband Ed's os-
"It was a really good turn out of nice people,"
Goforth said. "We got a lot of favorable response
to our business.
but dropped out because the meetings were in
We used to be in the Chamber,
Shelby. Now that the Kings Mountain division of
-the Chamber is growing and doing good things,
we'll be more active."
See Chamber 2A
Kings Mountain City
Council is requesting county
commissioners to include the
city’s proposed senior center in
any bond issue that’s put before
county voters.
City Manager Jimmy Maney
has drafted the letter to
Chairman Jim Crawley that has
the signature of Mayor Scott
Neisler and all seven city coun-
cil members.
8 | The Cleveland County
Council on Aging/ Senior
Center in Shelby has asked the
commission to approve putting
a $3.5 million bond to build a
new senior center in Shelby up
for a vote. That bond would
add 1 cent to the county tax
rate.
“Our two centers aren’t com-
peting with one another and we
work together very closely and
hope we can continue to do so
but Kings Mountain is the mid-
dle of a project to build a new
center,” said Maney. “We feel
that if commissioners approve a
bond for a new center in Shelby
that funds should also be in-
cluded in a bond for our build-
The city is recipient of a
$50,000 rural development
grant for the Battleground sew-
er project.
Planning Director Steve
Killian said the funds are in-
cluded in a $395,000 project to
extend 6,000 lineal feet of sewer
line to Franklin Minerals on S.
Battleground Avenue.
KM wants included
in senior bond vote
“...if commissioners ap-
prove a bond for a new
center in Shelby. Jung
should also be included
for our new building pro-
gram.”
Jimmy Maney
ing program,” he said.
Kings Mountain Aging
Director Monty Thornburg said
he feels that Kings Mountain se-
niors would support a larger
bond if they would benefit from
it:
Kings Mountain recently re-
ceived a $100,000 grant to assist
in its building project estimated
to cost $800,000.
The county’s current tax rate
is 62.7 cents per $100 of as-
sessed value. On a home valued :
at $60,000, the additional tax to
pay off a $3.5 million bond
would be an additional $6 a
year.
County commissioners are
expected to hear the bond pro-
posal at the March 16 meeting
in Shelby.
City gets $50,000 for sewer project
The Cleveland County Board
of Commissioners has appropri-
ated $320,000 for the project
which includes $28,000 for engi-
neering; $2,000 for legal ser-
vices; $353,000 for construction;
and $11,7500 for contingencies.
The grant announcement was
made by Rep. Andy Dedmon of
Cleveland County Tuesday.
KM celebrates Black History
By FAYE WEBBER
Special to the Herald
The Black History and culture
program given on Sunday at
Mauney Memorial Library was
a wonderful learning experi-
ence for the record crowd.
Thee
“ticipated.
HAGER Some came
from as far away as Charlotte.
The “Joy Too Chorus,” under
the direction of Shelia Leonard,
accompanied by Scott Brown,
rendered the music.
After leading the audience in
prayer, the Rev. Pruella Sanders
gave an overview of contribu-
tions made by African
Americans in the fields of mu-
sic, sports, science, and religion.
She emphasized the need to
reach out to all people as
Americans.
Phillip Hager, a Kings
Mountain city councilman,
spoke mainly to the youth, en-
couraging them to remain in
school for an education. He
spoke of being a councilman,
and learned “when to listen,
when to speak and a time when
to shut up,” reminding them
there is a time for everything.
CORRY SANDERS .
The people clapped their hands
and laughed.
Attorney Claywood Corry
held the audience with wonder
and amazement with true sto-
ries of facts and history of
‘Kings Mountain
ERA ETHIE
Cleveland County’s earliest
African Americans. His first
story was about Compact, the
first school for black children.
Twelve free black men, naming
each one of them, formed a
group to build a school for
black children. The men paid
the teacher $1.50 each and
bushels of wheat grains month-
ly for his services .
Next, Corry told about the
founders of Vestibule AME
Zion Church, Washington
Baptist, and Ebenezer Baptist
churches of Cleveland County.
His last story was a true story
of an African girl who was kid-
napped from her native home
Month
and was brought to America,
and sold as a slave. Through the
years she was willed from one
slave owner to another.
Eventually, she was brought to
a slave master in Cleveland
County. She became the mother
of seven children. The heritage
of the Borders and Roberts fam-
ilies, and others, goes back to
the slave girl, kidnapped from
Africa, and named Syliver,
Corry being one of her fifth
generation. )
The program was composed
of education, history, arts of
Carolina’s African American
artists, and teachings in the de-
velopment of a civilization of
pluralistic society.