Thursday, August 26, 1999
“Vol. 111 No. 34
Hers
Since 1889
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GR ei 8 Vr SSP Se eS
SPORTS
Kings Mountain High's
Anthony Hillman picks up a
big chunk of yardage in last
week's scrimmage with
Mooresville at Gamble
Stadium.
Strike up the band!
Football begins Friday
There's nothing like the at-
mosphere and excitement of
high school football, and for
Kings Mountain High fans it
begins Friday night at John
Gamble Stadium. Kings
Mountain’s football team,
band and cheerleaders have
been practicing hard for this
week's opener against East
Gaston. 1B
Mountaineer football
tab inside today’s paper
And, speaking of football,
don’t miss the special insert
Mountaineer Football ‘99 in-
side today’s Herald. The tab
features a preview on the
Mountaineers’ season and in-
formation about all of their
players and opponents.
Seminoles (who else?)
class of Atlantic Coast
Florida State’s Seminoles,
naturally, are favored to win
the ACC this year, but Georgia
Tech could also have one of the
nation’s best teams. 7B
SEE
PEOPLE
Lib Stewart honored
at retirement party
Longtime Kings Mountain
Herald employee Lib Stewart
was honored for her 47 years
of service Thursday at The Red
Lobster in Gastonia. Lib’s get-
Annexation vote is Tuesday
If City Council members vote
“yes” Tuesday night on annexa-
tion, the city will have 10
months to prepare for the
largest annexation in its history,
2,300 plus acres south and east
of the city that would increase
- the city’s area by half.
Proponents of the issue say
the move would buffer against
Gastonia’s encroachment from
the east, a protective move that
would assure Kings Mountain a
new market for expansion of
the city’s utility sales.
After last week’s work ses-
sion, the vote on the annexation
could be a certainty although
before last week the subject was
getting mixed reaction from
several council members and
‘objection from some
Canterbury Road residents.
“I've heard a lot from the
public this week and I hope that
everyone on Council will be as
solid for as I am,” said Norma
Bridges, mayor pro tem.
Bridges said those residents in
the Canterbury area, particular-
ly, would find they would be
paying more for services and in
taxes by being annexed by
Gastonia.
“And that is coming if Kings
Mountain doesn’t move ahead
now,” she said.
After last week's work ses-
sion Council may not be as far
apart as it has been on the an-
nexation issue.
It is the largest proposed an-
nexation in the city’s history,
and according to Benchmark
annexation consultant Richard
he can to get in the water.
GARY STEWART / THE HERALD
it won't be long until cooler weather comes and all area swimming pools and lakes will shut
down until next year. Alan Breakfield, son of Tab and Molly Breakfield, takes every cpportunity
Senior Center inching — to goal
Naming rooms for donors is one approach
that fund-raisers are taking in the next six weeks
to complete a $1.2 million dollar campaign to
build a new senior center.
Norma Bridges, a member of the senior advi-
sory board for the past six years, said each of the
24 members of the steering committee has been
challenged to give $500 with up to $1,000 in con-
tributions to come from each of the members of
the steering committee so that one room in the
new facility can be purchased by this working
group.
To date, more than $850,000 has been pledged
to build a 15,000 square feet Senior Life and
Conference Center with construction hopefully to
start this year.
“Fourteen rooms will be named for donations
of $10,000 to $100,000,” said Bridges, who has one
$100,000 pledge from a local citizen for whom the
center will be named.
Soil testing has been completed at the seven
acre site across from The Herald on East King
Street and the city has applied for a state permit
for clearing and grading the land.
City Manager Jimmy Maney and Advisory
and design may be similar to the new police
department so that the building can be easily
identified as a city building.
“We want to break ground in this calendar
year,” said Bridges, who said the facility “ will
show our senior residents that we care and that
we are taking care of them for the future.”
A visit on any given day to the Depot Center
finds senior residents excited about the planning
underway for the new facility.
“We had strong leadership from the city, a
$500,000 commitment and a state grant of
$100,000,” said Bridges.
“We are getting there,”
Belt gave an update on facility construction
she said.
plans at the August 18 meeting of the steering
committee
Campaign updates were presented by Carl
Elliott, campaign project director and updates on
goal were given by campaign co-chair Charles
Mauney and Larry Hamrick.
Elliott explained that an Architect for Life
plaque will be placed in the lobby of the facility
honoring the Architects, representing the top of
the pyramid with gifts of $25,000 to $100,000;
_ with felonious possession of
ting ready to become the
President of the National
American Legion Auxiliary.
Board President Jim Belt and Senior Director
Monty Thornburg were meeting with prospective
architects this week. Maney said the color scheme
Benefactors, the second tier, with gifts of $10,000
to $24,999; patrons, the third tier, with gifts of
See Center, 3A
4A
Gospel/patriotic sing
Saturday at KM High
A gigantic gospel/ patriotic
concert is scheduled for
Saturday night at B.N. Barnes
Auditorium. Proceeds will go
to the American Legion
Auxiliary which is sponsoring
National President Lib
Stewart. 3A
Fund raisers set
for area citizens
When someone’s down on
their luck or facing a major
health crisis, Kings Mountain
churches and people are the
first to come to their aid. Insid
today’s Herald you'll read
about Delores Suttles, a recent
stroke victim, on page 2A, and
one-year-old Shana Locklair,
who is facing heart surgery, on
page 4A. Fund raisers this
weekend will help both of
them with their medical ex-
penses.
FIRST NATIONAL BANK
Celebrating 125 Years
Highway to heaven?
85 more like Hades
BY ALAN HODGE
Staff Writer
Highway Hades is being
caught on I-85 in Gaston or
Cleveland counties when road
crews reduce traffic to one lane
and the temperature is hitting
100 degrees. With an estimated
56,800 vehicles plying that
stretch of interstate daily, clos-
ing a lane for even a short peri-
od of time can create a traffic
jam that stretches for miles.
Adding salt to the roadwork
wound is the fact that work
along that sector of highway
will not be completely wrapped
up until December, 2000.
First, the good'riews. The
stretch of I-85 between Kings
Mountain and Grover that occa-
sionally sees traffic backups is
getting a sod job that’s just 60
days from completion. In addi-
tion to the centipede grass sod,
the median is being equipped
with cable catch barriers.
“The Kings Mountain area of
I-85 is experiencing traffic slow-
downs due to water trucks try-
ing to keep the new sod from
burning up in the heat,” said
Dan Grissom of the N.C.
Highways Department. “The
contractor for the cable barrier,
Bagwell Fence of Spartanburg,
has put down 22,000 square feet
of new sod at a cost of $118,957.
Water trucks are trying to keep
the grass alive until it rains.
They can slow but not stop traf-
fic along that stretch of road.”
The guardrail and sod job
See Traffic, 3A
Kings Mountain
300 WV,
739-4781
Flowe it’s an opportunity for
growth if not grasped by Kings
Mountain will go to neighbor-
ing Gastonia.
“If you vote this down on
August 31 the City of Gastonia
can move on it September 1 and
. now it’s only a half mile from
Gastonia to Kings Mountain's
existing city limits,” he said
Bridges, Gene White, Rick
Murphrey and Phil Hager have
publicly stated they favor the
annexation. Councilman
Clavon Kelly, “between a rock
and a hard place” last week,
now says he will vote for the
annexation.
Councilman Bob Hayes and
Jerry Mullinax say they learned
some new things during the
discussion, including the fact
that there is no current non-an-
nexation agreement between
Kings Mountain and Gastonia.
In a meeting with Gastonia
officials, City Manager Jimmy
Maney said he learned that
See City, 3A
KM, Grover residents
charged in drug cases
The Cleveland County
Sheriff's Office’s Narcotics / Vice
and Cop Division made several
arrests last week involving traf-
ficking in cocaine, marijuana
and other drug related charges.
A search warrant was execut-
ed August 18 at the residence of
Scott and Tamela Gantt, 2414
Pleasant Hill Church Road,
Grover. Lt. Billy Benton said the
search was the result of a two-
week investigation conducted
by narcotics investigators.
Benton said the department
seized 3782 grams of marijuana,
$9,453, five long rifles, five
handguns including a Tech 9 se-
mi-automatic assault pistol with
a 30 round clip, and a 9 mm
Taurus semi-automatic pistol.
Arrested were William Scott
Gantt, 37, and Tamela Goins
Gantt, 36. They were charged |
“marijuana with intent to sell
© and deliver marijuana; posses-
sion of drug paraphernalia for
the purpose of storage; sale
and/or delivery of a controlled
substance.
In a separate incident, the
Sheriff's Office arrested a Kings
Mountain resident on Thursday.
Jack Eugene Goins, 47, 934
Grace Street, was charged with
conspiracy to traffic in marijua-
na, two counts each of posses-
sion with intent to sell and de-
livery of marijuana, and the sale
and delivery of marijuana.
Benton said Goins was cur-
rently out on bond for charges
in March, 1998 when he was
charged with trafficking in 130
grams of cocaine and the sale
and delivery of marijuana. He
said Goins was charged again
in October, 1998 with six counts
of sale and delivery of cocaine
and marijuana and maintaining
a dwelling for the purpose of
sale and delivery of controlled
substances. ]
Benton said Goins has served
time in prison for trafficking in
cocaine.
KM youngster
struck by car
A seven-year-old boy was
treated for injuries Saturday at
Kings Mountain Hospital after
he was struck by a car at 7:40
p.m.
The driver of the vehicle,
Robert Thomas Strickland, 42,
of 175 Mulberry Rd., Grover,
was transported by Cleveland
County EMS to Cleveland
Regional Medical Center in
Shelby for treatment.
Ptl. Tony Reavis said a birth-
day party was in progress at
305 Juniper Street and a group
of children were playing ball
outside and stepped out of the
roadway into the driveway
- waiting for a car to pass.
Reavis said witnesses said
the Strickland ear swerved and
struck the pedestrian knocking
the boy to the ground. Reavis
said the driver left the scene
and was followed by a witness
at the scene who said the driver
lost control of his car, hit a city
utility pole and wires and sank
into a culvert causing the vehi-
cle to lift on two wheels and
then hit an embankment caus-
ing it to begin tumbling end
over end. The car then struck a
large tree and another utility
pole sending it spinning and fi-
nally came to rest facing east
and rightside up about 361 feet
from the intersection of
McGinnis Street to the north.
Damages were estimated at
$7000.
Police charged Strickland
with felony hit and run and
careless and reckless driving,
DWI, driving while license re-
voked, speeding, failure to re-
duce speed, no seat belt, and
fictitious plate.
Arresting officer was Ptl. B.
Biletnikoff.
Mountain St.
(EPI 17)
529 New Hope Rd.
EERE
GARY STEWART / THE HERALD
Traffic travels at just slightly more than a snail's pace on I-85 south where the Highway
Department is shifting traffic to one lane while it resews grass in the median.
Shelby
Man (Oftice
106 S.
Lafayette St.
BE ERAN]
Member FDIC
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