TT i PE eT Tn wut irs Higa a wi
Thursday, October 28, 1999
y
KINGS MOUNTAIN
Vol. 111 No. 43
—
Since 1889
J 3
gE elk
wo WO 9
| $05 >
2 as on sof Gh By
A 500. PP
50 Cents
A i Ws
on SRE
30% AN IR CL G46
TS . cast
AL
ct NSA
A. 3a
OO, © aw
AANETE | SO
NORGE 70T xk
\
1B
#
RR MPO Ar Oe Se Les oC ER SL LS St SR WL
=
Sdn
KM sets
Halloween
Saturday
BY ALAN HODGE
Staff Writer
Ghosts and goblins will be
doing their Halloween thing on
Saturday this year in many
communities, Kings Mountain
included. A favorite time for
the kids, Halloween is also an
evening when accidents can
lurk like ghouls for the unwary.
By following some common
sense safety tips, and perhaps
giving up freelance trick or
treating for a more structured
night, parents and kids can
breathe easy that this
Halloween will be a safe one.
For a safe Halloween, the
Kings Mountain fire depart-
ment offers several tips to help
prevent an accidental fire.
“One of the main things peo-
ple need to be careful with on
Halloween is using candles,”
said fire chief Frank Burns.
- “Also, make sure that the chil-
dren’s costumes are fire retar-
dant. If you are lighting a
‘Halloween pumpkin, use a long
fireplace match instead of a
piece of rolled up paper.”
Other tips from the Kings
Mountain fire department in-
clude keeping wigs and loose
clothing away from flames, nev-
er using silly string near flame,
and keeping all matches and
lighters away from children in
general. Halloween is also a
good time to change your
smoke alarm batteries as well.
For safety and security, the
Kings Mountain police will be
putting on extra officers for
Halloween evening. The police
are also offering tips for a safe
and fun Halloween.
“It's a good idea to wear light
colored costumes and stay in
groups,” said Capt. Houston
Corn. “Only go to houses in
your own neighborhood that
have their porch lights on for
trick or treaters. It’s also a good
to carry a flashlight on your
trick or treat rounds. If anyone
has any type of problem on
Halloween, don’t hesitate to call
the police.”
Children darting eagerly
from house to house present a
chance for an accident to hap-
pen. Highway safety tips for
Halloween include making sure
that children cross streets at
crosswalks, never cross between
parked cars, and look both
ways before crossing the road.
The goal of trick or treating is
to gather as much candy as
possible. Unfortunately, the
chance always exists that some-
one might want to turn a treat
into a trick. Children should
never take candy that isn’t in its
original, sealed wrapper. It’s al-
s0 a good idea to have an adult
check all treats before they are
eaten. If something should look
suspicious, call the police.
Though some hospitals have
offered to x-ray candy bags in
the past, the Kings Mountain
Hospital will not be doing so
this year.
For parents a little leery about
letting their children do the tra-
ditional door to door
Halloween thing, there are sev-
eral alternatives in the Kings
Mountain area this year. Some
local churches will be having
fall festivals as an alternative to
Halloween.
First Baptist Church in Kings
Mountain will be holding a hal-
lelujah carnival on October 31
from 6-8 pm. The carnival will
feature food, and games with a
Noah's Ark theme. There will
also be a hayride. First
Presbyterian in Kings
See Halloween, 3A
| FIRST NATIONAL BANK
NC Er)
i
Fallston fire chief Gene Stinchcomb (left) works the Ja
while Shelby Rescue member Keith Strickiand (right) looks on.
ticipating in Extrication ‘99 classes held at Auto Parts of S
emergency, and rescue teams advanced crash victim extric
in good shape
financially
By GARY STEWART
Editor of The Herald
Kings Mountain City Council got
some good news Tuesday night. As of
September 30 the city has a cash bal-
ance of $2.1 million in its water/sewer
fund and $1.1 million in its electrical
fund.
City Manager Jimmy Maney praised
the members of Council for “bringing
this city back on the foundation that
it’s on” and “setting the stage for the
city not just to move forward, but to
leap-frog forward.”
But, Maney said, the city can’t afford
to spend money unwisely nor can it af-
ford to consider lowering taxes or util-
ity rates, because one or two major
catastrophes could wipe out the bal-
ance.
Over $700,000 of the fund balance in
the water/sewer fund will go to the
city’s bond payment, leaving about
$1.4 million.
“If you had a major expenditure you
can see real quick that you’ve only got
one advanced bond payment in the
bank,” he said.
Maney said even higher fund bal-
cost you $150,000 right quick,” he said.
“You could lose equipment at a substa-
tion or anything. So your fund bal-
ances, although they're solid and you
could handle an emergency, you're
still is no shape to address the possibil-
ity of major capital improvements.”
Maney said at present there's about
$20 million worth of needed capital
improvements.
The city has several utility improve-
ments in the works, including a new
water line from Moss Lake to town
that could cost $8 million to $10 mil-
lion.
Maney says Kings Mountain is one
of only five cities in the state that owns
four utility systems (water, sewer elec-
tric and gas) and managing those Sys-
tems’ finances is a “balancing act.”
“You have to be able to construct the
capital improvements and at the same
time not raise taxes or utility rates, or
not have a bond referendum,” Maney
said. “That's a balancing act, and
we've been very good at balancing the
last few years. But in 1989 the city
floated some $11 million worth of
bonds and the reason for that was for a
number of years the utility systems
ALAN HODGE /THE HERALD ':
ws of Life rescue tool :
The two were par- :
helby to teach fire, i
ation metheds.
ances may be required to meet the fu-
ture needs of a growing city.
“We've got $1.1 million in the elec-
trical fund, but you could lose one
breaker or transformer and that could
had been drained and nothing put
back into them.”
y See Council, 3A
Rescuers get hands-on experience at Extrication ‘99
BY ALAN HODGE
Staff Writer
Rescue and emergency work-
ers from across the nation gath-
ered last weekend in Shelby for
a seminar that could save your
life. From classroom sessions at
: Shelby High School, to cutting
i open previously crashed cars at
the Auto Parts of Shelby sal-
. vage yard, Extrication ‘99
: crews honed the skills they
© need to get someone out of an
accident damaged auto in the
least amount of time possible.
Sponsored by Cleveland
Community College, the Shelby
Fire Department, and Cleveland
County EMS, the seminar and
field work featured emergency
instructors from as far away as
Santa Clara, California.
Cleveland County was well
represented at the gathering by
Kings Mountain and Grover
citizens will go to the polls
Tuesday to elect mayors, city
council members and two
members to the Kings
Mountain Board of Education.
Polls open at 6:30 a.m. and
close at 7:30 p.m. Election re-
sults will be tallied at the
Cleveland County Board of
Elections and posted at the
Cleveland County Volunteer
Fire Department in Shelby.
Unofficial election results
will also be posted on the
Internet at
www.co.cleveland.nc.us.
Both Kings Mountain and
Grover are assured of having
new mayors. Kings Mountain
Mayor Scott Neisler is not run-
ning for re-election, and
Grover Mayor Max Rollins opt-
ed to run for one of the Town
Council seats
Neisler’s decision not to run
instructors Chris Poole of
Fallston, and Chris Poston,
Kevin Gordon, and Brent
Gordon, all of Shelby. Also pre-
sent was Cleveland County
EMS training officer Lewis
Jenkins.
The range of topics that
Extrication ‘99 addressed ran
the gamut of information need-
ed by rescue workers.
Classroom subjects included ki-
netics of trauma, extrication
tools, vehicle stabilization, and
new vehicle technology.
After spending time in the
classroom, Extrication “99 crews
went into the field for hands-on
practice in getting folks out of
crashed vehicles quickly and
safely. Shuttled into the bowels
of the huge Auto Parts of
Shelby recycling graveyard, the
field exercises included ten dif-
ferent crash simulations with
Council, School
again for mayor also assures
that Kings Mountain will have
new faces on the Council.
Current Council members
Norma Bridges and Rick
Murphrey are seeking the may-
or’s seat along with former
Mayor Kyle Smith and Ted
Chandler and PeeWee
Hamrick.
Two people have an easy
ride into the new Kings
Mountain administration.
Current Ward 3 Councilman
Clavon Kelly is unopposed for
his second term on Council;
and former Councilman Dean
Spears is running unopposed
for the Ward 4 seat.
Gene White, the current
Councilman representing Ward
4, is running for one of the two
At-Large sets, along with in-
cumbent Bob Hayes, Al Frank
Brackett, Kenny Bridges, for-
mer Councilman William R.
Kings Moun
live and manikin occupants.
Crews of rescue workers rotat-
ed between the stations to get
the maximum education.
Suited up in their safety hel-
mets and overalls, the crash ex-
trication students used tools
ranging from chains and wood-
ed blocks to the latest in extrica-
tion technology to perform their
jobs. One of the tool vendors
present was Shelby-manufac-
tured Hurst Jaws of Life.
“The Jaws of Life can exert
up to 28,000 pounds of spread-
ing force and 70,000 pounds of
cutting force,” said Hurst repre-
sentative Carl Schaapman. “The
jaws operate with 5,000 pounds
of hydraulic pressure.”
Though technology can work
to the advantage of rescuers, it
can also present problems as
Extrication ‘99 instructor
Assistant Chief Harold Pool
from Pensacola, Florida ex-
plained.
“The new cars have several
features that make training ses-
sions like this one very impor-
tant,” Pool said. “In some new
cars the gas cylinders for air
bags are located in door and
roof pillars- places we used to
be able to just cut away to get a
victim out. Another problem
area is the fact that batteries are
being located under seats and
even behind wheels. We often
need to unhook a battery to dis-
arm air bags and the places they
are being put now makes the
job difficult.”
Everyone of the the 150 EMS,
fire, and rescue workers who at-
tended Extrication ‘99 knew
that one day, what they learned
in the sea of crashed cars in
Shelby would come in handy.
“The true test of this training
is when the crews actually have
to use it to save a life,” Pool
said. “The crews are here to
learn the fastest, safest way to
get someone out of an accident
scene.”
Even though most of the
Extrication ‘99 attendees were
from Cleveland County, several
came from other towns. Rick
Cauthen made his way to
Shelby from Beaver Lane, N.C.
“Extrication ‘99 is a good way
to gain a wide range of experi-
ence in a two-day seminar,”
Cauthen said. “I can take what
I've learned here back to Beaver
Lane and share the knowledge
with my co-workers.”
No one knows when they
may have need of the training
that Extrication ‘99 provided.
One thing that is knowable,
however, is that the course will
save many lives in Cleveland
County and elsewhere.
Board elections Tuesday
Grissom, Curtis Pressley and
Wayne Worcester.
Ward 1 Councilman Phillip
Hager faces opposition from
Rev. Howard H. Shipp.
In Ward 2, incumbent Jerry
Mullinax faces the same two
men he defeated two years
ago, former Councilman Jim
Guyton and Danny Navy.
There is a two-man race in
Ward 5 between Jim Norris
and Carl B. DeVane. That ward
was assured a new representa-
tive when Murphrey elected to
run for Mayor.
Current Councilman W.D.
“Bill” Favell seeks the mayor's
seat in Grover, along with for-
mer commissioner Robbie
Sides. Bill Willis filed to run for
the office but announced last
week that he was withdrawing
from the race. However, since
ballots had already been print-
ed his name will still appear.
Jack Herndon and Robert L.
Hunt are running for two full-
term Council seats, and current
mayor Max Rollins and Chuck
Potts are seeking an unexpired
term which ends on December
1, 2001.
Incumbents Shearra Miller
and B.S. “Sonny” Peeler are op-
posed by Stella N. Putnam for
the two inside city seats on the
Kings Mountain District Board
of Education. Although the
seats are designated as “inside
city” seats, all voters living in
the Kings Mountain School
District may vote in this elec-
tion.
Area polling sites are:
Bethware - El Bethel United
Methodist Church fellowship
hall, 122 El Bethel Road.
Grover - Grover Town Hall,
207 Mulberry Road.
Kings Mountain #1 - Second
Baptist Church, 120 Linwood
Road.
Kings Mountain #2 - Kings
Mountain Community Center,
208 N. Cleveland Avenue.
Kings Mountain #3 -
National Guard Armory, 200
Phifer Rd.
Kings Mountain #4 -
American Legion Post 155, 613
E. Gold St.
Oak Grove - Oak Grove
Baptist Church fellowship hall,
1022 Oak Grove Rd.
Waco - Waco Town Hall, 200
A.W. Black St.
Bethware/Oak Grove area
voters are reminded that the
Oak Grove precinct is new. It
was formed from the precincts
of Waco and Bethware. Waco’s
polling place remains the same,
but Bethware’s polling site has
been changed to El Bethel
United Methodist Church.
Bessemer City
ER LIU
55 Td
Ss a SEA SASI—.,
Xo ———
7