Thursday, December 2, 1999
Vol. 111 No. 48
Since 1889
50 Cents
encourage
teammates in
opening meet 10A
COMMUNITY
Bein
Schools negotiating
land for new school
The Kings Mountain Board
of Education authorized Supt. :
Bob McRae to negotiate a price :
for 58 acres of land near Kings
Mountain Middle School
where the system hopes to
build a new 5-6 grade school.
2A
Committee to offer
name for new gazebo
City Council Tuesday night
approved a committee to rec-
ommend a name for the new
gazebo in downtown Kings
Mountain. 3A
KM Council may
fund downtown mural : :
City Council Tuesday night
moved forward with a plan to
paint a mural in downtown
Kings Mountain. There are
some details to be worked out,
but the board will probably
take action on the matter at its
December meeting. 7A
‘Local companies say
they're ready for Y2K
Several local companies and
government agencies held a
Y2K seminar Tuesday after-
noon at City Hall. All say Y2K
will be business as usual. 11A
SPORTS
Fall sports awards
given at KM High
Kings Mountain High's
Booster Club honored fall
sports athletes at a ceremony
Monday night at B.N. Barnes
Auditorium. 8A
PEOPLE
John Yarbro’s 98,
but still in charge
John Yarbro is 98 years old,
but he still makes the rounds
and calls the shots at his farm
in the Bethlehem Community
near Kings Mountain. 2B
POLICE
Undercover investigation
results in 82 charges
Kings Mountain Police and
the Cleveland County Sheriff's :
Department worked together
on a six-month undercover
drug operation which last
week resulted in 82 charges
against Cleveland County and
area residents. 4B
Mountaineer Christmas
at the downtown gazebo
m
5:00-6:00 - Melody Masters
6:00-6:30 - Opening ceremony
6:30-7:00 - Jim Belt
7:00-7:30 - Little Theatre
7:30-7:45 - Jim Belt
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se0ccscccecsssesesccssensssnassssecsnone
An open forum to discuss the
possible merger of the three
Cleveland County school sys-
tems will be held Saturday at 7
p-m. at Kings Mountain High
School. The forum is being
sponsored by the Kings
Mountain Citizens for Effective
Government, with cooperation
of the Kings Mountain PTOs.
The committee urges all inter-
ested citizens to attend.
Members of the Kings
Mountain School Board and
Cleveland County Board of
Commissioners have been invit-
ed and citizens will have an op-
portunity to voice their opin-
ions and ask questions.
However, whether any
County Commissioners attend.
is questionable right now. Ii
conversations with The Herald;
commissioners said they have
not yet been formally informed.
of the meeting, and most of "++
them indicated they probably
won't attend.
Commissioner Willie
McIntosh of Shelby said he has
a previous commitment at the
same time but hopes to make it
to Kings Mountain for at least
part of the meeting.
Other commissioners say
they have not yet began their
study of merger, and participat-_
Merger forum Saturd
By GARY STEWART
Editor of The Herald
ing in any public meeting at this
time would be premature.
“People are staking out posi-
tions and we don’t even know
what the position is going to
be,” said Commissioner Joe
Hendrick. “We need to look at
all the information available,
‘then we'll listen to the folks that
want to talk about it because
that’s what it’s all about.”
Commissioner Joe Cabaniss
said he feels sure public hear-
ings will be scheduled on the is-
sue later, but added that any cit-
izens wanting to voice opinions
on the issue are welcome to at-
tend County Commission meet-
ings on the first and third
; Tuesdays of each month at 6:30
Christmastime in the city
p-m. at the County
Administration Building and
sign up to speak.
“I don’t have any feelings on
it at this time,” he said. “I feel
like we need to take a good
hard look at what's best for the
schools and students. I think
. our children are the most im-
portant factor, and we need to
do what's best for all of them.”
Chairman Jim Crawley said
it’s doubtful Commissioners
would take up the merger issue
at next Tuesday's meeting.
“It’s not on our agenda, and
we're not in a position to do
anything yet,” he said.
See Forum, 3A
Tree lighting ceremony
kicks off Christmas in KM
BY ALAN HODGE
Staff Writer
The Yuletide season got un-
der way in Kings Mountain
Monday night with the ninth
annual tree lighting celebration
on the lawn of Mauney
Memorial Library. Blending the
sacred and secular, the gather-
i ing saw hundreds of kids
sesessssssscssssessens
secsssscssccecsscsnssessassecssns
young and old assemble in the
chill evening air to enjoy carols,
Christmas related scripture and
poetry reading, and a spectacu-
lar appearance by Santa Claus.
“This is a special time,” Kings
Mountain mayor-elect Rick
Murphrey told the throng. “The
world is filled with a sense of
loving and giving that should
be shared throughout they
year.”
Murphrey went on to read
passages of the Christmas story
from St. Luke. :
By GARY STEWART
Editor of The Herald
Some Kings Mountain city of-
ficials are concerned about the
slow response time of Gaston
County EMS into the Gaston
County areas that are part of
the city limits of Kings
Mountain.
“Services in the Gaston
County area of Kings Mountain
are very much inadequate,”
Entertainment at the tree
lighting was provided by carol-
ers from the preschool class at
St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church.
The young singers were led by
Nancy Smith who conducted
the youngsters in several selec-
tions including “Silent Night,”
“Away in a Manger,” and
“Hark, the Herald Angels
Sing”.
Following the singing, mayor
Scott Neisler shared one of his
family traditions by reading
“The Night Before Christmas”
to everyone.
“I’ve read this poem to my
family every Christmas season
for eighteen years,” Neisler
said. “It’s important to sit down
with your children and read
things like this to them.” ;
Though Santa has traditional-
ly arrived at Mauney Library in
See Library, 3A
City Council at Tuesday night's
regular monthly meeting at
City Hall.
Hager and other city officials
and residents, including City
Manager Jimmy Maney,
Planning Director Steve Killian,
and citizen Jim Belt, have been
meeting with Gaston and
Cleveland County officials to
try to work out a solution.
According to Maney, a work-
er at a construction site last
A full day of activities includ-
— ing a parade,
food, fellow-
ship and en-
tertainment
is scheduled
for Saturday
in down-
d town Kings
rade, spon-
sored by the
ROBINSON ik dig
3:30 p.m. Winnie Robinson,
widow of former Negro League
baseball great Frazier “Slow”
Robinson, will be the Grand
Marshal.
The parade will begin at the
corner of Battleground and
Gold Streets, proceed up
Battleground to King Street,
turn right and disband at
Kentucky Fried Chicken.
about 30 minutes for an ambu-
lance to respond from Belmont
because Gastonia and Bessemer
City EMS crews were tied up
with other calls.
Since Emergency Medical
Services are operated by coun-
ties, Maney said Gaston and
Cleveland County commission-
ers should come to an agree-
ment to let Cleveland County
EMS, which has a unit located
in Kings Mountain, respond to
GARY STEWART / THE HERALD
Kings Mountain is coming alive with the sound and sights of Christmas. The home of Grady and Katie Costner in the Midpines
Community is one of many homes with unique Christmas decorations inside and out.
KM parade, downtown |
activities slated Saturday
The parade will include 76
units, including five floats.
The fourth annual :
Mountaineer Christmas, spon- i
sored by the Kings Mountain ~~
Business and Professional
Association, will run through-
out the day with most of the ac-
tivities coming after the parade
and continuing into the night at
the new downtown gazebo.
seeviscssscesesnssssrsses
essssee
Linda Allen and Kathy Neely i
nating the KMBP events.
An old fashioned market,
which will openat9am.on
Railroad Avenue, will include
.
of Ashley’s Antiques are coordi- :
crafts, baked goods and other :
items for sell. Food booths will :
be located on the street and oth- :
er items will be sold inside
Ashley's.
Immediately after the parade,
citizens are urged to make their
See Parade, 3A
Hager said Gaston County
commissioners hadn’t been
aware of the problem until re-
cently, “and they are very con-
cerned about it.”
“At least everyone is aware
that there is a problem,” Hager
said. “Gaston County now has a
system going on line to monitor
their vehicles at all times.
They're doing better training to
make people aware of the roads
coming into Kings Mountain.”
sesecescssssscsse
ay at KMHS
Telephone numbers of
~ Cleveland County
Commissioners:
James E. Crawley (Chm.)
482-2528
Joe E. Cabaniss (Vice Chm.)
487-6900
Joe Hendrick
482-4616
Willie B. McIntosh Jr.
538-3768
Charlie Harry
937-7434
© special session last Tuesday to
Schools,
Council
oppose
merger
By GARY STEWART
Editor of The Herald
The Kings Mountain School
Board and City Council official-
ly went on record this week as
being opposed to a merger of
the three Cleveland County
school systems.
The School Board, meeting in
choose a site for a new 5-6
grade school, unanimously ap-
proved a resolution opposing
merger and also a request to
meet with County
Commissioners to discuss the
issue.
City Council, at its regular
monthly meeting Tuesday
night, unanimously passed the
same resolution opposing
merger.
The resolutions point out that
Kings Mountain District
Schools has served the commu-
nity with excellence since 1905,
and that the boards are not con-
vinced that merger would im-
prove the educational opportu-
nity for Kings Mountain
students.
The resolution also encour-
ages full opportunity for indi-
vidual boards of education and
citizens to be heard on the mat-
ter.
School Board Chairman
Ronnie Hawkins, who has been
very vocal about the merger is-
sue, said a meeting with the KM'
School Board and County
Commissioners is needed “so
we can understand what their
intent is.” Hawkins hasn't
pulled any punches in charging
that the County Commissioners
have a “hidden agenda,” that |
being to increase enrollment
and decrease the minority per-
centages at Shelby High School. |
Outgoing Board member )
Sonny Peeler said no one has
yet to explain how a merger
“will benefit children.”
KM concerned with 911 response time
See Schools, 3A {
J
| !
stances, Gaston County EMS A
must travel into Kings
Mountain and back into Gaston
County to get to a residence.
“They're going to monitor it
for 90 days and see if they need {
to put another vehicle in Kings
Mountain,” Hager said.
Hager noted that with recent
KM annexation that took in
even more portions of Gaston
County, it may be necessary for
Gaston County to purchase a
7:45-8:15 - Dance Magic Councilman Phil Hager told week was injured and it took Gaston County calls here. Hager said, in some in- See Council, 3A
EXE FIRST NATIONAL BANK Kings Mountain Gastonia Shelby Bessemer City
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