Thursday, December 16, 1999
Vol. 111 No. 50
Since 1889
Phil Witherspoon
signing off after
30 years with
Police Reserves
SCHOOLS
The Kings Mountain District
Schools bands presented their
annual Christmas concert
Thursday night at B.N. Barnes
Auditorium. 8A
SPORTS |
Lady Mountaineers
get first win of year
Kings Mountain High's girls
basketball team defeated Fort
Mill 56-46 last week for their
first win under new coach
Kevin Moss. Kings Mountain's
boys defeated Clover but lost
to Fort Mill in the annual
North-South Doubleheader at
the KMHS gym. 1B
- KMHS women’s swim
team gets first victory ..
Kings Mountain High's
women’s swim team, the de-
fending Southwestern 3A
‘Conference champion, posted
its first victory Wednesday in
a conference meet at Neisler
Natatorium. 1B
Professional fishing
has its ups and downs
Kings Mountain's Mike
Seawright has been fishing
professibnally since the 1970s.
Just like most sports, it has its
ups and downs: 10A
OPINION
Space money could
be spent better here
Herald columnist Alan
Hodge feels the $300 million
spent by the U.S. on space
missions to Mars could have
better been used for flood vic-
tims in eastern North
Carolina. 4A
COMMUNITY
Mural approved
for downtown KM
City Council Tuesday night
approved a $16,000 mural for
downtown Kings Mountain.
3A
Traditions came
with early settlers
Many of the Christmas tra-
ditions of Cleveland County
residents came when our fore-
fathers settled here. And, do
you know that animals and
plants also tell us a lot about
winter weather? 9A
2
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ALAN HODGE/THE HERALD
Santa Claus (Richard Franklin) hears the Christmas wishes of twins Lauren
Limbaugh (left) and Meredith Limbaugh at Gaston Mall. A retired railroad man,
Franklin has served as Santa for three years now. For more on Franklin and his
thoughts on the true meaning of Christmas, see
] he special Last Minute Gift.
Guide inside this edition of the Herald. y A
By GARY STEWART
Editor of The Herald
Cleveland County Commissioners will
hold a meeting with the county’s three
school boards Thursday at 9 a.m. at the
County Administration Building to dis-
cuss school merger.
Supt. Bob McRae told the Kings
Mountain School Board at its regular
monthly meeting Monday night that he
had received a letter from County
Manager Lane Alexander requesting the
meeting.
At their regular monthly meeting last
Tuesday night, Commissioners instruct-
ed Alexander to write the superinten-
dents of the three systems to see if they
wanted to provide any information rele-
vant to merger.
The KM Board wasn’t sure Monday
just what type of information the county
is requesting. McRae was to gather facts
and meet with his Board in a special
meeting Wednesday at 4 p.m. to discuss
the information Kings Mountain would
provide.
At its last meeting, the KM Board in-
structed McRae to write the county com-
missioners requesting that the county’s
three school boards be included in any
“dialogue” concerning merger.
Calls by The Herald to Commission
Chairman Jim Crawley and County
Manager Lane Alexander to ask what
discussion the Commissioners’ meeting
will include were not returned. But
County Commissioners last week devel-
oped a list of nine merger “bullet
Cess.
ties.
wide.
Commissioners,
school boards
to meet today
points” it wants to address, including:
HM Provide equitable education and fi-
nancial resources to support each child
in Cleveland County.
BM Maximize the utilization of taxpay-
ers dollars when constructing or reno-
vating school facilities by implementing
a county wide coordinated planning pro-
HM Redirect any monies now spent in
support of three administrative units
and any economic efficiencies realized to
the classroom.
BW Maximize the use of existing facili-
MW If merger occurs, assure that neigh-
borhood schools will be maintained.
BM Direct some portion of any new in-
vestment in education towards the im-
provement of the bottom 25% of the
graduation class through support of stu-
dent accountability standards and other
such positive initiatives.
HM Implement the most successful ef-
forts in each of the three systems county
MW Determine if the educational needs
of children are better served through the
establishment of one governing body
that is accountable to the parents of ev-
ery child in Cleveland County.
HM The issue of governance would be
addressed through district representa-
tion if merger is initiated by
Commissioners.
Bee Merger, 3A
New Council, School Board take office
Murphrey takes KM mayor's role,
Kelly is appointed mayor pro-tem
By GARY STEWART
Editor of The Herald
Kings Mountain City Council
went through a changing of the
guard at Tuesday's monthly
meeting at City Hall.
Rick Murphrey assumed the
mayor's position and the new
Council, which includes four
new faces, was sworn into of-
fice. Veteran Ward 3
Councilman Clavon Kelly was
unanimously elected Mayor Pro
Tem.
Prior to the new Council tak-
ing office, outgoing Mayor Scott
Neisler took the opportunity to
honor outgoing Council mem-
bers Phil Hager, Jerry Mullinax
and Norma Bridges by present-
ing them plaques and watches;
and Murphrey presented two
plaques and a watch to Mayor
Neisler. :
It was a night of kind re-
marks by and for all officials,
many of whom received stand-
ing ovations from the packed
house.
In presenting the awards to
the outgoing Council members,
Neisler noted that all had gone
through some of the city’s most
difficult times, but also some of
its most rewarding times.
Mrs. Bridges had the longest
See Council, 3A
Lady Luck changes
mind on nude dancing
BY ALAN HODGE
Staff Writer
Nude, nekkid, in the raw,
however you care to termiit,
that’s the sort of dancing own-
ers originally planned to bring
to Lady Luck Adult Night Club
and Casino near Grover on
December 17. Now, a club em-
ployee says that Lady Luck will
put the show on ice.
“There won't be a show on
Friday,” the employee said. “We
changed our minds.”
News last week that the casi-
no intended to feature dancers
baring their bottoms had
Grover residents and even com-
peting casino workers baring
their teeth in anger.
“They need to take that trash
back to Charlotte,” said an em-
ployee at a nearby casino. “If
they want Las Vegas style danc-
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Celebrating 125 Years
ing, they need to take it back
there. It will be nasty.”
Advertising in “Vivid” adult
magazine, Lady Luck had
promised customers would be
able to “see it all.” Acts origi-
nally slated to come to the es-
tablishment would have includ-
ed top adult film stars, and
feature entertainers. The ads al-
so referred to the club’s inten-
tion to provide a “guaranteed
wild all nude atmosphere.”
Responding to the reports of
what Lady Luck intended to of-
fer, last Wednesday saw a
Cherokee County Sheriff's
Deputy serve the establishment
with documents threatening to
arrest Lady Luck employees
and anyone caught dancing
nude. Even as the papers were
being presented, construction
on a dancing platform was in
See Casino, 3A
Kings Mountain
300 W. Mountain St.
739-4781
Dr. Larry Allen, former edu-
cator and a two-year board vet-
eran, was elected Chairman of
the Kings Mountain District
Schools Board of Education at
its monthly meeting Monday
night at Central School.
Melony Bolin, who was elect-
ed along with Allen two years
ago, was elected Vice-
Chairman.
The two replace Ronnie
Hawkins and Shearra Miller, re-
spectively.
Also on Monday night, new-
ly-elected Board member Stella
Putnam was sworn into office
by Kings Mountain Mayor Scott
Neisler. Mrs. Putnam replaces
MURPHREY ALLEN
BOLIN
School Board selects Dr. Allen
chairman, Melony Bolin vice-chair
longtime Board member B.S.
“Sonny” Peeler, who was hon-
ored with a plaque and his
nameplate, and with a recep-
tion.
Prior to presenting Peeler his
plaque, Supt. Bob McRae point-
ed out that he had reviewed
board minutes of 1992, when
Peeler first came to office, and
ironically, two of the issues the
board faced were “elementary
reassignment and a merger res-
olution.”
Once again, Cleveland
County is considering a merger
of its three school systems and
See Schools, 3A
again advertising video games.
Gastonia S helby
am 1ce
529 New Hope Rd. 106 S. Lafayette St.
865-1111 484-6200
Grover’s Lady Luck Casino has changed its plans to begin nude dancing, and its sign is once
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