Thursday, December 30, 1999
SPORTS
THIS
Hillman’s records
top ‘99 sports story
The Herald's
1 annual list of
| top sports sto-
ries of the
year are on
page 1-B, and
topping the
list was the
record-break-
ing career of
Kings
Mountain
High football star Anthony
Hillman. And on 2-B is the
Herald's Kings Mountain
baseball team of the century.
Mountaineers win
in S.C. tournament
Kings Mountain High's
men’s basketball team defeat-
ed Wade Hampton 71-46 in
the opening round of the
Ramada Inn Holiday
Basketball Tournament
Tuesday night in Boiling
Springs, SC. 3B
EEE
SPORTS
NEXT
WEEK
~ All-Century football
|| and basketball teams
The Herald's All-Century
Kings Mountain High football
and basketball teams will be
announced in next week’s pa-
per.
COMMUNITY
Over 4,000 people
see luminaries in KM
For the first time in its four-
year history, it didn’t rain on
the luminary service at Kings
Mountain’s Mountain Rest
Cemetery. Over 4,000 people
enjoyed the lights. 3A
Some things to think
about before new year
Saturday at 12:01 a.m.
marks the beginning of the
year 2000 and a lot of folks are
"anxious about what will hap-
pen if computers read it as the
year 1900. Some helpful infor-
mation on what to do - and
what not to do - can be found
on page 3A
HOLIDAY
SCHEDULES
w
KM Schools Reopen
January 4
City of KM Closed Friday
and Monday
ABC Stores ~~ Closed
Saturday
Shelby City Closed
: Monday
County Closed
Friday
KM Herald Closed
Friday
Banks Open
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KINGS MOUNTAIN
Herald
Vol. 111 No. 52
Since 1889
St. Matthew's begins
picking up the pieces
$250,000 damage
to historic church
in Christmas fire
BY ALAN HODGE
Staff Writer
One of Kings Mountain's most historic
churches came perilously close to being de-
stroyed Christmas morning. In an accidental
fire whose origin is still under investigation,
St. Matthew's Lutheran Church, 201 N.
Piedmont Avenue, suffered damage estimated
at $250,000 to portions of its structure that dat-
ed to 1921.
The fire was discovered around 8:20 am by
Kings Mountain policeman Cpl. Chris Owens
who saw smoke coming out of the rear of the
church building. His quick call to the Kings
Mountain Fire Department and their speedy
response probably saved the building from
complete destruction.,
“We had fire equipment and men on the
scene in about three minutes,” said fire de-
partment Capt. Bobby King. “It took around
an hour to get the fire under control and then
several more hours to secure the area. If the
call had come five minutes later, the roof
would have been gone.”
Cold temperatures meant that sand had to
be spread in the streets surrounding the
church where runoff water from fire hoses
was freezing on the pavement. In addition to
the 22 Kings Mountain area firemen who bat-
tled the blaze, another 15-20. from the Oak
Grove fire department pitched in.
“There is a lot of smoke and water damage
to the building,” Kings said. “Several places
will need structural repair.”
See Church, 3A
A Christmas Day fire at st. Matt
Kings Mountain caused over $200,000 in damage. Rev. James
ALAN HODGE/THE HERALD
hew’s Lutheran Church in
Dougherty (pictured) says quick response by Kings Mountain
and Oak Grove firefighters saved the church from total de-
struction.
Carolina Cleaning
Network employ-
ees Lee Smith,
left, and Michael
Underwood load
another can with
refuse from the
Christmas Day fire
at St. Matthew's
Lutheran Church.
Smith says his
crew will be clean-
ing up for as long
as three months.
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KM guts
Nine command centers
to monitor any problems
BY ALAN HODGE
Staff Writer
A year’s worth of hard work by employees
of the City of Kings Mountain will pay off this
New Year’s Eve when their Y2K Taskforce
swings into action. The culmination of count-
less hours of study and preparation, the city’s
Y2K Taskforce will be closely monitoring all
Kings Mountain utility systems as well as of-
fering the availability of emergency command
posts to citizens throughout town.
Friday night will see a team of Y2K
Taskforce leaders at their positions. Members
who will be on duty in a supervisory capacity
include fire chief Frank Burns, police chief
Richard Reynolds, computer analyst Carol
George, city manager Jimmy Maney, and may-
or Rick Murphrey. About 60 other Kings
Mountain employees will also be on duty in
the various utility departments to make sure
the evening passes smoothly.
“We will stay until everything appears to be
functioning smoothly,” George said.
One important feature of Kings Mountain's
Y2K plan has been the creation of nine
Command Centers to be located at various
points throughout the city on New Year's Eve.
Posts will be manned by members of the
Kings Mountain fire department and will also
be visited by city police as they make their
rounds that night. The purpose of the Centers
is to make available emergency personnel if
any phone problems should crop up.
“If citizens feel concerned in any way, they
should travel to a Command Center and re-
port,” said George. “We will have someone
dispatched at once to check out the situation.”
Command Centers will be in the following
locations from midnight, December 31, to 3
am January 1: Kings Mountain High School,
Phifer Road; Food Lion parking lot, Shelby
Road; Resurrection Lutheran Church, Crescent
Hill; Kings Mountain Hospital; Little Dan's,
York Road; Public Works, McGinnis Street;
Linwood and Cleveland Avenue; Temple
Baptist, N. Cansler Street; Kings Mountain
Police Department.
In addition, radios station WKMT will be
broadcasting public service announcements
by Mayor Rick Murphrey about Y2K at 9, 10,
and 11 pm Friday night.
Kings Mountain's Y2K preparedness is the
result of identifying potential problem areas,
fixing the problems, retesting the problem ar-
eas, and documenting the process. George and
her colleagues at the City of Kings Mountain
had over 900 different inventory items to
check in 15 different categories ranging from
gas valves to traffic lights. All but a few
passed their Y2K test on the first try.
“We want everyone to be confident we're
Y2K ready and that it will just be another day
at work,” George says.
Pre-Christmas fire takes
life of Theodore Etters
By GARY STEWART
Editor of The Herald
Lawrence Etters and Teresa
Falls were startled when they
awakened to the sound of
someone pounding on their
door in the middle of the night.
Lawrence started toward the
front door, and through the
clear night skies could see his
brother Theodore’s mobile
home nearby engulfed in
flames.
He said he quickly ran to the
scene, hoping to find his broth-
er outside. But his worst fears
were realized when a Kings
Mountain fireman told him
there was a body inside.
Seventy-three-year-old
Charlie Theodore Etters, of 208
Bridges Street, almost made it
to the back door but died in the
3 a.m. December 22 blaze that
totally destroyed his mobile
home, just 100 yards away from
the Etters homeplace that
Lawrence and Teresa now call
home.
It was a devastating blow to
Lawrence Etters, to whom
Theodore had not only been a
loving older brother but also a
close friend.
The Etters boys - Theodore,
Lawrence and Winnie - had al-
ways been close.
Just the afternoon before
Theodore’s death, he had joined
Lawrence and Winnie in trying
to repair a tractor. Theodore
had his last meal that evening
with Lawrence and Teresa.
“He was so willing to help
everybody,” said Lawrence. “It
didn’t have to be relatives.
Anybody that needed help he
was willing. He got more plea-
See Etters, 3A
iii
ALAN HODGE / THE HERALD
An early oming fire last Wednesday. at this mobile home on Bridges Street claimed the life of
73-year-old Charlie Theodore Etters
FIRST NATIONAL BANK
Kings Mountain
300 W. Mountain St.
Celebrating 125 Years
739-4782
Gastonia |
529 New Hope Rd.
Shelby Bessemer City
106 S. Lafayette St. 1225 Gastonia Hwy.
484-6200 629-3906
Member FDIC