Express your
merger feelings
at the polls
Some random
comments
about school
merger:
A cou-
ple of things
have been
nagging at me
since attorney
Gil
Middlebrooks
: released his
Editor merger analy-
sis on Cleveland County Schools
over to weeks ago.
Gary
Stewart
In a comment made at the com-
missioners’ meeting to receive the
analysis, Middlebrooks was quot-
ed as saying something to this ef-
fect: “What we have in Shelby is a
4A school serving a 2A popula-
tion.”<% +.
I don’t claim to be a prophet,
but I remember telling several
people four years ago when
Shelby’s state classification for
sports was dropped from 3A to
2A, that’ before another realign-
ment came to pass Cleveland
County’s'school'systems would
be mergeds Shelby loves being a
big.dog in alittle lot.
There. was a brief. mention in
the-report of a possible future
“magnetizing”: of Shelby schools
as an option to providing greater
academic opportunities for stu-
dents from all over the county.
I can foresee Shelby High
School someday becoming
Cleveland County’s “magnet”
school, drawing the top-ranking
students from all over the county,
thus increasing Shelby’s state tes
scores and assuring a high aca-
demic standing in the state.
I wonder what will happen to
other schools in the county when
their brighter students opt to at-
tend that magnet school. Would
they remain traditional high
schools or would one or more be-
come, let’s say, a vocational
school or a school to serve stu-
dents with behavioral problems?
The issue that was said to be
the basis for merger considera-
tion in the first place - the lack of
skills of students entering the
workforce - has been barely
touched upon during the whole
merger process. Oh, yes, you see
mention of addressing needs of
the lower 25% but I have seen no
specific ideas or plans on how to
increase the performance of those
students.
I believe that is only an excuse
for the county powers to force
their will-on the rest of the coun-
ty. I have lived in Cleveland
County for all of my 54 years and
[ have never heard of a business
or industry that closed its doors
because of a lack of workers. Bad
times, yes. Businesses moving to
foreign countries, yes. Lack of
workers, no.
With merger a 99.9 percent
done deal (the only reason it’s not
is because the state law requires a
public hearing) what are the op-
tions for those who opposed it?
Because it has some students
who live in Gaston County, Kings
Mountain Schools could appeal
to the State School Board to deny
the commissioners’ request for
merger based on the fact that
they have not received any input,
or approval, from the Gaston
County Board of Commissioners.
"The State School Board is pro
merger and would probably ap-
prove the request anyway.
Kings Mountain then could
sue, and hope for the court sys-
tem to stop or delay. merger.
The best thing citizens can do,
though, is to be a constant thorn
in the side of county commission-
ers who turned a deaf ear to their
wishes. Merger is a done deal,
but there are a lot of other issues
the citizens cant address, such as
district representation on the
County Board of Commissioners,
lowering the property tax, and
providing necessary services such
as water and sewer to all parts of
Cleveland County. Do you know
that your tax money funds water
and sewer but there are several
areas of the county that cannot
get it (including the community I
live in!).
And, above all, remember that
there is a Primary Election com-
ing up on May 2 when three of
the four commissioners who vot-
ed for the merger plan are run-
ning for nomination of their par-
ties.
If you are disgusted with the
commissioners over the way they
handled merger, let them know it
on May 2.
eral Times
HR
RR
RR
Editor: Gary Stewart 739-7496
April 6, 2000 Section A, Page 4
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YOUR VIEW
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Kings Mountain
will just get
Shelby’s leftovers
To the editor: |
As I think of the most impor-
tant people affected by this
merger (our children) I feel
their education should be the
number one issue. I don't feel
that is the case.
Our children have enough on
their minds with school, and
the work involved, than to have
to worry about what school
they will be attending in the fu-
ture. I have a cousin in high
school who is so worried about
the outcome of this situation.
She is afraid she will have to
graduate from another school
besides Kings Mountain High. I
have a child in elementary
school who will also be affected
by this merger if it goes
through.
I feel it is wrong for the
Commissioners to have so
much control over so many
lives. I don’t understand why
the commissioners are so eager
to merge. Why are the commis-
sioners ignoring all the letters
and phone calls from the citi-
zens who are opposed to the
merger?
I feel the majority of the peo-
ple do not want merger. I just
wonder if any of the commis-
sioners have children in the
school system themselves. If so,
would they pursue merger if it
would affect their lives?
Kings Mountain has a lot of
good teachers in the system,
and also a great School Board. I
know that if you have a prob-
lem or a question you need an
answer to you can call up one
of them and they will talk with
you about it and try to give you
an answer, and if they don’t
have one right away they will
find one and get back in touch
with you.
Our schools here in Kings
Mountain are dedicated to the
students, and if the merger
takes place will that change?
Will we still have the
parent/teacher communication
that we have now? I don’t think
we will. I think that Kings
Mountain will get lost in the
shuffle. I feel all the good teach-
ers will be sent to Shelby
schools and Kings Mountain
will get the leftovers.
This is just my opinion. I feel
if the problem is in Shelby, then
the changes should be done in
Shelby and leave Kings
Mountain out of it.
Sandy Surber
Kings Mountain
How much lower
can United States
go morally?
To the editor:
I recently watched a debate
between two presidential candi-
dates about who supported
killing unborn babies first.
I supported killing unborn
babies before you!
Oh, No! I supported killing
unborn babies from the begin-
ning!
I'supported killing unborn
babies more than you, check my
voting record!
People were laughing, ap-
plauding, smiling, and clapping
- showing their approval.
This is a little reminiscent of a
lynch mob, don’t you think?
How much lower morally can
we get when two presidential
candidates debate killing un-
born babies as if one were swat-
ting a on :
The sad hii Mont the mat-
ter is one of these candidates
will probably be the next
President of the United States.
Bill Blackwelder
Mt. Pleasant
We The Poirle
are not being
listened to
To the editor:
Over the past few months
there has been a great deal of
heated debate concerning
school merger. I write this not
to fan the flames, nor to tell an-
other group of elected officials
how to carry out their jobs, but
to add the thoughts and con-
cerns of Victoria Dedmon’s fa-
ther.
In my travels around the
county I talk to a lot of people
and they have made it very
plain to me that school merger
is not the way to improve edu- *
cation in our county. They feel
their government is unrespon- °
sive to them over an issue that
is near and dear to us all, our
children. There is a good deal of
discussion over the best uses of -
schools and more efficient uses -
of limited resources. We all
agree that schools are expensive
and everyone has an opinion on
how they should be run. The
one thing that we cannot forget
is that schools are not an indus-
trial plant churning out identi-
cal products. Schools have a
most unique and special raw
material, our children. Being as
are becoming
a thing of past
Once a mainstay of any community, theold Alan
time service station is rapidly becoming a thing
of the past. Now, instead of gathering at the lo-
cal service station to chew the fat, gents go to
fast food restaurants in the mornings and do
the same thing but in a different context. Once
upon a time men took their cars to the corner
service station and stood under it on the lift
while the mechanic worked his oily magic. Now, hardly anyone
Hodge
Staff Wiis
There are a couple of service stations that have played impor-
tant roles in my life. As a wee lad in Belmont, I would ride with
my grandfather Sinclair Smith to Pete Sellers Texaco. Hanging
around Sellers was like going to some exotic country where the
aroma of rubber and oil was as heady as any Zanzibar spice
The greatest part of a visit to Pete’s service station was getting
a Brown Mule ice cream bar. How well I recall having to quickly
devour the treat before it melted and ran down my hand.
Afterwards, I would chew the stick to splinters so as not to
waste a single molecule of chocolate.
In high school, I worked for a couple of months at a Phillips
66 in Charlotte that didn’t do very much business. My pal
Brutus Casey worked there too. We wou! ' change a tire now
and then, and maybe gas up five or six cs a day. This left plen-
ty of time for other pursuits such as buff 1g our own cars, or
cutting holes in the back of the candy machine with a blow-
torch, or playing cards. Once we put wine in the drink box and
a lady came in and pulled out what she thought was a soft drink
only to discover it was Bali Hai wine.
Service stations are places where boys can see and hear men
talk about politics, sports, and women. Sometimes the talk at
service stations can get pretty rough- but it’s just boys being
boys for the most part. I bet talk can get prody rough i in beauty
If you patronize an old time service station or even know
where one is then count yourself lucky. Take some time one
Saturday morning and hang out for a while. Inhale the aroma of
tires, hot lubricant, and the sweet aroma of anti-freeze. Get to
know the old guys who hang out there- philosophers whose
robes are bib overalls. Last but not least, eat an ice cream bar for
Sob
wededievasoduedebie
individual wien ee fo
things I think should be con-
stant, that their parents love
them and give them all the en-
couragement possible and that
we as a community give them a
safe, stable environment in
which to learn. I cannot see how
merger does this nor do I agree
that it is the best course of ac-
tion, especially when student
reassignment begins and kids
are moved from schools they
consider being theirs to new
schools outside of their commu-
nities.
People have a growing dis-
trust of their government and
this issue has not helped this. In
«the. preamble to our constitution
it begins WE THE PEOPLE, in
* larger letters than the rest signi-
-, fying-that the writers consid-
“ered these words to be very im-
‘portant. In my opinion you
«ean’t go wrong when you listen
to the people. It is my hope that
. our elected officials stop to lis-
“ten to the people and what they
really want for their children
and act accordingly.
Andy Dedmon
Earl, _
v Send letters to The Editor,
P.O. Box 769, Kings Mountain,
NC 28086. Letters must be
signed and include full name,
* “address ‘and telephone number.
SIDEWALK
SURVEY
“ssssesessassssssesssssesccsnnes
By ALAN HODGE
Herald/Times
Who will
benefit from
the school
merger?
Shelby will benefit
from merger.
Wanda Wilson
Kings Mountain
No one will benefit
from merged
schools.
Barry York
Grover
The whole county
will benefit from
more equal schools.
Kevin Johnson
Shelby.
Shelby
Not the kids. Maybe
the businessmen in
Casey Summitt :
Kings Mountain
Shelby High School
will benefit from the
merger.
Kalpana Patel
Kings Mountain