The Heral
Thursday, April 13, 2000
KINGS MOUNTAIN
Vol. 112 No. 15 Since 1889
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Drugs:
never
ending
battle
BY ALAN HODGE
Staff Writer
Folks who think that Kings
Mountain's quaint charm has
kept it free from drugs are liv-
ing in a dream world. Not that
“the town has problems on the
scale of Charlotte or some other
metropolis, but the fact is that
drugs of many types are avail-
able right here.
“It’s a never-ending battle,”
says Sgt. Lisa Proctor of the
:Kings Mountain Police
‘Department. “Drugs are being
sold in Kings Mountain all the
way from the low rent neigh-
borhoods to the street corners.”
So far, Proctor ’s stack of com-
plaints lodged by citizens con-
cerned about drug dealing in
Kings Mountain and vicinity in
2000 is over one inch thick.
According to Proctor, the
drug that causes the biggest
problem is crack cocaine.
Available in “rocks” that go for
$20 for a pea-sized chunk, crack
is intensely addictive. People
can become hooked on crack
from their very first try.
“People who use crack have
4! me that the first high is re-
| up there,” Proctor said.
fh ge after that is not quite
conferé so it takes'more of the
10-0-1 ghieve the same ef-
iret
collat’s highly addictive na-
Wo : “Veads its abusers down a
rocky path. Many become
thieves to get the money for
their dope. Others turn to pros-
titution. Both of these activities
go on every day in Kings
Mountain.
Other drugs found in the
Kings Mountain area are mari-
juana, Xanax, Valium, and
Gamma Hydroxy Butyrate, also
known as GHB, Salty Water,
Georgia Home Boy and Blue
Monster.
Marijuana has been around
since the dawn of time. Street
names for marijuana include
pot, Mary Jane, yang, huff,
weed, grass, dop, and hooch. A
$10 bag of pot will make about
five medium-sized cigarettes
known as joints, doobies, num-
bers, or jays.
Xanax and Valium are pre-
scription drugs that go for
about $5 per pill in the Kings
Mountain /Cleveland County
area.
GHB is relatively new on the
local dope scene. GHB is a clear
liquid that has a faint aroma
like watered down rum. It can
be put in a drink and not detect-
ed until its effect takes place. A
behavioral depressant and hyp-
notic, GHB can also cause high
levels of intoxication, nausea,
coma, uncontrollable seizures
and respiratory depression.
“GHB has come on the local
drug scene within the last sev-
eral weeks,” Proctor said. “It
was popular in California last
year, and made it here that fast.
Usually, it takes three years for
something like GHB to come
from the West Coast to
Cleveland County.”
GHB is a Controlled
Substance in California, and
federal legislation is pending. A
-‘capful of GHB sells for around
+ $10.
Just because dope is on the
streets in Kings Mountain
. doesn’t mean that the police
aren’t fighting for all they're
worth. In addition to undercov-
See Drugs, 3A
Merger hearing Tuesday in Shelby
County’s three School Boards to meet Thursday to discuss possible alternatives
{ By GARY STEWART
: input for and against the plan.
i Editor of The Herald
Many people believe that, fol-
lowing the hearing, the com-
missioners will vote to merge
the Kings Mountain District,
Shelby City, and Cleveland
County School systems on July
1, 2000.
Commissioners have been:
studying merger since last
November, and recently re-
ceived a report from attorney
Gil Middlebrooks of Charlotte;
who was hired to conduct a
merger analysis, listing 12 pros
to merger against only four ~
cons.
i Cleveland County's three
i school boards will hold a joint
i: meeting Thursday at 7 p.m. at
i: Cleveland Community College
i to discuss possible alternatives
: to a planned merger of the three
i systems.
: Their effort, however, may be
i too late as the County Board of
i Commissioners will hold a pub-
i lic hearing during its regular
: meeting Tuesday, April 18 at 6
: p.m. at Shelby High's Brown
{ Auditorium to receive citizen
Despite a public outcry
throughout the county oppos-
ing merger, four of the five
commissioners appear ready to
approve the plan.
While they are still hopeful a
merger can be prevented, Kings
Mountain School Board mem-
bers said at their monthly meet-
ing Monday night at Central
School that the commissioners
should delay implementation
until at least July 1, 2001 to give
an interim school board time to
organize their central office
staff, policies, and other areas of
service. If the commissioners
approve merger, they will ap-
point an interim school board
which will have the responsibil-
ity of implementing the plan as
well as making decisions con-
cerning the day-to-day opera-
tion of the system.
“If the effective date is July 1,
2000 there is a need for a
change of leadership, financial
offices and changes in policy,”
noted former Board Chairman
Ronnie Hawkins, who is run-
ning for county commissioner.
Board members cited many
areas of concern, and they plan
to address the commissioners
Steve Moffitt, Keith Layton, Regina Brown and Roy Pearson, left to right, were inducted into the Kings Mountain Sports Hall of
Fame Tuesday night at B.N. Barnes Auditorium.
4 inducted into Hall of Fame
By GARY STEWART presented eight Special
Editor of The Herald Achievement and Special
Recognition Awards, and four
Four Kings Mountain sports ~~ $500 scholarships to deserving
legends were inducted into the = KMHS seniors.
Kings Mountain Sports Hall of Scholarship winners included
Fame during the 13th annual in- Heather Causby, Joe
Williamson, Manisone
Phanthalack and Torez Leach.
Two of the scholarships were
given by the Hall of Fame. The
other two were given by the
duction ceremony Tuesday
night at B.N. Barnes
Auditorium.
Former Mountaineer players
Regina Brown and Keith Layton
were joined by former KMHS ~~ KMHS Booster Club and Anita
wrestling coach Steve Moffitt Phillips in memory of the late
and retired City of Kings Alfred “Duck” Phillips, a long-
time supporter of Mountaineer
athletics.
Special Achievement Awards
: Mountain Recreation Director
: Roy Pearson.
3 In addition, the Hall of Fame
were presented to KMHS teams
that won conference champi-
onships since last year’s Hall of
Fame ceremony. They included
the 1999 men’s track team, 1999
women’s soccer team, 1999
women’s volleyball team, 2000
wrestling team, and 2000 men’s
swim team.
Special Recognition Awards,
given for significant contribu-
tions to sports, went to former
KMHS athlete Kareem Marshall
who won two state track cham-
pionships in 1999, KMHS junior
Matt Ash, who won the 2000
State wrestling championship,
and KMHS senior Anthony
Citizen participation urged
in massive clean-up effort
By GARY STEWART
Editor of The Herald
Mayor Rick Murphrey is seeking the help of
citizens in a massive Operation Spring Cleanup
Friday and Saturday, April 14-15. 3
On those two days, from 7 am.-7 p.m., the
i city will man four huge trash collection contain-
i ers in the parking lot of the Fire Museum, 210
i Cleveland Avenue, the parking lot of Public
: Works, 1013 North Piedmont Avenue, the park-
i ing lot of City Hall, 101 West Gold Street, and at
the dead end street behind the National Guard
Armory, 300 Phifer Road.
The city is asking citizens to clean up all trash
in and around their homes. Items must be those
that can be transported to the county landfill. :
Many items cannot be accepted, including 310
tree trunks, boards with nails, hazardous and g
dangerous refuse, and rock, sand and dirt.
Appliances and other large items will be ac-
: “We
i ‘cepted. Trucks will be at each of the above sites «
week.”
: Council okays $754,000
bid for new water line
In a special called meeting Wednesday, Kings
Mountain City Council approved a bid from
Crowder Construction Company for construc-
tion of a new 36-inch water main from Moss
Lake across Muddy Fork Creek.
The bid of $754,729.80 includes a 10-percent
contingency fund. ;
The city hopes to have the 3,000 plus foot line
in place to tie-in to the the city system during
the July Fourth holiday period.
The city is asking all industries to close down
on Sunday, July 2 and reopen on Monday, July
: “We're notifying the companies verbally and
: in writing,” noted Mayor Rick Murphrey.
need them all to shut down the same
Hillman, the school’s all-time
football leading rusher and
scorer and also a 2000 State 3A
wrestling champion.
Gil McGregor, former Wake
Forest basketball star and cur-
rent radio voice of the Charlotte
Hornets, was the guest speaker.
Former Hall of Fame inductees
attending were Ken Baity, Shu
Carlton, Fred Withers, Carl
Champion and Chuck Gordon.
There are now 43 individuals
and six teams in the Hall of
Fame.
Keith Layton, a three-sport
See Hall, 3A
on those matters at Tuesday's
public hearing.
Vice-chairman Melony Bolin,
who said her son recently left
private school to re-enter the
public school system, said she is
concerned that the commission-
ers’ plan calls for “grandfather-
ing” only rising 11th and 12th ©
grade students. She said all ;
high school students should be =
allowed to complete their high
school careers at their current
school. :
“Sometimes things look good Sf
but there are a lot of issues that
See Hearing, 3A
Candidates
criticize way
merger issue
‘was handled
BY ALAN HODGE
Staff Writer
The current crop of candi-
dates for the Cleveland County
Board of Commissioners held
their second public forum in the
auditorium at Cleveland
Community College Tuesday
evening.
The format for the forum B.
gave each candidate the oppor-
tunity to give a brief answer to
11 questions on topics ranging
from school merger to county-
wide zoning. After the question
and answer session, each candi-
date was allowed 90 seconds to
sum up why they should be
elected. About 30 citizens at-
tended the event which lasted
nearly two hours. §
Candidates who appeared at
the forum included Mary Accor,
Tom Bridges, Joe Cabaniss; Jim
Crawley, Ralph Gilbert, Ronnie
Hawkins, Joe Hendrick I
Conjoins, Kenneth Ledford,
David Morrow, and William
“Bill” Walker. The event was
moderated by Steve Thornburg.
Though the questions asked
of the candidates were on a va-
riety of subjects, the question of
school merger raised its head
on several occasions. David
Morrow in particular tooka |
number of opportunities to ex-
press his disgust with the cur-
rent commissioners’ recent ap-
proval of a draft for merger.
When asked what could bring
unity back to the people of
Cleveland County after merger,
Morrow said that the commis-
sioners should not have re-
See Forum, 3A
|
|
<0
GARY STEWART / THE HERALD
Liza Dellinger, left, accepts the KMHS Teacher of the Year
Award from last year’s recipient, Judy Gibson, at Thursday's
Academic Awards Celebration. See story on 10A
25
©
helt
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