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7! ; { ; y | : OPINIO Most people's Sreatest influence was their mother As most of you know, Mother’s Day was last Sunday. Over the last several weeks I've has the opportunity to interview several moth- ~~ Ajan H odge ers and their children for Herald feature sto- er ar ries. Besides the facts and dates that go along ; with a'story about a particular mom and her Staff Writer offspring, there are the interesting anecdotes that reveal how the mother’s personality influenced the life of the child. ) When my mom was born, they broke they mold. Weighing about 100 wiry pounds, she’s not one of those types that can ex- actly smother you in her bosom, but she has always let us know she cared about us in her own way. I think one of the main rea- sons I have always sort of been a free-thinker or understood and enjoyed the gift of a fertile imagination is the fact that my mom is a bit on the eccentric side herself. Nearly all of us carry certain images and memories of our mothers. A few of mine include mom riding on the back of my motorcycle as we raced around the yard- just before the crash. Another flashback is the time mom had on a wig at her job in a bindery, and when the wig got snatched off her head by a ma- ,. chine, a lady thought mom had been scalped and fainted. Yet another scenario was the time mammy drove us to the beach about 40 years ago, got lost in the wilds of South Carolina, and ended up in a sharecropper community where mules were pulling wagons loaded down with cotton. More than one per- son has compared my mother to Lucille Ball of the “I Love Lucy” TV show. Creativity is a trait I can trace directly to my mother. She can take a bag of twigs and make something beautiful. When I was a little brat, mom always read books to me or sang tunes such as “Chabobba, Chabobba.” I think this must have planted some sort of seed in me, because I read anything I can get my hands on and makeup little songs about anything under the sun. Most of us have a lot to thank our mothers for. Maybe life with them now ort some time in the past hasn't been a bowl of cherries, but rare indeed is the mother that doesn’t do the best she can at any given time for her kids. If you didn’t call your mom last Sunday, or send a card or something, then there’s no time like right now to let the person who gave you life know i that you care. i Some famous sayings that came from your mother Sunday was Mother's Day, and if you're like me and have a good mother you know there is no greater blessing. : ood mothers not only give us love and guidance to last a lifetime, but they also have some famous sayings that stick with us. ve ; ; ; Here are some of my mother’s words of advice - and warning - that I recall off the top of my head. I bet theyll bring back a memory or two for you, too. Gary Stewart -Quit making those faces. What if your face freezes like that? -Those ears are so dirty I'm surprised taters aint growing out of them. -Be home early. If you're out after midnight you're up to no ood: i > -Ga ask your daddy. (Of course, daddy said “go ask your momma,” and she probably knew all along that he would just so she could say no). . -If you can’t say something good about someone, don’t say anything-at all. -Before you say something about someone, ask yourself three questions: Is it true? Is it Kind? Is it necessary? -You'd better get a move on or you won't get there in time to hear the preacher say amen. -If you get in trouble at school, you're really in for a whipping when you get home. -Always wear clean underwear in case'you're in a wreck. -You do your part, and when the Good Lord's ready hell do His part. : -A whistling woman and a crowing hen always come to some bad end, -That beats a hen a pecking. -I don’t know what this younger generation’s coming to. -If you're mad get glad, or you'll be mad for a long time. -Eat your vegetables. The little kids overseas are starving to death. -Never put off til tomorrow what you can do today. -Alcohol never did anyone any good. -Hard work never hurt anybody. -This room looks like a cyclone hit it. ! See Gary, 5A RR RR RN RAR The Kings Mountain Herald SERBS . Editor: Gary Stewart 739-7496 May 18, 2000 Section A, Page 4 BIGGER I$ Op WE NEED To GET WITH THE TIMES! SENSIBLE CITIZENS KNOW THAT To ¢ \ Kelly (a Fu WITH US... [ HME THE RECE(PTS To 7, \& ~ Nh 7 PE PN 7, = a N 7 Zz] AN 'y ————— CHARLOTTE SCHOOLS MAY DIVIDE INTO DISTRICTS —— ) CHAN 6€ May SERVE sTupenTS PROVE IT! od A few thoughts as we close the school year: -I miss my friend Joe Smith. Many of you knew Joe, who passed away a few weeks with cancer. 1 told his fami- ly that he is probably the o only person I a have known Boh McRae Who pul Superintendent KM Schools school system with me who never made a negative comment. I always looked forward to talking with Joe as he always made me feel good about what we were do- ing in our schools. He had the unique ability to look beyond little roadblocks to see the larg- er positives which are happen- ing. We all, myself included, can learn a real lesson from his legacy. -The merger debate has caused many of us to place so much focus on it that we haven’t had the opportunity to enjoy the positives in our school system. Recently, I attended our spring band concert. The entire band concert was first rate as usual, but I was particularly moved by the cooperative effort of our band and choral depart- ments on one piece. That selec- tion can stand up anywhere against any public school per- forming effort. The next day I visited with some elementary students who were presenting research projects. They were ex- cellent. Later that afternoon I ats tended our first Senior Project. presentations at Kings Mountain High School. The stu- dents had done an impressive job. Both the elementary school students and the high school students went well beyond mere reports to present insight- ful, in depth research. All of these opportunities reminded me that many good things are happening here. We should be grateful and proud. -We are getting the first wave of results from spring testing. What I am seeing indicates that our employees and students have been working hard on in- struction again this year - work- ing successfully as well. I think that is particularly encouraging given the attention which the merger debate could have taken from the classroom. -I am certainly disappointed that Ron Massey is leaving us. During his five years here he has given great service to the school, the school system, and the community. He will be diffi- cult to replace. As I write this ° column I have no way of know- ing who his successor will be. I do know that Kings Mountain High School athletics will go forward and that this system Year-ending thoughts will continue to try to give our students the best possible sports program. This community ex- pects an outstanding athletic program and deserves just that. I am confident that we can de- liver. pai aa gh -We have recently filled a | number of administrative va- cancies in the system. I am very pleased with the selections. Filling principalships, assistant principalships, and district of- fice leadership positions is an extremely important process. The continuance of our strong academic record is directly re- lated to our choices for these positions. When I can look at our selections and realize that all of them were chosen over a solid group of competitors, I think the future is bright for our schools. -Tomorrow night brings the most important single event of . the school year - KMHS gradua- tion. That ceremony is literally what we are all about. I want to congratulate the Class of 2000. I appreciate the contributions they have made to us and wish each of them the very best in the future. I also challenge the Class of 2001 to eagerly assume the leadership role we need our seniors to accept. I want to also challenge ev- eryone who will be in John Gamble Stadium tomorrow See McRae, 5A BR OUR VIEW Council pay hike should be considered | for the future Kings Mountain Councilman Clavon Kelly sur- prised most - if not all - of the people in attendance at last week's City Council meeting when, near the end of the ses- # sion he made a motion to in- crease the salary of commis- sioners from $300 to $500 a . month and the mayor's salary from $600 to $1,000 per month. We won't argue with Mr. Kelly or any of the other coun- cilmen who supported his mo- tion on whether or not they deserve a raise. But a 67% in- crease is ridiculous. Council and staff members estimated that it has probably been 25 years since Council salaries were increased. But that is no reason for such a drastic hike. i It should be pointed out that none of the present com- missioners have been on Council for 25 years, and some of them just took office for the first time in December. All of them knew what the pay was before they ran. We don’t think the claim that the low salary discour- ages some people from run- ning for office is a valid point. People should be running for office because they love the town and want to serve the people. That's not to say that they don’t deserve some remunera- tion for their services. We like Councilman Gene White's idea that this matter “should be put in the hands of the City Manager's office for inclusion in the next fiscal year budget, with any ap- proved raise and policy con- cerning annual adjustments taking effect after next year’s election. It just does not look good for a City Council to raise its own pay. Curbside ar y oLUB-EUB\S H rigials’ pickup wi pay off in the long run We applaud the city staff and Council for its inclusion of curbside garbage pickup in the 2000-01 fiscal year budget. Although the new proce- dure will cause some concerns by the elderly and physically challenged who may not be able to roll their trash contain- ers to the curb, there are provi- sions that will be built into the curbside garbage ordinances to take care of them. Many hassles and headaches involved in finding and retaining qualified sanita- tion personnel will be elimi- nated, or at least lessened, by going to a curbside program simply because it takes fewer people and will eliminate some of the positions which are almost impossible to fill. After an initial investment to purchase containers and equipment necessary for im- plementation of the new sys- tem, it is projected to save ap- proximately $180,000 a year. Letters We appreciate your letters to the editor and encourage you to write. Because we receive so many letters, however, we must impose guidelines to ensure that as many readers as possible SIDEWALK seasssssasevessssessssssasesnses are able to share their views. We By ALAN HODGE therefore limit the number of Kings Mountain letters that any one person may Herald have published to one a month. Also; we ask that you keep your letters short, no more than two pages double-spaced or one page single-spaced. What is your Handwritten letters are accept- most ed, but must be legible. We will not publish letters memorable from anonymous writers; names, addresses, and phone event of this Thedayw Finding out | was Taking part in the numbers must be included. We ~~ a video camerato fight last week going to graduate. merger protest. reserve the right to edit letters Kings school and taped for grammar, punctuation, clari- evervthin ty, brevity and content. Mountain rything. Letters must be received no later than 5 p.m. on Monday of . the week they are to be pub- High S chool ! _ a, year? Brian Long Matt Presnell Terrence Rainey Elizzheth hogan Mountain, NC 28086 or fax 11th Grade 10th Grade 12th Grade Sth Grade them to (704) 739-0611. © brought The water balloon A nem, Pitching my best: baseball game against Forestview. Caleb Williams 9th Grade
The Kings Mountain Herald (Kings Mountain, N.C.)
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May 18, 2000, edition 1
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