Thursday, June 1, 2000
Farquharson
named KM
coach, AD
By GARY STEWART
Editor of The Herald
Dave Farquharson has been
named head football coach and
athletic director at Kings
Mountain High School.
The
former of-
coach under
coaches
Dennis
Hicks and
was in-
formed of
decision
Wednesday afternoon, and ex-
pressed excitement over the
prospects of continuing the suc-
cessful program built by de-
parting coach Ron Massey.
Ron Massey i
the school’s :
.
.
.
fensive line :
“We want to play good foot- :
ball and we want to continue in
the direction that we've been
.
.
.
going,” he said. “We want to be :
legitimate contenders for con-
ference championships. We
want to set our goals to make
the playoffs, and set our goals
again for Chapel Hill. That's
what Coach Massey got started :
and if it’s not broken there’s no
need to fix it.”
Farquharson has been an as- :
sistant at KMHS since 1989,
and has also served the past
several seasons as head
wrestling coach. He said he will
probably relinquish those du-
ties to assistant coach Alfred
Ash. :
cevce
.
Ronnie Wilson, Asst. Supt. for}
- Personnel, said Farquharson
was in the running for the head
job from the outset of the coach-
ing search. Seven prospects
were interviewed, including
three head coaches at estab-
lished 4A programs. Two of
those coaches were offered the
.
:
.
.
.
.
Vol. 112 No. 22
BH MEMORIAL DAY
Three-year-old Blakely Philbeck and her mom, Chri
their Memorial Day at the Kings Mountain Walking Track park. Balmy breezes
and bright sunshine made the weather perfect for the outing. 5
»
> TD)
job but turned it down, and the :
third withdrew from considera- : |
tion.
“Dave Farquharson will do
an outstanding job as athletic
director and head football
coach,” Wilson said. “He brings
experience with the program.
He is well respected by the kids, :
and he has been a successful
wrestling coach.”
Farquharson and Wilson are
immediately beginning a search
for at least two top-notch assis-
tants. Farquharson’s promotion
creates one assistant’s position,
and the resignation of DJ
Williams creates another. There |
is also a possibility that assis-
tant coach Aubrey Hollifield
will join Coach Massey in
Kannapolis.
“There’s some good people
out there,” said Farquharson. “I
just haven't had a chance to get :
on the phone and get busy. But
we're going to look for two
quality coaches to come in and
pick right up and contribute at
the level that our assistant
coaches contribute.
“What Coach Hollifield does
will make a difference in what
we do staff wise. That's another
phone call I'm going to have to
make.”
Farquharson said he is grate-
ful for the opportunity to be-
come head coach, and is grate-
.
Sic
s
.
ful to former coaches Hicks and i
Massey. for helping him along
the way.
“The five years that Ron was
here, and the years before that
all attributed to what the game
is about,” he said. “It’s a learn-
ing process no matter how long
you've been coaching. Things
_ are always changing. Athletes
come and go, and you have to
be able to change with the
times. You have to make things
exciting for the kids and the
fans, and that’s what we're
looking to do.”
Oe
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‘HOMETOWN
BANK
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FIRST NATIONAL BANK |
Celebrating (126 Years
xD o Lineberger
~~ _uneoftop
Since 1889
50 Cents
blackberry producers
in North Carolina ~~ 8A
ALAN HODGE / THE HERALD
sty Philbeck, spent part of
Merger plan
goes before
State
By GARY STEWART
Editor of The Herald
Kings Mountain's attempts to head
off a merger of the three Cleveland
County school systems took a pair of
blows last week, and the knockout
punch could be delivered at Thursday
morning's meeting of the State School
Board in Raleigh.
The State Board will act on the
Cleveland County Commissioners’
merger plan shortly after its meeting
convenes at 8:30 a.m. The county’s
merger lawyer, Gil Middlebrooks, will
have 30 minutes to explain the coun-
ty’s plan and the Kings Mountain,
Shelby and Cleveland County school
systems will have up to 15 minutes
each to present their views.
The Kings Mountain School Board's
attempt to get an injunction to pre-
vent the State Board from hearing the
request was denied in Wake County
Superior Court last week, and a simi-
lar request by the attorney for the par-
ents’ group Save Our Schools was de-
nied in a telephone hearing.
Both groups have filed lawsuits that
claim the rights of 183 Gaston County
students who also live in the City of
Kings Mountain and have always at-
tended Kings Mountain District
Schools are being violated by the
Board
In the two hearings last week,
judges ruled that an injunction could
not be granted because, before a deci-
sion is made, irreparable harm has not
been caused.
Lou Lesegne, attorney for the Save
Our Schools group, filed papers with
the Department of Justice late
Tuesday afternoon claiming the plan
also violates the 1965 Civil Rights
Voting Act.
Lesegne said it’s highly doubtful
the Justice Department would do any-
thing to stop the State Board from act-
ing on the merger plan Thursday. But
he does feel that approving the merg-
er plan would carry racial overtones.
“There may be some racial over-
tones because the racial composition
of the Gaston County part of Kings
Mountain is substantially different
from Cleveland County in general,”
he said.
Over 70 percent of the Gaston
County students affected by the merg-
er plan are minority students.
Both groups plan to activate their
lawsuits if the merger plan is ap-
proved as is, and the School Board al-
so plans to seek an injunction to pre-
vent the merger from being
implemented until the Gaston County
issue is decided.
>
Downtown Kings Mountain could take on new look if revitalization study is adopted
merger plan and that it would cause
irreparable harm to those students.
See Merger, 2A
Downtown revitalization study approved
By GARY STEWART
Editor of The Herald
After a lengthy discussion, Kings Mountain
City Council Tuesday night unanimously gave
Mayor Rick Murphrey the go-ahead to proceed
with a strategic assessment for a downtown mas-
ter revitalization plan.
For a fee of $7,200, Communitas Insights and
Initiatives for Developing Stronger Cities will as-
sess the community’s needs and interest in devel-
oping the downtown area for marketing, tourism
and other areas important to the people.
The total cost of actually implementing a
downtown revitalization program has been esti-
mated to be as much as $90,000 and city officials
stressed that if such an endeavor is undertaken it
would take the total commitment of the city and
the community.
Some members of Council said they would be
willing to finance up to 25% of the total project,
but hinted they would not agree to contributing
all of the funding.
Mayor Rick Murphrey is excited about the pro-
ject and said he has already been in contact with
businesses and individuals who are willing to put
money and work into the effort.
“The downtown is the heart of a community
and makes a statement about what you are as a
city and gives impressions to current residents
and visitors about the health and status of your
municipality,” Murphrey said.
“Revitalization of downtown would bring
beauty to our city and contribute to a better quali-
ty of life for all citizens through improvements in
cultural, social and economic development. This
must be a joint effort between the city govern-
ment and the private sector in leadership and in-
vestment.”
Steve Turner of Communitas recently met with
about 50 citizens in a public forum type meeting
to explain the process of downtown revitaliza-
tion. Most of the people attending that meeting
expressed a desire to go forward.
Communitas, after working with the City
Planning Department, leaders in government and
the community, will propose a master plan for the
downtorvn area. At that point, City Council will
decide vhether or not to continue it.
Turn r said he will review prior successes and
failure s of downtown, and tour the city and be-
come familiar with the opportunities, problems
and i ;sues facing Kings Mountain. He will also
seek commitments of time and money from the
community.
A steering committee will be formed to oversee
the effort and provide support, and develop an
outline for the master plan which will include
goals and funding strategies.
Murphrey said Kings Mountain will have to
find its “niche” for downtown, but the “time is
right for us to grow. We have to be visionary and
work together. There's a lot of enthusiasm about
this town and where we're going.”
See Downtown, 5A
Kings Mountain Gastonia
300 W. Mountain St. 529 New Hope Rd.
739-4782 865-1233
Council approves purchase
of land for new fire station
By GARY STEWART
Editor of The Herald
Kings Mountain City
Council Tuesday night unani-
mously approved paying
$100,000 for property at the
corner of Gold Street and U.S.
74 on which to build a satellite
fire station to serve the west
end of the city.
The property is owned by
Maxine, Ronnie and Jake
Hord Jr.
Mayor Rick Murphrey said
the city hopes to begin draw-
ing preliminary plans as early
as July and be underway with
* the building project within six
months.
The city has appropriated
$500,000 in the fiscal year
2000-01 budget toward the
cost of the station. Murphrey
said he hopes to see the city in
the station by the end of the
fiscal year (June 30, 2001).
Shelby
106 S. Lafayette St.
484-6200
“This is something the city
needs,” he said. “Adequate
fire protection is desperately
needed for the west side.”
The property is 150" by 270".
Fire Chief Frank Burns envi-
sions a two-bay: station which
would be about half the size
of the existing fire station at
City Hall.
Burns said the station is
desperately needed because
the town is split by railroad
tracks and a disastrous train
derailment could make it vir-
tually impossible to get to that
area of town.
Plus, he said, the Insurance
Services Office regulates that
every household must be
within 1 1/2 miles of a fire sta-
tion and houses located in that
proximity receive lower rates
on their fire insurance.
The city eventually hopes to
See Fire, 2A
Bessemer City
1225 Gastonia Hwy.
629-3906
Member FDIC