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June 8, 2000
BY ALAN HODGE
Staff Writer
Besides electing a new school
board Tuesday night, the
Cleveland County Board of
Commissioners also looked at
an economic incentive plan for
a new business and also ap-
proved the county budget for
the coming fiscal year.
In a unanimous vote, the
commissioners agreed to offer
an economic incentive grant to
Commonwealth Aluminum
- Tube Enterprises LLC. Based in
Delaware, Commonwealth
plans to operate a plant at 133
Industrial Drive, off Shelby
Road in Cleveland Industrial
Park. The operation will create
at least 40 new jobs and and
have an anticipated net new in-
vestment of at least $3,775,000.
Industrial Drive will be an-
nexed in the Kings Mountain
‘city limits as of June 30.
The commissioners deter-
mined that the value of the in-
dustrial incentive grant would
not be more than $18,874.80 per
year for five years.
Commonwealth plans to com-
plete the anticipated net new in-
vestment of $3,775,000 in ma-
chinery and equipment by
October 2001.
The commissioners also ap-
proved a county budget of
$84,578,153. The budget has
been available for public pe-
rusal since May 22 and has been
The Kings Mountain Herald
Incentive grant approved
in the works since February of
this year. This year’s budget
was up $7.2 million over last
year.
Several items on this year’s
budget ran the numbers up.
Current projected cost to imple-
ment the merger plan will be
$3,749,526. Other departments
that saw budget increases in-
cluded the Department of Social
Services which was up $700,000
over last year, Cleveland
County EMS which had to hire
11 new members and new
equipment to the tune of
$740,000 over last year, and the
Cleveland County Health
Department, which saw its bud-
get needs increase $379,000.
Baker in Circle of Champions
Local New York Life
Insurance agent Steve R. Baker,
CLU, was recently named as a
member of the company’s 1999
Long-Term Care Circle of
Champions. New York Life’s
Long-Term Circle of Champions
honors all agents who achieve
specified sales goals.
Baker was recognized for his
exceptional sales efforts in 1999.
His outstanding performance in
long-term care sales earned a
bonus cash award and a plaque
honoring the special achieve-
ment. Baker has been a sales
agent for New York Life for 13
years.
New York Life Insurance
Company, a Fortune 100
Company, has been in existence
since 1845 and is one of the
largest mutual life insurance
companies in the nation. The
Long-Term Care Division offers
insurance coverage for nursing
home and home care,
Page 3A
INTERIM
From 1A
charged with the responsibility
to “provide representation to
the people of Cleveland County
as a whole.” A large contingent
from the black community at-
tended the meeting which saw
two blacks, Mary Evans and
Richard Hooker, elected to
board seats.
The entire voting process
took less than 15 minutes.
Voting for the six members
from the current school board
was accomplished on the first
go. Selection of the at-large
members took two tries. On the
first ballot, Litton and Evans
were selected. Evans received
three votes and Litton four. This
left one seat still open since
none of the other candidates re-
ceived the three votes needed to
win. On the second ballot, all
commissioners voted for Curtis
except McIntosh who again cast
his vote for Jose Espinal Sr., of
Kings Mountain.
After the new board was se-
lected, Middlebrooks took an-
other turn at the podium to
speak to the commissioners and
the audience about the legal
ramifications since the board
had been named.
“From this moment forward,
the board is bound by the same
laws that govern you concern-
ing open meetings,”
Middlebrooks said. “They have
to give notice of any meetings
they intend to have, and they
must be open to the public.”
In a gesture towards Gaston
County students who attend
school in Kings Mountain,
Crawley laid out an olive
branch by saying the commis-
sioners and new board wanted
to “work with the students.”
Commissioner Charlie Harry al-
so said he encouraged coopera-
tion regarding the Gaston stu-
dent situation.
Though the selection of the
new school board seemed to be
the final icing on the merger
cake, some folks vowed to fight
on against the deal.
“I'm looking forward to the
opportunity serve on the new
board - if it in fact becomes a re-
ality,” said Dr Larry Allen. “In
the meantime, we will continue
to work with our lawyers to see
merger defeated.”
PAVING
From 1A
fresh coat could be put down
“After the paving job is com-
pleted on Gold and Mountain
streets, we'll resurface part of
Cherokee Street behind the po-
lice station and Ridge Street,”
said Jackie Barnette
MERGER
From 1A
the legality of the plan - and
coming just days after judges in
Cleveland and Wake counties
who denied an injunction also
gave indications that the ques-
tions about the Gaston County
issue had merit - seemed to
pump up some KM board
members.
“I feel just as good now as I
did before,” said Allen. “Both
judges have told us that we
have significant legal issues that
have to be addressed. They ba-
sically said, ‘after the State
Board acts, bring it back to us.””
Both Judge Bridges in
Cleveland County and Judge
Barnette in Wake County de-
nied the preliminary injunctions
because they said “irreparable
harm” to Gaston students could
not be caused before the State
Board made a decision.
“If we're going to stop it at
all, it has to be stopped by one
venue or another,” Allen said.
- “We're either going to get a stay
or an injunction until a judge
can make a decision.”
Allen said he agreed with
Douglas's statements during
the State Board meeting that the
Gaston County students have
been a part of Kings Mountain
Schools for at least 25 years.
“We've danced around it, but
the State has been funding them
for 24 years and you can’t deny
that fact,” Allen said.
Douglas suggested that the
Cleveland County
Commissioners get the ap-
proval of Gaston County
Commissioners and re-submit
its merger plan to the State, but
the approval of Boyles’ motion
stopped that possibility.
KM Board member Ronnie
Hawkins said he, too, is con-
vinced that KM still has a good
chance of getting an injunction
by July 1.
“The only way we can win
now is in court,” he said. “We'll
have to prove that they voted
on an illegal plan. If that’s
found to be true, the commis-
sioners would have to take a re-
vised plan back to the State
Board for approval, and if that
revised plan should mean that
Gaston County should sign off
on it that’s something they'd
have to work through to get.”
Hawkins said KM Schools are
not willing to dismiss the
‘Gaston County students with-
out a fight.
“They've always been a vi-
able part of our community and
will remain so,” he said.
“I was pleased that most of
the discussion that took place at
the State Board meeting was
whether or not those kids actu-
ally belong to us. I think there's
enough doubt at the State Board
level, but the way it was told to
us they were supposed to vote
on the merits of the plan and
whether or not it was legal
within guidelines set by the
General Assembly. The issue of
the Gaston County kids is a le-
gal issue and it’s got to be de-
cided in the courts. If they had
* taken care of the legal issue first
it would have become a moot
point when it came before the
State Board.”
Hawkins said he would like
to see an injunction hearing
soon, so school officials can get
back to the business of educat-
ing children.
“I think if the courts would
have heard us earlier we could
either be getting on with regu-
lar business or coming together
and making the merger happen
in the best interest of the chil-
dren,” he said.
Though obviously disap-
pointed by the State Board deci-
sion, KM Board member Stella
Putnam said Kings Mountain
“has one more shot (seeking an
injunction), and the hunter in
me says we need to take it.”
“I am committed to doing ev-
erything we can do to stop it,”
she said. “I do not see how this
is going to benefit children. I
was encouraged when the State
Board had some problems with
their vote. It’s a very murky sit-
uation.”
Putnam said, if KM’s injunc-
tion efforts fail and the plan is
implemented July 1, the interim
school board faces a “monu-
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mental” task.
“I just can’t imagine what
theyre going to have to deal
with,” she said. “If they leave
everything the same for next
year, then come back in 2001
and start moving kids around
we're going to go through an-
other time when children are
hurt, and that’s a shame.”
Board member Shearra Miller
said she, too, was disappointed,
“but not surprised” by the State
Board's decision.
“The biggest surprise was
that they deliberated as long as
they did (2 1/2 hours) and that
there was actually a split vote,”
she said. “That let me know
that we're right in our assump-
tion that the merger is illegal
and should not be taking place
because at least some of their
board members felt the same
way.
“I'm, just. to the mindset that
we don't give up until a judge
rules that we don’t have any
other choice.”
Vice-Chairman Melony Bolin
said there's “always hope” that
an injunction could stop the
merger, but it was obvious she
was disappointed with the State
Board's decision.
“I am very disappointed that
they didn’t take into considera-
tion the 183 Gaston County stu-
dents,” she said. “One of the
members even made the state-
ment that they were letting 200
students make the decision for
the whole system, but whether
it’s one student or 183 it should
matter. Their rights should not
be violated.
“I understand that the system
has not been fair up to this
point in regards to this merger
issue, because we've had five
county commissioners who are
supposed to be open-minded -
and I believe one of them was -
but the other four had already
made up their minds back in
December and that’s unfair for
Kings Mountain students who
will suffer in a merged system,
because bigger is not better.
“I do think the Kings
Mountain Board of Education -
and this is only my opinion but
I believe we have to look at this
and say we fought a hard fight.
We have each given and tried to
do all that we possibly could do
to keep this merger from hap-
pening. I feel we have one last
thing we can do, and that is to
hopefully go before a judge
who will listen and actually see
that this is detrimental to the
students. If that does not hap-
pen prior to June 30, then I feel
we don’t have a chance because
the State School Board has al-
ready acted.”
Bolin said the merger issue
should have been an eye-open-
er for Kings Mountain citizens,
and she encourages them all to
get personally involved in the
public school systems.
“If this goes through, I per-
sonally, not from the school
board member's position but
from the mother's perspective,
encourage citizens, to lobby for
vouchers because the only way
to improve public education, in
my opinion, is to have a choice.
I believ< that’s something that
we really need to consider.”
Bolin said if the merger goes
through, she plans to run for
the County School Board next
year.
“In all of this process the stu-
© dents have béen forgotten,” she
said, “and it’s all about money
and control and one county seat
of government. I would caution
citizens of Kings Mountain and
Cleveland County to pay close
attention to the politics at hand
in the future when they start
merging all these little things
because of what they consider
to be a vision. “
She stressed that Kings
Mountain's test scores are con-
sistently among the best in the
state, and the school system
would have gladly shared any
information to help other sys-
tems attain similar achieve-
ment.
“It’s now out of my hands
and beyond my control,” she
added, “and all I can do is con-
tinue to step forward and be a
voice for the children.”
CENTER
From 1A
er organizations, and individu-
als.
Thornburg said the center
will feature an 86’ by 52” multi-
purpose room for socials and
large activities for both Senior
Citizens programs and other
community activities. A ceramic
shop, exercise room, game
room, craft room, library, com-
mercial kitchen with walk-in
freezer and refrigerator, two
dining rooms, and a suite of of-
fices and a gift shop are also in-
cluded in the plans.
The one-story structure will
be more than three times the
size of the current Senior
Center, located at the old Kings
Mountain Depot.
“We're hoping the facility
will be used by the general pub-
lic, businesses, and other orga-
nizations,” Thornburg said.
“It’s going to be a nice building
starting out in the basement of
the Kings Mountain
Community Center. The pro-
gram served as the initial Meals
on Wheels program for
Cleveland County.
The program moved into the
Depot in 1976 and now serves
over 1,000 people annually.
Daily attendance averages from
60 to 80 people in a number of
programs, and Thornburg ex-
pects those numbers to increase
substantially once the new
building is occupied.
The program now serves the
Kings Mountain School District.
Mayor Murphrey said he is
excited to see the new Center
come to pass.
“We all take a great deal of
pride and personal satisfaction
in making this dream come
true,” he said. “It’s been a real
effort by a lot of people, our city
council, city staff, Senior Center
Advisory Board, and a number
of volunteers. We're real excited
and we're looking forward to about this new facility which
getting into it.” will improve the quality of life
The Senior Center program for the citizens of Kings
has been in existence since 1975, Mountain.”
marks along with Mayor Rick
BLAST Murphrey.
From 1A Mayor Murphrey will briefly
Three prizes will be given review the history of Kings
away during a special drawing,
with the grand prize a 15’ x 4’
above-ground pool donated by
KM Pools. Second prize is a
BMX bike, and third prize is a
kiddie pool.
Tickets for the prize drawing
' may be obtained at Kings
Mountain financial institutions
and other downtown business-
es.
Linda Allen, secretary of
KMBPA, encourages all area
residents to take part in the
Beach Blast, which the KMBPA
hopes will become a summer
tradition.
“Even though this is our first
year, we're hoping for a very
large crowd,” she said. “We've
really gotten a lot of good re-
sponses so far.”
Beach-goers are encouraged
to bring beach blankets, lawn
chairs and umbrellas.
The mural dedication at 5
p-m. will be an event that has
long been anticipated by many
Kings Mountain folks.
Forest City artist Clive
Haynes has been busy for
months painting the giant mu-
ral on the side of the Plonk
Building at the corner of
Railroad Avenue and East Gold
Street, and except for a few mi-
nor finishing touches it will be
completed by Saturday.
Shirley Brutko of the Kings
Mountain Branch of the
Cleveland County Chamber
and a member of the Mayor's
Mural Committee, will make re-
Mountain and Clive Haynes
will talk briefly about the mu-
ral. Brutko will speak briefly
about the dreams of future mu-
rals.
“I'm really looking forward
to this,” said Murphrey. “This is
, something the people are going
to take a lot of pride in.”
‘Dale Putnam will be dressed
in his Mountaineer outfit and
fire his musket.
Brutko pointed out that all
but one of the scenes on
Haynes’ mural depicts Kings
Mountain as it was in 1780,
when the Battle was fought. It
includes farm land, planes,
trees and streams, bare ground,
the old Frederick Hambright
cabin near the entrance to Kings
Mountain National Military
Park; the John Wells cabin on
Stewart Road, now owned by
Letha Stewart and is the house
where wounded soldiers were
brought for treatment; the
Ormand furnace near Long
Creek, Long Creek Presbyterian
Church, and the Long Creek
cemetery tombstone of a soldier
who was killed in the battle.
The mural also includes pa-
triot soldiers and several ani-
mals that roamed Kings
Mountain during that period of
time, ipcinding a hidden buffa-
lo.
Included in the mural is one
animal that was thought to be
native to this area, but later
found out not to be. Brutko said
it will be left so school children
can identify it.
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