Thursday, July 13, 2000
KINGS
Vol. 112 No. 28
MOUNTAIN
Since 1889
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INSIDE
SPORTS
Holly Evans and Snappy Syl
KM'’s Evans wins
State 4H Horse Show
Holly Evans of Kings
Mountain, and her horse Snappy
Syl, won the recent State 4H
Horse Show in Raleigh and quali-
fied for the Southern Regional
Show in August. 7A
KM baseball team
second in state
Kings Mountain's 8-year-old
Dixie Youth all-star baseball team
finished second in the inaugural
State Tournament last weekend
in Riegelwood. 6A
KM team inducted
into Hall of Fame
The Kings Mountain Wildcats
recently participated in the
National Youth Invitational
Baseball Tournament in
Cooperstown, NY. 7A
COMMUNITY
Curbside collection
begins next week
City of Kings Mountain em-
ployees are busy this week
distributing new garbage con-
tainers to the residents. The city’s
new curbside collection system
will go into effect next Monday.
2A
County approves
KM ETJ expansion
Cleveland County
Commissioners Tuesday night
approved Kings Mountain's
plans to extend their extraterrito-
rial jurisdiction (ETJ) to two miles
south and west of the current city
limits. 2A
KM library installs
new computer system
Mauney Memorial Library was :
closed last week to install a brand
new computer system which will &
make the operation of the library
and the new Harris Children’s
: Wing much more efficient. 2A
-Cross Connection
- people helping people
A group of teens calling them-
: selves “Cross Connection” is
: spending their summers helping
: others. 5B
‘SCHOOLS
KM students will
‘ recycle computers
- Kings Mountain High students
of Alfred Ash will be able to learn
computers inside and out be-
cause of the knowledge Ash is
gaining through a workshop on
ExplorNets Computer Recycling
Program. 5A
HECHANIT
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ALAN HODGE / THE HERALD
Police officer J.C. Shull helps load truck with nine video poker machines from Pete's Gameroom on E. King St.
during Friday’s roundup of 13 gaming operations in Kings Mountain.
Friday video poker bust nets
100 machines, 10 arrests in KM
BY ALAN HODGE
Staff Writer
As video poker machine operators
discovered Friday, you can run from
South Carolina, but you can’t hide in
Kings Mountain.
That's the message delivered loud
and clear when over two dozen law
enforcement officers from the Kings
Mountain Police Department, the
Cleveland County Sheriffs
Department, and the N.C. Highway
Patrol fanned out to deliver 13 war-
rants for for illegal gaming opera-
ongoing since February. The raids in
Kings Mountain netted 98 video
poker machines and $12,400 in U.S.
currency. In addition to the ma-
chines, marijuana, drug parapherna-
lia, Xanax, white liquor and home-
made wine were taken in as part of
the haul. Ten individuals were ar-
rested in connection with the sting.
“Kings Mountain will not be used
as a dumping ground for South
Carolina’s video poker operations,
or other illegal activity, including,
but not limited to, alcohol and drug
violations,” mayor Rick Murphrey
tions.
Called “Operation Royal Flush,
the sweep was the result of an un-
dercover operation that had been
Tie-in at Muddy Fork Creek
completed without problems
By GARY STEWART
Editor of The Herald
Phase One of a massive 10-
year project to replace the main
water line from Moss Lake to
the City of Kings Mountain
went through without a hitch
last week.
Contractors tied in almost
4,000 feet of new 36-inch line to
the existing 24-inch line near
Muddy Fork Creek on Oak
Grove Road.
Tie-in work began early
Wednesday morning and was
completed early Saturday
morning. This week, contrac-
tors are landscaping the area
and replacing a portion of Oak
Grove Road which was closed
except for local traffic.
The city’s 8-million gallon
holding tank at the Public
Works facility on North
Piedmont Avenue was refilled
over the weekend allowing in-
‘watering plants and lawns, we
said at a news conference held
”
this in Kings Mountain.”
As recently as the evening before
dustries, which were closed last
week for the July Fourth holi-
day, to reopen on schedule.
“Everything is up to normal,”
noted City Manager Jimmy
Maney. “The job went smoothly
- just as projected.”
Maney said he appreciated .
the effort of city staff, Crowder
Construction, Moretz
Engineering, and employees of
the city water department for
their efforts to make the tie-in
successful; to industries who
cooperated by scheduling vaca-
tions during the same week,
and especially citizens for con-
serving water during the tie-in
period.
“I appreciate the citizens’
willingness to conserve water
while the new line was being
connected to the existing line,”
he said. “Those who held off
Friday afternoon. “We won't tolerate
Friday's operation, police said they
had observed operators at Lynn's
Gameroom on S. Battleground Ave.
unloading 50 poker machines from
Lucky Diamond Video Poker Parlor
which is located in Cherokee County
near Grover. Friday morning, anoth-
er truckload was deliver to Lynn's, -
police said.
Places raided during Friday's bust
included: Breaker’s Billiards, South
Battleground Ave.; KM Games E.
King St.; K&R Billiards, N. Piedmont
Ave.; Lynn's Gameroom, S.
Battleground Ave.; Parker’s Amoco,
Shelby Rd.; Pete’s Gameroom #1, N.
Piedmont Ave.; Pete’s Gameroom #2,
See Poker, 10A
E esssusessevasses ssense
KM Schools
get injunctions
against merger
State School Board may
reaffirm merger Thursday
By GARY STEWART
Editor of The Herald
The Kings Mountain Board of Education has
received injunctions from a Wake County
Superior Court Judge and the Court of Appeals to
buy some time in its fight against the planned
merger of the Kings Mountain, Shelby and
Cleveland County school systems.
However, the State Board of Education, which
meets this morning in Asheville, is expected to
reaffirm its merger plan and the Attorney
General's Office is expected to ask Wake County
Superior Court to dismiss Kings Mountain's law-
suit against that Board.
Wake County Judge Abraham Jones last Friday
issued a preliminary injunction against the State
Board's implementation of the plan. Kings
Mountain Board of Education’s attorney, Brian
Shaw, said if the Attorney General's Office is suc-
cessful in having the lawsuit dismissed Kings
Mountain will file another suit.
“What the Attorney General's Office is saying
is that there shouldn't be a lawsuit until after the
State Board of Education gives its final approval,”
Shaw said. “If the Attorney General is successful
in getting this Wake County lawsuit dismissed,
‘then the injunction will expire with the lawsuit.
“Our position is that the lawsuit is a valid law-
suit. It has been properly brought right now, and
should not be dismissed.”
Judge Jones made the decision to slow down
the merger train in a hearing Friday in Raleigh.
He said “I just want to make sure nothing bad
happens on my watch.”
Shaw said he will file an appeal if the State
Board reaffirms its merger plan. He has asked for
time on the Thursday agenda, but at this point it
is not clear if he will receive any.
“If the State Board votes on Thursday to
reaffirm the merger, then 1 don't think anybody
questions our right to file an appeal of that deci-
~ sion...and we would plan to do so,” he said.
On Monday afternoon, Kings Mountain's
Board was given an injunction on its appeal of a
recent decision in Superior Court in Shelby in
which Judge Noble denied a preliminary injunc-
tion against the Cleveland County
Commissioners’ merger plan.
Kings Mountain's appeal asked the Court of
Appeals to allow the case to go back to Cleveland
County Superior Court with an injunction in
place and maintain the status quo until the case
goes to court and a final decision is made.
“We think we have good strong grounds
against the merger,” Shaw said, “and that the
most appropriate course of action is to maintain
the status quo, which is three separate school sys-
tems, until the legal issues can be decided.
“We would hope that those legal issues are ulti-
mately decided in our favor, in which the merger
See Merger, 10A
First phase of water project complete
ALAN HODGE, THE HERALD
Getting set to connect the new 36-inch Kings Mountain water ain at Moss Lake are Crowder
Construction workers, from left; Carlos Perdomo-Valle, Julio Zambrano, and Ernesto Villacana.
FIRST NATIONAL BANK
Celebrating 126 Years
See Water, 11A The coupling they are tightening up joins a 34-inch pipe to the new one,
Kings Mountain Gastonia Shelby Bessemer City
300 W. Mountain St. 529 New Hope Rd. 106 S. Lafayette St. 1225 Gastonia Hwy.
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