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YOUR QPINIOR Our Hahts are being taken away To the editor: - Two hundred twenty-five years ago, brave men fought tyranny and won the freedoms which Americans enjoyed for : another 200 years. Unfortunately, for the last 25 years or so, the descendants of these brave men have gradual- ly been lulled into a false sense of security and a naive as- : sumption that the government under which we now live is i the same honorable institution that it was when it was first conceived. Actually, many cf the certain inalienable rights our forefa- thers fought to secure have gradually been taken away from us, “The people.” For in- stance, the second amendment, i the right to bear arms, has i been changed. The official po- sition of the Clinton-Gore Department of Justice in a let- ter dated August 22, 2000 states that “the second amend- ment does not extend an indi- vidual right to keep and bear arms.” For people who live under a now pretty much Godless gov- ernment, this should be very sobering. When a government becomes generally immoral and without common sense, and then tries to legislate its own form of morality and common sense geared to please special interest groups, the average citizen should be- gin to take notice that their “certain inalienable rights” are being violated. Consider the main rights 3 confirmed in our Bill of Rights: freedom of worship; freedom of speech; freedom of the press; freedom of peaceful as- sembly; the right to bear arms; freedom from unreasonable search and seizure; right to a speedy trial by jury; protection, : J self incrimination. { Well, we still have freedom - of religion as long as we do it in private. We still have protec- i tion from self-incrimination. : We have freedom of speech and freedom of the press, as : long as what we say or write is politically correct. Whatever happened to hon- esty and decency? Not a very good showing of what we still have, is it? Do we really need this to continue? Elizabeth W. Champion Kings Mountain Criticize, but get the facts straight To the editor: I have debated on whether I should write another letter concerning the KMHS football team: I decided that I should defénd myself against some of the accusations made about me. First, I would like to say that I have known Donnie Mace most of my life and I also don't believe that he alone wrote the letter criticizing me. I can’t say letter. I have done quite a lot of hollering at the football games, but I don’t remember any of it being directed at the kids. When they execute a good play I'm one of the first on my feet clapping and encouraging them on. I have hollered at quite a few of the coaches in my almost 40 years of attendance. Donnie also states that he has sat next to me and heard me criticize the players. Sorry, Donnie, but I don’t ever re- member having you sit next to : me. Donnie, you also stated that my cohorts (as you refer to them) and I act as though we could do a better job of coach- 3 ing than the present coaches. Actually, Donnie, I think we could. You say I don’t do anything to help the program. I have participated in the Booster Club activities in the past such as selling clothing, merchan- dise, hats, T-shirts, and what- ri z EN See Letter, 6A PICTORIAL EDITORIAL ‘GARY STEWART / THE HERALD Kings Mountain received one of its earliest snowfalls in history Sunday, and with all the Christmas decorations going up around town it turned the city into a Christmas scene. This photo was taken at the gazebo at Patriots Park at the corner of West Gold Street and Railroad Avenue. KM coach deserves more than one season to prove himself Public reaction of recent weeks has influenced me to write today’s column even though I do not like to play out employee scenarios in ne media. However, there has — been so much attention in the form of public discus- sion and letters to this paper about our football program at Kings Mountain High School that I think it de- serves the best interest of ev- eryone involved for me to publicly outline my position on this matter today. First of all, let me say that I am confident that everyone interested in the football coaching situation at our high school has the same ultimate goals. We all want our football team to be competitive each year. We all want our team to be in the playoffs each year. In fact we’d all prefer that we be competitive for the state championship each year difficult though that may be. We all want our players to come away from the experience with a positive reaction. While we may disagree on some of the specifics about how all of this is accomplished, I honestly believe we're all on the same page about the overall goals for our pro- gram. ‘ As I have read some of the letters to the editor of this paper which have run in recent weeks it is clear that many of the writers, and probably some who haven't written, have bad informa- tion about how decisions were made in regards to our football coaching staff. There is not space for this column sufficient to clear up all of those inaccuracies, however I would ask that people don’t place too much stock in rumor. No deci- Bob > McRae . sions about our coaching staff were made for what people like to call political reasons. The only goal for the people involved in the deci- sions was to try to put the most effective staff possible in place given the positions and the time frame available. That being said, I want to make one thing clear. Dave Farquharson is our head football coach today and will be next year. I know of nothing that will change that assignment prior to next season. While that fact may not please some in the community, it is simply the right thing to do. I could go in much detail about the challenges which our coach and his staff had to overcome this year. Some would say those are good reason to support the coach, and others would say they were just part of football - things which could happen to anyone. Debating them here probably serves no good purpose. Those who disagree about the importance of them will just have to disagree, hopefully with respect for each other. We would not have named Coach Farquharson head coach had we not thought him capable of the job. His long history of work with us, his acknowledged status as an out- standing offensive line coach, and the respect in which he is held by his colleagues and players «all pointed towards his promise for success. One | disappointing season does not overrule those at- KM'S¢hdols ™" “tributes. He deserves a longer opportunity to prove himself than one season affords. Dave does not need to be told what we expect to be successful in terms of wins and losses. I told him that when he was hired, and he under- stands that. There are other things we expect from our football program, things like high ex- pectations for player behavior and school suc- cess, following the rules under which the pro- gram is governed, and strong efforts to help our players grow as citizens. Anyone who knows him knows he understands those expectations as well and delivers on each one. Now that the season has closed our high school principal and head coach will assess strategies for returning our team to a winning situation and make whatever adjustments, if any, may be necessary. They need no pressure to do that for a successful program is their goal just as it is for those of us who simply love to watch the game. Let’s keep things in perspective. Playing foot- ball can teach young men a great deal about life. It is not life itself. Players - other students as well - also learn much about life from watching -adults handle emotional situations. Our pro- gram will be best served and our students will learn best from the opportunity to watch every- one who cares about Kings Mountain football put their fullest support behind our coach and his staff and players. in a sincere effort to keep reaching all of our expectations for the program. Those expectations will always include victo- ries, but I trust they will also always include proper respect for a coach who works very hard to teach his players greater lessons than just winning and losing provide. The Kings Mountain Herald RR Editor: Gary Stewart 739-7496 November 23, 2000 Section A, Page 4 How much is it worth to get rid of your pooch What price vanity? That's a question that came to my mind the other day when I saw a show on TV about folks who were determined to turn back the hands of time. Before the program was finished there were several folks who not only turned those hands back, they stomped on the fingers while they were e at it One lady that became beautified was about 75 years old. Shé got the notion that she could | look like she was 29 all over again. For $25,000 a | plastic surgeon cut around the perimeter of her face, grabbed the meat, and like he was pulling on a cowboy boot yanked her mug back to past her ears. After she spent a couple of months wrapped in bandages like Pharaoh Amenhotep’s mummy, she found herself with a youthful face but still a 75 year old body. Alan Hodge Not to be outdone, another lady wanted her : stomach to have that ironing board flatness it Staff Writer once did. She called it her “pooch.” Actually, Great Dane was more like it. Her doctor proceeded.to grab the pooch, remove the pooch, and throw the pooch in a bucket- all for 25 grand. The pooch was gone, but her husband was the one who howled when the bill came. What I'm driving at is what ever happened to growing old with grace, dignity, and honor. Some folks still do it, but TV and our society has more and more pushed the idea that youth is everything. No one wants to be decrepit, but face it, gravity and time will do their humble work in us all- or at least those of us who don’t have $25,000 extra to throw away. I have known several people who were older but who had an air of refinement and dignity about them that youth simply lacks. Selena Trott was one of them, Elizabeth Steele in Belmont is another, so too is a former boss of mine named Don White. A person whose name has appeared in this column before is to me the epitome of white-haired magnificence- Robert Edward Lee. I too have a pooch. Thank the Lord it’s still not so large as to protrude extremely from its kennel. The last couple of years has seen the first signs of bags under my eyes in the morning. My beard is slowly graying like the muzzle of an old blue tick hound. I don’t have $25,000 to fix these things, but by looking to others who have aged gracefully, hopefully what dough I do have can be spent on things uplifting in other ways. McDowell outstanding KM educator in 1986 Well-known Kings Mountain educator Danny McDowell was making news 14 years ago when he was on the front page of the November 12, 1986 Herald. McDowell was featured in a photo- graph receiving an award as 1986 Outstanding Elementary : . ..Math Teacher from Dr. Bob McRae. McDowell was a fourth . grade teacher at Bethware at the time. Also on the front of the November 12, 1986 Herald was a pons be fe Mein ion = chool football team. The athletes Looking Back were congratulated in print by be- ing tri-champs in the Southwestern / FR % won PRB [2 Ya Ri TNT Ne 3A Conference with Shelby and East Rutherford. At that time, the award was the first conference football championship for the Mounties since 1964. . 2 AY iin ry Filling page 1B with vintage 2s S photos of the Kings Mountain AT KINGS MOUNTAIN High School marching band of By Alan Hodge 1940-41, Lib Stewart wrote a story about how a uniform from that era was being donated to the fledgling Kings Mountain Historical Museum. The outfits were donated by Wilson Griffin and his wife Sarah. Cultural news in the November 12, 1986 Herald spotlighted the Kings Mountain Little Theater production of “Raggedy Ann and Andy”. The show was featuring actors Emily Campbell, William Ledbetter, and a host of others. Also highlighted on the social page was a trip that Dr. L.W. Muench had recently made to the annual convention of the American Society of Anesthesiologists. The gathering was held in Las Vegas. Muench was employed at Kings Mountain Hospital at the time. Photo fun found its way to page 10C of the November 12, 1986 edition of the Herald with a picture of the 1923 Kings Mountain Masonic Lodge baseball team. The twist to the shot was the fact that the guys were dressed as gals. One player iden- tified was J.A. Wright. The question revolved around who the other players could have been in their dresses and bonnets. The photo had been made at Hamrick Springs in Shelby. Rounding out the Herald for the second week of November 1986 was a spot tooting the horn of Dwight “Fearless” Frady. It seems as if Fearless had a season-end score of .800 in his football predictions by picking seven of eight winners. Long before there was ESPN, Frady had ESP when it came to football. that he had no input into the : i SIDEWALK SURVEY By ALAN HODGE Kings Mountain Herald What are you thankful for this holiday season? I’m thankful for my two daughters and my career. Steven Wray I'm thankful to have my mother and whole family with me. Melvina Jackson All respondees are staff at KM Middle School. I’m thankful for family and friends. Ethel Pedersen I'm thankful for family, friends, and good health. I'm thankful for my family and that everyone is healthy. Suzie Terres John Pettus aE
The Kings Mountain Herald (Kings Mountain, N.C.)
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Nov. 23, 2000, edition 1
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