Newspapers / The Kings Mountain Herald … / Jan. 11, 2001, edition 1 / Page 4
Part of The Kings Mountain Herald (Kings Mountain, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
———_ YOUR OPINION Thanks for supporting luminaries To the editor: Four years ago, after the death of a close relative, and realizing not only our loss but that we could no longer share the traditional Christmas cele- bration with them, family get togethers, meals, exchanging gifts etc., after much thought and debate we decided to place a lighted candle on her grave. It alluded to the star in the east, a symbol of the birth of our Savior, Jesus; light, a symbol that their memory will always shine in our hearts; brightness, that memories of them will always be a bright spot in our lives; placement, on their earthly resting place, facing east, fondly for the rap- ture. This done, we suddenly re- alized we had other family, friends, and:loved ones in- terred at Mountain Rest Cemetery so luminaries were placed on their graves as well. Thus, the birth of Mountain Rest Christmas luminaries ser- vice, a very spiritual and serene annual Christmas memorial celebration. Four years later, many have joined with us, and with their help this service has grown to mean much to many. As the organizers of the Mountain Rest Christmas Luminaire Service, we would like to take this opportunity to thank the City of Kings Mountain for allowing us to present this service. Also, to thank the staff at Mountain Rest Cemetery for their help and patience in preparation and presentation for the ser- vice. ivy wimatens act © Thanks to. all he many,» wolii unteers who helped light lu- minaries, greet and direct visi- tors and traffic and helped in so many ways to help make Mountain Rest Christmas Luminaire a success. Thanks to the bag piper for volunteer- ing his time, talent and travel to participate in the program. Our gratitude to all is bound- less. To all who came out loved ones, families, and friends, without you our project would be without merit. Your continued support and dona- tions will help beep fis tradi- tion possible. Jim and Brenda Belt James Belt Ministries KM lakes should not be sold To the editor: The City of Kings Mountain is poised on the edge of tremendous growth. With a re- cent designation of “Gateway City to the Parks,” by the National Park Service, it be- comes obvious that we can be- come protector of other natu- ral areas. The two lakes, Davidson and City Lake, owned by the City of Kings Mountain, locat- ed within one-half of a mile from the new: connector trail (part of Crowder’s Mountain State Park), and in close prox- imity to the Kings Mountain State Park and Kings Mountain National Military Park, should be a part of this natural area. ; Kings Mountain Friends of the Lakes believes that these lakes should not be used for commercial or housing devel- opment, but rather kept as a natural resource area to bene- fit citizens now and future generations to come. Friends of the Lakes Steering Committee Mike Smith, Carl DeVane, Dennis Patterson, Tim Plonk, Shirley Brutko (OPINION LOOKING BACK The Kings Mountain Herald i FILE PHOTO / L G. ALEXANDER Kings Mountain High School’s spanking new baseball field was dedicated in 1970. Taking part in the ceremony prior to the Kings Mountain-Belmont game were, left to right, retired KMHS baseball coach Fred Withers who was engineer for the project; Kings Mountain: School Board member Alex Owens who hit the first ball pitched by Withers; Kings Mountain High School Principal Jake Atkinson; Kings Mountain School Superintendent Donald Jones; and Rev. Jim Neal, pastor of Trinity Episcopal Church, who gave the prayer of dedication. Owens, Withers, Paul Lancaster and Dorus Bennett received plaques in appreciation for their contributions to the project. Unfortunately, the first official game played on the field resulted in Belmont’s Rick Cherry pitching a no-hit, 2-0 victory over Coach Bobby Hussey’s Mountaineers. In 19785, the baseball/softball complex at KMHS and KMMS were named Lancaster’ 'Fields in honor of Paul Lancaster for his contributions in rebuilding the high school field and building the baseball and = softball fields at KMMS, as well as the KMHS football practice | fields. : OUR VIEW ii Noor Ex wig isan re asarsaviarnsesnrsansesiuARI LEAT ARYA. peresaneesnianiianaaaniyen re Legislators need to halt merger Merger has been in the news almost weekly since November 1999 when the “old” Cleveland County Board of Commissioners called for a merger assessment through a letter that was hand-delivered to a Shelby newspaper. Since that time, the three members of the “old” board that were up for election last year have been voted out of office and three new commis- sioners who Finn opposition to merger have tak- , tran} ara en‘their $a: Ab thecfirsoireeting ofthe frew” board, the commissioners accepted the resignation of their merger lawyer and adopted resolutions asking the State Board of Education to rescind its ap- proval of the Cleveland County merger plan, and also to ask the U.S. Justice Department to refuse to pre-clear the merger under the 1965 Voting Rights Act. All during this merger fight, in which most folks in Cleveland County expressed their opin- ion, it’s been clear that the majority of the citizens are against it. What else could have led them to clean house on election day and vote into office three people from Kings Mountain? In the long, political history of Cleveland County that had never happened before. Also, it was amazing that most of our local del- egates to the General Assembly were silent on what has been one of the hottest issues to ever surface in this county. Andy Dedmon did write a letter to the editor of this newspaper stating that he was opposed to merger. Now, it’s time for the others to speak out. Recently, talk has surfaced about the possibility of the county commissioners asking the local del- egates to introduce a bill in the General Assembly to overturn the State Board's approval of merger. The General Assembly reserved this type of pow- er for itself several years ago when it took merger out of the hands of the voters and gave it to county commissions. During telephone interviews last week with all of the local delegates except John Weatherly, who couldn't be reached, most said they would be willing to have a “delegation” meeting and con- sider supporting such a request. We feel they need to do it soon because this is- sue has been devastating to Cleveland County. The cost of a merger that hasn't even been imple- mented yet has been astronomical to the taxpay- ers. The “cloud of merger” has been directly re- sponsible for numerous Kings Mountain School employees leaving their jobs for more secure if not greener pastures, and has also partly resulted in the loss of our top administrator, Supt. Bob McRae: It could also be pointed out that several “top-level ddiinistrative’ jobs have changed hands in the past year, and in every case a person within. the school system got those jobs. We wonder if more experienced candidates would have applied for them had the merger cloud not been hanging over our heads. We also have to believe that it's going to.be virtually impossible for KMDS to at- tract out-of-system candidates for the superinten- dent vacancy if the merger issue is not settled. While some may argue that the local delegates shouldn't get involved yet because there are de- cisions pending in the Court of Appeals, and the merger plan also has to be pre-cleared by the U.S. Justice Department, we feel it’s time to put a stop to this mess. It would be far less expensive, and maybe even more timely and advantageous than having the coutts and the U.S. Justice Department rule on it. The courts will rule according to the law, hot by public’opinion. The Justice Department will rule on whether or not the plan violates the voting‘and/ or civil rights of the mi- norities Who may or may not eventually be affect- ed by this plan. Politicians cantrule by public opinion. And the public opinion is overwhelm- -ing. The people: of Cleveland County do not want merger. : The General Aronble will convene on January 24. It will have a lot of important i issues to deal with. To the peoplé in Cleveland County, there is 110 issue more important than school merger. Thus, we call upon our local delegates to intro- duce a bill to overturn this merger and make ev- ery effort to convince the other legislators that this is not good for Cleveland County. If our local delegation cannot speak up for us now, at the next-election:they need to meet the same political fate as the “old” county commis- sioners. ‘yards in his first season with the Se gy Editor: Gary Stewart 739-7496 November 30, 2000 Section A, Page Burning powder brings New Year in with a bang Ringing in the New Year is a custom that dates back a very, very long time. Even before there were calendars, indeed, even before there were calendars with the likes of Fabio or Farrah Fawcett or hotrod cars on them, people have celebrated the start of a New Year in some way. In olden times, before the world was illuminated at Ji by electric lights, people had plenty of time and on darkness to study the moon and stars. By gaug- | ing when a certain heavenly body would mark its path across the sky, the ancients could tell- when one year had passed and another had > started. Things they did then included slurping | at a wassail bowl and sacrificing an unlucky maiden. Thanks to the Chinese and their invention of gunpowder, modern New Year fests often fea- ture fireworks. Besides presenting a show of light and sparks, the blast of fireworks is also Staff Writer said to frighten off evil spirits. Sometimes, as in the case of the jovial and pyrotechnically inclined Cherryville Shooters, spirits often precede the kabooms as well: Since I live in a semi-rural area of Gaston County, New Year's Eve and the Fourth of July both provide opportunities for kablamery to take place. Though some of the folks in my neck of the woods shoot a bottle rocket or two, most saunter, stroll, or Alan Hodge stagger outside at the stroke of midnight to loose volleys of gun- | fire. Someone nearby, I'm not sure whom but I have a good idea, possesses a full scale Civil War artillery piece and treats the pop- ulace to its earthshaking roar When the occasion calls for noise and fire. This New Year I was sick inbed and could only hear the sounds of battle...er, I mean:celebration. At about 10 minutes until midnight a desultory fire was taken up by an assortment of arms. There go the skirmishers, I thought. As the moment of January 1, 2001 approached, the fire increased in volume and the cannon again added its concussive blast to the fight..I mean revelry. Finally, as the New Year came in, the steady bang of ri- fles, shotguns and pistols mitigled with rockets to form a battle scene of unspeakable grander. Well, the situation wasn't like sipping champagne on Times Square, but it was unique. And this year, like every year when the shooting starts, I reflect on what the future 365 days will hold. And this year, as all'the others since I moved to the free fire zone, I figure if I don’t catch a stray slug then the year has started out on a pretty good note. Way we were January 9, 1986 The year 1986 started off with a potpourri of news stories on the front page of the January 9 edition of the Herald. Topping the roster was a big write-up about Kings Mountain native and -. pro football star Kevin Mack being named United Press International AFC Rookie of the Year. The announcement came after Mack gained over 1,100 {L.ooking| Back Cleveland Browns: As reported, Mack had also set rushing records as a student at KMHS and Clemson University. Also on the front page of the January 9, 1986 Herald, it was announced that April Ellen I Morrison had been the first A KING s WOUNTAI child born at Kings Mountain y g Hospital in 1986. The daughter of Judy and Phillip Morrison, April came into this world on January 2 at 2:25 a.m. Wrestling topped Herald sports news on January 9, 1986. Coached by Steve Moffitt, the Kings Mountain High School { wrestling team was reported as winning their latest outing with a victory over North Gaston. After the win, Moffitt was just two wins short of having 100 coaching triumphs. Top wrestlers men- tioned in the story included Wayne Brazzell, Vince Sullens, and Roderick Boyce. Also featured on the sports page was a photo of young golfer Matt Heavner who had recently finished in second place at a tournament at River Bend golf club. The Focus on People section of the January 9, 1986 Herald spotlighted several 50th wedding anniversaries. Included in the roster were Mr. and Mrs. Nelson Ledbetter, Mr. and Mrs. G.M. Hulffstetler, and Mr. and Mrs. Paul A. Hord, Sr. Other social news included the military notes that Marty Hovis had complet- - ed Navy Basic Training, Private Charles Patterson had complet- ed training at Army Signal School, and that Tracy Lyles had been promoted to the rank of sergeant in the Air Force. In her weekly column for January 9, 1986 Herald staff Writer Lib Stewart mused about the fact that several famous popular music stars had been killed over the years in plane crashes. Among the names she intoned in the story were Glenn Miller, Jim Reeves, Patsy Cline, and Ricky Nelson. SIDEWALK SURVEY By ALAN HODGE Kings Mountain Herald § What will be the biggest challenge facing §§ President Bush His biggest The problem of rising ~~ Overcoming the Bush's biggest He will be -\seorge us challenge will be to medical costs for |, controversy of the challenges will be ~ challenged by the in his first year cut taxes. seniors will be his Florida election working with need to cut taxes. of office? greatest challenge. count will be a Congress and the challenge. economy. Jeff Cox Steve Norkett Ivy Quick J. C. Wilson _ Angel Perez Gastonia Kings Mountain Grover Kings Mountain Kings Mountain BN ) edt. amen
The Kings Mountain Herald (Kings Mountain, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Jan. 11, 2001, edition 1
4
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75