.
Merger is
all about
control
Kings Mountain, Shelby and
Cleveland County Schools offi-
cials will be meeting toward the
end of this week to try to come
up with an alternate plan to
merger.
The two
groups held
two
marathon
meetings
during the
past week -
one
Wednesday
at Kings
Mountain's
district of- :
fice and the Editor
other with County
Gary Stewart
Commissioners Saturday morn-
ing in Shelby - to consider op-
tions that may bring the matter ::
to resolution quicker than hav-
ing itrun its course in the court
system.
I try to bite my tongue in
public meetings. I feel a re-
porter’s job is to listen to the
discussion and report it, and
not be a part of the meeting.
But Wednesday was one of
those times that I wish I'd been
a member of the Kings
Mountain School Board.
When the Shelby Board read
and distributed copies of a
typed statement - which was
obviously prepared prior to the
meeting - saying that they’d lis-
tened to discussion on redis-
tricting and other matters “so
eloquently” expressed by
Attorney Michael Crowell and
then went on to say that unless
they receive more money for
their school system by July 1
they’d have no other choice but :
to support the merger plan, I
probably would have told them
to...well, I probably would have
said something stupid.
School Board members, I
guess, are much nicer than I am
but it seemed to me that all of
them just clammed up-after
that.
The Shelby Board indicated
that their system, which has lost
several hundred students over
the past several years, cannot
survive very long at the present
supplement rate of funding (16
cents per $100 property valua-
tion). Their supplemental tax
“rate prior to this fiscal year was
#22 cents, but the previous
County Administration set the
countywide rate at 16 cents as
part of the merger plan. The
County system survived for
years with no supplement, and
just for the past five years or so
have they had a 10-cents sup-
plement.
It was surprising to me that
except for one brief mention by
Crowell at the Wednesday
meeting and one brief mention
by County Manager Lane
Alexander at the Saturday meet-
ing, not one person suggested
* that Shelby could put an end to
all of this merger mess by sur-
rendering its charter to the State
Board of Education.
That would automatically
. cause a merger of the Shelby
and County school systems.
This is my own personal opin-
ion, but I don’t think Shelby
would ever consider that as an
option because if that were to
happen they would run the risk
of losing control.
As pointed out by Crowell, if
that happened the State Board
of Education would adopt the
«plan for merger with the county
t ‘school unit and law would pro- i
hibit any involvement by the
city or county school boards, or
the county commissioners, in
developing the merger plan.
Just guessing, but what could
happen under that scenario is
that the State Board could leave
the county school board intact
or name an interim board
which, if representative of the
‘population of the county, could
have a majority of its members
from outside the city limits of
Shelby.
Power lost. Control of pro-
grams lost. Control of re-dis-
tricting lost.
I believe this whole merger
mess originated by the powers-
that-be in Shelby, and I don’t
think it has anything to do with
_ people driving past Shelby ev-
ery day to go to Crest. No
doubt, Shelby wants re-district-
ing but in my opinion they want
to select the neighborhoods that
would be re-assigned to Shelby.
Those they don’t want would
still be driving past Shelby to go
to Crest.
I hope the three systems can
work out a proposal that’s
agreeable to everyone, and that
the General Assembly will ap-
prove it. The merger mess needs
to be settled.
But, be careful what you give
up.
en EECA TREE het
A spectacular panorama looking towards Kings Mountain is part of the beauty in the new connec-
tor trail that will run between Crowders Mountain State Park and Kings Mountain National
Military and State parks. The 12-mile trail follows the ridge line across areas of unspoiled
wilderness. This photo was taken from Juniper Ridge looking towards Kings Mountain.
HER
UR OPINION
YO
There's more to life than
money and development
In the February 8, 2001 edition of The Herald
there was an article about how the freeze of gas
prices saved gas customers 44 percent on their
bills. In that article, City Councilman Gene White
is noted as wanting to reduce gas prices and set
aside $100,000 for no interest loans to allow
citizens to insulate their homes. Mr. White is
quoted as saying he is upset that the city is giving
away so much money while soaring gas prices are
affecting all taxpayers. Lower gas prices would
be nice if they do not put the city inthe red.
However, robbing Peter to pay Paul usually does
not work for long. If the City is paying a high
price for the gas, I do not see how they can
continue to charge less for it once the surplus is
used up. The money would have to come from
somewhere. The no interest loan idea may be
worth pursuing, but where will the $100,000 come
from? ;
Councilman White is also quoted as saying
“We just gave up $630,000 for the two lakes. *
We're anticipating annexing Dyemasters and that
will cost us a million dollars over 10 years.” My
question is this: If it is going to cost the City a
million dollars over ten years to annex
Dyemasters, why do it? It is my understanding
that Dyemasters wants to be annexed to get lower
- water prices. I can not fault them for that. Who
doesn’t want lower prices? But should it cost the
City a million dollars over ten years? I thought
the services that have to be provided due to
annexation were supposed to be paid for through
the tax revenue generated from the annexation.
It is my opinion that the delay of the sale of the
lakes was a good idea. A lot of people live in the
Kings Mountain area because they like a small
town atmosphere. It seems that several of the
present Councilmen and City administration are
intent on trying to “grow” Kings Mountain
regardless of the cost to those citizens and to the
environment. I would encourage them to
seriously think about their plans to rapidly
develop all the open space around Kings
Mountain. If the lakes were sold and
©00000000000000000000000000000s00usts0000n00 4900sceseescrsesessessesncescessrnsse
_ lines. There is a lot to be said about being able to
ALAN HODGE/THE HERALD
development took place around them as was
planned, that natural beauty would be lost :
forever. I suspect the citizens of Kings Mountain
would have ended up spending that $630,000 to
help develop the area anyway with water, sewer,
and electrical
get out in the beauty of nature and enjoy a little
peace and quiet. Unfortuately, that ability is fast
disappearing. The $630,000 has'apparently not
been needed since’the!™ «fH a, RE >
City has had a surplus. Iam sure the City would
find a way to spend it if it was available, but once
it is spent it is gone. By keeping the lakes, :
perhaps more people can enjoy them, especially if
a way can be found to make them a part of the
park system or if the Friends of theLakes find a
way to purchase them. Maybe even some of the
Councilmen and City administration could go
there to get a little fresh air and remind
themselves that there is more in life to enjoy than
just money and development.
<3
Lymn Welborn
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Editor: Gary Stewart 739-7496
February 15,
CERRY
Why not settle merger
on the field of glory?
Just like a pot of day old oatmeal, the school merger plot
thickens. Wearing on everyone's nerves for nearly a year and
half, school merger is like an acne blemish on the face of a
teenybopper- it will all be gone one day, but for
now it seems as if it will last forever.
The people who made this mess have for the
most part been put out of office. They shot and
got, or something close to that. Now, adding to
that putrid stew is the fact that there might
soon be a struggle between the the three cur-
rent school systems to see which one will get
what share of the student and money pie.
Surely there must be some parallel in the
Alan Hodge
tales of the ancient Greeks or Romans to equal wus .
the entire merger melee. Perhaps it is as if
Pegasus winged his way down Highway 74
from the west and when he crossed Buffalo Creek felt his stom-
ach begin to rumble. Maybe it’s a tale in which some king or po-
tentate who did not rule by public consent loosed a pestilence
upon the land and then went to the beach golfing.
I have a solution to the entire merger problem. Instead of
dragging it out for months in the courts, wasting tens of thou-
sands of dollars and sending more and more parents and educa-
tors to bed at night with a headache from worry, the thing could
be settled like they did in the days of yore.
I envision a scene of high mirth and drama whereby the guys
who voted to approve merger would be put in the middle of a
field dressed in loincloths and armed with sticks. Then, four
guys selected by parents in Kings Mountain- big, strappin’ farm
lads- would also put on a Tarzan rag and pick up a plank or
something and meet for mortal combat. Well, the combat
wouldn't have to be mortal, but someone would definitely get a
whuppin. The bottom line is, the side that won would have the
merger thing decided in their favor. ;
Just imagine if this event wete tobe held at a big park or in
the middle of a huge cotton field. Advertise it too. Sell hot dogs
and T-shirts and let people bring coolers and chicken and cheer
on their team. Say, can you image what some of those guys who
plunged the county into merger madness might look likein a
loin cloth?
Well, it wouldn't be the War Between the States all over again,
but it would settle the issue and make those responsible for cre-
ating it in the first place face the music they tooted. Not only
that, but the event might even be on “America’s Funniest
Videos.” After all, merger has become something that if you
don’t try to find a little bit to laugh about in its ongoing
tragedy, you just might cry.
The way we were February 13, 1986.
The special Valentine’s Day edition of the Kings Mountain
Herald for February 13, 1986 featured a front page story on citi-
zens angry over high utility bills. As the piece related, City Hall
had been jammed with folks protesting their Duke Power bills.
Some of the bills had doubled in just one month. A petition
signed by over 350 citizens was presented to council members
and several folks took to the podium to express outrage at the
hikes. ye :
..1 Another front page feature in the February 13, 1986 Herald
took a look at claims by resi- Le
dents that newly paved Fulton
Road had become a “racetrack.”
Even though the speed limit on
Fulton was posted at 35 miles
per hour, citizens who lived on
the road said drivers often hit
Looking
Back
twice that speed. ois BESTE,
On the February 13, 1986 AE Ee
sports scene, the big news was s 5, ay ia > =
that Kings Mountain High OC RAPTIR ER
School football star Calvin AT KINGS MOUNTAIN
Stephens had recently signed a :
contract to attend and play at the University of South Carolina.
Stephens had been KM'’s first Shrine Bowl player since 1957 and
had been on the All Gazette and Charlotte Observer All
Piedmont teams. Other reported news spotlighted KMHS
wrestlers Vince Sullens and Roderick Boyce who won their
weight championships in the Sectional Wrestling Tournament in
Charlotte. .
In keeping with the Valentines Day spirit, the February 13,
1986 Herald featured several “love is” letters from Susie
Keeter’s second grade class at Grover Elementary. In his letter,
Leroy McAfee said “love is my Maw Maw.” According to
Deryn Dixon, love is “when my dog gives me five.”
Military news in the February 13, 1986 Herald mentioned sev-
eral area service personnel and their adventures. In this vein, it
was announced the Larry Bridges had recently complicated
Navy boot camp. Also finished with Navy boot camp was
Lawrence James. Yet another KM sailor, Warren Bumgardner,
was listed a being deployed on the USS Coral Sea. In the Army,
Robert Wyont was reported as having taken part in a NATO ex-
ercise in Germany.
SIDEWALK
By ALAN HODGE
Kings Mountain
Herald
In light of
Clinton’s idea for
an $800,000 a year
office, should there
be a limit on how
much of the
taxpayers money
an ex-president can
spend on such
things??
gets to-avoid
abuse of the
privilege.
There should be a
limit on how much
an ex-President
Faye Ross
Kings Mountain
i Na
An ex-President
should be limited
to $100,000 a year
for his office.’
Scottie Leftwich
Kings Mountain
The ex-President
+» should not spend
“over $100,000 a
.~. year for an office.
Everett Frederick
Kings Mountain
The ex-President
should get zero
dollars for an
office.
The ex-President
should get very
little money to rent
an office.
Bud Medlin
Jonas Bridges i
Kings Mountain
Kings Mountain
Staff Writer