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Thursday, April 5, 2001
No. 14
Vol. 113
Crosswalk drama
Friday, Saturday
in downtown KM
Preparations are being finalized for Kings
Mountain's dramatic pageant, Crosswalk - The
Trail to Amazing Grace.
This original presentation, developed by David
Allen and Reg Alexander, will be on Friday and
Citizens from
various area churches are combining to bring the
Saturday, April 6-7.
drama to life.
The vocal trio Soul Desire will perform, adding
a musical touch to the drama.
The downtown intersection of Mountain and
Piedmont will be transformed into a series of ~
stages for a unique dramatization of the meaning
of Easter, exhibiting various essential scenes of
the Passion weekend, from the Last Supper to the
{ Resurrection.
The audience will become a tour group that is
i led from one scene to another by “Joseph of
i Aremathia”. In the scriptures, Joseph is identified
i as the Jewish leader who provided the tomb for
the body of Jesus.
Regal Ventures Creative Ministries is organiz-
ing this presentation on behalf of the community.
“This will be a unique experience for the audi-
ence,” said Ministry Director Reg Alexander.
“Instead of simply passing by and viewing the
scenes from a distance, they will literally walk
through the scenes, following Jesus and the disci-
ples as they encounter the events of that crucial
weekend.”
While those involved would not divulge specif-
ic details, CrossWalk, will combine scriptural ac-
counts and creative elements to help the audience
identify with the atmosphere of the event.
“The purpose of this dramatization is two-
fold,” said Steering Committee Chairman David
Allen.
First, to draw the community togethet in the
recognition of the meaning behind the Easter ob-
servance of the death and resurection of Jesus;
and second, to reflect the values of the citizens of
Kings Mountain.”
See Walk, 3A
Since 1889
Trail to ng
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«all of Fame 6A
GARY STEWART / THE HERALD i
Jim Belt will play the role of the Roman Centurion in the Easter drama :
Crosswalk - The Trail to Amazing Grace, Friday and Saturday in downtown Kings
Mountain. For free tickets call Regal Ventures Creative Ministries at 704- 739-
3838.
KM to be in
Approximately 70 percent of
the City of Kings Mountain's
electrical customers will be in
the dark from 7-8:30 a.m. and 3-
4:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 8.
Duke Power Company plans
to replace a failing transformer
that feeds the city’s substation
on North Gaston Street.
Areas affected include all the
‘streets in the vicinity of .
Meadowbrook, Kings Mountain
Hospital, Lackey Street and the
Linwood area.
City officials stated that per-
sons whose power does not go
off at 7 a.m. probably will not
experience a loss of power.
City Manager Jimmy Maney
urges relatives of special needs
customers, such as those on life
' support, to be in constant touch
in case the power outage
should result in them needing
emergency care.
Citizens are also advised that
'D.O.T. stop lights, city stop
lights, alarm systems, commer-
cial loads, and pump stations
‘will be affected by the outage.
Lake supporters see potential
for multi-use, park connection
BY ALAN HODGE
Staff Writer
With spring in the air, many
folk’s thoughts are turning once
again to Kings Mountain's city-
owned Davis and City lakes.
Besides the present hours of
fishing and nature enjoyment, a
lot of people are still working
diligently to see that the two
watery treasures reach their full
future potential of preservation
and recreation.
One group that has waded in-
to the lake cause is the Kings
Mountain Woman's Club.
Taking up a challenge from the
National Federation of
Woman's Clubs for their local
organizations to become in-
volved in community projects,
the Kings Mountain ladies
chose the lakes.
“Our two-year community
improvement project will team
us up with the Friends of the
Lakes,” said Kings Mountain
Woman's Club member Karen
Roy.
For her part, Roy has crafted
© a stained glass and cement
FIRST NATIONAL BANK
Celebrating 127 Years
tL MINN SAT EA Tn CE
bench which will be on display
at the This and That shop start-
ing April 17. After that, the
bench will be at the Gazebo for
the May 20 Jazz Artist Festival
where it will be offered. Money
raised from the bench will go to
the Friends of the Lakes bank
account.
Besides the pleasure of com-
munity involvement, there’s an-
other motivation for the Kings
Mountain Woman's Club to get
involved with the Federation's
program.
“First prize for the improve-
ment projects is $5,000 from the
National Federation,” Roy said.
“If we win, that money will also
go to the lakes and other local
community projects.”
One of the criteria for the
Woman's Club contest as hand-
ed down from the national level
is that the local project had to
involve another group- such as
the Friends of the Lake.
With their proximity to the
new connector trail that runs
between Crowders Mountain
State Park and Kings Mountain
State and National Military
(AR Ae a HOT Mr AAT ARAN ATE
Parks, it’s not surprising that
other groups have gotten in-
volved in their future use.
One person who sees great
things for the city lakes is
Walter Israel of Belmont. Israel
is president of the newly
formed Friends of Crowders
Mountain.
' “Kings Mountain has a great
recreation department but little
in the way of actual parks,” said
Israel. “The lakes with their
nearness to Crowders Mountain
would be a good combination.”
According to Israel, if Kings
Mountain would come up with
an organized plan for use of the
lakes and put some money up
front, matching funds could
possibly be obtained from the
state’s Park and Recreation
Trust Fund. That same fund re-
cently helped Gastonia with
Martha Rivers Park and Mt.
Holly with a park on Mountain
Island lake.
“To get the money, the pro-
posed area must be a multi use
facility,” Israel said. “The funds
See Lake, 3A
Kings Mountain
300 W. Mountain St.
704-739-4782.
529 New Hope Road
dark Sunday
The new transformer is al-
ready on site and city officials
expect the replacement to go
smoothly.
However, the above listed
times are estimates and any un-
foreseen problems could result
in longer outages.
See Power, 8A
BY ALAN HODGE
Staff Writer
In a letter drafted Friday, the
Kings Mountain District
Schools Board of Education
asked Gaston County commis-
sioners to reconsider the re-
quest by the Gaston County.
Board of Education to stop
funding the 181 students who
attend Kings Mountain schools
but who actually live in Gaston
County.
The request was supposed to
take effect April 1 and would
put the $971 each of those stu-
dents currently receive annually
into an escrow fund until the
merger matter is decided. The
total allotment for the 2000-2001
school year is $144,991.
“The letter is all we can do at
this time,” said Kings Mountain
board chair Shearra Miller. “The
Gaston commissioners will
have to make the decision.”
The letter was addressed to
Gaston commission chairman
Heath Jenkins.
The meeting which saw the
letter drafted was held in execu-
tive session. Though he was still
in California attending a confer-
ence, Kings Mountain superin-
tendent Dr. Larry Allen took
part via speakerphone. Allen
signed the letter Monday when
he returned.
“I'm very disappointed the
people in Gaston County have
taken this action,” Allen said
Monday morning. “I think it’s
premature.”
Allen said he planned to
speak with Gaston County
Schools superintendent Ed
Sadler about the issue.
The letter sent to Gaston
County addressed six points.
These included the fact that the
funds would not be of benefit to
the students in any case if they
were held in escrow.
Other points touched on the
unfairness of stopping the
funds in the middle of the
school year, the fact that the
money actually benefits Gaston
County students, the court or-
ders to maintain the status quo -
until all legal issues connected
with merger can be decided, the
ALAN HODGE/THE HERALD
Vince Montesino spent a recent morning fishing at City Lake
near Kings Mountain. Montesino said the lake was a peaceful
place to enjoy nature and try your angling luck.
Gastonia
704-865-1233
106 S. Lafayette St.
Shelby
704-484-6200
race KM threatens
to sue Gaston
for school funds
“It would be a shame to have
to litigate this matter.”
Richard Schwartz
KM merger attorney
fact that the money to King
Mountain was based on certifi-
cation by the State Board of
Education dated March 25,
2000, and that the Kings
Mountain school board believes
it will ultimately prevail in the
merger issue.
Miller said she felt as if the
Gaston County board was try-
ing to force Kings Mountain's
hand in the merger question.
“If we do nothing, and allow
them not to pay, it will look as if
we are saying the students
aren’t ours,” Miller said.
She also expressed disap-,
pointment that the funding is-
sue had come up in what is al-
ready getting to be a legalistic
morass.
“There are already enough
lawsuits out there,” Miller said.
“This adds another log to the
fire.”
According to Richard
Schwartz, the lawyer represent-
ing Kings Mountain in an effort
to stop merger, the letter is in-
tended to rectify the financing
situation without resorting to
yet another lawsuit.
“Once the commissioners see
that the reasoning behind the
Board of Education's request is
flawed, then hopefully there
will be no next step,” Schwartz
said.
According to Schwartz, :
Gaston County has already ap-
propriated the money for the
students in their annual budget.
In other words, the cost of the
student’s educations is paid for
whether they are in Kings
Mountain or Gaston schools.
“They have to pay one way
or the other,” Schwartz said. “It
would be a shame to have to lit-
igate this matter.”
Underscoring that point, the
letter’s summary stated “the
fairest, most educationally
sound, and legally correct step
is to maintain the status quo un-
til the lawsuits are decided.
Wal-Mart
distribution :
center planned
BY ALAN HODGE
Staff Writer
In what is being called one of
the biggest business coups in
Cleveland County history, Wal-
Mart has revealed plans to
build a major distribution cen-
ter near Shelby.
The announcement came dur-
ing a joint meeting Tuesday of
the Cleveland County Board of
Commissioners and Shelby City
Council. The meeting also saw
those same bodies vote unani-
mously to give Wal-Mart over
$2 million in incentives.
“I hope this is the beginning
of a lifelong relationship with
Wal-Mart,” said commission
chairman Willie McIntosh.
The 1.2 million square feet
distribution center will be built
one mile west of Shelby on State
Road 1305. Construction will
begin in the fall of this year.
Service to stores should com-
mence about a year later.
Initial hiring of up to 600 area
residents is expected to start
See Wal-Mart, 2A
Bessemer City
1225 Gastonia Hwy.
704-629-3906
Member FDIC
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