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(ED. Note - First of a six-part
series on cancer).
By BEN LEDBETTER
Staff Writer
It started on a trip to the
beach.
Before her
sixth birth-
day,
Autumn
Malpass was
diagnosed
with ovarian
cancer of the
granulosa,
the inner
most cell in- AUTUMN
side the MALPASS
ovary that
produces estrogen.
According to gyncancer.com,
there are three types of ovarian
cancer, epithelial, germ cell and
types that are specific to certain
parts of the ovary.
The web site said that the ma-
jority of ovarian cancer cases
are epithelial, and the term is
what many people mean when
they refer to ovarian cancer.
There are no symptoms for it,
the site said, but a cyst can be
Russ
‘By GARY STEWART
“Editor of The Herald
90000000000000000000000000000000000000000090000000000000008000000000000000000000seressesssssssns
When Donna Russ was a little
: girl and her mother would buy
“her a good book, she would of-
‘ten sleep with it.
: So, it’s no surprise that she
:slept with her award Monday
‘night after being named Kings
Mountain District Schools
- Teacher of the Year at the annu-
-al Service Awards Banquet at
: Kings Mountain High School.
* “I'm just tickled to death,”
‘said Russ, a Kings Mountain
‘native who has spent her entire
‘29-year teaching career in her
‘hometown.
: “I'm really honored,” she
:said. “To me this goes to my
:heart. It tells me that my peers
.appreciate what I do and that’s
“what it’s all about.”
"Russ is completing her 17th
‘year at KMHS as a 12th grade
Friday wrestling at Armory
to benefit Autumn Malpass
The Eastern Wrestling Alliance will hold a benefit for Autumn
Malpass at the Kings Mountain National Guard Armory Friday,
May 11 at 8 p.m. All proceeds will go to the Kings Mountain sev-
en-year-old for her fight against cancer.
Sergeant Greg Thompson said her father, Billy Malpass, a mem-
ber of the Kings Mountain Guard unit, has had to take a lot of
time off from work to take Autumn to receive treatment.
EWA wrestlers such as #1 George South, Scotty McKeever,
Masked Superstar #2 and Kings Mountains Dozer are scheduled
to battle in the ring.
Tickets are $8. Call (704) 739-4741 for more information.
BEN LEDBETTER / THE HERALD
Autumn Malpass of Kings Mountain sits on her bed among the man stuffed animals she has received since being diagnosed
with a rare form of ovarian cancer.
Cancer affects all ages
KM’s Autumn Malpass was diagnosed
with ovarian cancer before the age of 6
“Her oncologist says she’s
her own little unique case,” she
said.
i After testing blood and urine
samples, and three red blood
cells, she was diagnosed with
urinary tract infection, since
there was a history of that in
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meeting Monday
at high school
By BEN LEDBETTER
Staff Writer ;
The expression, “government
coming to the people” has been
literal in the case of the
Cleveland County Board of
Commissioners holding a series
of town meetings regarding the
county’s and the state’s budget
shortfall.
Commissioners and Kings
Mountain resident Ronnie
Hawkins said it is part of a
promise to let everybody know
what is going on with the coun-
ty.
. “We promised when we took
office that people would know
everything of what was going
on and people had input into
the government,” he said.
The last of the four meetings
will be held Monday, May 14 at
6 p.m. in Barnes Auditorium at
Kings Mountain High School.
The board will be there to an-
swer questions from the public
concerning the budget.
Much of the county’s short-
fall is linked with North
Carolina's projected shortfall of
$ 800 million. State jobs have
been frozen or eliminated and
budgets have been reduced.
The state has withheld $95
million from counties and mu-
nicipalities from which
Cleveland County's share is ap-
proximately $844,000.
In a prepared statement,
Chairman Willie McInotsh will
read, he has said the problem
Cleveland County is facing is
because of Medicaid and
Commissioners
lobby for release
of inventory tax
By BEN LEDBETTER
Staff Writer
County Commissioners were
in Raleigh Wednesday for the
North Carolina Association of
County Commissioners rally.
Cleveland County
Commissioner Ronnie -
Hawkins, who is also on the =
Board of Health, said the rally =
was so commissioners could ~~
lobby with their state legislators
for the release of the inventory
tax and to discuss the rising
cost of Medicaid.
A memo from the NCACC
said its board of directors
scheduled the rally to voice dis-
agreement with the issues.
Hawkins said releasing the
inventory tax would relieve
some of the budget crunch.
“Well, I hope we can con-
vince them to release the inven-
tory tax,” Hawkins said. “That's
$854,000, and if we had
$854,000 it would keep us from
having to tighten our belts so
much.”
Hawkins said the state’s un-
derestimation of Medicaid
coasts contributed to the county
budget shortfall.
If they had not underesti-
mated Medicaid we would not
have that excess either that we
would have to pay,” Hawkins
Special Assistance. said.
The county has to contribute .
approximately six percent of the
her family.
Some of the early misdiag-
detected during a routine gyne-
cologic exam. A cyst can break
or bleed, which would cause
symptoms enough for a woman
to ask for help.
The symptoms will be due to
a build up of fluid in the ab-
domen called ascites.
At ovariancancer.org, the web
site said that granulosa cell tu-
mors are classified as stromal
carcinoma, and constitutes five
percent of all ovarian cancer
cases.
The American Cancer Society
said on its web site that women
who have had menstrual cycles
before 12 years, or after age 50
are at risk for the disease.
Although there is not much
knowledge of what causes most
forms of ovarian cancer, the
ACS web site said that causes of
epithelial ovarian cancer have
been discovered.Much less is
known about risk factors for
germ cell and stromal tumors of
the ovaries.
Sherry Malpass, Autumn's
mother, said it constitutes three
percent of all ovarian cancer
cases in women.
nosed cases included, constipa-
tion and urinary tract infec-
tions.
By June 1999, while on vaca-
tion in Brunswick County,
Autumn’s stomach had swelled
to the size of nine month's preg-
nancy.
She was taken to Brunswick
Community Hospital, which is
approximately an hour outside
of Wilmington.
After testing blood and urine
samples, and three red blood
cells, she was diagnosed with
urinary tract infection, since
there was a history of that in
her family.
Sherry said the doctors in
Brunswick County told her to
see the family doctor the next
Monday.
See Cancer, 2A
Teacher of the Year
East wins national award 9A
Retiring educators honored 8A
English teacher. She began her
career teaching eighth grade
English and Social Studies at
Central School, and later taught
English in an open classroom
setting at Kings Mountain
Middle School.
Although every year has been
fun, she says her time at KMHS
has been very special.
“I love to teach and I love
high school kids,” she said.
“They're so unique and every
day is different. They're never
boring. If I wake up in a bad
mood I leave it at home because
I owe the students my best.”
Russ, who earned her degree
from East Carolina University
in 1971, said she always felt like
she would be a school teacher.
“I think I've never not want-
ed to teach,” she said. “When I
went to college I never changed
my major. I knew from the be-
ginning that I wanted to teach.”
She credits her high school
English teacher, Juanita
Goforth, with providing the in-
spiration she needed to pursue
her goal.
“When I had her as a teacher
I thought she was just the most
wonderful person in this
world,” Russ said. “I wanted to
be just like her. She could mes-
merize the kids in her class-
room. She was wonderful. I
FIRST NATIONAL BANK . Kings Mountain
Celebrating 127 Yeans
300 W. Mountain St.
704-739-4782
529 New Hope Road
think that’s what made me
know for sure that I wanted to
teach. I wanted to be a Juanita
Goforth.”
Being selected Teacher of the
Year at Kings Mountain High
School earlier in the school year
was a great honor, she said, be-
cause it was voted on by her
peers. She then entered compe-
tition for KM District Teacher of
the Year with winners from the
other seven KMDS schools, and
went through a lengthy inter-
view process in front of a com-
mittee made up of educators
and citizens from different parts
of the county.
Now, she will go through the
District competition against
winners from other school sys-
tems in this region, and if se-
lected there, would enter com-
petition for State Teacher of the
Year.
See Russ, 10A
Gastonia
704-865-1233
. esos sessssesens see
106 S. Lafayette St.
Medicaid budget, which
amounts to $5.2 million, or an
increase of approximately $1.2
million.
Although much of the funds
are used to pay for residents
confined to nursing homes, hos-
pitals, pharmacies and physi-
cians receive those funds as
well.
Special Assistance, which is
in the Department of Social
Services budget, is expected to
see an increase of approximate-
ly $110,000.
Special Assistance pays for
the cost of rest home care which
is not covered by Medicaid.
The effect has trickled down
to the county level.
“All of this problem is not be-
cause of the economy,” he said.
“I honestly believe it’s a slow-
down from the state. In their
planning, they have been in
such a spend -thrift mode, it’s
finally caught up with them.”
County Manager Lane
Alexander said this is the worst :
budget cycle he has seen during
his 25 year tenure, and it might :
not get better too soon.
“The state’s not predicting
their revenue picture will im-
prove between now and next
year,” he said.
Alexander said to expect at
least one more budget crisis like
the current one. >
Two of the questions the com-
missioners will ask the public is
whether it wants a tax to cover
the shortage, and does it want
to go back to pre-merger levels
for supplemental tax.
GARY STEWART / THE HERALD
Kings Mountain High teacher Donna Russ, left, accepts KMDS
Teacher of the Year Award from last year’s winner Carla
Bennett at Service Awards Banquet Monday night at KMHS.
Shelby
704-484-6200
Bessemer City
1225 Gastonia Hwy.
704-629-3906
Member FDIC