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Thursday, May 17, 2001 Vol. 113 No. 20
CANCER AWARENES!
Early detection
is the key to
beating cancer
(Second in a six-part series on cancer. Today, Elizabeth
Stewart, retired News Editor of the Kings Mountain Herald
and Past President of the National American Legion
Auxiliary, relates her personal experience with breast can-
cer.)
By ELIZABETH STEWART
The “c”word - hearing a doctor say “It’s cancer” - strikes
fear in any one but for women breast cancer can be especially
devastating because it attacks the very essence of a woman's
femininity and womanhood. gz
If detected early enough,
breast cancer is 97 percent
survivable.
Thirteen years ago, May
23,1988, by the grace of God
and early detection of cancer
by a mammogram, I became
a survivor. The prayer that I
prayed, “Lord, help me to ac-
cept the things I cannot
change,” the support of fami-
ly, church, friends and atti- [=
tude sustain me.
My experience with cancer began with a routine visit to the
local hospital for a mammogram in early May 1988 where I
also made pictures of new mammography equipment and
wrote a story for The Kings Mountain Herald. On May 11,
1988 my doctor gave me the results of the test, it looked suspi-
cious but he didn’t find any lumps and ordered a needle biop-
sy. There was never a history of breast cancer in our family, I
was healthy but my father died of cancer at age 75 on Sept. 5,
1983. “Thy will be done,” I prayed over and over, but I was
scared. On May 16, 1988 my sister-in-law, Mary Jo Stewart, ac-
companied me to the local hospital for the needle biopsy,
On Wedriesday, May 18,’ the surgeon told me I was in per-
fect health, I threw on my clothes to return to work. The tele-
phone rang and I heard the doctor say, “ I don’t believe it, I'm
on my way.”
I was out the door when the nufBe called me to wait. The
doctor had gone to the hospital to check the slides and the
shocked expression on his face reconfirmed my fear when he
returned to the examination room.
“Lib, I don’t know how to tell you this except to say it. The
last slide showed the malignancy.”
Cancer. The doctor told me in the very kindest way that I
had breast cancer.
I remember that I sat there in a daze as he spoke to me of
options, a lumpectomy with radiation if I preferred, breast re-
construction.
“This is all a nightmare,” I kept thinking.
What are you recommending? I finally asked. “A modified
radical mastectomy.”
What! I exclaimed. You mean removal of the breast.
He nodded. And then the tears came and from God came
- the faith to endure and to survive and live.
“You can wait for a couple of weeks, get a second or third
opinion and see a cancer specialist,” he said.
It was not courage that helped me to make a decision that
saved my life but some God given strength. “Schedule the
surgery for Monday,” I said.
Reporters are supposed to have tough skins but this reporter
oe lI 8
AP y was scared to death.
See Cancer 2A
Since 1889
_o annual
band concert
at KM High 6B
GARY STEWART / THE HERALD
Katie Bridges, daughter of Kevin and Trudy Bridges of Kings Mountain, helps
wash a van Saturday at Dixon Presbyterian. Church to raise funds for the Kings
Mountain Relay for Life.
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KM approves
$28.6 million
‘01-02 budget
By GARY STEWART
Editor of The Herald
Kings Mountain City Council Monday night
approved a 2001-2002 fiscal year budget of
$28,680,493 which mayor Rick Murphrey said
shows that the town is being progressive.
“When you've got this much capital outlay and
you've got all the services that you are continu-
ing, and your finances are the best in the history:
of the City of Kings Mountain, then it shows that
the staff, City Manager and Council have done a
wonderful job running the city like a business,”
he said.
The budget includes $3,212,569 in capital out-
lay funds, much of which includes equipment for
all departments but also completion of humerous
projects such as the new senior center and a fire
sub-station for West Kings Mountain.
The city also plans a new electrical peak shav-
ing plant to serve the York Road area as well as
selling some of the capacity, and final payment on
the original peak shaving plant on Gaston Street.
“When you get into all the upgrades in utilities,
all the infrastructure upgrades, and then come in
with a new fire station and senior center and an-
other peak shaving plant, you have to be real ex-
cited,” Murphrey said. “This board and staff have
been progressive.”
The city has maintained a healthy fund balance
over the past four years, as City Manager Jimmy
Maney pointed out in a typed budget message to
Council. The 1999-2000 fund balance was
$2,948,328 and it is expected to be about the same
at the end of the current fiscal year on June 30.
The budget also maintains the current tax rate
of 36 cents per $100 in property valuation. Kings
Mountain actually reduced its tax rate last year
after property revaluation figures were released.
Maney pointed to several accomplishments
during the current fiscal year, including comple-
tion on Phase II of the 36” water line from the wa-
See Budget 5A
KMHS graduation is Friday
One hundred and Petit
Kings Mountain High School
sertiors will receive their diplo-
ma during graduation exercises
Friday, May 18 at 7 p.m. at John
Gamble Stadium.
Diplomas will be presented
by John Yarbro, principal; Dr.
Larry Allen, superintendent;
Valerie Boyd, assistant princi-
pal; and Junior Marshals Stuart
Wayne Heffner and Emily
Elizabeth Owens.
Other Junior Marshals are
Lisa Marie Black, Nathan
Frederick Carpenter, Lindsay
Elizabeth Hamrick, Trent Alan
Hopper, Kimberly Erin
Robertson, Carrie Elizabeth
Brinkley, Timothy Lane Echols,
Jennifer Elizabeth Kliever,
Chasity Dawn Parker, Maegan
GARY STEWART / THE HERALD
City electricians work to restore power at the Gaston Street substation Tuesday morning after
a squirrel got into a transformer and knocked out the feeder circuits. Of course, the 12,000-
volt shock decreased the city’s squirrel population by one.About 3,000 customers, representing
about 70 percent of the city, were out of power for about 45 ‘minutes.
FIRST NATIONAL BANK
Celebrating 127 Years
Kings Mountain
300 W. Mountain St.
704-739-4782
Nichole Se and Trisha Ann
Runyans.
Seniors will enter John
Gamble Stadium as the KMHS
Ninth Grade Band plays “Pomp
and Circumstance.”
Alicia Anquinette James,
Vice-President of the Class of
2001, will lead the Pledge of
Allegiance. Christopher Lee p rineipal d
Bennett, President of the of Educhtion
Student Participation Moada
Organization, will give the wel- Londay
come. night i
The KMHS Symphonic Po
Gan ings
Chorale will sing “Maybe M oe
Someday” and “Forever ounain
Middle
Friends.” School
Jennifer Nicole Fredell, Principal
President of the Class of 2001, Ethel P
Construction of Kings
Mountain's new 5-6 grade
school on Kings Mountain
Boulevard has only just begun,
but the school already has'a
PEDERSEN
Pedersen to lead new school
tive January 2002. The school is=
set to open in the Fall of 2002.
Pedersen is completing her =
first year as principal at KMMS
after serving several years as as=
sistant principal at Kings
Mountain High School.
The System will immediately:
begin advertising for Pedersen's
replacement at KMMS. Ronnie"
Wilson, Asst. Supt. for
Personnel, said the System
hopes to make that announce-
ment in another month or so -
also to become effective next
January.
529 New Hope Road
See Graduation, 9A
Pedersen to the position effec-
See School, 10A
New KM ward lines proposed
By GARY STEWART
Editor of The Herald
* There's a good chance the
November City Council election
will go on as planned if new
wards are approved at its June
meeting.
City Attorney Mickey Corry
told Council at its special meet-
ing Monday night that the re-
districting committee had com-
Citizens oppose CC
By BEN LEDBETTER
Staff Writer
With little fanfare or taxes,
the Cleveland County Board of
Commissioners ended its series
of town meetings Monday af-
ternoon at Kings Mountain
High School.
Many commissioners are still
against any tax increases.
Gastonia
704-865-1233
106 S. Lafayette St.
704-484-6200
pleted its work in redrawing
ward lines. Citizens will have
the opportunity to comment on
the proposed new ward map at
the May 29 meeting, and it can
be approved at the June meet-
ing.
Corry has already spoken to
the Justice Department in
Washington and made request
for an “expedited review” of
the city’s plan. If it is pre-
Kings Mountain District
Schools Member Jerry Blanton
said he wants to keep main-
taining schools.
“I would hate our schools to
start backing up,” he said. “We
owe it to our kids for our ser-
vices in our schools to be main-,
tained.”
Blanton said he does not
want a tax increase, but he does
Shelby
cleared by the Justice
Department by July 20, the
November election can go on as
planned. If not, it will have to
be delayed.
The State Legislature has al-:
ready approved allowing the
city to delay its filing dates until
July 6-23. All municipalities, as:
well as the States, must redis-
See Wards, 5A
tax hike
not want services to stop mn the
schools either.
“I don’t want to pay anymore
taxes,” Blanton said. “We can’t
become stagnant. We will be-
come stagnant if we can’t con-
tinue to offer to our kids what it
takes to get an education.”
Blanton said he was referring
See County 5A
Bessemer City
1225 Gastonia Hwy.
704-629-3906
_Member FDIC