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Thursday, May 31, 2001
KINGS MOUNTAIN
Vol. 113 No. 22
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R063 M phon Ave BRARy
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Since 1889 50 Cents
GARY STEWART / THE HERALD
Grading and construction work is going full speed ahead on the new Kings Mountain Intermediate School on Kings Mountain
Boulevard. The school board plans a ground breaking for the new 5-6 grade school on Tuesday, June 12.
CANC
AWARENESS
AMERICAN
ZC
The Road to Recovery
Volunteer drivers valuable asset to cancer victims
BY ALAN HODGE
Along with all the other diffi-
culties that cancer can bring,
transportation to and from doc-
tor visits may often be added to
the list.
Where many cancer patients
once thought nothing of hop-
ping in their car and cruising
down the highway, the debili-
tating effects of the disease has
in many cases taken even this
freedom away.
Statistics show that one can-
cer patient requiring radiation
therapy could need between 30-
35 trips in a six week period.
Recognizing the need many
cancer patients have for a ride
to their doctor’s office or clinic,
the American Cancer Society
instituted the “Road to
Recovery” program.
Basically, Road to Recovery
matches volunteers with folks
who cannot drive themselves to
treatment and home again.
Volunteers make themselves
available weekdays during the
hours of 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.
Volunteers set the times they
are available, and can make as
few or as many transportation
sorties as they like.
People who decide they want
to become Road to Recovery
drivers can fill out an applica-
tion, receive basic training, and
soon be on their way to helping
others. Requirements are sim-
ple. All that’s needed is a valid
driver's license, a safe driving
record, and the state’s mini-
mum required liability insur-
ance.
In the Belmont area, Road to
Recovery volunteer Lilly
“Boots” Larocca has been pro-
viding rides for cancer patients
all over Gaston County for two
years. Larocca traces her experi-
ence with the program back to
her own battle with cancer and
involvement with the Relay For
Life.
“I had breast cancer five
years ago and through that ex-
perience became involved with
the Relay For Life,” said *
Larocca. “That's how I became
acquainted with the Gaston
County Road to Recovery coor-
dinator Deana Shortridge.”
Larocca was in on the very
first Gaston Relay for Life. She
and her daughters Sheila
Neesmith, Rhonda Craig, and
Cindy Mauney formed a team
and took part in the annual
walkathon which raises cancer
awareness and money for the
American Cancer Society.
“My daughter Rhonda and I
were in charge of the luminaries
part of the event,” said Larocca.
“We spelled out the word
‘hope’ with them. Hope is what
I want everyone with cancer to
See Cancer, 2A
bn ORO RR RR SH 579 RHE
ALAN HODGE / THE HERALD
Boots Larocca of Belmont volunteers in the American Cancer
Society’s Road to Recovery program. Each week, Larocca
takes cancer patients from across Gaston County to their med-
ical appointments.
Regular exam best way to beat cancer
By BEN LEDBETTER
Staff Writer
Getting tested early is the piece of advice Dorus
Bennett has.
The City of Kings Mountain Cemetery Director
has won his bout with prostate cancer and will be
walking with the cancer survivors in the Relay
for Life, Friday June 8 at the Cleveland Avenue
Walking Track.
Bennett, who has survived a bout with prostate
cancer, said he had not noticed any symptoms of
the disease.
“We had gone down to the beach,” Bennett
said. “My wife and son, for about two days got
all over me,” he said about getting a physical.
FIRST NATIONAL BANK
Celebrating 127 Years
300 W. Mountain St.
He did when they returned from the beach.
Bennett went to a doctor in Kings Mountain
and said everything was fine, until he checked his
prostate.
The doctor told him to see a urologist, and he
later went to Gaston Memorial Hospital.
When a biopsy came back he was told he had
prostate cancer, and had waited too late.
“I guess Tjust went numb,” Bennett said.
“Because cancer with a big c will floor you.”
He later went ahead with the operation on
October 13, 1993. Bennett has had 38 treatments
of radiation and he goes back every 84 days to
Gaston Memorial for other treatment.
See Bennett, 2A
Gastonia
529 New Hope Road
704-865-1233
Kings Mountain
704-739-4782
106 S. Lafayette St.
Get a good
taste of the
NC mountains
: 1B
School merger
hearing slated
next Wednesday
By BEN LEDBETTER
Staff Writer
With a series of lawsuits wait-
ing to be heard, Kings
Mountain District Schools is
waiting on the outcome of the
cases before deciding its next
step on the Cleveland County
school merger issue.
One will be argued in the
North Carolina Court of
Appeals June 6, whichis *
against the Cleveland County
Board of Commissioners.
Two cases against the North
Carolina State Board of
Education will be heard June 11
in Wake County Superior
Court.
“Ultimately, what's at stake is
the existence of the three school
systems,” Richard A. Schwartz
said. “The legal actions that are
involved will consolidate the
three school systems or leave
them independent.”
Schwartz, a Raleigh attorney,
represents Kings Mountain in
the cases.
Kings Mountain Schools
Chairperson Sherra Miller said
the board will make the next
decision after the June cases.
“If we lose this one case,
there are still a couple of others
that are out there,” Miller said.
“So we'll need to weigh our op-
tions after that.”
Miller said she thinks stu-
dents in Kings Mountain's
school system can be better
served in a small district.
The element behind the law-
suits for Kings Mountain are
the students from Gaston
County.
“That's the whole basis of the
lawsuits,” Miller said. “Those
students have been a part of the
Kings Mountain system for
decades, the merger plan has ig-
nored that.”
If merger went through stu-
dents in Gaston County would
have to get a release since they
would automatically be outside
of the school system.
Winning the cases would not
end the merger dispute either.
“At that point, all they're say-
ing is the Cleveland County
judge erred at granting the in-
junction,” Kings Mountain
Schools Superintendent Dr.
Larry Allen said. “At that point,
we'll go back to Cleveland
County for a trial by jury hope-
fully.”
City awards contracts
By GARY STEWART
Editor of The Herald
City Council Tuesday night
awarded two major building
contract talling approximate-
for construction of a new fire
substation at the intersection of
West Gold Street Extension and
Highway 74. The bid, which in-
cludes plumbing, mechanical
and electrical work, was
$554,920 and Council voted to
add a 400-square foot room at
the back at a cost of $24,000 to
serve as a satellite police office.
Ken Newell of Stewart-
Cooper-Newell Architects said
construction should be com-
plete in eight to ten months.
Newell said 10 “competitive”
bids were received on the pro-
ject, ranging from Pavilon’s low
bid of $578,920 to a high bid of
$806,452.
“This is something we've
needed for a long time,” said
Mayor Rick Murphrey. “We've
expanded the city limits. This is
something we need to have ad-
equate fire protection for that
side of town.”
Steppe Construction was
awarded a contract of
$708,839.72 from Community
Development Block Grants to
construct water lines in the
newly-annexed areas of Quality
Lane, Hillway/ Hill Top, and
Galilee Church Road.
Other bids ranged as high as
$1,073,939, causing engineer Al
Moretz to call Steppe’s bid a
“blue light special.”
Moretz said the low bid was
some $120,000 lower than antic-
ipated, mainly due to Steppe’s
having two crews needing work
and the fact that Steppe did an-
other water project on Lake
Montonia Road and is “aware
of the conditions out there.”
The required city’s matching
funds of $300,000 will bring the
total cost of the project to
$975,546.87. The base bid in-
cludes a contingency fund of
$64,439.97 which will allow any
See Projects, 3A
Shelby
704-484-6200
on a bid of $578,920
for fire station, water
Peddler’s
ordinance
taken off
KM agenda
By GARY STEWART
Editor of The Herald
James Martin said he feels
vindicated even though he
hasn’t done anything to be vin-
dicated.
The Kings Mountain resident,
known to many as the
“Confederate Flag Man,” and
other street-side vendors will be
allowed to continue selling their
wares after Council pulled the
proposed peddler’s and solici-
tor’s ordinance off Tuesday
night's agenda.
Mayor Rick Murphrey had
advocated having one location -
perhaps at the old Depot - to be
designated as a farmer's market
where local farmers could sell
their produce. However, he told
The Herald last week that
street-side vendors would not
be included in the ordinance at
this time. Murphrey has said in
the past that it was not fair to
downtown merchants to allow
vendors to set up on the side of
the street.
Councilman Carl DeVane,
who seconded Dean Spears’
motion to take the matter off
the agenda, said the ordinance
needs further study and ques-
tioned if the depot was an ap-
propriate location.
Murphrey said others have
suggested that sellers of arts
and crafts and other items be
included.
“There's just been a lot of
questions that came up” since
last week, Murphrey said, “and
we need to address the whole
issue and also make a place
where crafts can be sold. We
just decided to delete it from
the agenda and it will be up to
Council if they want to bring it
See Council, 2A
Bessemer City
1225 Gastonia Hwy.
704-629-3906
Member FDIC
Cn